Where did the time go?

I can't believe how quickly life passes you by. I never intended to stop blogging. I just became...well, busy. I want to jump back on the horse again. Josh wants me to as well. He loves that I'm keeping a "journal" of our life. So, I thought now is better than ever to start back again. Now, being the eve of Hadley's first birthday.

Where did the time go...

Update on life

Busy is an understatement of what our life has been lately. Now that life has begun in full swing, it is crazy! I can't even describe it. My mind is constantly going a mile a minute and over all I'm just tired!

I wanted to do an update to what is going on in our lives since this blog is to document our life.

• Josh has to turn his thesis in in three weeks! I am so excited and so proud of him. We are both ready for this journey to be over. After he turns it in, he will have to defend it, and then he will graduate in May! This all means that he doesn't get home until 7:30-8:00 pm every night. He also works on it every Sunday. We eat dinner then collapse and do it all over the next day. We pray that a new degree will lead to a new job. Then he will start on his doctorate this fall! And so it begins again...
  
  
• Hadley is growing daily! I will post her 5 month update next week right after she turns 5 months! I cannot believe how fast time is flying. While I want her to stay this age, I'm so excited to be with her this summer and really watch her take everything in!
  
  
• I'm back at work and learning how to balance being a working mom. It's crazy! I'm so glad we prep as much as we can on the weekends but honestly it's still hard. I bring work home every night and try to go in on Saturday mornings. But I still don't feel caught up. I'm sure by the time summer rolls around I'll feel like I've got my act together again. Until then, I have a lot of work to do and just not enough time in the day to do it all.
  
  
• Our home is back on the market. We will not be taking it off until we sell it. We have no idea where we are going to move but we are ready.
  
  
• Oliver and Wembley are doing great! Wembley is still such a little sh*t and was locked in Hadley's room for three hours earlier this week...while she was sleeping. Of course I panic because I don't want him to hurt her, but luckily he is scared to death of her so would never jump in the crib. I finally went in her room to adjust her heating vent and he comes out meowing like crazy; almost yelling at me. Oh that cat! Oliver is still having a hard time adjusting to not being the main baby. We still give him so much attention and he's snuggled in our bed each night. But he gets upset when I hold Hadley and can't have him on my lap as well. But do worries, he totally tries to join us.
  
  
• Meal planning is still going very well! I need to get back on the ball and share on my Tasty Tuesdays. We were thrown a curve ball a few weeks ago. Josh has had a lot of stomach problems for over a year and I've been telling him that he needs to see the doctor because my instinct has always been a gluten problem. While he has not been tested yet, he has taken gluten out of his diet almost completely. Already he has done so much better. He hasn't been sick and feels better overall. This has changed how we eat. We've talked about how gluten free is a lifestyle change and, whether or not he has a gluten allergy or not, we know that it is a healthier choice.
  
  
• I haven't shared on here yet, and don't want to say a lot about it, but I'm still not recovered from my delivery with Hadley. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Friday so any prayers you could send my way would be very much appreciated. I'm hoping everything will heal on its own and surgery is not needed but whatever happens is for a reason.

When it rains it pours...literally

Sunday night was interesting to say the least. J bowls on Sunday and I was home cleaning. I was almost finished cleaning the master bath and flushed the toilet. It made some weird noise and the next thing I know a huge part of the bathroom was flooded (we don't have a big master bath).

The first towel I could grab was a white bath towel. Great. I seriously thought for about 5 seconds not using it but I was covered in water along with the floor. Several towels later the water was cleaned up. I washed the floor again and came downstairs to just chill for a bit.

As I walked into the kitchen I felt my legs slipping and sliding underneath me. I somehow was able to lean and grab the kitchen sink, spilling my glass of water on me and the already wet floor. I started flipping out and yelling at Wembley {he moves the water bowl all over the kitchen and the floor has at least one puddle a day}.

When I reached the rug, I realized the water was not from Wembley. Oh no. That would be too easy. It was from the ceiling. The light was leaking from the toilet over flowing.

I put two-and-two together and I start to have a melt down. I was by myself, had no idea what to do, and was scared the ceiling was going to cave it {it wasn't even close btw}.

Thankfully, my parents were in town (they live in the booneys now) and were able to make it over in about 15 minutes. The kitchen was clean by the time they got there but as soon as my dad took the ceiling light off, water went everywhere!! And to top it off, there was a terrible smell.

Not my night.

My parents helped me clean the rest of it up. My mom mopped up the bathroom floor for the third time, the kitchen floor for the second, and helped me light a lot of candles :)

Even though Sunday night really sucked, I'm thankful I didn't fall and hurt myself and that the damage wasn't  any worse. So now, we are purchasing two new toilets this weekend and having them professionally installed. Did I mention my dad installed the one that leaked after he put tile down earlier this summer? Poor dad!

So on Sunday night while it was raining outside it was pouring in my house.

Weekends in the {Not So} Newlyweds house

We definitely live up to the not so newlyweds on the weekends. Especially over the last few weekends.

Let's start from the beginning. I'm a mean wife. I know, I know. When J and I got married we both had some debt and I was (still am) teaching piano lessons to pay off my student loans. Since J wasn't to educated on credit cards, I made him get a second job to finish paying them off. There was a brand new pizza place in town and I told him to try it out. Almost three years later and he's still there. Cards are all paid off. I'm not forcing him to be there. He enjoys it. No lie! And hey, I can't complain about some extra cash! We had discussed a few months back about him quitting. He decided to quit in January. Next thing I know, he decides to only work Friday nights instead of both Friday night and Saturday night. Since I basically crash on Friday nights after work and piano, I was supportive about his decision (even asking if he was sure he wanted to continue working there altogether).

J and I decided that Saturday nights were our nights. We don't have a lot of quality time during the week due to meetings, class, piano lessons, etc., so Saturday was just for us. I was excited for this new adventure! We've only had a few of these in the past four years of our marriage.

Since the first weekend of January our Saturday nights have been spent at home! We watch movies, play games, catch up on things that need done around the house. We are boring.

This weekend we cleaned and organized...a lot. But it's so nice to get things done. We feel good about ourselves and the house when everything is picked up and ready for the week.

Is this blog post super exciting and something I needed to share? No. But it's nice to go back in a year or more and read how we spent our time. I know when we have kids our weekends will be anything but boring, so we shall enjoy it while we can!

Happy Monday!

Guest Post: You're in for it

I'm so excited that Emily is guest posting today! I loved her blog post and I hope you do too!

Hi all! I'm Emily and I usually blog over here. Brittany asked me to guest post for her, and I was happy to oblige. But before I get into the real juice of the post, I'll just share a tid bit about how Britt and I know each other.

Brittany and I are IRL (that stands for "in real life", Mom) friends and we have the internets to thank for that. Even though I'm sure we would have somehow become friends anyway (because she grew up right down the block from my Aunt and Uncle, my cousin and her sister went to HS together, her husband is from my 'hometown area' (he and I had a shared obsession with rap music in high school, it's a Southern Ohio thing) and she and I just so much darn alike). {I promise I didn't pay her to write this..but how sweet is she?! So thankful we are friends!}

I don't consider her just a blog friend that I get together with occasionally, she has become one of my best friends in real life - we've traveled to Chicago together, she's nursed me through break-ups, shared many great girls-night-outs and girls-night-ins, she posted an ad for me online and we even pet sit for each other. You get the picture, right? Oh, and her mom gives one helluva pep talk when you need it most. So thank you Britt for being one of my besties. :) I'm so glad we met.

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It's no lie that this past year has been a very challenging and trying time of my life, but it's also been the most rewarding and I have learned more in the past 15 months than I ever thought possible. I have gone from the wishy-washy of want I wanted out of life and being afraid to speak up for myself, waiting, waiting and more waiting.....then what I thought was my low point (it wasn't)........then the highest of highs (fairytale land)......and then I hit rock bottom. Like rock, rock bottom.

This was my problem. Spot on.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table at Brittany's parents house back in March while her mom was giving me the aforementioned pep talk and I just remember thinking about how unhappy I was and I was not happy with me. I was dealing with so much insecurity, I didn't have a lot of friends because I'd spent 4 years of college and 5 years after basing my life around what someone else (boyfriends) wanted and not what I wanted. I had no idea who I was or what I liked. I bet I cried myself to sleep every night for a solid two months and woke up crying too. (This wasn't just because of break-ups, it was because I was unhappy with me!)  So I decided to make some changes.

Last September I made a list of 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days. This was the second attempt. My first round was done here. When I made these lists, I included a lot of things that I wanted to do, not necessarily what anyone else wanted to do. As you can see (if you visited the link that is), I didn't get a lot of the things done on the first round.

So many of the things I didn't get done because I was relying my then boyfriend to do them with me, rather than just doing them because I wanted to. I was waiting. The same went for the first 6 months of my second round. I had hardly even touched it when I looked at it again in March. Again, because I had been in that stage of life where I was waiting on others to make decisions for me. More waiting.

I've spent my whole adult life waiting and worrying. Waiting on others. Instead of doing and enjoying life, I was waiting. On what? I was putting my life and happiness on hold and in someone else's hands.

When I moved in to my own apartment, I wanted bedroom furniture, but I didn't get it because I just figured I would get something when I got married. Same with dishes. I wanted a pink shower curtain, but I got gray because I was afraid my boyfriend wouldn't want to come over as much if it was pink. (Yes, I really thought that!) I wanted to go skiing, but I didn't want to go without the boyfriend. If I wanted to go to a fair or festival, or a tailgate or football game, or a concert or wedding or trip, I wouldn't go if the other half didn't want to go. Even when I started dating boy #2, I didn't even make my opinion known at all. Right from the beginning I was all about 'whatever you want' and 'you're the boss' and anything just to make sure he was happy. I was never doing anything I wanted to do and always waiting on someone else to figure out what I wanted. I was a people pleaser.

Bad advice and lack of good advice also played another roll in this people pleasing, self-esteem lowering behavior of mine. I was told not to get nice stuff for my house after college because I can just register for that when I got married. So I didn't. I was never told that it's ok to have an opinion and express it and not to be worried about if the other person agrees with that or not. I saw women of another family wait around on their husbands, so I did the same. I mean, they've been married 30-plus years, so doing whatever I can do to make my boyfriend happy must be the right way to do it, right? He makes decisions on where we go to eat, when I go home, if and when we go and leave a wedding. I was pretty much a little puppy lagging behind and just did whatever I could do to make the other half happy.

Looking back and seeing how I acted seriously makes me sick to my stomach. How I put my own wants and needs as the very last priority in every relationship I had - boys, friends, family. It didn't matter if it was a date with a boy, a brunch with the girls or a football game with my sister - I was just making sure everyone else was happy with me.

I knew something needed to change. I wasn't sure if it was a job change or a move, but it was definitely something. I started seeing a counselor. (Yes, I did and I'm not ashamed at all. She helped me through a lot of shit!) And I also was put on some anti-anxiety medicine. No shame there either. That stuff has worked wonders. And it also helped that I just started doing things that I wanted to do.

I went to NYC just for the heck of it. I'd always wanted to go, but because no one else I knew wanted to go, I assumed I'd never go. Dumb.

On Broadway in NYC.

I made my hair dark - my natural color because that's what I want it to look like. I'd always been afraid to do it before because I didn't want it to look bad for 'this upcoming event' or 'so and so's wedding." I also cut it off. I just did it. My mom hates it and tells me every chance she gets, but I love it. It's my hair. I see it in the mirror every day, not her.

My hair has looked the same for the last 10 years. Not anymore.

Four five years I avoided the high ropes course at 4-H camp when I was in high school because I was afraid. I did it this year when speaking at FFA camp. I also ziplined again in September and didn't even get nervous.

I went parasailing at Myrtle Beach. Again, always had been scared, I just went. I don't know why I was ever afraid. It was the most awesome thing.

I went to a Cubs game in Chicago BY MYSELF! No one ever wanted to go before, so I just went. Got on the El Train by myself and went. And made friends when I got there.
 
I've made friends with people I met on the internet and they are some of my best friends.

I've joined organizations and a bible study that I love.

I've decorated my house because it's my home. I could only live there another 3 months or for the next 10 years, but either way, it feels like home to me and not just a temporary dwelling.

I got a cat because I always wanted one.

My precious Bowie.

I've taken risks and done things that make me uncomfortable, but that is ok. That's good for me.

Last week's news of Matt Turner's passing (he was 32), in addition to the loss of my cousin last year who was the same age as me (26), and a series of other people that were young, I realize you never really know how much time you have. Enjoy the life you have. Do what you want! Quit waiting!

So tell me, what are you waiting for?

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That wasn't the normal guest blog post fluff. I'd been wanting to share it for a long time, and when Britt asked me to guest blog, it just felt like the right time to get it all out. :)

Thanks Brittany for being there for me during all of this and not thinking I'm crazy!

What I'm loving Wednesday: Create-A-Crock Edition

Instead of focusing on a lot of things I love {because there are a lot} I decide to focus on one specific thing I recently found!


{link}
Without a Crock Pot some days there may be no dinner.

If you read my Sunday Social post from this past Sunday, you may have noticed the answer to my last question...

"Share one of your favorite recipes and the story behind it.

This is actually really tough. Over the last few years, especially this year, I have really expanded my cooking. J and I also have been eating a lot cleaner. Before this, I rarely cooked and when I did it usually didn't taste too great. After using the Crock Pot, my meals started turning out much better. It's pretty difficult to mess up a CP meal (and trust me I could do it). So if there is a recipe that involves the CP, then it's probably one of my favorites because when I cooked in my CP, dinner actually tasted good! Thank you Crock Pot for boosting my cooking confidence!!"

Seriously. Cooking with the Crock Pot really did boost my cooking confidence. I cook so much more both with and without it. I've cooked more this summer than in my whole life...not a joke. 

Recently, we lost the lid to our Crock Pot. I wish I knew how but it literally disappeared. I've torn the kitchen apart and still cannot find it. {No worries, aluminum foil is acting as the lid for now.} So that made me thinking about getting a new one. The one we have is great for just me and J, however when I want to make a big pot of chili or have the family over for dinner it doesn't really hold much. I told J last week that for my birthday I really want a nice Crock Pot.

Yes, I am asking for an appliance for my birthday...and some Tory Burch shoes, so it evens out.

Anyways, when thinking about what kind of Crock Pot I wanted I knew I wanted one that had a timer that I could control, held a meal for 6-8 people, was safe, had a lock on top if possible, and one that was pretty would be especially nice.

As I was searching the Crock-Pot.com, I came across the coolest thing e.v.e.r.

You can design your own Crock Pot!! 

Don't all jump up and down at once.

I'm still trying to figure out if I can just get a solid color pink Crock Pot instead of one with pictures. Since it's just J and I think it would be silly to have pictures of just us...or Oliver and Wembley since they don't eat Crock Pot food. I'll let ya know what I figure out.

So if you're in the neighborhood for a new Crock Pot and you want to even design your own with a little family flare, then you definitely need to check out Create-A-Crock!

I was not asked or given any compensation to write this post. I seriously think it is the coolest thing ever and I love my Crock Pot!

If you really knew me...

A favorite Columbus blogger Shannon posted this on her blog the other day and I thought it was great! So, let's roll.

If you really new me...

You know I'm scared to death of sharks and planes. I know that if you were to show me a picture of a shark it would jump out off of the page. Because all pictures do that.

You would know that until you get to know me I'm very quiet. Some people have taken it as me being a bee-ach, true story. But I promise I'm not and once you get to know me you will not be able to keep me quiet. #Iwarnedyou

You know that I have an enormous love for animals. I will cry at the drop of a hat if I hear something sad about an animal. They can't speak! We don't know how they feel! It crushes me see how poorly some people treat them.

You know that Oliver is my dog child.

You would know that I was a bandie in high school. Yep, I said it and I loved it. However, I was in drumline so I consider that to be much cooler.

You know that while I was a bandie, I was also in every club known to man. I was basically an oxymoron of a typical high school student.

You know that I can only eat chocolate pudding with a plastic spoon. It tastes so much better that way. Don't dis it 'til you try it!

You know that Wednesday is my favorite week day because it's trash day. Who doesn't love getting rid of their trash!?!

You would know I love to color code. Everything.

You know that J and I often have dinner conversations that discuss topics of school law. I never said we were cool.

You know I hate scary anything. But I enjoy dressing up at Halloween and passing out candy {or a healthy snack} to the kiddos

Before I was married my initials spelled B.A.D. J's initials spell J.A.G. After we got married I made my maiden name my middle name, so now I'm B.D.G. 

You would know I big, pink puffy heart love shoes, coats, and purse. 

What girl doesn't?!

Friday Letters

Dear Sister,

Are you really going to college? I'm pretty sure that you're still in middle school...or maybe in 5th grade. I blinked and you just grew up. What am I going to do without here? I know we argue a lot but seriously, who is going to make ridiculous jokes with me or completely confuse mom and dad with millions of questions? I guess since I left you for college it's your time to leave me...what goes around comes around. But you're at a fun age now, so it's just not fair.

Let's hope mom doesn't make us take an embarrising picture at your college.

ps. I'm so excited for you and happy for you. "How are you going to phone your mother?"



Dear my precious Oliver,

We have a lot to learn over the next TBA years. Mommy and Daddy are not getting any younger which means sooner or later there will be a baby in the family {not today or this month soon}. When I say baby, I'm talking real life, crying, pooping, eating baby...oh wait, you do all that too. This pouting of yours that you do when I hold, talk to, or even look at Wembley can not be happening when there is a real life human baby. You will always be my first born sweet baby boy, but at the end of the day you are really a dog. We both need to work on this. I think you need to take some pointers from Sheepie.

Dear Wembley,

Even since we returned home from vacation you have loved me. You stopped biting me (for the most part) and you sit in my lap several times a day. Am I dying? Do I have cancer? I know animals have a sixth sense about these things, but you're really starting to scare me. Maybe we can go half way and you can sit on my lap and bite me at the same time? Or maybe I should just a full body scan so I don't freak myself out. #hypochondria

Dear Bridier Baubles,

Thank you for making beautiful jewelry. I'm so excited to wear my new bling in Chicago!!

Dear weekend,

I'm so excited that you're here. Emily and I have been waiting for you and are ready to hit the road to Chicago in a few short days! Please let us have a fun and safe trip. Also, if you could not flood Chicago this time {unlike the last time I was there, my first trip} I would greatly appreciate it!

411 on the blog

Linking up with Becky for a little blogger 411 today!

How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I started blogging about three years ago. I had this blog, which I rarely touched, then I had one that was just for me. It's a private blog that I rarely go on anymore because I have this one now that I love!



Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
I went to a small private college in northern Ohio. I studied Middle Childhood Education and have my minor in music.



Where have you traveled?
I've traveled a lot on the east coast. I haven't been west past Illinois and have only been out of the country once--to Canada. J and I have been talking about taking a cruise for sometime now, which will get me out of the country again! I want to travel everywhere but I have a horrific fear of flying! Seriously. Just thinking about the process of getting on the plane makes me tear up!



If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
The first thing I would do is pay off my student loans. Period. If I just won enough money for that alone I would be a happy camper. Then I would pay off the house and J's car. I would definitely help out our families and donate a big chunk to the animal shelter and my school.



What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
1) White socks with black shoes
2) When someone takes the laundry out of the dryer and puts it right into the basket without    folding it--who does that?! ;o)

{images}

What is your favorite movie?
I posted this a while back on Social Sunday.



What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
I drink water about 99% of the day. If I'm not drinking water then it's probably coffee (decaf) or flavored water. I rarely drink pop. I love tea but I don't like to make it.



What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
I have a lot of me time, especially in the summer since I'm off. I enjoy me time for the most part but sometimes I just get bored! In the summer I spend a lot of time cleaning things out. During the school year when I have me time I usually catch up on DVR. It will be completely weird this school year not being in grad school. I'll have a lot more fun me time!


If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
Right now I'd probably pick IKEA. I would love new bedroom furniture or I could redo my kitchen cabinets!

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Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
Oh my gosh--I have way too many. The shortest story would probably be the time (before I started driving but pretty close to it) when I had just learned that the counties were located at the bottom of the license plate. So I was out with my mom one day getting ready to go through the car wash when asked my mom where Dealer county was located. It's a logical question!! I still hear about it today.



What day would you love to relive again?
My wedding day. Can I make some changes too?? hehe

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What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
I worked at Dairy Queen for 3 years in high school. I left there and worked at Limited Too. Huge mistake! I hated it!! In college I gave campus tours and worked in my campus center. I also taught piano and percussion lessons. I was pretty busy.



Show us a picture from high school or college.

high school with three of my besties!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
Well, if I had enough courage to actually get on the plane, I would go to Spain to visit our exchange student Angela. I miss her so much this summer (she had been here the past 2 summers). I also would want to go to Italy, Greece, and Poland.



Show us the most current picture of you or you and your family.

Here is a picture of my sis and I at her graduation at the end of May. I have a few pictures from vacation but they still need uploaded and edited!

Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
Good question--I hope that J is finishing up his doctorate, we have a child (maybe a second one on the way?), I'm teaching at my same school, we are in a different house, my sister is home from college (crazy!!), and we are enjoying life!

Blog Star: Hi! I'm {Not So} Newlyweds

Since this blog is rather new, I decided to participate in Blog Star hosted by Mrs. Monologues. I have just recently started to read Mrs. Monologues blog and she is a riot! Blog Star is all about "meeting" new people and showing who you are. If you want to participate, don't forget to link up here!

Hi, I'm Brittany and that (above) is my husband J. 

We are quite the pair.

Our blog was created to share our life events with family and friends, but over time has evolved into so much more!
Living in Columbus, Ohio,  J and I pay homage to the stereotype and are fanatics for anything Ohio State Buckeyes. When not decked out in scarlet and grey (and sometimes when we are!), you can find me in my fourth year of teaching fourth grade (going to 5th next year) and J working on a for a certain huge university in Columbus. We currently do not have any real children but are madly in love with our two furbabies, Oliver (mini goldendoodle) and Wembley (orange cat, who thinks he is a dog).

{our little lovies}

Some quick info bytes about us: I can't cook unless it's in a Crock-Pot. In my previous life, I was a party planner and interior designer. I always strive to become a better teacher. I love to learn. I am addicted to Pinterest and the blogosphere.

J is amazed by the amount of great-tasting dishes a crock-pot can produce even though he is an amazing cook! He hates large parties and would be happy with bare walls as long as there was a computer and an internet connection (and his lovely wife). J is addicted to technology, from calculators to supercomputers, and I'm thankful to have figured out how to blog.

 

Follow us in our adventures as {Not So} Newlyweds!

Melanoma May

It seems as though everywhere you look and everything you read mentions the word cancer. It's a word you can't hide from. I wouldn't doubt that every person on this planet knows someone with or who has had cancer. It's a terrible thing and what makes it worse is that there is no cure. Not for any cancer.

I receive several phone calls and emails a year asking me for my donation to many different cancer foundations. It's hard to give to them all and it's hard to say no. For my family, we have decided to give our donations to research for melanoma.

Melanoma is no joke. Melanoma is skin cancer.

Like many people, I once thought that skin cancer is for those who are always in the sun and never wear sunscreen. Melanoma is only something you get when you're older and you've been tanning your whole life. Melanoma is not a big deal.

Boy, was I wrong.

On December 26, 2010 my Aunt Aleisha passed away of melanoma. Aleisha was a 42-year-old mother of two boys Zack (now age 3) and Will (now age 5). Aleisha had very fair skin but had never once been in a tanning bed. She always wore heavy sunblock, a hat, and covered up very well when she was outside. Nothing could have stopped her skin cancer.

I feel extremely thankful to have a blog where I can educate others about the risks of melanoma. It's a very scary thing and nothing to play around with. However, not all stories end badly like my aunts. You choose your destiny.

It's so important to see your dermatologist yearly. That is the best way to catch moles that may look different and could be cancerous. It's also important to do self checks. Just like breast exams, you want to examine your own body. Watch your moles. Take note if they change in size, color, or shape. If you see anything that looks different, call your dermatologist right away. Better to be safe than sorry! Be sure to always wear sunscreen!! While that can't prevent melanoma it definitely can help. Finally, pale is the new tan. Our society is too hung up on having that dark, tan, sun-kissed look. If you spray tan, then that is great, but stay away from the tanning beds!!

There are so many wonderful people out there who have shared their journey with the world. Here are a list of great melanoma blogs that I follow and that you should too!

Adventures of Melanoma

Chelsea is a 25-year-old who was diagnosed with melanoma a few years ago.

Hotel Melanoma

Rich was diagnosed with stage III melanoma in 2003.

Follow his journey!

Black is the new pink

Support skin cancer and melanoma awareness

Melanoma Awareness

All things melanoma

My Journey with Melanoma

Nick, a twenty-eight year old, fighting stage IV melanoma

Jillian's Journey

I just started reading this blog but it's amazing.

Jillian is a young mom diagnosed in 2010. This blog is written by her mother.

These are only a few amazing blogs. I will be sharing more throughout the month of May.

Remember...

PROTECT YOURSELF

Menu Monday

Better late than never!

My meals

Cheese Tortellini 

I swear I took a picture of this meal, but I can't find it.

The version I made was cheese tortellini, spinach, mushroom, and pesto.

{here is the recipe for this picture}

We actually had this meal for two nights because it made SO much!

Turkey Brat

These were delicious turkey brats. They taste better than regular brats in my opinion.

We also had broccoli cheddar rice and a spinach salad.

Delish!

J's Meals

Pancakes

J made some delicious pancakes and bacon of course!

My favorite syrup is sugar free. I refuse to have regular syrup. I just can't handle it.

Not only is it WAY less calories, it's delicious.

Try it!

Friday J and I went out to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise...yum!

Then Saturday we went to Bravo for my graduation dinner.

That was the most we had gone out in a long time!

Don't forget to share your Menu Monday over at In No Simple Language

Dear May,

I've been waiting for you for quite some time now. I feel like you just creep along and take your grand ol' time, but once you finally get here it's an explosion of happiness. I may even do a happy dance! There are also so many great things we have to experience this month and I have been anxiously waiting your arrival. So what is this month going to be all about? Parties!!

Our last day of state testing is Monday, May 1st (today). Great way to start the month! May 5th is Cinco de Mayo but in this family it's known as my special day! I decided not to attend graduation (for several reasons) which I'm okay with. But since it's my spec ail day it means I get to choose a movie we go see and where we go to eat. I'm hoping to get a cup of coffee (*hint* Starbucks*hint) out of it too. Hey, gotta milk it when I can, right?! haha

May also will include my sister's senior prom, graduation, and 18th birthday. Basically the last two weeks are hers. I can't believe she's graduating from high school. I swears she's still in elementary school!

Besides my sisters birthday, my amazing husband is turning 29 and we will also be celebrating my grandma and aunt's birthday. I've promised my mom I would never have a child with a May birthday because we have so many! I'm sure with saying that, all of our future children will be born in May. I also can't forget about Mother's Day!

In school May is our last full month. Hallelujah! It will be filled with learning (of course), a few extra recesses here and there, end of the year parties, field day, movie day, and lots of planning for next year! I love planning for the beginning of the school year, it's just getting to the end that's the hard part.

So many wonderful things to look forward to this month. I'm so thankful you're finally here.

Love,
B

ps. What are you looking forward to this May?

Where has April gone?

I can't believe it's April 24th already. Where has the time gone?

I wish I could say we've been up to exciting adventures, but not so much. So to stay a little interesting, I decided to a little photo dump of our month so far.

J and I love to go to the Half Price Book Store. Who wouldn't?! As soon as we step in the door, we both go to our favorite places-- I go to Ohio History and J to European History. I'm pretty sure we are one of the dorkiest couples in the store. I guess that's what happens when I teach about Ohio and J just loves European history (snore).

My great-aunt passed away the day before Easter. Unfortunately, they live three hours away in Kentucky, so we don't get to see them too often. I was never very close to my great-aunt, but have spent hours on the phone with my great-uncle, Gordon. He loves history and genealogy and he could talk and talk about both all day long. They are both the kindest people and married almost 60 years. There was never one without the other. They were such amazing role models for married couples! I went down to Kentucky for the funeral with my dad and sister. It was a beautiful day and I know Aunt Eloise is at peace.

What would a blog post be without sharing by beautiful babies...

Top left: Oliver fell asleep and I tried to snap a pic, but he caught me!

Bottom left: I love him SO much!

Left: Buddy fell asleep on the way home from the in-laws. So sleepy!

And the Beaver... {I call him the Beav, or Beaver, because he reminds me of the kid on Leave it to Beaver. Not quite with the program all the time, really smart, and always getting into trouble!}

Oh, the life of a cat!

I hope to jump back into the blogging world now that I'm finally done with grad school (more on that later). I've been terrible about reading, commenting, and obviously blogging. Excited to finally have more time for the real important things in life!

Weekend Trip to Cinci

About a month ago, J and I purchased a Groupon (which is amazing) for a hotel in Cincinnati. We decided to make a two day trip out of it and enjoy some time on the town.

We left on Thursday afternoon and made our way down to the Cincinnati Premium Outlet Malls. I was super excited to visit the outlet malls because they had an Ann Taylor Loft and Michael Kors! Unfortunately I disappointed. To me an outlet mall is a mall with discounts. I'm pretty sure that I could have purchased anything from the ATL store for the same price up here in Columbus. I might have been able to get it cheaper with a coupon! The Michael Kors store was the same way, although I didn't expect it to be much different from Macy's prices. It was fun to gush over all the pretty bags! And because I was so excited and wanted to find some pretty outfits, I found nothing. But J got some jeans that actually touch his shoes! So hard to find jeans for someone who is 6'4''.

link

link

After we got in to Cincinnati, we checked in at our hotel and decided on a place for dinner. We found this amazing, old, hole-in-the-wall(ish) restaurant that has been in downtown Cincinnati since 1861. Let's just say that I fell in love with Arnold's Bar and Grill. J and I love old, nostalgic-feeling places. We really can't get enough. If there is a place where mainly people ages 60-80 hang out, I'm sure it's right up our ally. And if it's historical then it is an bonus. Arnold's was all of that plus more. When we walked in I just kept thinking of all the people that had been there before us. Someone could have sat at the bar discussing the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Chills I tell ya!! Plus to top off the historic part, there was a live combo (band) playing ragtime music. I seriously could of stayed there all night. I didn't want to leave. I tried to get pictures, but it wasn't very light in the room and my camera flash was only capturing parts of what I was trying to see. So here are some pictures from Arnold's facebook page.

Again, taken from their FB page. The room these people are sitting in was where we ate. There was a roof overhead, but it is taken off during the summer months. You feel like you're outside the whole time.

same room as above

If you're ever in Cincinnati I highly suggest you go to this restaurant. You will have a wonderful time and eat delicious food! You can find more photos on their website.

On Friday, we headed home but not before our first shopping trip to...

This store is amazing!! We purchased a few times including two metal bars with storage hangers for my classroom, small storage containers, drawer organizers, and kid cat-proof cabinet door locks. We can not wait to get back.

J and I both enjoyed our trip to Cincinnati and can't wait to go this summer to see a Reds game!!

MIA...ya think?!

So my last post was 21 days ago. That's like a month. A LOT has been going on and I can't believe it's the END of March. Where did the time go??

I turn in my grad school portfolio this Tuesday and I will be DONE with my internship. After that I only have a few papers to write and I can officially say goodbye to grad school.

J got a new car!! We went a bit over our budget and purchased a 2009 Honda Accord with only 17,000 miles on it! Wahoo!! He is so excited! We actually bought it over a week ago, but we just picked it up today. They had to fix some scratches and detail it, but it looks fabulous and he was beaming! :)

 

{very similar car}

I've discovered a new recipe for my buttercream icing. It's a mix of icings I've used in the past. It's pretty freakin amazing, if you ask anyone me. This is one that I won't be sharing because my dream is to have my own cupcake store one day and if I do, then my secret will already be out there. We can't have that happening now, can we?

Even though March has gone extremely fast, we haven't done much except for school work. I'm finally on spring break and we have a few things planned for the week, which will make great blogging material.

Happy Friday!!

Hello March 1st. Where did the time go? January and February just flew by! I guess that's a good thing...and these temperatures are crazy! 40s, 50s, and 60s in February? That is unheard of in Ohio, especially being this consecutive.

Will March continue this amazing pattern?? I'm all for it!

But what will March bring to our little family?

My school is hosting it's first ever sock hop. I'm super excited. Now I just need to find something to wear!

J has a lot of elections at work and will spend hours counting votes. Talk about some fun right there.

Spring break. Spring break. Spring break.

Several meetings and even more classes

Family birthdays (my cousin, J's grandparents, J's mom)

Setting our clocks forward on March 11th. Can I get a wahoo?!

My grad school portfolio is due at the end of March, scary but true! I will feel such a relief when I turn it in and say goodbye for ever!

A sigh of relief that we made it through the month!

Even though March is a long month, I'm so excited that it is here!

Our life today

Sorry it has been a while since we've posted. There really has not been anything going on that is post worthy. We are quite boring.

Since this is a documentation of our life then I thought that I'd spend a little time sharing why we are so boring. Then maybe in 10 years when we look back on our blog we can think, "what were we thinking? I'd take that boring life over the craziness we have today". Hey, ya never know!

J and I are both in grad school right now. I'll be done in May and he has quite some time left. I have no desire to continue on to get my doctorate. I don't plan at teaching at the college level, so there is no reason. J, on the other hand, is on that path. We know for sure he will be in school for five more years. I am very excited for him and am proud of him for finally choosing something that he loves.

What does this mean? Well, it means we spend a lot of time on homework. The OSU Law Library is a magnificent place! It is dead silent. We have been spending our Saturdays there cranking out the work. When I'm at home I'm very easily sidetracked. At the library there is nothing but boring books, which J needs, all around me. I never thought I'd say I love the law school library, but I do!

Besides doing homework, our weekends consist of cleaning the house, catching up on sleep, and we try to do something fun like go to dinner on Saturday night. We know our life isn't exciting right now and we are okay with that. We both have a goal set for the future and are very driven to get it accomplished. Once May rolls around I will be done with school, which will open a whole other chapter of my life. This will be the first time in four years I haven't planned a wedding or had some sort of grad school work to do. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with myself yet!

So while I see family and friends around me who have so many fun and exciting things going on in their lives, I can't help but think that will be us one day. Until then, we'll enjoy our quiet study time because there will be a time where we will miss it!