In The Week Before Christmas

It is Christmas night and the festivities are over, and I am coming to you from a balmy, snowy, 14 degree, Wausau, Wisconsin night. There are so many things I need to want to tell you guys about. The Packers Game! Pack Attack! Christmas in General! Heck, we are even headed to spend some time in Chicago tomorrow. But really I don't have time for all that! Dr. Who is about to start, and the Doctor is regenerating.

But I wanted to share a few, select pictures from this last week, without giving the big stuff away! First up, was my final pre-operation appointment before my surgery, I was given a car full of information to go over and learn, and they took viles and viles of my blood. Which is overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. I am excited though because Adam gave me a weight loss surgery friendly cook book, and I can't wait to learn a new way of cooking.

The day after my appointment, we hopped in the car and drove, I don't know 1200 miles to Wisconsin. Passing through six states, including Indiana and their wind farms & and the million tolls through Chicago. We took a little car selfie before departing. 

We have spent a lot of time with family this week. We went to a beautiful Christmas Eve service with his mom & co. And Adam's dad had these cute little beer bottles made into reindeer. I cooked up some broccoli and cheese casserole, which was my grandmother's recipe. It made me so happy to do this because I'm missing her so much this Christmas.  But I think she is with us all in spirit.

My niece said when she was driving past the graveyard today, where she was buried, and an Elvis Christmas song came on the radio. Grandma always played Elvis songs at Christmas.  I'm sure she was just saying hello. 

I hope you all had the happiest of Christmas with your families, or friends who have turned into family, or all alone if you so prefer.  

Goodbye Christmas. See you again in 364 days. 

Life Lately Via Instagram

Lots of pumpkin pie bagels with new york style cream cheese and orange juice for breakfast from Panera. Yum.

Even more time spent stuck in traffic on the Decatur City Bridge going to work, which always manages to make me a few minutes late, despite my best efforts.

I picked up this monopoly junior for my kiddos at work, so I could do a little play therapy with them, while enjoying a version of the best board game ever. Therapist Brittany is in the house!

Enjoying a little bit of success lately from my first foray into Fantasy Football, I'm on a four game winner's streak y'all. I woke up to this note after my first match, which ended in a loss.

I'm was so happy that I finally carved out a place to store my jewelry properly. It is just a little place in my closet, but having it out and displayed has got me wearing more of it.

Adam bought us matching Green Bay Packers' Socks to wear during games! He thinks they are good luck. And last week I forgot to wear them and we lost, to the bears, and Aaron Rodgers got hurt. So there's that.....Adam totally blames me!

And speaking of socks, I bought these cozy ones the other day and I am in love with how comfy and warm they are. And when I pair them with my sweatpants, it just encompasses a little bit of what I love about this time of year.

How adorable is my new fall scarecrow warmer from scentsy? I AM IN LOVE WITH HIM. And my favorite scent right now, Cider Mill.

 

My breathe has been taken away by all the gorgeous fall colors in the trees. They are just everywhere, and I'm wishing they would never go away! I'm constantly stopping to take pictures. 

See....BEAUTIFUL!

Like give me a break, I get to see this view every single day! I just love Alabama.

Just a little hint and preview of what the New Year holds for me....

Notes from The Week + Sunday Social

How was your week guys? I feel like mine flew by in one big blur. Monday, I did trivia night with Adam as Team BlueShell (we ended up 1 point from 3rd place!), and Thursday I played with my mother as Team Two Generations of Awesome (we sucked terribly).  This week in summer day treatment, I survived taking my kiddos to Chuck E. Cheese, did about a million and one pieces of paperwork, and survived some majorly bad attitudes from my classroom helpers. 

On Friday, I spent hours in the wave pool and lazy river at Point Mallard. I even managed to get a little bit of a sunburn and a case of serious lazy river burn on my knees. I guess that is the medical hazard of ultimate relaxation A.K.A nirvana achieved.  Saturday, Adam and I went to my favorite Huntsville restaurant Cheddars for some Southern Fried Catfish, red beans and rice, and broccoli & cheese casserole. I spent the evening painting KLIMT's The Kiss at Spirited Art (yes, painting is my new obsession, it may never stop).

This morning I woke up at 4 a.m. to send Adam on a business trip to California. He wants me to tell everyone that because he thinks it makes him sound uber important. I'm going to miss him terribly, but I think I might be too busy to notice, being that it is the last week of our work summer  treatment program, and I need to have all my work complete this week, so that I can head off to the beach the next week!! The beach is calling my name! Can't you hear it?

Now it's on to this week's Sunday Social:

1. What are 3 items you can’t live without on a daily basis (water, food, shelter, and clothes don’t count)? I can't live without my kindle for emergency reading situations, my scentsy scents because good smells relax me and make me happy,  and Pandora radio so I can listen to music while I'm working or doing anything else.

2. What is your all time favorite book? This is a hard question to answer because there is so many books I love, but I would have to say A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Don Miller. It is such an inspiring book, and sometimes I just reread my favorite quotes to get uplifted when I'm feeling down. 

3. What is something you’d like to accomplish before the end of 2013? 1. Save up half of the money needed for our down payment to buy a house next year, 2. Attend a Green Bay Packer's Game with my Husband, and 3. Add a pet to our family

4. If you could go back and relive any year of your life which year would it be? I think 2008 was one of my favorite and best years. I graduated from college, I got engaged to Adam, I moved in with Adam in California, and I got to go on a trip of a lifetime to Israel! I think that would be a fun year to do over.

5. What do you wish people knew about you without you having to tell them? That I am very shy and feel very socially awkward most days, although I hide it well. And that I need a lot of positive feedback and reinforcement just to know that I'm doing OK, and that one negative word sticks with me forever. I'm working on all these issues, it is a non-stop learning process.

Life Lately According to My iPhone

1. This is exactly what happens when you are a doofus, who manages to glance away from the road for two seconds, which causes you to run into a curb, popping not one but two tires! Just like one of my facebook friends said to me, "Here's to Over Achievement".

2. An IHOP just opened in our little town, and I am definitely a pancake fan. So I had to try the tiramsu pancakes, and they were delish. But really, really sweet. But so worth the tummy ache.

3. We picked up the Super Mario Brothers for our Wii U. So we have been having fun around the house playing it, even if I am totally awful at it. Mario never gets old! 

4. Last weekend we dog sat this pooch, that belongs to my mother. AKA her royal highness. AKA the dog that has usurped my position as the favorite daughter. 

5. I have been taking lots of painting classes at Spirited Art lately. Last week, I painted my own personal version of Edvard Munch's The Scream. I am really proud of how this turned out.

6. Friday at work, we took the kids to Rhodes Ferry Park in Decatur. I think this is the prettiest park in Decatur! It is right on the Tennessee River, framed by two bridges, and railroad tracks.

7. Last night, we went to the drive-in theater. I love the drive-in. You can bring whatever food you want, you can enjoy the movie from the car, and no one bugs you. We saw Monster's University and we liked it. Not as good as the first one, but worth the ticket price.

8. My mother and I have been going to Point Mallard Water Park every Friday, spending hours in the wave pool and floating on the lazy river. I swear all the stress from the work week melts away on that river. There would not be any problems in the world if everyone could spend an hour on the lazy river every day.

9. I have had this find-it game in my office since I started my job! It is a type of eye spy game. The hardest and almost near impossible item to find is the penny. It took me a whole year to find that penny, so I about freaked when I actually found it. Proud moment.

Stars Fell on Alabama

I've been spending this last week in my home state of Alabama and have been having a blast! I'm here for a very important reason that I will be announcing soon, but I am just not totally ready to share with the whole world yet.

So while I've been doing plenty of top secret important things,  I've also squeezed in time for fun as well. I finally got my hair done because I was tired of describing my hair color as, "dishwater blonde," or "dirty blonde." Heck, someone even had the nerve to call me a brunette the other day! The horrors! So now I'm more of a "sun kissed blonde." And I'm loving it.

I've been eating delicious Mexican food, pizza from Mellow Mushroom, and cupcakes from Gigi's (I die for Gigi's). And I've been spending time with my mother, old high school friends, and my baby sister...Just so you know, my "baby sister" is a lab named Carlee. And yes she is the most spoiled rotten dog on this Earth, she even wakes my mom up in the middle night for a midnight snack! But I guess she makes up for her rottenness by being pretty cute and pretty sweet most of the time.

I've sure been enjoying this slow Alabama pace of life, but I'm more than ready to get back to California on Thursday because I'm missing my husband something fierce. As I always do. Is it love or just stifling codependency? Just kidding, pretty sure it's just love.

Song of the Day: Stars Fell on Alabama by Jimmy Buffett

Life Lately According to my iPhone

Song of the Day: 1,000 Faces by Randy Montana

Life Recently According to my iPhone

 A Beautiful Sunset in Manhattan Beach.

 Cafe Marmalade.

 Strawberry, Banana, and Blueberry French Toast @ Cafe Marmalade.

 Marilyn Monroe's Grave site. (Note the Lipstick, People Kiss It).

 A quick Starbuck's Run.

 One of the Last Paper's I Will Ever Write. (3 weeks till I get my Masters!)

My tutoring client's dog Chico. Usually he is sweet, but he recently bit the heck out of my wrist when I was leaving.

A bad case of finger tendentious I got by strenuously opening my car door? So random.

This post was linked up over at A {Little} Dash of Ash.

Song of the Day: Specks by Matt Pond PA

Valentine's Day Via Instagram

We had the best Valentine's Day over here at the Manor, and I was completely spoiled. When I first woke up, I saw a chocolate rose in a Packer's glass (lol) and a really sweet card on the coffee table. Although I had to laugh because the front of the card said something about all the years of parenting we did together, and how our kids had moved on now and it was just the two of us again? Apparently, Adam had only skimmed the front of the card, and had read the inside, because that totally didn't apply. And maybe I should have been mad about that, but it was too funny to be mad about. I guess it really is the thought that counts?

I gave him a special Valentine's card that I had gotten off Etsy that was in the style of Dr. Who!! Which is a kind of geeky, British, Sci-fi series that Adam has gotten me addicted to this year. Of course, I wrote a really sweet message as well. And inside the card, I had hidden a Game Stop Gift Card.

After the exchange, Adam surprised me by making me pancakes. Which everyone knows is my favorite thing ever! Plus, he never cooks, and he has certainly never made pancakes. He even had bought me my favorite toppings: Strawberries, Chocolate Chips, and Macadamia Nuts.  I didn't even try to choose which ones to use, I just piled all those suckers on there together. They were delicious.

Later that day, I brought in some of the cutest cupcakes for the teenagers I work with and all around it was just a fantastic love day. I hope everyone felt the love from someone on Tuesday. Be it a husband, a child, a parent, lover, or friend!

Song of the Day: Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

Life Recently According to My Iphone

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed the food and the family. And now that thanksgiving is over it is time for the best season of all, Christmas! I just can't wait.

Here are just a few snaps from the previous week:

1. I took this shot just outside my office. I found it oddly beautiful.

2. Gorgeous tree inside an Orange County Mall!

3. Adam and I went to see The Muppets. It was fantastic. Worth the wait.

4. Eggnog Gelato from the store. There are just no words for this wonderful treat.

5. One of my favorite things about Christmas is the poinsettias. Love the bright red.

6. A chicken salad sandwich and an orange juice from my favorite little cafe, Vie de France. Love, Love, Love the packaging. They also have amazing sweets. 

Song of the Day: Christmas Wrappings by The Waitresses

Life Lately According to my Iphone

1. A beautiful sunset I saw while I was sitting outside Adam's office waiting to pick him up from work. It sure made those 30+ minutes (he was running late) stuck in the car a little more enjoyable.

2.  I used the money I had save that I was going to use for something for myself and bought Adam the new Modern Warfare Game. And then I lied, and acting really sneaky, and made him think we couldn't afford it for a long time, so I could surprise him with it :) It was just a really big deal to him and that just makes me uber happy.

3. The best and cheapest Chinese take-out in all of Long Beach. Maybe in all of the United States. I'm not even kidding. Although, I think I go there way too often because they always recognize me and know my order. And that feels less friendly to me and more like a judgement on my lifestyle choices. But it is not, I'm just slightly neurotic like that.

4. Adam in the kitchen! Cooking! In a Hug Hefner style robe! Be still my heart! I showed Adam how to make the really simple recipe I have for breakfast casserole, because he wants to wow his family back home in Wisconsin next week by cooking them breakfast.  But oh my goodness did he need guidance every step of the way, you would have thought it was rocket science. God bless his little non-cooking heart. May we never separate because then he may starve to death.

5. Sunday we had lunch at Stacked with our friend Luther. A place where you build your own burgers on little ipad tablets on the tables. It's one of our fave places. And these are a pictures of their coasters. Just cause.

6. Our goldie, Sarah, being a ham and horsing around.

7. This really blurry pic of Adam and me was taken to prove that we are one of those annoying couples who even dress alike. Yes, we did go out to eat in our matching Green Bay Packer's Jerseys. It is like we are the wonder twins! Everyone knows that after you have been married a long time you start to look a like. And being married two and a half years is a really long time! I mean we have been married 953 days, which is 850+ days longer than Kim Kardashian!

8. A pumpkin ice cream/snicker doodle cookie ice cream sandwich. Can you say amazeballs?

9. The house where Ferris Bueller lived in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off!! I could say so much more about this, but I'm pretty sure that deserves its own post. So stay tuned.

Song of the Day: Only Prettier by Miranda Lambert

Weekend in Instagrams

1. Friday night dinner at Famous Dave's Famous BBQ. I had little BBQ mini sandwiches with a side of possibly the best macaroni on the planet. Not pictured? Our appetizer of corn fritters dipped in honey. Yummy. I think honey just might make everything a little bit better. Raise your hand if you feel me.

2. I don't know why I love this picture of Princess Sarah's backside and tail so much. But I just do.

3. A picture of our BEAUTIFUL nieces at the pumpkin patch. No, I did not take this one, being that they live 1,500 miles way. But that doesn't stop it from being my one my favorite pics from this weekend.

4. I have now lived in Southern California for three and a half years, and I can't remember ever having seen any fog. But on Friday, the buildings downtown were disappearing into the fog! We were actually experiencing weather, instead of 365 days of the same old, same old.  

Song of the Day: November was White, December was Grey by Say Hi

Summer as Captured by Pictures on My Iphone

1. Empty baggage carousel at JFK Airport, New York.
2. Target Shopping for Beach Gear for my Nieces' Big Cali Trip.
3. Lobster Pizza from Red Lobster. Yum.
4. Ferris Wheel at the Pike.
5. Trolley Cut Out at the Pike.
6. RockStar! Energy Drink of Champions and Therapist's in Training.
7. Adam at the movie theatre seeing Captain America.
8. Beautiful house near the grassy knoll by the beach in Long Beach on one of Sarah's weekend walks. 

Song of the Day: Summer Girls by LFO (totally going old school today)

Hollywood & Highland Instagrams

When our nieces were here in June, we took them shopping at the Hollywood & Highland center in Hollywood. And one particular store, named Varga, had some of the coolest vintage style things. If I were rich and had more space, I would decorate my home with everything in their store. 

Song of the Day: Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore by Bon Jovi

Life Recently as Captured by My Iphone

1. Mirror Love Notes
2. Adam's Birthday Cake
3. Our Baby
4. Original Coca Cola Bottles
5. Root Beer Braised Pulled Pork Sandwiches
6. Birthday gift from Anna
7. Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
8. San Francisco

Happy Weekend Y'all!

Song of the Day: We Turn it Up by Oh Land