Mr. and Mrs.

Me and the Flower Girl. My Cousin Chloe.

Bridesmaids Robyn and Amanda

Love this window.

My mother and Me.

Getting Ready with Tina and Adam's Mom and Dawn.

Girls and Me on the Stairs.

My Mom with Flower Girl and Ring Bearer.

Adam and His Mom.

Us After Ceremony.

Candid Shot with our Mothers.

Love this man.

Cutting the Cake

After Cake Fight

1920's esqe Amanda

Smile.

Boys Getting Ready for the Dollar Dance.

Dancing with Amanda and Chloe.

Latern at Night.

I've been married three years come April, and it took me that long to finally get some professional pics from my wedding. It really is a long and sad story as to why it happened that way, but really it doesn't matter (but I will say even if a family member is going to take the pictures for you, draw up a contract no matter what because if you don't get those pictures you will be DEVASTATED).  I'm so happy to finally have these pictures now that I want to cry. And I wanted to be able to share some of my favorites. They are beautiful and they remind me how beautiful that day was. But I did kind of "steal" them from the owner, so they are unedited. Ha.

We got married on the grounds of a historic home in Texarkana, Arkansas, on April 4th, 2009 at 4 o'clock. (4-04 at 4, that was never planned by the way). The girls got ready upstairs in the antique rooms of the home, while I watched Adam pace outside my window with his boys. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast. It was all I could have asked for. I just remember being overwhelmed by all the love from our family and friends being in that one place. Love is a beautiful thing.

All of the professional pictures are here, and all the pictures from friends are here (which are fab too).

Song of the Day: We are Man and Wife by Michelle Featherstone

New Recipe Every Month in 2012: Sausage Balls

The other day I couldn't stop craving  Sausage Balls. I love Sausage Balls, and I hadn't had any Sausage Balls in years and years. I had never even heard of Sausage Balls until I moved to Alabama at age 11. Once we moved to Alabama, I joined the Youth Group at a local church, and after every Sunday Morning service, they would serve a huge pot luck breakfast. The most popular item was always the Sausage Balls, and we would all fight over those little heavenly things. So I thought for my first new recipe of 2012, I would whip up something that is kind of nostalgic for me.

They turned out perfectly and I swear nothing has ever smelled more heavenly than they did when they were cooking.  So here is the recipe. Depending on how big you make them, this can make about 30-40 balls (I keep giggling when I read that, I wish I was mature enough that they didn't sound dirty).

Ingredients:

1 lb Spicy Sausage (non-spicy if you don't enjoy a kick)
8 oz Cream Cheese (Softened)
4 oz Grated Cheddar Cheese
1 1/4 Cups Bisquick Mix

Directions:

1. Thoroughly Combine All Ingredients (I used the dough hook on my kitchen aid mixer)
2. Form 1-inch Balls and Place on Greased Cooking Sheet
3. Bake at 375 degree for 25-30 minutes or until Fully Browned

Song of the Day: Pumped up Kicks by Foster the People

Dave & Buster's

Monday morning, I woke up 30 minutes before our alarm was set to go off, and discovered it was raining. Not just a friendly little drizzle, nope, it was raining buckets! Buckets, I tell you. Typically, I love the rain, but this was not a day that I wanted it to rain. This was the day we planned on going to Disneyland, and I had been excited for weeks. Like little kid, could hardly sleep the night before, excited. And you know that old song, "It Never Rains in Southern California?" Well, apparently, that is a lie. It only rains in Southern California when you want to go to Disneyland.

I shoved Adam awake (hard too, I might have left a bruise) and exclaimed, "It's raining, I can't believe it's raining!" And maybe I sounded a little bit like I was going to cry, because sometimes disappointment makes me want to cry. But I didn't cry, not even when we decided not to go at all because it was going to rain all day, and a day at Disneyland looking and feeling like a drowned rat just isn't the way to go. Because a day at Disneyland is expensive, and if I'm shelling out the dough, I want pretty pictures and dry tennis shoes. Is that too much to ask?

I asked Adam if he was going to go ahead and go on into work since we weren't doing anything, and he whined, "But I already took the day off, and I don't want to go to work." And then he threw himself onto the bed as if he was pouting. I told him that was cool, but we better do something fun with our free day because otherwise I was going to lose my mind sitting around the house. So we spent the morning watching The Price is Right like a pair of Old Fogeys, and feeling nervous as we watched this poor girl on crutches try to spin that big old Price is Right wheel (we figured that was an accident waiting to happen). And for lunch we went to Dave & Busters to play some games in a near deserted arcade, which was awesome.

I kicked Adam's butt in skee ball, lost all my tickets gambling on a game of Deal or No Deal, and we had some fun playing two player pacman. All in all not too shabby of a day, and we plan to go to Disneyland after I wrap up my internship in February to celebrate. And this time it better not rain. OR ELSE.

Song of the Day: White Houses by Vanessa Carlton

An End of The Season

This year was my first full season as a true blue, live and die by the 4th quarter, football fan. And to celebrate that, Adam surprised me by bringing me home my very own Cheesehead, when he went home last year to Wisconsin over Thanksgiving. Although, I almost wish he had made it a Christmas present because I would have loved to have seen what a Cheesehead would look like wrapped under the Christmas tree! I never would have thought I would be so proud to wear a a slice of cheese on my head.

I can't say that last weekend was a very happy one for our little household, watching our beloved Packer's lose in the playoffs, after such a stellar season really hurt. I guess no matter how many superstitions Adam followed and talismans he wore, it just wasn't meant to be.

After the game, we hung our jerseys in the closet and our Cheeseheads were stored away until next season. We drowned our sorrows in a homemade spaghetti dinner, moped, and went to bed. After a good night's sleep, it didn't seem so bad. Although if you think we are going to watch this year's Superbowl you are dead wrong, we are not that UNBITTER. Boo, Giants. Maybe instead we will just watch last year's Superbowl (which we still have saved on the DVR, RECOGNIZE) and pretend that it is happening all over again.

But I am really sad that I can't have another Superbowl party this year.

Song of the Day: Dreams Go By By Harry Chapin

Tale as Old as Time...

Friday, Adam surprised me by taking some time off of work to take me to the 3D showing  of Beauty & The Beast, because he remembered that Beauty and the Beast is my all-favorite movie from childhood.  It was really sweet of him, and we had a blast. Even though I hadn't seen that movie for years and years, I could still recite almost every word and sing every song.

Seeing Beauty & The Beast again just totally reaffirmed my belief that living in an enchanted castle would be totally amazing. Oh, and I also think the Beast was more handsome as a Beast than as a man. Just saying. I even think Adam enjoyed it.

It really was a thoughtful and totally unexpected surprise. So I guess even though I have a husband who doesn't understand why I would ever want a hamster as a pet, or why I'm obsessed with all those reality shows, he is still a pretty great guy to have hanging around the house. So, yeah, I kinda love him.

Song of the Day: Beauty and the Beast by Celine Dion

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

On the last day of the Christmas holidays, we went up to Simi Valley and visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. I have a deep love for history, I always have, and one of the types of history that I'm obsessed with is Presidential history. So like a true Presidential history nerd, I love going to the Presidential libraries, and luckily so does my family.

The drive up to Simi Valley is enjoyable and pretty, and the library sits on a sprawling ranch in the hills. The library is really huge. My favorite exhibits were definitely the replica of Reagan's oval office, the Berlin wall piece, and all the stuff about Ron and Nancy's relationship. But the best part was seeing the inside (and outside) of the actual Air Force One plane used by six presidents (from Ford to George W.). The plane was amazing! I would kill to travel like that. Later, Adam and I were talking and decided if he (or me) became president we would just shrug off all presidential responsibilities and just use Air Force One to travel the world and vacation for the whole four year term, and then step down (because who would re-elect us after that). Sounds like a good career plan to me.  

Song of the Day: Calling all Angels by Train

Just A Few Shots & Notes from Hollywood

One of the things we did when my family was visiting over Christmas break was take the metro down to Hollywood because everyone always wants to go visit Hollywood when they come to Southern California. I really do enjoy going to Hollywood every few months because it definitely is an experience. Hollywood is great for people watching and general shenanigans, and I love me some shenanigans! But it can also be very crowded, and I get a little bit too claustrophobic in big crowds. So you know, you take the good, you take the bad, you take em both, and there you have that facts of liiiiiiiiiiiiiffffffeee. HAHA, sorry, I just had a total 80's kid moment.

While in Hollywood, we did possibly one of the most touristy things you can do (and definitely the most stalkerish) and went on a tour of the celebrity's homes. It was night time, so I didn't take a lot of pictures. But I was uber impressed by all the homes (especially Jennifer Anniston's and Tom Hank's) and uber surprised by how close their homes were to the streets, You could just drive right by them! If I was a really rich celebrity, I would live on a private island and commute by private jet. Yeah, I'd be THAT kind of celebrity.

No, we didn't actually see any celebrities, although it did look like Madonna was home, and we did get irrationally excited when we saw a man taking out the garbage at Tim Mcgraw's and Faith Hill's house.  On the way back from the tour, we got to see some of the sights of Hollywood, and we happened past High Voltage Tattoos also known as L.A. Ink (which is the picture I posted of the mural featuring Kat Von D), and I got kinda of excited because for some reason I have an unusual obsession over tattoo shop reality shows like L.A. Ink.

Once the tour was done, we went and stuffed ourselves silly on delicious butterscotch shakes, juicy burgers, and hot fries at the historic Mel's Drive-Inn.  Which was a perfect way to end the day, before taking a very sleepy & long metro ride home.

That is until we actually arrived home to discover that I had lost both the car keys and the house keys, which was an EPIC FAIL (To top it off, Adam had forget to take his keys earlier that day, so Adam had to go through our duplex neighbor's attic and drop down from our attic to unlock the house, he said he felt very James Bond like. He was proud of himself). And then Adam had the nerve to try to lecture me about responsibility, and what I should have done to not have lost my keys. Until I was like, "OH NO, don't go there mister because let us talk about about all the cell phones you have lost or washed. And let's not forget that I have been driving for ten years and have never ever lost my keys before." That pretty much settled the issue, although it does suck that I lost the keys because they are expensive to get made. But what can you do? Such is life.

I have tons of pictures of Hollywood trips on flickr if you want to see them here, here, or here. And I blogged about it here and here before! So just look at that, Hollywood overload.  

Song of the Day: Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows

Breakfast @ Park's Pantry

Saturday morning, just as we were waking up, I was struck by a moment of brilliance, and turned to Adam and said, "Hey, what do you think about going to get some breakfast?" It had been eons since we went out for breakfast, so Adam recognized my idea as simply genius, and we dragged our butts out of bed, and headed over to our favorite little breakfast place, Park's Pantry.  Park's Pantry is a small, dinerish restaurant that is historical here in Long Beach, and they serve up simple but really delicious food. Plus, their pancakes are better than IHOP, and believe me I love me some IHOP.

Breakfast was amazing, of course, but this whole day has been pretty lovely all around. We did some used book store shopping, took a long nap,  caught little bits of the NFL playoffs, played with some sweet neighborhood dogs, and watched The Art of Getting By (which I adored). I really do love days like this, where you don't do much of anything except for the things that you really want to do.

Song of the Day: Expiration Date by Pomplamoose

New Year's Eve, New Years Resolutions, & Taking Inventory

We did absolutely nothing on New Year's Eve. In fact, I think the exact play by play involved eating dinner, browsing the web, and playing video games.We were so socially exhausted and plain worn out from the fab Christmas holidays, that going out was so unappealing. We did surprisingly manage to stay up to watch the Ball Drop at midnight on the West Coast. And it may or may not have just been in my imagination, but I swear Mayor Bloomberg looked terrified of Lady Gaga, and Lady Gaga hit the button to drop the ball a second too early. 

I didn't realize that this New Years Eve was spent almost identical to the last New Year's Eve, until I was doing my 2011 recap. Oye Vay. We are not totally turning into old fogeys yet I don't think, and we've sure had some amazing New Year's Eves in the past. We've spent New Year's Eves watching fireworks on the beach, and New Year's Eve partying with friends in beautiful rooms at resort hotels. So I guess we will just have to make up for the last two years by making the next New Year's Eve uber dazzling.

The one thing I love about New Years is making goals and resolutions, I just can't help myself. I know that everyday is technically a day you can use to start over and try to better yourself, but there is just something that feels so fresh, new, and hopeful about a New Year.

Last year, I simply resolved to do 5 items off my life list, and I actually did it. I was able to learn to make sushi, take my mother on vacation, tour the winchester mystery house, see a broadway play on broadway, and pay off my credit cards. So you know, Yay Me!

This year I resolve to:

1. Try a New Recipe Every Month.

I really love cooking and baking and giving new things a whirl. So I just wanted to commit myself to trying new things. They can be simple recipes or complicated ones (but I refuse to to be intimidated by harder recipes).  And no matter what the results, I will not apologize for making mistakes and just enjoy the process.

2. Work on Expanding my Wardrobe and being more Fashionable.

I have never had much of a fashion sense, and have never had a lot of clothes. Because I will be job hunting and working in a professional atmosphere this year, I want to work on developing my own sense of style. So I'm talking the whole nine yards-more dresses, more shoes, and more jewelry.  And learning how to match them all!

3. Get My Scrapbook Up to Date. 

I've done a lot with the scrapbook this year, but I want to work on getting all the back pages complete so that it will be really simple to keep up with in the future.

4. Complete the Couch to 5k.  

I don't like to make weight loss goals, but I think fitness goals are good. And I've always wanted to be able to run a bit, and I've done well with the couch to 5k before. So this is as good of a plan as any!

5. Land a Job in the Counseling Field.

As excited as I am to graduate and as tired of school as I am, and believe me I'm really tired of school (the other day I was bribing myself like a dog to get my homework done), I am terrified. Terrified, I won't be able to get a job, and then my school loans will come due, and then we will go broke and then we will lose our house, and become homeless and end up on the streets. You think I'm kidding, but I'm totally not kidding.  These are the thoughts that go through my head on a daily basis.

6. Quit Cussing.

I wouldn't say I cuss a lot, but it has gotten somewhat worse since I started working with the teenagers last year at the rehab, they just rub off on you. I don't necessarily have an issue with people cussing, but I don't think it is the best way to communicate, or how I want to express myself. So I'm trying to put a stop to it, I've enlisted the help of people at work and Adam to call me out on it, and it is already getting better.

7. Live Pinterest!

I'm as obsessed with pinterest as the rest of the blogging world is (follow me here). But I rarely do the things that I pin, so I want to do at least 6 projects from pinterest this year. That can be anything from there that inspires me: recipes, crafts, or travel.

8. One Top Secret Resolution.

I have something very special in mind, but I can't share it because it is for people who read this blog, and I don't want to ruin the surprise! But I will share it once the mission is complete.

9.  Accept Compliments.

I have always had the bad habit of negating a compliment when someone says something nice to me. If someone tells me I look pretty, I might say I'm having a bad hair day, etc. But I want to learn to accept compliments about myself. Plus, it is annoying to other people when you don't accept a nice thing they say to you.

10. Stop Biting My Nails.

It is a bad habit. It is kind of gross. I want long, beautiful nails. Enough said.

Song of the Day: My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) by Regina Spektor

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

This year was a great year for us. We rang in 2011 at home on our couch eating breakfast casserole, and watching Toy Story 3 because I was nursing a bit of a cold.  We celebrated when Adam got a promotion, and we celebrated again when I landed my internship.  Our Green Bay Packer's won the Superbowl (mainly due to Adam's superstitions).  I learned to make sushi, successfully crossing another item off my life list. On Valentine's Day, I set up a scavenger's hunt for Adam, and on Easter we dyed Easter Eggs.

On April 4th, we celebrated our Cotton Anniversary by renting a room at the historic Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood. Swimming in the gorgeous pool and ordering in room service. In May, Adam turned 27, and I turned 25. We took a spring time trip to San Francisco, and in the summer, I took my mother to New York City. We had a blast when my nieces came to visit for a week, and after taking them to Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier, Knott's Berry Farm, and Disneyland, we were exhausted.

While walking Sarah one night, Adam found a stray puppy in the street, who we named Oliver, that went to live with our next door neighbor. And now we get to see him all the time. We went to the Long Beach Street Food Fest, attended a L.A. Dodger's game, got our presidential history nerd on, stalked the Ferris Bueller house, saw a live taping of Conan!, and ate deep fried oreos at the O.C. fair.  And I lost my lobster virginity at the San Pedro Lobster Fest.

We bought a new car, naming it Felix, bidding adieu to my first car, Homer. We decorated our house for Christmas by trimming the tree and building a gingerbread house. During the actual week of Christmas, my mother and stepfather came to town, and we went to Catalina Island, did a home of the stars tour, and went to the Reagan Presidential Library.

While the year was full of highs, we suffered the lowest of the lows when we lost our furbaby, Sarah Lee, on black Friday to bladder cancer. Everyday is better but we still miss her dearly, and I think we always will.  

I don't know what 2012 holds. Hopefully, it involves getting a paying job after my internship wraps and I get my master's degree in February.  And of course, I want to go on lots of new adventures with the hubs. So here is to health and happiness in the New Year everybody!

Song of the Day: Never Give Up by Melissa Ferrick