thankful.

I should be working (I know on a Sunday night, lame but I have a LOT to get done on this short week) but instead I felt called to blog, particularly since this week is one that is so near to my heart. three years ago this week I took a huge leap of faith, followed my heart and flew over 700 miles to go visit a friend. 

as cheesy as it sounds - I still remember the feeling that ran through my body, heart and soul when we saw each other for the first time when I got off the plane. I knew that instant that my life would be completely changed. I keep saying I'm going to finish our love story and I WILL, eventually. I just want to do it right instead of rushing to get it up just to finish it [and someone, ahem DJ - needs to write his sections... not that I've done mine, oops]. anyways, this post from two years ago feels like yesterday and forever ago all at the same time. I'm still overwhelmed with love for my sweet flannel wearing hippy.

any-the-ways, I figured I'd try something new and linkup with Neely on this chilly fall Sunday and share my list of what I'm thankful for this fall season -- I wish I could say my post will be as humorous and entertaining as Sara's post earlier this week [genius and amazing!] but my creativity is just not currently flowing... so here you go...

I am thankful for....
- coffee: oh the black tar aka the good stuff that gets my blood pumping and heart beating every morning... CAFFEINE I LOVE YOU.
- beer: after being pregnant and not drinking for almost a year I have come to appreciate a nice cold beer, it's definitely been my [daily] drink of choice lately!
- for la croix: thank you for giving my fix when I have my "fizzy" bubble cravings without being a real soda
- my snooze button: because on most mornings 6am just is not happening...
- for our bumbo: sorry penny but seriously, I cannot hold you ALL the freaking time!
- for my iPhone: little mini computer in my hand aka the ultimate distraction... I love you.
- for pacifiers: sometimes when nothing else will do you just need to do as my dad would say and "plug it up"
- for instagram: aka instamakeup... thanks for making me look better than I really do and for making my  lunch look cool.
- for google: thank you for giving the answers and making me seem smarter than I am
- for the James Patterson Women's Murder Club series: I want to be Lindsay Boxer
- for my fancy pants camera: for making me think I'm a better photographer than I really am
- for my job that offers me the flexibility to be a professional and the type of mom that I want to be without having to choose between the two or sacrifice [too much]
- for scarves: because who likes a cold neck?
- for oliver: thanks for the snuggles bud. you make me smile. you are my dream come true in a fat lazy little bulldog package.
- for my friends: you love me even if I'm a bitch.
- for my family: for just being you - I couldn't ask for a better support system of crazy quirky folks.
- for ms. penelope rose: for making a mommy, filling my heart with love and bringing a smile to my face [and lets get real for sleeping through the night starting at six weeks - THANK YOU for being a good sleeper and giving me the gift of SLEEP!]
- for danny j: for being my best friend, my partner, my love, the washer of my dishes [and bottles and breast pump parts], for walking the dog, being an amazing daddy [and for taking me as I am - for better and for worse... or lately, for bitchy or cranky, oops].

so that's that.

what are you thankful for?

**also, congrats to chelsea from The Curly Cues for winning my Shutterfly giveaway!**

cuteness overload.

where did my teeny tiny, itty bitty, sweet pea go? she's been replaced by a giggly, smiley two month old*! no complaints here - but just in awe of [and sometimes overwhelmed by] how quickly time is flying by.... here are some of my favorite recent pictures of our darling sweet pea!**

yup.

she's a keeper that sweet pea of ours!

love my sweet girl.

life is good...

and yes, most days I'm still baffled by the fact that I'm a mom.

*penny's two month [and one month] posts are coming soon... oops.

**blogposts with actual "content" and not just photodumps of my adorable baby [and dog] are also coming soon... pinky swear.

puppy love.

yup. 

Penny and Ollie are still in puppy love over here. 

here's the latest chapter in the greatest sibling love story of all time...

don't you just want to hug and kiss them both all over their slobbery drooly faces?

ugh.

love them.

[you can find more bulldog baby love here and here]

birthday week.

happy birthday week!!! 

...to my favorite man on this planet...

hey hey. 

it's DJ's last week in this 20s!

I can't believe that DJ will be 30 this saturday.

I can't believe we met almost 16 years ago.

I can't believe we've almost been married for 2 years.

I can't believe he'll be a daddy in 5 weeks (or so).

I have lots to post about but this is what is is occupying my brain currently...

...trying to think of ways to celebrate my love and best friend.

you see, I'm quite the expert on 30th birthday parties 

[just ask my ex-boyfriend, his was amazing - no really, it was]

so I feel kinda guilty... it's almost like Big Daddy

...but I guess we're even because someone [aka DJ's ex-fiance] had a long-drawn-out-romantic proposal whereas I got - "hey, you want to stop by town hall on the way to work?"* 

....and my ex got the whole crazy surprise weekend 30th birthday bash and a girlfriend that wasn't 9 month pregnant and too tired/exhausted to focus on planning a party... 

[yeah, to say I've been distracted is an understatement]

so yes, we might have "wasted the good surprise" on someone else...

but in the end, we have each other.

....and I ordered 20lbs of crawfish.

so I guess that's pretty great, right?

ANYWAYS.....

happy birthday week to my danny j.

love you jiggs!

more birthday love coming soon.... :)

*yes, there's more to our proposal, and it was sweet in its own way.... and absolutely perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way... I'll tell you the whole story one day...

guest posting over at "A March Wedding"

bumpdate coming soon..

but for now, check out my guest post over at A March Wedding... 

I'm giving Anna [aka the NEW Mrs. Taylor] all sorts of unsolicited advice about being married... 

because clearly - I'm an expert, duh.

I suck: the valentines day edition

remember that time that DJ and I were having a baby and trying to save money... 

I do! 

I'm currently living it. 

to pinch a few extra pennies DJ and I decided we would be doing a frill-free valentines day this year.. aka no gifts, no nada - just a moderate dinner out [which we're doing tonight to not deal with the crowds]. so I was going to be sneaky and make him a little gift but I said something to him about needed to get a few little supplies and he goes into the whole "we're trying to save money, no gifts, I'm not getting you anything, no no no..." speech so I back down.

...and I do precisely that. 

nothing.

so let's rewind to yesterday... I get in the car and my love has a dozen beautiful red roses sitting on the passenger seat for me, which he then quickly follows up with a sweet card, a box of chocolates and [one of my all-time favorite things in the whole wide world] cotton candy.

I then have a slight freakout saying thank you and showering him with kisses and then I say "but we weren't supposed to do gifts or anything this year..." his response, something along the lines of - "well, I knew you weren't going to listen and that you'd do something so I did too"  I stare blankly and respond "no, I didnt!?"

the one time I listen. of course, he laughs it off and says that valentines day is really all about women and he doesn't care but I feel like a big ole ahole. I didn't even have a card for him [in my defense we're supposed to be celebrating tonight].

I know it wasn't a big deal, it was just such a sweet sentiment and I really was caught off-guard. who knew $20 at the grocery store could get a man so much street cred.

so there you have it. my valentines day failure...

and here is his sweet valentines day success...

I'm a lucky girl...

so excited to have a nice relaxing Italian dinner out [yay carbs] with my love tonight.... 

...and now the clock is ticking - what can I buy/make him in the next 5 hours?! 

....wish me luck! 

10 things we love about marriage...

Source: s928.photobucket.com via annahita on Pinterest

happy valentines day!

so this morning Nikki posted her and her husband's "10 things we love about marriage" list on her blog Perpetually Engaged... I loved her and her husband Bryan's lists and was inspired to write my own list... and then convince DJ to write his... so here it is what we love about being married to each other...

me:

1. I love that I get to spend the rest of my life alongside my best friend.
2. I love that you know just how to bring a smile to my face [even when I'm mad at you].
3. I love what a great puppy-daddy you are to Ollie and what an amazing daddy you're going to be to our daughter!
4. I love you scrape the ice of the windshield every morning for me.
5. I love that you know exactly what spot on my back I want/need rubbed when I ask you to.
6. I love that you put up with my tears, fears and mood swings.
7. I love that you are my family.
8. I love that you challenge me to be more engaged and invested in the world around me.
9. I love that you understand who I am and accept me for better or worse.
10. I love being held in your arms.

him:

1. I love walking up next to you.
2. I love going to bed next to you.
3. I love.......... [yeah, I'm going to censor that one] ;)
4. I love that you are my best friend.
5. I love spending every minute with you.
6. I love knowing at the end of the day no matter what happens you will be by my side.
7. I love that you do my laundry.
8. I love that you fold my laundry.
9. I love that you make me do things I normally would not do.
10. I love that you have made me a family man.

thanks nikki for the inspiration.

thanks DJ for making my the happiest girl out there.

happy valentines day friends!

new years & anniversary staycation...

happy 2012! we had a great time saying goodbye to 2011, ringing in 2012 and celebrating our anniversary this past weekend during our "staycation" in Athens, GA. we headed down to Athens on Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel to start the trip.

I love me a king-sized bed...

my new favorite shoes joined us for the trip...

Then we walked downtown and just strolled around enjoying our beautiful 65 degree weather. we might have left our favorite bulldog home but we had lots in Athens to keep us company...

lovely Athens afternoon...

We stopped into a new favorite Walker's Coffee and Pub - DJ enjoyed a few nice beers and I had an uber yummy steamer and then walked over to Gigi's cupcakes where I demolished enjoyed a champagne cupcake aka HEAVEN...

then we headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit and freshened up for dinner. we went to farm 255 [which we wholeheartedly recommend for a great meal if you're in Athens] where they had a great four course pre-fixe dinner - we got different things for each course and shared [my favorite thing to do] and DJ got the wine pairings - I enjoyed my beverage of choice lately - h2o... so fancy, I know.

after dinner we headed back to the hotel and popped open our bubbly...

...and then watched some Big Bang Theory on DVD [I know, party animals] and switched over to CBS at around 11:30pm and watched the ball drop! It was such a fun relaxing New Years Eve just the two of us - our last childless new years eve/anniversary - crazy!  It was also crazy to think last year we were celebrating our wedding with our friends and family - two great New Years Eves... just very different!

On Sunday, we woke up and headed to our favorite Athen's restaurant Last Resort Grill for brunch - which was fantastic as always! Then we had to stop at Ike & Jane's for a donut before driving home [what? baby j wanted one two!]

here are a few more yummy snapshots from our trip...

afternoon beer/milk steamer from Walker's ~ yummy sparkling grape juice back at the hotel ~ my amazing omlette from Last Resort ~ donut = happiness from Ike & Jane's!

We returned home Sunday afternoon and lounged in our PJs. That night we had our 3rd annual anniversary pizza [after we eloped we walked home, got a pizza, got in our PJs had some pizza and called our parents to tell them we got married!  we continued the pizza tradition last year and plan to do it every year on our anniversary. we also exchanged cards [our gift to each other was our staycation] and I got a dozen beautiful red roses from my love.

such an amazing weekend celebrating [and eating] with my love! it was perfection - more than anything the best part was just enjoying some downtime with DJ, he's been working super hard lately and with my pregnancy exhaustion and holiday overload with the families, we haven't had a lot of one-on-one fun time away - it was much needed and appreciated.

2011 was a great year for us and I'm so excited to see all the joy and love that will surround us during 2012! more than anything I can't wait for may to meet our sweet baby girl! 

here's to 2012 - may it be filled with great love, health and happiness for all.

2 years.

 

2 years of sweet whispers, friendship, love, laughter, cuddles, tickles, late night walks home, running races, back-scratches, hiking up mountains, playing in the snow, sporting events, concerts, jumping out of planes, holding hands, multiple weddings, silly arguments, tears, fears, irrational debates, driving in the car, travel adventures, baba louie's pizzas, bouquets of flowers, mushy/funny cards, going to bed angry, throwing hairbrushes at walls, kissing and making up, cross-country moves, bottles of wines, shots of tequila, bulldog snorts and kisses, doctors appointments, date nights, loads of eating, cooking, celebrating holidays, and last but certainly not least baby-making.

88. my love.

2 years of wedded bliss down, the rest of our lives to go.

happy anniversary to my best friend, soulmate, lover and better half.

i love you my danny j.