eleven weekend realizations

1. Find out who your true friends are, sooner rather than later
2. Do not, I repeat, do NOT - use the internet inappropriately at work
3. Inevitably, when you look and feel cute, you won't see anyone you know when you go out on the weekend. But when you look a hot mess and feel like crap, you will see ten people you know
4. The sound of a box fan in the window on a sunny day makes my heart go pitter-patter
5. One day of sunshine in Seattle = six days of rain
6. It's ok to stay in on a Saturday evening to catch up on laundry, do your dishes, and cuddle with your husband who is playing x-box - ps, I make a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich, or so I'm told :)
7. It always feels good to come back to Mom and Dad's house - especially on holidays - food for days!
8. 'Love and Other Drugs' had a lot more sex in it than I was expecting, alas, it was still a really good love story.
9. Pepsi slurpees from AM/PM are not, I repeat, are NOT as good as Coke slurpees from 711.
10. I should've video taped me teaching my dad how to use/download apps on his new iPhone4 - pretty funny
11. New mascara always makes me feel better

Here's to a better/less emotional/up-coming week.

But to be honest, I'm already looking forward to next weekend: hopefully going here and seeing this

Until then just for good measure, I wanted to share this with you, found it on Pinterest this weekend and I kind of love it :)

The Holiday says...

Olivia: We never have grownups here that are girls.

Sophie: I know.

Olivia: I really like it.

Sophie: Me too

One of my most favorite movies, and one of the most fantastic forts! :)

 

Happy Wednesday friends!

PS - see my newest recipe post here

weekend wrap up round three!

Sunday = Funday

We spent the afternoon at Alki, Pike Place Market, the Seattle waterfront, and ended up on Queen Anne Hill for some fabulous Thai food - whew! It was still pretty overcast and chilly, but one thing is for sure in Seattle, if it's not raining - GET OUTSIDE! 

We had to visit Pike Place so Bryan could get some of the roasted candied nuts we had seen when we went for Valentine's day

[insert numerous extremely immature 'nut' jokes here]

We then enjoyed a stroll down town. I absolutely love Seattle in the spring. Pike Place is booming with gorgeous flowers, fresh produce, and lots of interesting people. But most of all I just like being in the city. I'm not gonna lie, I was channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw strolling down the cobble streets, arm in arm with Bryan, and cafe latte in hand. Not sure if the 'city life' is for me but it definitely is great for a fun afternoon.

We also marveled the beautiful architecture and again, gorgeous flowers!

And just had so much fun I was smiling THIS big at the Ye Old Curiosity Shop!

I hope your weekend was so fun whether you stayed at home in your jamies or were out on the town with friends and family :)

PS - Please pray for Bryan, he is down with a cold this week :( Also! I have a couple of fun posts in store for this week - stay tuned!

that's a wrap - round two!

Whew!
We had a mighty full weekend indeed!

Bryan and I enjoyed a wonderful date night on Friday evening. Complete with Italian food, Redbox, and our faithful friends - Ben & Jerry's. We watched:

[Which was fabulous because I have a serious girl crush on Rachel McAdams]

[I think Shia Labeouf  and Carey Mulligan are super cute, and Michael Douglas is classic]

Saturday was spent at none other than the bowling alley with Bryan's dad and his girlfriend. I gotta say, I'm not a HUGE bowling fan. I like to go and watch, but that's where it ends for me. I know, I know it's not American - I'm sorry! :) But I did get a cute picture out of it :)

Saturday evening we treated ourselves to another amazing dinner, this time to celebrate a few birthdays! Steak and lobster for Bry and steak and crab for me - oh boy were our bellies full and wallet a little lighter. It was well worth it though. I caught this super cute scene - the boys playing pretend with Sophie, they were all on their cell phones talking with each other :)

Sunday was Christine's birthday. In 2004 Bryan came home to tell his mom and sister that he was dating a cheerleader. His sister exclaimed, "What the he**?! Are you crazy?!" And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship :)We've been through so much through these short six years - and I can't wait to see what our friendship and futures hold!  I love you Christine!

[We always know how to have a fun time!]

And last but not least we ended the night off cuddling with this chunkamunk.

Successful weekend?! I think yes!

ps - I logged onto Blogger this morning and saw I won a giveaway from Ashly @ Moon Walk! Heck yesss!

that's a wrap!

Good morning my friends!

I've had a couple cups of coffee and I'm finally ready to greet the day!

I hope your weekend was wonderful! We enjoyed a little bit of sunshine here, it was glorious! I woke up on Saturday morning [please note I woke up BEFORE Bryan] and it was so beautiful outside I HAD to be in it. I bundled up [because even though as much as I'd like it to be summer, it's still late winter/early spring and it's chilly] and when outside to bask in the beautiful firey ball in the sky :)

Our weekend was great but as always went by extremely too fast.

Here are some of the highlights

On Friday I saw this movie with my mama - love her and this movie!

The Lincoln Lawyer -

Matthew McConaughey, Ryan Phillippe, AND Josh Lucas

 Bought these new shoes, they are SUPER comfy and kinda cute!

New shoes!

On Saturday we attended a Luck-O-The-Irish party and drank my share of Leprechaun juice...obviously.

and hung out with some pretty wonderful people :)

On Sunday we attended an awesome fundraiser for the Amanda Knox Defense Fund. I haven't talked about this yet but I plan on blogging about it on Wednesday and giving you credible sites to read about Amanda's story and ways you can help. Bryan's family grew up with the Knox's, Curt and Bryan's dad are best friends, and we support the entire Knox family 100%. We were happy and excited to help in any way we can!

My mom and Hanna even came to support

Bryan bowling

via 

Rocking my 'Free Amanda and Raffaele' shirt

After the excitement of the afternoon it was time to come home and snuggle with this little man, so precious.

All in all our weekend was great. Eventful, family filled, and busy - just the way we like it! Hope you all had a great weekend as well! Check out my post from Saturday if you missed it, it might make you giggle a little :)

Happy Monday!

Let's make it a great week :)

Thankful Thursday

In many past blogs I've written about my amazing Mom here, here, and here.

It's really been on my heart lately that I need to pay some attention to another amazing person in my life as well.

My mom married my stepdad on July 17th, 1993. You could say that was a day that changed mine and my mom's life forever.

[My mom with her parents at her wedding]

Looking back I don't ever really remember going through the, "You're not my real dad stages" [or at least saying it out loud and if I did, I'm sorry Dad]

He was and always had been a great provider for our family. Growing up in California we had a pretty nice little life. House on a coul-de-sac, beautiful green grass with a palm tree in the front yard, and the beautiful California sunshine to soak up every day. When I started to get older and my parents added Wesley and Hanna to the mix, they soon realized that plush little California life was not as good as it could be because the school districts were not what they wanted. An opportunity arose and our family moved on up the west coast and settled in Washington. I was mad at both of them - they took me away from my school, my friends, and the only life I'd known. Now, I look back and realize that they loved me so much that they were willing to take me away from my school and friends to give me the life I deserved.

My dad is a frugal man. We laugh about it now, but really, one of my favorite memories is going to the store with him when I was a teenager because there was a sale on Tillamook cheese and toilet paper and he had coupons to use! He's taught me more about saving money, being realistic and the real world then I ever wanted to know, but I'm thankful because that grown-up part of my heart knows it's the right thing.

He may not be the most lovey-dovey kind of dad, but I know his heart and that he loves me as if he was my biological father. He even had a conversation with my mom one time and asked her, "Did you have acne when you were a teenager? Because I didn't so Amanda must have gotten it from you." ps-thanks mom! just kidding :) But you see what I mean?

A couple years back he lost his father to cancer. I watched him spend the months flying back and forth to and from Las Vegas making sure to spend all the time he could with him. On the day of his funeral I cried tears for my dad. I couldn't imagine losing your parent, and didn't want to.

On the day of my wedding, as I walked down the aisle arm in arm with my mom and my dad and biological father right behind me, it my dad that said, "Take it all in Amanda, look at everyone and how beautiful everything is. It's all for you two." I had held it together pretty much until then, but as you can only imagine, I lost it after that. The ugly cry set in lol.

[Me and my parents on my wedding day]

So basically what I'm trying to say is, I love you and am so grateful for the life you've provided for your family. I know we've disagreed and butted heads in the past, and Lord knows I'm sure we will in the future, but it doesn't matter. I'm sure I get my stubbornness from you ;)

Today I'm thankful for my dad.

I have three kids

[pretty cute]

Well, yesterday, today and tomorrow until 6:30.

A seven, ten and fourteen year old.
[kids of Bryan's boss that we are baby/house sitting for while they are out of town]

Here was my evening last night:

4:30pm: got off work

4:45pm: got home after driving through a hail storm [stressed me out]

5:30pm: drove the two younger kids to swim lessons

5:35pm: turning at a stop light I heard click click click in the back seat coming from the seven year old, turn to the ten year old and she says, "He's being a blinker."

6:30pm: come home from swim lessons

6:45pm: help youngest one with homework & make dinner
[chicken nuggets and fries]

7:00pm: collect dishes from dinner and put in dishwasher

7:30pm: relax with kids and remind them it's time to start winding down and that it will be time for them to go upstairs and read soon

8pm: remind kids again, it's really time to go upstairs this time

8:05pm: reminded youngest one again, he was pushing it

8:30pm: had both younger kids in bed and caught the last part of American Idol
9:00pm: exhausted. and that was only day one!

Oh, and did you know that the reason turtles smell bad is because they fart?

Yeah, I didn't either. But those are the kind of things you learn when you acquire three kids over night.

All you mama's out there,
I'm tipping my hat to you, fo sho.

So if I'm not around much today, it's because I'm busy bathing, bussing, or bossing the kiddos around. It's good practice for someday right?

Oy vey - say a little prayer for me ;)
PS - hope you all are well and having fabulous Thursdays!

My acceptance speech

If you love the Oscars - raise your hand.

Oh, you do?! Me too. Like I stated last week, I've been watching it in my parent's living room, sitting on the couch with a yummy dinner in my lap for as long as I can remember. I absolutely love the glitz, glamour, fashion, and acceptance speeches by the fabulous winners.

Just for fun, what would your acceptance speech consist of? Who would you thank? Would you go for the quick witty banter or long heart-felt approach, or a little of both?

I think after my night, mine would go a little like this -

I would like to thank my mom and dad for cooking a bomb.com dinner. I would like to thank Jennifer Hudson for inspiring to consider Weight Watchers. But most of all I would like to thank my sister Hanna for going to get a coke slurpee with me after I've been craving one all weekend. Without any of these people this night wouldn't have been possible.

Ok, maybe I could have been a little more eloquent than that... ;)

I really wanted to share my favorite dresses of the evening! 

Jennifer Lawrence - didn't know who she was till tonight - she was smokin!

Love her simplicity and eye make-up!

This color was absolutely beautiful on her - a little revealing but gorgeous none the less

Oh Reese - lookin a little like 60's Barbie but that's why I love ya :)

And last but not least Anne Hathaway's white dress she wore in the beginning of the show, I believe it was Marchesa and I couldn't find another photo for it ANYWHERE! I though it was stunning! She is so animated and fun to watch - James Franco, not your best performance.

I would LOVE to hear who your favorite dresses were and what your acceptance speech would be!

Hope your weekend was fabulous :)

PS - more on the rest of the weekend tomorrow, we spent the morning at Hooter's and I'll explain more tomorrow in my Tuesday letter to Bryan. 

Thankful Thursday

61. Love - I have to say, I'm thankful for love. The mushy kind, the family kind, and the kind for yourself. But since it's February, national LOVE month, I'll be thankful for the mushy kind if that's OK with ya'll.

62. Antibiotics - Love em or hate em, they helped me get through this last week. I've had fevers, coughing attacks and body aches up the ying yang and would've been in WAY more agony than I was without those things.

63. My baby sister - This gorgeous young woman is growing up right in front of me and it's freaking me out!

What happened to my little crazy red haired sister who loved Dragon Tales and cheerios? Obviously those things when out the door when puberty hit, but dang... I miss those little red ringlets! LOL I love you Hanner, you are becoming a beautiful lady. And with my purse, your new lanyard, and a coffee mug, you look 10 years older. Stoooop it!

64. American Idol & dreams coming true - SO neat, I went to school with one of the kids that's made it to the top 40 (or so I've read on gossip sites) his name is Stefano Langone watch for this guys' name in lights, he gives you goosebumps! I wasn't best friends with him or anything but I had a couple classes with him, he has a really good heart and a POWERFUL voice that will knock your socks off! Go Stefano! :)

65. Firsts - the first dinner in our new home - mac&cheese and pigsinablanket, mmmmm!

What are my friends thankful for today?

I'd love to hear... see... whatever :)

I'm BAAACK!

GOOD MORNING BLOGGING WORLD!

Ahhhhhh yes, it feels good to be back, I may still be hacking up a lung, but I feel 100x better!

I wanted to update you all on my Papa, he's doing better, they had to rehyrdrate him in the hospital and the next day as well, but he is home with my Granny now :) Thank you all SO incredibly much for your prayers, it made my heart burst.

In case you didn't see my Hot Sweaty Mess post, here's a recap:

Tuesday night: came home with a low grade fever

Wednesday morning: woke up with a 101.4 fever - went to the doctor, he diagnosed me with the flu and put me on Tamiflu and an inhaler for chest tightness

Wednesday evening: woke up after taking a nap with a 103.1 fever - highest fever I have ever remembered having in my life, I was so scared. I jumped in a tempid bath, took some more ibuprofen and sweated it out.

Thursday & Friday: Struggled with a fever in the low 100's and started coughing, like bad, like so hard I felt like I was going to throw up

Saturday: Felt like I was getting worse so I went to urgent care in the afternoon - the doctor there put me on cough syrup (with coediene - the good stuff) and prednizone (to help with the swelling in my throat)

So, how am I now?

Five days, four prescriptions, three days of eating nothing but soup and saltines, two doctor's visits & a partridge in a pear tree later, and I am doing MUCH better, still have a yucky cough, but it's under control. Still taking it easy though.

Which brings me to our MOVE!

I never thought it would happen, and it finally did. It went off with a few miniscule hitches, but other than that, I have to brag on my family a little before I share some photos. Bryan, & his step-dad, mom and sister loaded up 3 cars, a truck and a trailer full of our stuff, from one home to the other in a matter of hours and my mom and sister came and cleaned our apartment from top to bottom - we have an AMAZING family. Just sayin.

Ok, now I will try to get more pictures soon, but these are a few I took on my phone right after we got things moved in:

view from our backyard

my personal favorite feature of the house

just imagine candles everywhere!

yessss :)

the kitchen - and Harley

breakfast nook :)

view from our front room

Ahhhh, it feels SO good to finally be DONE with apartment living. However,  I have to say that the apartment's we've lived in have been good to us, and for that I am grateful :)

I can't wait to catch up on your blogs and see what's been going on in your lives! I've missed you! Thank you again for all your well wishes and prayers for me and my family this past week, it was definitely trying at times, but we pulled through it, together.

PS - Don't forget! Today is the last day to enter the giveaway, tomorrow morning I will be choosing a winner via random.org. Good luck everyone!

The power of prayer

I'm in need of your prayers, good thoughts, and any good juju you are able to send my way.

SO much is going on in my head right now, I feel like I'm being tested -

I'm trying desperately to get over this awful flu

I'm going to start my period this week (which is making everything 10x more emotional)

We're moving (which is great but I'm stressed because I won't be able to help much)

and we just found out that my sweet Papa(grandpa) may have had a stroke...

If there were ever a time that I would appreciate your prayers it would be now... I've never been very eloquent at praying and I'm not the best Christian that I could be, but I'm going to try...

Dear Heavenly Father, 

It's me, Amanda. I know we haven't spoken in a while, and I know it seems like I only turn to always turn to you when something is going wrong, but that's not the case. You are in my head and heart always. My family and I are having troubled times right now, please lay your healing hand over my Papa and comforting hands over my Granny, they are still so in love and I can't imagine one without the other.  I also pray for the doctor's working with him to have skillful hands and knowledgable brains. Please make this my number one priority prayer, and if there is time left over, please also see that our move this weekend goes smoothly and that my family is well taken care of - we are so lucky to have such a family that they are giving up a weekend to help us clean especially since I'm so under the weather. Thank you so much and you'll hear from me soon.

Amen

This is my sweet Papa so you can put a face to your prayers

Granny and Papa

I love you Papa, I know everything is going to be ok, have Granny give you some "healing smooches"

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, I have tears in my eyes as I write this.

I have faith.

Confessions of a 20something

Here's to crossing my comfort zone...

My husband snores, but in his defense I heard I do too
I struggle with anxiety/stress/worry
I have really bad psoriasis on my scalp
Today I've been married for six months ♥ - please expect a super mushy post from me tomorrow to my husband
I wish I could write a letter to my teen self - in fact, I think I'll do that this week
Sometimes I feel, 'Am I ready to grow up?'
I stayed up till the wee hours reading her blog last night, I feel inspired by her
I wish I lived closer to my family in California, but couldn't imagine leaving the one in Washington
I listen to a radio station that plays 60's and 70's oldies - it makes me feel good :)
I love tanning - it also makes me feel good, even though I know it's really bad for me
I desperately want a new car just to put these on them - sorry babe :)
I traded a job that paid big bills that I hated, to a job that just pays the bills that I love
I sometimes avoid people I went to high school with - why? Embarrassment...
I'm not always as nice as I should be to my parents, that needs to change
I can't wait to move this weekend, finally
I didn't date much before Bryan, I'm OK with that, sometimes people make me think I missed out, I know they're wrong
I wonder 'Would I like me if I met me?'
I get hot flashes and sweaty often - especially in the summer ugh
I got my first pap smear for the first time last year - I cried before the doctor even started the exam
I worry about debt and my weight
I worry about my husband while he's at work
I love taking long soaks in the tub
Sometimes I intentionally watch sappy love stories or listen to country songs just to cry
I feel like a major bitch sometimes - if you've experienced that side of me, I'm sorry
I'm a major homebody...like really bad - Bryan isn't, I find it is a healthy balance for me
There are some toxic people I'm looking to cut out of my life...
I'm an awful procrastinator :(
I love with all my heart, and just want to be loved that way in return
I'm really easy to please
I just bought this from my seriously talented friend and fellow bloggee - check her out!
I feel really good that I did this - thanks for sticking around till the end :)

Juno's dad says - PS...

via here

"Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with."


PS - My blog turns 100 posts old today, Happy Birthday blog! That's either super exciting or just more proof that I talk too much... I'll let you be the judge! :)

Happy weekend everyone! What are you excited for this weekend?
Me:
Lunch with best friends
The Seahawks game on Sunday - do you feel the earth quakin yet? :)
Starting to pack - getting ready for the big move at the end of the month :)))
& The Golden Globes! Whoop!

Today's Letters Inspired-WE GOT IT!

Today's Letters: Dear Bryan James, your USBC bowling card came in the mail yesterday and reminded me once again how much I love you and think it's awesome you have so many hidden talents such as bowling. I'm pretty sure I loved this more than coke Slurpee's on a sunny summer day. Dear Icy-Hot, your minty fragrance has been filling the air in our apartment the last couple nights. Thank you for being super cold, then super hot to soothe the husband's and mine aches and pains. Is this what getting older smells like? Dear new house on a lake, do you fully understand how excited we are to live in you? PS - Thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers sent our way, WE GOT THE HOUSE! Crossing one thing off my 2011 Bucket list already :) Dear Bear (who always gets two letters), our life is about to change for the better - "Ya'll ready for this?! duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh" I love you more than Hermione loves Ron, more than Rob Dyrdek loves his Fantasy Factory, AND more than you love Dewars taffy from Bakersfield, CA - just in case you didn't catch on, that's A LOT of lovin going on .

Cheers for the weekend, the Seahawks in the playoff game on Saturday, and meeting my sister's Australian exchange student!

What are YOU excited for this weekend/coming week?

PS - Pretty please see the inspiration for this post HERE - Tim and Em never cease to amaze me!

XOXO

Thankful Thursday

46. Kellen Dean Thompson - Some of you may remember I posted a while back that I had gone to my girlfriend(&bridesmaid)'s baby shower, Ksavera. Well, yesterday she gave birth to a beautiful bundle of baby joy 7lbs 6oz 20inches. From what I know, the delivery went great, smooth and safe :) I'm SO excited to meet him, I feel like I've known him for the last 10months - well technically I have :) AH! Happy BIRTHday Kellen! Congratulations Ksavera and Jason - love you both!

[I love that he's got a little smirk on his face :) and that Ksavera looks GORGEOUS!]

47. New opportunities at work - Bryan and I both made strides in our jobs these past couple weeks, we are so thankful and excited to both be taking on more responsibility and can't wait to continue growing in our companies.

48. Parenthood - The TV show. I'm pretty sure I've never laughed and cried so much while watching one program, ever! I absolutely LOVE the characters and can't help but think that the script stays pretty true to real life! Plus - I get my weekly dose of Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) since Gilmore Girls is only in syndication now! ;)

49. BIG NEWS! - Big to us anyway :) We are possibly moving into a house. FINALLY... after three years of apartment living, we have finally found a perfect house for us to rent. It's two bedrooms, two bathrooms, SUPER cute kitchen and master bathroom, and best of all? It's on a LAKE! We would have 4th of July plans every year :) We're waiting to hear back on the application process, but hopefully all goes well and we will be moving before the end of the month :) Please keep your fingers crossed for us! I didn't want to say anything until it was final, but I figure the more people sending good thoughts our way the better, right? We are oh-so excited and just hope everything pans out :)

50. Pandora - I've said it once and I'll say it again - Pandora serisouly brightens up my day. It's almost like it gets in my head and knows what kind of music I need/want to listen to! Exhibit A: Yesterday I was missing Bryan - Obviously we live together, but some days I feel like we're either too busy or he has to work late, so we don't get to spend quality time together. Anyway, this song came on the radio and made me sit and daydream about my hubby - I love him so much and this song reminded me that even though we're not always together, he's always on my mind :) (PS I'm not complaing by any means, I know we have it really good. I give major kudos to you ladies who are in a long distance relationship or have a spouse that's deployed. You are MUCH stronger than I could ever be.)

Keith Urban: Album-Defying Gravity Song-Only you can love me this way

Well, I know there's a reason
And I know there's a rhyme
We were meant to be together
And that's why

We can roll with the punches
We can stroll hand in hand
And when I say it's forever
You understand

That you're always in my heart
You're always on my mind
But when it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way

I could have turned a different corner
I could have gone another place
Then I'd of never had this feeling
That I feel today, yeah

And you're always in my heart
Always on my mind
When it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way
Ooh

And you're always in my heart
You're always on my mind
And when it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way
Ooh

Only you can love me this way


What are you thankful for this week?