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!**

one year ago.

it's crazy to think that one year ago... I made this fun little announcement on the blog. and now we have a six month old....

one year ago, I was three months pregnant with our beautiful baby girl.
one year ago, I was overwhelmed with the idea of becoming a mother.
one year ago, I had no idea what was coming my way.
one year ago, I only dreamed of the happiness and love that I feel right now.

today - I am the mother of a beautiful [two days shy of] six month old girl, the wife of the best daddy in the world and overwhelmed by love for the two people that I get to share my life with.

I just have to smile and think about where I was, where I am, and where I'm going. I can only imagine how I'll feel one year from today.

Max is 2!

wow. time is flying by... our sweet nephew Max turned two this past weekend! it feels like yesterday that we were flying to Georgia for our wedding shower and to meet sweet Max just weeks after he was born...

then we saw him in October of 2010 and he was even bigger...

(gah! his sweet cheeks remind me of Penny's in this picture!)

...and this time last year we celebrated his first birthday... so sweet! 

one of the biggest reasons I'm so happy we moved to Georgia is that we're near our family and we get to spend so much quality time with them and watch these sweet babes grow up (and that Penny can grow up with her cousins)!

...AND of course - I left my camera at Mat and Summer's house so I don't have pictures from Max's birthday (coming soon) but I will leave with you of a few recent pictures of our favorite little steamroller!

what a sweetie, huh??

birthday party pics celebrating our favorite newly turned 2 year old... coming soon! 

leap year...

So I know that today is leap day but when I think of leap day/leap year I think about the last 365 days... this past year has truly been a "leap year" for DJ and one where we took a lot of leaps of faith... Starting almost exactly a year ago where we made our cross-country move to Georgia... packed up our charming house, quit our jobs, got Ollie neutered (hah), and moved south.

It's been a year since our journey and the leaps just came on coming - I went back to my education roots and it was a year ago (well March 1st will be a year I guess) since I interviewed for my current job and I am still as happy about that choice as I was a year ago... I'm excited to be back in higher education and working with college students. I'm in an extremely conducive environment for my personal and professional development, I have great coworkers, work with phenomenal students and get to create and make an impact every day... sure there are days that are frustrating and filled with headaches but that's every job.

My love also has made some huge career leaps ove the past year - he did his own thing for the past year and really honed his design, development and marketing skills. Around six months ago he got picked up by a start-up and really helped take them to the next level, and most recently - today, he took his next leap and started his new job as Director of Marketing for all an international company based out of the UK... oh yeah, and he hasn't applied for a job in over six years - people just keep offering him jobs [yes, I picked a winner].  This current job is definitely a leap for him, he's really pushing himself with this position and going outside of his comfort zone and leaving a job, product and company he was extremely passionate about to take further steps to provide for his family... something I will not forget and something I truly appreciate him for.

Oh yeah, and we took our biggest leap of all this year when I decided to stop taking birth control and we started trying for sweet baby j... and well you know how that turned out!

So, I know 2012 is considered a "leap year" but when I think about my life and all the leaps we've taken in the past year - 2011 was definitely the leap year in our little family of three [almost four] [yes, four - Ollie counts, hah].

here's to our next year in Georgia... not necessarily a year that will be filled with "leaps" [well, who knows] but definitely a year of many changes... we'll become parents, welcome a sweet baby girl into the world, say goodbye to our sweet basement apartment and hello to city living....

all in all, as I think about where I was a year ago today - I was filled with anticipation, excitement and anxiety about starting our new life in Georgia... as I reflect on the past year since we made the move I am so happy we made our "leap" - and even more than that, I'm so happy that I made the one big leap 26 months ago and married my best friend.  I can't imagine taking this journey and these leaps with anyone else by my side...

...with that, thanks DJ for your love, support and all of the hard work and sacrifices. I'm so proud of you as you take this next step in your career and know you will be so successful in all that you do - you're one of the smartest, creative and hard-working people I have ever met.  even more important than that -- you make "leaping" that much easier because I know you'll always be there to hold my hand, jump with me and pick me up when if we stumble. 88 my love.

happy leap day everyone - hope you took a leap today, if not - you have tomorrow... trust me, take a chance, it's worth it.

...for more on our "leap year" all the adventures that came with it check out my 2011 year in review...

2011 - what a year...

while it would have been great to post my "2011 year recap" post before 2011 ended, I always like to be fashionably late so here's my yearly recap post (first ever, get excited).

2011 was quite a year, a year of lots of change and all for the better. DJ and I both threw caution to the wind and said "to hell with it - let's live life in the present and take risks" - and I am SO happy we did.

first off, I was a bad blogger to start the year off, I didn't post as much as I should have in january as I was traveling for work and nursing my wedding hangover - I post my first post of the year giving a short wedding recap/sneak peak - then I did a series of wedding recaps, those were the only posts I did in january, oops.

then february happened and we bit the bullet and announced the big news. DJ and I gave our notice at work and decided to move to GA [without jobs or a real plan]. that's right - we were heading south at the end of the month to live in my in-laws basement [for only six months... what's that? we're still there. hah. oh well, can't beat a nice rent-free basement apartment... the plan is to move out sometime after maternity leave in late 2012]. anyways, back to february, we started packing [and I started getting excited/anxious].

...march came and we made the big move to ga and after less than a week in GA I got a great job offer [that I accepted for where I am still working... clearly, very blessed]. life was good, I was [and still am] very happy. I also took my first [non-work/moving] trip of the year -- I flew to Indiana to visit friends and help Lindi make the drive to Atlanta for a conference, such a great weekend with old and new friends alike!

in april, I posted about the irony in an email I had sent three years earlier, we celebrated our one year anniversary of getting sweet Oliver and DJ's 29th birthday where I made him a ridiculous cake. [also in april, we threw caution to the wind and after being on "the pill" for over a decade we started trying to get pregnant, but clearly - I didn't blog about that]

in may, we visited my mom in florida [which I didn't post about, oops], visited Terrapin Beer Co with Tiff & Josh and attended Idoaroo [our first wedding of the year]!

in june, we visited our sweet friends joey & paige in damascus over memorial day, I talked about the sweetest thing in my life, went skydiving, another fathers day passed, saw Dispatch in concert and toured the Sweetwater Brewery [we like breweries].

in july, I [clearly wasn't pregnant yet and] drank lots of sangria, Lindi turned 30 - we celebrated with a night out in Knoxville and a trip to the Biltmore! also in july, I drank lots of wine and toured the Biltmore Winery and Chateau Elan winery [both with Lindi]! DJ also had some strange dreams in july and I had wedding nostalgia as we headed to NJ for Tommy & Becca's wedding and spent a weekend in Philly! [wow! July was a busy month!]

in august, I ran my first 5k and cooked some yummy food [fried rice, broccoli slaw, surprise monkey bread and asian meatloaf - yum!]. now that I look at these pictures, I realize - yeah, I was pretty skinny [for me] in august - I had been working hard for the past few months and had just lost 11lbs!  Coincidentally, I also got pregnant in august - I just hadn't realized it yet!

in september, I went to my first MLB game & DJ put his consulting on hold and got a new job! then over labor day weekend, I found out I was pregnant - the title of the first post I wrote after I found out is pretty ironic now that I think about it. I also posted about baby fever the week after I found out I was preggo, haha - I'm funny. lindi came to visit [that's also the weekend we told her and DJ's family!]. I also ran my first 10K in september [with baby j in utero]!

in october, I went to charlotte for tiff's bachelorette party and raleigh for her bridal shower, spent a weekend in good ole Rocky Top [aka Knoxville] with Lindi, and did a lot of complaining about how tired I was [now you know why].

in november, we traveled to St. Pete for Mike & Carin's wedding and spent some time with my mom in Florida. I finally came clean and shared the news about baby j via an Oliver knock knock joke and then shared more about baby j. I also officiated my first wedding and married two of our closest friends Tiffani & Josh [DJ was also a reader in their wedding, so sweet]. 

in december, I reflected on my father and what he means to me in a letter to him, did a lot of holiday baking, and finally made rainbow cupcakes! we also celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas with our families and got a special delivery from santa where we found out baby j is a GIRL! then we wrapped up the year in style and celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary/NYE with a weekend in Athens, GA. perfection.

so that was 2011. 

a cross-country move, two new jobs, the year of the basement, celebrated four great couples getting married, took numerous trips, spent loads of quality time with our family, and the most special and important of all - got pregnant with our little girl.

I can only imagine the joy that 2012 will bring us, here's to a great year!

happy birthday max!

our littlest nephew max turns one today - crazy to think it was a little under a year ago we met him for the first time...

he's definitely grown a tremendous amount over this past year and has a big place in his aunt hita and uncle danny's hearts...

so excited to celebrate our little max's birthday with the family on saturday!

one year ago... blogoversary.

remember that time I wrote my first blog post and then my second [oliver was SO little] - can you believe it's been a year? time flies when you're blogging fun.  282 posts later here we are... 

my one year blogoversary.

it's crazy to sit back and reflect on the past year and what has happened... it's been a whirlwind. we moved back across the country to be closer to family [literally, like in the same house as them], got married [again], I got a new job and am back in higher education and DJ is now doing his own consulting gig and isn't tied down to "the man" anymore. we're happier, maybe not healthier, I'm definitely heftier [seriously. DJ needs to stop feeding me] and Oliver is WAY bigger. I used to knock the berkshires when I was there and it definitely wasn't a great fit for me but I do miss certain aspects of our life there [aka my commute work, my dear friend jenny, and just the pace of life] but I wouldn't change a thing about the past year - I am SO happy we moved south for so many reasons and I could write a million blog posts about it but I'll just stick to this one. I'm so happy to call Georgia home and put roots down here and continuing that process that is creating myself...

it's also funny to think that DJ and I have been married for almost a year and a half, I love that silly man. some days it feels like we've been married for decades and others like our adventure just started.

anyways, enough rambling - moving on to thanks - thanks to all of you who read my daily babble, gush over my baby Oliver, comment on my random ass posts, and support me through it all. I've gained so much by not only writing on this blog for the past year but  have also gained so many new ideas on books, wedding planning, recipes, dog tips, etc.

and because a blog post isn't complete without a picture of oliver - check out homeboy trying to fit into my in-laws dog's bed [he's a pomeranian]... 

seriously oliver, you and I both need to go on a diet - it's swimsuit season after all. 

happy weekend chickens!

one year ago...

I [really] wanted a puppy.

DJ wanted an english bulldog puppy [none other would do]

I thought he was crazy, but whatever. 

I bitched and moaned until I realized he wasn't changing his mind compromised

so I went along with it...

first there was massive amounts of research and scouring the web...

then there were emails...

THEN one year ago was a life-changing day for DJ & I... we drove about an hour from our house to visit with a family in CT who had one English Bulldog puppy left for sale.... our hearts were stolen the minute we met little Oliver... 

the whole litter of puppies were super sweet and just adorable, but when they got let out to play one came over and sat right in DJ's lap... he was just content being with us while the others ran around the yard... as luck would be - that was the one puppy that was still for sale, and the one puppy that stole our heart...

I mean, how could you  not fall in love with this face...

we got home and had this email waiting for us...

we just knew we had to make it work, and we did - and I couldn't be happier with our sweet baby boy.... 


I love my little partner in crime....

what a snugglebug...

[and I clearly love sweatpants as captured by these photos...]

I can't believe we met our little Ollie only a year ago, I can't imagine life without him now... and though I will rarely admit it - DJ was right, an english bulldog was the best fit for our lifestyle and my "wants" in a dog [sweetness, cuddles, lovable, etc], but not just any bullie - our sweet OJ [aka "the juice" - and yes that is his middle name on his AKC registration, I shit you not].  so here's to many healthy years ahead of us [and hopefully soon, allergy free] and our sweet baby boy.

sweet baby Oliver...

thanks for the butt-wiggles, the kisses, the cuddles. 

I love you all the time

[even when you try and eat my bras and think my shoes are chew-toys]

 you're the sweetest baby boy and I can't imagine life without you!

I am thankful for....

A few days late but.... I am so thankful for so many things in my life - my mother, my amazing friends, my health, my education, my sweet puppy..... and of course, my soulmate, my husband, my danny j....

It's crazy to sit where I sit right now and think where I was a year ago - flooded with emotions for one of my closest friends... feeling a love that I had never experienced and a level of comfort with another person that I know will never be matched... 

a year ago this very weekend these amazing memories were made....

I remember I was supposed to fly out Saturday morning and we called the airline and changed my flight to Monday so we could have three more days together... we made plans for me to come back for Christmas and New Years and went out and got Trey (pictured last) our little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree... so special, he was our first baby! 

with that.... thank you danny for turning my world upside down a year ago, thank you for your patience, your willingness to compromise, your smile, your ability to make me laugh (even when I'm trying to be mad at you), thank you for making me try new things, for challenging me, for being the liberal hippie that you are, for reading my mind, being my soulmate, cooking me dinner, buying me plants (that I ultimately kill), writing me love notes... thank you for being the best husband in the world and my bestest friend.

I love you as much as you love reading the news and flannel shirts. 

Clearly, that's a lot.

88 my love.

black wednesday.

happy black wednesday - or as I know it, "my husband's favorite day of the year"

{via}

yup. black wednesday: the night before thanksgiving, aka one of the biggest drinking days of the year. madness in every town, unofficial high school reunions galore.... we'll be spending it in downtown GB (love that we live walking distance from the bars) where I'm sure to run into 1-3 of DJ's old "flames" - let the making people uncomfortable fun begin! haha - seriously though, I'm excited for a four day weekend with my love, christmas shopping & decorating, college football and sleeping in. oh yeah, thanksgiving dinner is somewhere in there too... as I'm trying to lose a few lbs it's just kinda making me anxious... oh well. I'll try and stay strong (yeah right). I think I might dress up like these dogs to make the day a little more festive...

{via}

on a completely different note... it's crazy to think a year ago on this day I had just flown into town to see Danny.... I can't even put into words what that day was like or how I knew that my gut was right all along - he was and is my soulmate.

{"us" - one year ago}

happy happy {early} thanksgiving!