I found paint in my ear...

Spencer and I walked into our home for the first time last night!

We immediatly set to work painting the walls and making our home feel pretty, relaxing and wonderful. So far we have finished 2 rooms. The transformation is amazing!

Kitchen Before...


...and after!

Isn't it beautiful! The cabinets looked so yellow before, and now they are simply perfect!!! ...and now for the dining room...

The scary blood red before...


...and the beautiful, relaxing after!!

I can't wait to put big white linen curtains and our expresso furniture in this room. Maybe get a comfy white chair for reading... :)

So, that's our home so far. :) Tonight we tackle the living room and "man-den."

The Picture Tells The Story...

Traceytagged me in a fun photo post. (thank you!)
So here are the rules...
* Open my first photo folder
* Scroll down to the 10th photo
* Post that photo and story on my blog
* Tag five friends to do the same


This photo was taken almost exactly one year ago! The photo is of my mom, sister, aunt and I at my mom's 50th Birthday Party!
My mom is an amazing woman. Since I was 16 years old she has been mother and father, and has worked to make the lives of my sister and I as normal, and wonderful, as possible. She has slowly become a best friend who I can tell anything to, while still being a mom that I can go to in times of need and offer motherly advice. For her 50th Birthday my sister and I wanted to do something REALLY special. We made her 50th birthday one she will always remember and laugh about.
About 2 months before the big day, we began planning. We called my aunt who lives in Florida and asked her to fly in for the big day, but not let mom know that she is coming. At 6:00 we pulled up to her house in a limo filled with my aunt, sister, me and 7 of moms closest and dearest friends. All of us got out of the limo and stood in the driveway while the limo driver went to knock on the door (except for my aunt who hid inside the car while we blocked her from view) My mom answered the door looking completely confused and then screamed as she saw everyone standing in the driveway! Then in the next second my aunt flew out of the crowd and made my mom so shocked she started jumping out of down and couldn't say anything other than, "Oh my god..." (Here's a photo of her after my aunt ran out)


We took mom inside and got her changed and back into the limo where we took the photo of the 4 of us above. After taking the photo we all headed out for dinner at Houlihans, followed by some bar hopping at Kansas City's Power & Light District.

....but the party didn't stop there! At 10:00 we had a second suprise for mom. We all piled back into the limo and headed back toward her house. She was so confused and couldn't see why we were already heading back home. Then we pulled into this little tiny bar. We got out of the limo, grabbed moms gifts and led her into the bar where every other person she has even known yelled Suprise!....and mom completely lost it and started crying. We had drinks, cake, decorations and lots of friends & relatives. It was a truly amazing night, and one my mom loves to talk about to anyone she meets. :)


Now I tag.....anyone who reads this, particularly.....

Klaw
SarahRae
Happy Blogster
Rebecca
Living Greenlee

Comment when you do this so I can read your fun photo fact!

Do I smell clean clothes?

Last night was a wonderful night. Spencer and I drove out to Grandma's and picked her up. She was super talkative and it seemed, just as excited as us! We drove to Sears and went in. Grandma told us to just take our pick from all of the top-load washers and dryers! We ended up buying a beautiful GE washer and dryer. Energy Star certified, large load, high efficiency, with a stainless steel basin to help neutralize oder! Grandma even bought the 5 year protection plan on both pieces so we can have people come out for yearly maintenance, and to protect against any issues with the unit that come up! She is such a sweet grandma! I love her. :) She just kept giggling and saying she wished someone could have done this for her when she was just starting out.
After our shopping expidition we headed out to Outback Steakhouse where we had a blooming onion, salads and a fantastic meal! I got slow cooked tenderloin with crab stuffed shrimp. SOoooooo incredible! :)

In other news....We get ownership of our home in 8 hours! At 5:00 Spencer and I will walk into our home together for the very first time! I can't wait to turn on the air conditioning and revel in the fact that we don't have to listen to people walk around/ drag chairs across the floor, in the apartment above us, or hear the AWFUL music coming from below us... Tonights big goal: Paint the living room!

A Whirlwind 24 hours!

Well, Spencer and I are officially homeowners! We closed on our house yesterday and got a key! (Although we can't use the key until wednesday at 5, or until we get the go ahead that the previous owners have moved on out.)
After we closed on our glorious home and I signed my name on a stack of papers 2" thick.....my hand hurt a little.... we drove to our tax guy and turned in the paperwork so he can process everything for our tax reimbursement! We should get our big check, courtesy of Mr. Obama and Co.'s brilliance, in a month.
We ate a quick lunch fit for royalty, a la Burger King, and Spencer drove me back to work. I was TOTALLY unable to concentrate by any stretch of the imagination!
After a grueling 3 hours, 5:00 finally arrived and I gathered my things to leave. I met Spencer at Sherwin Williams where we used our $10 off of $25 coupons (We're buying a can at a time so we can keep getting $10 off and so far have saved $40!) We then drove to the grocery store and indulged in buying some sandwich meats, chips, soda's and nutty bars. (I felt the need to treat myself with a Little Debbie celebration snack!)
We took everything back to the apartment and loaded up the fridge to await the big moving day. Then we headed to Lowe's to purchase some much needed painting accessories and a ladder. The ladder is only about 4 feet tall but i've never owned a ladder before, and it was a pretty important milestone in my little opinion. :) After Lowe's we picked up our TV mount at the UPS location downtown (I am more excited than ever to finally mount our tv!!!!) and picked up some burritos from a little slice of heaven, that looks like a slum. Pancho's. My burrito was sooo good and juicy...in fact, I ended up with juice all over my hand. (The best foods are always the messy ones!
Once we got home and relaxed a bit we started packing more. We seriously live in a sea of boxes right now. Every step you take you have to plan out so as not to bump into something! We packed up our kitchen and then Spencer went out to the car to get more boxes. While he was gone I checked my phone and was suprised to see that my dear sweet grandma had called. I called her back and she asked how moving was going, and then told me something that made my jaw hit the floor and angels sing from the heavens. She wanted to buy us a brand new washer and dryer as a housewarming present!!!!!!!! She asked when we would be available to join her at Sears to find this holy appliances and we are going tonight! No more quarters, no more community washing machines, no more laundry mats watching the clothes go around and around.... We are going to be able to wash our own clothes, in our own home without having to carry around a pound of change!!!!! Seriously, with these AND our new dishwasher Spencer and I aren't going to know what to do!

Sooooo tonight we are driving to my grandma's house to pick her up and going shopping at the mecca of appliances...Sears. Followed by a nice little dinner and chat with the sweetest grandma in the world.

Life seriously can't get any better than this!

Oh wait, I also saved $10 on dog food!!!! It was on sale and I had a coupon!

Tomorrow we begin our big move... :) (MANY photos to come!!!)

Lil' Bug- Week 6

Moving

These next 2 weeks are going to be crazy, and it still hasn't quite sunk-in...
We got some good news yesterday and found out we will be closingon our home monday next week! We get the keys on wednesday at 5 and can finally move! We still haven't really begun packing and my list is growing like a weed on the things that need to get done like calling the utility companies, buying our paint and painting accessories, finishing up things for Laura's bridal shower(which is the weekend we move), making her bacchelorette invitations, packing, going to class from 9-5 this friday and saturday since my Sustainability course is starting, PACKING....and packing...
I really would like to finish all the things that need done at the apartment by the end of this weekend, so that next week when I get off work I can go to the house and paint each night. and then I found out today that i'll be working until 7 on thursday next week, which eliminates a few good hours of painting fun! Oh well, maybe Spencer and I will sleep on the floor of our new home that night to maximize our time. :)

We also decided when we will be going to get our puppy! We will be meeting her in Fayetteville, Arkansas on June 30th at 11am!!!! I'm so excited I could just squeal in delight!!!!!

In other news we were supposed to have a designers meeting this morning, but its been recheduled to July 8th due to so many people having babies. our homework was to spell out a word that is something we (creative services) do for the company. My word was "Support". I went out with Spencer and Sarah to create my word in the West Bottoms last night, and this is the result...

... and yes, if you are wondering that is Wilbur lifting his leg to pee that forms the R..

We had a lot of fun finding the letters and letting the dogs run around in the intense heat that had suddenly enveloped KC. The highlight of the expedition was that a ladybug flew into Spencer's ear and he started squawking around trying to get it out. It was really holding on for dear life and we were scared it might just walk down into his ear canal. Luckily he finally picked a stick up off the ground and poked it until it decided to let go and fall out, or maybe he killed it and it fell out... Either way, it was a win and we were able to continue our journey around the bottoms. :)

Pants...or no pants? Isn't that always the question?

I am in a horrible predicament. I want to clean the bathroom, but I need my tunes to get me in the mood. My Yeah Yeah Yeahs album to be exact... alas, it is in my car... outside...and that would require putting on pants to go retrieve. Sigh...whats a girl to do!?

Paint

I got some wonderful news today! We should close our house on the 22nd! To celebrate Spencer and I finalized our paint selections. I think it's going to be sooo pretty!

I can't wait to see them all on the walls!

My heart.

instructions: with as much creativity as you can muster, show your heart in: a picture, a poem, a song (or piece of music), a phrase (or quote), an item of clothing, a place, and (just for fun) a Disney princess. if you want to join in, tag 6 more blogs.

a picture...


a poem...

Rain
I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

a song...
"Keep Breathing" Ingrid Michaelson


a phrase...
"Passion may make you crazy, but is there any other way to live?"
-Mr. Howard Hughes

an item of clothing...


a place...


a princess...


I tag...anyone who reads this! Comment back if you do so I can go see yours!

20

I have finally done it. I am back in my routine of working out everyday. I used to go everyday about a year ago, but then I decided to go to grad school and I needed that time t study for my entrance exam, and study for class. It's hard to get back into the grind, and it took me a long time to get my rhythem back, but i've done it! My goal is to lose 20 pounds by the end of the summer. I find it totally do-able! And my reward for losing those 20 pounds is to have a nice dinner at the Melting Pot with Spencer. I've always wanted to go, and now I have something to look forward to, even if it is in not-so-distant future!

What a cutie!

Lil bug is now 5 weeks old!

Here she is with her sisters. She's the one on the right giving a big yawn.


She's getting pretty active!


With her sisters again. She's a leader. Not a follower. :)

Lil Lady

I really can't wait to meet this lil bug. (We still haven't choosen a name.)

Quirks

An amazing little bloggist who writes a blog called, A "Cheery" Disposition, decided to introduce who she was and what makes her tick to all of her faithful readers. While I don't have a large following, I think it's a fun little activity to think deep about what makes a person who they are, and have decided to reflect upon my own life. I realize that my quirks are what make me who I am, and even though some of them cause grief from time to time I am proud of that. So this is me.... abridged.

* I am a strong believer in the "security blanket". For some reason I just can't watch a tv show, or a good movie without being cuddled up with my blankie. Even if it's 100 degrees outside, you will often find me snuggling on the couch wrapped in my comfy, soft blankets watching the tv with the ceiling fan on over me. When I was little I always pretended my blanket was magical. If I was under my blanket than I was safe and nothing could ever harm me... I still believe that deep down...

* When I listen to music I create soundtracks to my life in my head. I don't really enjoy listening to music unless I can see it fitting into my life at one point or another. I believe that's why i love the movie, The Holiday, so much. Because the music in that movie illustrated the story where words couldn't. "Just Breathing" by Ingrid Michaelson is the song on repeat in my head right now. It illustrates the idea that right now I am just sitting and waiting for things to happen in my life, in my family, in my future...
"The storm is coming, but I don't mind... All that I know is i'm breathing...I want to change the world, instead I sleep...all that I know is i'm breathing, all I can do is keep breathing..."


* When I paint, I love writing things on walls in the color that i'm painting the walls. When I paint over it it's like i'm hiding my own secrets in the walls of my home.

* I love puppies. I really have no emotion what-so-ever when I see a newborn baby, but I could coo over a puppy until the corners of my mouth hurt because my smile just won't fade.

* I love nights at home with Spencer. Making a pizza together, laughing, watching a good movie and talking about it afterward. I love that we can do absolutely nothing, and never be able to love each other more than in that moment.

* I may not have many people in my life anymore that i'm truly close to, but the people that are there are the fiercest people I could ever hope to laugh with, spend time with and rely upon. I used to think that my circle needed to be vast and diverse to be happy... now I have realized that the tighter circle is far better than I ever could have imagined.

* I love books. I love that feeling when you are reading a book and can't wait to turn the page and see what lies before you, but at the same time terrified to reach the end because you know it will be awhile before you find another book to give you that feeling.

* I often fantasize about having secret powers and magical happenings and I love books and movies that involve fantasy, whimsy and imagination like Ever After, Practical Magic, Penelope, Serendipity, Harry Potter, Eragon (the book), Hook, The Golden Compass and many more than I ever could name.

* I am terrified of getting the call that someone I know has been killed in a car accident. it's my greatest fear and I often have my throat catch in my chest when I know someone is driving and I can't get hold of them.

* I am a little O.C.D. I will lock the door and 3 seconds later have to check that I locked it, and still make Spencer check it before bed. I second guess myself a lot and even though I know I turned off the coffeemaker, or locked the door...I will stress myself out about it and go home to check.

* When walking through an empty parking lot at night, or walking down the street by myself I plan what I would do if sometime attacked me.

* My mind wanders too often than it should and often in the middle of another conversation. I have a hard time turning off my brain, and focusing on the things I need to.

* I love being able to say the word, "Love", and experience it as it spreads through my entire body. It's no longer a word to me, it's a feeling...a way of life.

* I am so happy in this moment, but so excited for the next moment and to know where my path in life is going.

C'est La Vie. :)

Fantastic wedding invitation!

Watch this. It's seriously fantastic!

My new favorite song.

It's Amazing by Jem. Love it!

The BEST

I once believed that Ben & Jerry's was the end-all be-all of the ice cream gods... My opinion has now changed...

Green & Black's Organic Chocolate Ice Cream is the Bee's Knees. It's a perfect combination of luscious soft flavor and dark chocolate euphora. My only qualm? That I ate it all...

Stop by Pics & Kicks for this BEAUTIFUL camera strap giveaway!