On lock down.

It's Saturday night. Beau and I just got back from watching "No Strings Attached" (which by the way was soooo cute!) but that's not the point. Why am I blogging on a Saturday night at 1am? Ooohhh because I, yes I, not Beau, locked us out and what better thing to do than blog about it, right?! And for the record...there was no alcohol involved.

Our friends Ashley and Todd dropped us off after the movie and since we had keys to what we thought went to the garage door we told them to head on home since it was late.

Fail.

Keys didn't work.

Fortunately Beau has keyless entry on his truck so we aren't stuck out in the cold and if, just IF, his keys were in his truck like they are 99% of the time, we would be driving to one of our parents' houses so we could more easily deal with this mess tomorrow morning.

Fail.

His keys are in the house.

So. Here we are. Sitting in his truck waiting for maintenance to come unlock us out. ETA for maintenance man was 20 minutes. We are going on 45 now. Apparently Jose is on island time.

Bed is calling my name. ( and not to mention I am DYING to wash my face. You know that feeling??)

Fiance and I have entertained each other enough and are ready to just get in our warm, cozy, comfy bed. Poop.

Happy Saturday night, folks! While most of you are probably stumbling out of your cab from your favorite adult hang out, I'm waiting on the man with the magical key...

This would be me...anxiously awaiting his arrival...

Don't I just look thrilled?!



Xoxo

Steph

So I've decided I want to be a "boy mom"

I'm just gonna say this now...NO-I/we are not planning to procreate any time soon but if and when we do, I really hope I'm a boy mama.

Anyways, I know many MANY girl mamas and they are so extraordinarily frazzled all. the. time. and I don't want to be that mom.

You know who I'm talkin' about...

Toddlers & Tiaras mothers (shoot me)
& who dresses their 5 year old like this????

Kris Kardashian
(psycho-but then again I would be too if I had her life/kids)

Katie Holmes
(ok, I like her but she can look a little edgy at times)Kate Gosslin
(ya-she's got a few loose screws...)

I'd like to be more like say, Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett. I mean, she's beautiful, sexy, funny and extremely laid back and all around just a "cool" mom. Her mom mobile is an Escalade for crying out loud!
Look how happy she is!
Not to mention, if I had her body Beau would probably fine with that too!

Girl moms are always so keyed up about their little princesses and I can't say I blame them...trust me...if I do end up having a little Ms. Paisley Howard one day...I will be the same way! Boys, on the other hand, are so carefree and usually can hold their own which is why boy mamas are so chill all the time. They never have to worry about them falling down, or painting their little nails or who they're dating. Boys will be boys no matter what.

And a side note, we'll be naming our little man Mason which we both just LOVE so I really want to be able to use it! :)

Have you girls ever thought about this or am I just that weird? Either way-it's something I've thought of many times so I'm hoping blogging about it will increase my odds. ((watch it jinx my ass...))

A peek inside...

...my purse, that is!

I've seen other bloggers post this and I just think it's down right neat so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. Plus, I'm nosey like that and would love to see what's in all y'all's too so feel free to ride the wave!

The bag: Steve Madden
Nothin' fancy.

I was sold at "hot pink" interior....

All of it's contents:
(minus the unmentionables...tamps, adult balloons, you know...)

1. Coach clutch/wallet given to me by one of my BFF’s, Ashley.

2. Tahiti Sweetie lotion. All time fave.

3. Target gift card I won at work today for being awesome.

4. Coach gift card/credit card holder thingy.

5. Coach camera/camera case.

6. My drug of choice, inositol. (NOT really…it’s a vitamin people).

7. Gloves to keep my little hands warm.

8. Colloidal silver (natural antibiotic…aka…CURE-ALL).

9. Hormone drops (my other drug of choice).

10. Random hair accessories…bobby pins, clips, etc…

11. All-in-one keychain: keys, chap stick, hand sanitizer.

12. Random wine cork?

13. Evidence from last Friday night out….drinking dreidel?

14. Lip stuff…no explanation needed.

15. Big Red. I HATE minty gum.

16. Sudafed for my allergenic fiance.

17. Trash (receipt and I have no idea what else that is…)

Unfortunately, you missed out on all of Beau's items that are typically jam packed somewhere in the mix...you know...his wallet, his keys, his cell phone and sometimes even his hat. Hmmph. Funny how that works out huh?!

Why you'll love me...

Sunday Shopping Success!

I am, by far, the biggest bargain shopper you will ever meet. (Except for nice things, things you will have for a while and/or vacations.) I really can't tell you the last time I paid full price for clothes or a pair of shoes. If it's not on sale at the time, I'll wait for it to get there. If it's on sale but a little pricey, I'll wait for it to go down even more. By no means am I cheap...I just prefer to get more for my money as much as possible. I mean, what other 20 something gal doesn't? (And why did I just use the word gal? I hate that word.)

Anyway...today's trip to Marshall's was one of my biggest shopping successes!

I knew it was going to be successful because it started out with a $100 gift card. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH STUFF YOU CAN GET AT MARSHALL'S FOR $100????!!!! The possibilities are endless! (Thanks to Capital One for allowing me to use my points for awesome gift cards!)

Oh, another reason I knew it was gonna be good was because I was there before the store opened. Crazy, I know, but I really didn't know they didn't open until 11am. Unlike these crazies waiting for the doors to open...I nonchalantly waited in the truck and waltzed in at 11:01. ha! (yes. I'm that girl that snaps photos of weirdos in public.)


I went in with a small list of things Beau and I have been needing/wanting for our house: lamps, wall decor, bed side table, and possibly something for me to wear to our shower. (Ok-so he didn't know about that last one but I secretly kept an eye out for a stellar outfit. No luck.)

I ended up walking out with 2 matching lamps, perfect lamps, for the house priced at $25 each. TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS PEOPLE!! Lamps are never that cheap!! They are so perfect for our new end tables and fiance approved. Good buy, Stephanie. Good buy.

Yes, we have dead animals on the walls.
This is Texas people!

As mentioned above, no stellar outfit was found. :(

But instead...
...drum roll please...

Yes. That's a CHI curling iron. And did you see the price tag?? $24.99??!!!

I've been on the lookout for a good/reasonably priced curling iron so I couldn't pass it up if someone paid me to do so!

I swear, if I ever need a second job I think I would seriously consider working at Marshall's. I wonder if they get discounts off the discounts?! Not a bad idea...

A birthday & a shout out!

It's my beautiful mother's birthday today so a very special "Happy Birthday" to the woman who's put up with all my crap and still loves me unconditionally!!

LOVE YOU MOM!

Also...a quick shout out to all my new followers! I've accumulated quite a few here lately so I wanted to say HI!, thanks for following me & I look forward to reading all of your blogs too!

Oh & just a small disclaimer...if you haven't picked up on my sarcasm yet throughout all my posts you might want to make a mental note now. If you don't like, agree with, or enjoy reading my posts simply don't! This blog is solely for me to keep my friends and family updated on my life since I don't have Facebook or MySpace. For those of you that have been leaving sweet/nice/motivating comments-THANK YOU! Seriously...thank you...if it weren't for y'all's sweet comments I probably wouldn't blog.

Hope YOU have a fantastic freaking weekend!! XOXO

Officially fat.

There. I said it.

This week has been a fat fat fat week for me. Bad eating. No gym. Cruise in 20 days. Ughh...

Monday night I splurged. It was Beau's birthday, ok?! AND we went to McCormick & Schmick's, ok?! AND Beau just had to order cuatro...NOT tres...but cuatro leches. It was uuuhhhhh-mazing.

Tuesday I was good. Healthy egg casserole for breakfast, black bean/avocado soup for lunch and for dinner we cooked bacon wrapped shrimp, sauteed veggies and black beans. (Oh yea...I snuck 2 pieces of a Toblerone bar but that's neither here nor there.) ...I hit the gym after work so I was ok with this.

Wednesday was pretty good too except I skipped the gym AND ate a peanut butter & nanner sandwich for dinner. To my (or maybe my ass's) advantage it was on Ezekial bread so I didn't feel too terrible about what I had just stuffed in my mouth.

Today all Hell broke lose. Breakfast was choatic...almond milk with protein powder...lame I know. Lunch was purchased from the taco stand outside my office. It was SO good but made my tummy feel SO bad. I ate the tortillas, then 6 real crackers, followed by a large handful of brown rice crackers and hummus to cool my mouth off from the firecracker hot sauce that place put in my tacos. (Note to self.) THEN someone mentioned that our pharmacy staff had a beautiful spread of food so off I waddled. Half a donut and a handful of pistachios later, I was laying on the ground flat on my back with a stomach ache. Imagine that?!

No gym today. No gym tomorrow. Lunch with a girlfriend tomorrow. Happy hour tomorrow night. Mom's birthday tomorrow night too.

I'm staying far away from the scale. Sweat pants sound really appealing right now.

You know how you know you're officially fat?
When the top of your desk drawer has a perfect little hole carved out just for your food.

Exhibit A:

Here's to hoping I look NOTHING like this by the time the cruise rolls around...

HELP!!

Does anyone know the HTML coding to make a 3rd column?! I'm desperate...look at this mess I've made!

If someone doesn't help me soon I'll just have to spend my whole evening figuring it out while fiance is at little league baseball try-outs! wahhhh....

Living in sin

A few glimpses of what I've experienced since moving in with the fiance:

This may or may not have been the first thing we unpacked. ...much needed.

Living with, waking up to & hearing Beau giggle, I mean, laugh, at the t.v. while I'm upstairs unpacking is everything I'd imagined and more. I just love him & love life with him. ((ok...enough with the sap.))

On that note, we ordered his wedding band from Amazon.com. Brace yourself. Grand total was $12.75 INCLUDING SHIPPING! I know what you're thinking. I'm really not cheap. I had budgeted at least $300 for his band and thought I was getting out easy but he absolutely refused and "didn't like" any other band except the one from Amazon.com. And for the record, NO- it's NOT used!

What do ya think?!

Juuuust kidding...this is it in ALL it's $12.75 glory!

Beau officially gave me lessons last night on how to properly load and unload his shotgun...just in case there are ever any creepsters by our house. Well, I knew before but I always forget so we had a little practice session last night. Now if I can just remember all those steps if I were really in a bind... :/

Yes, that's my pink gun case. :)

After unpacking, Beau unveiled the cereal bowl I painted for him back in the day for one of my sorostitute events. ((ok I'm kidding about the sorostitute comment...I love DZ!)) but you have to admit his bowl is pretty stinkin' cute.

Very few women will pull into her garage & feel completely at home seeing THIS:

Beau's bobcat/pride & joy

Yesterday when I got home from work, Beau had already picked up and put together our new coffee table and end tables. Sooo nice of him! & it was on his birthday! ((Can't you tell we're still in the honeymoon stage of cohabitation?!))

We experienced our first grocery store trip. Beau's is convinced it was thee healthiest $200 he's ever spent and is really regretting not sneaking a gallon of ice cream somewhere in the basket. The closest thing we have to "sweet" is peanut butter. :)

Here's me with some baby fruits...I couldn't resist!

We are on a mad dash for a media console. Our blue rubbermaid will not stick around much longer. Plus, it doesn't match any of our living room decor.

From Target...me likey but....

We have made countless trips to Target so I'm swearing off that place for a week. But I did manage to find this cute shirt in the baby section and snap a photo to send to my bff. (Love ya, Julz!)

I am verrry thankful for "his" & "hers" tools. A woman needs her things too ya know?!
Last but definitely not least...I never want to look at a freaking box. EVER AGAIN!

More pics of the house will come later...when all the boxes are gone and you can actually see the floor!

Just another day?

You may all consider this day just as normal as any other. For me, not so much.

Three years ago today I lost my daddy. For the past two years this day has been really tough and the fact that it falls the day after Beau's birthday just flat out sucks. As with most tragic events, things get better with time and they have, but not 100% by any means. I'm very humbled by my experience and know that dad is watching over his little girl every single day which is how I've been able to keep my head above water.

I don't know if any of y'all have heard of "pennies from heaven" but it's something my family and I truly believe in it so I thought I'd share the meaning.

I have always heard the saying, "penny for your thoughts."
I wondered why people said that cause what could a simple penny have bought!?!
We pass them up each day as we walk along our busy way.
Never fully realizing what they are meant to say.

Until a precious friend explained the meaning of the phrase to me one day.
And from that moment on, I realized what a simple penny could convey.
We were talking of the years gone by and the time we shared with my sister.
As we reminisced of the good old days, she softly said, "I know you still miss her."

Then she gently placed her hands around mine and tenderly looked into my eyes.
No sound was heard, no movement at all as if the world stopped for a moment to let us cry.
Then she reached out and pulled me closer as she wiped away my tears.
She whispered "Lois knows you still love her," of that I am certain my dear.

Lois will forever love you too and I will prove it to you, if you will only believe.
Before the day is over and the angels sing you to sleep, a penny you will see.
A penny for your thoughts, pennies from Heaven she will send.
Letting you know she still loves you and that your heart will one day mend.

When you are holding that penny for just that brief moment in time.
Know that the love you two have for one another will forever shine.
Before that day was over, can you guess what I had found?
Not one, but seven brilliant pennies more precious to me than jewels in a crown.

So now each day as I go along my busy way.
I pick up those pennies and now fully realize what they were sent here to say.
And for the simple quote "penny for your thoughts."
One will never know what joy a penny has bought!

Author ~ Martha Carol
Copyright 2001

This picture was taken the day Beau and I took our engagement pictures. My mom went to sit down and found this penny glued to the bench next to her so we left a little message: