Last post of 2013

360 days til Christmas!

Well Christmas 2013 is over. Just like that. We wait all year for this day and poof!! We blink and the magic that is Christmas morning is gone, we’re packing up the tree and returning to the real world. Brian and I were spoiled rotten as usual. Lots of house goodies and clothes fill our office just begging to be put together or hung.

Brian outdid himself with the best Christmas gift I have ever received. Our vows, printed and hung in our entryway – a reminder of the promises we made in October. I may or may not have cried when I opened them, I’ll leave that to your imagination…

Our Vows

I set up a scavenger hunt for Brian for Christmas, only one box was under the tree this year for him and inside was the first blue which led him to these places for these gifts:





To start this hunt for number one 

we’ll begin in your favorite place 

this item is always cold inside and 

has items to stuff your face

Answer to the above clue:  Fridge

What he will find: Bowling Date

The speed of life has made this furniture 

just a thing of fables,

But there were times when families 

once ate around these tables. 

Answer to the above clue: Dining room Table

What he will find: Towson Tickets

It seems our clothes just keep returning

to this same ole machine.

At least they're better than the things 

the ancients used to clean. 

Answer to the above clue: Washing Machine

What he will find: St. Patrick's Movie Night

Sometimes it's fun to just relax 

alone amidst the bubbles,

Your wife enjoys many nights in this

to soothe away her troubles. 

Answer to the above clue: Bath Tub

What he will find: Home Spa Date

When guests are feeling less than fresh 

there's just one place to go

to wash and get all squeaky clean 

and scrub between each toe. 

Answer to the above clue: Guest Bath

What he will find: Bluecrabs Game

This room is for the guests to sleep 

when staying for the night. 

Let's hope the bed is comfortable

and sheets are clean and white. 

Answer to the above clue: Guest Room

What he will find: Kite Flying Date

Up and down, and up and down 

you climb these every day.

You've likely seen the clue on these, 

but passed it anyway. 

Answer to the above clue: Stairs

What he will find: Golf Date

This is where we dropped our junk

That we just couldn’t find a place

One item that we keep in here

Could help you win a race.

Answer to the above clue: Storage Room

What he will find: Dessert Date

Future nights will be spent by this

Stirrers and shakers galore

For now it’s just a dream of ours

To have one like the green door

Answer to the above clue: Bar Space

What he will find: Zoo Date

This box is mostly filled with things

that rarely bring you glee

Like bills, and junk, and other stuff

you'd rather never see. 

Answer to the above clue: Mailbox

What he will find: Champagne at Avenmar for anniversary with Cake top

When couples are well-organized 

they park the car in here. 

But otherwise it's full of junk 

and not one inch is clear. 

Answer to the above clue: Garage

What he will find: Bon Fire and Smores

The final date can be found here

I hope this wasn’t a Christmas bore

Your dad would never own this

He prefers Chevy over Ford

Answer to the above clue: Truck

What he will find: Game night with Poker setup

Confused

It was fun to follow him around, and particularly hilarious watching him have a fight with our guest bathroom shower curtain which he got stuck in.

The struggle was real

Champagne breakfast followed and just like that, onto planning New Years.

Waffles and Champagne

This year we are braving a house party. 28 or so people have RSVP’d. I’ve made food and drinks. But what I am most excited for is ringing in the New Year with most of my favorite people with me. 2013 was by far the best, most memorable and amazing year of my life so far… there is no better way to say farewell to it other than with those people who have made it so very special.

2014

Since my last post I’ve had one enjoyable happy hour, one car accident, two work parties, and a partridge in a pair tree.

You did read that correctly – my Liberty was less than reliable in the freezing rain and we went off the road. She is in the shop for the second and hopefully last time. Wish our bank account luck.

This week is bound to be one for the books.

Christmas on Wednesday and next week we head into a new year.

2014 resolutions are as follows:

Get healthy - Not lose weight, or run so and so distance…. Just healthy

Travel more - More specifically – Vegas, CA, and New York this year.

Take more “me” time - Walks alone, reading time and pampering myself

Finish school

Give back more

Spend more quality time with my husband and our families - Especially with my Grandmother and his Pop

Countless house projects - Painting, basement bathroom, fence, patio, bar, wall art

 

My 2013 resolution was to make it to the alter without driving each other nuts, we barely made it. (Insert sarcasm here)

 

Anchors resolution is to have no more accidents in the house and to have more walks with Mommy. (She told me that, I promise)

 

I read a disturbing fact today – 59% of pets that are given as Christmas presents this holiday will be dumped within the first year. This hits especially close to home for me this Christmas. If I lived in my dream land, not only would I be a princess, but I would have a humongous home – filled with strays, where they would have a warm bed and food in their bowls every day.

 

This rings into my 2014 resolution of giving back more – I want to find a way to help animals this year, I’m not sure how, but I will find a way. 

Giving back

This weekend, to sum it up in one word, was productive.

Our to-do list has gotten much shorter. Brian and my father in law hung all of our blinds so we are now able to be nudists if we chose. Hooray.

We finally organized the tornado that was our home office paperwork.

Hung our Christmas Garland.

Made homemade pizza and quesadillas.

Finished buying and wrapping all of our Christmas gifts.

And even made some time to catch up with some of our favorite people.

On Sunday, as I was picking up the last item on our list for Christmas, I noticed a man in front of me at the checkout line. He only had two items: toothpaste and deodorant. He was a middle aged black man with two backpacks – covered doodles and the word fly. I noticed the timid-ness in his voice and the slow in his speech. My heart sank. I began, as I always do, to overanalyze the man in front of me. What happened in his life to make him struggle, what did he do to deserve homelessness on the holidays?

I am not usually so into Christmas but this year I am enjoying it more than ever – with all of the blessings this past year offered, marriage and a new home, food in our bellies whenever we’re hungry, steaks in the freezer, new furniture and TVs. We are so blessed.

This man made me come to the harsh realization that a.) no matter what we have today, it can all be gone tomorrow and b.) we, as a family, are not doing enough to help our community. With all we have, what impact are we making on others’ lives?

As I began to check out the once sweet natured cashier became snappy and short with me. I could tell she thought my looks at him were of judgment, this woman didn’t know the impact the brief encounter had made on me. She looked at me, then at my ring and the 20 I handed her as if I had looked down upon this man and she was defending him. She didn’t realize the only person being judged there was me.

As I took my change and my bag from the woman, I noticed the man was struggling to get his cart and bags through the door – I held the door for him and he whispered, “Thank you, Ma’am, Merry Christmas”. How is it that someone with so little is doing more to help others than I am? This man helped me more than he will ever know.

As I drove away my thoughts raced… should I have given him money? Bought him lunch? Would he still be there if I turned around? Should I have paid for his two items? Would I have insulted him if I did? Would I be condoning someone who had done this to themselves if I did?

I don’t know about you, but my mind is my own worst enemy. By the time I pulled into the driveway tears were falling, I walked in, dropped off the groceries in the kitchen, found my husband and hugged him tight. That man could have been either of us.

I made the decision at that moment to find a way to give back. And I will. Stay tuned.

Christmas' past

We’ve dropped Anchor off to be fixed today, I needed a pick me up.

So, in the spirit of Christmas - I found this gem of a questionnaire here:http://www.itjblog.com/2011/11/christmas-questionnaire.html?m=1

 

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?  Hot cocoa. Milk chocolate with mini marshmallows, please.

Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. Always white. I love the clean simplicity of it, and also the way it looks like ice or stars. 

 

Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. If I want a kiss I just take one.

 

When do you put your decorations up? ASAMHWLM. That’s my version of ASAP – As soon as my husband will let me.

 

What is your favorite holiday dish? Sweet potato casserole and/or stuffed ham. 

 

Favorite Holiday memory as a child? We had the prettiest and most simple angle on top of our tree, every year we competed for who got to place it on top.  

 

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? This is one of those times when having an older sister was not all it’s cracked up to be. After she hinted to me that the big man was a hoax I bombarded my mom in the bathroom (HA! Had her cornered, she would have to tell the truth… the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help her Santa!). I asked if it was true, she asked what I thought and I told her I thought Justina was crazy and Santa was real – then I noticed the paper on the presents matched the paper my parents used and Santa’s handwriting looks suspiciously like my Mom’s. The jig was up.

 

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Every.Single.Year. 

 

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My parents had TONS and I mean TONS of ornaments. Strings of bells. Popcorn strings. And previously mentioned the perfect angel. My tree is done simply, less is more method, with personal touches.  

 

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it. After 2 or 3 good snowfalls though, I am over it. 

 

Do you remember your favorite gift? My sister and I both got boom-boxes one year, it was like a music-off in that joint. My sister and nirvana or whatever else she was into at that time, and me hitting baby one more time. I also remember the year we both got bikes – it’s almost a tease… bikes? In winter. Sure, I will stare at you for 4 months until it’s warm enough to actually ride.

 

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My mom’s chocolate pie.

 

What is your favorite holiday tradition? My favorite past tradition was Christmas mornings with my sister and parents, waking them up a zero dark thirty and waiting PAITENTALLY while they had their all too important coffee… suddenly my hatred for coffee makes perfect sense. Now, waking up with Brian – celebrating with our beautiful nieces and nephews.

 

Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Meh.

 

Favorite Christmas movie? How the Grinch stole Christmas.  

 

Saddest Christmas Song? Rudolph the red nose reindeer, though it ends positive… the bullying will really put a damper on your holiday cheer.

 

What is your favorite Christmas song? All I want for Christmas is you or Santa don’t be late.

 

What is your favorite tradition? 

Potty training - take 1.

Well the relaxing four day weekend Brian and I had planned was anything but relaxing. We were on the go from the second we got home. From Thanksgiving celebrations, catching up with old friends and bringing home a puppy our weeked was pure chaos. Oh, you caught that part, did you? Thought I could just slip it in there – yes, you read that correctly… a puppy.

Picture this: Standing around a bon fire, heated cornhole game in progress, the smell of roasting pig… here she comes, a puppy – starving, filthy and skittish towards men. We scooped her up and got her some food which she scarfed down in what seemed like no more than 3 seconds flat. As I began to make phone calls to find this sweet girl a home my husband asks me to talk about it first…. Here we go. Some discussion, training, and patience later – and without further adieu, meet Anchor.

We are still in the search of her owner, in case they are good people and not the monsters I’ve depicted them to be in my head. We are getting her checked for a microchip and scanned today and I believe Brian and I are both slightly hoping she is not microchiped – we have grown pretty fond of this sweet girl. She is playful, and cuddly, and a very fast learner. In the matter of 24 hours we have learned “sit”, “paw”, “come” and her name. Going up/down steps were a feat but with a few treats and lots of cheering (like we were watching our child learn to walk) she has mastered those bad boys. I am almost certain there will be a time we wish she hadn’t but until then, GO ANCHOR GO!

Potty training will be a work in progress but we are both happy to say she pooped and peed outside this morning! She seemed very skittish after going so we are assuming she was disciplined when she would potty inside rather than trained with positive reinforcement. She is slowly learning to trust us and in return is much more eager to let her little puppy guard down.

We think she is a mix of: Border collie or Australian Shepard, lab and boxer.

I don’t think we were quite ready for her, but she was ready for us – that’s for sure.

Wish us luck!

Tis' the season

These past two weeks have been nothing short of pure madness - with decisions about my career hanging in mid-air, Thanksgiving creeping up and life not standing still regardless of how overwhelmed we were.

Thanksgiving with the Hardins comes a few days early every year, and this year the Beavans were the hosts. We made a 20 lb turkey, a honey glazed ham, corn, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cheddar bay biscuits, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing and deviled eggs; basically enough food to feed an army. Everything went off without a hitch. I believe the Hardins, Swanns, Birchs, and Beavans have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

What am I most thankful for, you ask?

·         My marriage, having the perfect partner to learn life with

·         Our new home, it is everything we have ever wanted and then some

·         Our family, which is constantly expanding and growing and becoming even better each day

·         My in-laws, who are more than just in-laws… they are my friends

·         My job, this year I am extra thankful for that

·         Fur-babies, Toby and Tundra who fill our lives with laughs and cuddles

 ·         Our church, SouthPoint, and the relationship I am working to build with the Lord everyday

I could go on… and on… and on with this list – we are truly blessed.

Now it’s time to prep for Christmas. Trees up. Fireplace is broken in. This is going to be the best one yet.

One month and one day

Being the long time marriage expert I am, of a whole one month and one day, I must say these last few weeks have already taught me a lot. Not just about myself, but my spouse, and us as a unit.

I was told time and time again that if we could get through building a house and planning a wedding at the same time, we were golden – well we made it. Now onto the fun stuff.

I can say without a doubt that I know my husband, very well, better than he knows himself at times… knowing him as a boyfriend and then as my fiancé were both very different experiences – why would I think marriage would be any different?

The first hard lesson - learning to share finances with another person, having joint bills, accounts, and utilities is all foreign to me… but I am willingly learning.

Brian and I use the 90/10 method. 90% in a joint account for bills, savings and spend – the additional 10% is in our own accounts to spend as we please. This is what maintains my sanity. If I had to run every Diet Pepsi and nail polish by my husband I may lose my mind.

It is safe to say that Brian is the “saver” in our marriage (more like penny pincher, but I would never tell him that… I’ll just write it here and let him read it. Hehe). I have lived by the motto that I don’t live to work, I work to live. I enjoy saving, but I also enjoy splurging and going on a weekend getaway, or buying something we have both been eyeballing for months, or even a nice fancy dinner where neither of us know what we’re eating because we cannot pronounce the food. Yeah, I like that. But I have learned that as much as I want to unclench Brian’s knuckles from around those pennies and put them towards the ratatouille escargot (I am pretty sure I made that meal up) I have to give him at least half of the pennies. Is this making sense? Compromise. I am learning to compromise.

Speaking of compromise, Brian recently started P90X with a friend of his. They meet at said friend’s house after work, do their work out and Brian is home between 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. When Brian first asked me about this all of the normal womanly thoughts went running through my head… I would be home alone, I would need to cook dinners, pack lunches, clean, do laundry, and dishes each night. This is where that all too familiar word snuck in… compromise.  I asked myself, if roles were reversed, would he do the same for me? The answer was always yes - and he wouldn’t even need this awkward exchange of conversation-like thoughts that I did.

The second thing I have learned, you ask? To be the kind of spouse my husband is to me. When I am home alone, and I set off the smoke detectors not just once but THREE times (count em’… 1, 2, 3…) and the construction workers next door come to check if I am okay, and then ask if I am home alone… and I want to cry, or kick Brian for not being home right then, I remember the nights I worked two jobs and my lunches were always packed, my dinner was always waiting, and my apartment was always clean… and I just mumble some not-so-child-approved language and keep on cookin’.

**Speaking of cookin’, Brian and I gave these Stuffed Peppers a try and you will NOT be disappointed – I’ll post the recipe below.**

 

Number 3… I value my “me” time. Now that our lives have (somewhat) calmed down, I have learned more-so than ever that I need time with myself… often. Now don’t get me wrong, there is NOTHING in this world I love more than hanging out with my hubby. But I have learned that it’s during “me” time that I take time to think, and actually relax. Drink a glass of wine, watch some trash tv, paint my nails… you know, all of the necessities. I’ve learned when I am alone I also reflect on my day, think about my priorities, pick out my next day’s outfit… it’s in those times that I feel prepared. As much as I love my cant-sit-down-busy-body husband, he finds his “him” time with ESPN and Bud Light. If a good sports game is not currently broadcasting, he is not sitting down. He is measuring stuff, and doing this, and doing that and then re-doing this because he has run out of things to do but will not sit his tail down. “Me” time also allows me to miss Brian, and our time with our friends or alone really allows us to enjoy the time we spend together that much more.

This is simply a work in progress, but every.single.day I feel like a better person just for being his wife and I think that is the kind of marriage every woman should have.

Now as promised, Stuffed Peppers:

6 green bell peppers (I used hybrids of red and green)

Salt to taste

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice

1/2 cup water

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup

 

Directions: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain. 

Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside. 

In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.

Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy!

I found the original recipe here:http://allrecipes.com/recipe/stuffed-green-peppers-i/

 

 

5 things I learned about myself, and my marriage, this weekend:

1.)    Making spaghetti as your first meal in your new house, before you have a dining set, or island stools: can, and will, result in date night on the front porch.

2.)    I set my standards for my friends too high, I expect them to do for us as I would do for them and I am learning that state of mind is setting us up for a big letdown.

3.)    Sometimes a few bud lights, with a few great friends, can make everything suddenly seem calmer and less hectic – those friends are keepers.

4.)    The way people chose to parent is none of my business. Being surrounded by friends and family with small children, I  tend to analyze the type of parent they are and use it as a template for the kind of parent I want to be. As a result, I tend to think things like “I will not do that when I have kids” or “I will make sure my kids have this” or “why would they do that”. Every parent is different, every person is different – and that’s what makes the world go round. I will have my shot at getting it right one day, and god help the person who thinks I am doing it wrong.

5.)    No matter how comfortable our new couch is, our old and broken-in furniture or our bed – Brian is still the most comfortable place in the house – and apparently the cat thinks so too.

Home is anywhere with you

Not only is tomorrow Halloween, it’s also the day we move into our new home. Since this chick has never lived in a neighborhood we stockpiled on candy for all the rugrats to come through… unpacking or not – I will be enjoying my first experience handing out candy. Plus, we can’t start off the first night in the neighborhood being the candy-less people… we just can’t have that, now can we?!

Two years ago Brian and I decided we were ready to start looking at homes in the Southern Maryland area. We were open-minded to pre-owned or newly built and made a list of our must haves (I’ll let you guess whose must haves were who’s here):
   
   1.)    A finished basement, fit for a man cave
   2.)    A kitchen with white cabinets
   3.)    Walk in closets
   4.)    A bathroom on the main level
   5.)    Laundry on the Bedroom level
   6.)    2 car garage
   7.)    Less than 10 years old, if pre-owned
   8.)    At least 3 bedrooms
   9.)    2 ½ baths
   10.)    A backyard that Toby, our cockapoo, could play in

We set out into this journey with excitement and hope that we would find the perfect home for us. Originally Brian and I were not on the same page with the location. We both wanted to locate back to where we grew up - I wanted to be in the Park Hall/Ridge area, with quieter streets, and farm land galore. Brian wanted to be in Leonardtown or Hollywood, because the school district there is considered ideal in our area. (I don’t see anything wrong with a high school nicknamed Ghetto Mills, I turned out just fine, yo!)

Our real estate agent went above and beyond and could not find anything pre-owned that met our expectations… she asked us to budge, we just could not. We knew what we wanted and we wouldn’t be closing without it - Onto new builds.

We looked at multiple builders and quickly narrowed it down to THE one. Quality Built Home, Ltd. They were modern while still being classic… and more importantly, they offered houses that were symmetrical. (Insert OCD here)

Our builder, Quality Built, has multiple neighborhoods in our area – conveniently enough there is one in Park Hall and one in Hollywood that met our needs and were in our price range. With a little debating, discussing, and comprising, my wonderful husband agreed to come down to my neck of the woods. 3 benefits to our neighborhood vs. Hollywood:
   1.)    Shorter commutes to our jobs by over 30 minutes each way
   2.)    Price of land is cheaper making the same house in Hollywood 30K more than ours on slightly less land
   3.)    Closer to our siblings, nieces and nephews, and my parents

The downfall:
   1.)    Further from Brian’s parents 

I think we made the right decision and I am certain we will make plenty of time to visit the Beavans and do our best to maintain our Sunday dinner tradition.

Now to chose from the 21, count em’, 21 home styles we had to choose from. We narrowed it down to 3 and after asking our real estate agent to walk us through these same styles at least 3 times a piece we narrowed it down to this beauty:http://qbhi.com/home-styles/floorplan-viewer/the-compton

After 3 trips to the design center to select flooring, appliances, fixtures, and colors we were ready to break ground. 

Brian and I made multiple trips a week to our home throughout building and would always be giddy at any new changes… “LOOK, babe… piping!” - Oh, the thrills of adulthood. 

100 days later, and we are 24 hours from our final walkthrough and closing. Can you believe it? We’re all grown up.

Pictures of the new digs will follow this weekend. 

On a more "mushy-gushy-lovey-dovey" note, I want to say thank you to my husband, who has handled the paperwork, phone calls, and e-mails from mortgage lenders, the builder, our agent…. Day in and day out, related to our home while I was elbow deep in wedding planning. I know it wasn’t always easy making decisions and spending hours researching and ensuring we were getting the best bang for our buck, but I want you to know – it has not gone unnoticed. Thank you for taking on so much weight for me. Thank you for always doing everything you can to make my life easier, you really are a saving grace and I am not sure how I got so very lucky. I love you. Home is anywhere with you. 

Hallowe-love-pizza-en (too much?!)

This weekend was packed with packing (no pun intended) and Halloween fun!

 

Friday Brian and I spent the evening cleaning furniture and packing to get all squared away for our big move coming up. 3 days, in case you've lost count! We are so blessed to have so much to put into our new home. My sister scored an awesome set of end tables and a coffee table for us from a friend Brian's known since childhood. It was a steal - $100 dollars for these beauties!

 

Refurbished, all Crate and Barrel like
 

 Saturday we spent the day prepping for the Facini's 90's Nickeloden Halloween party. My contribution, aside from champagne, was Bubble Pizza (don't worry, recipe will follow). I found these beauties on Pinterest and couldn't have been more satisfied with the results. Not only were they easy, they were delicious.

 

Yum

 

 Brian and I were Arnold and Lila from Hey Arnold! Can you guess who the others dressed up as?

 

 

 

We ate, drank, played games and simply caught up with the best group of friends any couple could ask for.

 

Sunday was my sister's pumpkin carving party. And to top it off, I got to spend time with this cutie. Can we say "lucky"?

 



Husband's pumpkin request



My Nugget

 All in all I would say we had a pretty awesome weekend, ending with an awful Redskins loss... but hey, you can't win em' all! (Insert intended pun here)

 

Now, for the bubble pizza recipe as promised:

 

3 cans Pillsbury Grands Biscuits, divided by biscuit and chopped into 4 pie pieces each

1 16oz jar Preggo three cheese pizza sauce

2  1/2, 8 oz, Mozzarella shredded cheese (I used Sargento)

Toppings of your choice (we did 1 pan of cheese, 1 pan with cheese and bacon)

 

Simply oil two glass baking dishes (11x9), split biscuits into half and spread along bottom of dishes

Pour half of the sauce on each dish, spread on top of biscuits.

Add toppings

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes

Add cheese

Bake for an additional 5

 

Waa-la.

 

Pizza complete.