Shopping with a Cop

Big Brother Big Sister had their annual "Shopping with a Cop" event.  We had never been since we just started this program last January.  Wow, what a great program! We picked Markus up after work and everyone had to meet at Wal-Mart.  $100 gift cards were donated and each child gets a gift card to shop for his/her family. Markus came prepared with a list of gifts for his mom, dad, brother, and sister.  Each kid is designated a police officer to walk around and talk with us while we shop.  Markus picked out a flat iron for his sister, a red lobster gift card for his mom, t-shirts for his brother, a watch for his dad, and some treats for his dogs! It was so special to see Markus be able to buy gifts for his family.  He said he never gets to do that!

Below is a pic of Markus opening up his gift from us.  I love his facial expression in the first one.

MIA

Sorry, I've been MIA! Wish that meant in Miami, but it doesn't! It's been crazy at work, which is a good thing. The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind. So I will try to recap a bit.

Thanksgiving-We went to Brian's parent's house for Thanksgiving. Had a great time. Ate too much.  Nice to spend some time with his grandma.  She cracks me up! We went to my dad's house Saturday and also had a great time and ate too much!

Colby is still a little stinker.  See pic below.

The week after we had Brian's friends birthday party and Kaelyn and Jennifer stopped by to visit.  See pic below.  It was so funny, we were just trying to get her to just smile regular, but she kept giving us a big cheesy smile. It was hilarious.

Also had date night with Jackson, Sheila's son. He just turned 10 so he got to pick what we had for dinner. As you can see from the pic below....it was real healthy.  We watched Smurfs and both crashed early! We were long overdue for a date!

Ok that's all for now!  I hate going too long without blogging.  Hope my readers are still out there!

Tis the Season

Our first official Christmas tree is up and ready to go!!! We just need some presents! The problem is, Brian and I are not really buying for each other this year since we are putting money towards the wedding....so I guess that leaves Colby to buy for us. Just look at him, does he look like he is going to buy us anything????

DWTS

Who wants Rob Kardashian to win???? I do!!!

Not ready for this

I am a few weeks behind, but I am not ready for this. See below.  This is what I saw when I awoke. Yuck.

Chi-town trip!

I had a great time in Chicago! I hadn't realized that I hadn't been to Chicago since April! This trip reinforced my thought that Chicago is the greatest City, and that I really took it for granted when I lived there!

My trip started off with a stop in Iowa City to visit Ellen and Roger's baby. He is adorable! The cutest thing I've seen in a long time! Sorry Brian :-)  See the pic below for proof!

Next, I stopped at the NBC Tower to visit everyone at Brinks. I posted a pic below of the building I used to work in. I used to work on the 34th floor, 2 floors from the top! It reminds me how different my life is here. Grant it, I do work on the 18th floor, but the building isn't as tall so it doesn't seem like I am that high up. It was soo nice visiting my old boss and co-workers. They again reminded me that their are mortgage company's and bank and would just need to make a call and get Brian a job. I don't think he will go for that, so I better stay put. :-)



After my visit to Brinks, I headed to Erin's to stay at my old place, in my old room! We went out for Jill's birthday and had a blast! It was nice to see some of my ol' flag football buddies.

Friday morning I had my eye appointment with my lasik surgeon and he said my eyes are better than perfect! Yes, there is such a thing-20/15! Woo hoo! Such a life changing experience for me and I would do it again in a heartbeat! After that, Erin and I shopped, had lunch at Grand Lux (yummy), and tried on a few bridesmaid dresses-thank you Erin for being a good sport! haha.  It was nice to spend quality time with her! See below-look how peace beautiful Michigan Avenue is on a Friday morning. Love it!

Friday night I picked Maria up from work and we went to her family restaurant and had dinner. We drank quite a bit more than anticipated, but that's alright. haha. It was so fun and we spent most of the night laughing which we haven't done in awhile.

One thing is for certain after this trip, I will not go another 6 months before I visit again!

A few more pics :-)

Engagement photos!

Here are a few pics!

One trick or treater is all I need

A little cupcake came knocking on my door! I don't even care that I look like a hot mess, because I know you aren't looking at me :-)

If you were a billionaire

So if you were a billionaire what you would buy? This article really got me thinking of what I would do if I had that much money. It's interesting to see how I differ from these ultra rich people in the article.  Sure, I would buy a Bentley, but not sure about a Yacht or a Boeing 757...although I could see myself buying a private jet....just not a huge plane per se.  I could also see myself following in Victoria Beckham's footsteps by having a custom made gold phone cover since it only costs $36,000.

See the link below if you want to fantasize a little!

http://money.msn.com/investing/billionaires-and-their-toys-cnbc.aspx?cp-documentid=6867822&GT1=33002

Hawks win!

We met Rustin and Libby out to watch the Iowa game. It was fun and nice to snuggle Baby Emmett! I hadn't seen him in awhile so he was overdue for some Shardogg snuggles.

Below is the highlight from my weekend. :-)

Sweetest Day :-)

A few weeks ago I asked Brian what he was getting me for Sweetest Day and he said "What? I've never heard of it...." so in true Brian form, he googled it and can not only tell you the origin, but can tell you many other facts about this day! haha.  I was teasing him and told him that I would like a new pair of Uggs and to eat at Americana, but since he researched it he knows that you are supposed to give candy.  I really didn't expect anything, but he sent me flowers and chocolates! The flowes are so cute and if you can't see the note it says- "The Sweetest Day is the day we met." How sweet is that?! Thank you Brian and thank you to whomever made a new hallmark holiday! Made my day :-)

Chicago trip in November!

I am way overdue for a checkup with my eye doctor in Chicago. I finally have a free weekend so scheduled my appointment for early November! I CANNOT wait!!!! I didn't realize how much I miss Chicago until I made my eye appointment and got very giddy! Hoping to get some shopping in (at the good stores that Des Moines doesn't have), eat good pizza, and try to visit with as many friends as possible! YAY!

Pics from mom's visit

Here are some pics from my mom's visit in September.

Weekend of birthdays

So this weekend was pretty fun but low key. We had Kaelyn's birthday party Saturday during lunch. It was very nice to see Jennifer's family and so fun to see Kaelyn open up her presents and tell everyone thank you. She is growing up so fast and is so smart! Jennifer made lots of goodies too which were delicious! Saturday night we had Cooper's birthday party, which is Brian's best friends son. His birthday party was at an indoor water park on Merle Hay. That was alot of fun and we filled up on pizza and more cake! Cooper had a blast running around with his friends and got lots of cool toys! Needless to say, Brian and I were in a food coma Saturday night!

Sunday we were too lazy to go to church (shame on us) and were pretty lazy most of the day. We took Sheila out for sushi for her birthday lunch. It was also nice to see her! I hadn't seen her in awhile. I think I saw her more when I lived in Chicago! Below are pics of the birthday kids....sorry didn't get a picture of Sheila at her birthday lunch!

Did anyone else think Bridesmaids wasn't that funny????

So last weekend after our pics, Brian and I rented Bridesmaids.  We've heard from EVERYONE how HILARIOUS it is so we couldn't wait to see it. Neither one of us laughed very much at all! I don't know if it was just because we were tired or what, but it was NOT that funny! The movie wouldn't even make my top 10....or top 20!  Are we weirdos or what? What did we miss? I mean the bride pooped in her wedding dress...that is something I see myself doing anyway! haha.

Should we watch it again?

Engagement photos-DONE!

So this weekend we had our engagement photos. We were supposed to have them last week but our photographer had a death in the family so had to reschedule them for this weekend since it was the only time that worked for all of us.  I am glad to get them done, but was bummed to miss Brittani and Brandon's wedding! It would have been nice to see everyone and celebrate their special day.

I think we got some good photos! She took a TON of pictures so we are destined to have at least 20 good pics for our guest book! Well, one would think! haha. I can't wait to see them. She sent me one this morning just for a sneak pic. See below. I will post more when I get them!

Goodbye flip flops.....until next year

So I have spent the entire morning freezing!!! My toes are so cold. The dreadful day has come, as it does every year....time to put away the flip flops.  I will miss you as I endure another harsh Iowa winter. Boo.

On a brighter note, I won't feel so guilty when I decide to spend an entire weekend laying on the couch being a bum. Oh and I am due for a new pair of uggs.... :-)

 

Look who got a haircut

Before                                        After

Isn't he cute?!

We have a DJ!

So last night we met with a DJ and are excited to say there will be music at the wedding! Which also means-bring your dancing shoes! It is my one requirement for the guests, so start practicing now if you need too!

Quick trip to Keo

So I went to Keo on Sunday for Ellen's baby shower. First, gnug had a flat tire so I drove Brian's car while he stayed home and dealt with fixing my tire. Thank you Brian! My dad is so thankful for Brian because now he doesn't have to be the one to deal with my car problems!

I suckered lunch out of my dad and Kathy, and spent a few hours catching up and gossiping with them. I hadn't seen them in awhile so it was nice to see them! I love to see my dad so happy with Kathy and so happy being semi-retired. 

Ellen's shower was nice and Ellen is so cute! It was nice to see her and catch up with some friends. Looking forward to meeting Ellen and Roger's baby in a month or so!

Starring Ashton Kutcher

Are any of you "Two and a Half Men" fans? I forgot to ask last week, what did you think of his replacement? I thought he did a really good job, but he is no Charlie Sheen. Having said that, I am an Ashton Kutcher fan (you have to be if you are from Iowa) so I will still be tuning in every week!

Skate South

We had Markus on Sunday and he wanted to go skating. Neither Brian nor I had been skating in years....probably since middle school when I got my first kiss during the moonlight skate! So yeah, it's been a hot minute! Surprisingly, Brian and I both did very well and I even remembered how to skate backwards. Impressive I know.  Below is a pic of Brian and Markus. Admittingly, we both had fun so we will have to do that activity with Markus again.  Also, Brian noticed a big screen that plays football every Sunday and he said that he would have no problem taking our future kid skating! Figures!

Bachelor Pad

Does anybody watch Bachelor Pad? I was pleased with the results, but only because I like Michael. Now don't get me wrong, Holly is cute, BUT what a crappy way for Michael to find out that her and dentist are engaged! And towards the end of the show, I got so sick of their perfect little smiles (see below).

I'm not sure if tv production or Holly and Blake were more to blame in this situation, but what a crappy way to drop the bomb on him! At least Michael walked away with $125,000!

Found THE dress!

We found THE wedding dress! Yee haw!

My mom and I went to Weddings by Design on Friday and I fell in love with two dresses. Much to my mom and I's surprise, we both fell in love with the same two dresses! They were 2 very different dresses....I would describe one as Romantic, alot of lace and beadwork and beautiful.  The other I would say is more modern, very fitting, similar to a mermaid type design. We didn't want to jump the gun so went to my Schaffer's appointment Saturday morning (yes, I missed some of the Iowa game, but not really regretting that decision) and knew immediately after trying on the first dress that there was nothing comparable to the two that we really liked at the other place. I continued to try on dresses just for the sake of doing so, and then went back to Weddings by Design and tried on the dresses again, along with the 3rd place dress (just to be sure), and there you have it! I have a dress and it's beautiful, or at least I think so! :-)

Mom is coming!

Soo my mom arrives tonight and we have a full agenda while she is here. We are doing some wedding planning stuff, but most importantly we are going dress shopping! I have an appointment at Weddings by Design and Schaffers here in Des Moines.  I like the designers at both places, and have heard really good things about both of them. I haven't tried any dresses on to date, but have an idea of what I want. I am hoping I find "the one" because I would like to get this out of the way so I can focus on other things! I am also looking forward to my mom meeting Brian. Looking forward to spending some quality time with my mom and Brian, and hopefully getting a dress! Wish me luck! Full report next week!

DeNoble Wedding/Labor Day

We had a really busy Labor Day weekend. Our friends Ryan and Laurie got married! Woo hoo! Brian was the best man and I was a personal attendant. We were very honored to be a part of their special day. They live in Phoenix and arrived Wednesday night and stayed with us. Thursday night we had a girls night, and Friday night was rehearsal and then to Prairie Meadows! We had a blast and I won the guy next to me alot of money so he gave me $70 yee haw! Plus, I bet on a horse race and won $12 so all in all a successful night at the casino. Always a PLUS!

It was nice to see our other friends at the wedding- Dave & Lindsey and Rustin & Libby and their cute kids. Sunday night Ryan & Laurie stayed with us and we played a board game and chilled. It was nice to have some quality time with them before they took off on their honeymoon! We also got to squeeze in a quick visit with my friends Ty and Kristin and snuggled their little princess, along with Tanner and Katie and their little guy. So nice to see so many friends this weekend! We've been so busy, we haven't had much time to see our friends!

Here are some pics from the weekend!