Heavenly!

I stumbled upon a new Bath & Body Works scent the other day while picking up some of their antibacterial soap that's on sale...coconut lime! Man, it is flippin' heaven in a bottle! Usually I'm not a big coconut fan, but the balance of sweet and tart in this soap is just amazing! I keep sniffing my hands! lol ;)

Anyway...just wanted to share. It's the little things!

Thanksgiving!

I LOVE Thanksgiving! I love the food, I love getting together with family, I love being off from work/school/responsibilities for one full day! :) And I LOVE to bake/cook. So this year we're going to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving. She's like THE Martha Stewart of Maryland, so you can bet that there will be quite a spread. I'm going to be making the spinach gratin recipe that I got from the Barefoot Contessa last year (SO good, btw) and my famous pecan pie to take with us.

In sticking with the Thanksgiving theme, here is a little "top 20" about turkey day! ;)

1. Do you cook all or part of the meal? Well, for the past two years my SIL and I have cooked the entire meal with the exception of a few appetizers and desserts. :)
2. How much do you spend buying groceries for the meal? Oh man. If I'm cooking the whole meal I'd say at least $200.
3. Do you eat at home or go to someone else’s? It kind of changes every year. This year we'll be going to my Aunt's house, but last year my SIL and I hosted.
4. Describe your perfect bite? Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing. Mmmmm!
5. White meat or dark? White.
6. Stuffing with giblets or without? Soooooo without! Ew.
7. Anything you won’t eat at the Thanksgiving meal? Cranberry sauce. Ew.
8. Carve Mr. Gobble at the table or serve on a platter? Platter. Dad-in-law usually carves before Mr. Gobble hits the table.
9. Favorite pie? Pecan!
10. Formal table or Chinet? Depends on where we're eating. At our place? Chinet. At my Aunt's? Formal table.
11. Your menu? If I'm cooking: turkey, stuffing, biscuits, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, succotash, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, olives, pickles, crackers, chutney. I *think* that's it. haha whoa.
12. Favorite leftover? Turkey! It makes the best leftover sandwiches!
13. Extended family, friends, both or just the immediate family for dinner? Yes.
14. After dinner, do you go to the latest movie or football on TV? Neither. We just hang out and chat.
15. Do you watch the Macy’s Parade? Sure do!
16. Christmas decorations up before or after? After!
17. Black Friday shopping or sleep in? Sooooo sleep in!
18. Any special Thanksgiving tradition? Well, when my SIL and I host we try and come up with a new, creative place setting for each family member.
19. Favorite thing about Thanksgiving? All of it! :) Really, I just love the whole experience.
20. Favorite Thanksgiving memory? Our first one with B. :)

Randomness.

Mornin' all! :) (All 3 of you who read my blog...if there are that many. lol) I had a fun idea for a scrapbook page and wanted to actually get it on here before I forgot because who KNOWS when I'll be able to scrap next! Probably after I graduate in 2008. heh.

Anyway, I wanted to post my favorite things at the moment so I don't forget. I'm thinking of asking Dave and B, too so I can make one for each of them. Oohhh, maybe I can turn it into a mini book and ask them what they're favorite things of '06 were!! What'd ya think? ;)

Anyway...for the time being, here are mine:

1. I just picked this up yesterday on several recommendations from a few peas and so far it's a fantastic resource! I may actually be able to take some decent pictures with my fab camera! ;)

2. Holiday cups at Starbucks.

3. Clinicals.

4. My sweet family. But that never changes. ;)

5. Gingerbread lattes.

6. Cold, crisp air.

7. Wreaths.

8. Magazine subscriptions.

9. Postsecret.blogspot.com

10. Pottery barn kids.

11. White, 11-cup Cuisinart food processor. ;) Which is what I want for Christmas...can ya tell?

12. Christmas music.

So I think later today I'll go ask the boys what their favorites are right now and maybe come up with a cool mini album idea. Any thoughts? Maybe book form, maybe lunchpail form...who knows.

Well, I suppose I should go study at some point. ;) My niece is here visiting today and I can hear her and Bradley having a blast downstairs. lol They're a riot! I think today they're pretending to be Harry Potter. Yesterday it was cowboys and pirates. Ya gotta love this age! Have a great Sunday!

A meme. At 11:46 pm.

I'm waiting until midnight so I can register for my nursing classes for next semester because if I go to sleep and wait until tomorrow morning every class I want will be full and I'll have to take the leftovers. And I soooooooooo don't want to go to class on a Friday afternoon, ya know? So...I make myself stay up the night of registration so I can actually get the good classes. ;)

So, to kill time here are my answers to a meme posted on the scrapbook board I frequent daily. They're pretty cool questions so if you want to snag the list and do it yourself feel free! But make sure you link me to your blog so I can see your list! :)

1. I am blessed, loved, exhausted.
2. Dave knows me best.
3. I feel anxious, stressed, sleepy.
4. The most important thing in my life is my family. Always.
5. I always carry my purse (original, huh?)
6. I think therefore my brain is jampacked. ;)
7. I’m at my happiest when my son is laughing, the sun is shining and I'm spending some much needed downtime with my sweet hubby and baby boy (who is technically no longer a baby, but I'm his mom and if I wanna call him that, I will...so pssshhhh).
8. On a Monday morning, you can find me clutching my blankets, trying my damndest to convince my son through two bedroom doors and a hallway that he has plenty of toys in his room to play with and that I'll be in his room in a minute (or 5, or 10, or an hour...whatever).
9. My favorite food ingredient is garlic.
10. My eyes are hazel.
11. My favorite material possession is a letter that Dave wrote me when I was in labor with our B.
12. To relax, I like to hang out with my fellas, scrap, read, sleep.
13. The town I live in is not where I want to live for the rest of my life.
14. My worst habit is binging.
15. My guilty pleasure is Starbucks.
16. When I look at someone, the first thing I see is their eyes or smile.
17. I think that this is a repeat...hmmmm.
18. I can live without gossip.
19. I wish I had more time.
20. My life is crazy wonderful.

So go ahead. Fill this out for yourself. Reflect. And then share with me! :)

Are YOU wearing the wrong sized bra?

I have NO doubt that I probably am. Heh. So...do you wanna find out? Go here.

Total random blog post, no doubt, but it's a helpful one! ;)

5:55 pm

Make a wish! ;) I love doing that. Heh.

Anyway. So, yesterday my sister, Mike, Dave, and I all dropped the kids off at my Mom's house so that we could go see a movie. Dave and I had gone to see Talladega Nights (GREAT movie, by the way) awhile back and had seen previews for this movie called Borat. The few snipets from the movie that they showed during the previews were frickin' hysterical! I mean, the preview itself is only what...maybe 3 minutes? And Dave and I were cracking up and had decided that we needed to see this movie. So when Mike mentioned that they wanted to go see it we were all over it. ;)

So we get to the theatre, buy our tickets (Mike thought they were going to be sold out and there were like MAYBE 10 people in the theatre...lol) and sit down. Once the movie started I could pretty much tell it was going to be one of those movies. Ya know the one where there are parts SO funny that you can't breathe because you're laughing so hard? The beginning was awesome. Memorable quotes, funny scenes, the works. Then about halfway into it things started getting weird. Seriously, I have an awesome sense of humor. I can laugh at the stupidest stuff for hours on end. Really. And I, shamefully, like a good stupid, uncomfortable, morally-questionable joke just as much as the next guy, but whoa. Without spoiling it for those of you who still want to see this movie, I was pretty much shocked, offended, annoyed, and laughing all at the same time. I mean, some parts were funny to the point of gut-busting, but others you could hear the whole audience gasp in that "I cannot believe they just played that" way that you would had we been at a dinner party and someone told a bad joke, ya know? Gah.

So pretty much, I'm going on the premise that about 10% of this movie was actually really funny and about 90% of it was so stupid, lame, crude, and disgusting that it wasn't even in the same category as funny. And seriously, I like lame, crude, disgusting movies, but this one didn't even compare. Meh. So anyway...take my opinion for what you will. And then decide if you want to spend the $36 that theatres are now charging for a regular priced ticket to go see it. ;)

Now, the one GOOD redeeming quality the movie had was Sacha Baron Cohen, the main character, Borat. The guy is a friggin' comedic genius. Seriously. If you haven't seen Talladega Nights, I am BEGGING you to go rent it. lol The guy is frickin' hysterical and even though Borat fell short of what I wanted it to, it would've been off-the-radar bad had Sacha not been the main actor. ;)

Blogger loser.

That's me! Man...I'm gonna sing the same old tune I usually do, but I have been SO beyond busy. I barely have time to see my family let alone post something on my blog. But, I've been neglectful and that's not really fair to you (the reader...the SOLE reader) of this here, my blog. ;) Heh. Jokes aside, here's an update.

I've taken two tests so far in nursing and gotten A's on both. :) I missed one on the first one and two on the second. I'm pretty dang proud of myself considering the intensity of this program. It also reminds me of how insanely lucky I am to have such fantastic in-laws that provide me with the ability to even be able to go back to school, so thank you to them both!

This weekend I have quite a bit to do. I have a mid-term to study for, a group project to start, and 3 (yes, 3) papers to write. So I better get crackin', but I wanted to post a few new pics of B so you can see how insanely big he's getting! He'll be 3 in 3 weeks! Can you believe that?! Man...I feel like it was just a few weeks ago that we brought him home from the hospital. *sigh* Anyway...enjoy!

Alphabet URL

I totally stole this from a blog I frequent [thanks, Chris;)] 'cause I thought it was pretty cool! The idea is to go to the URL bar in your browser and, one at a time, type each letter of the alphabet and see what address comes up for auto-completion (p.s. cool word, btw!). So here is my list:

A - abc.go.com (Grey's Anatomy link)
B - babiesnbellies.com
C - cafepress.com
D - davenporthouse.com
E - ebay.com
F - fairfaxcounty.gov/library
G - gap.com
H - health.discovery.com
I - ikea.com
J - jaimewarren.typepad.com
K - kaitlynspromise.com (I respectfully request that you visit this site. There is some very pertinent information regarding drug use if you have children that you NEED to know. Thank you.)
L - learn.vccs.edu
M - macharlaz.blogspot.com
N - nationalalertregistry.com
O - obgyn.net
P - pagemaps.com
Q - qbaroo.com
R - radiology.rsnajnls.org
S - samsspotontheweb.blogspot.com
T - target.com
U - us.pampers.com
V - vaccineinformation.org
W - wbshop.com
X - Nothin'!
Y - www.yahoomail.com
Z - Nothin'!

That was fun! Cool to see what pages pop up...now you go!

Litterbug.

Dave, Bradley, Uncle Chris, and Samantha all went to the park near our new house yesterday so the Mommies could get some studying done. Check out the cool litterbug sign that Uncle Chris stumbled upon...
















Isn't that the coolest sign you've ever seen!? Heh. :)

Cassie.

Cassie is gone. She had been deteriorating so quickly over the last few months and my mom decided it was time to put her down. As difficult as it was for me, I agreed with her. Our poor puppy had been suffering so badly lately. She could barely walk, my mom had to carry her outside just so she could go to the bathroom, she would fall immediately upon standing up and she wasn't steady on her feet so when she walked anywhere she would fall. :( It was gut-wrenching to watch.

It's so difficult to make a decision like this. I can only imagine how difficult it was for my mom. We got Cassie when I was twelve. When my parents got divorced shortly after that Cassie was my mom's rock. She lived with her and followed her around everywhere! Dogs KNOW when their owner isn't happy. Cassie was like that with my mom. She would snuggle up with her, sleep on her bed at night, cuddle with her on the couch...anywhere my mom was, Cassie was. She was an awesome, awesome dog. She will be greatly missed. Love you, Cass!

....

Do you ever have one of those days where you just don't know how to respond about anything. It just seems like all in one day people come up with stuff that kind of baffles you and you're not real sure what to say or even if you should say anything?

Cryptic, yes. But so true! So I usually just keep quiet. For my sake and theirs. ;)

My wish

So I'm sitting here at my desk thinking about when B was little. I mean really little. A baby who didn't walk, didn't talk, who needed me and depended on me for everything. To an extent he still does, but lately he's become this big ol' ball of independence. He even wants to dress himself lately. He wants to put his own shoes on and other little things that I would've done for him less than a year ago.

It's awesome. It really is. Watching him grow into a little guy who wants "privacy" and who is trying to learn to write and who wants to do "homework" just like Mommy. It's just so fun! I love this stage! But I also miss the baby stage. I soooo miss snuggling up with him as he falls asleep. Now he won't sit with me for more than 2 seconds before he wants to get up and play. Or do something. Anything but sit still! And all of this got me thinking...there are so many things I wish and hope for for this little guy. And really...as sappy and lame as it sounds, I couldn't put it in any better words than Rascal Flatts. ;) So I'll let them do the talking. If you can find a link online to listen to this song (and yes it's country, but it's awesome) do it! It's so heartwarming and totally makes me tear up everytime I hear it.

For you, B. I love you.


Artist/Band: Rascal Flatts
Song: My Wish
Album: Me & My Gang

I hope that days come easy and moments pass slow,and each road leads you where you want to go,and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.and if one door opens to another door closed,I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,if it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,more then anything, more then anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it,to your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,You never need to carry more then you can hold,and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,all the ones who love you, in the place you left,I hope you always forgive, and you never regret, and you help somebody every chance you get,Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,and you always give more then you take.Oh More then anything, Yeah, and more then anything,

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it,to your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,You never need to carry more then you can hold,and while you're out there getting where you're getting to,I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,Yeah, this, is my wish.

Message in a bottle...yea.

Check this out! Leave it to 2peas to get me addicted to something else...yet again.

This is one of the coolest little websites I've come across. And one of the most addicting...Oceangram.

*sigh*

I am so tired! We are finally moved in (with the exception of a few little things at the old place that my sweet husband is picking up today) and can start unpacking! I hate the packing/unpacking process but at least with unpacking you're not on a deadline. So seriously, if I don't ever want to unpack, I don't have to. ;)

I'm also BEYOND excited about having an actual "scrap area." No more scrapping in the dining room for me! ;) I've come up with so many ideas that I want to try out to make my area more efficient, this being one of them. How friggin' cute is that?? Leave it to Pottery Barn to make me want to empty my already empty wallet. ;)

I'm thinkin' if I'm really nice to him, I can ask D to build one for me. :) So there's so much stuff I want to do I have no idea where to start. But I *love* collecting ideas. It's what I do best. Heh. Implementing those ideas, though...yea, notsomuch.

Anyway. Homework is killing me. Nursing school starts in 17 days, and I am freaking out. I feel like I'm drowning in homework! I can't wait until my last day of work so I can just stay home and study all the time! lol Seriously, as crazy as that sounds, that's all I want to do. Well, that and scrap, but I have no time! So yea, I just want to be at home right now studying and reading since classes start in less than 3 weeks. OMG. *sigh*

Wish me luck!

Ten people I'd like to meet

So I was reading a blog I frequent every now and then and his entry for today was the top ten people he would like to meet. Since my brain is pretty fried right now I'll just tell you about one of my top ten today. Maybe after nursing school I'll tell you about the rest. ;)

Alton Brown. He is one of the most clever, fun, interesting, informative people to listen to. He is a culinary genius and just an all around smart guy. He's so fun to watch and you can find him on the Food Network. One of my favorite things about him is that he can make ANYTHING interesting. His show, Good Eats, on the Food Network delves into a specific food on each episode. Last week: water. Yes, water. He had an entire 30 minute show on water. I missed it, but it was only part 1 of a 2 part show. On water. So I'll watch the second part this Wednesday. It's gotta be good if it's 2 parts! :)

He's also got a new show coming out: Feasting on Asphalt. The name alone should tell you this guy is cool. He travels through 19 states dining at little eateries, talking to strangers, and enjoying the hospitality of the "little guy." Basically he vists towns in which a Wal-Mart would look out of place. Gotta love that!

Now, on to the sad thing about Alton Brown. He will be in D.C. on July 24 and his show...yea...it's friggin' SOLD OUT!!!! :( He'll be doing a book signing and an illustrated lecture about his travels recording Feasting on Asphalt. I had no idea he was going to be here and now that I know he will be, I can't get tickets! :( So, I'm thinking MAYBE the online tickts are sold out and I can go buy some at the door. ;) Or at least get a glimpse. I have a list. Of 100 things I want to do before I die. Meeting Alton Brown is on it and by golly that *will* be crossed off my list. Wish me luck!

Oh, and check out Alty (my nickname for him). ;) You won't regret it!

Time.

Ok, so it's been what...weeks since I last posted, right? Ugh. I've been soooo insanely busy! The homebuying process blows! There is so much paperwork and so much jargon and not enough time and too much money and not enough patience and on and on and on. I can't stand it! I just want it to be over and I want to be moved in. Really, at one point I was ready to just friggin' quit and stay in my tiny little apartment forever. I mean really, who cares? We don't pay for gas we don't pay for water or trash removal or anything. Just electric. I'm cool with that. It's better on my end. But then B won't have a yard to play in and we won't have anything to call our own and we won't have any walls to paint and let me tell you I am TIRED of white walls. Everything in my new place will be painted! Bright, colorful, cheery colors! Our living room will be red and the kitchen will be orange for starters. ;)

So enough of the house. Great news for my girl Jaime Warren! I am so so so happy for you, sweetness!!! :) Congratulations a million times over! She hasn't been on 2peas lately and I miss her, but I just wanted to let her know how happy I was for her.

So nursing school starts in about a month and a half and I'm nervous. WAY nervous, actually. I have to have 200+ pages read by the first day of class and I'm already taking 2 classes right now. Thankfully I will have gone to part time by the time nursing school actually starts so that won't be too much of a concern, but I'm drained. I wish I could spend one day NOT doing homework. ;) But I know that won't happen until I've graduated, so for now I'm just going to study until I pass out. Heh. Wish me luck!

Whew.

Seriously, I think this is the busiest I have *ever* been in my life! I haven't blogged in ages and so many things are going on I'm surprised I've even found time to sleep let alone post!

So, what's going on...it's probably easier for me to make a list:

1. I got into nursing school!! YAY ME! I'm nervous and excited and blown away! Classes start August 21 so wish me luck...I'm going to need it. ;)

2. We bought a house! FINALLY! It'll be so nice to get out of tiny apartments once and for all! I'll have pics up soon once I can get back over there. I believe we'll be closing near the end of this month, so keep your fingers crossed!

3. Dave has joined the gym with me. :) We *are* going to get healthy...as a family...together. That's what needs to happen. I've come to the realization (finally) that I can't do this on my own.

4. My homework is bogging me down. It's interesting stuff, but MAN is it intense. I've almost cracked a few times.

5. Packing, packing, packing. *sigh*

6. TRYING desperately to find time to scrap. I need to keep my creative outlet alive lest my homework bury me to the point of no return.

7. I finally quit my job. Well, I gave notice anyway. The nursing program doesn't want us working anymore than 20 hours/week, so I put in my 2 months notice. My last day will be August 15. I can finally breathe! :)

8. But now I have to find a part time job. :( Any ideas?

9. Trying to pick out cheap, fun decorating stuffs for the new place. If you have any cool ideas, PLEASE let me know!

10. Started a family-type book club thingy. There was a list posted on 2peas (1001 books to read before you die) that I'd love to try and get through and a few of the girls in my fam have agreed to join the challenge with me! :)

Ok, for now this is a good list. I have to go fill my prescription for the valium I'm to take before I get my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. *gulp* Wish me luck!

Aaaaaaaand it's official.

We're looking at houses!! :) With a very sweet hook-up from one of the clients I work for we'll be able to afford a house, so Dave and I have started looking! We took home three binders yesterday which had tons of pics of three little houses in our area. Of course I put them on my computer and forgot to upload them to Shutterfly so I don't have any pics to post. Yea, I suck. I'll get them up though, I swear.

Anyway. We're both beyond excited but freaking out at the possibility of home ownership. There is SO much that goes into this process and it's overwhelming. Especially considering that we've been paying rent for 6+ years. It'll be so awesome to actually OWN something though, ya know?

Ok, so since I know squat about houses I need to know stories. Bad stories, good stories, tips, ideas, decorating ideas ('cause God knows I'll need it), etc. So get to talking people. Tell me anything I need to know about houses. :)

Oh, p.s. I *still* haven't gotten a letter from NOVA about the freakin' nursing program. Have I told you I'm the antsiest (is that a word?) person alive! This is KILLING me!!! Ugh.

Ugh.

Yea, so I don't know what to blog about today. heh. :) I mean, I do, but I can't reveal it yet. ;) I'm just so...stressed, I guess. I'm at a point in my life where I'm being pulled in more than one direction and I don't really know which way is the right way. Or if there even IS a right way, ya know? I'm totally going to ramble in this post, so be prepared...

I have SO many options on what I can do with my life right now. So many paths I can take, and yet I am so TORN on what to do. Which path? When is the right time? Which do I do first? *sigh* I know I sound confusing and that's probably because I, myself, am full-on confused. I wish I had one of those cool wheel thingys that you spin (kinda like on Wheel of Fortune) and it just chooses a path for you. I am NOT a good decision maker. I hate having to put pieces together to make a whole. I just want the answer and I want it now. I'm VERY impatient. I'm also very unreasonable. I want both. I want it all. But I don't think I can. As an adult, a mother, a wife, a HUMAN, I don't know if I can have it all. At least right now. :( And that kinda pisses me off. It goes back to the whole "I'm impatient and unreasonable" thing I was talking about.

*sigh* So here I sit...torn in my decision on what to do. What paths to take. When to take them. Who to tell. It's kind of annoying, honestly. I just wish my brain would go "oh hey, Steph, by the way...here's what we're going to do." But that isn't going to be the case...obviously.

So for the meantime I'll wait. And see what happens. And talk to my husband. And hopefully, HOPEFULLY, be able to work out the angst in my mind on what I should do.

Thanks for listening to me ramble. ;)

Love, love, love!

I LOVE my son. LOVE him. To itty bitty bits and sometimes it knocks the breath out of me. Had the coolest conversation with him this morning on the way to school (i.e. daycare):

Bradley: (giggling) Mommy, do you know why I'm happy?
Me: No, Bradley...why are you happy?
Bradley: Because I'm happy and silly and I mixed them together!

Ok, seriously, when he said that I think my heart exploded a little. CUTEST thing ever! And some days he can do no wrong and he's the cutest thing ever! LOVE this little guy!!