Monday, February 28, 2011

30.

february 28th 2011!!! thirty and fabulous!

yup! i've hit an awesome milestone! today i turn 30! i love it! to me age is just a number, if you were to ask me how 'old' i feel, i'd tell you 18! i dont have the, wow i am old thoughts. i actually think it's pretty freak'in awesome! i have to admit that the past 30 years of my life have been outstanding and unforgettable! i love being able to look back on my life thus far and think/see all the things i've done and accomplished! i'm lucky to have an awesome family immediate and in laws.

i was lucky to grow up with AMAZINGLY AWESOME parents who let me go after every dream i had, and supported everything i've done. let's put it this way, i pretty much hit the jack pot with having the parents i do. they even did a really good job with me in high school when my dad would yell, yeah i mean like really YELL at me for coming home past my curfew weekend after weekend, i'm just a total socializer! so thanks mommers and dadders! what can i say i am honored, i love them, and i love them for loving me!

i've been lucky to always have amazing friends. no really, amazing! perhaps i am able to surround myself with really good people, but i consider myself so lucky to have such great friends. near and far, the friends i've had as a kid are still my friends now, friends from college and even friends i've made here in columbus, i know they will always be my friends and i think that's pretty great! so thanks friends for being my friends, i am privileged!

i'm lucky i have tyson, my partner in crime! my 1st pride and joy! we go quite well together if i do say so myself and i love him. and then of course there's my 2nd most pride and joy my brody bear - my little nugget of love!

i've done a TON in 30 years the list of things is miles and miles long. but one things for sure i've learned a lot, played a ton and accomplished many goals that i've set for myself.

so even though there is SO much i've loved and the list is really long...

here's just a few....say....30 things I've LOVED/are Memorable to me in the past 30 YEARS...

1. i've loved ice cream from an early age and continue to love it. i could eat it everyday, and sometimes i do!

2. i've always loved coloring and art is a passion and i'm happy that when i went to college i knew that's what i wanted to major in and i graduated with a degree in graphic design with an emphasis in studio art.

3. i've always been into sports i played volleyball starting in 6th grade and played through the 11th grade and also played club volleyball in the off season and then during the 11th grade the water polo team recruited me to play as there goalie for my senior year. i love that my parents totally supported me in that choice. i did it and we were state champs!

4. i loved riding my bike as a kid and taught all the neighborhood kids how to ride there bikes too!

5.when i was little, i used to sit on the side walk and watch the construction workers drive pass that were building new houses in our neighborhood and wave to them.

6. my brother and i did not get along very well growing up. we would beat up on each other up and tattle tale all the time. i'd claw my finger nails into his arms and he would kick me. pretty awesome! my poor mom had to yell at us all the time. but by the time he got married we became friends and i'd say he's one of my bestest friends now!

7. i loved traveling to NYC for the first time. i traveled with the graphic design program to NYC for a week, we went site seeing, shopping, we went to a few broadway shows, ate lots of really good food, saw the statue of liberty, saw ground zero, went to the top of the empire state building, and walked the brooklyn bridge (i remember calling my mom while on the bridge to tell her hi), but more importantly we visited some of the most amazing graphic design firms, i learned what companies looked for in a designer, what type of portfolio i needed and how to use my talent as best as possible. it was a really great experience.

8. in 8th grade i spent the night at a friends house and woke up in the middle of the night because i didn't feel good, so i called my dad and he came and picked me up. as i was walking down the front steps out to the car, while carrying my pillow, sleeping bag and night bag, i missed a step and fell and twisted my foot. come to find i ripped the tendons and ligaments off my growth plate and ankle bone. needless to say i had a cast for quite sometime. but when i think back to this time, i dont think about my broken foot, i always think about that night i called my dad and even though it was like 3:00am he didnt think twice about coming to get me. he was right there! i love him for that. i love that he wasnt like 'you'll be fine' or 'tough it out' , he said 'i'll be right there'.

9. when i was like, i'm not even sure....7 or 8 maybe even younger, but old enough to remember this, i was in the bath tub and my mom was coming to get me out. we had glass sliding doors on the tub and my mom was sliding the door open and it came off the track and came crashing down on me. she hurried and pulled me out and had to pick out all the little shards of glass that were in my skin. i remember she felt so bad. it wasnt her fault, the door just came off the track. it was just one of those things that just happens so fast. but i do remember she bought me a pack of gum and all was better. i LOVED gum as a kid.

10. when i was probably like 10, i got into my parents car that was park on the street, with my neighborhood friend. while in the car, i was pretending to drive and i pulled the stick that puts the car into drive or maybe neutral and the car started roll down the street until we hit the sidewalk and stopped. my friend and i bailed and i ran into my house and hid in my closet until my mom found me. pretty sure they were mad at me, but i don't remember, i just remember being so scared that the car started moving!

11. in 2nd grade i was riding my bike home with a friend and i was "pretending" to fall off my bike, (why? i have no idea) but i really did fall and into a bunch of gravel on the road. my mom had to use her tweezers to pull out the little rocks in my knee. i got a terrible scab on my knee from falling and it itched so bad. but to make matters worse, i got the chicken poxs and chicken pox were ON TOP of my scab! sick! and boy howdy it itched sooo bad. i finally gave in and itched it soo much that i have a scar on my knee from itching my scab and chicken poxs!

12. my parents are pretty awesome. when home for the summers in the college i'd hangout with them all the time. one of my most favorite times was when we went to my very first concert and we saw Tim McGraw. it was SO FUN.

13. it's a given that i like to party. well more like throw parties. i know i get that from my mom. when i was growing up my parents would always throw halloween parties for us (my brother and i) and our friends. and way fun birthday parties. and slumber parties. and when i was little i loved Bears. (shocking, i know) and we would have teddy bear picnic tea parties. my mom is so cleaver and amazing!

14. when i was like 14, my dad, brother and i went fishing. we went fishing all the time growing up. but this particular time goes down in the books!! we had walked through some pretty swampy forest to get to this great fishing spot. but there were mosquitos everywhere. my brother stayed to fish, while my dad and i headed back to the car to get bug spray i think. well as were walking back through the swamping forest we see the BIGGEST SNAKE EVER. HUGE. like at least 6 ft. long. and i JUMPED on my dad to hold me. he had to cover my mouth from screaming. ewww, still grosses me out! i stayed in the car after that!!

15. in high school while everyone else was taking AP Biology and AP Calculus i was taking AP ART! :)

16. my sophmore year of high school i had to wear a retainer with my braces. but when i ate lunch at school i would take it out and cover it with a napkin. well one day, i got to lunch early, ate my lunch threw my lunch away. i remember going to the student store and buying 'laffy taffy' and walking to class with my friends eating my 'laffy taffy' and thinking wow this is really easy to eat! when it dawned on me...I THREW AWAY MY RETAINER!!! Oh my gosh i about died. all i kept thinking was that my parents were going to kill me! i went to the main office and told the lady at the front desk what i did. she got a janitor and he rolled the garbage can. i threw my lunch away in, outside to the back of the building where he let me dig threw it all. not to forget to mention that i was like one of the first to throw my lunch away and the garbage can was full. is was seriously so disgusting going through that garbage can, but...I FOUND IT! :)

17. my freshman year of college of i was super home sick and i called my dad crying and he flew me home for the weekend! and we surprised my mom! it was one of the best weekends EVER!!!

18. i LOVE eating chicken and rice in downtown portland down on 23rd! we've eaten chicken and rice on 23rd for YEARS!

19. growing up we always had a special place (short sands) out at the beach that we'd always go to! i love the oregon coast!!

20. i loved that i've been able to travel so much! one of my most favorite trips as a kid was the summer going into 7th grade. my parents took us to San Fransisco, Disneyland, Hawaii and then back to Disneyland. it was amazing!!!

21. i loved high school! i would go back and do it all over again! i had so much fun and awesome friends!

22. i loved everything about my 20's!! i'm quite certain that i've always known who i am. it's just been up to me to fulfill my potential! college, marriage, growing up and doing such awesome things has been a dream!

23. all growing up my mom would come in and wake me up, rub my back and kindly tell me to get up...and on days i wouldnt get up... she would come in and sing 'there is sunshine in my soul today', and i hated that! and she knew that! but she's the best! she'd always make me breakfast and pack my lunch or give me a lunch ticket in elementary school and in high school pack my lunch or give me lunch money. yes i was spoiled, and i loved it!!!

24. right before i met tyson, my mom was telling me i needed more girlfriends instead of guy friends. ha. and then i got married! :) best thing ever!!!

25. moving to columbus ohio was one of the hardest things i've ever had to do. but it's become one of my most favorite places! not enough to live here forever. but i'd come back and visit. :)

26. i LOVE that i am a mom. i am in LOVE that i am Brody's mom. it's the most rewarding thing in the entire universe! i love that i get to be with him day in and day out. i know that some mom's want to work or do there own things for "them". but for me, being with brody is what i am doing for ME! I love that kid to the moon and back again!!

27. growing up my family loved going to disneyland. i love that my family loves disneyland. and that i love disneyland. and that when tyson married me and he went to disneyland for the first time he fell in love with disneyland. we will always be a disney family!

28. my grandma made me a green baby blanket when i was born, and i STILL sleep with it every night! i love that blanket more than anyone will every know. it is seriously a piece of me. it's been EVERYWHERE with me, sleep overs, volleyball camp, girls camp, family vactions, college, my honeymoon, the hosptial when i had brody, you name it, i have to have it to sleep!

29. i've learned to like being alone with myself. not that i haven't liked being alone. but all through high school, college and what not before being married. i always had to be with friends or roommates. i didnt like to be alone. but when i got married and moved durning the summers and tyson's did summer sales. he was gone ALL DAY LONG. and i was all alone. and at first it was hard. but i dunno along the road i realized i'm pretty freaking awesome. ha! and i like being alone. i like being able to do what i want and learn new things! i liked being able to depend on myself. i liked that i could entertain myself by doing art, or running, watching tv, cooking and baking etc. it my sound corny but it's really helped shaped me.

30. i'm grateful i've made it 30! i love that i am healthy! i love that i am strong! i love that i am a daughter, a wife, a mother and a friend. i love that my life thus far has been really really good and i am grateful for that, my heart swells with graditute. i definitely count my blessings one by one!!! happy 30th to me!

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR HAVING ME!!!!!

let's travel down memory lane...

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and even more pictures of me growing up...check out my wedding video...



Here's to 30!!!

xoxo

menu of the week...

food 1

this is what we are eating for dinner this week...

easy sesame noodles - these noodles are really good. brody could eat the entire bowl! i like to add fresh sweet peas and peppers to the noodles. i've added chicken before, but we actually like it better with just the veggies. but then again, you don't even have to add anything, the noodles themselves are super good. i usually pick up some egg rolls from one of our favorite resturants and have a side salad. yum!

white chicken enchiladas with green chile sour cream sauce - we love our mexican food! we will also have tortilla chips, corn and fresh fruit.

waffles with strawberries and whip cream - some fabulous friends of mine gave me a waffle maker for my birthday and i am IN LOVE with it. i've wanted one for a long time now and it was such a great surprise! so i HAVE to make me some waffles, i love waffles! so waffles it is! even though i will serve them with strawberries for topping we will have some oranges slices and have potatoes with peppers and onions.

light chicken salad sandwhiches and side salad - nice and light! we really like the salad that goes along with it. super simple, but really good!

and of course you can always check more 'menu of week's" here, here, here, here and here! Enjoy!

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating!!!

images - 1,3 - let's dish 2, justcookalready

Sunday, February 27, 2011

great weekend...


.

this picture pretty much sums up our weekend! so great!

Friday, February 25, 2011

a few favorites...


i guess i was picture happy today...i got brody in action doing a few of his favorite things...

like...

taylor

listening to taylor swift on the ipod. he sat and listen to her sing while i cleaned up breakfast. he seriously loves taylor swift. her CD album cover comes up on the screen of my ipod and he waves to her and says hi and occasionaly he will kiss the screen. i personally find it quite humorous.

and he also likes...

buzz

sitting in the laundry basket with his loveies "aka his blanket", buzz and watching elmo's world.

and of course...

brutus

Brutus the buckeye. we all know he loves brutus. of course he looked away when i snapped the shot, but you can tell he is happy! we stopped in the 'buckeye' store this evening while waiting for friends we were meeting up with for dinner.

it was a good day! i kinda can't believe that last friday it was 66 and we were strolling around the zoo enjoying the sun and today we got ice,snow and wind. blah! mother nature is such a tease! but i'm happy it's friday! so far things are shaping out for a fabulous weekend and it's only going to get better!

happy weekend!!!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

and the base keeps runn'in runn'in...


running

by popular demand i've been asked for some other songs that i listen to while running. there is a list
here you can check out too. this list of songs are in no particular order of favs. i just like them all.

1. fighter (Christina Aguilera)
2. i don't wanna be in love (Good Charlotte)
3. lifestyles of the rich and the famous (Good Charlotte)
4. see you again (miley cyrus)
5. hey, sould sister (train)
6. material girl (haylie and hilary duff)
7. faint (linkin park)
8. Me Love (Sean Kingston)
9. low (flo rida)
10. waking up in vegas (katy perry)
11. my paper heart (the all-american rejects)
12. what's my age again (blink 182)
13. candyman (christina aguilera)
14. we R who we R (kesha)
15. the auctioneer (john michael montgomery)
16. party in the usa (miley cyrus)
17. all my loving (jim strugess)
18. califorina gurls (katy perry)
19. cooler than me (mke posner)
20. little black backpack (stroke 9)

so there's a few to tie some of you over for now! i am all about the the up-beat fast pace songs and these definitely get the adrenaline pumping! this list will definitley be continued...so until then...
happy running or walking or skipping or jumping or whatever you do. :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

kitchen obsession dos.


so a few posts ago i talked about my kitchen obsession. awe! the white kitchen obession, pretty much can't get enough of it! really, there is nothing better than a well designed kitchen. it's like a big warm hug. i just love them. so here are more of the collection of pictures of kitchen's i love.

bif7

45350_0_4-0842-traditional-

stylish-kitchen-galley

kitchen-envy

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this one

and this one one

and this one

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

tuesday post...


the griz

this evening i told brody to stop growing. i say this to him often. but tonight he ran up to me with his arms wide open and hugged me and held my face with his two little hands looked me in the face and gave me a kiss. now that's love. still, it would be nice if time could slow down a little bit. because i mean, let's be honest, he's not going to want to hangout in his bear suit when he's 16. and well if he did... 1. that'd be werid and 2. then we'd have to burn the thing. but for now, i love it. and i love him. pretty much we can't get enough of him. but then again, you couldn't tell, could you?

Monday, February 21, 2011

menu of the week...

food

this is what we are eating for dinner this week...

crock pot BBQ chicken - i just put about 15 chicken tenders in the crock pot with one to one and half bottles of 'Sweet Baby Rays-Honey' BBQ Sauce and cook on low for about 5 hours and then put the setting on warm - till we are ready to eat. i serve it with whole grain minute rice, corn, apple and orange slices.

lime chicken tacos - these are simple and pretty tasty! the only thing i do different is i like to boil some chicken breast, shredd it and then just throw in the in pan with all the seasonings till its all warm and coated in flavor. we like to top our tacos off with lettuce, black beans, avacado, tomatoe, sour cream and cheese. i'll serve it up with the uncle ben's instant mexican rice and this corn souflee.

asian noodle salad - lots of chopping, but well worth it! i just chop everything ahead of time (during brody's nap) that way when we are ready to eat i can just throw it all together. so YUM!!! you can thank me later! :)

baked potatos - i like to bake my pototos warpped in foil and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour(depending on how big the potato is) at 450 in the oven. we top our potatoes with chili, cheese, green onions, cheese, sour cream and broccoli. i will it serve with blue berry muffins and fresh fruit.

want to see more menu's of the week? go here, here, here and here. Enjoy!!

Happy Happy Cooking!

images, 1,2 - google image 3-pw

Sunday, February 20, 2011

OSU Hockey Game...


last night we went to an OSU Hockey game and it was awesome! we love watching hockey and when my friend Rachael said it was free with our buck i.d.'s we were in! we met up with a group of friends to enjoy the fun and it was great!

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h1

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we had really good seats, a great game...but Brody had the BEST of the BEST of all things besides us and sports (he loves watching sports), he had Kelli and Neil his BFFs! I kid you not, he LOVES kelli and neil and it's pretty sweet! once he saw they were at the game with us...he spent the rest of his time doing this...

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brody spent the entire game watching the game and sitting with kelli the entire time. as long as he could watch the game and be with kelli life was complete. even with his picture with Brutus, he just wanted kelli and the game.
thanks kelli and neil for loving brody so much!

of course going to a sporting event would not be the same without a sno-cone!
yum!!
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yay for hockey! good game buckeyes - and we won!

the end.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

a bear and a bear...


pooh
lunch with pooh - disneyworld june 2010

love.

Friday, February 18, 2011

animals and chocolate cake...


brown brown bear what do you see?

bear

i see a a monkey looking at me...

monkey monkey what do you see?

bear 2

i see my other monkey friends looking at me...

monkey friends monkey friends what do you see?

bear 3

we see bats looking at us...

bats bats what do you see?

bear 4

we see a lion and cub looking at us...

lion and cub lion and cub what do you see?

bear 5

bear 6

we see manatees looking at us...

manatees manatees what do you see?

bear 7

we see...

a brown bear, a monkey, monkey friends, bats, a lion, and a cub looking at us. that's what we see.

the brody bear and i went to the zoo today and it was won-der-ful! pure bliss i tell you. the weather was a dream. the warm sun was shinning a light breeze blew and lots of fun animals to see. we loved it. brody L-O-V-E-D it! he always has loved the zoo. but its been a few months due to our horrific winter, and going today was probably one of the most fun times we've had there. brody just ate up those animals, telling them 'hi', 'hi guys', 'bye', and 'bye guys' a hundred times, checkig out the 'fishies', waving and blowing kisses to the elephants, ahhh be still my heart he just loved the animals and i love him. such a great time!

for our evening we went to our church's chili and chocolate cook-off. i entered this...

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bear 9

i called it...CHOCOLATE FORTRESS! and i won for most chocolatey dessert! fun! we had a really fun evening hanging out with friends and testing out lots of yummy chili and eating some yummy chocolate desserts. winning was just a bonus!

it was pretty simple my friends, pretty simple...
how to win a chocolate cook-off...
step one: bake a chocolate cake in 2 - 8inch rounds (i like the betty crocker chocolate cake mix) yes i used a box.
step two: make some vanilla frosting and put it between the two rounds
step three: top with some hot fudge topping
step four: use a tub of chocolate frosting to attach pepperidge farm creme filled pirouette choclate fudge rolled wafers (yum) and add some chocolate dollips of frosting on top of the cake add some wafer decor and viola!!!

happy weekend!!!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

kitchen obsession.


so...i kind of have an obsession about kitchens. i love a beautiful kitchen. functional. open. inviting. clean. white. a place where everyone can gather and enjoy themselves. half the time when i am watching shows on foodnetwork during the days i am always checking out the kitchens different chefs are cooking in. i'd have to say that Ina Garten and Giada de Laurentiis kitchen's are by far my fav. but did you know that the kitchen's they cook in, really aren't "there" kitchens, they rent houses for the shows. a nifty little fact i learned one time. but it's not even foodnetwork, HGTV totally has kitcehn ideas flowing too. anywhos...one day i hope to have a beautiful well designed kitchen that i can cook in, entertain in and make lots and lots of memories in.

i've been meaning to post these pictures for sometime for memeory sake...not that i dont have room on my computer for them... i just like looking at them. :)

here are just a few inspiring photos of what would be fun to have somday...

meridith_baer_spanish_style_house_home_kitchen_white_cabinetry_glass_front_uppers_island_dark_wood_floors_black_counters_countertops

white_kitchen_karen_williams_calcutta_gold

hen_white_nailhead_trim_barstools_cararra_marble_subway_tile_backsplash_hick_pendant_lights_blue_gold_crown_molding_top_cabinets_dark_wood_floors

kit-marbletile2-Helger-425A

michael_robinson_photography_white_kitchen_subway_tile_backsplash_dark_grey_grout_butcher_block_island_counters_arched_doorway