Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple went very well. I attended the Thanksgiving Breakfast at church for the first time. We are usually out of town for the holiday so I've never had the chance to go before. Jason's family and mine were both at the breakfast so we all sat together at one BIG table. It was nice to have both of our families there together. After that we had Thanksgiving dinner (or lunch, really) with Jason's family at his parent's house. Then Jason went to camp outside of Best Buy while I went to the movies with his sister.

I FINALLY got to see Twilight. It was well worth the wait. I think they did a great job of portraying the characters and sticking to the book as much as possible. I will definitely be buying it when it comes out on DVD and can't wait for the second one.

After the movie I went to do Thanksgiving dinner with my family at my parent's house. As soon as the eating was done, I went over to spend some time with Jason outside of the Best Buy. It was COLD! We stayed outside together last year for the entire night, which was fun, but I'm not in a big hurry to do it again. My mom, two sisters, and brother-in-law then came to pick me up and we headed out to the mall which opened at midnight. Spent some time there and then took off to another mall where one of the stores was passing out a giftcard to the first 250 people in line. We were about four people back in the line, so that was cool. As soon as we got those gift cards at FIVE AM we then ran over to the mall customer service where the first 500 people got mall gift cards and other goodies. We were in the 490's in that line so we got our cards by the skin of our teeth. Talk about good luck!

After that we went over to another store where I was able to buy a fabulous, tiny new laptop for under $400. AWESOME!! I love my new computer. I can almost fit it in my purse! Then it was over to Chik-fil-A for some breakfast before finally getting home around 8:00 am. I crashed on the couch for a few hours and then I had to go into work.

Working retail at this time of the year is HORRIBLE. I had to work Friday and Saturday. The store was a mad house! We were pretty much slammed all day. We were short staffed and over worked, so that made for some VERY interesting moments. Thankfully though we made it through. We'll be busy for the rest of the Christmas season, but hopefully it won't get that bad again.

On Sunday was my little niece's dedication at church. We all had to sit in the front of the church (not fun), but little Ali looked too cute in her white christening gown. After church we had a lunch for the whole family. That was pretty fun too. Good food + family = good!!

Jason went with his parent's to Illinois on Friday evening and spent the weekend up there visiting family. I couldn't go because I had to work. Let me tell you, I sure did miss my husband. That was the first time we had been apart since we got married six months ago. I'm not in any hurry to do that again.

Okay, WHEW!! I think that's everything. Talk about a busy weekend. I'm still exhausted from all the hustle and bustle. Of course, I am going back to brave the mall again this evening with my Mom and sister. Hey, we have gift cards to spend!!!

Political Drama ... Or Not

Jason and I made it through our first Presidental election on opposite teams. One of us was for Obama and the other was for McCain. It made for a couple of pretty heated debates over the past couple of weeks that neither one of us ever won. We never actually talked about politics much before we got married and I guess I just assumed that he thought the same way I did. Ha ha... turns out, not so much.

Anyway, once Obama was declared the winner and McCain gave his concession speech it came very close to another heated argument. The great thing was, it didn't happen. There was some frustration and annoyance for a few minutes, but we let it go.

The thing that I realized as I went to sleep last night is that our marriage is more important than who becomes the next President of the United States. I mean, I know that's important too, but we're still going to be married no matter what happens and we have to deal with each other. In the end, I think we learned a great lesson. We don't always have to agree with each other. We can have different opinions and viewpoints, because ultimately we agree on the really important stuff and we've made a commitment to each other.

On a related note, I do wish that everybody would just shut-up about the election now that it's over. It seems like the fighting between the two sides just got worse once the results were in and now everybody is using their Facebook status to make passive-aggressive attacks at the other side. I defintely agree with some of them and disagree with others, but it's time to move on and face what's ahead of us instead of dwelling on what's already happened.

Update on Life

School started at the end of August and classes are in full swing. I can't believe this is my last year! Not too much longer and I will graduate, get my degree, and start a new career. It's a little intimidating, but I think I'm up for the challenge. I have worked hard for this and I am ready to move on to the next phase. For now, however, I do still have this last year to get through and it will not be easy.

I cut my hours at my on-campus job once school started, but between there and BBB I am still working at least 45 hours a week. It gets tough to juggle with all my school work, but it's necessary and I don't mind it most of the time. Of course, I'm looking forward to next summer when I will start a new job and no longer have to work retail. At least that's the plan. :)

Looks like I'm heading off to lunch with my Mom and sister, so I'll be back to update more later. Until then... :)

Amazing Husband!

Yes, this is another post about how amazing my husband is. Here's the story:

On Saturday night he picked me up from work and said that he had a surprise for me. The first gift he gave me was a bookmark. It's a ribbon thing with charms on either end. One of the charms was as orange B. I LOVE IT! Not only is orange my favorite color, but he wanted me to have something with my new initial. Then he gives me my other gift. It's a book that he went and picked out all by himself. It wasn't anything I'd asked for, just something he thought I would like. I was blown away. Seriously. I still find it hard to believe that I have married someone so wonderful. He knows me well and does what he can to make me happy.

We are just past the three month mark of being married and I am simply amazed at how quickly the time is passing. I can't say that it has all been wonderful thus far, but I definitely wouldn't trade any of it. We're still learning a lot about each other and growing more than ever before. Sorry for all the mushiness, but it's what is on my mind right now so that's what you get. :)

Breaking Dawn

Tonight, after work, I will be headed straight over the the Breaking Dawn midnight release party and I am pumped!

As my sister so sweetly phrased it a few weeks ago, yes, there will be a lot of nerds there who get excited over the release of a book ... and I will be one of them. Tomorrow I will be out of comission all day as I read this book that I have spent months impatiently waiting for, so please don't try to call me ... I will not answer the phone! :)

Dark Knight ... Again

On Monday night Jason and I went to see the Dark Knight again, but with a different group of friends this time around. I must say that watching it for the second time was much better than the first. Maybe it's because I was able to pick up on more things this time or perhaps because I could follow the storyline better since I knew where it was headed. Anyway, I've gotten off the fence and decided that I like this movie quite a lot. I still want to see the one that came before it as that will probably help me understand things even better and, of course, I still wish for a better ending. Once again, though, that's just my fairytale side talking.

Cedar Point

So, Jason and I went to the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio over the weekend. We went with a group of people from our college group at church. We all left on Thursday and came back on Sunday. We had a really great trip and I LOVED the park. There was so much to do there! We stayed in a hotel right on the Cedar Point grounds which was pretty cool. The whole thing (park and hotel) was located on Lake Erie. I was really excited about that as I have never seen any of the Great Lakes before.

Last night we went to see Dark Knight in the IMAX theater with a group of friends. I'm still on the fence about the movie overall. It was really long and really dark, but there were definitely some great scenes and some funny parts. It was the first Batman movie that I have ever seen, so maybe I should reserve judgement until I see the others.

Funny story (well, it is to me anyway):

The other day I was at the mall with my little sister and I convinced her to go to the bookstore with me (which she hates) so I could pre-order Breaking Dawn. When the lady at the customer service desks realizes what book I am pre-ordering she starts telling us about their midnight release for the book and the big party that they are going to have. Here is the conversation that my sister and I had when we left the store:

Me: So, do you want to go to the midnight release with me?
Jen: I don't wanna go to that. There's gonna be a bunch of nerds there. (in a high voice) Oh,
goody, a book is coming out!
Me: Umm.... thanks.

Ha ha ha!! Okay, maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hilarious!

Design Star

If you don't watch Design Star on HGTV, you should. This season it is taking place in Nashville, which makes it that much cooler.




This is Matt and he's the one I'm pulling for this season. He's pretty much amazing.

I love my husband!

Here are the top 5 reasons why i love my husband this week:

1. He went to Kroger to pick up something for himself and came back with a pint of my very favorite flavor of Ben and Jerry's.

2. Yesterday while I was at work he cleaned the house and did all of the laundry. Note: he does this a lot and that makes me a VERY happy wife.

3. He filled up my new little travel bottles with my shampoo and conditioner (without me asking) so that they would be ready for me to take on our trip this week. (I noticed them sitting on the counter this morning. It really is the little things that make all the difference!)

4. He let me buy a new pair of shoes on Saturday that I totally don't need but asked for anyway because they were on sale. :)

5. He will wake me up in the middle of the night just to give me a kiss on the check or to say 'I love you' and then go back to sleep. Note: This is possibly the most incredible thing in the whole wide world!

Two Year Date-aversary

Today Jason and I have been "officially" together for two years. Good grief! It somehow seems like forever and a blink of an eye all at the same time. I've been thinking back over the past two years and it makes me laugh. I realize that our relationship was abnormal from the very beginning, but that's how we like it. :)

My Niece

I am totally and completely in love with this little girl. She is simply too adorable for words.

Date Night

I went on a date with my husband tonight! It was really fun and definitely needed. Seems like all I do these days is work or fall asleep on the couch! ha ha...

Seriously though, it was a pretty great night and I enjoyed the time with my new hubby. First we went to Target to finish spending our gift cards from the wedding. We actually just got one on Saturday from some late gifters, so that was a very nice surprise. After that we hit up Fazzoli's for some seriously good bread sticks and fast food Italian. Whoever thought of that concept is my new best friend. Then it was on to the movies to see The Incredible Hulk.


I was doubtful going in as I have never been much of a Hulk person. However, I must admit that I liked the movie quite a lot. Much of that has to do with Edward Norton who I think is a really great actor and, of course, Liv Tyler who I also think is wonderful. Unfortunately, the ending was horrible. I hated it with a passion. Of course, it was probably really good in reality, but I hate reality. I prefer my movies to be tied up with a nice little bow at the end. This one did not have that, so I didn't like it.

After we left the movie we went out to the parking lot and couldn't remember where we parked the car. We pretty much wandered around the parking lot for a few minutes until Jason finally remembered. When we finally got to the car we realized that we had parked right next to one of those signs with the really big numbers that they put up so that you can find your car. We were literally parked right next to this pole:

Now that it what you call ironic!

Busy Weekend

Yes, it's the beginning of a new work week and I am still recovering from a very busy weekend. I had Friday night off for once, so I finally got to go and see Jason play baseball. They had three games and I think everyone was worn out by the time they were over. That includes the baseball wives (which I am now a part of, thank you very much!).

On Saturday morning I went yard saleing (is that a word?) with my mom. We hit up a TON of different places and had a lot of fun. I found a Dan Brown book that I've been dying to read for $1 and I also picked up some cool looking ribbons. I am going to attempt to be creative with these and make some cool note cards or something. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. Needless to say, I simply LOVE going to yardsales. You never know what you will find.

After that Jason and I went to the wedding of some friends. It was the first wedding we've been to since we've been married, so I found it interesting for a number of reasons. First, I discovered that I was a little bit jealous. I remember what it was like to be queen for the day and I miss it! Our day was literally the best day of my entire life, so far, and I find that it's hard to let go of. Second, I also discovered that I can now fully relate to the bride in the moments before she comes down the aisle, so as I was sitting in my seat as the wedding began I was so nervous that my stomach was literally in knots. It was funny, because I don't even remember being that nervous at me own wedding! ha ha... And finally, I couldn't help but compare everything to my own wedding. Some things I thought that they did better and some things I thought that we did better. I wonder if this pattern will continue for all of the weddings that I attend from now on or if it will eventually fade. I don't know.

Anyway, on Sunday we had church and then I had to work at BBB. I finally got home from there around 8:30. Jason and I ate dinner and I'm pretty sure that I was asleep on the couch by 9:30. Sad, I know.

The Weekend Update

So, it's Monday morning and time to go back to work ... okay, well, time to go back to my office job anyway. I worked Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday at BBB.

Saturday was crazy busy at the store and I was completely worn out by the time I got home. I got home and remembered how extremely lucky I am to be married to Jason. He spent the day cleaning the house, doing the dishes and laundry, and making a fabulous chicken pasta for dinner. Not only that, but he invited my parents over and the four of us had a fabulous dinner together. It was really nice.

On Sunday, Jason and I got to church early to make pancakes for the college group Sunday school class. After church I went straight to work for another eight hour shift. They put me at the back register where hardly anybody can see you, so I was pretty much bored to death. After work Jason and I met up with a group of friends to see Get Smart. I highly recommend it by the way. It was hilarious! Besides that, I think that Dwayne Johnson is just too adorable for words.

Beautiful Bedding

I'm simply drooling over this new bedding that BBB just introduced. It is beautiful and I adore it. Unfortunately, none of the stores in the SouthEast region are carrying it right now. Boo! I suppose that's okay, though, because even with my discount it would cost almost $500 for the complete set. Needless to say, that's not even close to being within my budget. I will have this set in my house someday, but until then here is a picture of it so that you may drool over it as well:

The sheet set is the reason that I fell in love to begin with. The red and brown is just divine.

My Husband is He-Man

Apparently, I am married to the superhero himself. What makes me say this, you ask? Well, he somehow managed to break his "unbreakable" wedding ring. Not only that, but he mangaged to do it after wearing said ring for barely a month. Seriously. He called me yesterday at work to get the number for our jeweler and asked me not to freak out as he informed me that he had broken his ring into two pieces. Here's what the websites say about this ring:

"Tungsten carbide's flawless features and indestructible nature create a look and feel like no other. "

"Tungsten and Carbide powders are forged together at 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit to form rings that are virtually indestructible and scratch proof."

"Tungsten rings are renown for their timeless, sleek design, and unmatched strength against the brutal punishment of everyday wear."

Okay, I think I've made my point. I am, in fact, married to He-Man who broke an unbreakable ring in only 38 days.

- Mrs. He-Man

Thank You Notes

The one downside to getting married is all the stinkin thank you notes that you have to write. I feel like I have been working on them forever and I'm only half way through. Don't get me wrong. I am very thankful for all the gifts that we received and I know that it's the least I can do to send those people a little note. Still, I absoloutely DREAD writing them. I keep putting them off and putting them off...

In other news, the newlyweds finally have their own furniture! Our dining room no longer sits empty and the Christmas colored couch and love seat have made their way back to my parents house. We found a fabulous microfiber sectional for the living room. It took a lot of pushing and shoving (and removing all the doors and hardware) to get it into the room, but it made it eventually. I'm totally in love with this couch. Jason and I can both strech out on it to watch t.v. and there's still plenty of room. The dining room is now home to a beautiful counter-height dining table with eight chairs.

The new furniture has given me the decorating bug. I feel like the house is finally starting to come together and I want to make every single room look great. It's hard with such a tiny budget and I know we won't be able to afford any more new furniture for a little while. Still, I'm trying to be creative and add little touches here and there. It's very exciting to have my own place for once. I don't have to worry about parents or roommates. There's just Jason and he's been pretty good about letting me do what I want with the place. Well, I guess I'm gonna go and search some more decorating sights.

One Month!

Today I have been married for exactly one month! It doesn't seem possible that a month has passed by so fast, but it has. Despite all of the stress and frustrations leading up to it, the wedding was everything that I had always dreamed it would be. The honeymoon was exactly the kind of relaxing week that both Jason and I needed. Coming back to the real world was the hardest part. Still, there was lots to do when we returned. Most of it revolved around getting my name changed, merging the checking accounts, and setting up our new house. The house part was actually a lot of fun. We found places for all of the wedding gifts and then hit the stores to spend our gift cards. We really enjoyed shopping together for our new home. Thankfully we didn't really hit any disagreements there and I think we're both pretty pleased with the way that the place is coming together.

I'm looking forward to the summer. It's nice that Jason and I will have almost three whole months to get settled into married life without all the stress that classes bring. I've always enjoyed summer time and I have a feeling that this one will be one for the record books. :)