My First Black Friday Experience

So usually I am one to deter away from crowds and crazy people, but there were a few items I was really hoping to catch good deals on. And every year, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law go to the infamous Black Friday shopping. I have never gone, nothing has appealed to me to even want to go near a store at that point. BUT, this year I decided, why the heck not. It's one more thing on the Bucket List, right?

Our first stop was Walmart...and let me tell you, if you thought Walmart was bad on a Saturday buying groceries, you thought wrong. I have never seen so many people act like starving hyenas wanting blenders, toasters, and Shark vaccuums. I was after one thing...the stand-up mixer for $18. People were even coaching others on using "strength" to knock down their "opponents." Seriously, what the hell?! We felt like we were in prison waiting for the guards (cops) to let us attack our items. I cannot even express in words the madness...we got in and out as fast as we could and trust me, WE DID! The ambulance showed up as we were leaving. I mean seriously?! Is it really worth hurting our fellow humanity over a blender? My sister-in-law and I got out safe with our goods and we were on our way. Let's just say things definitely were MUCH better after we left Walmart. If we can do that, we can do anything!!

Kohl's, Macy's and JC Penney's weren't even a comparison to Walmart...we had a blast waiting in line, getting to know other people, finding AMAZING deals, and best of all, bonding with family.

Jessica and I around 1:30 am at Kohl's with our goods :)

A Lot to be Thankful For!

Another Turkey Day has come and gone. Did everyone eat to their heart's content? This year, I spent Thanksgiving Day with my in-laws and we went to Truluck's Dallas. It's a diner-style decor with fancy seafood and steak menu! My father-in-law and I had the traditional Thanksgiving lunch including turkey, gravy, potatoes, dressing, broccoli and cheese casserole, cranberry sauce, green beans and bread. YUM :)

But the secret was the appetizer...Pumpkin soup. I know...sounds disgusting, but wow it was amazing...tiny pumpkin seeds in it also. Man, its one of those must-try before you die kinda things.

I have had an extremely blessed year full of health, wealth and happiness...Jason and I may not have it all together, but together we have it all! I love you very much best friend!

Happy Thanksgiving and continue to be thankful everyday, for each day is a blessing in itself!



Football, Fall & FUN!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am SO into all the college football games going on, esp OU, duh?! If I miss a game, I'm so lost. Who is this person I've turned into? Haha. I'm glad its something fun me and my husband can share together. It's a "bonding" time for us on Saturdays. I love watching boys who enjoy the game as a passion and not a paycheck. Agreed? For that reason, I boycott professional football. Although, guilty, I play fantasy football...mainly for the heck of it and nothing serious :)

As for the weather, I am so thankful that its finally cooling off. Love looking at fall sweaters, home decor and best of all, amazing comfort food recipes. Some of my fav fall foods include pumpkin bread, casseroles, fudge, turtles, corn casserole, ham, etc... Making me hungry just thinking about it all! Who else is getting excited for when after Thanksgiving comes around....BLACK FRIDAY, holiday movies and colder weather. Man, I cannot absolutely freaking wait! I will be more excited when Jason and I are back in one spot with a new house and settled into the next chapter of our lives together. That is the most important thing I look forward to.

There is LOTS to be thankful for this month and every month, continue to think of how God has been a blessing to you, how you can be a blessing to others, and remember what He did for us so that we can live an abundant and joyful life!

Sunday, prayers for you!

Just wanted to take a moment to reflect on a friendship with my long-time dear friend, Sunday. I have known Sunday since I was 16...hard to believe it! I remember thinking I had never known a Sunday and he is definitely one of a kind!

I remember first dancing with him at Dance Discovery and meeting him by being Teri Wilkerson's assistant with all the dance auditions thru the ACU theatre dept. His charisma is impeccable. His laugh and smile are contagious.

I can hear his voice cheering for me and pumping up all the dancers from off-stage during performances. He is a cheerleader indeed! He always made me feel like I was, one of his loves,' Britney Spears' backup dancers. Being at Lindsay (Perry) McGill's house and watching Britney Spears dvd's and learning the dances were the highlight of our weekends with Sunday Ibok in college.

We were in so many performances together and I think one of the most memorable ones includes Oklahoma at the Paramount Theatre in Abilene. I was his partner in the dance dream sequence and I have never laughed so hard nor had so much fun rehearsing with him.

He is definitely the Lord's treasure and I am so thankful he was a part of my life growing up in Abilene. I continue to pray for his healing as he is on life support at Baylor in Dallas following a brain aneurysm. Pray he is able to pull through and continue to bless others lives' through his love for people and for the Lord.

BOOMER SOONER is BACK!

So it is official....college football season has begun! I absolutely love it! Getting friends together, having a fun "rivalry" with everyone, eating great food & drinking while cheering on your fav team. Perfection! Makes me wish I had gone to a Big 12 school, but ACU was great don't get me wrong! Just nothing like being an alum from a large school.

Can't wait to see what this football season holds...and how hard OU is gonna kick UT this year, what what :)

It's been a year already!

SO much has happened in the past year and its crazy how time has flown since I married my best friend on Saturday August 21, 2011. Over the past year, we have met so many amazing married couples and have found friendships in all of them that we will never forget. We made our house a home, have 2 wonderful doggies, and have enjoyed being in each other's company.

We went to Austin, TX for a little anniversary trip this year. We stayed at the Hampton downtown...free breakfast in the morning and free booze at night, who can complain?! Jason tempted me to try sushi and thai food for the first time, both of which I found out I liked :) Yes, I admit it! We went to see the TX Military Museum, which was pretty cool...shopping on South Congress in the vintage stores. I liked the hippie shopping more than Jason did though :) Ate some Amy's Ice Cream, which is quite delish...if you haven't tried it it's time to try it out! Hmm...what else...had some fab grilled fish tacos at Baby Acapulco's...visited the Austin Zoo as well as the Art Museum...liked the zoo more than the art museum though. We went downtown to 6th st the last night and we had a blast. Feeling like a college student again since it was college night!

Overall, both of us enjoyed our time spent together as well as relaxing from the stress of everyday life. We both are looking forward to many years to come and continuously pray God will lead us in the direction of where He wants us! I love you more than chocolate, weiner dogs, and hip hop music baby! And that's saying a LOT :)

26th birthday

I absolutely love throwing parties, even if they are for myself, haha. Last night, we had mine and Elliot's joint birthday party. His was July 1st and mine is coming up tomorrow, July 11th. Such a blast we had! I love having friends over and just hanging out, drinking, eating, and saying ridiculous things :) I bought a cake from the Cookie Addiction in Harker Heights, so yummy! We also had brats, chips, salsa, hawaiian roll sandwiches, and our personal favorite...Elliot's jalapeno poppers. So good! My sister-in-law, Jessica, came down to celebrate also. I enjoy getting to know her more and more & having a little "sister" bonding time.

For my real birthday tomorrow, I plan on maybe going to the pool and relaxing & possibly spending some giftcards I received. I have dinner planned with my great hubby at Texas Land & Cattle, one of my new personal favorite restaurants. Next weekend, I plan on spending my birthday with my parents in Ft Worth. I'm excited about shopping and being back with family in the "big city."

I am thankful for another year of life and hope to live out the plan God has for me in a way that will please Him. I hit a lot of milestones at 25...got 2 great jobs in Ft Worth and Killeen, my husband came back from deployment, and got married! So many blessings in my life right now and I'm excited to see what 26 has to bring me.

As for a birthday wish (I know you're not supposed to tell but I am), I wished for 3 individuals I know that are currently tackling cancer to be survivors! Cancer is an ugly, ugly disease and my wish for them is to keep living fulfilling lives and move past the suffering. Happy day everyone and thank God for each day! Love you all friends and family!

Welcome Home

I love when soldiers come home! On Saturday, Jason and I got to welcome back Sgt Elliot Werner from Quatar, which is over in the middle east. He had been over in Quatar since November 2010. We were so happy to have him back, he has become one of our good friends. Definitely one of our faithful and reliant friends, he would do anything for us and we would do anything for him. Thankful God brought the rest of the soldiers back from 69th ADA BDE.

At the welcome home ceremony it was so touching to see families and children welcome home their loved ones. My heart about broke when I saw a young man hugging his mom and tears of joy were streaming down his face. Families, in addition to soldiers, sacrifice so much when they are on deployment. Until you are a military spouse or are family of a soldier, you can never imagine the feelings of your loved one being away for a year at a time.

Below is a picture of Elliot, on the right, with our other good friend Sgt Jose Martinez. Remember, freedom isn't free! Support those soldiers!

the married life

I figured my first post would be something to introduce and tell a little something about Jason and I. We have almost been married a year this coming August. SO hard to believe! The time is flying by! We are stationed at Ft Hood, TX and have met some of the most awesome people from all different walks of life. We've been blessed with some married friends who have been excellent "role models" of what great marriages look like. We live in an awesome neighborhood and I always feel safe here. Mainly because I know I live around military families and men who def know how to use a gun :) Nonetheless, I enjoy the company of our neighbors and know if I need to borrow an egg they'll lend me a hand (which I have done many a time already).

That's a taste of the present, but for those of you who don't know Jason and I have known each other a LONG time...going on almost 8 years! I remember the first time I met him I was actually kind of scared of him because he's a pretty big dude and he had long hair to his shoulders and a full beard. I always tease him and say he looked like a hippie Jesus. We have hit it off since day 1. His sense of humor and honesty initially attracted me to Jason. He always knows how to make me laugh and always made me feel special. I liked all the attention he gave and still gives me! I still think its funny that I found my soul mate a long time ago, but didn't realize it til 6 years later. I think both of us needed to date the "bad" people to recognize and appreciate our relationship and what we bring to each other.

Our wedding was SO wonderful. We got so many compliments on how gorgeous and elegant it was. I owe it all to my mom and Jackie Redwine. They worked their tails off! If it wasn't for them I know it wouldn't have turned out the way it did. We had a great wedding party, full of friends we've known for long and short periods of time and from different paths. I was really impressed with the men and their behavior in spite of all the pre-wedding drinking festivities. Even Jackie said they were the most well behaved groomsmen she's ever seen and that woman has done a million weddings! It was incredible and I was so blessed with our families and close friends being there for us.

Marriage definitely has more benefits than risks (ok, sorry my medical terminology seeps out at times). Its so fun being with your best friend and having someone to share your peaks and pits of your day. I will say its hard getting used to someone else's way of doing things. I guess that's because I've been an only child and never had to deal with sharing or having things done a different way than I would have. I'm learning to relax and let my OCD take the back seat. Not everything has to be clean 24/7 (although my heart would do a little dance). I love my slightly messy husband :)

And VERY shortly after our wedding we decided we needed a little addition. No, not a baby...even better...a weiner dog! :) I got a black/tan mini dachshund named Kelci. She is such a mess! It's so weird that a dog has my personality but she does. For example, I do love attention (I was an only child remember?) and she absolutely has to have someone's attention at all times. She loves the limelight :) And she's just a sassy little dog...prancing around the house and thinking she's the ish. Well, she is! I'm so glad we got her because she was my buddy when I wasn't working in Killeen yet and Jason was at work. I needed a friend and she honestly took my mind off of all the new adjustments in my life at that time. I don't know what I would do without her.

Then shortly after, Jason decided he wanted a buddy too. I bought him a black Lab named Ranger, for an early Christmas present (in October.) Some days I think we were on crack getting 2 dogs and both the same age for that matter, but he is such a sweet dog. He's like Jason also...he's really laid back and chill. Except when Kelci bugs him, which is often, then he likes to play fight with her. Sounds like Jason and I :) Ranger is a great dog and I'm so glad we got him too. He's my little buddy. I love my kids! Who needs real children when you have wonderful animals who don't talk back and don't have to have a diaper changed?