Tribute

**Warning... sappy post ahead.

Before I begin with the sap I am going to share that it has been once again, a wild and crazy year. Which has made me decide that instead of introducing each post with a “back from hiatus” joke/reference I am going to move forward with blogging “seasonally.” Especially since most of my posts are recapping moments either around holidays or during the summer months when life for me is less hectic. However, the recapping will have to wait since clearly from the title, this post serves a different purpose. A tribute.

In just a few short days two young women will reach a milestone. One that makes me happy, sad, and every emotion in between and for various reasons. You see, these two have been my BFF’s since before they could remember. When I reflect on my life they have been at the core of many memories. So what would a tribute be without a walk down memory lane?

*Photo provided to transport us to 1999

Circa 1999
1. Before you were even born I remember moving from Colorado to Kansas City and having to pull over because mom’s feet were swelling so much.
2. I still remember sitting on mom and dad’s waterbed talking about what they planned on naming the two of you. Kelly and Faith were pretty solid choices. I HOPE you two agree.
3. Even if we griped about it then being crammed into the bedroom with Lindsay and Megan made for a wild childhood. Can you imaging bunk beds, an additional bed, and the three of us getting along enough to sleep together?!
4. I was in the third grade when the two of you were born. Everyone at Hillcrest was fascinated by twins. When dad came to pick us up to go to the hospital you all were the talk of the school! I’m pretty sure they even made an announcement about it. I think that was what it meant to go “viral” back in the day.
5. There are too many times to count when we were at the store and Lindsay would be mistaken for your mom. This allowed mom to practice being a grandma. Even if it was for a split second before Lindsay quickly corrected the cashiers.
6. When we first got Alba I remember walking with mom to go and pick the two of you up from school. A small piece of my heart still expects you and A-Rod to get married Faith!

Fast forward a couple years later.

7.  I’ve been through every fad (feathers in the hair), boy band crush, and TV addiction. Let me tell you *NSYNC and Baskstreet Boys are 100x better than Justin Bieber, Hannah Montana, 5SOS.... should I go on?
8. Andrew has been one of the “girls” for just as long. I’d almost be willing to bet he’d put *NSYNC over Hannah Montana any day. Especially after having the opportunity to see her in 3D with 150 other screaming girls.
9. The two of you have been a part of Andrew and I’s relationship from the beginning and it has made me love him even more. I have gotten to see him turn from a weird guy I was hanging out with to a brother to the two of you. For that I thank you. (At this point I should also thank Andrew for putting up with the three of us). 
10. Summer time at the pool. Walking up to play on the playground at Kentucky Trail. Remember when Andrew had to go to the bathroom and said he’d meet us up there. By dusk he hadn’t returned... what a crappy day that was. :)
11. Thanks to Facebook and it’s automatic tagging feature I have lived vicariously through high school again and have been able to hold onto my youth that much longer.
12. High school years come with many firsts- first dances, first boy crushes, first time driving, first job, etc.
13. With that I have also experienced heartbreak that comes with young “love,” growth, disappointment, and an understanding of why my mom thought I was so difficult as a teenager.
14.  And after Thursday I will be able to add another memory to the list. Your graduation.

As graduation has gotten closer I have caught myself reflecting. I shared this with Andrew this past weekend and I believe it to be true. Be grateful for every experience you have had. It is easy to say “I am so done with high school,” or “I’m ready to leave this god forsaken place.” Trust me I said those things too and they might very well be true. But don’t forget these things. These are the things that have made you who you are. As you are going through many lasts right now and experiencing different emotions, embrace those emotions. Those emotions are a sign that you’ve lived. That you care. That you’ve been impacted by the moments that have lead to this one. So be grateful for that. Be proud of the hard work you put in to get to this moment. But stay humble. Learn from the moments when you were knocked down but make sure you always pick yourself back up. Dust yourself off and continue to move forward. Those are the opportunities you will learn and grow in most. Seize those opportunities and never forget where you came from. Soon you will look back on those moments thinking where did the time go. Trust me- I’m thinking it as I write this.

So there you have it. A tribute. A tribute to my two best friends- Kelly and Faith.

Thankfully Thankful

Every year as the weather begins to change I find myself in a nostalgic mood. Fall is the best time of year and I often catch myself feeling more grateful for the people in my life. I don't know if it's because Thanksgiving is nearing and you often have those conversations around the table or what but I continue catching myself taking moments to reflect on how grateful I am and decided this time to quickly write some of it down.

It is extremely easy for me to get wrapped up in the negative and I have to consistently remind myself around October to take a deep breath. October is a busy time at work and I catch myself feeling burnt out. Between commuting, working late, conferences, and life, I begin to feel emotionally and physically exhausted. However, regardless of how busy and crabby I get, I know when I walk through the door Andrew is there. There are weeks we go without seeing each other for longer than a millisecond as we run out the door but once the dust settles we are still in stride with one another and no matter what season it is- I am extremely grateful for that.

Someone's sleepy. 

An integral part of our family are our dogs-Alba and Bailey. If you follow me on any social medias you are fairly acquainted with them. They truly are our kids and when they're not around we are lost without them. Over the summer as we prepared for a vacation and had dropped them off to be dog sat at Andrew's brother's house. That evening we decided to go on a walk which we frequently do with the dogs and we both discussed how a piece of our life was missing without them there. On top of Andrew being behind that door every time I come home I know one of them will be there to greet me.

How could you not be grateful for these two?

Believe me- there is a ton more I am grateful for! Remember I said October was busy? Maybe I'll be able to carve more time in the future to continue to share things I'm thankful
for. Until then....

Headboard DIY

School is officially back in session and it is crazy to believe we are already into September! October is around the corner which means we should basically be planning for Christmas and New Years. With summer ending so do most of our DIY projects around here. But before summer officially closes I wanted to share our latest and in my opinion greatest DIY project to date.....

A HEADBOARD!

I have been telling Andrew I wanted a headboard since we updated from our queen to king bed but it always got put aside when we made larger purchases. I had come across a couple DIY's on Pinterest and had been actively pinning but never committing to building one until now. One day I had come across a DIY video on Facebook and thought it looked so easy I finally decided to commit.

In early August Andrew went on a vacation out to Virginia Beach to visit family and I stayed back. While he was gone I had two full weekends I had to fill and this became the project of choice. So off to Home Depot I went...

According to the video you will need the following:

-5 pine 1x8 cut to the width of the bed

-2 pine 1x4 cut to desired headboard height

-Plus two more for support

-Sand paper

-Stain

-1.5in/4cm wood screws

Since I was alone and we don't own very many power tools I went and picked out my wood and came with my measurements to have the wood pre-cut at Home Depot. In total the supplies ended up being approximately $60. 

After heading home I sanded the boards down and stained front and back unlike the video. I also decided I didn't need the lights on the headboard. As you can see in the last photo below we have bed side lamps that serve that purpose already. 

I did about two coats of stain and let them sit for over a week to ensure the smell of stain didn't come into the house. Plus, things picked up and I didn't have time to fully put the headboard together until the past weekend. Andrew obviously was no longer on vacation so he got to help put this beauty together! 

The photo above was pre-finishing. When the sheets were in the wash and we were seeing how secure our boards were. There is something about a headboard that makes a bedroom more homey to me! I haven't gone and taken a "final" photo because if we're being honest our bed is never neatly made and that would be the only difference in the two photos #honesty. 

Any suggestions for our next project?!

Our Humble Abode

Per my last post, Andrew and I are slowly getting settled into our new home. Throughout the entire process one thing we failed to do was take pictures. Anytime we told people we purchased a house they responded by asking if there were photos and we sadly had to say no. That is, until now!

Obviously, this is a work in progress. Both cosmetically- hence the two different paint colors on the living room wall and an unfinished painted bathroom- but also organizationally. There are still plenty of things to be unpacked and hung but we at least we can say we're out of our apartment and can now invest our free time into the house! Until then, here are a couple photos of the interior.

Our home is ranch style so directly when you walk in you have entered the living room. The living room has high ceilings which makes the room look "UUUUGEEEE" (in my best Donald Trump voice).

To the left is the kitchen/dining room area.

This leads out into a fairly decent sized yard which is one of the most exciting things about our home. We are ecstatic to be able to just let our dogs out to run! Saturday morning they spent a large chunk of the morning outside playing and by the end of the night you could tell they were worn out!

Off of the kitchen is what we are using for now as our laundry room/pantry. Eventually I think Andrew would like it to become only the laundry room and figure out something else for a pantry. But that will come with time. Across from this room is our second bathroom which has gotten it's first coat of paint!

Continuing down from the kitchen are our two spare bedrooms. Currently, one is serving as a guest room while the other will serve as an office and/or workout room when we get everything put together.

If you go across the house to the right when you first walk into the living room is our master bedroom. It is a decent size and has really great vaulted ceilings. There is a huge window that lets in some great light. Our plan is to get this room painted shortly after we get the living room complete. One of our favorite things about this house is the master bathroom. Not only is it huge with a walk-in closet but it also has an amazing jetted tub! 

Since moving in on Thursday we have loved being homeowners and were grateful for all the helped we received in the moving process from Andrew's brother Brian and all of my family! We would not be as far as we are now if it weren't for their hard work. I would also like to thank everyone for the well wishes throughout this process. It has been great seeing how loved the two of us are. 

2016... 3 months later

Holy moly- 2016 is in full gear!

Andrew and I's first married Christmas was one for the books! We learned a lot about one another and had our first "crisis" as a married couple. Three days before Christmas, Andrew found out he had kidney stones. This wasn't the first time he'd been stoned BUT it was far worse than the last time.

The Sunday evening before Christmas he was urinating blood and we decided to go to the hospital just to get it checked out. Unfortunately, we found out he had a stone 10mm wide which is ultimately un-passable. So upon leaving the hospital they had us make an appointment with an urologist the following day. They were able to get him in the next afternoon and Andrew was going strong until he had to move to get to the doctors and then he was on his knees in pain. The urologist was unable to do anything due to it being so close to Christmas and told him to hold it out for a week!! -__-

That evening the pain got worse and he had to go back to the hospital. This time we decided we were going to Kansas City and hopefully they would be able to help. Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful again and we had to track down a doctor who would be able to do lithotripsy- a procedure to shock the stones into pieces that are easier to pass. To our luck, the lithotripsy machine was in Topeka and we were able to get him in to have the procedure done along with putting a stent in- all the day before Christmas Eve. Thankfully, after we were able to break the stones the healing process wasn't as painful and we were able to enjoy the remainder of the holidays. However, after spending two nights in the hospital and having to help Andrew in ways I was never prepared to help- we survived and are coming up on a year of marriage, 3 months staph and kidney stone free!

It's the little victories in life that count! :)

I've been meaning to jump back on this wagon but struggled finding time... yes, I know that's nothing but an excuse and I'm fully aware of that but I'm back in it now.

Besides Andrew's medical issues, our first year of marriage has been going great! I still get the occasional "when are you having kids" but I've grown used to it especially after my experience at the doctors.

This past month I had my yearly exam and left completely frustrated- just ask my 16 year old sister Kelly. While in my appointment, the doctor brought up Andrew and I's plans to have children. Andrew and I originally talked about waiting about 5 years before having kids so I can work for the amount of time I went to school just in case I choose and/or need to stay at home. (We are secretly terrified we are going to end up with twins- Andrew is a twin, I have twin sisters, oh, BTW Andrew's twin just had twins). Anyways, after discussing this plan with the doctor she proceeded to lecture me about my fertility and responded by saying, "I would just hate for you to miss out on being a mother because you are too busy waiting." UMMMM... excuse me? I think where I struggled most with this were two areas:

1. Andrew has not had to hear a WORD about his fertility and/or yield any questions regarding us having children
2. When I went to this SAME doctor last year nothing was said about my fertility going down but now I'm married and a whole 12 months older- I'm going to "miss out on being a mother because I'm too busy waiting."

When I left the appointment I was frustrated, devastated, and truly questioning what the point of how hard I've worked has been. I know this is something a lot of women have had to deal with but I had never been blatantly called out about it before and wasn't able to disregard this as easy as other conversations about Andrew and I's future plans.

After a couple of days of frustration I grew to be ok with Andrew and I's decision and that if we're being frank, it's not anyone else's place to tell us otherwise. If we choose to adjust our plan that is our choice and we will be ready to do what is best for us and our family.

Thankfully, I am surrounded by a supporting husband and family who are willing to support me in whatever I do and have allowed me to be successful and achieve goals I've set for myself.
At the end of the day that is all that matters and I have realized this past year how blessed I really am to have the support of those around me and they're all that matter.

Food coma

The holidays always make my heart and stomach full. Spending time with both Andrew and my family is always full of laughs along with delicious food.

This past week I told Andrew I wanted nothing more than a salad for dinner. We gorged ourselves on Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, and the day after that. There is always a ton of leftovers and everyone just ends up eating those the remainder of the weekend.

When we came home Sunday, it was rainy and gross outside. My all time favorite food in the winter is soup. Since the gloomy weather was supposed to continue I decided to prep two soups to take for lunch throughout the week.

This Black Bean and Lentil Chili has already made an appearance once on my blog. Last year I was given this recipe to try and absolutely feel in love. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to winter just to have an excuse to eat this!


While in Beaver Creek, CO for a conference a couple weeks ago we had Pumpkin Soup and I became obsessed as fast as I ate the soup. While we were eating, someone recommended Panera's Autumn Squash soup and I am forever grateful. Unfortunately, it will not be in my budget or stomach's best interest if I ate this soup everyday. So I found a replica to try on my own and I'm looking forward to eating it this week for lunch! Behold- Butternut Squash Soup!

**I completely blanked and forgot to get the coconut milk while we were at the store so I substituted greek yogurt