I've Been Tagged!

The lovely Lauren, over at TIPPEE CANOE, tagged me for a Q&A post! Are you ready to learn a little more about me? Here we go:)

The Rules:

*Post these rules

*Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you

*Create 11 questions of your own to ask the people that you're about to tag

*Tag 11 people and link them with your post (and let them know they've been tagged!)

1. Why did you first get involved in the blogging world?

I wanted to start a blog for the past few years, but I felt like I never had time.  I finally decided to go for it this past January.  I figured, what better time to start my blog, than when I'm in a completely new chapter of my life? The newlywed chapter.  When I first started blogging, I had no idea how gigantic and awesome the blogging world was.  I'm so excited to start building new bloggy friendships!

2. Who inspires you most in your life?

I'm not trying to be all mushy, but honestly, my husband inspires me the most.  I've never met someone more patient and loving than he is. Since I am the most impatient person on the face of the earth, he inspires me every day with his constant patience and love toward everyone.  He is also hilarious.

 

3. How would you describe your personal style?

The only words that are coming to my mind are super girly girl.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, I am wearing heels.  I love flowy blouses and skinny jeans/high-waisted skirts.  I think it's a sort of chic bohemian-ish. Maybe?

4. What is your personal favourite blog post you've written?

Love and Loogies! I had so much fun writing it.  I laughed myself silly as I played the stories over and over in my head while I wrote about them. I've never laughed so hard OR been so mortified!

5. What is your guilty pleasure?

Candy. Any kind of candy. If I am left alone with candy, I will eat it. All of it.

Another guilty pleasure is outlet malls. Oh heavens.  Outlet malls.   When I go to an outlet mall, I completely forget that I have a budget...I am in heaven until I add up all of my receipts at the end of the day. This happened to me yesterday. I went to a new outlet mall with my momma in love, my sister in love and my niece. The Banana Republic Outlet is now the owner of all my money.

6. What is your favourite spring must have?

Cropped pants (no, not capris) and a lot of cute wedge sandals:)

7. What cheers you up on a really crappy day?

Both of my boys (my hubs and my pup) always cheer me up on my crappy days! Oh. Shopping cheers me up, too. Lots of shopping:)

Funny picture! I love BayLee's face hahah.

8. What is your dream job?

To be an RN in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).  When I had my rotation through NICU, I fell in love with all of the tiny babies.  Those precious souls stole my heart.

 

9. What is your real job?

I work as an LPN in a huge clinic.  I'm in family practice right now.  I'm also still in school full time.  I'm working on my RN so I can have my dream job one day!

10. Who is your celebrity crush?

This is so typical, but I'm going to go with Patrick Dempsey.  AKA: McDreamy, duh!

11. Which blog did you very first follow?

Kendi Everyday. It's a super cute fashion blog!

Tag you're it!!!

Mrs. Robinson @ My New Wife Life 

Cassie @ Ben & Cassie 

Nikki @ The Pink Growl 

Whitney @ as luck would have it 

Crystal @ ~Skittle Bug~ 

 Shaylynn @ red lipstick and melodies, a blahwg 

Montaya @ The Price Is Right 

Kimberly @ Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl

Mrs. Monologues @ Mrs. Monologues 
Alycia @ Crowley Party 
Tiffany @ Little Tiffanista

 

Here are your questions.

1. Why did you start your blog?

2. What is your most embarrassing moment of all time?

3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

4. Who is your celebrity crush?

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

6. What is your day job?

7. What is one thing about you that may surprise people?

8. What is your favorite clothing store?

9. What words would you use to describe your (clothing) style?

10. What is your favorite television show?

11. What is your biggest pet peeve? 

I can't wait to get to know you girls better!

Husband, Dog and Button Swap!

Today was a fun day, filled with laughs.  Laughing is my favorite.  I really like the people I'm working with (I've forgiven them for the poppy seed incident....who knows, maybe they didn't see it?), they're a lot of fun.

One laughs of the day came from my husband.

At work, of course I can't have my phone at all times.  We all leave our phones at the nurse station and we check them periodically to make sure we don't have a family emergency or something.  So after a few hours of not looking at my phone, I decided to check it.  I had a missed call from Tyler (with no voice mail) and a text that said, "Babe, my right eye is swollen shut." After reading that text message, my initial thought was what the crap.  Before we got married, Tyler  never had anything wrong with him.  He was NEVER sick.  I had never even seen him sick.  But since we've been married, he's had stomach bugs, a sinus infection, a double ear infection, multiple sore throats, and he almost broke his ankle off.  I'm not even going to talk about the allergic reaction he had to an antibiotic. His face swelled up like road kill that festers in the hot sun for a couple of days.  So after I read the text I called him back.  He didn't answer.  My phone buzzed about five minutes later.  There he was...Tyler Mr. Grumpy Pants.  I asked him what he did to his eye.  He said he thought he got something in it so I told him to rinse it out and we got off the phone.  A little while after our phone call, I got another text.  "Hey....you are right. I was grumpy.  I'm really sorry.....I've had a pretty terrible day...plus my eye is swollen and I look really ugly.."  You may not find that funny, but I laughed so hard when I read the "plus my eye is swollen and I look really ugly" part. What was my response? Grumpy people are usually pretty ugly.

So now we are getting ready for a road trip! We're heading to Alabama, after work tomorrow, to visit Tyler's family.  We're driving through the night. I LOVE road trips and I love my Ingram family, so it's a double win.  I have my Nsync, Backstreet Boys, (young)Britney Spears, etc., playlist ready to go! (No, my husband doesn't know about that yet.) Tyler bought a new truck in December and he is extremely excited to take it on it's first road trip.  I walked outside about an hour ago, and this is what I saw...

 

 I'm not a guy...so I'm not really sure what is going on in this picture...but I think he likes his truck?

 I walked back in the house and saw this...

I'm not a dog...but I'm pretty sure he thinks my pink fuzzy socks are his new toy?  He's still trying to find the squeaker, as we speak...

Oh, and I WANT TO SWAP BUTTONS WITH YOU!!! 

If you have a blog button and you want to do a swap with me, let me know! If you grab my button,   I'll grab yours!

Hope you had an super fabulous day!

I Confess...

     

Today, I'm linking up with Mo for Monday Confessional.

I confess- I definitely used my husband's toothbrush this morning.  I confess- today was my first day at my new job, and I showed up 45 minutes early and sat in the parkinglot until I was 15 minutes early. I confess- (this is a long one) I had to do hours of online training today, on things I have already learned, and I began to feel slight boredom.  Each video was about 20 minutes long...and after each video, it asked one question about the video.  I kept answering the questions correctly, and at one point I thought to myself, It's official, I'm a genius.  Then I started the next video.  This one was way longer than the others.  I thought, pshhh, I know this stuff.  So I twiddled my thumbs, pushed back my cuticles, thought about shopping with my momma-in-law this weekend, picked fuzz off of my scrubs, and alas...the video was over, and the one question popped up.  Guess what? I didn't know the answer.  Oh well, I thought.  This is for training purposes, if I get it wrong it will just correct me, no biggie.  I did, in fact, pick the wrong answer. Turns out, it was "a biggie." The computer made a terrible noise, and a message popped up that said, "Sorry, you answered this question incorrectly, you have to watch the video over." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  So I watched it again, and this time, I paid attention.  No fuzz picking.
I confess-  My lunch break was at noon.  I had a salad with poppy seed dressing.  When I got off of work at 5:30, I looked in my rear-view mirror and discovered a poppy seed in between my two front teeth.
I confess- Tyler was putting shoe polish on a pair of his dress shoes last night....and I LOVED the smell of the polish.  I loved it so much that when Tyler was finished, he hid the shoe polish because he was afraid I was and/or would become a huffer.
I confess- I rub my husband's earlobes (in between my pointer finger and thumb).  Some girls twirl their hair, but I prefer this.  I may or may not have a problem.  He said they were sore.  Now I'm on earlobe probation :(  I confess- I cleaned out our refrigerator this weekend.....and I found things, in Tupperware containers, that have the potential to give me nightmares. 
Do you have any confessions to make? ;)

Little Town, BIG Secret

Because of an experience I had yesterday, I am writing this post about my home town.  If you read my complete profile, then you already know that I'm from West Virginia.  I have lived in southern West Virginia, in a small town called White Sulphur Springs, my entire life.  My little town is tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains. It has two stop lights, three gas stations, one grocery store (that my dad runs), and a population of 2,263. Is the description too exciting for your heart to handle? I know, I apologize.

There is one thing that I failed to mention, though.  My town also is home to the, world famous, Greenbrier Resort...also known as "America's Resort."  So what is The Greenbrier Resort?  Here's a little summary.  It was built around a water spring, a sulphur spring, to be exact.  It was opened in 1778.  Visitors came from all over to "take the waters" of the spring, because they thought it was a healing spring.  Before it was called "The Greenbrier Resort," it was known as White Sulphur Springs (hence the name of my town).  After it's popularity grew, the first large hotel was built.  The government closed The Greenbrier, during the Civil War and World War II, and used it as a hospital.   Many presidents, including five presidents from before the Civil War, and the majority of the presidents there after, have stayed at The Greenbrier.  It reopened, as a resort, in 1948. Neat, huh?  Well, it gets even "neat-er."

The Greenbrier Resort

 The government approached The Greenbrier, one more time, in the late 1950s.....and my little town kept a secret for thirty years.  What was the secret?  An Emergency Relocation Center aka: a bunker and/or bomb shelter.  The bunker was built, underground, in the mountains.  To hide the building process, an addition to The Greenbrier, was also built (above ground).  The bunker was to be occupied by the US Congress (and the President) in case of war.  It was built between 1959 and 1962.  Both of my great-grand-grandpas helped.  My town kept the secret for thirty years, "At any point during those years, one telephone call from officials in Washington, D.C fearing an imminent attack on the capitol would have turned the lavish resort into an active participant in the national defense system."  Have you gotten "goosies" yet?  The secret was exposed to the world in 1992.  Bummer.

When I was growing up, I would complain about being bored and having nothing to do. Typical.  Little did I know, that during a portion of my childhood years, I was less than one mile from a bomb shelter for the president.  When I was 16 or so, and finally understood what the bunker was, it intrigued me.  I found it immensely interesting.  So what did I do?  I went to The Greenbrier and went on a tour of the bunker.  I wish all of you could go on that tour.  It blew my mind.

The bunker is entirely disguised by The Greenbrier.  The entrance to the bunker is disguised as a delivery station.  You know, a place where tractor trailers would deliver food for the resort, etc, etc.  However, if that huge delivery door was opened, it would lead you about 500 feet underground, to a two foot thick steel door.  The bunker door.  You would have to see it to understand, entirely, what I am talking about, but here's a picture.

The Bunker Entrance (behind the delivery station door)

There are also secret passageways that lead from the bunker, to the resort.  There are a few HUGE decorated doors, disguised as walls, that open up, inside the resort, and lead to the bunker.  I've seen those walls open up....and it is surreal.  One thing I noticed on the tour?  I felt like they didn't show us everything.  I saw hidden doors that tour guide didn't open.  I felt like the bunker should be much bigger.  Maybe, just maybe, my town still has a secret?  You never know!.......

One of the secret walls/doors

Another secret wall/door

Living right beside The Greenbrier has some perks. My old high school always has prom in one of it's huge ballrooms; Shaq stays there, and  goes to my old high school and helps the basketball teams; I always have an awesome 4th of July firework show to watch; the PGA tour plays on one of it's golf courses, and because I live here, I usually find free tickets to the PGA and the PGA concerts (like Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Blackeyed Peas and Rascal Flatts); and you randomly get to meet people from all over the United States and the world.

This is my experience from yesterday.
I've seen celebrities and presidents, but yesterday morning, I met a person that was WAY cooler than any of those other guys (to me, anyway).
Tyler and I woke up late, and decided to head downtown to a little, itty bitty diner to have breakfast.  The diner is just a bar with eight bar stools.  When I said itty bitty, I meant it.  Here's a picture.

When we got there, we were the only two customers.  About ten minutes later, another couple walked in and sat down beside us.  They looked like they were in their fifties. Tyler and the man talked and talked.  We found out that they were staying at The Greenbrier.  The man finally asked Tyler "What in the world brought you from Florida to here?"  I laughed as Tyler pointed at me.  The man then asked our favorite question, "How did you all meet?"  We love telling our story to random people:) Anyway, I told the man about my cancer and the special radiation I had in Florida.  Guess what.........................
That man.  The one sitting right beside me?  He engineers the type of radiation that I had.  Seriously?  The man was shocked that he was sitting beside a girl who had proton radiation, and I was shocked that I was sitting beside a man who ENGINEERS proton radiation.  Like, he makes the special radiation....not really, but I don't know how else to describe it.  How weird/random/AWESOME is that? How many times do you get to eat breakfast with a guy who could have possibly invented the radiation you had? I was so shocked that I forgot to ask for his name!
I love my town, you never know who you're gonna run into!

If you want to read more about The Greenbrier or the bunker and it's reveal, go to these sites:
The Greenbrier Resort
Bunker

Oh, and my first day of work is TOMORROW!!!!!! I'm SO EXCITED! :)

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Peep Please!

Today I'm linking up with two new blog friends, Crystal and Jes! 

They had a pretty intriguing idea.  It's called Peep Please! This month, the idea was to dump our purses out and show the world what we are hiding in there.  Can you get to know a girl by looking inside her purse? Let's find out!

Chocolate Chip Cliff Bar: I love organic snacks, especially energy bars! I like to pretend to be healthy.
2 packs of UP2U gum: I went through a massive coupon phase about a month ago, and I got 6 packs of this gum for FREE. Yep. Free.
Tic Tacs: Sometimes I want fresh breath without the hassle of chewing.
3 Pepermints:  I think I took these from my church's bathroom, just in case of an emergency.
Deodorant: I always carry a deodorant with me. For when my "pit check" isn't pleasant.
Hand Sanitizer: I hate germs.  Whether or not this works, it makes me feel better...and it smells nice.
Static Guard: One time I wore a skirt that kept sticking in my crack because of static....because of that, I now carry this.
Sun Glasses: always a necessity.
1 Milk Bone with bite off of it, and 2 Mini Milk Bones: Our bank gives us those when BayLee goes through the drive through with me:)
Wallet: Has no cash, just my card.  I never have cash.  Yes, I am that girl who buys a water for $1.06 and swipes her card.
Mace: Because my hubby makes me carry it. AND I watch too many TV shows like NCSI.
Mascara: I am also the girl, you pass, driving down the road who is putting her mascara on with her mouth wide open.
Sephora Lip Gloss and Blistex: Sephora for lip gloss sexy days and Blistex for chap stick not-so-sexy days.
Keys:  I'm actually surprised these were in my purse.  They are usually in my car (locked in) or somewhere else in the great unknown.
Tamps: One from my bathroom, and one from the movie theater bathroom.  I like to be prepared.
Pen: I'm also surprised that there is one of those in there.  I can never find a pen when I need it.
Hair-bow: For when I had long hair.  I have short hair now.  So I guess I'll keep it in my purse in case I hear the "Does anyone have a hair-bow?" question.
Clippers, polish and file: For the quick fix.
Calipers: To read EKGs. I'm not sure why they are in my purse...
Coupons:  Because I like them.
Bouncy Ball:  Because when hubs and I go into Old Navy, he needs to buy one from the big bouncy ball machine...and then he puts it in my purse.
Comb: Because sometimes when I'm out and about, my hair loses it's body...so I give it a boost by teasing it. Don't judge.

Sooo this purse belongs to a girl who's scared of BO, bad breath, and being stolen; who likes to have nice nails and save money; and she owns a dog and has a static butt?  Yep, sounds about right!

There you have it, now you know what's in my purse! Now it's your turn to link up and show us what's in yours!

Hope you are having  an awesome Saturday!

Fabulous Friday

It's FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Starting today (it actually started yesterday), my weekend is gong to be filled with cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning.  I received a phone call from the clinic (where I am now employed) yesterday, and my first day is THIS Monday!  I am so excited, I can hardly stand it!  One of the last things the woman said to me was, "Just wear your color coordinated scrubs, bring your stethoscope, and your watch."  Guess what I did as soon as I hung up the phone? I laid out my scrubs and got my bag ready, fully equipped with my pink stethoscope.  I'm such a nerd:)  Come on Monday!  Back to cleaning.  Not just ordinary cleaning.  I got this massive "Susie Homemaker" feeling after the phone call.  It hit me, all of a sudden, that starting Monday, I'm not going to have as much free time as I have now.  Because of that, I started extreme cleaning yesterday.  I am determined to make our house sparkle by Monday.  I also went grocery shopping yesterday.  Tyler went with me and when I asked him what he would like to make himself for lunch next week, his response was, "Oh man....I have to make my own lunch....that stinks..."  Yep, I'm guilty.  For the past 4 months, I have been the wife who always has a hot meal waiting on my hubby when he comes home for lunch.  I spoiled him....and now I've realized that he may, in fact, starve next week.  

Tyler and I took BayLee for a walk on the river trail, Wednesday evening.    The river trail is a trail in the woods, beside a river.  It goes for miles and miles.  We walked for about two hours, and we may have gone about two miles.  Maybe.  It was BayLee's first time on the trail, and since hundreds of dogs have been there, most of our time consisted of him sniffing every patch of grass and marking his territory.  He was doing it so frequently that we started to think he was doing it, not just to mark his territory, but also to be able to find his way back home, if necessary. Bless his little heart.  Even though it took forever, we got a lot of laughs out of watching him.  I mean, I can't blame him for wanting to sniff and pee on everything.  After all, there were a lot of new things to sniff and pee on.

Here is what 99% of our walk looked like :)

We also encountered our first snake of spring during our walk.

This is a picture I found online.

Are those mine or Tyler's hands in the picture? HECK NO! We are both terrified of snakes.  We came across two boys on the trail.  They were both bent over, looking at the ground.  We were curious to see what they were looking at.  It was a baby snake, and it looked very similar to the one in the picture.  No, I didn't take a picture, myself.  I didn't want to get my hand near it, baby snake or not...it creeped me out.  Tyler started talking to the boys and they told him that they had talked to a couple of women, farther up the trail, who said they had seen two big snakes during their walk.  HELLO MAMA AND PAPA SNAKE!  We decided to turn around and head back to the car :)

In honor of Fur Baby Friday:

Bath time!

BIG, EXCITING NEWS! Yesterday, I had a lot of errands to run.  Since it was eighty degrees, I decided to leave BayLee at home (because I didn't want to leave him in the car, in that heat). By himself.  That's a big decision to make.  You see, BayLee has some anxiety issues.  Mainly, separation anxiety issues.  Whenever he is left alone, he shakes uncontrollably; drools profusely; pants like there's no tomorrow; and poops one hundred and seven million, puppy tootsie rolls in the floor.  Even though he does his business, outside, RIGHT before I leave, there are still one hundred and seven million.  I've decided that he has a reserve, you know, in case of emergency.  So, deciding to leave him home alone is a HUGE decision.  It is a decision that usually involves coming home, picking up his tootsie rolls, and scrubbing the carpet.  But yesterday, when I came home, there were NO TOOTSIE ROLLS! Hallelujah! I was so proud.  SO proud.  This gave me a lot of relief, because I have been very worried about what he was going to do when I went to work.  I believe his lessened anxiety was a mixture of two things.

Thing #1- Uncle Sparky

I picked up my brother parent's dog and brought him to my house, to give BayLee some company.  

They've become BFFs :)

Thing #2- Thundershirt

In December, I saw an article that was talking about Thundershirt.  It claimed that it was "proven to help your dog's anxiety."  I was extremely skeptical, but after much research, I decided to buy it.  It had a money back guarantee, so what was there to lose?  It did help.  I put it on him every time he had to be home alone.  He stopped drooling, shaking and panting.  The tootsie rolls, however, looked like they were in it for the long haul.
SO, because of Uncle Sparky and Thundershirt, I came home to a clean floor!

One more thing.  Subway used to be my FAVORITE fast food restaurant to eat at.  Then I found out I couldn't eat bread.  Fail.  I knew they made salads, but I was nervous to try a "Subway Salad."  For some reason I thought they would be gross.  After a whole year, I finally tried one this week.  They are DELISH!  There are endless options.  You can turn any six inch sub into a salad.  Genius.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday!

Shoes and Such

I have a confession to make.  I haven't exercised (regularly) for....well, I honestly don't know how long.  I've been trying to change that!  To exercise, you need tennis shoes, right?  The last pair of tennis shoes I bought was when I was in ninth grade (I guess I'm not a tennis shoe girl).  So whenever I exercise, I whip out those bad boys and get to it.  Unfortunately,  I was told yesterday, that I couldn't wear those tennis shoes anymore.  Why? Because they were seven years old? No.  Because, according to my husband, they were ugly.  I will admit, they weren't the prettiest things I've ever seen, but I didn't think tennis shoes were supposed to be pretty.  So he took me to Hibbetts.  We walked in and went to the shoe wall.  He asked me to point out the shoe that I would buy.  I looked at all of my options and then pointed one out.  He started laughing and guess what he said? Autumn, that is the ugliest shoe on the wall.  I never claimed to be a tennis shoe guru, so I wasn't offended.  Take me to DSW with pumps, flats and boots....in there I am a guru, but tennis shoes at Hibbetts? Not so much.  So I told Tyler he could pick them out.  These were his choice.

I actually like them.  Tennis shoe shopping will be his job from now on.  I walked a mile yesterday evening, and HOPEFULLY I will eventually (slowly) work my way up to running *gasp*.  One step at a time...one step at a time.

So in addition to walking/running....I also fell prey to an infomercial.  Are you ready for this? I am the proud ower of ROCKIN BODY!  Do you remember "Sweatin' to the Oldies"?  Well Rockin' Body is like that, but even better.  No neon spandex required.  It's from the maker of "Insanity," Shaun T, so I thought it was pretty legit.  It's supposed to be a dance party, and he teaches you the dance moves.  Even if it doesn't give me a rockin' body, at least I'm having fun!

Oh, funny story.

This morning, I was ironing Tyler's work clothes when I heard him yell.  OH MY GOSH, MY FOOT! What did I step on????   I heard him turn on the light.  Tyler? What happened?  The heel of your tan pump was sticking up and I stepped on it!  Right here, my response should have been, I'm sorry! Is your foot okay???  Instead, my response was, Oh no! did you break my shoe???  No babe, your shoe is fine, thanks for asking!  I've been laughing about that all morning.

Does anyone have any good tips to help me with exercising and staying motivated???

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Fun

I had a awesome jam-packed weekend!

Tyler and I left Friday evening for our getaway in Roanoke, Virginia.  We arrived around eight and decided to check into our hotel before going to dinner.  We stayed in the Hyatt Place, and it was super nice.

Before we left home, I looked up reviews for some restaurants.  Sometimes we find ourselves being creatures of habit, so I wanted to try at least one new restaurant while we were there.  I came across a Mexican restaurant called Abuelo's.  It had a five star rating.  We love Mexican food, so we decided to try it out Friday night.

Abuelo's

Their five star rating was definitely no joke.  It was not only the best Mexican food we've ever had, but it was also the best food/restaurant experience, in general, that we've ever had. It was AMAZING.  If you click on the link below the picture, it will take you to their official website.  You can find locations and see their menu.  Tyler recommends the Fajita Tacos and I recommend the Enchiladas with the sour cream sauce.  The queso is, also, to die for!  If you like Mexican food, you NEED to eat at Abuelo's!

Saturday morning we woke up at eight o'clock.  Our plan was to shop all day, and that is EXACTLY what we did. Amen!  I absolutely adore shopping and thankfully, my husband likes it, too.

A few weeks ago, I found a fashion blog, Kendi Everyday, that completely inspired me.  She talks about how people should have a "working wardrobe."  Meaning, a wardrobe that can be mix and matched and mixed and matched and mix and matched, some more.  She says that when you go shopping, if you see something you like, you need to make sure it will "work" in your closet.  If you can think of at least three outfits you can make with that new item and your existing wardrobe, you buy it.  If you can't think of 3 outfits (or pretty much any number you choose), don't buy it.  It makes SO MUCH SENSE.  I have a million pieces of clothing but I always end up saying "I don't have anything to wear," and that's why! I don't have a "working wardrobe." On Friday afternoon, I completely went through my closet.  When I was finished, I had three HUGE trash bags of clothes that I either, didn't wear anymore or that couldn't be made into more than one outfit. 

Ok, so anyway, back to Saturday, the shopping day! Our first stop was at Plato's Closet.  It is an awesome second hand clothing store that buys your used (name brand) clothes! I made about $100. Score.  We then headed to the mall.  I started building my new wardrobe at my three favorite stores: T.J. Maxx, Gap, and Charlotte Russe.  Everything I bought could be mix matched AND they could also be mix matched with the clothes I had left in my closet. It's just a start, but I am well on my way to having a complete mix and match wardrobe. It was so much fun! Tyler even had fun helping me.  Of course, we went to all of his stores, too!  

After shopping, we had dinner at Olive Garden (always a yummy choice) and on the way home we stopped and had double chocolate-chip frappuccinos (Starbucks), in honor of the 75 degree weather!

Here's a few pictures that I took on my cell phone.

Going to Abuelo's!

My hubs at Olive Garden

Not sure why I'm leaning forward, guess I was hungry!

Sunday consisted of church, my baby cousin's birthday party, and going with  my sweet friend to help watch her three month old, twin boys while she took her nursing board exam. 

Oh! Here's the mini daffodils! :)

Today, I was sick. Stupid gluten allergy.

I hope you all had an awesome weekend and a not-so-bad Monday!

Hey there, Friday!

Soooooooo the clinic that I was waiting to hear from JUST CALLED ME! My next step is a background check and as long as I pass that (I will pass that, haha) I HAVE THE JOB! So since I don't have anything shady in my background, I am going to go ahead and say that I have the job! YAY! Thank you Lord! I am beyond excited right now. BEYOND. Today is a great day!
I've decided to link up with "Friday's Letters" and "Fur Baby Friday" today:)

Friday's Letters:

Dear Church Family, thank you so much for voting for Tyler and I as "couple of the year" and giving us a free getaway weekend! We're leaving tonight!  Dear Future Deck, I am SO BEYOND EXCITED to start building you in April! I can already see you in my mind and you are beautiful.  Can't wait until you're here!  Dear Clinic, I AM SO GLAD YOU CALLED ME WITH GOOD NEWS! I will be in today to sign the papers for my background check. You won't be disappointed. I can't wait to see you every day! Dear Clothes (that I'm going to buy this weekend), I can't wait to meet you:)  Dear Husband, six o'clock can't get here soon enough.  Don't worry about packing your bag, I've already packed it. You're welcome!  Dear Mini Daffodils, I saw you at Walmart.  I'm sorry I didn't bring you home with me yesterday.  You are so incredibly adorable and "springy." I'm coming back to get you. Dear Booger, thank you for not being in my nose during my interview, I appreciate it:) 

Dear BayLee, this is the disgusted look you gave me when I woke you up super early this morning.  You seemed pretty irritated.  I'm glad you were able to go back to sleep and I hope you are dreaming of something awesome, right now:)

Happy Friday!!! I hope your day is beyond amazing!

Thoughts of Wednesday

Oh Wednesday. The middle of the work week.  Work.  My mind is completely consumed, today, with thoughts of work.  I had a job interview last week and right now, I am waiting anxiously, sitting on the edge of my chair, watching for the black screen on my phone to light up and start ringing.
I hate do not enjoy interviews.  In the midst of answering all of the tricky questions, nervous thoughts always fill my head.  The most frequent nervous thought is usually, "Yes, Autumn, you are correct.  That tickle you are feeling in your left nostril is, in fact, a large booger...and it is waving enthusiastically at your interviewer.  She can't even concentrate on your answers because she is trying extremely hard not to wave back."  The thoughts are so consuming that when I leave the interview, I can't even remember what I was asked, or how I responded.  RING PHONE, RING!

I'm going to change the topic, now, before I puke.

I met Tyler at Quiznos today, for lunch, and had the most delicious salad.

If you like chicken, cucumbers, dried cranberries, grapes, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and raspberry vinaigrette, YOU NEED TO TRY THIS SALAD. Sooooooooo yummy.

The weather here in West Virginia is absolutely beautiful.  I think (maybe) the warm sun is here to stay.  I love the snow, but  I'm so ready to put my winter wardrobe away for awhile!

Oh! I have a grab button now! I had one before, but I like this one better.  Grab it if you'd like! I also made a "Button" tab for easy access.  There's a smaller version there, too.

<center><a href="http://missesinthemaking.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Mrs. in the Making" src="http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh630/audie_grace/BLOGBUTT.jpg"/></a></center>

Happy Wednesday everyone, I hope you have an absolutely fabulous day!

Hopefully I didn't have a booger in my nose, and I will get the job:)

The Strudel Secret

So after 7 months of keeping a secret from Tyler, I am busted.

Tyler loves toaster strudels, but he has never made one.  Every toaster strudel he has ever eaten, I have made.  Here is where the secret comes into the picture.  When I make a toaster strudel, I am in the kitchen, all alone.  While I wait for it to toast.....I sit at the table and wait...patiently...and I stare at the little icing pack.  I love icing.  LOVE it.  Every time I make a toaster strudel for Tyler, I cave, and eat at least half of the little icing pack.  There, now you know my secret, too.  Tyler never noticed that I eat half of his icing, I guess he just assumed that the little icing packs simply didn't contain enough icing to cover the whole strudel.  It was the perfect situation...until today.

Tyler came home for lunch.  I made his lunch and after he was finished, he asked if he could have a toaster strudel.  YES! Of course babe! .....I would love some icing:) So I popped it into the toaster, ate half of the little icing packet, put the rest of the icing on the strudel, and took it to him. After he took a couple of bites he said,
Babe, I must be able to get more icing out of those packets that you can.   
What? When have you ever made your own strudel?
I made one last night, and I was able to cover the whole thing with icing.  Oh....hmm...that's odd. Maybe the packet you used last night just had more icing in it?   
Yeah, maybe. 
Dang it! He didn't even accuse me of eating his icing...I had to confess.   
Tyler.....   
Yeah?
The reason you had more icing last night is because.... I didn't  make it. 
What? 
Tyler....I ALWAYS EAT HALF OF THE LITTLE ICING PACKET WHEN I MAKE YOUR STRUDELS!
He stared at me for a second and started laughing.   
Well that explains it.

When it was time for him to go back to work, as he was going out the door, he looked back at me and said,
Thanks for lunch! I love you!
You're welcome, I love you too!
You know....the strudel tastes better when it has all of the icing on it.
He gave me a huge smile and I just smiled back.


So now,  my icing escapade is over and my secret is out.  It was nice while it lasted!

What I have learned from this:  1. Secrets won't be secrets forever! 2. You won't always be there to make your husband's toaster strudel  3. I guess I'll have to buy my own tub of icing from now on
   


Here's a little side note!
It is finally feeling like spring here in West Virginia! It's cropped pants, bright colored cardigans and sandal weather! Sandal weather.  That means pedicure.  I have been trying to be a "thrifty" wife, here lately, so last night I decided to get some things to do a pedicure myself.  I was a little nervous, because I had never attempted to do one myself, but I was determined to at least give it a try.  To my surprise, with a little help from Sonoma Spa prouducts and a little pumice stone, my self-done pedicure looks GREAT! I spent a whopping $8.24 and with the things I bought, I will be able to keep my feet looking perfect for a long time! I'm not giving up professional pedicures completely...they are SO relaxing...but I'm not going to get them as often as I used to:)  Happy (almost) Spring!

These are AMAZING and are only $2.43 a piece! They also smell wonderful!

Valentine's and FATMIMS

Spoiler Alert! If you are planning on watching the movie "One Day" with Anne Hathaway, you may not want to read this post. I'm totally going to tell you how it ends.


This past Valentine's Day was our third spent together and our first as a married couple! Tyler planned a dinner date and since he knew that I was DYING to see "The Vow," he called our two local theaters only to find out that they weren't showing it. First of all, REALLY? What theater didn't show that movie on Valentine's Day? Anyway, after dinner we decided to rent a movie from Redbox. Of course I wanted to pick out a sappy, romantic movie, what else would you watch on February 14th?  After much convincing, Tyler finally caved and agreed to let me rent the sap.

Before I go on, I feel like I need to explain why I have to convince Tyler to let me rent sappy, romantic movies.  You see, I have a slight problem.  For some reason, I have been cursed with FATMIMS.  Never heard of it? It's short for: Fall Asleep Thirty Minutes Into Movie Syndrome.   No, it's not an actual medical condition....but it should be! The symptoms are quite debilitating.  If I start to watch a movie at (or later than) 6 o'clock pm,  FATMIMS ALWAYS ATTACKS ME. My vision blurs, my eyes burn, my eyelids feel like they weigh 90 million pounds, and as hard as I try, there is no fighting it. I pass out and have to watch the rest of the movie the next morning.  At first, Tyler thought I only had FATMIMS when we were watching "guy" movies. You know, the action-packed blood and guts movies (which I happen to find extremely exciting and thoroughly entertaining); but he quickly learned that FATMIMS doesn't care what movie I am watching...it shows no favoritism.  Tyler is the exact opposite.  Once he starts watching a movie, no matter how late it is, he HAS to finish it. Period. With that being said, the reason I have to convince him to let me rent a "chick flick" is because he knows that he will have to watch the movie by himself.  He has to succumb to his feminine side.  Needless to say, he doesn't like it.
(Just in case you are wondering, FATMIMS normally does not affect me in movie theaters...notice I said 'normally'...sadly, it has happened.)

Ok, so back to Valentine's Day.  We stopped at Redbox and I saw the movie, "One Day," on the preview sign. Ooooohhh I love Anne Hathaway! We have to rent this one! Yep, this is the one.  Tyler forced himself to smile and swiped his card.  On the way home, we had the following conversation:
T- You know I am going to end up watching this movie by myself, right? 
Me- Tyler! You will not. It's Valentine's Day! Not just any Valentine's Day, but our first one as husband and wife, this is a special day, I'm not going to fall asleep. 
T- he smiled okay babe.
I knew he didn't believe me, but dangit, I was going to prove him wrong!

We got home, gathered up some junk food and started the movie. It was almost 9pm and I was feelin' goooood. Take that FATMIMS! I finished stuffing my face and leaned back.
(Here is what I was thinking):
How long has this movie been on? At least an hour. I looked at the clock. WHAT? It's only 9:25???! It's only been on 25 minutes?!? Oh no. This is bad. Oh no...my eyes...MY EYES! They're so heavy...and they BURN! NOOO...NO FATMIMS.....NO! 
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I woke up the next morning.

When I woke up, Tyler was already awake.
Me-Sooooo how was the rest of the movie?
T-Autumn,  SHE FREAKING GOT HIT BY A TRACTOR TRAILER!
Me- WHAT!
T- Yeah, after you fell asleep, they finally got married.  They were so happy.  They decided they wanted to have a baby......and a year later there was still no baby. One morning they got into a fight because she was upset about not being able to get pregnant.  She left to swim and he went to work. After she was finished swimming she called him and left him a voice mail telling him she was sorry for getting upset and to meet her at a restaurant for lunch and that she loved him.  The next scene is her riding her bike down the street and SHE GOT HIT BY A FREAKING TRACTOR TRAILER AND DIED.  Then it shows her husband looking out the window of the restaurant waiting for her. It came out of nowhere...I wasn't expecting it at all!
I'm surprised you didn't wake up. When she got hit, I was holding you so tight I'm surprised you could even breathe.  After the movie ended I couldn't even go to sleep because I felt terrible...so I kept holding you tight and I just......please don't EVER RIDE A BIKE WHERE THERE ARE TRACTOR TRAILERS....okay?
Me-...................................okay............. I'm kind of glad I fell asleep....that's awful.
T- It was worse than awful. You're not allowed to pick out movies ever again.

After he left for work, I told myself I wasn't going to watch the rest....but curiosity got the best of me. I mean, I knew how it was going to end, so it shouldn't bother me.
Here's a live stream of my brain while I watched the movie:
Yeah, I think this is where I fell asleep. Yeah, that's it.
I can't believe she dies...
awww...I'm so glad they are finally dating...
I can't believe she dies...
Yay! They're getting married!
I can't believe she dies...
They are so cute...so happy...kind of like Tyler and me...
I can't believe she dies.....oh my gosh....I hope I don't die!...
And there's the baby talk. They're going to have a baby. So sweet.
Oh...Tyler said they couldn't have a baby...that's why they get into a....oh...here's the fight.
Oh no...she's going to die...
There she is swimming...she's getting out of the pool...and she's calling him...oooh...oooh...she's leaving the voice mail....this is the last time he is going to hear her voice...
*I start bawling here...only because I already know what is about to happen*
*wiping my tear-filled face* She's riding her bike to go meet him...where's the tractor trailer?....oh no...where is it? Oh no...oh no,oh no, oh no...
Then I ACTUALLY SEE and HEAR a tractor trailer HIT HER........and as if that wasn't bad enough....it SHOWS her broken body laying on the street!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While crying hysterically, I text my husband.
Me- YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT IT SHOWS HER GETTING HIT BY THE TRACTOR TRAILER!!!
T- Yep lol.
.......................


 
What I have learned from this: 1. Next time (if I ever get to pick out a movie again) I rent a movie for Valentine's Day, I should probably look up the reviews first 2. "One Day" = Valentine movie fail 3. I'm no longer in denial about my FATMIMS....it doesn't matter what day or what movie....if it is after 6pm...it will always win 4. I will never ride a bike around tractor trailers 5. My husband purposely left out the whole "oh yeah, and it's graphic" part....and I think it may have been on purpose.


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