Happy Third Birthday Nick!!!

...yes, our good friend Nick turned three!!! Bright and early at 9am on Saturday, we met him and his family at Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday party. Man oh man has that place changed!!!

Here is Nick cheesin' telling us that he's "frreee" AKA three.
Nick with his super cool Spiderman cake made out of cupcakes.

Nick's momma Josie, can you believe this girl is pregant with TWINS!?! Yes, she looks this awesome at five months pregnant with TWO babies inside.

So happy birthday Nick!!!

Isaac Joseph AKA Ikey Joe...

...Matt and I just got home from visiting Kristal, Chad and baby Isaac or Ikey Joe as his daddy likes to call him. Kristal looks FABULOUS, Chad was a little sleepy and that baby boy was so freakin' cute!!! I held him for a long time and now my arm is a little tired but it was totally worth it! I got to hear all the down and dirty details of the labor, well not the dirty details until the boys went to grab some dinner then I heard the dirty details, but I'll let her tell you all of those. Seriously, I would be talking then hear Ikey Joe make a noise and I would totally lose my concentration...he is that CUTE! I can't wait to hear how his brothers (furbabies Alvin and Butch) react to him. OH! When the boys were getting dinner, I got to help Kristal change his diaper, I think it may have been the first she did on her own-I felt so privileged!!! Okay, enough talk, right? Get on to the pictures? Okay, his debut....

Momma Kristal and Baby Isaac
Baby Ike with his monthavirsary onsie that his momma made

The happy family and yes, Kristal, Chad did smile good

Awww....best friends since 7th grade, who knew when we met in health class that I would get to see her having a baby one day!

Me and Baby Ike

So there you have it, Mr. Isaac Joseph. Congratulations!!! Jess is coming up this weekend so I might get to go see him at his new home too. Good luck to you guys and now Chad, you may go to sleep. Love you guys!!!

Bug Made HIS Arrival!!!

...yes, you read that right-KRISTAL HAS A BABY BOY!!! Issac Joseph was born at 5:43pm this afternoon. I'm heading to see them tomorrow so expect a post with lots of pictures!!! Congrats Chad and Kristal and WELCOME BABY ISSAC!!!

UPDATE! Issac's official BLOG debut, only Kristal would look this good after giving NATURAL child birth!

Tuesday Tidbits...

...a random post for a random Tuesday...

*I know I already posted about Girl Scout Cookies but I can't get them off my mind! My friend sent me a recipe for Thin Mint Pizza Supreme (think more like a fruit pizza, not like pizza with red sauce and Thin Mints on top). I plan on making this for work in April because that's my month to bring birthday treats...I'm really excited about this. I'll post when I do this.
*So they're calling for this huge snowstorm on Thursday night/Friday morning, right? I sure hope not! If it does and Matt has to go in to push snow then I might be going to work as early as 4am, maybe earlier...we don't even open until 5:15am!?!
*From yesterday's post, I hope no one took it the wrong way...I'm 100% pleased, happy, thrilled that I've lost 16 pounds!!! I think the major weight loss in the first two weeks was due to cutting out soda and snacks. I've tried to stay away from calorie counting this time (because I get obsessive and it's no bueno) so I'm really just watching portion sizes and trying to stay away from snacks, sodas, alcohol and fast food. We've eaten out at sit down restaurants and I've tried to stick to the soup and salads which seems to be working out well.
*I'm really motivated to do it this time because:
1. It's out of control
2. I'm not in love with my self image, not even in like with it.
3. I want to look good for hubs
4. I refuse to buy a bigger pants size.
5. Because I can!
*For any of you that watch "Parks and Recreation," you have to check out this link. Being in that field, this is hilarious!
*I wish Kristal would hurry up and have Bug! I can't wait to meet him/her!!!

That's all for Tuesday...until later...

Good News but Still Discouraged...

...so I'm three weeks into dieting/exercise and so far I'm -16 pounds which is a great feeling although I still have a long way to go. I haven't really posted about it this time because every time I do, I tend to fall off the wagon so here goes...when I weighed myself on January 4, I seriously was like, "Holy cow! I swore I would never weigh this much..." but I did and I have no one to blame but myself. I was eating everything and anything knowing that I was putting on pounds but I just didn't stop.

So I told myself, I had to get serious and now I'm -16 pounds but I'm still 8 pounds more than my original heaviest so I still have 8 pounds to go before I'm technically at my "starting point" of losing weight. So week one, I lost eight pounds, week two I lost five pounds and then this week, I weighed and I only lost 3 pounds. I'm a little discouraged because I had big numbers (I totally feel like I'm on the Biggest Loser in my own game) and then this week was only a 3. I'm thinking back over the weekend trying to see what I ate that could have done this or what was going on...I'm trying not to beat myself up over it but I am. My realistic goal is to lose the next 8 pounds by Valentine's Day then to lose another 10 after that by my birthday (March 13). I'd be happy with that but we'll see what happens.

What I wouldn't give for a Mountain Dew...so, for those are you out their dieting, what do you miss the most???

Sittin' Around on Sunday...

...so here I am just sitting around on Sunday enjoying a day in my pajamas and just chillin' with my hub and pups. So here are some of my random thoughts for Sunday...

*I started the workout this and my body is sore! It feels GREAT!!! I'm hoping the scale reflects it tomorrow.
*Can someone answer this question about unions? I've been seeing lots of union workers protesting outside places that have already been built and in business for awhile...why?
*I bought these 100 calories milk chocolate pretzels and they are DELICIOUS!!!
*We went to dinner with friends last night and were planning on going bowling at Brunswick in St. Peters, we got there at 9pm and there was a TWO HOUR WAIT!!! We passed and ended up going to this new couple's house, that we'd just met, who happen to live right in our neighborhood. They had built their own bar and she finished it was paperbags and it looked really cool!
*Matt has finally decided (7 months later) that we need a plumber for the bathroom (UGH!) so we're waiting to call our friend's neighbor so HOPEFULLY this will be done SOON!!! Have I mentioned that I can't wait to take a bath?
*"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" was on tv last night...love that MOVIE!
*Don't forget to buy Girl Scout cookies!!! They are yummy and delicious and make great gifts especially for anyone you know that is serving our country overseas!

Enjoy the last part of your weekend!

I'm Beautiful...

Yes, Stephany at Stephany Writes gave me the "Beautiful Blogger Award." Thank you!!! I found Stephany's blog through Chelsea's blog and have been following her ever since. I think Stephany is awesome and I love reading about her daily life and the goals she sets for herself-you can do it girl!!!

For this award, I must:

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated me for this award
2. Copy the award & place it on my blog
3. Link to the person who nominated me for this award
4. Share 7 interesting things about myself
5. Nominate 7 bloggers

My seven interesting facts are:
1. I'd wear jeans and a hoodie every day if I could.
2. I love going to the theater...not like opera, more like musicals and play. MIL, SIL, my mother and I are going to see "Menopause the Musical" in March!
3. My favorite adult book of all times is "Summer Sisters" by Judy Blume.
4. Oompa Loompas scare me! I think it's because of the orange color and their pants are kind of square.
5. I'm addicted to Farmville on Facebook, I have a farm for both Matt and I. I have to harvest our crops every day...I know, I'm crazy!

6. I've lost my high school yearbooks and I'm kind of devastated.
7. I miss the good 'ole days of college...maybe even the studying part, just a little though!

My seven nominated bloggers:

1. Heidi at Fabulous in the STL

2. Angie at Damask is Divine

3. Randall at Be Happy for This Moment

4. Slam Dunks at Slam Dunks

5. Angie at My Life...As An Adult

6. Theresa at Eating, Drinking and Being Married

7. Hope at Happy Hopefuls (I don't think Hope is her real name but that's what I think it is when I read her blog-sorry!)

Bye, Bye...

...as I type this, Matt is showing his truck to it's new owner!!! Yes, we FINALLY sold the truck! Just in time because the license plate was due next month. Matt didn't want to sell it but I finally told him that every time we took it to the shop and spent $1,000 then that was $1,000 off a down payment for a new truck. AH! I hear the truck starting up...

...okay, I'm back now. Matt and I sat in the front window watching the new owner get all situated in the truck, checking out the inside and lights and everything then we watched it drive down the street and then it was gone...I know Matt was sad, I got a little teary-eyed too. So many trips in that truck, so many conversations, so many times I'd look back and smile watching the doggies enjoying the ride in the back. We got in the truck after we got engaged, we rode together to our wedding in that truck, we freaked out that we lost our marriage certificate less than 24 hours after we got married in that truck. I remember when we first started dating, we went on a camping trip and I took a picture of the truck all nice and shiny and gorgeous and now its gone. For as many times that I bad mouthed that truck, I should be happy its gone but I do feel a little sad, like one of our family members is gone. Have a good life truck, enjoy your new family!

For the next month, we're going to try to tough it out with one car. We figure that'll give us time to get a small loan paid off, save us some insurance money and a month's worth of car payment. February isn't a crazy, busy time for either of us at work so working the same hours shouldn't be bad. Then in March, we'll get a new truck...that should be a fun time time making that decision! At least I have a month to prepare and work on patience. Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers when the truck was in the accident and for getting it sold. It's a good thing I know, its just bittersweet...

Day Off List...

...it's just after 10am on my day off and all my errands are ran! I had quite the issue at the ATM though and I ALWAYS do this, you'd think I would learn. I always pull out my bank credit card instead of my debit card then get confused because it won't let me make a deposit! I went to one bank, figured their ATM was broken then went to another bank and it dawned on me-duh Alyssa!!!

Anyways, I'm waiting until this afternoon to do my cardio, Matt told me it'd be warmest this afternoon. We listed our washer and dryer on Craigslist and the washer was sold within 2 hours!!! Now I'm off to organize pictures...I'm trying to print out all my pictures from 2008-now...I started at 2007 and am done with that year and our honeymoon but apparently in 2008, I was camera happy and I have like a million pics. I'm trying to space out printing them so I'm not paying an arm and a leg and waiting for good deals. Now I just have to keep them all organized to put into albums!!! Hope everyone is enjoying this Monday!

My Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...

...is exactly what I had yesterday. I won't go into all the details but yesterday was awful, I cried and not little tears, big, fat crocodile tears that I couldn't stop, not like uncontrollable sobbing, just steady flow rolling down my cheeks for a good hour or so. It started with one fight that just snowballed into everything going wrong....ugh! For about the past week, I've been waking up with a nervous stomach and today is even worst because of yesterday. I have tomorrow off work but right now, I just want to be back into the swing of things and not just sit home and think about it...ugh!

Trying to look on the bright side though, I feel like I've done good on my diet thus far, no cheating, I do need to drink more water though. I'll weigh in on Tuesday since I don't work tomorrow but Monday starts my hardcore workout. I'm supposed to do 37 minutes cardio and a killer ab workout. I already have mapped out my cardio so I can do it at home tomorrow, let's just hope the weather cooperates. Then I'm going to make dinner tomorrow night for Matt and his dad because the boys will be working on the plumbing in the bathroom...cross your fingers this gets done and then we'll be on the fast track to a finished bathroom and a TUB!!! Kristal is also due this week and I'm so excited for her!!! I won at bowling last night. So see, life isn't THAT bad. My dad sent me this email about not sweating the small stuff and that's exactly what I do. So I'm going to wave my magic wand and, hopefully, stop sweating the small stuff.

In the meantime, I'm going to work on the baby shower, try to list our old washer/dryer on Craigslist, get my coupons in order and, hopefully, snuggle up with hubs tonight to watch a movie and start to feel better.

Stairway to Heaving...

...so some of my crazy co-workers have decided to Master the Met and I've let them talk me into joining them. Instead of your typical 5k, this is a Stairclimb event to raise money for the American Lung Association. So this means, that bright and early on Saturday, March 6, I will be huffing and puffing my way up 42 flights of stairs in the St. Louis Metropolitian Building!!! Our team name is Stairway to Heaving...I think this is so going to be true!

Here are two pictures from last year. They have a firefighter's competitive portion where they are in full gear and everything. This guy looks hot....
Then there is a competive and non-competitive portion of the race. This will probably be with me with the, "Is this done yet?" face:

Photo credit here and also click here to see more pics.

The only downside of it, is that we all paid a registration fee but in addition to that, we all MUST raise at least $100 and if we don't? Well, then they keep our registration fee but we don't get to climb!!! So please, if you can find it in your heart, or lungs, please click here and make a donation for me so when I get to the top and I've "mastered the Met" I can dance around like Rocky and know that you and I have helped the American Lung Association. And if you can't donate, then please leave me some words of encouragement.

Men and Women and the Bathroom...

...I strongly believe that men and women should not share a bathroom. Not because he uses my razor when his is too dull or that he barely leaves me a squirt of shampoo but because of this:

This is how my husband changes the toilet paper roll:

I should be thankful though because there has been times that I've come home in a rush and sat right down only to see an empty roll on the holder and then I open the cabinet and see this:

Yep, no TP left.

Have I mentioned that I can't wait for our hall bathroom to be finished???

Happy 101

...thank you so much Heidi for this great award! Heidi is super sweet and writes a FABULOUS blog about the two main men in her life throws in a little fashion too. So thank you Heidi for this award!!!
Rules:1) List 10 things that make you happy
2) Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day
3) If you are one of the 10 bloggers awarded, link back to my blog and continue brightening people's day!

10 Things That Make Me Happy
1. When my hubbie calls me at work, just to see how my day is going.
2. When Haley and I get together to make crafts and be crazy and silly.
3. When my dad/husband tells me that he's proud of me (I agree with Heidi).
4. Seeing the puppies after a long trip away and then they follow me around for the next couple days.
5. Marking things off my to-do list.
6. Finding the most perfect present for someone and seeing them get excited over it!
7. Elvis Pretzely!
8. Seeing my husband and my family happy.
9. When someone tells me they love me.
10. Comments!!!

The 10 bloggers I want to hear from are:
1. Meredith at La Buena Vida
2. My real life BFF Kristal at Good Food, Good Friends, Good Life
3. A Day at the Hay
4. Faith at the Adventures of Faith
5. Cece at I'm Smiling on the Inside
6. Britni at Sleepless in Seattle
7. Katie at Little House in the Woods
8. Chelsea at Roots and Wings
9. You
10. Yes, you that is reading this...I want to hear from you!!!

Third and Final Christmas of '09...in 10...

...this past Sunday, we had our third and FINAL Christmas of 2009...but in 2010. It was with Matt's mom's side of the family. This Christmas is primarily about the kids but surprisingly we got a couple gifts too! I am very excited about my PINK wool socks...that'll come in handy next deer season and my PINK Budweiser hat....that you Aunt Jessie, Uncle Phil and the kiddos! We also got a candy cane full of Hershey kisses but I took both mine and Matt's to work so we wouldn't it. Unfortunately, the chocolate Santa Clauses didn't make it...blame Matt not me!

One of my "New Year's resolutions" was to lose 25 pounds before I can have desserts, fast food, sodas or alcohol. So far so good....none of that and in the first week, I have lost! WOOHOO! Of course, it was probably the salt from all the fried seafood we ate in Florida...but, it's a loss, so I'll take it. One of the ladies I work with made me a workout plan that I start next Monday...it's going to be hard...very hard, which is just what I need. I'll keep ya'll updated.

I only snagged a couple of shots on Sunday. I have been major under the weather lately and I just wasn't up to a lot of socializing and sticking my camera in people's faces. I did sneak these two which I think are hilarious!

Here is Matt and Devin (Devin is Eva's big brother). Devin was being a stinker and pickin' on Matt.

Ta-da!!!

So for the last time of 2009, Merry Christmas!

Hippity, Hop...

...and this is how we roll at my work. Be sure to know what you're delivering to my desk because you may have to try it on!
Hoppy Easter!!!

Day 3 & 4: Florida...

...so on Day 3, we headed to Cedar Keys in hopes of seeing how clams were collected and fixed to be sold. Needless to say, we didn't find it BUT we did find a cute little broadwalk and got some cute pics. Here is a Christmas tree made out of a fish net.
Here is a pic of Mattie and I on the dock with the gulf behind us

Holy seagulls!!! and cranes and herons and whatever kind of bird you could think of.

We heard about this house that had a great light display so we decided to hunt it out and oh, we found it, you couldn't miss it! It was this German guy who put up over 100,000+ lights on his house, he had an ice rink, snowman area, Santa's workshop....it was amazing! He even gave away free hot chocolate and cookies. You could make a donation to help pay for his electric bill but he didn't ask, it was just a little jar with the hot chocolate. He said it took him 3 months to put it up and two months to put it down...wow! This was very impressive.

On Day 4, it was Matt's big fishing trip. Here's a pic of us waiting for Captain Ron and Captain Kevin (Capt Kevin was very cute!).

Okay, I absolutely LOVE this picture!!! Matt looks so studly in it...okay, enough oogling. Matt didn't catch anything, he said he'd hooked a stingray and fought with it for about 15 minutes before it broke his line. He was the trip was awesome and Captain Ron told him he could go for free next time since he didn't catch anything so now Matt keep asking when we're going to plan the trip again!

We went to Dan's Clam Stand for dinner where everyone ate oysters (gross!) but they all loved them.

And that my friends, concludes our trip. I already posted about NYE and on New Year's Day we all just chilled around the house then we decided to go to the movie. Matt, my mom and her friend Roger went to see "Avatar" in 3D and they said it was awesome. They also all walked out of the theater with little marks on the bridge of their noses from the glasses! Sheila, Pat and I went to see "Up in Air" which is now one of my most favorite movies. Great, great movie! I also read most of "Lamb" while I was there...its good but not what I was expecting. I agree with Faith (I think she's the one who said this) that it would be a little funnier if I remembered more stories from the Bible. So all in all, it was a great, relaxing trip...OH! I almost forgot, when we got back to Cape at my mom's house she found water all in her basement....yeah, Matt had left the water on outside at her house from December 24-January 2...so awesome trip, major hiccup when we got home though. Anyways, that concludes Florida!!!

Homosassa Springs Animal Pics...

...this post is dedicated to the animals of Homosassa Springs. First up is Hippo Lu, Lu is NOT native to Florida but this spot was originally a zoo. Well when they sold it, the couldn't find a home for Lu so they decided to let her stay. Lu will be celebrating her birthday, maybe 50th soon so they are all very excited for her, just watch out for her splatter zone.

There were manatees all over the place! I kept telling Matt and my mom that I'd done a report on manatees in 4th grade. They are the smallest eyes ever. Here is a picture of one of them swimming by the underwater aquarium.

Help! I saw so many manatees that I turned into one!!!

Look at those gator's teeth-yikes!

He slithered right on shore to enjoy the sunlight while we were there (it was fenced in of course).

Here's an owl that made me think of how Kristal is decorating her baby room. I was contemplating bringing one back for the nursery...

This little guy was trying to dig out of his cage! He wasn't successful while we were there.

My mom fell in love with the flamingos. Their necks were so flippin' long!!!

Matt's favorite-the bald eagle. He was pretty awesome but I think he had a bad wing.

If you're ever in the area, I would HIGHLY recommend this place...it was awesome!

We Interrupt This Florida Trip...

...because it's snowing!!! Yes, it snowed last night here in Missouri. Matt got up around 4am to go push snow and didn't get home until 3:30 this afternoon. The dogs are tired of being cooped up so Matt and Shadow played in the backyard. Emma was the smart one and stayed inside with me. Hope everyone here in the STL enjoyed their snow day and stayed safe and warm!

Florida Day 2: Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park...

...this is the people picture post of our trip to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. This was definately the best part of the trip for me. We took a pontoon boat to the park where we had a guide that told us the history and current state of the park. Then we entered the park.

Here is Matt and I in front of the welcome sign:

This picture was as we were leaving the park, here's my momma and me:

Matt met a manatee!

Help! I'm getting eaten by an alligator.

Now it's eating my hubby!!!

Whoa! Matt got him under control:

Uh oh! Splatter Zone for the Hippo...and Matt too!

Matt and my mom waiting for the pontoon boat to leave:

Next post will be pics of all the animals we saw there.

Le Canto, Florida....Day 1....

...bright and early on Sunday, December 27, Matt's dad picked us up at 3:30am to head to the airport!!! We used frequent flyer miles and darn the luck, only first class seats were left! So Matt and I were actually on two different flights on the way to Dallas. I saw someone I knew on my plane which was surprising but fun to catch up. It started to snow as boarded the plane and I was just crossing my fingers, please let us take off, please please please!!! Well, we did and Matt and I met up in Dallas then took our next trip to Tampa where we met my mom. We stopped on the way back to their new house/condo that they'd bought in Homosassa and visited Monkey Island. We stopped at the Monkey Bar, watched the monkeys eat and snacked on some grouper fingers (which were to die for). I also enjoyed some Monkey Juice and listened to Johnny Lobo play some tunes...it was a great start to our vacation.

Here is mom and I just hangin' around:

The monkeys hanging around on their island:

We finally made it to Le Canto. They bought a condo in Brentwood Hills which is part of Terra Vista. It's definately a retirement community but we didn't mind because it was a wild and crazy bunch and we just wanted some r & r. Here is a picture of Matt and I on the grand tour, he's thrilled because he knows that the picture taking of the trip was beginning.

This is outside the condo with my mom's dog Jodie. David even put up Christmas lights for the holidays.

Later that night, David, my mom and I went to Rainbow Springs to see their light display which was very nice. Matt was a party pooper and stayed home. Knock know-anyone home?

So that my friends was our first day in Florida, we packed a lot in for not much time. More to come about the rest of the trip...