Happy Valentine's Day

Read more...

Love

Photo: Flickr Storm

Read more...

Resolutions, Shmesolutions...and Happy Blogoversary!

This year, I had struggled a little bit going back and forth between goals and resolutions. I can't make a resolution like "graduate with my masters degree" or "travel to Italy" because I know I am going to do those things. I need to focus more on things that will better myself, that I don't currently do, and I can work toward all year. Here is what I came up with:

1.) Eat fruit- I can honestly say that I eat at least 1 vegetable each day. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about fruit. (And I am sure that the orange in my Blue Moon doesn't count!) I am starting this goal off at eating some type of fruit once a day. I had an apple today :)

2.) Cut back on the Diet Coke- I don't even like soda. But, I don't like coffee or tea and I need some caffeine in my system in the mornings. I got myself in the habit of drinking at least 3 Diet Cokes each week at 8:00 am. Not good. Today, I ordered water at lunch :)

3.) Continue pushing myself with running- I signed up for the Marathon Relay but that is in April. I want to start training for a half marathon after that. I just wish it wasn't so darn cold so I could get out there now!

4.) Clean my house more often- I am a self-proclaimed slob. It is true. I have a colored coded closet, I need every document in the right folder at work, and I leave my crap ALL OVER our house. I am a little bit of a hoarder and I really need to work on this. I might even start changing my sheets more often (Kristal).

5.) Hang out with my friends and family more/as often- Life can get us busy at times, but I want to continue putting my friends and family ahead of other less important things.

Those 5 are just the tip of the iceberg for me. I am going to try to create a 101 in 1001. I'll be working on that and posting as soon as it is finished.

I also missed my 2nd Blogoversary! Thanks to all of my friends and readers! I'm really going to try to blog more often!

Read more...

2009- My Year in Review

I love to look back at my blog posts from the previous year. It's like having a diary with pictures. I was definitely not as diligent at blogging in 2009 as I was in 2008. Maybe that will be a new goal for 2010.

My Year in Review from 2008 just had titles and pictures. This year, I decided to look at my calendar and mention some other important things that happened in each month. Wow...2009 was a busy and wonderful year. Enjoy :)

January-We rang in 2009 with great friends and will be doing the same this New Year's Eve.In January, we were still working on our kitchen remodel. Mike got a new car. St. Louis experienced a lot of snow! I started 1 more masters class.

February- We finally finished our kitchen remodel!In February, we partied in Soulard for Mardi Gras (for the 5th or 6th time). I attended my last basketball game after coaching cheerleading for 4 years. I chopped my hair off. I started talking about wanting a boxer pup. Celebrated my dad's birthday. After waiting 6 months, we got to see our wedding pictures online.

March-We celebrated Mike's birthday (below) and got a little wild. We visited shelters in search for our perfect pup. We officially started up our calligraphy "business". We bought our first "real" camera (how quickly that developed, huh?). My great aunt Marian passed away. My friend, Katie, had a baby. We decided that an Italy trip would be in our future. Our Mia-pup was born but we didn't even know of her existence.

April-Calligraphy business was in full swing.Mom had surgery. My sister celebrated birthday #23. Mom celebrated her birthday too. Honestly, April was a pretty low-key month.

May- Baby Mia came into our lives. Word cannot explain how much I love this dog.
In May, our friends Nick and Mimi welcomed their little man, Collin, into the world. We started dinner club. I celebrated my 26th birthday. I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I started summer vacation and raising Miss Mia.

June- I threw my first baby shower for Allison with my girlfriends.
June was busy! Mia developed a very mischievous personality and I chased her around the house all day. I started 2 new masters classes. Attended Race for the Cure for the 10th or 11th time with my mom and sister. Went to Zoofari with Mike, Kyle, and Ali. Attended 2 wedding showers for Tess. Loved Pub Crawl for Cancer for the 2nd time!

July- Went to Florida to celebrate Tess's bachelorette party!!!Our dear friends, Allison and Shaun, welcomed baby Lincoln into the world. We also had another baby niece born in July, baby Alexis. Mike organized his 5th annual float trip which was a blast, as usual. We hung out with high school friends and started planning a couples' trip. Started puppy school with Mia.

August- Tess and Kevin's Wedding (I was honored to be a bridesmaid in this amazing wedding!)Back to school! Started 2 more masters classes. My brother, Andrew, celebrated his 22nd birthday and we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary.

September- We went to Balloon Glow in Forest Park for the first time.We also went to Hop in the City for the 3rd year and had a great time with our friends and family. We tiled our sunroom. I went to a wedding shower for my girl, Stevie. We also started training for the 5K using the C25K program.

October- Matt and Stevie's wedding!We had a lovely visit from our Canadian friends we met on our honeymoon. We traveled with my parents to Peoria to watch my brother run. Bought a lot of running gear and continued our running program. My friend, Kate, opened Sue's News. Mike started a photography blog.

November- Ran our first 5K on Thanksgiving Day!We visited Mike's brother in Arkansas with his family. We ate A LOT and enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend with our families. We had family pictures taken too!

December- Mia's first holiday season (she got so many goodies...it was ridiculous!)Lots of holiday parties this month including an ornament exchange, cookie exchange, and a panty exchange (yes, you read that right). Lots of time spent with family and friends. Enjoying lazy days like today on my winter break. Preparing for another wonderful year. I know 2010 will be the best year yet!

Read more...

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season full of friends, family, and love. This year, we made our cards through Snapfish. I took charge of making the cards and Mike did the addressing of the envelopes. They looked great! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Read more...

Craft time!

Last night, I decided to get a little crafty and make some ornaments. I got the idea from Bower Power, hit up Hobby Lobby, and got to work!

It is super easy! Plain ornaments, glue gun, and glass beads. Voila!I made purple ones for Mike's mom since it is her favorite color. I also made a couple of red and white ones.I also want to make some "monogrammed" ornaments using scrapbook stickers. We will see if I have time later this week.

Read more...

What a weekend!

I love long, holiday weekends and this one did not disappoint. Our schedule was packed and we loved every minute of it.

Thursday
Mike took off work on Thursday to participate in the "Ginny Bucket Open" (a golf tournament and party hosted by our friend Allison and Shaun's parents). So Mike golfed all day where I worked around the house. We met up at the Legends in Eureka for the afterparty at Allison's parents' house. They just got an adorable Victorian Bulldog (is that right, Al) and we had a blast playing with her. (Sorry the pictures are blurry...all were taken on the iPhone when I wasn't exactly sober.)Of course the night would be complete without the BEST steak sandwiches EVER and ginny buckets!!!Friday
Mike and I spend most of the afternoon at the Kirkwood pool with my friend, Carrie. Carrie and I usually layout the whole time but Mike decided that he didn't want to "be boring." That translated to 5 trips around the lazy river, 4 trips down the huge slides (they are actually fast and the dark one is scary), and some time doing backflip and handstand contests in the big pool. Mike got burned so bad and I regret not taking a picture. Seriously, you have never seen red like this. My poor, pale husband.

Friday night, we went to dinner with some best friends (Tess and Kevin and Allison and Shaun). You have heard me mention these couples tons of times. Tess and Kev are getting married on our anniversary weekend and Allison and Shaun will be welcoming their little one within the next 2 weeks! We stuffed our faces and did a lot of laughing and talking at Magianno's. YUM!Saturday
I love the 4th of July (which also happens to be my friend, Kate's, birthday)!!! This year, a lot of our college friends were out of town in Chicago and we got to hang out with my best friends from high school. SO MUCH FUN! Stevie had everyone over and we had a blast! Her house is adorable and we are so excited for her wedding to Matt in October. On to the pictures...The 4 of us were inseparable in high school!So "Slap the Bag" might be the dumbest "game" I have ever played but it was hilarious. You chug wine out of the bag while everyone counts how many seconds you can do it...and then you slap the bag and try to break it...but the bag can't break. Your hand can though...it hurt!

Picture of the crew (it is so funny how we all ended up matching our husband/fiance/boyfriend)!We spent a lot of Sunday recovering and I had to work on a presentation due on Monday. We went to dinner with my family at Balducci's. Have you been there? DELICIOUS PIZZA! I will end with a picture of my baby and I from this wonderful weekend :)

Read more...

Love you, Dad!

Happy Father's Day. You are the best.

Read more...

Birthday Fun

I have been such a bad blogger lately. I hate to keep blaming it on Mia but really...it is her fault! (Click on the picture below and see the face up close...oh my gosh...)My Memorial Day weekend was wonderful!
Friday- Glendale Jazz Fest. You can't ever go wrong with beer, lawn chairs, and jazz music. Mia played with an adorable 3 year old, Emiline. It was hilarious watching her drag Mia all over the lawn.Saturday- Birthday celebration with the family at Hacienda. Gotta love a taco salad and strawberry margarita (thanks, Ali!). My mom knows me so well. As part of my present, she bought me color pens I had been lusting over. Does anyone else get super excited about colored, gel pens? I know my fellow teachers are nodding their heads right now ;)If so, go get the Pilot G2 gel pens, right now! They are wonderful and look at the great colors!
Sunday- Birthday BBQ at our house. The clouds were menacing all day but it hadn't rained by our 2:00 start time. When the party was in full swing and Mike just placed the burgers and dogs on the grill, the sky opened and it POURED. It was hilarious but a little bit of a downer. Luckily, it passed as quickly as it came and the rest of the night was beautiful.I LOVE cleaning the house and decorating. I finally took our our bud vases and put them to use! (I am also proud because I took that picture!)
Monday- No celebration on Monday. Just cleaning, report cards, cuddling with the pup, and recovering.

Today is the big day. I can't believe that I am actually the big...My "Golden Birthday" to be exact...I am 26th on the 26th! Fun, huh?! Birthdays have always been a big deal to me. My parents always set out this red plate on our birthdays and it really is such a great memory for me. I think I want to buy one some day and start the same birthday tradition for my kids.This really is the first year that I haven't felt like my birthday is a big deal. So much is going on right now and I think I am just growing up (about time, huh?!).

Tonight Mike and I are going out to dinner at Maggiano's. We usually don't go to chain restaurants but Rigatoni D at Maggiano's is AMAZING. I can't wait to get some of that in my belly soon : )

Alrighty...need to go! Ciao!!!

Read more...

YUM...

In about 1 hour, I will be enjoying a big bowl of matzah ball soup. (And yes, I know that it can be spelled matzo, matzoh, or matsah.) I can't wait!!!

Read more...

I am sorry....

I know that my April Fool's joke gave a bunch of family and friends heart attacks! My friend and work played the joke on me and I thought it would be funny to do it to all of you. For those that didn't scroll to the bottom of the post...I AM NOT PREGNANT! It was a joke! I am sorry :(

Read more...

EXCITING NEWS!!!

Sooo...I probably shouldn't have had 20 beers on Mardi Gras, 15 on St. Pat's, and many more last week during the basketball games. I went to the doctor yesterday and GUESS WHAT...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

APRIL FOOL'S! Have a great day!

Read more...

Erin Go Braugh

I am not Irish but still love St. Patty's Day. Right now, we are down in Dogtown for the parade! Hope you are enjoying your Tuesday.

Read more...

Mardi Party!

When I was 19, I went down to Soulard for the first time to indulge in the Mardi Gras celebration. It was even fun to look back at my blog and see how I celebrated last year. Pretty much the same story this year. Party at our friends' house (thanks Kate), walk to Soulard, enjoy the Captain Tent, and have a blast!It was a bit colder this year...and VERY windy!!!Had so much fun in the Captain Test again!!! Love that place :)I really wonder when we will stop coming down? Hopefully never. I was so sore when I woke up on Sunday morning. Especially my arm from holding my huge purse all day. Then next morning, I realized that I was carrying around a bottle of water all day and bottles of beer earlier in the day. No wonder it was so heavy. Leslie and I even had our men hold them on our walk back to the car.That's it. I love Mardi Gras. AND...I love Kate's dogs!

Read more...

Happy V Day!

I hope that everyone has a relaxing Saturday with the people they love. Whether it is your spouse, fiance, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, sibling, parent, or pet...make sure you tell someone today that you love them.

Here are some pictures from my favorite new pictures search engine, flickr storm.

Read more...