It's Great to Be Back in Blogger Land!

Oh my oh my...can't believe it has been 9 months since I posted a blog. CRAZINESS!

At first when I took my hiatus from blogging, I was still keeping up (on at least a weekly basis) reading all my favorite blogs. Then as the days and weeks passed, I started reading less and less. Eventually I didn't read any blogs at all, well...unless Mama Laughlin posted something on Facebook. Sad, I know.

Honestly, I lost passion for a lot of things in 2014. My husband will certainly tell you this is true. It was the basis of so many of our arguments. Work stress, home remodeling stress and continued health issues led me down a path of depression. A path that if I'm truly honest with myself, I've been on until just the other day. I know I'm not completely off that miserable path, but I'm already feeling better now that we're into 2015.

One thing I've missed is blogging and connecting with my blogger buddies on a much more personal level. Sometimes I just need a place to vent. Don't we all? So this year I took a step for my own sanity and well being...today I bought a new computer (my old one bit the dust months ago) and I'm back in cyberspace! Woohoo! ha Using your phone for EVERYTHING can be a bit trying. And I hated to borrow my husband's computer all the time since he's a freak about not saving stuff to it.

So, since I missed pretty much all of 2014...here's a short recap on my year:

too many afternoon trips to Starbucks at work has resulted in way too many extra pounds

we celebrated our 1st Anniversary with the same wine from the wedding thanks to my mom & sis

I got severely burned and spent a week in pain while I waited to peel...ugh

the girls and I took time to enjoy pedicures

we took the girls to Bluespring Caverns in Bedford & stopped by to visit Eric's Mamaw Padgett

I got my ring finger tattoo - an anchor with a heart (Eric is an Aquarius)

my adorable husband entertaining his nephews & nieces at Thanksgiving

Santa Claus sure was good to all of us this year!

my new computer :)

Here's to hoping you had a great 2014 and are looking forward to a prosperous 2015! It feels good to be back in blogger land and I hope I haven't lost too many of you as followers!

A Scorching Weekend

Whew! Is anyone else HOT? I don't just mean hot...I mean, it's burning like the fires of hell outside. Seriously. 100+ degree days are not much fun. I am a high 60's/low 70's kind of girl, so anything 90's and 100's isn't much going to make me happy. haha

Despite the wicked weather, I had a fabulous weekend! On Friday afternoon, I judged a local county fair Queen Pageant with one of my best friends, Olesha. It was her first time and my millionth. ha We had a great afternoon interviewing the girls, enjoying dinner out on the committee (despite the electricity going out due to the storms), and got to watch a very deserving young lady get crowned!

me dressed up to judge the pageant

After the pageant, I changed my clothes and met up with AxMan and the girls. We drove to my work's parking lot to meet up with a bunch of my family and friends to watch the town's fireworks. And no, I didn't even think to take a picture of the fireworks. Um....DUH! The girls had fun playing with my cousin, Ethan, while I introduced AxMan to some of the crew and watched the pretty fireworks. (The girls know Ethan because my cousin Monica is going to watch them a few times this summer so AxMan can have them during his weeks. I'm glad they all get along so well!)

Saturday morning was thankfully a lazy day. I did some laundry and made a trip to the grocery store for mom. Then I hung out at the apartment with AxMan and the girls. He was unfortunately not feeling well most of the week. We've come to believe it was probably the one-week "flu" bug that seemed to be going around our hometown. Thankfully yesterday he started feeling much better, and although he works out in this horrible heat, hopefully he won't be feeling lousy again tonight. I took the girls with me to spend time with my family. Everyone was hanging out at my cousin Sara's house and having a pitch-in dinner. The girls played with Ethan, Callie, and Henry...then Zach & mom took me, Katniss, and Lorraine for a ranger ride. They had so much fun riding in the creek! I "forced" them to go home much sooner than they would have liked, but I hated to have their dad at home alone not feeling well. We still ended up being gone for about 4 hours. That night, Lorraine helped me bake individual chocolate cakes with the Redi Set Express. It was just a regular cake mix poured into the wells and baked for 7 minutes, then cooled and iced with chocolate icing. Both girls thought that was the most amazing thing ever and they were cracking me up! They called them Erin's Famous Chocolate Tacos and Erin's Famous Chocolate Clouds. hahaha Goobers! ;)

 Callie, Katniss, & Lorraine

Ethan & Henry wrestling

beautiful girls!

ranger ride in the creek

me & Lorraine

chocolate cake

Katniss's fave color = orange & so is my sis's fave color...she asked me to take a pic to send to Jen to show her! ha

Sunday morning we all surprisingly woke up fairly early and since the girls had requested my Famous Fluffy Waffles (they swear every meal I make is fluffy goodness - I have also made them bubble up pizza, a recipe from pinterest), I made everyone waffles. Yum! We watched a movie while AxMan did laundry. The girls really needed to go through their dressers and a large garbage bag full of clothes to decide what they could/couldn't wear anymore. They weren't too thrilled by that, but I got them convinced it would help dad tremendously and so we sorted everything out! We ended up with 2 bags of clothes for Goodwill, 2 still overly stuffed dressers, and 1 bag of trash. I have a feeling some things in the dressers still need to go, but it's a start. :p

Day 2 ranger ride in the creek with AxMan in the very back of the pic!

Henry just minutes before falling in the water (as he always does)

playing in the water :)

me & Katniss

we sure do love the water!

Last night we took the girls home (since their mom's car was "overheating"). They both hugged me goodbye. It warms my heart that they WANT to hug me! And even more so that they did it in front of their mom's house....without coercion!

It was late by the time we got back home, so we made a frozen pizza for dinner. I know, I know...we are the epitome of excitement. ;)

A Day at the Park

So where do I begin with yesterday's festivities? hmmmm...I have a lot to tell! (And if you didn't read the blog over the weekend, you need to scroll down and read your way back up because I posted on Saturday AND Sunday.)

Sunday morning after AxMan woke up, I asked him if they would like to do something together for the day. So we decided on an afternoon at the park (at this point it was 10:30am and the girls were still asleep). I set about getting myself ready after exercising, had a quick bite to eat, and gathered some park supplies. Quilts to lay out in the grass, scratch sets (you know the velcro catch game), a frisbee, my old cheerleading pom-poms (cause the girls asked to see them the night before but I had to dig them out of a box), and a cooler with our favorite drinks. I met them at the park around 1:30pm and the fun began!

The girls played...and played...and played some more. We really had a great time! I also had packed my iPod and speakers, so we listened to music while laying on the quilts. AxMan ran to grab a pizza since him and the girls hadn't eaten. The girls and I talked about all sorts of things...I just let them lead the conversation. I'm glad they feel comfortable enough with me to confide in me. (It surprised their daddy later when I told him too.) The girls made themselves dizzy on the merry-go-round, climbed on the geo-dome, went down the slides, and I joined them on the swings. Lorraine even found time to bury herself in the sandbox. Oi. The girl had sand EVERYWHERE. haha It was really the perfect day weather-wise! I would plan a day like that again in a heartbeat!

DORK! He didn't think I snapped this fast enough...bahaha

Around and around they go!

Sand, anyone?

Kiddie swing

After about 2.5 hours the girls were starting to get restless. You know how it is...sooooo BORING. hahaha We packed everything back in my car and then went over to the place AxMan is staying right now because I hadn't been there and the girls wanted me to see it. We all piled onto the bed and watched a movie...but mostly chatted. All too soon it seemed like our day was coming to a close. At 7pm, I rode along for the "drop off" of the kiddos to their mom. I did see her, but we did not meet. Can anyone say awkward?!?

After dropping the girls off, we went back to the park and sat on the big bench swing under a shade tree. It was nice just being able to sit there and enjoy some quiet time with AxMan. After some talking there, we went back to where he's staying. He really wanted to watch the movie (cause it was already a day late), but of course, we missed most of it again due to a conversation that got started between us. He is VERY adamant about open communication...and I love that, but at the same time, it's almost to the point it makes me uncomfortable. Why? Well....he's been there done that and I haven't. It's really as simple as that. I would be lying if I didn't say the situation can intimidate me at times, but I'm working really hard not to let it. Sometimes that feeling comes across as me rejecting him. I hate that he feels that way, but it's because of his history. We were kind of giving each other some thinking space when my dear, sweet, wonderful friend O texted. The girl has some crazy connection to me! She always seems to hit the right day and the right moment when I need a true friend's advice. She was texting about reading my latest blog post....and of course she has lots of backstory via text because she's a) local and b) one of my best friends since HS. It was the reminder I needed to put myself out there...so I asked him to read the text. That was all it took to open the lines of communication. There was some pretty serious conversation...and at times I felt like he could reach out and crush my heart at any moment...but in the end, we're okay. We both have lots of baggage/fears we bring into the relationship, but we both want to make it work. He really pushes me to lay those fears to rest. I know I'm pushing him as well. It will no doubt continue to be a struggle. I just know I'm willing to keep "laying it on the line" as long as he does.

Yesterday I had planned to ask him how he felt about us being "Facebook official." hahaha Stupid, I know. Forgive me. On the way home, I texted him to ask. He was all for it. So when I got home and got some stuff done, I finally had a moment to sit down and change my status on FB. His computer screen is shattered and good ol' FB won't let the world change their relationship on the mobile app (I mean...really? How dumb is that logic??), so he is hoping to get to a computer tonight or tomorrow to "approve" our pending relationship. He does however still get all the notifications from every time someone has liked my changed status. hahaha ;) I really never knew so many cared about my status until last night when 14 people Liked my relationship status change within 10 minutes of posting it...at midnight!! Good grief. It does make me laugh though. And I do like being his. And him being mine. :)

OH...he also now knows about the blog, but hasn't seen it. I told him about his moniker and let's just say...I think he would've done the "me Tarzan" beating on his chest thing had I been standing with him when we talked about it later on the phone (after I got home). His biggest question was why I felt the need to hide his name and call him something else. I explained to him that the moniker started before we'd started officially dating and it was to protect his privacy. So...AxMan is actually a wonderful man named Eric. If you're FB friends with me...you probably figured that out by his comment on my status change and the fact that he also Liked it. hahaha Eventually it'll say that he's the one I'm in a relationship with, but ya know that whole approval thing via an actual computer! :p I will most likely continue to call him AxMan, but don't be surprised if I slip up from time to time and you see Eric. I almost typed it earlier in a paragraph and went back to change it!

Day 358

Friday was a busy, busy day! And you don't want to know how many miles I put on my car! ha

I started the day at work...I love 4 hour Fridays! :) Then I made a few stops before driving to Indy. I had to go to my doctor's office to get some bloodwork done. The lab tech joked that it must feel like she was draining me - 4 vials! ha It is just for a general health screening. I should have all the results this next week although it'll be more for my doc's use than my own.

I had to drive in this crappy weather ALL day. From southeastern IN to northeastern IN. Ick!!

Friday night my dear friend, Kayla, hosted a Scentsy party for me. I was so excited to go up to see her family. I arrived in time to chat with Justin while he swept the garage and then got to love on sweet baby Miranda as she was waking up! Then Jaden showed off his despicable IU cup (really, she's brainwashing those children for the wrong Indiana team! ha) to me when he got home with Justin's mom, Cheryl. I even got to see Kayla's friend, Angie, who I have known for the past few years thanks to a Mary Kay party. So much fun. Thanks for having me up!! Can't wait to see you again...hopefully sooner rather than later!

Day 321

This is definitely a point in life that is up and down...and it shouldn't be. Life has been so good. I am so much stronger than the chaos surrounding me. Chaos caused by boys!! Ugh.

Anyway, today I got a card in the mail. It was a card that I needed. It was a card that was totally unexpected. My dear sweet friend, Liza, sent me a Valentine's card. She has the uncanny ability to always know when I need a smile. Today was one of those days. Thank you Liza! Love you girlie! :)

Day 296

I love weekends! I wish they lasted longer. Don't we all? ha My day started with an extra 2.5 hours of sleep - hallelujah! It felt great to sleep in. I had no plans until the evening, so I was able to lounge around the house all day and just be a bum. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the smartest plan since I have 7 more pounds to lose in 2 weeks time, but it was much needed for my aching knee!

This is the loveliness I woke up to...thank goodness mom & Jen were nice enough to chip the ice away that afternoon!

One of my really good high school friends, Kristi (I was in her wedding in May), was spending the weekend here in Indiana with her hubby. They live in Illinois. She called earlier in the week to see if I was free for dinner over the weekend. So, mom, Jen, and I met up with Kristi, her hubs Jake, her dad Jack, our other good friend Olesha, her hubs Dickie, her kids Bradley & Baylee. We had dinner at Sakura (love the hibachi grill! ha). Miss Baylee sat by me and she instantly got ahold of my camera! ha We had a great time - lots of laughs! There's nothing like a night out with some of the best friends a gal could have to chase away the winter blues. :)

Day 271

By now, you've probably guessed that I am a Purdue Boilermaker fan through and through. ha I know it's hard to believe...especially considering all the football and basketball games I attend! ;)

This year my beloved Boilers squeaked out a Football Bowl Game invite! They played Western Michigan University in the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl on Tuesday in Detroit, MI. Jenna, myself, and our sorority sister Maureen (aka Mo), made the trek together for the game! We left Indy a little after 8am Tuesday and returned at 1:30am Wednesday. ha Let's just say I was one VERY tired girl by the time we made it back!! Since I am a John Purdue Club member and a Lifetime Alumni member, I was able to get us some decent seats (row 26 up from the field) and we took part in the Pre-Game Tailgate in Ford Field's Hall of Legends. The tailgate included an open bar, LOTS of food (hotdogs, cheeseburgers, cole slaw, potato salad, build-your-own-nachos bars, cookies, chips, popcorn), and a pep rally. We definitely enjoyed ourselves! :)

It was a wild game...the refs tried to help us lose it, but Purdue fought back and pulled out a W! Way to go Boilers!!

A few favorites of the day...

Jen brushing the SNOW off my car before we left Indy (the only place it snowed on our whole trip)

tailgate grub

Jenna

Mo & I

Purdue Pete & Kirk Cierny leading the pep rally

surely you've heard of the Big Drum by now?? ;)

pizza, pizza! hahaha

team rushing the field after the win!

our game-time crew :)