Wordless Wednessday: spoiled

The dinner he cooked me on Thursday...

The cryptic message he left me on Friday...

The flower her gave me on Sunday...

 All in a weekend's work :)

Announcement!

Don't get too excited, I'm not pregnant or anything.

Or engaged.

But, I'm still SO, SO, SO, SO, SOOOOOOO excited to make this announcement!

The news: I am officially moving to Cedar Falls. Yup, I'm moving in with a boyfriend for the first time in my life.

I am also checking off another resolution from my 2013 list. Pretty. Dang. Exciting.

Not everything about this move is good, though. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am the biggest homebody there is and I've grown quite used to seeing my parents day in and day out. I've also grown used to the bare minimal housework I've been doing for the last 27 months (thanks, mom!).

Also, I just remembered there is a freaking DOG in the house I am moving into. Kill me now. I hate dogs. Especially this one.

Anyway, that's it people! Starting August 9th, I will officially be a resident of Cedar Falls (again)!

He Writes Me, Part 2.

A few things you should know before reading:

1) He calls me "little girl."

2) I am a ginger.

3) He typically has a beard, but I prefer him clean shaven.

4) Sometimes I hang out with stomach pushed out as far as possible (ya know, like when you have a food baby).

June 20, 2013:

So I fell in love with a little girl

She makes my heart swirl

She has the best color hair

Even if it keeps her skin fair

She has a way to make me smile

Each time I grab my phone to dial

I'd do anything to see her grin

Even shave my beard from my chin

She has a special way to make my heart thump

Even when pretending to be plump

She's the best thing in my life

Someday this great girl will be my wife

By Trent A

:)

...if you missed Part 1, you can see it here.

Reason Number 2,678 Why I Love Him: he writes me...

He could very well kill me after this. 

Love you, Trenton!

 January 11, 2013:

Tonight we have a date night
I'm positive it will go without a fight

I'm as excited as a school boy
Or a toddler with a new toy

I'm going to make you smile
I hope it's as wide as a country mile

I will probably try to hold your hand
Your beauty is the most in the land

I hope you talk dirty
It will make me more flirty :) 

After that we get to cuddle
Don't roll over in my drool puddle 

I will go to the moon for you
Even if we have to watch Honey Boo Boo

By Trent A.

Hotel Life

I remember when I was a kid and thought staying in a hotel was the greatest, most fun thing in the whole world; the cable tv, the continental breakfast, the pool, and the giant beds were all so exciting. Well, my attitude about hotels has changed by approximately 180 degrees.

I can never find a channel guide to watch the cable tv, the coffee at the continental breakfast always has floaters in it, my ginger skin paired with hairy legs and my winter weight does not look good poolside, and I'd pick a twin sized bed cuddled up with my lovebug over a lonely, king sized bed any day of the week.

I hate being away from home. I hate it with every ounce of me.

Sorry for the downer post.

Sincerely,

A Depressed Girl in a Lonely Hotel

M.I.A.

Holy, holy smokes! I have been gone for so long I don't even know where to start! The number one reason for my absence is work. For the past four weeks I had been working on audits where I did not have internet access (or, if I was lucky, I got to share an internet cord with two other people). And, since I usually blog during my lunch break, that really wasn't feasible. Also, for the past four weeks I have been working on audits that suck the life out of me. Literally. It wasn't uncommon for me to be at work at 6 AM and not leave until 7 PM (or later). This, you see, has really planted the "find a new job" seed in my mind--but enough about work--I am soooo sick of it!

This is a typical work space for me and my co-workers. I dream of having an office (or even a cubicle) someday!

This is not exactly a typical binder of ours, but it was so funny looking that I had to take a picture. I am SO GLAD I was not the one who had to go through this ginormous thing.

Last Friday Trent and I spent the evening in the quad cities and stayed at a casino (not sure which one), where I was the star of the blackjack table and won a whole $25! On Saturday we went to my second-cousin, Matthew's, first birthday party in Davenport. It was such a fun day full of lots and lots of babies.

Baby Matthew and his dad, Drew.

Unhappy baby Claire and her great-grandma

Kennedy, me, and Quinn

Quinn and me. I love his cute little smile here :)

Every free minute I had this week was spent creating my sister's bachelorette party invites. And, if I do say so myself, they turned out absolutely ADORABLE. But, just to warn anyone that considers making them, be sure you have enough free time set aside! I made about twenty-five of them and it probably took me a good twenty hours to get them all done.

A corset or a martini glass...depending on how you look at it.

This past Thursday, Trent and I took half a day off from work and headed to Omaha to see, drum roll please....TAYLOR SWIFT in concert! HOLY CRAPALONI she was soooo good! Seriously, I don't even understand how she can be so good. She even sang my favorite song of hers, "All Too Well." Click this link to hear it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzJlpnBaJyw

This is the best picture we took of ourselves as we waited for Taylor to come out.

This is the best picture I got of her that wasn't on the big screen. We really did have great seats, but my stupid phone wasn't taking the greatest pictures.

I spent this weekend at my cousin Amanda's house dog-sitting while her and her family went to Chicago. I gave her fair warning that her dogs would be getting absolutely no attention from me, and that is exactly how it went. All I did for them was fill up their dog bowls and open up the door so they could go outside to do their business. This weekend confirmed my previous decision that I would never own a dog--not because they misbehaved or anything while I "watched" them, but because they are pointless--they sit around and sleep all day long, they stare at me very annoyingly, and their tails whack me in the leg whenever they are within a foot of me. And, I discovered this weekend, that the smell of dog food makes me want to gag.

Along with dog-sitting this weekend, I worked on more bridal shower projects, went shopping with my sister and her soon-to-be stepdaughters for their junior bridesmaids dresses (we found the perfect one!), and tried to give my miserably sore legs some rest. If you recall from this post, I was supposed to start my pre-training a month ago. Welp, that didn't happen, so this week I suffered through my training and now feel quite miserable and out of shape.

This week *should* be a bit better for me at work so hopefully I will not be M.I.A. from the blogging world anymore.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all and to all a good night!

WEEEEEEkend

Ahh...I just love the weekends! Where the heck do I begin with my most recent?! Friday seems logical.

...after working a long and miserable nine hour day, I headed home to open my much anticipated Urban Outfitters package only to discover that only two of my six items were shipped. The disappointment was alleviated, however, when I fell in love with these two items (which were the same item in two different colors). I ended up wearing them for three days in a row--and no, I did not do laundry, so if you do the math, you will find that I wore dirty clothes to work on Monday (which isn't very unusual for me).

ANYWAY, after arriving in Cedar Falls that night, I enjoyed a deliciously crisp Woodchuck cider at the Panther Lounge and later indulged in half-price appetizers at Applebees. While there, I had the unfortunate (yet very amusing) encounter with two women in the restroom (who didn't realize I was in there, adjusting my contact) as they discussed--and loudly demonstrated--their bowel movements and tampon statuses. I can only imagine how they felt and what they said after they heard the door open and I rushed on out of there.

After that lovely dinner, Trent watched a movie while I fell asleep within the first ten minutes. He then struggled as he carried me to bed a little while later.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention a very, very important part! Since Friday was Valentine's Day, Trent and I exchanged our gifts. He did an excellent job and spoiled me with a bunch of Taylor memorabilia.

I gave him a date night jar (yes, stolen from pinterest), a movie theatre gift card, and some candy. I think he was pleased.

On Saturday, Trent and I enjoyed our morning coffee snuggled up with Baby Sophia while we hung out with her sweet parents, Jake and Des. I then talked Trent into joining me at my favorite store on Main Street, Kitchen Essentials.

Later that night, Trent and I met my friends Lauren, Natalie, Christy, and Marcus for another night on Main Street. We had such a good time! We spent the majority of the night singing our hearts out at The Blue Room for karaoke night.

Lauren, Natalie, me, and Christy

On Sunday, I spent the day laying around with Lauren and Natalie doing absolutely nothing (my favorite kind of day). Trent and I spent the evening eating dinner at a fancy restaurant and watching the tele.

Pretty good weekend, huh? 

Friends, Babies, and Car Accidents.

Geesh louise, I feel like it's been forever since I last posted! I have been a busy girl, that's for sure.

Last Thursday I went to "Spank--A Fifty Shades Parody" with two of my coworkers. It was a hoot! The downside of attending this great show, though, was that I didn't get home until 11:30 PM and was utterly tired the next day.

Friday was my last working Friday until next September. WOOHOO! I definitely did a little jig as I walked out of the office door that night and continued that jig while singing to Taylor Swift the entire ride home. I headed to Cedar Falls that night and went out with my dear friends, Christy, Marcus, and Natalie. We only managed to get one decent picture. And weird, Miss Natalie refused to be normal in it. I hope this is just a phase she is going through.

Natalie, me, and Christy Lou Hoo.

On Saturday morning, Trent and I got to hang out with the cutest baby girl ever, Sophia, while her mama went to the gym. Sophia is the cuddliest baby in the world and I love it. And I love her.

Before heading over to babysit this little dollface, we went out to Panera for a coffee and some breakfast. While sitting in my car waiting for the traffic jam (that is constantly in this tiny parking lot) to clear, we witnessed one vehicle back into another. I swear it happened in slow motion. I felt guilty for not honking to try and stop the collision, but I was just way too excited to watch it all go down. Is that normal?

Anyway, Saturday afternoon I went shopping down Main Street. I LOVE doing that. Cedar Falls has the cutest little shops--my favorite being Kitchen Essentials, where I could spend hours. Maybe even days.

After a much needed nap, I went out to dinner with Trent, the cute baby up above, and the cute baby's mom and dad, Jake and Dez. Then I headed to Natalie's house and back to Main Street for the bar scene and some more friend bonding time.

Today was a day of rest. I slept in way late and then headed out for a cute little brunch with Trenton. The evening was spent doing crafts around the kitchen table while enjoying the sounds of the Grammy's in the background.

It is now two hours past my bed time. Good night, world!

Wordless Wednesday: dork

Trent and I got in a pissy pants argument about nothing this morning. So, in an effort to make me laugh and end the stupid fight, he texted me this picture. It worked. He is such a dork (I'm referring to Trent, but this also applies to the guy in the picture).

...Trent, if you are reading this, I'm so excited to see you (tonight) too. 

Sick, sick, sick

I'd love to write a post describing how wonderful my weekend was, but sadly, it was terrible! Absolutely terrible!

As mentioned in my last couple posts, I was sick with a miserable cold Monday through Friday. I had such high hopes that it would be gone by the weekend, but boy was I wrong. Saturday was spent sitting on the recliner, drinking as much orange juice as humanly possible, and blowing my nose nonstop (I eventually gave up and just stuck tissues in my nostrils). I tried to sleep, but failed miserably as it is rather difficult to sleep when you aren't capable of breathing through your nose (due to extreme stuffiness).

Sunday my mom hosted a bridal shower for my cousin at our house. I tried so hard to magically feel better so I could enjoy the shower and spend time with my family. Although I thoroughly enjoyed being around my family, I still felt terrible.

All the girl cousins (and one adorable second cousin) who were at Leah's bridal shower (Hanne, Leah, Mallory, Abby, Me, Amanda, and Kennedy).

Monday I called in sick. Again. I went to the doctor and when he entered my room he greeted me with, "hello again." This is the third time I have been to the doctor in about two and a half months. To put it lightly, this has not been a good winter for me. After making a trip to the pharmacy to pick up my THREE new prescriptions and a 30 count box of Breathe Rights, I headed home to, again, try and get some sleep. And finally, FINALLY, I was able to sleep! And OH.MY.GOSH., sleep does wonders for a sick person. I woke up later that night and felt so much better.

Trent brought me this pretty pink rose on Monday night. So thoughtful :)

Today is Tuesday and although I do feel better than I did last week, I am still not back to normal by any means.

Enough complaining for one day.

First-Date-Soup

Every time I make (or eat) this soup I am reminded of my very first date with Trent. He asked me to a movie and, in an effort to show him that he found a girl who can be domesticated, I offered to make him dinner beforehand. I chose to make him my favorite soup of all time--my mom's chicken and wild rice soup. So, I made the soup, he came over, and we ate; he really struggled though, as his hand was shaking so bad, he could barely keep hold of his spoon. He blamed his shakes on the excessive drinking he had done the night before (not exactly the kind of thing a girl likes to hear on a first date). About a year later, we were eating this soup again and reminiscing about that date we had so long ago, when he finally told me that it wasn't drinking that caused those shakey hands--it was his nerves! That was his very first "real" date, and given that it was with a catch as great as me ;), he was nervous. Haha!

This is me and Trent about a month after our first date. Not the greatest picture, but it's hard to look good when you've got a giant sombrero on your head. 

Here's how you make that first-date-soup:

Start with a glass of wine (for your pleasure...not the soup).

You will need:
1 package of wild rice (I used Uncle Ben's original)
6 tablespoons margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (if you or your guest does not like onions, add it anyway--you/they will never know)
1/3 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth (or hot water and bouillon)
1/2 cup cooked chicken or ham (or both), cubed--I used two chicken breasts
4 ounces of mushrooms, chopped and drained
1 pint half & half
1/2 cup carrot, finely shredded--I used two carrot sticks
salt and pepper

Step 1: cook your rice

Step 2: while your rice is cooking, melt the margarine in a pan and saute the onion until it's tender.

Step 3: blend in flour and gradually add the broth; cook, stirring until this comes to a boil, and then let it boil for a minute.

Step 4: once your rice is fully cooked, add this, along with your cooked chicken/ham, carrots, mushrooms, and salt. Let this simmer for five minutes.

Step 5: blend in the half & half and heat until warm. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste.


Step 6: EAT!