Tuesday, November 30, 2010

4 Years Ago Today....

Four years ago today, I went on a date with my husband for the first time! Theos for dinner. 100 feet of snow randomly visiting Fayetteville that evening. No kisses...not my style for a first date! But a lovely evening. I knew I would be dating the boy for a while after that date was over....then about 4 days later (after being completely inseperable) I realized I was going to marry him. I still remember that feeling and it actually brought me to tears. Love my guy!!! He's my everything.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

Howdie folks! How was your Thanksgiving break? Mine could not have been better. Scott and I were in Little Rock for 5 whole nights. Allow me to give you a short little breakdown.

We got there late Tuesday night. On Wednesday I spent the afternoon Thanksgiving grocery shopping with Mom and Scott. Later that evening we went to my brothers house where Landon was playing with his friend, Avery, and her sister, Riley.


Landon said Avery missed him.

Thanksgiving day was great! I watched the Macy's parade like I love to do every year. Mom's family came over to our house and we stuffed ourselves silly. After Landon, Holly, and I took a little cat nap, the whole family watched a movie

The next day we had Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family at my Uncle Rex's house. The rest of the day was filled with college football.

However, Landon wanted something 'more kid friendly' to do so I took him ice skating at the Rivermarket. We had a great day just the two of us. I hadn't gone ice skating in probably15 years and needless to say, I'm officially an old lady because it hurt my already weak ankles.





After we finished our hour of ice skating, we went to Starbucks to get something 'to warm us up!'

Finally Saturday rolled around! The day we all couldn't wait to arrive. We woke up, got dressed, and headed to War Memorial to get our tailgate on!
Kirk teaching Landon how to do the Cupid Shuffle. He loves Kirk!!

Landon loved Kirk's chili!


My tailgate buddies!

All in all, it was a perfect Thanksgiving holiday! Loved getting to see my little buddy and spend time with him and my entire family.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Landon & The Blue Tree

I'm on my way back to work from a yummy lunch at McAlisters and give my Mom a call. I ask her what she's up to and she said she, Kyle, and Landon were off to get Kyle a new Christmas tree. 'Have fun' I tell them, then hang up.

About 20 minutes later I get a picture text from Mom
The text says that Landon has found the tree HE wants.....and he want's it REAL bad.


Then I get this picture of a teary, red eyed Landon. Mom says 'he's crying now. He wants the blue tree really, really, really bad.'
'Get the child the blue tree then' I say! 'Let him pick out the ornaments that he wants too.'
......So they did. And I think it's pretty clear that the little guy is very happy now.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Vote

14 votes? Seriously people. That is unacceptable. Although CB is winning by a very wide margin I'm still going to need more of you to participate. Step it up.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Help Me Decide!!!

Okay. 2nd post today. We've FINALLY narrowed it down. Ready? We've got 2 options. Cabo and Crested Butte.
So here's the deal. I'm going to have you guys vote on it. Now I'm not necessarily saying the vote is going to decide what I'm gonna do but I most definitely want to hear your opinion. I'm going to give you pro's and con's for each destination and I want you to pick. Both are similar price points. Cabo is great location--close to Cabo nightlife. Crested Butte is ski in, ski out. Now don't pick as if it's you going....pick like you're me. Keep all Pro's and Con's in mind. What do you think Scott and I should do?

Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort and Spa, Cabo

Pros
1.) Beach = relaxation, tan, unlimited drinks & food (all-inclusive)
2.) Never been to Cabo--always wanted to go
3.) Nice to get away from the cold in NWA to warm Cabo
4.) Beautiful resort, new, adults only, smaller than what we've been to, romantic
5.) Good price of resort allows extras like: massage, snorkeling, etc.
Cons
1.) Been to all-inclusive beach twice this year--Mexico & Dominican Republic
2.) Not really that different feeling I was looking for
3.) Can't get in the ocean in Cabo
Elevation Hotel and Spa, Crested Butte, CO



Pros
1.) That different 'feeling' I've been wanting...not the beach
2.) Cozy, fun, romantic, casual, picturesque
3.) Laid back, hang by the fire, snuggle & watch a movie at night, kitchen if we want to cook chili & hang
4.) Very appropriate January vaca & quick flight
5.) Scott's never been skiing...

Cons
1.) Scott's never been skiing...what if he doesn't like it
2.) Not all-inclusive
3.) Cold weather to cold weather
So what do you think? Give me your opinion. I average around 130 readers a day so I expect ALL of you to vote. Don't worry.....it's anonymous. Help a sista out!

Picky

What have I spent my weekend doing? Searching for anniversary trips. Yep. THE ENTIRE WEEKEND. Am I totally over it? Yes. Could I officially work for Travel and Leisure now? Yes. I feel as if I know everywhere there is to go around the entire globe. It has been quite exhausting. I've searched everywhere between California and Fiji. Over it. So over it.
Our travel agent is great. However, I have zero clue as to where I want to go (Scott left it all up to me) and I have to give her some sort of direction. So I've been trying to narrow it down and I can't. I've been so bipolar. I did find an AMAZING place in Bora Bora but of course it's like $20,000. Bummer.
I'm totally into Paris but Scott feels as if Paris in the winter isn't the way to go and we should save that for nicer weather. But he's cool with Paris if I really want to go there.
I like the idea of Napa but Scott's Dad is thinking about taking us there in May for our birthdays.
Of course I've gone back to the Colorado idea.
Caribbean is of course great but everything (we can afford) in the Caribbean is so similar to what we've done this year and you know, I'm wanting 'that different feeling.'
I'm interested in Cabo since I've never been before. I think it could be fun and probably a different 'feeling' then the Caribbean.
There is this one place in Turks and Caicos that I'm in love with. Our travel agent sent it to us early this year as an anniversary trip option to think about. I love. It's only been open for about a year. It has that 'different feeling.' Of course travel and leisure discovered it too and now that it's become more popular, it's nearly doubled in price. Rude!
So I'm almost kind of thinking if I'm not in love with anything I'm finding should I even worry about going on a trip. A lovely meal in NWA is always fantastic and makes me happy.
Big Cedar is close....never been there and it looks kinda fab.
Oh I don't know.....I just don't know. I'm quite indecisive these days and it's buggin big time. I'm totally annoyed with myself. I'm completely the problem. Scott's cool with wherever. I'm being too picky.
Okay...I'm going to watch AFV cause I need a good giggle or two.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Travel Planning

I have been very productive today but if you took a look at me you wouldn't believe it. I worked out then showered. That's all literally. No drying of the hair, no putting on the makeup. Yup. I've been sitting on my sofa working on blog material all day. Whew! Exhausting.
I believe Scott and I are going to just hang at home tonight. I'm not in the mood to get all dressed up for a night out.
I am SO SORE from my physique class yesterday. I had a feeling when I was doing it that I was going to feel the soreness the next day....and I was right.
Scott and I are having THE HARDEST time figuring out where to go for our 2 year anniversary. At first we were going to do Colorado. After looking into it though, we decided it would most definitely be better if we saved that for a group trip. So we're doing a beach. We're entirely too picky. Our travel agent said she regrets sending us to Jade because it's set the bar too high! Haha! I'm wanting a different feel then the places we've been to this year. I don't want the whole party at the swimup bar/karaoke at night thing. I want something more like Jade. Small, quiet, relaxing. They're hard to find you guys. Or if we do find them they aren't all inclusive and we definitely need all inclusives. We've got to get this figured out ASAP as we're planning on leaving January 22 which is just 2 months away! I think we'll get it squared away by next week for sure. Hope we find something great!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Wondering What These Are All About?


Well then go here www.styleby.me , a brand new site launched today, and find out! :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Engagements

Well, just as my intuition was telling me, Holly is just fine. No meds for my baby girl. She does have a heart murmur but the dog cardiologist seems to think it's really not a big deal. He told us of certain symptoms to look for and until we notice/if we ever do notice them, she's fine. See. I knew it.
Let's talk engagements. First William and Kate. Oh how I love this! I'm borderline stalker when it comes to Kate Middleton. She seems so lovely. I wish I lived in England so she could be my future queen. I CAN'T WAIT to watch this wedding on TV. I will tune in live no matter what time of day it is.
Second. Jessica and Eric. This has disaster written all over it. They start dating in May, his divorce just finalized, and it comes on the heels of Nick's announcement. Not to be a pessimist but I totally don't see this one working out. Wonder if she's preggers....?
Again, not to be a debbie downer but I predict Kendra and Hank to be dunzo in the near future. as well. You can just tell by watching the show. Same way you could tell by watching Newlyweds with Nick and Jess. The love bug vibe is not as present. Sad times...
I can't get used to the time change. My body wakes up at 7 am every morning and it makes me so angry. Forget trying to go back to sleep once you wake me up. What I wouldn't give for my 8 am alarm to wake me up....
Guess that's all I've got for ya.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Dads Surprise Party

I'm blogging from my parents house in Little Rock! We threw my Dad a surprise 50th birthday party last night. He was VERY surprised--totally didn't see it coming. It was a great night and we created lots of memories! Enjoy the pics.







Thursday, November 11, 2010

Holly's Heart

Yesterday I took Holly to the vet. Even though she had just been there on Friday. I've officially spent mine and Scott's monthly budget on the Rose Animal Clinic. Fun times.
Holly has always had asthma. Ever since she was a puppy. I've come to learn this is very common in toy breads. Anywho, her asthma never really acts up. She has a little attack maybe 1 time a week. Well on Monday morning around 7 am Holly was snoozing with Scott and I and she woke us both up with an attack. Then later that night around dinner she had around 5 different attacks! I immediately pick up the phone to call mom. I've never known Holly to have that many in one day and was wondering if Mom had either--she hadn't. Tuesday she does the same thing so I call the vet. I'm of course thinking 'ya'll did something to her when she was in there Friday.' They say I should bring her in....so I did yesterday.
Poor Holly shakes and shivers the second we pull into the parking lot. She HATES the vet. So on Friday when we were there getting her shots and doing an overall check on the doodlebug, the doctor noticed Holly has a heart murmur. Did I nearly pass out when she told me that? Yes. The vet seemed to think it was no big deal...at a level 2/6 and if we noticed Holly coughing at night, we need to bring her in. Of course I go home and google heart murmurs for the next hour and feel assured that Holly's a-ok. Some dogs are even born with them.
Well yesterday we saw a different doctor and she seemed to think Holly's murmur was a 3/6 and we needed to start medication ASAP. She said this is the cause of her 'coughing.' I told her 13 times she's not 'coughing' she's having asthma attacks. Not to question her intelligence or anything but I think she's wrong.
SO on my way home from the vet, I call Holly's doctor in Little Rock, Dr. Bob, and have him talk with me about it. Dr. Bob loves Holly and he probably said 18 times 'I KNOW how much you and your Mom LOVE this dog.' Yes we would jump in front of a bus to save her. So he said we should bring Holly in to see him on Monday and--get this--there is a dog cardiologist in Little Rock who he'll have come look at Holly. See. I love that about Little Rock. Bigger cities offer stuff like that. Anyways, Dr. Tony has really awesome top notch equipment and he's going to be able to look at Holly's heart and determine what exactly is going on with my precious girl. Here we go again! We've already had a dog gynecologist take a look at Holly....now we've got a cardiologist. HAHA.
So we'll just see. I hope she doesn't have to take medicine for her heart murmur because Dr. Bob said if she does, it'll be 4 pills a day for the rest of her life!! I guess Holly wouldn't mind it so much because we always disguise it in cheese or peanut butter. It's not a death sentence for Holly--even though the unintelligent vet tried to tell me to treasure the days, she has 6 months. Whatever! Was she looking at the right dog? Holly's as spunky as a 2 year old with great health. Dr. Bob predicts she'll live to be 16. I told Dr. Bob you know how when you just have a feeling that what someone tells you just isn't right? I just feel like she's not right. And I don't want to give Holly the medicine she made me buy without being 100% sure. Regardless I'd appreciate having Dr. Tony take a look at Holly anyways and tell us to the T what Holly's heart is doing. It will just give me some peace.
So that was my day.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Celebration

Happy 50th Birthday Dad!!!!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Tiny

I had a fantastic weekend! My parents were up for work this weekend...it's always nice when I get to see them! My Dad is turning 50 on Wednesday so we celebrated his birthday this weekend since I won't see him on his actual birthday. We wanted to make it really special so we rented a limo to take us around town! My Dad was so surprised and it made for an extra fun night! We had dinner at Theos and it was AMAZING. We got drinky drinky happy happy since none of us had to drive which made the night even more fun!! :)
On Saturday night right before we left for dinner Scott was outside and a precious little sheltie wandered up. Scott called me outside to ask if I had ever seen the dog before and I hadn't. We knocked on neighbors doors to see if the dog belonged to them or if they knew who the dog belonged to and nobody had ever seen him. After sitting in the yard with him for a very long time to see if maybe the owner would come looking for him we decided to put him in our garage for the night with a lovely down comforter because we couldn't bare the thought of letting him continue to wonder.
So yesterday we grew concerned about the dog because there was drops of blood all over our garage and I noticed that it was coming from his little PP. Not being able to stand the fact that the dog was probably in intense pain, I contacted the animal clinic I take Holly to up here and got them to meet me on a Sunday for emergency care (and a hefty price).
Believe it or not this super sweet, loving, adorable and precious little dog had a chip in him! So we tried to call the owner but the number had been disconnected. We learned the sheltie's name was Tiny and after googling found the address of the owner.
The vet found that Tiny had a urinary tract infection. Not knowing what kind of situation this dog was coming from and how his owners treated him, Mom, Dad, Scott and I decided to get Tiny the best medicine to treat his problem. It was quite costly but we split the bill and I didn't even feel annoyed about it because I wanted the dog to get better.
So we drive out in the middle of nowhere to give the dog back to the owner but of course the owner had moved. Their neighbors were outside and had their cell number so I called the owner and told them I had Tiny. The owner was so excited and very relieved and gave me her address to drop off Tiny. She lived across the street for us. Can you believe that!!!!!! All of that for a dog that lives across the street. But we had knocked on doors and asked and nobody had ever seen Tiny.
I think it was God's plan for that dog to get out of his house (which he never does) and wander into our yard. Because he's supposedly had this infection for a long time but the lady is recently divorced and couldn't afford the right medical attention that Tiny needed. She wrote us a check to reimburse us but Scott and I have decided not to cash it. This lady loves Tiny so much---he's 11--and I know she takes great care of him. Dog medicine is incredibly expensive and I don't fault her for not being able to do the absolute best for him. But now he's got great medicine to take for the next 10 days along with some good ol' pain meds too so hopefully by this time next week Tiny will feel 100% better! I think I may even go knock on her door to see. I could tell she was embarrassed but she shouldn't be at all. I love dogs so much and this one was so so so precious and I just want the little guy to feel better. Like I said, I think it was all God's plan.
So that's my weekend story. Have a great Monday!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Nick and Vanessa

OH MY YOU GUYS!!! Nick Lachey is engaged to Vanessa Minnillo! I'm loving this news. (bout time!!!)
Background info: I was a HUGE Newlyweds fan. I can remember watching it in my dorm room freshman year with my roomate. Loved it! Loved them. Have the DVD's. OBSESSED. I've said before that I'd love it if they got back together but I'm completely aware that's totally not going to happen. (obviously)
So this is how I see it.
Jessica thought she was too cool for school and believed she could do better and dropped Nick. (mistake) She dates guy after guy only to be 'dumped' by all of them. Except now she's dating Eric Johnson (who?) and he'll hang onto her for the celeb fame. She'll see he was using her for that yada yada...they'll be done eventually (most likely)
Nick on the other hand has been dating Vanessa since he and Jess broke up nearly 5 years ago. He's so happy, she's gorg, they're adorable together. The rest is history...
Don't you know Jess wanted to die when she heard about Nick and Van getting engaged tonight. She's totally feeling the pressure now. I'm loving this. I love Jess but my love for her went down about 35% when she left Nick for selfish reasons. He was heartbroken and didn't see it coming (anyone read that Rolling Stone article right after the divorce? Gut Wrenching ) She's a hot mess right now I just know it. I'm not happy that Jessica is probably sad. But it does gives me satisfaction (as a lover of Nick and Jessica equally) that he came out the man on top since Jess thought she was just too good for him. And look where that's gotten her....unlucky in love. It's totally come full circle. Why did she think they needed a divorce? Six bad months? Please. You think my grandparents who were married for 61 years didn't have 6 bad months. Suck it up! Anyways...that's how I feel about it.
Too into this story? Probably. Should I get a life? Ehh...I dunno. This makes my life quite entertaining. I literally gasped when I just saw it on people.com which I read about 3 times a day. Alrighty. I'm Kara Luttrell Johnson and I hope you enjoyed this celebrity update.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Few Words for Wednesday

-Totally ready for this week to be over with.
-I'm sure you all are expecting me to make a comment about the election results yesterday but I mean, it was so obviously coming for months so I mean, was anyone even surprised? Not even worth talking about as we all saw that coming from a million miles away. Remember when I said 1 term president? Just reminding you....
-Tomorrow is my least favorite work day because I have to be there until 8:00. I'm a 10-5 kinda gal. Seriously, I dread Thursdays all week long.
-My snuggle bug is curled up next to me snoozin and I love it! (Holly not Scott)
-Who's ready for Thanksgiving? Me!! It's my favorite holiday.
-Do all of you who read this blog read www.lifeinnwa.com ? Missin out if not...
-Why is Bristol Palin still on DWTS? I think it's the super conservative folks out there who keep voting for her because they love her momma. What do you think?
-That's all. I'm stinky from my workout at 4:00 and it's 10:30 now so I'm way overdo for a shower. Nighty night!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Where I Stand...

Remember when I turned 25 I had 25 things to do while I was 25? Just updating you guys on some of my goals I accomplished!

1. Taste wine at a vineyard in Napa
2. Go to a concert
3. Take Landon to Silver Dollar City
4. Try to remember to take my contacts out when I sleep at night (I try real hard but I mean, I can't see the TV and it's super frustrating!)
5. Hit up Vegas for a long weekend
6. Read a book (or 2 or 3)
7. Bump into an A-list celebrity
8. Try a banana split for the first time ever
9. Go to Memphis in May
10. Try yoga
11. Travel with Scott to Chicago when he has to go for work
12. Figure out what Britney Spears is saying in her song, 3
13. Watch a broadway show
14. Spend more time in the morning looking better hair/make-up/clothing wise for work (it's better but still not giving it 100%)
15. Obtain more shoes (so glad my husband understands how happy they make me) Maybe we should just halfway highlight this one. You can never have too many right!?
16. Run a 10K (5k will do right? I'll try to do another 5k so that'll equal a 10k)
17. Be less sensitive (done and done. Mostly. My hubby is great at helping me with this.)
18. Make more dinners like Barefoot Contessa on a weekly basis (I may not pluck a chicken but at least we aren't having one for dinner every single night anymore)
19. Take an anniversary trip with Scott on our actual anniversary Bora Bora style
20. Continue my workout regime
21. Give more compliments AND be more accepting when I receive one
22. Get a picture made with Pork Chop, Sue E, Big Red, or Boss Hog
23. Manage to get a family portrait made with me, Scott, Mom, Dad, Kyle, Landon & Holly
24. Enter the Regis & Kelly trivia contest so I can, A. talk to Regis & Kelly and B. win a trip
25. Attend a black tie dinner (thanks Wade and Alissa!)

I think I'll be able to accomplish a lot more within the next few months. The tricky one is gonna be Napa....I'll figure it out somehow! Ahem...Dad?