Thankful for my family

Today I am thankful for my family (our little boy and my husband).  I am thankful everyday but just wanted to post about it today :).  Our little guy is so adorable.  I can't get enough of him.  I have 12 weeks off work but I'm already thinking about how difficult it will be to transition back.  He makes the funniest faces.  He's even cute when he's being fussy and crying.  Gosh I love being a mother to this little guy.  I also love being a wife to my husband (who has been very helpful, by the way).  Hubby is extremely helpful during the weekends as he doesn't work most weekends.  During the weekdays I try to let him get some sleep so that he can function at work.  I feel very blessed to have my big guy and my little guy. 

Hubby is so thoughtful.  I was thinking today about some of the sweet things he does.  He'll sometimes (not all the time, lol) get me flowers or a card just because.  I really appreciate this but what I like most is when he gets me other thoughtful "just because" gifts.  He'll get me a comfy sweater or reaaaallllly nice, soft socks or workout pants.  I like that he thinks about me even when he's out trying to get something for himself.  He's always been this way, even before we were married.  

I know that our lives will no longer be the same but we are excited about all that is to come.  I pray that God will continue to bless our family as we grow.

Mrs. K

A glimpse of how I would look pregnant

Hubby and I went to a wedding this past weekend in New Orleans.  It was a lot of fun: laughing, dancing and good eating.  The bride and groom looked dapper.  Hubby was looking mighty scrumptious too :). 

I liked the dress I wore but it didn't translate well in the pictures.  In almost every picture I looked pregnant and I'm not.  Umm...at least, I think I'm not.  Just kidding.  I know I'm not pregnant.

What do you think, about 4-5 months?  Kidding.  I'll compare this picture some day to an actual preggo photo. LOL

 

Well, it may have been the dress or the fact that I ate a crap ton of food.  Maybe both.  Regardless, at least I have an idea of how I would look if I were pregnant.

This is a little better :)

I love weddings :)

Mrs. K

Great long weekend

Although it wasn't a holiday hubby and I had a 3 day weekend.  We decided to take off Friday and head to the beach.  Hubby knows someone who owns a beach house in Sandestin, FL and we stayed there the whole weekend.  It was so fun and relaxing and so very needed.  We He drove down Thursday night (while I slept).   I tried to stay awake but when sleep calls, it's over for me. 

As I was saying, we had a great time.  We had a lot of alone time (which we always have since we don't have children as yet) but we also spent a few hours hanging out with his family which was also great.  We took tons of pictures but I have to get ready for work tomorrow so here's just one...

Want to hear something funny: hubby brought dressie shoes but they were both for the right foot so he ended up wearing sneakers. Too funny! He was mad but I thought it was hilarious.  Sounds like something I would do.

 Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend too!

Mrs. K

Today was a great day

Some of you may remember from previous posts that Thursdays are usually my toughest days of the week.  But, today was an exception. 

My hubby made some regular waffles last night (for dessert I guess, at my special request) and some were left over.  I woke up this morning and ate the left over waffles and they were so good.  It was a great and unusual way for me to start my day.  My day usually starts with oatmeal (which I like, but nothing beats waffles with whipped cream).

It was an unusually relaxed day at work and I managed to get out early.  I was shocked because this never happens on Thursdays.  So I was able to run a few errands...

I sped drove to LabCorp to do a pre-employment urine drug screen and got there just minutes before it closed.  I'll be moving to NC in a few months and this is a requirement for my job there.  Anyway, I forgot to hold my pee so when I got there and the attendant asked if I needed to use the bathroom I started loading up on water.  She threatened that if I didn't have to use the bathroom she would have to rip up the paperwork and I would have to request that my (future) job send another set of paperwork.  I think she was a little mad because I barely made it on time and she was ready to go home (which I totally understand).  Anyway, 2 other people came in the lab--to my relief, because this gave me time to try to pee).  I kept loading up on water as I thought about how much time it would take for it to reach my bladder.  I kept walking around and jumping hoping the pee would move down (I knew that didn't work but I did it anyway).  Finally, when it was my turn I was nervous because I still didn't have the urge to go but to my surprise I could have filled like 10 cups.  Kidding.  Ok, I know you probably didn't want to know about my urine adventures but...it was a part of my day.  I was just glad to be able to get something accomplished.  Usually, by the time I get out of work, most businesses are closed so I usually can't get much done.

Before the above adventure, on my way to the lab, I called my husband.  Well, I thought it was my husband and left a message saying I was going to the lab to get my drug test done and that I would be home soon.  After I left the message, I hung up and realized that I had left that message on my friend's voice mail and not my husband's.  I called her back and left a message explaining that I was not a drug addict, it was for a pre-employment screen.  So, she calls me back a few hours later cracking up.  She said that at least it wasn't some kind of "sex talk" message that I left on her phone.  We both cracked up then came up with ideas of what those possible messages could have been.  It was hilarious.  I guess I need to be more careful about who I'm calling and leaving messages for. Ha!

Anyway, I finally got home and did a P90X  video. Hubby partially joined me but really wasn't into it since he did an hour of cardio earlier in the day.  He quit midway and got started on dinner.   We ate then hung out with the doggies a bit.  I sang or tried to sing to my husband (standing in our living room acting as if I'm on stage and using a decorative ornament as my microphone).  I'm bad with lyrics to songs so while the music was playing I was singing random words to songs that I should know the words to (since they are some of my favorite songs).  My husband watched and smiled in disbelief.

Today was a great day :)

Mrs. K

I'm back and hopefully for good w/ lots of pix to overcompensate

Hey there! Sorry I've been gone for so long.  Due to a combination of laziness and some I'm busy with life-ness I've been neglecting my blog.  I have been reading the blogs that I follow regularly and sometimes I would leave a comment or two.  Other times I'll start writing a comment then realize that I'm not logged in then delete it instead of logging in.

You may remember that we are moving in a few months--the anticipated time is late June.  We've been house hunting like mad (from 100s of miles away) and as you can imagine it's been a little challenging.  I do have to thank God for Trulia, Craigslist and the internet in general because it could be worse.  I don't know how people did long distance house shopping pre-internet when they worked a full time job.  I also really really appreciate a couple we know (living in our future home city) for visiting the houses and even videotaping them so we can get an idea of what they are like.  Isn't that awesome?

Anyway, we are excited about the move for many reasons but also there's a little sadness because I've developed some meaningful relationships here over the past 3 years.  At least we are moving to a place with lots of activities where people wouldn't mind visiting (well, that's what our friends and family say). lol

So what's happened over the past few weeks since I've been gone....hmmmm....

I went to a wedding.  It was my first IR wedding since ours.  It was so beautiful and it was great to see the families come together.  I love weddings in general.  You know how some old folks like to visit funerals, well I like to visit weddings.  It doesn't matter who's wedding it is, I always have a good time.  The ceremonies are usually my favorite.  Every time I've attended a wedding since we've been married I get warm and fuzzy inside thinking about the similar vows my husband and I took a few years ago.

Beautiful couple at their wedding

This is the only pic of myself in my wedding outfit (which you can't see)

I visited with an old friend.  She attends school in Wisconsin and she was visiting with another friend in Birmingham, AL.  I drove up to meet with them a few weekends ago and we had a great time.  I don't have too many girlfriends--well friends in general (by choice--lol) but it was great being in the company of like minded God-fearing women.  Actually we are pretty different but it makes our conversations that much more interesting.

In Birmingham, AL with friends at an urban park

More pix of the park--it's self sufficient apparently (which I think is pretty neat).  Very environmentally conscious park in the middle of a rough part of town.  It's a great way to get people to go out and enjoy the community.

More female bonding/supporting. Part of the UN is represented here from l to r: Jamaica, Haiti, Ghana

I've realized that I'm horrible with keeping in touch with people.  Well, I knew this from the get-go but it's pretty bad.  I have to do better.  Thank God that the people who matters the most realize that this is one of my character flaws and are willing to work with me. Right friends and fam? ::Wink, wink::  Lol.

I'm still working out regularly but not as much as I was when I was doing Insanity.  I'm doing P90X but only about 4 times per week on average.  I've also started back running too.  I was proud to get out there and run 3 miles on day 1 (this is after stopping in late fall--I know it's been a while but I hate cold weather).  Hubby is still a rock star with his whole diet and exercise routine.  I'm so proud of him!

I just wanted to show off hubby's hard work and his new beard.  He's never sported a beard before but I'm  surprisingly digging it.  BTW--the matching clothing is totally coincidental. 

The dogs are doing well...still nuts but I love them.  Eliza is so sweet to humans but she's a pain in the booty to her big brother, Gideon.  Gideon's still a punk and allow Eliza to take advantage of him.  We took them to the park yesterday and it was so much fun playing hide-and-seek with them. 

I have no words to describe these 2 lunatics right now.

I think that's about it for now.  I'll try to write more soon.  Thanks for hanging in there.  Oh yeah, today is my 29th birthday.  Hubby is working at the hospital tonight but he made me a yummy birthday breakfast this morning.  There was some left over Belgian waffles which I ate with syrup, nutella and whipped cream for dessert (of course it also satisfied my always raging sweet tooth). Ha!

Talk to you soon :)

Mrs. K

Last weekend I danced with/for my husband...

...this weekend I'm dancing around the house alone.  Why? My hubby has been in Florida since Wednesday for leisure.  Well..not really leisure.  He is studying for his Boards, which I think is in February.  His family has a house out in the woods (in the middle of nowhere).  He's been staying there to study--isolated from the world without any cellphone signal.

Being somewhat of a loner at heart, I was doing fine but now I'm really missing him.  He'll be driving back tomorrow so I'm looking forward to seeing him.

As I mentioned in this post title, last Saturday I danced with and for my husband.  Well, I also sang for him too.  I will go ahead and mention that I'm a horrible horrible singer.  My husband is actually an awesome singer (and I'm not just saying this just because I'm his wife--he's recorded and other people also agree). 

So anyway, he knows I'm terrible (although he won't admit it) and I know I'm horrible at singing but he still loves when I sing to him.  He usually says "honey you sound like an angel" (of course this is while he's doubled over cracking up).  So singing is not one of my talents but dancing...well, that's another story.

So last Saturday I plugged in my i-phone, clicked on the Pandora radio app (which I'm so loving since we got rid of our cable), and started dancing around the house as I clean.  This is not unusual for me as you may remember from reading previous posts.  As my husband walks by me (while trying to do his chores, etc) I'll start dancing with and for him.  Of course I continue dancing even when I'm done cleaning or even if the music stops for some reason.  I know, I'm a nut.  At the end I dance with him and when he becomes tired I dance for him.  We have a ball.  

This is usually our Saturday routine when we are both home.  I guess that's another way we keep it interesting ;)

I think we are both off this upcoming Saturday so I'm looking forward to not dancing around the house alone next week.  Although I love dancing period and I don't mind doing it alone, it's just so much more fun when my hubby is there and I can see him smiling and laughing at my antics. 

Mrs. K

Ice packing it

I'm still liking Insanity overall.  During the workouts though I hate it but I feel so good after.  Hubby and I are working out together most days.  I'm having problems landing softly but can you blame me...I mean, I'm not a cat.  Cats land softly...I can't.  Anyway, partly due to my inability to land softly and my poor coordination my knees have been "jacked up."  I stole the phrase "jacked up" from my husband.  They've been hurting like crazy.  The past few nights I've been icing my knees and occasionally my ankles.  I had knee trouble also way back in my track and field days but I forgot how painful it was.  Anyway, although I would love to ice my knees tonight I won't because my hubby needs the ice packs more.

My hubby went to play basketball tonight.  He text me on his way home saying that he had some bad news.  I called him (worried) then he proceeded to tell me that he hyperextended his left knee and he is on his way home.  My husband loves to play basketball and he is pretty good at it but he has had some pretty painful injuries over the years including: breaking his fingers multiple times, multiple ankle sprains, broken toes, knee injuries, getting elbowed in the eye, etc.  He had been injury free for some time now so I guess it was time for a new one.  I feel so bad for him because he's limping around. 

I figure he should use the ice packs tonight since he has an acute knee injury.  He needs it more than me.  This also means that he will be taking a break from Insanity because he can't be doing all the crazy jumping and maneuvers.  So it looks like I may be finishing up the rest of month 2 by myself.  We'll see.

Picture Credit 

 

 

 

I'm not the person in the picture above but I wouldn't mind having that ice pack and those fab abs right now.

Mrs. K

Day saved by one fine man and some yummy popcorn

Yesterday started off somewhat rough but ended pretty well.  So let me start from the beginning.  I have to take this yearly exam every October for training/work.  I have known about this exam since forever because I have taken it every October (for the past 3 years).  Although it's in my field each year, the questions are different. 

Each year I take it I vow that I will study extremely hard for it the next year.  I usually walk out of the test saying "wow, that wasn't so bad.  If had studied I would have done great."  Let me just say that this is not a test that you just study the night before for.  It would take months of preparation.  Needless to say, being the procrastinator that I am I don't prepare in advance.  It's difficult for me to prepare for something that seems soooo far away!

Anyway, I woke up early the morning of the test and tried to cram some facts in my brain.  I "overstudied" (meaning I wasn't paying attention to the time and was almost late for the test).  That would not have been good.  I took the first part, had a break, then took the second part.  Wait, I failed to mention is that I got a visit from mother nature during the first part of the test (which really sucked) and I was cramping so much during the second part.

When the test was over I could hardly wait to get home to see my honey.  All I could think about was getting home and giving him a big hug.  It's so good to have a way to de-stress after a  challenging day.  On my way home by husband text me to not stop to look around the house when I got home.  He told me to go straight upstairs.  I figure he had something up his sleeve but I didn't know what it was.

He arrived home and I was so happy to see him.  When I got downstairs he showed me a huge can of popcorn.  I got even happier.  This was not just any popcorn.  This was gourmet popcorn from Garrett's in Chicago.  It is so good.  We visited Chicago for the first time for a friend's wedding this past May and we overindulged in the popcorn.  I don't even like popcorn that much but this is not your regular popcorn.  We loved it so much we even brought some back  (2 large bags) on the airplane with us.

I have been meaning to have my friend send us some and I drool every time I visit Garrett's website.  I never got around to asking her (of course not, I'm a procrastinator and I'm forgetful).  And I never ordered from their website because it's expensive including shipping.  I remember my honey asking me a few weeks ago what I thought about him wasting $61 on something.  I told him that it was fine especially since both of us work our butt's off.  At the time I didn't know what he was buying.

I am so glad he got that popcorn.  After a challenging day I had my favorite man and my favorite popcorn.   What a great ending!

Picture credit

Mrs. K

10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago my husband and I officially started dating.   We met a few days before and decided to spend the rest of our lives together.  So much for becoming good friends first before dating.  We were both young and in our freshman year of college. 

I remember going off to college and being very serious about changing the world.  My family drilled it in my head since forever that the way to do this was through education.  When I got to the University of Florida I was determined to be buried in my books and to not have a boyfriend.  I thought this would be an easy task since I never had a boyfriend before. Boy was I was fooled.

I met this wonderful country boy with ocean blue eyes, looks to kill and charm that was even more dangerous.  I fell in love and I'm still in love with this man.

Everything is etched in my memory so clearly.  Those were the good old days but now the days are even better.  I look forward to 10 more years, no actually an infinite number of years.

Thankfully I have been able to stay on track (fulfilling my career dreams) while sharing life on this earth with my best friend.

Here are some photos to guide you down memory lane.  Some of them are poor quality because I had to take a picture of the older ones with my digital camera.  I was too lazy to scan the pre-digital camera ones.

Two pix from freshman year in college as boyfriend/girlfriend.  We were all dressed up to go out.

The top right pic is of him showing me how to take a booty pic my freshman year (outside my dorm).

Bottom left pic is me in my apartment (which I shared with 3 roomies) 2nd year of college.

He gave me my first dog in college.  Well it was my first real pet outside of goldfish and koi.

Our first ski trip together in 2005 (somewhere in Indiana).

Mrs. K

Update on my husband's birthday

The evening went mostly as planned: 

-He opened his gifts before we went to dinner and he really liked what he got.  He liked the flowers too and he agreed that it was sweet ;)

-I wore my black dress as planned.  I urged him to wear whatever he wanted and he joked that he will wear "basketball shorts" if I didn't help him pick something out (since he did not know where we were going).  Of course, I was happy to help but I would have been totally ok if he wore basketball shorts and a t-shirt.  Anyway, he didn't and he looked so handsome!

Note: I had to do some cropping because of the way some of the photos turned out--hence 2 different pics.

-We ended up going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  I made reservations before so there was no wait.  Of course he had the steak and I had the Spicy Asian Salmon. Yum!

-I did not blog or visited other people's blogs as promised.  Well, I posted his birthday plans and wishes then signed off.  That was tough.  Being the wonderful guy that he is, at the end of the night my hubby went to my blog and read what I wrote about his birthday.  He then proceeded to tell me that I had a few new comments.  He told me it was ok for me to check them out, but I did not want to.

-I listened to his complaints without interjecting and I decided I needed to do that more often.  I have a tendency to want to show people the other side of things when all they really want is someone to listen.

-We were full with appetizers, soups, main course and dessert from the restaurant so he turned down eating at his favorite ice cream place (Bops).  I was shocked.  He wanted to get ice cream from there for the longest.  I guess he has to wait till Christmas--just joking.  We will probably go some time next week.

-The night literally did end in fireworks.  As we were driving home we saw fireworks close to our home.  Now, I must confess that I did not plan that, but we were able to watch them together.  It was sweet.

Overall it was a great night.  Happy Real Birthday today my honey (although you're working).

Check out my previous post to see what I planned the day before.

Mrs. K

Departing the twenties with a bang

Written on 9/20/10 to be posted on 9/24/10.  Actual birthday is 9/25 but we celebrate on Friday.

This post is written to honor my best friend's birthday.  We met for the first time in college in 2000 (about 2 weeks after his 19th birthday).  Since then most of his birthdays have been pretty lame--no not because of me, but because of school or work.  This year he will again be working on his birthday.

I look sleepy but he looks good so I still posted it

Because my best friend is the most important person in my life, I want to make it extra special for him (as I try to do every year).  He is quite simple and does not require much which makes me want to do even more.  I must say that I have the best husband in the world and I truly mean that.  Since he will be turning 29 years old I figure it would be good to end his twenties on a very memorable note.

I'll also preface this blog by confessing that I am the world's worse gift giver.  I feel bad for our kids in the future.  Knowing that I'm not so good at picking out gifts, I've created a word document of My Husband's Wishlist.  Each time he mentions that he wants/likes something, I put it on the list.  I also cross out items as I go so I don't duplicate things.  He on the other hand is very thoughtful in his gift giving.

Anyway, I've been brainstorming for a while about what to do.  We are limited in finances and time, so I had to take this into consideration.  Of course, I would love to fly us to Nicaragua or Romania (2 places he has visited alone and he would love for us to go back together), but we can't.  At least, not right now--maybe in a few years.

I will list some of my thoughts and ideas to help me get organized (in no order):

   1. I thought about making dinner (as he loves my cooking) but since we will be celebrating this Friday after work I figured it would be best if we go out to eat.  I'm contemplating Ruth's Chris Steakhouse vs. Ajay's.  He loves a good steak.

   2. I'll allow him to wear what he wants without me fussing--even if it's basketball shorts.  However, I plan to wear a hot black dress to make him be proud to say "that's my wifey."  I bought the dress months ago for a special night like this one.  I'll also wear my hair out (all natural and wild)--he prefers it that way.

His favorite outfit--something comfy

   3. My honey loves ice-cream (I think that's inherited because so does his dad).  I have been turning down his request to get ice cream for the past few weeks.  I've decided to include getting ice cream from one of his favorite places (Bops) as a part of his birthday activities.  That may be his favorite part of the day.

   4. I will listen patiently to all his complaints about work without interjecting with my own complaints.  I won't cringe when he starts talking about trucks, hunting, or guns.

   5. Pick up Tungsten wedding ring that he wanted.  We got him a cheap wedding band for our wedding.  With his job he is always washing his hands so we were afraid he would lose it so we got something cheap.  He has proven that he can hold on to his ring, so it's time to upgrade.

   6. Ok, being the sweet country man he is, he wouldn't mind only getting a pocket knife for his special day.  I hate getting them for him and I have refused to get them the last few birthdays but I guess it's time to bring them back.  I have to remember that it is not my birthday, it's his!

   7. I'm thinking about throwing in a professional massage but we will see.  If the budget does not allow, I may need to get creative and do one myself.

   8. So, this is not a birthday gift, but he will be getting it about one week after his birthday.  He's selling his old truck and will hopefully pick up his new truck soon--2011 Toyota Tundra.  He is super duper excited about this.  I'm excited to see him so excited.  It's like Christmas for him.  I can't wait to see the look on his face when he actually drives off the lot with it.

   9. A funny card works for him.  I like sweet, deep, sensitive cards but he doesn't therefore I will get him what he likes.  I will go to the humor section and find a hilarious card (preferably one with an animal on it too).

  10. He'll call it "gay" when I give him flowers and I'll call it sweet.  I do that occasionally and I think deep down he finds it sweet (or at least that's what I tell myself).

  11. Give my undivided attention.  I will not blog or even thinking about blogging.  Well, I will try not to.  He does not mind me blogging but I do see where sometimes he would prefer my attention and not me saying "give me five more minutes, no ten minutes" which turns into an hour.  He's so patient.

  12. We will have to end the night early so that he can get up the next day on time for work.  Regardless the night will end with fireworks ;)

Picture credit

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY HONEY BUNNY!!!

Mrs. K