Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I cannot believe it is 2014 already, and we are a week or less away from officially becoming parents.  How exciting and how scary!  I do not know what happened to 2013.  I think it was the fastest year of my life, and I have trouble remembering most of it.  I would say 2013 was a good year for us.

We started out the year with 21 days of prayer in January, and we began to pray about having children.  It didn't take God very long to give us our answer since we got pregnant in April.  What a surprise of our lives! We were thinking we still had years for children to be present if in fact we were meant to become parents.

May and June are blurs to me.  I was sick and crazy most of May.  We went to the beach for our anniversary, and I didn't enjoy the trip nearly as much as I hoped. I felt so bad for Michel who had to be around me, but he was so great.  We definitely need a beach do-over this year (but then there's daycare to pay for so....).  I started feeling more normal in June as we began to pack up our apartment to move into our house in July.

July and August were spent unpacking and fixing up our house.  I am glad we moved, and I had something to occupy my mind for some time while I was still trying to get used to the idea of being pregnant.  On July 4th, I met many members of my new family at my mom and Steve's engagement party.  We also got to announce our pregnancy along with my new brother and sister-in-law who are due two days before us with a baby girl.

September and October were very busy.  Michael's job kicked into high gear during his busy season, but we managed to take a trip to Arkansas and watch Samford play the Razorbacks.  We registered for McBaby and began putting the nursery together.  I started nesting in September and began organizing and cleaning, and I don't think I've really stopped since.  In October, we traveled back to Arkansas for my mom's wedding, which was really special.  We also had our first shower in October, which was wonderful, and we completed our birth classes at the hospital.

We celebrated our birthdays in November, but with all that we had to buy for the baby, I don't really remember if we actually celebrated much.  Michael went to the Alabama vs. Tennessee game as a 30th birthday celebration.  I stayed home and let him celebrate with his friends.  Being pregnant and tailgating just didn't sound too fun to me, but I think Michael had a wonderful time.  I traveled back to Arkansas again for another shower, and it was amazing as well. I enjoyed seeing my family and friends that I don't get to see too often.  Michael and I spent a quiet Thanksgiving together at home because he was under the weather, and it was nice to spend it together just the two of us.

December has flown by as well.  We managed to put up our Christmas tree and spent our last little quiet Christmas together.  Michael has been at home a lot more this month, and it spoils me to have him here.  I enjoy our time together so much.  We had his staff over for a Christmas shrimp boil a few weeks ago, which was a lot of fun.  I know they enjoy having a few more days off this time of year as well.  We have spent the last few days finishing up the nursery, buying all the necessities we still needed, making and freezing meals, cleaning the house, and packing our hospital bags.  I guess we are as ready to bring our baby home as we can be.

I have so many hopes for 2014.  More than anything, I pray for a healthy baby and a healthy family.  I hope this experience as parents brings us closer to God and closer to each other.  I want more than anything to experience the unconditional love that the Father has for me through being a mom and loving our child unconditionally.  I pray that our faith is increased immeasurably through being parents.  I hope that I slow down and appreciate the importance of every day, whether good or bad.  I want to learn to cherish every moment.  I want to appreciate my family and friends more.  Perhaps we will actually become sentimental, since we are anything but at this point.  I've heard kids do that to you, and you become the couple who keeps nothing to the parents who keep every macaroni necklace your children make.  I hope we enjoy the journey by cherishing the good times and learning from the tough times.

Happy New Year!  Here's to a fantastic 2014 for all of you!

37 & 38 Weeks

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas!  Michael and I spent the holiday just the two of us, and it was really nice.  Knowing it was our last quiet holiday, we took advantage of the peace and quiet and enjoyed just being together.  We are spending the weekend together, which is rare these days, and I'm glad I have two more days to spend with him.

I got behind again on my weekly posts, so I'm catching up with week 37 & 38.  Today, I am 38 weeks and 2 days, and I wish I could report that there has been some progress, but I'm still at 0.  The doc wanted to discuss a possible induction or c-section on my due date, but I'm hopeful McBaby won't be too stubborn and will decide to make an appearance before then.

How Far Along: 37 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 19 inches long and almost 6 pounds, 6 ounces. The size of a bunch of swiss chard.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 16 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I wear the same pair of black dress pants to work every week, and it will be nice to retire them soon although I am more than thankful for them these days.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: Lots of moving and kicking me in the side.  

Sleep: I can't complain.  I get up a lot to use the bathroom, but I sleep pretty well most nights.  

Symptoms: I certainly feel pregnant now.  Cankles and waddling are part of life.  My hips hurt every time I have to get up after sitting for a while.  I'm experiencing more joint and groin pain and can tell some of my bones are separating. Forgetfulness and pregnancy brain are certainly symptoms as well.    

What I miss:  Not having to think so hard about what I eat and drink, though it has kept me healthy, it would be nice to indulge.  I also miss being able to think a complete thought before forgetting what in the heck I was thinking about.

Cravings: Sweets because that's what everyone eats at Christmas

Best Moment this week:  We had an ultrasound to determine how McBaby's growth is going since I have gestational.  McBaby measured average, which is what we wanted to hear.  We got to see McBaby's face and he/she has hair. 

What I am looking forward to: Having a quiet holiday with Michael.  

How Far Along: 38 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than 19 1/2 inches long and approximately 6 pounds, 8 ounces. The size of a leek.  

Pregnancy Weight Gain: 17 pounds

Maternity Clothes: I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Luckily, I'm still able to wear most of my oversized sweaters and cardigans.  I wear the same pair of black dress pants to work every week, and it will be nice to retire them soon although I am more than thankful for them these days.

Gender: Not finding out!  

Movement: McBaby moves off and on from morning til night, and he/she has been known to wake me up in the middle of the night with a swift kick in the ribs.  

Sleep: It's getting worse.  I fall asleep easily when we go to bed, but when I get up in the middle of the night, I have trouble going back to sleep.   

Symptoms: This week has been hard so far.  I'm having trouble sleeping, I feel nauseous and crampy, I have lower back pain that won't go away, and my hips and groin are so sore.  And I'm so exhausted! I was feeling so bad yesterday, that I knew for sure there was progress being made, but today's doctor's appointment proved me wrong when doc said I was still at 0.   

What I miss: At this point, I miss everything that I could do pre-pregnancy.  Too many things to name!  

Cravings: I don't really feel like eating much, but I guess I'm craving comfort foods since I don't fell well.  

Best Moment this week: I know I have said it a lot, but simply spending time with Michael and relaxing is so precious to me right now.  

What I am looking forward to: A safe and healthy delivery that results in meeting our little boy or girl.  

29 Weeks

Things have been better in Pregnancy Land since my last blog post.  I have slept great this week, which is always a welcomed and pleasant surprise.  I am thankful for each good night of sleep I can get.  We are very close to finishing up the nursery, which is also very exciting.  It will be a few weeks before I will declare it complete, but I will post pics soon.  We only have one more week of baby class to go, and I am glad we enrolled in the class.  It has been fun and pretty helpful.  Last week, the dads participated in a relay race where they had to put on all the scrub gear and race to the baby at the other end of the room and back again.  I got a picture of Michael who was the last leg on the winning team.  He always enjoys a little competition!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: Just more than15 inches long and 2 1/2 pounds. The size of a Butternut Squash. 

Total Weight Gain: 9 pounds 

Maternity Clothes: Now that I'm in the third trimester, I am wearing maternity most of the time with the exception of my lounge clothes.  Some maternity tops have been too big in the arms and shoulders, so I bought a Medium in a few tops and they seem to work for now.

Gender: Not finding out!

Movement: McBaby moves more and more.  The other day on our walk, I got a swift kick in the ribs.  I am looking forward to seeing a hand or footprint.

Sleep: Much better this week!  

Symptoms: I'm adjusting to living with gestational diabetes.  My diet has been controlling my sugar very well.  I am metering four times a day, but after next week, I only have to meter twice a day.  

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach, eating more carbs 

Cravings: Still loving pickles, and I am back on my cheese kick

Best Moment this week: Feeling more organized and checking things off our list

What I am looking forward to: Our first baby shower this Sunday!

A McBaby Story

Well…it’s been years months since I’ve written.  But hey, I have a great excuse!  Michael and I made a baby, and I’ve been carrying it in my belly for the past 12 weeks!  We just told the world on Saturday, so now I can finally blog about it.  I’m going to try to cram everything into this one post, so bear with me.  I apologize if any of my details provide too much information, but I would like to remember everything.

Unlike most pregnant gals, I know the exact date we conceived McBaby.  How is that?  Because in our 7 years of marriage, Michael and I have been meticulous about birth control…except for one time.  On April 18, 2013, we threw caution to the wind, I was certain I had already ovulated, and we thought, “who gets pregnant after just once.”  Trust me, I am eating my words now!  We became part of the “It only takes once” statistic that day, and I would be lying if I told you I didn’t feel stupid at all!

Fast forward just a couple of weeks to Friday, May 4^th.  I had been having common period symptoms for four days, but there was no sign of a period.  Earlier that week, Michael was making dinner, and I remember telling him how awful it smelled to me.  He jokingly teased me that I already had a pregnant nose.  I thought nothing of it, but now it makes sense.  So that Friday, I went to the grocery store to get a few things, and picked up a pregnancy test along with my groceries.  I wanted piece of mind so I could move on because I knew I was not pregnant.  I got home, put up my groceries, and then I took the test.  It quickly showed the negative line, and my anxiety eased.  But as I continued to sit there, the plus sign started filling in, and my heart began to race as the room got fuzzy.  My heart was literally beating out of my chest.  I was not happy, I was not sad, I was shocked.  I think this was the closest to an out of body experience I have ever felt. 

So many women dream of the day they find out they are pregnant and plan elaborate or creative announcements to share the news with their husbands.  There was no time for that.  I picked up the phone, called Michael and said “Guess What?”  He instantly knew, and you could hear a pin drop on the phone line as we both sat there for a second.  I hung up the phone with Michael, and I called my mom.  I don’t really think she knew how to react when I told her.  Her self-proclaimed childfree daughter was calling to say she was pregnant.  She was going to be a grandmother, and I don’t think she knew how to feel.  She barely said anything, but she called me back later and was very excited.

I was four weeks along when I took the test, and it would be four more weeks before we went to the doctor.  These were the worst weeks for me.  I was so anxious, confused, shocked, and sick.  The worst part was that I couldn’t talk to anyone about what I was going through because we decided to keep the news to ourselves until we went to the doctor.   The week we went to the beach for our anniversary was the week I felt the worst.  I was six weeks along, and I physically, mentally, and emotionally was a wreck!  Poor Michael handled it so well though.  The hardest part for me was the fear of being sick, not the actual sickness itself.  I don’t know if that makes sense, but my anxiety tends to make me think catastrophic thoughts, and on my worst days I imagined myself throwing up at work or at a restaurant and being really embarrassed.  I’m glad that part is over, and I am happy to say I survived!!!

I was so nervous before our 8-week appointment, but I love my doctor and her staff.  We felt at ease talking to her, and she calmed all my nerves.  We were so excited during the first ultrasound.  Michael didn’t realize what the flickering was on the screen, and when I told him it was the heartbeat, I think he may have cried!  We went back to the doctor at 13 weeks and had a second ultrasound.  I could not believe how much the baby had grown from a little bean to a fetus with a clearly defined head and arms that were flailing around.  The heartbeat looked strong still.

Every day, this adventure is more real, and I am trying to find my place as a girl who is expecting and will be a mom in less than 6 months.  I never thought this would be me, and I have to pinch myself from time to time.  It was great to finally announce that we were expecting over the weekend because it seems more real now. 

In case you are wondering why we are calling our little one McBaby (I am sure you are smart enough to figure out that McBaby plays off of McGreevey), I want to share that we have decided not to find out the gender before McBaby is born.  I reluctantly agreed to this because Michael has said that he would always want to be surprised if we became parents.  He thinks there will be nothing sweeter than being surprised at McBaby’s birth.  He felt so strongly about this, and I know it makes him happy, so we will refer to our little one as McBaby until he or she enters the world.  Now, I am navigating the gender-neutral world trying to decide how to decorate the nursery.  I have a few ideas that I am excited about.

Today, I am 14 weeks along.  I am feeling good for the most part.  I’m still exhausted, but I wonder if that has to do with the fact that we just moved then traveled to Arkansas for 5 days right after.  I haven’t had a chance to catch up, and it’s driving me crazy to have an unorganized house.  As far as food goes, I don’t really crave anything specifically, but there have been foods I don’t want to eat.  It’s hard for me to eat meat, and I want salty food much more than I want sweet stuff.

Now that I am able to openly talk about McBaby, I plan to blog a lot more.  I really want to capture as much as I can on this journey.

Anniversary Weekend

Michael and I are soaking up the last few hours of our 6th anniversary weekend. We didn't do anything too special to celebrate our marriage. We were just happy to be together and enjoy the first weekend Michael had off of work in a very long time. I am so thrilled to have him home every weekend until late August! On Friday, night we stayed in and had a lazy evening, but it was great! Yesterday, we got up and ate breakfast before heading to the pool for the first time this summer. We stayed for two hours, both of which Michael did not flip over once, so by the time we got home, the front of his body was truly the color of a lobster! We caught the matinee showing of The Avengers yesterday afternoon before heading to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant down the street. Today is our official 6 year anniversary! We got up and went to church then we headed to Mountain Brook for brunch. After brunch, we bought groceries at Whole Foods, came home, and Michael napped while I went back to the pool for a bit. This afternoon we took Scarlett to the park before cooking dinner. This anniversary was simple and no fuss, but it was great just to be together. That's really all we can ask for. We love each others' company no matter what we do. I just love to be in the same room as Michael. It's been six great years, and we would both agree that we love each other now more than ever! I can only hope that God will bless us with many more anniversaries!

Missing Michael

I'm finally at the end of my five day hiatus from my hubby who has been in Asheville, NC since Thursday for the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament. He is on his way home now, and I couldn't be happier although I won't actually see him until the morning because he will arrive long after I go to bed. We had a fun date last Wednesday before Michael left. He took me to see Wicked, and it was so much fun! I have been wanting to see this production for years, and though we almost decided not to spend the money to see it, I'm glad we bought tickets at the last minute.





Another round of tornadoes swept through Alabama on Friday night. I was a bit nervous because everyone on the news was being super cautious. Luckily, all we experienced were thunderstorms in Birmingham although some parts of Alabama were hit pretty hard for the second time this year. Saturday was gray and cold, and I thought I would go crazy if Sunday turned out to be just as ugly.

God gave us sun on Sunday, and it was beautiful! I think it's been cold and rainy for 3 weekends in a row, so Scarlett and I took full advantage of the perfect afternoon yesterday. Right in the middle of Birmingham is a park called Moss Rock Preserve. It is one of my favorite places to go because it reminds me of the mountains in Tennessee, but it's much closer to home and Scarlett is allowed to hike too! Yesterday was especially great because the streams were full and the waterfalls were gorgeous. It's a blessing to have something this beautiful only a few minutes away. It's that time of year to take full advantage of the park before it gets too hot this summer. Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon!






Scarlett loves the water! She was in heaven!









We definitely missed Michael on our adventures this weekend, and we can't wait until he gets home!

Life Lately...in Pictures

I would be lying if I said that we have been so busy with lots of fun stuff! It's not true folks. Life has been slow-paced here (for me, not Michael), and it hasn't given me much to write about. Michael, on the other hand, is officially juggling basketball, tennis, track, baseball & softball, so Scarlett and I don't see much of him lately. This is his event schedule for the month of February. I guess busy for him is an understatement!



Our fruit bowl is always full now. I have successfully eaten whole and healthy for the majority of my meals since mid-January. Michael has changed his diet as well, but he cheats more than I do :)! The fast was a great turning point for me, both spiritually and physically, and it proved how shocked you can be when you begin to investigate the ingredients in our food! I feel better than I have in a long time! What we are trying to learn now is the balance between whole foods and busting our budget. This has been extremely difficult, and it's still a work in progress.



This is literally our life lately in pictures. I woke up one day recently and realized we didn't have many pictures of ourselves or our families in our living room. It's so ironic because I take pictures all the time, but I guess I had trouble adding pictures because space is limited in our little place. I have been painting frames, updating pictures, and adding more of them to our living space. I like how the picture displays turned out, and I am enjoying the cozy feel all of our new pictures add.





On Friday, I got a nice surprise at work. We were all eating lunch and a flower delivery van pulled up. My friend Tracey was convinced the flowers were from her soul mate Tim Tebow! (That would have been awesome!) But the flowers were for me :)! They are so pretty and smell so good, and the best part is that Michael sent them to me just because he loves me. I was one happy wife!



This is our spoiled fur baby. Have you met her yet? Just in case you forgot...her name is Scarlett, and she is a princess. She gets a daily walk, eats organic food, and sleeps between our pillows every night. This is her resting after a nice walk today in 31 degree weather. She was in heaven, while we were bundled in layers wishing it was 40 degrees warmer! At the end of the day, all that matters is that the baby is happy. Perhaps this is why we have decided not to have children for now. Ha!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Sean and Caroline Married!

We spent our weekend in Charlotte, NC for Sean and Caroline's wedding reception. Yay! I finally have a sister now! Sean and Caroline got married on July 23 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and came back to celebrate with friends and family before Caroline heads to Pittsburgh, where she and Sean will start their lives together.

Congrats Sean and Caroline!

The reception was really fun! My favorite aspect was the cookie table. I am mad at myself for not taking more pictures, but I did take a picture of the centerpiece on the cookie table. Aren't these the yummiest looking cupcakes? They have kayaks on them too, which is a love Caroline and Sean share!

The cookie table was a traditional twist on the reception that Caroline created from the memories of her Italian roots and the weddings she attended as a young girl. To keep the tradition, she asked her friends and family to bake cookies from a family recipe. She displayed them each on a platter and had them labeled with the name of the cookie and who made them. She provided bags for everyone to take home cookies as favors.

Aren't you curious about what we baked? I love to cook, but baking isn't really my thing just yet. I have no family recipes and neither does Michael, so we baked the only cookies we could think of that had somewhat of a family tradition. Michael just so happened to be a sandwich artist at Subway when he was 15, and he may have "burned" and eaten many white chocolate macadamia nut cookies in his day. Hopefully, he shared the delicious cookies with his family after work! Luckily, we know a very nice lady who works for the company that distributes supplies to local Subways here in Birmingham. A week before the wedding, we became the proud owners of 15 dozen white chocolate macadamia cookies!!!! Yes, that is 300 cookies! I won't even tell you how much of a deal we got for these babies! We baked 5 dozen for the wedding, and we will make the rest for the Dream Center this Saturday. Michael actually told the story of our cookies during his speech, and everyone thought it was pretty funny!

It was really great to see Michael's family and meet Caroline's brother Vince and her mother Dinah for the first time.

Us with Sean, Caroline, and her brother Vince


Sean and Caroline with her mom Dinah


Here are some of the ladies in Michael's family - his aunt Hart with her daughters Emily and Elizabeth. Elizabeth's sweet baby Mary Hart is the cute little one on the right. Michael's mom Betty is next to her sister Nancy who is holding Mary Hart

Michael and Sean with their cousins Emily and John. John is the best Trivial Pursuit player in the world! At least in my world...

Cindy, Elizabeth and her husband Jack, with Caroline and me

Here are a few pictures of the bride and groom during their speech and their first dance. I thought it was sweet that they waited to have their first dance at the reception so all of us could see them for the first time.

I love this picture of Caroline. She smiles all the time, and this is such a perfect picture of her.

She's smiling again...

I love how Sean is looking at her!

Congratulations Sean and Caroline! Good luck in Pittsburgh! We wish you all the love and happiness in the world!

5th Anniversary in Cape Cod

I have been so behind on blogging about our trip to Boston. We have been back for two weeks, and I'm still not finished with the 5 posts I planned to write! We've been extremely busy since we got back, and I don't know where time has gone. This weekend marked our 1 year anniversary in Birmingham, AL. I can't believe we have been here a year! Things are going really well, and I think we are finally going to stay in one place for a while. Michael was offered a full time job at Samford University, and he started back last week as the Director of Ticketing in the athletics department. I am so proud of him!

I am so happy to say I have been married to Michael for 5 years. It was an amazing opportunity to spend our fifth anniversary in Cape Cod this year. Our anniversary was our third day in Boston, and we took the ferry to Provincetown to spend the day on the cape and to go whale watching. This was the first sunny day of the trip, and the weather was really nice. Provincetown was beautiful and quite colorful in many many ways! I was forewarned about the culture shock I might experience, but we were there a week before the heavy crowds, so we didn't experience too much craziness.

We arrived in Provincetown around 10 am and walked around town before heading to lunch. After lunch, we boarded our boat to go whale watching.

The weather was so nice, but I'm very glad we took our coats on our whale watching trip. It was freezing on the ride out to see the whales. I came inside the boat, but Michael decided to ride it out. I took this picture of him from inside. He looks thrilled!


We spotted a couple of finback whales about 45 minutes into our trip. It was so neat to see them in their own environment, and they got so close to us a few times.


After our trip, we were ready to eat our anniversary dinner. The Lobster Pot restaurant was recommended, and we had a great table overlooking the water.

Michael ate lobster for the first time. He looked so cute in his bib!


After dinner, we took a walk through Provincetown. I love the Cape Cod style beach homes. This was a gorgeous town, and I would love to go back soon!








I love these pictures of the old fisherman's wives that you see as you come in and out of Provincetown.


This was a fabulous anniversary, and I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law - "If it can go wrong it will!" This is how Michael and I felt right around 7:00 pm on Saturday night up until I finally went to bed last night and decided "I'll get through whatever else goes wrong!" On Friday and Saturday, Michael and I attended the Ignite Marriage Conference at our church. Only speaking for myself, I learned so much, and I am so grateful that Michael and I are committed to making our relationship stronger. I was on a high Saturday afternoon leaving the conference, and I thought to myself, "the rest of this weekend is going to be great, and I can't wait to get home and talk about all we've learned!" Just a side note - Michael had to work Saturday afternoon, and I stayed for the last session by myself, and I couldn't wait for him to get home Saturday evening so he could tell me how much he loved the conference and how it made him realize I was the best wife ever! Okay, so maybe I was a little too optimistic! :) At 5:30 pm on Saturday, Michael called and said he was able to leave work early and he was heading home soon. Him leaving early never happens, and I was so excited. He asked what I wanted for dinner, and we ended the conversation by deciding on pizza. About 6:00 pm, he called and said he was heading home with two barbecue sandwiches and some chips he got for free at work. And the steam started billowing from my ears, but I made myself calm. The lessons of the conference started repeating themselves over and over in my head! I was so looking forward to that pizza! I don't like barbecue on a good day, and free, dried up bbq sandwiches from his work sounded awful! But...I had learned to be a patient and loving wife, so I agreed to the free sandwiches. Besides we have recently committed ourselves to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover, and Dave would be proud of me for saving money! At 6:30 pm, Michael called again. He said, "Brandi, your wish has come true and it looks like you won't be eating barbecue afterall. I was driving down the highway, and I put my foot on the gas, but my car wouldn't go. I'm stranded on the side of the highway!" WHAT!!! But I had it all planned out...dinner and talking! Now he's on the side of the road waiting on his friend Eric to come help him out and who knows how long it's going to take! Did I mention, this is one day before we were planning to do our first budget since we have been married! Dave Ramsey warned us over and over in his book about "Murphy's Law"...if something can go wrong it will! The night before our planned Sunday budget meeting, Michael's car breaks down one day after getting serviced, and we know it's probably going to cost us! But wait...it gets better! Eric and Michael got the car pushed to a parking lot on Saturday night. Michael got home around 8 pm with his cold, soggy barbecue sandwiches. He didn't make me eat them, and we took my car to Taco Bell. It was kinda gross, but I was starving. Sunday morning, we got up and headed to his car to wait for a tow truck. His car miraculously started, so we decided to see if we could get it to the shop ourselves. He drove about 500 feet and once he got on the main highway again, it quit! So there we were on the side of the highway, with him pushing his little car and me at the steering wheel hopelessly making it to the next parking lot! On Sunday afternoons, you are at the mercy of any tower who you can find working. We called three times and we kept getting put off. So we killed some time with lunch and a trip to the bookstore. While we were at the bookstore after hours of waiting, our real estate agent calls and says an agent wants to show our house in two hours. Sure no problem....if we weren't on the other side of town waiting on Michael's car to get towed and the house didn't need to be picked up, dusted, vacuumed, mopped, sanitized, and de-furred, which on a good day takes us about 2 hours. We couldn't turn down a showing, so Michael took me home and I began cleaning. Everything was going well because I was determined to hurry up and try to enjoy my afternoon, and on our way back to the house, the man called us back and said he would tow Michael in the next 30 minutes, so our luck was turning around! I was upstairs, in the middle of vacuuming (I hadn't made it to the other two floors yet) when all of the sudden our brand new vacuum just stopped! I thought it came unplugged, but it looked to be securely plugged in to me. I unplugged it just in case and plugged it back it, but nothing! This was my worst nightmare! Two more floors to go, and have you seen the dog hair my little 18 pound baby sheds! I didn't know what to do! Michael got home shortly, and made it work again, well...for 15 more minutes! It quit again! Needless to say, the other two floors didn't get vacuumed, and I resorted to lent rolling both of our dark brown couches to hide some of Scarlett's hair! It was the best we could do! So after all of these disasters, we had a nice afternoon at the park while our house was being shown, and we came home to tackle our budget. I don't care what anyone says, budgeting is stressful because it requires a lot of discipline, which is a virtue I need to work on daily! But we got some things accomplished, and I had a good night's sleep! I want to thank Church of the Highlands for giving me the opportunity to attend a marriage conference before these disasters occurred because it gave me a little patience with my wonderful husband :). I also want to thank Dave Ramsey for warning me about Murphy's Law...this man is absolutely right! If it could go wrong it did, but we made it through!

A Happier Christmas Post!

I know my last post about Christmas was a little sad, but I promise you that we had a really great Christmas. Low key and simple, but a really great and memorable Christmas! Our holiday was mainly centered around food, especially on Christmas Eve. We made a delicious breakfast for dinner with homemade sausage balls, stuffed cinnamon roll french toast, and Cracker Barrel inspired hashbrown casserole. It was so so good! For Michael's hashbrown casserole recipe, simply google "copycat cracker barrel hashbrown casserole recipe." It was an amazingly perfect dish for any occasion, and it makes a lot and costs next to nothing to make! My dish was the stuffed cinnamon roll french toast, which is very good and very easy as well. It's perfect for everyone and every age, and there's so many combinations for the stuffing! Here is the recipe: Pillsbury Large Cinnamon Rolls Cream Cheese, Softened Stawberry Preserves (or any preserves, jam, or fresh fruit you want) Eggs Milk Place the cinnamon rolls close together in a 9-inch round pan like below.

While the cinnamon rolls cook, mix softened cream cheese and jam. There's no science to this...it's all based on your taste. I used 8 oz cream cheese, which was way too much for 5 cinnamon rolls.

Once the rolls are cooked, let them cool for approximately 20 minutes. Cut the rolls in half leaving a top and bottom. Spread the cream cheese and jam on the bottom and replace top to make a sandwich.

Place butter in a pan and heat to medium, dip your stuffed cinnamon rolls in eggs and milk and pan fry the cinnamon rolls to your liking. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the rolls and cover with hot syrup!

On Christmas Day, we grilled steaks in the snow and ate them with green bean casserole and baked sweet potatoes. We shared my pumpkin roll for dessert. I did not make the pumpkin roll, it was a Whole Foods special!!! After our Christmas Dinner, we opened our only Christmas gift to each other. Well... it wasn't really wrapped, so I guess we didn't open it, but it was a big secret to both of us. Since we didn't buy Christmas gifts, we wanted to do something fun and surprising for Christmas, and this is what we came up with: Our 5th Anniversary is this May, and we could not decide what we wanted to do, but we both knew we wanted to travel somewhere we have never been. Originally we wanted to travel to Europe, but the time and money it takes to go overseas will probably be postponed to our 10th anniversary. So last week, we each picked 5 places in the states we really want to visit in May for our anniversary, and of our picks, we narrowed down our favorite destinations to 5 places. We made a pact to put the 5 places on paper and draw our 5th anniversary destination on Christmas Day! Our 5 destinations were 1. Seattle and Portland - Michael's 1st pick, My 3rd pick 2. Las Vegas - Michael's pick, I prayed that we would not draw Vegas! 3. Key West - Michael and I both picked Key West 4. San Francisco and Napa - Michael wasn't too enthusiastic, My 2nd pick 5.New York and Boston - Michael's 3rd pick, My first pick! Here are the pieces of paper ready to be drawn!!!!

Michael did the honors of drawing our destination. We went through the places he didn't pick first:

And number one.....Las Vegas! Whoo Hoo! Thank You Jesus!

And number two....Key West! Kinda sad but we went to the beach on our honeymoon

And number three.....Seattle/Portland! It would have been cold anyway!

And now we are down to my two favorite places....I can't lose....and the second runner-up was San Francisco/Napa Valley

We are going to New York and Boston!!!!! My first pick! I am so excited! We have never been to either city, and I think we are going to have an awesome time! We are already booking our hotel in New York tonight! It's official and there's no turning back!

Merry Christmas to us and cheers to celebrating a very happy marriage!

Lifesavers

Do you have those few little things in your world you call Lifesavers? For me, Lifesavers are the bits and pieces of life that make it easier to get through the day by taking stress out of my life. Like the famously addictive candy, they add sweetness to my life! When I first started writing this blog, I talked about the things I couldn't live without, which encompassed my favorite trench coat to my camera and peanut butter! My lifesavers our different. They are people, moments, decisions, and objects that are enriching my life as we speak. Some are simple but others are so important to me that they should probably top a new "Things I Can't Live Without" list. Here lately, I've been blessed with a few lifesavers: Dinner Time - I am happy to have a job where I am able to come home almost every night and have dinner with Michael. For two years, I didn't get home from work until 8:00 p.m., and it caused a lot of discouragement for us, especially for Michael who always had to be home early to take Scarlett out and then prepare dinner by himself. Our health was also affected because we ate so late every night, and eventually we began to eat freezer meals most nights because it was easy--and we all know how good freezer meals are for you! Salt and preservatives are your best friends! Now, I feel so fortunate to be able to come home and cook healthy dinners with him every night. That time with him is a lifesaver, and the calories we spare by eating better and earlier is saving my waistline! Simple Recipes - Going along with dinner, I have surprisingly found a lifesaver in Woman's Day magazine. Michael will not let me live down the fact that I have a copy of Woman's Day in our living room! "Really Brandi, are you 40 years old!" If any of you haven't read this magazine (please note I am talking to my female readers) you must because they have some of the simplest, cheapest, and healthiest recipes I have ever seen, and I have come across a lot of recipes! By the end of this week, I will have made a whole grain apple cinnamon cake, tamale pie with grain fed beef and fresh corn, lean skirt steak with homemade chimichuri sauce, and tilapia with crispy pesto. All of these meals came from my latest issue. They are so good and so easy to make. Ladies, don't worry if people make fun of you for reading Woman's Day in your twenties, this magazine is a lifesaver! Envelopes - Here lately, we have also been working on our financial fitness. During our entire marriage, Michael has handled the finances. He's great at it, but it's important for me to know where our money is being spent and it also takes the pressure off of him. When we moved to Birmingham, we decided to trade off every other month to be in charge of the budget. Our August budget was my first time to handle our money, and let me just tell you that when I actually crunched numbers and saw what we actually made after taxes and what we spent our money on, I nearly croaked! Not because Michael had done anything wrong for the past four years, I just lived in a fantasy world without taxes, insurance, and bills figured into spending! Of course for my first time handling the family finances, I had to reinvent the wheel and experiment...so I decided to use the envelope method of finances. To Michael's chagrin, he finally gave in to my plan...not without calling me the "Evil Envelope Nazi" of course, and we are trying the envelope plan where we dedicate a specific amount of money assigned to an envelope. Once the envelope is empty, we can't spend anymore in that category. It's not easy I promise, but it's kind of fun challenging myself to decide if I really want to spend my money on something unecessary. For August, here are the categories of our envelopes: Groceries Dining Out Michael's Spending Brandi's Spending Scarlett Tithe Entertainment Our gas and bills are still paid through our checking account.

This method isn't new to many families, but it's new to us, and if we can continue to budget this way, I think we will be happy in the long run. Maybe the envelopes are going to turn out to be huge lifesavers!

How did the "kid's discussion" lead to Europe?

Call it being scared of getting closer to 30 or call it being secretly jealous of women my age with egg shaped bellies...call it what you will, but the kid discussion has been happening a lot lately in our marriage. It's crazy! Until literally a few weeks ago, I've never really wanted kids, I hated babysitting as a teenager, I've grown tired of endless posts on facebook by love stricken mommies (they should seriously think about a facebook for moms), and I am not one to oooohhh and ahhhhh over other peoples' children. So why all of the sudden do I have this need to maybe produce a child of my own. Is it because our close friends are trying to conceive and others are talking about trying? Is it because I turn 28 in a few months, and I realize my eggs are withering away as we speak? Are all the perfect families I see every Sunday at church making me yearn for a family of my own? I don't know what it is, but this baby talk is driving Michael insane. I can be certain of that. Finally, after the 10th or so conversation we had about kids this week, Michael sweetly turned to me and said, "Brandi, I'm sorry, but right now not one ounce of me wants chidren." GULP! Not one ounce...it was hard to swallow as he told me this on one of our nightly walks this week, but hey, at least he's honest. Of course I didn't know what to say, so I kept walking for a while, then I finally asked him why he doesn't want children. He's so good with kids, so why not have kids of his own? His response was simple. He likes being married and being able to do what we want, and he feels there is so much more for us to do by ourselves before we have kids. So what was my clever response..."Well, fine Michael. If you don't want kids because there is so much we need to accomplish, then let's quit talking about all the things we want to do and actually do them!" We've been talking about a trip to Europe ever since we got married. I had the opportunity to go in 2003 right after we started dating, but Michael didn't get the chance to go with me. We've both been talking about going together for years, but of course talking and doing are two different things. We talk a lot..... I pry a little deeper as we walk, "What about that trip to Europe we are always talking about?" He responds, "Is that what you want to do?" "Of course that's what I want to do...I would love to go!" (Putting my intense hatred of flying aside of course)! "Alright, let's go" he says. By the end of our walk, the trip was planned. For five years, I've been trying to get him to actually take me to Europe rather than just talk about it. And all I had to do was tell him I wanted babies! Who knows, maybe I will get both! (He's going to kill me after reading this). So, if all goes as planned, we hope to go to Europe next spring to celebrate our 5th anniversary! I wonder if it will do me some good to bring up kids around my birthday this year? I bet he would get me something good!