Random Wednesday

We are officially into 2013. I don't know about you, but I thoroughly enjoyed having a day off yesterday.
New Year's Eve was spent at a friend's house, eating entirely too much food and playing Wii until midnight. Extremely low-key and the perfect way to kick-off the new year.

B and I slept in and hung out in bed yesterday morning (Watching TV and looking at houses online. Seriously. Get your minds out of the gutter people.) until about 11:00. It was fabulous.
While he was getting ready for work, I made little cheesy meatloaves, scalloped potatoes, and green beans for lunch and packed up leftovers for him for dinner! Already off to a great start on my January goals. ;)
I was seriously so productive yesterday and it felt ah-mazing. I took down all of our Christmas decorations, put away all of the presents, picked up the entire house, did laundry and ran some errands. Wish I had a day off in the middle of the week every week.
This past weekend I did a little bit of after Christmas shopping, and thought I would share some of what I got!

Top L: Old Navy Sweater Top R: Forever 21 Bottom L: Forever 21 Bottom R: Maurices - I don't know if you can tell from the pic or not, but those are little bows!
Happy Wednesday everyone!

*2013* Goals

2013 is officially here! I absolutely love the start of a new year, a "fresh start" is always an amazing feeling.

                                                       Source: iamthelab.com via IAMTHELAB.com on Pinterest

This year (I'm not gonna lie, I probably put entirely too much thought into this) I decided to make a list of things that I want to accomplish in 2013, and then have mini-goals each month that work towards what I want to accomplish.
Here are some of my goals for 2013!
(1) Make it a point to do something nice for my husband on a regular basis. 

We get so busy with the day-to-day things, that I often forget to remind him how much he means to me!

(2) Spend more time with family.

We live about an hour away from our family, which isn't a long way away, but enough that we don't always get to see each other as often as we would like. This is definitely something I want to start making more of a point to do!

(3)

Grow spiritually. This past year B and I started going to a church where we live now on a regular basis. I really want to make it a goal to read the Bible more, pray more, and start to get connected at church.

(4)

Be more consistent with meal planning and trying new recipes.

With B finally being out of the academy, I can actually start planning meals for two again! I also want to start adding more recipes to my list of dinner ideas.

(5)

Work on myself more! I think this is typically always on everyone's list every year. I've gotten out of the habit of going to the gym, and am constantly just throwing on whatever I can find in my closet in the morning. I really want to make it a point to spend some time on myself as well!

With all of that said, here are some of my "mini-goals" for January!

1) I have ideas of things that I want to do for B this month, but he reads my blog so I don't want to list them! I will definitely tell what I did at the end of the month though.

2) Spend an uninterrupted evening with my parents and grandparents this month. 

3) Find a good devotional or reading plan to start this month.

4) Try 2 new recipes.

5) Clean out my closet! I have things in there that I never wear or don't fit quite right, which would probably help with the getting ready process in the morning.

What are some of your goals for this year?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my sweet momma's birthday!

Happy Birthday Mom, I don't know what I would do without you!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hey everyone! That was definitely an unplanned break from blogging, but I am ready to jump back in!
First, I just want to say I genuinely appreciate every comment and e-mail about my Dad. This past month has been absolutely crazy, but he is out of the hospital and doing much better. My heart felt so full this Christmas. I was so thankful to have my Dad there, and to be surrounded by family.    Christmas Eve was spent at our house with my parents and brothers. We had chili, exchanged presents with my brothers and went to a Christmas Eve service at our church.   Christmas morning, B and I woke up and opened presents. Then we headed down to my aunt and uncle's for Christmas with my Mom's side of the family.  

On the way!

At my aunt and uncle's. My mom and dad got me the scarf that I'm wearing!  

Monogram necklace from my grandparent's. Love this!

B got me a new watch...

 And the Christmas tree bead for my Pandora bracelet. My brother's got me the "Queen Bee" charm on the left side.     They always call me the queen, so this cracked me up!
I also got a Chi straightener from my parents. Seriously should have invested in one of these years ago, saves me so much time in this morning!   Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas!

Ornament Swap and Prayer Request

Hey everyone! I participated in a Ornament Swap hosted by  Erin at Living in Yellow and Jessah at Dreaming of Dimples.



I got the cutest ornament from Katelyn at Elephant Ears. I am so glad I found her blog through this swap!

He is the cutest little snowman ever! And yes, I decided he was a he. ;)

I sent ornaments to Katie at Unwritten! Make sure to check out what I sent to her!
This past weekend was one of the most stressful ones of my life. My Dad had back surgery on Monday, and due to some complications ended up back in the hospital Thursday night with a severe headache.
After a CT scan, the Dr. came in and informed us that his brain was bleeding. He is currently in CCU with a drain in his brain. So far no neurological damage has been found, he is talking and laughing with us as usual. 
We are praying that his body begins to absorb the blood that is left on his brain in order to avoid another surgery. He goes for another CT scan in the morning. Any prayers would be appreciated.

I am definitely a Daddy's girl and we are praying that everything for good results in the morning, and for his body to begin the healing process on i's own.

Thanksgiving Weekend Wrap-Up

Four day holiday "weekends" are awesome, am I right? Now that we've all agreed on that, here is what I have been up to this Thanksgiving weekend!
Thursday (Thanksgiving): B and I got up bright and early and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. To be completely honest, I have never watched this before. B couldn't believe I had never watched it.

We spent this Thanksgiving with my Dad's side of the family. It's family tradition to eat a ton of food, and then the boys (and some of the girls!) shoot.

They all stand around like this and watch each other shoot...for hours.

Friday:

Time for Black Friday Shopping! Every year my Mom, Grandma, Great-Aunt and Cousin all go Black Friday Shopping. B and I actually went out Thursday night to Wal-Mart to get a Christmas present, and then us girls left Friday morning about 5:00. 

We had a lot of fun as usual, and found some great deals. My grandma actually had a stress fracture in her foot a couple of weeks ago, so we made sure to take a few breaks so she could rest [not because my feet were tired too or anything ;)]

We went to Panera for lunch this year. Their macaroni and cheese is seriously my favorite.

Saturday:

That morning we put up our Christmas tree. I stuck with the same "theme" as last year. Having the tree up just makes the house seem really cozy.

Sunday was also the biggest game of the year...Ohio State vs. Michigan! This win made Ohio State 12-0 this year!

Sunday:

Sunday we went to church, took a much-needed nap, had chili and grilled cheese for dinner and finished up laundry. Nothing too exciting, but a much needed day.

Prayers today would be greatly appreciated...my Dad is having a major surgery done on his back. It's roughly a 4 hour surgery, so it's going to be a long day.

Random Wednesday

I love link-ups where I can do a random brain dump of things on my mind.  Like oatmeal.

Seriously though. Apple Cinnamon Walnut Oatmeal from McDonald's is ah-mazing. So amazing that I had it twice this weekend.

Moving on...3 day weekends should be every weekend. 2 days to get everything done and see everyone that you want, and then 1 day left to hang out and do whatever? Perfection. I spent Monday hanging out with the husband and this guy...

I also did laundry, if you didn't notice in the background. ;)

He is such a cuddle bug. Funny story, Foster always sleeps with me if B is not home. B was out of town for a few days last week, and Friday night when we went to bed, Foster sat at the foot of the bed and whined like crazy. Apparently, he was mad that B was taking over his spot!

I also did my nails again this weekend. I am ready for Christmas, and I think it reflected in my nail polish choice?!?

OPI Germany Collection, Danke.

That's all I've got for today!