I apologize...

...for the boring pictureless posts.  Our computer got sick....really sick so I can only blog on other computers, which as you can imagine, don't have our pictures on them.  Sad story. 

So thanks for enduring all my boring writing and I promise to make it up once the computer starts feeling better.  I'm excited to show you pictures of our new (to us) house.  Its really cute...at least I think so. And really that's all that matter right? But I really think you will agree :)  

Thanks again for sticking around!

Happy Birthday

Okay so this memory monday isn't a very distant memory, but since I slacked and didn't write about it then, I will now. 

Cam's Birthday was a couple weeks ago.  I stress a lot about what to get and do and how to make him feel special.  He doesn't really care too much about his birthday and I think that is weird.  I think birthdays are such fun holidays because they are yours.  All the other holidays you have to share, but birthdays are your very own...unless of course you share which is very common in our families. 

Anywho, the day (March 11th) came and unfortunately it landed on a Thursday which meant I had to work late.  The one good thing was that I could do something for him before work because I started later.  I decided to put together a candy jar for his desk filled with his favorite treats.  He always teases me that I always eat all the treats before he can get to them and I hate to admit it, but it is usually true.  So I thought it would be perfect to give him some for his desk, that way I couldn't get to them first. 

I bought all the goods, put it together and drove out to his work.  I wanted to see him, but wanted to surprise him so after I got there and put it in the car, I called him and made up a story about leaving something in the car and asked him to go make sure it was in there because I wanted to make sure I didn't lose it. Blah, blah, blah. He bought it 100% and I was pleased.  I never get anything past him so I was especially excited. 

I waited forever and almost left because I was going to be late for work when he finally came out.  I watched him peek in the window looking for the "lost" item and was happy to see he was excited to see his surprise.  I caught him as he was turning to go back inside to get his keys so he could retrieve his gift. 

It was a very small and insignificant surprise, but I'm pretty sure it made him happy to be able to see me in the middle of the day and he loved the treats. After some quick birthday hugs and kisses, I left to pick up his gifts and head to work.

It was my lucky day because our schedule did not fill up to the scheduled time so I was off at a decent hour to be able to go to dinner.  He wanted me to choose and I wanted to do something a little more special than a regular date so I made reservations at Rodizio Grill.  He figured it out as we were driving there and was excited about it.  Thankfully I was able to wake him up from his nap when I got home, I almost thought he was going to sleep right through his birthday party. 

Dinner was fantastic and we got super full and headed home to open gifts and watch a movie.  He never helped me out by telling me what he wanted, he is pretty unselfish like that.  Its very sweet, but makes gift buying kind of difficult.  I bought him tickets to the Daughtry concert which he is super excited about and he also got a memory foam mattress topper for our bed.  Funny that both gifts will be enjoyed by me as well, but I promise that was not why I bought them, just an added bonus. 

I was very happy that he was surprised by and loved his gifts.  We put the tickets on the fridge to look forward to and immediately put the mattress topper on our bed.  Let me tell you...it. is. heavenly.  Ironically, though, we didn't even sleep on it that night, we ended up falling asleep on the couch almost the entire night.  We were pretty dissappointed when we woke up the next morning, but we have enjoyed it very much since then.

So Happy Birthday (late) to the very best husband I could have ever wished for. I hope you know how much I love you because it is a whole bunch.

Newlyweds

I've been a slacker the past couple of Mondays so I'm trying do better this week.  For my memory monday post this week, I have just a short and vague memory to share.  It actually is more like an overall memory instead of a specific one...maybe that's confusing, sorry.  Anyway, on with it.

Like every other couple, we found ourselves pretty much inseparable as we dated, fell in love and were engaged.  And as mentioned before, I absolutely hated going home at night.  Not that I didn't love my family or have a great home, I just did want to be anywhere where Cam wasn't.  So needless to say, I was really looking forward to being able to live together. 

Our Honeymoon was my dream come true because we spent every moment together.  I remember dreading having to go to work the Monday after we came home.  The thought of leaving was quite depressing. Cam was searching for a new job at the time since his previous one was just seasonal so he spent the day working on finding new employment while I headed to see my friends at work.  At the time I couldn't have loved my job more so I was excited to see my friends again and tell them all about our grand honeymoon.  I was happy and glowing with the newlywed love all while missing my new husband.  I just remember thinking all day about going home and I couldn't wait.

I don't remember specifics, but I think that I had the chance to go home for lunch since we just lived down the street from the office.  The short visit was a good pick-me-up to get through the rest of the day.  The rest of the afternoon all I could think about was getting home.  As I pulled into the parking lot and walked up the stairs to my door all I remember was how excited I was just to be home and to get to spend all evening with Cam.  It honestly felt like Christmas morning except it was bright, sunny and warm. 

I know it sounds really cheesy and maybe a little childish, but I loved how excited I was.  I loved the fact that I didn't have to go home to my separate house and wait to see him until we figured out our plans for the rest of the evening.  I loved that I could go home and fix dinner and hang out, just us, for the rest of the night. The excited feelings I had were just how I imagined I would feel and I couldn't have been more pleased. 

Its funny, I thought that maybe those feelings of excitement as I came home every night would fade as time went on and the thought of that kind of worried me.   Of course at times they are stronger than others, but I can honestly say that the thought of seeing Cam every night gives me those same butterflies.  I get excited when I see that he is already home when I get there and I don't have to wait any longer. And I also love when I get home before him and I can get our house in order and start dinner before he comes home.  Its so fun to anticipate his arrival and I also really love that we both show our excitement when we see each other.  Most times a huge hug and a bunch of kisses are exchanged at the door.  Its easily my favorite part of the day :) 

Pantry Rat

Late Sunday night we were wrapping up our great conversation with Cam's sister Kylee.  All was quiet in the house when I heard a strange sound coming from pantry area.  I quickly shushed (is that even a word?) them and directed their attention to it.  We all agreed it had to be a rat.  I kid you not, it sounded exactly like a massive rat was going to town on the package of oreos behind the pantry doors and I was freaking. out.

After some closer investigation we were pretty much convinced we were right.  Cam and Kylee quietly crept near the pantry which is also close the bathroom door and flipped on the light.  We were surprised to hear that the light did not scare away the little thief.  We then started wondering if we could be wrong. 
Cam popped his head in the bathroom and found the source of the munching sound: An innocent piece of plastic rubbing against the plastic trash can as the air from the vent moved it around.  We laughed. Hard.
Needless to say, I was very relieved...but I could have sworn that it was a rat. I was even still a little hesitant to open the pantry door.  But I did, just so I could stop worrying about it. 
Thankfully all the oreos were intact. 

Recipe Exchange

I think we can all agree that we all run out of ideas for dinner.  In an effort to make it easier, I along with a couple friends have decided to exchange recipes to give us a better variety.  I'm got really excited about this and got started early and then before I had them all typed up, my computer got a nasty virus and lost all of my work.  So I'm trying to get it all put back together and thought it couldn't hurt to open it up to anyone else that would like to participate!  The more the merrier right?  Wouldn't it be so nice to have tons of tried and true recipes to choose from? So join in! Its fun and super easy! 
What you need to do: 

1. Comment below to let me know you are interested. Include your e-mail address.
2. Collect at least 10-15 recipes that you love. (Less than 10 is fine, but the more recipes the better.)
3. Type them up

I will make a list of all those who are interested along with their email addresses.  I will send you an email with the list of all those who you need to send your recipes to.

Then you will have an inbox full of new delicious recipes to choose from. It will make that decision of what to make for dinner so much easier. 

I really hope a lot of you want to join in, and like I said feel free to tell anyone else about it and just let me know their e-mail address so I can add it to the list!  Also, don't stress about getting a bunch of fancy recipes, the easier the better.  Don't get me wrong, I love to cook,  but after work, the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen so, quick and easy recipes are perfect!

Oh and I forgot to tell you...I will be doing the exchange on Wednesday March 31st so start collecting!

Yep...Again

This past weekend we moved into our house (more on that later).  Seeing my track record, I was glad to see that it was seemingly impossible to lock myself out due to the fact that our front door only has a dead bolt which must be locked from the outside.  Gone were the days of that dreadful realization that I cannot enter my own home and being at the mercy of the one with the keys or better yet the window....or so I thought. 

The former owner of the home only gave us one key and we have yet to make a copy.  I wasn't too worried about it because we just figured that until we got it done I could just go out the back door and leave it unlocked so I would have a way to get in before Cam got home.  This worked great for the first two days. 

Yesterday, I got home in enough time to quickly change my clothes before heading off to teach dance.  I happily walked to the back door, loving the fact that it was a beautiful day and I was off work.  That feeling was quickly replaced by that ever so familiar pit in my stomach as I went to turn the doorknob, only to find it wouldn't.  "Wow, this is getting really ridiculous" I thought.  However, I have obviously become accustom to the situation and didn't worry too much.  I called Cam to see when he could get home and of course he laughed at my misfortune. I couldn't blame him, I was laughing at myself. He said he would hurry and in the meantime I would try to find another way in. 

I evaluated a few possible entrances and found that my kitchen window was unlocked.  I was having deja vu of my last kitchen window entrance and I was glad that this one would be much easier.  The window big and low.  No need for an extra large box of tide, and definitely not as many cars.  I did, however, wonder what the neighbors would think, but what can you do, right?

The screen was a little difficult, but I'm experienced now and had no doubt I could take care of myself.  I slipped the screen out, opened the window, pulled the blinds and gingerly stepped in.  Much better than the whole "slamming my ribs and flailing my legs" bit that I performed before. 

I would like to say these days are over, that this will be the last time I have to be faced with this situation, but I'm 99% sure it won't be.  I suppose I have just discovered a hidden talent and now am developing it quite quickly.  All I have to say, is its a good thing I have no intention of using this talent to get into anyone elses house, because if I did, you should all be scared.  I've got skills :)

Trampoline

 Cam's parents have a trampoline in the ground in the backyard.  It quickly became one of our favorite places while we were dating.  I know what you are thinking and I promise that we didn't just go out there for a make-out session. :) Sometimes yes, kissing was involved. We were falling in love what do you expect! But we more enjoyed having a quiet place to cuddle while we talked about anything and everything. 

The first time Cam took me out there we had been spending the Sunday evening with his family and even though it wasn't said, we both wanted some alone time.  Cam took the initiative to take me out there and I was happy to follow.  We talked about the future and skipped around the subject of financial stability if by chance we did decide to take the plunge and other related topics. We talked about a lot of other things but  nothing concrete or final was decided, but we were moving toward marriage and I was thrilled. 

We spent many of those summer evenings on the tramp and it quickly became my favorite part of our nights.  I loved the fact that Cam wanted be able to be just us.  I think that was one of the first things I fell in love with.  He always made time for us to be together and to spend quality time.  I loved just talking and having quality conversations so that we could get to know each other in a way that we could find out how much we loved each other. 

Since it was usually late by the time we headed out there, more often than not we would fall asleep while talking.  We quickly learned to set an alarm so I could get home at a decent hour.  I developed a very hateful relationship with that alarm and dreaded the sound of it.  I hated the pit in my stomach that came at the very thought of having to go home and because the alarm signaled that time, I hated it. So. Bad. 

One of the times we fell asleep, the alarm did not go off...or maybe I just snoozed it too many times, but regardless, we didn't wake up until 4:15 am.  Terrible I know, but even worse is the fact that my dad wakes up for work at 4:30 and, well you can imagine how happy he would be if I wasn't home when he left?  So I fratically woke Cam up, quickly said good bye and HURRIED home.  (Good thing I only lived 30 seconds away.)  I tried to come up with a plan as I drove home.  I came from the other side of the street so I wouldn't have to drive past, turned off my headlights, parked on the road, and snuck in the garage door.  I was pretty successful and just as my head hit the pillow, I heard my dad's alarm go off.  Close one. 

I thought I was home free until my mom came in while I was getting ready for work and asked what time I got in and proceeded to tell me that someone had broken into my dad and brother's truck that night and she wondered if I saw anything out of place when I came home.  Seriously of all nights!  I reluctantly told her the truth and endured her small lecture and then told her I hadn't seen anything. Then i quickly begged her not to tell my dad.  Unfortunately, the word got to my dad and we both got another small lecture at our softball game the next day.  Luckily he was good natured about it and mostly teased us, but we knew we had to not ever let it happen again and we didn't. 

Like I said before, I absolutely HATED having to go home. On more than one occasion I said that when we were married, I wanted to come and sleep out on the tramp all night just because that is what I always wished I could do.  So we did just that.  Last year we chose a night and after our friends left our apartment after hanging out, we grabbed our sleeping bags and headed down to Cam's parents house.  They didn't know we were planning on it and we didn't tell them we had arrived because it was after midnight by the time we got there.  So they were surprised to see our car the next morning and even more surprised to find us sleeping on the tramp. 

We have recently decided to make it a tradition to spend one summer night each year camping out on the trampoline.  I just can't wait for it to get warm enough so we can!