Monthly Goals

So I have felt inspired recently to have more short term goals instead of long term goals. I am already cooking a bun in my long term oven so I think I am going to need some short term projects along the way.

Brainstorming:

August: Get Lindy and Lucy's website up and running & Clean out the Bathroom closet & walk my 10K

September: Finally get around to painting Elizabeth and Matt's trim since my first trimester will FINALLY be over!!! (with a mask of course) and clean out the Sweet Pea's closet

October: Finally finish our laundry room project and put my office together

November: Register for baby stuff (before Thanksgiving) and complete living/dining room projects

December: Make some major life changing decisions (sorry that's not up for discussion yet) and get a few quotes for our kitchen renovation project

January:Paint Sweet Pea's room and purchase a dresser for our master bedroom

February: purchase baby furniture and get it arranged

...oh yeah...and bring home baby!!

TV Trey's

There's a guy in our church named Trey. He loves to cook and does an amazing job at it. Well, once a month Trey and his wife, Joy, hold a dinner for 12 in their home with gourmet food that it served to us and we all just sit back and relax and eat!! All of the money goes to a charity of our combined choice that is decided before we start inviting people.

Well, we were invited to join the group last weekend. We had a great time and the food was AMAZING!! And since we had several people in our Sunday School class that are involved in a program called Celebrate Recovery which helps people with Life Controlling issues, we decided that CR would benefit from dinner that night. Here's Matt before dinner, super excited about that shrimp stuffed fillet!!

What we ate:

Escargo stuffed Portobello Mushroom Cap

Garlic and Shallot Vinegarette Salad with Cranberry Pecan Chutney and Almond Crusted Brie

Rock Shrimp Stuffed Filet with White Truffle Potatoes

White Chocolate Key Lime Cheesecake topped with Blueberry Compote

This is the White Chocolate Key Lime Pie. I kept meaning to take pictures of everything but once everything was put in front of me, all planning went out the window and I could think about was FOOD!!! Yeah, it was AWESOME!!!

Happy Anniversary E!

For real this time...

Well, today is mine and E's fourth anniversary. We normally don't do much for celebrations. Maybe have a speial dinner or something low key like that. Even Christmas and Birthdays are like that too. If we need stuff, we just get it throughout the year. But this year, E went out of his way as a anniversary/congratulations we're having a baby present and bought me a kitchenaid stand mixer. And it's red!! If you missed this post, click here for the back story!!

For the past few weeks, E has been eying this compressor and nail gun at Home Depot. Those things are expensive!! I have been trying to put him off and put him off to no avail. I have even had friends that have offered to borrow theirs but E is always afraid he will break it and then have to buy them another one. I don't blame him for that. So when we wen tto Home Depot this weekend, I made sure to take a subtle interest in which one he wanted. I figured out what he needed and was planning on going to the store last night and getting it for him, however, he started working around the house this weekend and really needed it. So I broke down and told him what I was planning on getting him for our anniversary and that we could go and get it if he really needed it. He said "Yeah, I knew you were going to get it for me. You took an interest and asked questions about the pnuematic nail gun!!! You never do that!!"

So we went Sunday and I let him pick out the stuff he wanted and a new utility light (??? somehow that ended up in the buggy at checkout time) So Happy Anniversary E! I love you more today than I did 4 years ago and I am super excited about all of the next steps we are planning to take together. Me, Sweet Pea and Maggie appreciate the way you take care of us.

No Spend Month

Me and E have been fighting hard to pay off all of our debts for a while now. We started not long after we first got married. We worked hard for a while but just found it really difficult when E was in another country and I was living at home with mom and dad. But now that we own a house and actually live their full time together, we have been working alot harder. And now...there's sweet pea who I want to stay home with during the day.

So Andrea introduced me to this website today that got my wheels turning. Rachel at Small Notebook just finished a "project" called No Spend Month. I was reading her post about what it entails and all of the challenges they have faced during this time. It really inspired me to have a No Spend Month at my house. Go check it out and see if it's something you could talk the people that live with you into. I definately plan on talking to E about maybe having a No Spend September!!

2 More Baileys

Hey, we always welcome more Bailey's into our household...That's why we decided to procreate!!

Pam and Dennis (E's parents) needed a break from life at home and have decided to stop by for a visit this weekend. I haven't seen them since Christmas but E saw them at the end of May when he went close to home for a conference. Safe travels to you both.

10 Weeks and Still Kicking

Well, I have made it this far right? A quarter of the way through the whole pregnancy. The baby seems to be doing fine. And me...well...if I could just keep up with all of the changes my body is making, I would be fine. One week I am exhausted all of the time and could do nothing but sleep all day and night. Now, if I sleep even an hour during the day, I don't sleep at all during the night. So the new trick is to keep me awake until at least 9:00pm which is alot tougher than you might think these days. After 3 of the worst days of my life dealing with the lack of sleep (combined with the fact that I can't take anything to sleep better, I can't take anything for the headache, and I can't have a cup of coffee to keep me awake), I think I can finally handle everything.

It's very bizarre how your body changes too. I still weigh the same as I did before I got pregnant. I haven't gained any weight but looking in the mirror...That is not the same body I had 10 weeks ago!! I am sure it doesn't help that I am not running 3 miles a day anymore. But I can still wear most of my old clothes but I am uncomfortable in them all. So I have already swapped over to few smaller pairs of maternity capris and some elastic skirts.

And food, I don't even want to talk about food. However, I am finally getting my appetite back again. Learning when to stop has been incredibly difficult though. There is such a fine line between almost full and WAY OVER full. That fine line can be only one bite. So eating slower, more often and concentrating more on how I feel during a meal is taking some time. I can only eat something about the size of a deck of cards, maybe slightly bigger, at a time. But since my taste has COMPLETELY changed, there are only a few things that I actually want to eat still.

Only 209 days left!!!

Weekend Movie Review

Well, we rented 2 movies this weekend and watched 2 on television throughout the week...

The first was Vantage Point. While I thought it was entertaining and suspenseful, E thought was incredibly bored and turned off by all of the inaccuracies in the movies. When that happens, he tends to go ON AND ON all through the movie which drives me BONKERS!!! But in the end, he is right. That whole movie wouldn't have happened in real life. There are too many precautions that are taken in reality that weren't taken in the movie. If you can get past that...It was entertaining, I thought.

The second was 21. It was based on a true story about some kids at MIT who learned how to play Black Jack using statistics and went to Vegas to win big. We both thought it was a good movie (and it's tough to watch a movie that E actually likes). I would recommend it.

And we watched Kiss the Girls on television. I know I know...It's a super old movie but I had never seen it. I really liked it. Very suspenseful. Highly recommend if you like dramas (and you didn't see it 10 years ago).

And then last but not least, we watched Invincible. I started out thinking I wouldn't like it, I even busied myself trying not to watch it but I kept going back. It was good, very inspirational and the sound track was great. I highly recommend.

Happy Birthday Laurel Joe and Nanny!!

These birthdays are seriously belated because I have been in a morning sickness cheese quesadilla hurricane Dolly super fog! Some of the fog is starting to clear which reminded me that I need to play a little catch up.

So Happy Birthday to Laurel whose birthday was last week. The big 18. Congratulations!! You are finally legal to vote, move out and join the military!! I know you must be thrilled! Since I have already carried on about how much you are loved in your graduation memoir, I am just to add a link to all of the wonderful things I think about you and tell you that I love you one more time.

And Happy Birthday to Nanny (my maternal grandmother)! Are we 29 again this year?? How many years has it been?? Just kidding...you don't look a day older than 35!! Nanny works hard and cares for all 9 of us grandkids and 3 of their spouses individually. She always remembers what we like to eat, like to drink, like to wear and keep around the house. She puts a lot of time and effort into making us all feel special and loved infinately!! To the woman who taught me how to hit the garage sales like a queen, who taught me that you can never have too many pairs of shoes, who has cut my hair more times than I am willing to admit (and gave me a perm...80's early 90's), who taught me you are allowed to have more Christmas sweaters than there are days in the month of December, who identifies with my military woes having been through it herself (back before she turned 29...the first time), and who means so much to Me, E and Sweet Pea...Happy Birthday Nanny! We love you very much!!

Hello Dolly!

Have I ever told any of you that I love hurricane season. I am just drawn and amazed by natural disasters. I know...that makes me a little heartless...but I love the excitement of it all. I can remember sitting on our front porch with my dad waiting for the tornado to hit or hiding in the church basement looking out the crack of the door with the adults trying to get a peak at a tornado. And honestly, that's always been one of those things that has been on my "Before I die" list..."See a real tornado!" Now that I am going to be a mom, it's probably not such a good idea.

But me and E had the best time sitting through our first hurricane together in Key West. Katrina was supposed to head north over night through Tampa, FL and ended up dipping south. We woke up about 4:30 that morning to some serious weather and found out that the eye of the storm was about 20 miles north of our house. Luckily it was only a category 1 storm...at the time. We sat through Humberto last year (Tropical Storm) but I am still waiting on my tornado.

Today, I am working through Dolly. We are a few hundred miles from the center of the storm but I love the weather these bring. I also love working the words "feeder bands" into my conversation. It makes me feel like a conversational genious. But here is a picture of where I am today and where Dolly is today. Look for the red and white arrow for my location here on the gulf coast.

What's Cooking Wednesday?

I have no idea. And ironically, I cooked all weekend. Although it was nothing new and nothing I wanted to eat a second time.

Everyone has always told me that my sense of smell would change during pregnancy but I never thought about how that would affect my sense of taste. Well, much to my disappointment, I spent all weekend cooking...Tomato Basil Soup (which is a main staple and one of my main cravings), Southwest Chicken Chili, Greek Pot Pie, Panzanella, even chocolate chip cookies. I haven't wanted any of it. I made each one of them like I always do and they just don't taste right and I don't want to eat any of it again. So now I have a freezer full of leftovers for E to eat.

Things I will eat now:
Gatorade
Water
Orange Juice
Instant Breakfast
Cheese Quesadillas
Apples and Peanut Butter
Animal Crackers
Boiled Eggs
PB&J Sandwiches
Strawberry Popsicles
Raison Nut Bran

Never in my life do I remember being such a picky eater and now I feel like one of those kids that only eats mac and cheese and hot dogs. With that in mind, sadly, I am putting What's Cooking Wednesday on hold for a while. What's the point in cooking if I won't eat it. And how do I know if it's good. E says everything I made this weekend was good, but mine tasted like first class garbage and he ate boat food for 3 years. I guess my food bills are about to get skinnier. Poor E!!

Even though What's Cooking Wednesday is on hold, if you have a recipe you want to share, I will be glad to throw it up here. If you say it's good, that's enough for me.

More Prizes in the Mail!!

To start this story, I guess I will have to go back over a year ago to explain the reason for the gift I got in the mail yesterday.

When I used to work in Key West, many pilots and controllers used to come by everyday. Many of them would come by several times a year and so you got to know alot of people. One week, we were doing night flights and we had 2 or three controllers in the building to help out with the operation. One of those was my friend John. You may remember his new wife, Andrea, from Military Monday a few weeks back.

John visited twice while I worked down there. He worked over at the Top Gun school in NV. We had a great time together since we have similiar personalities and since we were all trapped in the building all night long waiting for the rain to let up so the operation could fly, we all just had to make the best of it. John called back in April of last year and said "Dude, I completely forgot to get a shirt from Sloppy Joes before I left town and I really wanted one. Will you go and get me one and send it to me? I will send you a shirt from Top Gun!"

So me...being the nice girl that I am...and because I really wanted a Top Gun shirt...went downtown to buy him a shirt and sent it to him promptly. Well...it's been over a year and John has yet to make good on his promise. I harrass him about it every chance I get. But low and behold...what showed up on my door step yesterday?? 2 Top gun shirts...one for me and one for E, and he said he tried to get one for sweet pea too but they didn't have any that small. Thanks John, and Andrea (because I am sure that she did all of the leg work)!! E was pumped about his new shirt and I really like mine! I think I was more surprised than anything that he actually sent them after a year.

E's Shirt

My Shirt

Maggie...looking at me while I photograph the shirts

Thanks you guys and I hope you have lots of fun in Japan next week. Good luck in everything and stay in touch!!

Prizes in the Mail!!

So thanks to Ashley at Splendid Sustenance for the prize I got in the mail yesterday. I won the book "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" during the Pay it Forward contest a few weeks ago. I was thrilled. The book was much thicker than I was expecting. And E, bless him, says "Hey I could get on board with a few of these recipes!" Music to my ears!! So thanks Ashley for hosting and choosing me. I will be sure to pay it forward very soon.

**And Chris, yours goes in the mail today...sorry, morning sickness and pregnancy brain have taken over my life.

Movie Reviews

So we watched a few movies over the past few weeks and I wanted to update you on what I thought.

First, let's start with Hancock...what a waste of an hour and a half. It just wasn't a good movie. So many things were left unexplained and it really needed another half hour or so to finish the story right.

Next, The Happening...Both E and myself love M. Night Shyamalan and own every movie he has done until now. We had heard that it wasn't good but we wanted to see for ourselves. It was incredibly bloody and violent for such a weak story line to back up the reason for the blood and guts.

Then, we went and saw Batman: The Dark Knight this weekend...(first of all, I highly recommend attending a big movie weekend at 10:30 am on Saturday morning. It was nice!! And cheap!) The movie was incredibly long but it was such a detailed story that it needed that the whole 3 hours. Not knowing it would take that long, we hopped in at 10:30 and got out about 1:15 and that's just not an option for a pregnant girl!! Lunch in a timely matter is a daily crucial neccesity!! But getting back to the movie, we both thought it was really good. We talked last night about what a classic story of hope Batman is unlike other superhero movies. Bruce Wayne sees a problem and without any super powers, jumps in head first to do his part to make his community safer.

And finally, Jumper. another waste of an hour and a half. Another super power/ not a super hero movie that needed more explanation for everything. We ordered it on PPV the other night and I don't feel so bad for not paying $18 to see it int he theaters. It seems like they were setting themselves up for a sequal though...I don't recommend this one at all.

Welcome Home Finley!

Our friends, Brian and Kristi, got to bring home their baby girl, Finley, yesterday. Me and Elizabeth stopped by to visit Finley and I got my picture taken too! Congratulations you guys!!

The proud father and his baby girl!

Kristi, her mom, and Finley

Me and Finley!

Presents for Sweet Pea!

A few weeks ago, I was reading my "What to Expect" book. It said that the baby was the size of a pea that week. I was reading this to E and he started calling the baby "Sweet Pea" and it just stuck.

But me and E were at the Life is Good store (I have a small addiction to this place), when we came across this onesie. It's a 3-6 month onesie so I will have to wait a little while.

Then E found this one for me and insisted that we definately needed them both. Mine says "Peas in a Pod."

I was talking to my Nanny after the shopping trip and told her we had bought something for the baby already. She says "Is is pink?" I said "No, it's unisex cause I don't know if it's a girl or not." She says "That's ok, if it does turn out to be a girl, we will just sew some ruffles onto the bottom of it!"

Is there some southern tradition that I should know about? I know about the monograming (and I like some of it) but E says I am not allowed to monogram anything. He says "That's what sharpies are for!" He is going to be tough to deal with if I have a girl!!

Happy Birthday Maggie!

After we got Maggie, the vet gave her a birthday of July 11th. So while we were at the beach, we threw her a small little birthday party.

Here she is upside down wrestling with E while I got her cake ready!

Here is her cake. It is a Beneful Chicken and Vegetable Stew topped with whipped cream with one peanut butter raw hide stick (since she is one). This actually worked out really well because she didn't want to eat the whole time we were on vacation so she was excited about the stew and of course the shipped cream!!

She was too excited about the cake. So we had to calm her down by doing a few self control exercises. So here, she is already sitting and shaking with me.

And here is the birthday girl and her cake!!

Vacation Finale

I finally found the camera! And yes, it was in the car like E said!! All of these are from the night of fourth of July.

Since Ashley's husband wasn't going to be home for the fourth and all of her friends moved this year during transfer season, she came over to spend the weekend with us. We had lots of fun!

Here is my mom, dad, cousin, Laurel, and her boyfriend, Kyle, on the blanket next to us watching the fireworks.

Just a shot of the fireworks coming off of the barge in the water.

Here is Maggie watching the fireworks. She did relatively ok during the show. After the show, some kids started shooting fireworks close to where we were. At the time, we were in a large crowd of people who were all walking back to their cars. The fireworks went off, and a then people starting stopping to pet her. THAT'S WHEN SHE FREAKED OUT!!! So E just moved her to the side of the crowd and we waited until they were all gone and then walked back tot he condo!

Where's What's Cooking Wednesday?

Well, I am here to face reality and tell you that I was required to work late last night and didn't get to cook like I was planning to. But honestly, I am so exhausted and don't have the desire to cook this week. However, I do have a strong desire to sleep the days away!! Poor E, he says he can tell I don't feel well because the house looks like crap! We've been home for almost 4 days now and there are still bags left to unpack and there is no food in the fridge.

Since I now eat 2 of every meal, I am going to be doing some major cooking this weekend to get me through next week. Mostly rehashing some old ones that I really love and have lots of vegetables to feed my little "Sweet Pea." (That's what E has been calling our rasberry sized baby)

So What's Cooking Wednesday will return next week. Until then...Live well and eat well!

Vacation Memories

Vacation was great! We did alot of napping on the beach, by the pool, on the couch, in the car, and in the bed. Pregnancy and morning sickness is exhausting. Luckily I was on vacation and had lots of spare time to get over it. I got plenty of sun, ate lots of "approved" seafood, saw the Blue Angels, (found out I knew a Blue Angel, how many people can say that), went watersliding, saw my family and extended family, went shopping for maternity clothes (I know it's early but there was a giant outlet mall there) spent some quality time with Ash and had dinner with an old college teammate, Carrie, got some exercise, swam, played with Maggs and just really had a good time overall.

Well, E swears that the camera was in my car this morning but I think he is loosing it! I looked high and low for that thing with no luck. So I will share a few from my friend, Ashley, that she took and sent my way.

We saw some beautiful fireworks on the night of the fourth. We all curled up on our blankets in the sand and watched the sky light up. It was beautiful. After the fireworks were over, me and Ashley saw a red light in the sky. We went outside and a large portion of the brush behind where we were staying caught on fire. We went and got my dad and E and we all walked out to go and see just how bad it really was (it felt a little like chasing an ambulance, but that was the excitement at the moment). It never got close enough to affect our accomodations but the fire burned off and on for a few days. We took our neice, Beth, to Waterville, (this waterpark close by) when another fire broke out and ash starting falling on us whilel we were in the pool. Turns out, a stray fireworks started the blaze. This picture is what we could see from the main street.

Maggs loved the sand. There were so many interesting things hidden under the sand. Crabs, bugs, trash, plants...she had the best time digging around and playing chase.

I never said she was smart...I decided to let her off of the leash for a while to play fetch and burn some energy. Immediately, she walked right over to a sand dune preserve and started digging. Not what I was wanting!! So I brought the long leash, threw the toy and chased it with her. She just gets so distracted with all the people and birds around, not to mention all of the new smells.

I thought this was a cute pic of E and Magpie!

**I promise I will post the others as soon as I find that camera!!

Pay It Forward Winner!!

Well, a big congratulations is in order for Chris at 3 Giraffes today because she is the winner of the Pay It Forward Contest from 2 weeks ago. She has won lots of fun stuff I found on my beach trip last week. I even liked the t-shirt I got for her so much that I bought one for myself!

BTW, she is hosting her own Pay It Forward contest so if you didn't win mine, sign up for hers here.

Congratulations Chris!!

Guess Who's Expecting???

Me, E, and Maggie are back from vacation and refreshed. We definately needed some relaxation and 10 days at the beach was just what the doctor ordered. But I will get to all of the vacation details later (since I forgot my camera).

NOTE: If you are a very close friend or family member and you are reading this and didn't recieve a phone call first, please don't be offended. It just means that after all of our family members found out, they talked my phone battery to death:) No, seriously!! Didn't my Nanny call you already?

Well, me and E found out on June 17 that we were expecting our first child. It was no surprise to us...just a surprise to everyone else because we didn't tell anyone else that we were ready to have kids. And plus I always hate the mental picture I get when people tell me "They are trying!" I didn't want people picturing me that way and continually asking me how things were going. I know...Weird!

E, of course, had just left 2 days earlier to attend a 2 week training course in another time zone. As soon as I dropped him off at the airport, I went home and had my second meal of the day at 10 AM which was a bowl of pasta. An hour later, I had another bowl of pasta, then a bowl of soup, then another bowl of soup, then some ice cream...you see where this is heading.

The next day, I told E that I was starving and just didn't feel like I was getting enough to eat or drink. I tried to eat normal the next day and then went for a run that night and felt nauseous right after. Something prompted me to look at a calendar and realize what day it was. So the next morning, I took a pregnancy test and sure enough, it was positive. I just remember looking at the stick, all by myself, thinking, this is not how I pictured this. So I called E and woke him up at 4:30 in the morning his time and announced that we were going to be parents. He was a little weary at first and asked me to repeat myself. I said "Babe, were gonna be parents!"

I got a blood test the next day, bought a book on everything you should and shouldn't do when you are pregnant. Of course I found out a week after I joined tennis league and a day after I signed up fr the Human Race 10K in Austin. Talk about luck! So I will have to change a few of those plans. But a week later I had an ultrasound already scheduled before I found out to check other things. I told her that I had just found out I was pregnant and she jumped at the chance to show me on the screen where everything was. So I got to see to see the heartbeat and she gave me a picture too.

So at the end of February, we will be adding a new Bailey to our family. We are definately excited and overwhelmed. So far, I have been nausious for the past 2 weeks but it is starting to subside. But I wish the carsickness and exhaustion would pass too.

So Congratulations all of you grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins out there. As if 2 Bailey's weren't in your face enough, we have decided to add one more.

Off for Vacation!!

Everyday Bailey went on vacation and all I got was the crappy postcard!!

If you are waiting on the results of the contest, I will post them and send the winner an email when I get back. Happy Fouth of July Everyone!!

The Roof is on Fire!!!

We all know the song, and I don't think it would be appropriate for me to repeat the lyrics here. I try to keep it somewhat family friendly. But we literally had that happen this week. Calm down Mom, not our house. It's still intact.

We have an apartment building behind our neighbor's house. It doesn't look to be a nice one. But our town is an absolute joke. Anyone can put an apartment building up anywhere in town, thus, the hard fall of the downtown area. All those people who have the beautiful houses with the old trees and awesome property are screwed because many apartment complexes have come up and now, prostitutes roam the streets, literally! Dont' misunderstand, these apartment complexes aren't the kind with a nice workout facility and a beautiful pool. NOTHING CLOSE!! So far is hasn't happened to our neighborhood but there is on the main road real close to our house. I am a strong supporter of zoning regulations!!

The point of this story is...It caught on fire Sunday morning!! I was washing dishes that morning and kept hearing a beeping sound. I thought maybe someone down the road was backing up a truck. When we finally left for church, we walked out the back door and I could still hear the beeping and it was much louder. I heard a man screaming and looked in his direction just in time to see him running up and down the balconies of the building trying to wake everyone up and get them out of the complex. The fire trucks came out and it turned out to be a huge deal!!

I know I probably shouldn't blog about someone else's tragedy, but did this happen to any of you this weekend???

Happy Birthday Stacey!

Stacey is one of my cousins. There are nine of us grandkids and she number 6. She is a senior at University of Mobile. She is a hard worker and an incredibly good sister. I could never survive having to take care of her two younger brothers. She works hard to get through school and still helps out home to take care of the family. I hardly ever get to see her anymore. Everyone is getting older and lots of stuff going on, there's the distance and plus, everytime I go home to see everyone, there are so many people coming and going between all of the new husbands and wives of the grandkids and boyfriends and girlfriends. So it gets pretty crazy around the Thanksgiving table.


Stace, I hope you suceed at all you do, and I know you will. You are a good kid and have really been a huge help at home these past few years. You are a sweet girl, funny, beautiful, a good friend and a good cousin. Me, E, and Magpie wish you Happy Birthday and want you to know that we love you very much!!

Happy Belated Birthday to Blake!

So Blake is my sister. She was 25 years young on Saturday. We are very close in spirit, not so much in distance. I think we live about 13 hours away from each other and really only see each other one holiday during the year. Now that we are both married and sharing holidays with our in-laws, we don't see each other as much. But she ran off and married her first high school boyfriend and they got married 4 years ago this week. So Happy Anniversary too while we are congratulating people. But so far so good, even though he's a pain (just kidding) she hasn't killed him yet so it looks like it just might work out after all! Blake is finished her masters at the Univ. of Alabama this year and started working for the County Health Deptarment and moonlights as a dietician at the local hospital. She reminds me of my mom, they always have to be doing SOMETHING...they can just sit still and enjoy life!

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary???

Me and E have committed to getting up early to exercise this week and so when the alarm clock went off this morning at 5am, he rolled over and said "Happy Anniversary BB." I am sure I had a puzzled look on my face because he then asked "When's our anniversary again?"

To give you a clue into our life, we got married at the court house in california while E was out there doing training for several months. Honestly and truthfully, yours truly needed health insurance. And then 2 months later when he came home, we got married at the beach with all of our family and friends. So technically, we have 2 anniversaries. Poor guy though, he didn't get either of them. But I will say this, today is exactly the halfway point between the two dates though.

We got up, got dressed and as we were headed out the door, I couldn't find him anywhere. The back door was open so I walked out onto the patio where I saw the garage door was open. He came out and had a box in his hand. I followed him into the kitchen where he says "Happy Anniversary" again and present the box as a gift. He's so sweet. We typically don't do gifts on special occasions and we surprised me on a day that ... wasn't even our anniversary. Oh...sorry...you were probably waiting to find out what I got:

That's what I got!! Some of you readers might be thoroughly offended that my husband would get me a kitchen appliance for my anniversary, but he knows me well. I have been wanting one of these for a while now and he knew it. E, if you are reading this, YOU ARE THE BEST and I am lucky to have you!! Happy Anniversary to you too!

The Night of Many Surprises

I have two friends from my old days when I worked across campus. We were all working under the same regime and we were all miserable beyond words. Well, we have all since moved on to greener pastures but still hang out and have lunch together 3-4 times a week. There's actually alot more of us but only 3 of us eat lunch together. Andrea (Andrea Unplugged)and Taylor are my lunch bunch. They have been dating for 4 and a half years. Well, Taylor set up an elaborate night for Andrea and a few of her friends. There was a fancy dinner and wine tasting at the top of the library here on campus and all of the walls are windows look out onto the city from the top floor. It's really beautiful up there. But at the end of the night, they raffle off bottles of wine. The contest was "a little" rigged for one of the bottles. They bought a special bottle of sparkling wine for Taylor and tied Andrea's engagement ring to the bow on the bottle. So when he won, he untied the bow and announced to the whole room how much he loved her and then asked her to marry him. It was so great! She didn't have a clue. We had all been planning this for weeks. Here are al few pics from the other night:

This is Andrea and Taylor.

Me and Andrea realized that we have been good friends for over a year and have no pictures to prove it...until now!

Cherrye from My Bella Vita was in town from Italy for a visit by chance when the whole thing went down. She actually won one of the raffle prizes.

Here is Taylor popping the big question.

Since I am not drinking these days, I didn't want to be rude, so I let them fill may glasses with all the different wines they were trying. At the end of the night I couldn't move because I had 10 full glasses of wine in front of me. They came around with 2 extra glasses after this picture was taken. But the ice water was good, as was the dark chocolate on the table and the spinach dip at the food bar.