My Sweet Home Alabama

Today my best friend Becky is flying in from Florida to be my bridesmaid for our wedding and I am sooooooo excited to see her. Exactly a year ago from our wedding day I visited her in Florida. Brad and I will still a new couple, but I told her that I knew he was it for me, I knew I wanted to be with him forever. (Check out the date on the picture.....crazy)We have been best friends since we lived in Iceland, our dad's worked together. We became the popular 6th, 7th, and 8th grade girls in our school. This is us going to prom...we were 8th graders.No matter how far apart we are we always managed to keep in contact weekly by phone and email. Every year we try to go on a trip together so that we can see each other. We went to a wedding in Key West and slept in a firehouse because we had nowhere to stay, watched the beautiful Key West Sunsets, and created a ton of new memories. We went skydiving in Idaho. I visited her home town in Alabama where we made the best of a small town. Partied in Georgia and danced the night away. She came to Washington for my 20th birthday, we partied in Vancouver, B.C. and stayed in a crappy hotel where my car got stolen from and we were stranded. She is one of the most important people in my life. I can't wait for her the most important man in my life. I am so excited. I wish she'd get here already!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Tonight we are going to go over to my folks house to have some cake and ice cream to celebrate my Dad's......53rd......54th.....ummmm.....His birthday :) We bought him cool new shirts because my dad loves clothes and he only gets new clothes when we buy them for him. Brad picked them out :)

My dad is the coolest dad for so many reasons:

• When we watch Jeopardy or Cash Cab my dad always knows the answers. He reads all the time and knows lots of useful and useless information.
• My dad is a nerd like me and can always make me smile and laugh.
  
• He told the best bedtime stories when I was a kid, my favorite story was about The Dead Dog named Bob. Ha Ha Ha
• My dad taught me that all men are pigs and duct tape fixes everything when I was a little girl.....he was right :)
• My dad served in the navy for our country and is my favorite veteran. Here is a picture of us hanging up yellow ribbons in Oak Harbor when the two soldiers from Oak Harbor died in Iraq. I am very proud of him.

There are so many reasons to list what a cool dad I have that I can't list them all. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful dad and best friend. I love you Pops.

Happy Mothers Day

Yesterday we had such a long day. In the morning we went to church where mothers were pointed out and thanked. I completely forgot that I can celebrate mothers day this year too since I am a step mother! Its so exciting to have Laney in my life and I can't wait to see her little face again!

After church we headed over to my folks house for lunch and I relaxed while Brad was working on finishing touches on my mom and dad's brand new shower that he installed. Brad and I gave my mom new sweat pants while she works out on her Wii. She loved it. We went straight from my folks house to my mother and father-in laws house for dinner. We had yummy enchiladas made by Jenn and Brian. Brad, Jenn, Brian and I gave Debbie a workout outfit for the gym which she had mentioned she really wanted. She loved her gift.

When we finally got home, we were both exhausted so we went to bed. As Brad was holding me and keeping me warm in bed, he started telling me really random jokes that he had read in a magazine that day. We were laughing in bed for like 10 minutes. He makes me laugh....the jokes weren't very funny, but Brad seems to surprise me everyday with something new. That's why I married him. Here's to the next 63 1/2 years....as Brad says :)

Who's Who

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail telling me that I was nominated for Cambridge Who's Who among Executive and Professional Women. This is a publication that comes out every year. I'm not sure who nominated me, but its an honor and it will be a great addition to my resume :) I was nominated once before and was published in Who's Who in American High School Students for my academic achievements. So I'm pretty excited about this book coming out. My work is going to buy one for our library :)

4/10 Work Week

I recently started working a 4/10 work week. My new shift is from 7:30am to 6:00pm. Moving to this new schedule is awesome. Every morning I get up early with Brad and get ready to go to the gym for an hour. Working out in the morning not only burns a ton of calories, but it really wakes me up, increases my energy level throughout the day, and I also have time to catch up on my magazines while I work out. When I get home from work I normally cook dinner, pack my gym bag, get my clothes ready for work the next day, and pack our lunches. Once that's done I get some couch time with my love. The only bad thing about working 4/10 work week is that I have to go to bed super early in order for me to get enough sleep and not be cranky in the morning. So bed time is now 10pm. I feel so old.

Working long days was hard at first, but I am adjusting. I am making meals for the week on Sundays, so Brad just preheats the oven during the week so that its ready when I get home. Thursday is my new Friday. On Fridays I can now catch up on my cleaning, run errands, go to appointments while Brad is at work. By the time he gets home I'll have everything done. Working four days instead of five would mean 20 percent fewer trips to and from work, reducing gasoline consumption not to mention more time with Brad and my family. By doing all of these things on Friday, I finally have my weekends back. Brad and I can do so much more together because I don't have to do laundry....it will be already done! I have also noticed that my productivity has also gone up. I am getting a ton of projects at work that I didn't have time to do done!

I really am loving my new schedule. I work to live not live to work :)