Facelift

Last fall when we went to visit our friends in North Carolina, the subject of tile work came up.  Mike is a contractor and an all around handy guy who convinced us doing our own back splash would be easy - a two day job.  Well, let's just say we finally finished the back splash last weekend.  Ha!  We've come to the conclusion that we are bad at finishing projects.  We really got a lot done the first weekend we started, and had planned to finish that Sunday, but JJ got called into work and that was the end of that project - for a few months.  Our electrical outlets and lights have been hanging by the wires for months and we've just left it.  How horrible is that?

I had finally had enough and while laying in bed last Sunday trying to wake up, I said to JJ, why don't we finish the back splash today?  Let's just get up now and do it.  All we had left was to grout which sounds simple enough, right?  It was, except the grout was put on real thick and then we had to get the excess off.  The instructions say just wipe off the excess, but it's not that easy.  Luckily we had a tool we used when we did our stones out front that worked perfect and cut the time in half.  JJ went over all the grout lines with the tool and I followed behind with a sponge.  By the time we had gotten around to all the tiles, it was already time to go back with a cheese cloth and get the haze off the tile.  As good as the tile looked before the grout, we think it looks awesome now.  JJ sealed it one day last week and now we can hang up the towel on this project!  And now for the before and after pictures...

Before

 The first corner

 Making progress

 

 All done!

 

 

 After

Q&A #3 plus Award

I received an award from Ashlee at Savor The Moment, and since I still had some questions to answer, I thought I would just combine the award post with my last Q&A post. Thanks, Ashlee for thinking of me!

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 other bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

I think I’ve come up with 7 things to share about myself with these questions. So here we go!

Rachel from Going For It asked

What are your favorite things in KC?

I like to do a lot of things in KC. I’ll go through the holidays first and then just random things I like to do. I like to go to the Louisburg Cider Mill in the fall. It kind of kicks off the holiday season for us. I love going to see the Christmas lights turn on at the Plaza on Thanksgiving night. I also love going to Christmas in the Sky at Longview Lake. Carriage rides at the plaza during the winter are fun also. One of my favorite restaurants to go to is Skye’s. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s at the very top of a tall hotel. It’s a round room and it rotates. Seriously! So throughout your dinner, you get a gorgeous view of the entire city.

I also like going to sporting events in KC. Even though the Royals have not been good for a long time, it’s fun to go to an occasional game. I almost like going to the T-Bones games better though. They are KC’s minor league team. The stadium is kind of old school and I like that. Power and Light is an awesome place to go to as well. We don’t go all that often just because it’s quite a drive from our house, but during the summer our friend’s band plays on the main stage so we like to go support him.

She also asked

Are you still doing acupuncture? Hows it going?

I sure am! I’ve cut back on how often I’m going, but I still go on a regular basis. I was going every week and now I’m going every two weeks. I honestly can’t say for sure if I’ve seen a huge difference in anything. I guess if I had to, maybe my headaches and back pain has lessened a little bit? That’s the hard thing about acupuncture – there is no definitive cure.

Gypsy at The Flying Fork asked

How about you tell us about your fear of flying? I know that's been a struggle for you... maybe people would be interested in hearing your story and would have thoughts/ideas for you?

Whew, now this is a story. I used to love to fly. I would think of any excuse to get on a plane. My senior year of college, JJ and I and another couple decided to go to Myrtle Beach for spring break. JJ had mentioned on our way to the airport how he didn’t really like to fly. Then our flight was delayed because the weather was bad and they had to de-ice the plane. Something about that made me nervous. My stomach got real upset, but I didn’t think much of it. About 30 minutes into the flight, I was sitting in the middle seat between JJ and our guy friend. I started to feel horrible. Like I was going to pass out or get sick. I went to the bathroom but nothing ever happened. We had a layover and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get back on the plane. I somehow managed to though and we made it to Myrtle Beach. The first few hours there though I still felt crappy. I was OK during our trip, but it started up again when we got ready to head back home. I can only assume it was a panic/anxiety attack.

Since then I’ve had a real issue with being in front of large groups of people, being in places where I feel I can’t get out of, etc. I started taking Xanex just to help calm me down, and when we got engaged I went to a psychologist a few times to see if she could help. I had self-diagnosed myself with agoraphobia, and the doctor confirmed that’s what it sounded like. It’s basically an anxiety disorder and the fear of having a panic attack in certain settings.. I don’t know what it was about that flight, but something clicked in my head and I’ve never been the same since. I’m better now, but I still prefer to have doors open when in a meeting, or sit near a door at a restaurant. It’s so bizarre to think how I used to be and how this issue has somewhat crippled me. As I mentioned in my last post, I was a cheerleader and in marching band. I wouldn’t be able to do either now I don’t think. Being out in front of those people would give me a panic attack.

Do I Have To Be a DINK asked

Are you a true blond?

I am a true blond, however I have to admit my hair is starting to get darker as I get older. L I was born with jet black hair, and then when it fell out it started to come back in blond. My parents always called me blondie growing up, not only because of my hair color, but also because of some really stupid things I would say. Ha! When I got my driver’s license, I knew I wanted a personalized plate. I wanted blondie, but when my mom and I went to get it, that spelling was already taken. We were getting ready to leave when she came up with BLAWNDE. I loved it! Not only was it different, it was spelled wrong which fit right in with being blond. So that’s the story of my hair color, my nickname, and how I named this blog.

Lindsey at Just Add Sugar asked

Are you doing what you love? What is your dream job? What is your job?

I would have to say no. I was somewhat forced into a different position at my company last fall. Before, I was doing marketing related jobs which is what I went to school for, and now I rarely do anything marketing related. I’m currently working in the records department at a local university. I work directly with military students and make sure their VA benefits are lined up. As weird as this sounds, I think my dream job would be to work as an event coordinator/marketing PR person for a children’s hospital, like Children’s Mercy. Even though I hate hospitals, there’s something about a children’s hospital that is different to me. I would like my job to make a difference in people’s lives and I think being able to plan activities for sick kids to take their minds off of their illness would be so rewarding.

Now for who I would like to nominate for the award:

Kelly at The Townsend's
Lindsey at Just Add Sugar
Lauren at Lauren vs. The World
Josie at My Cheap Version of Therapy
Rachel at Wade's World
Rachel at Going For It
Natalie at Pajamas are Comfy



Q&A #3

Hope is a Four Letter Word asked my next question.

Baking is my therapy, it takes my mind off all stuff IF. What's your favorite things to cook and bake? Share your favorite recipes! If you don't like to cook/ bake, what do you do to get your mind off IF?

I am not a great cook at all, but I love to bake!  After thinking about this question, I realized I don't usually make a recipe more than once.  I'm not sure why that is.  Usually JJ and I like what I make, but by the time I go to bake something, I already have a new recipe in mind.

Whenever we go to dinner with family for the holidays, a lot of times I'll bring dessert and I usually make something creative.  I made this cake one time for Easter.

(I got the picture off of Google.  I'm sure I have a picture of my own cake somewhere, but mine looked just like this except I had green coconut around the edge of the plate like grass).

I also made a strawberry cheesecake and a raspberry cheesecake one time for Christmas.  It was my first attempt at cheesecake and it turned out awesome.  I'm glad I had some kind of flavor swirl in it because it did crack just a little bit, but the swirls covered it up.

In my most recent baking experience, I made several kinds of cookies for Christmas.  I'd have to say my favorite, and JJ's, were the lemon cookies I made.  Here is the link to the post. 

I'll answer a second question this post since I haven't written a novel just yet.  This question is from Josey over at My Cheap Version of Therapy asked

Were you involved in sports/music/academics in high school? Which? Do you have a preference/opinion on what is most important (IYO)... will you encourage your child(ren) to focus on any/either/all of them someday?

I was heavily involved in cheerleading and band throughout school.  I started cheering in 4th grade and started playing the flute in 5th grade.  I have to brag and say I was pretty good at both.  I was one of three freshman to make the varsity cheerleading squad which had never happened before.  One of the other three was the coach's daughter, and the other girl was the current captain's younger sister.  I was on varsity all four years and ended up being captain all by myself senior year, which again had never happened before - only having one captain.  

I missed my senior prom because I was at SMS trying out for the cheerleading squad there.  I made it through the first round, but I was what they call a "head case" when it comes to tumbling so I didn't make the squad.  I injured my back when I was younger trying to do a back handspring, and ever since then, I was too afraid to try again.  I had a good run though.  I absolutely loved cheering.  We cheered at both boys and girls soccer games, football games, and boys and girls basketball games.  My parents were always at my games too which I really appreciated.  

Now with the flute, I didn't start excelling with it until middle school.  I think it was 8th grade I won first chair for the semester which was the highest position you could get.  Then when I got to high school, I tried out for symphonic band, which is like the varsity band if you want to call it that, and was one of six freshman to make the band.  Because I made it my freshman year, I was able to go to Germany for 3 weeks the following summer.  That trip only comes around every four years so I tried really hard to make it so I could go on the trip.  I was also able to travel to Florida during my junior year and march during a bowl parade.  (I can't remember which one).  I stayed with band throughout high school as well.

One fun memory I have is of cheering at the varsity football games and then running to change in the band room with about 7 minutes left in the second half so I could march at half time with the marching band.  One of my best friends was a year older than me and also was a cheerleader and played the flute.  We always made that mad dash to change together.  Then we'd change back and cheer on the team the rest of the game.  Once or twice we ended up not changing at all so we marched in our cheerleading uniform.  I never would have done that by myself, but it was fun to have my partner in crime doing it along with me.  I loved high school.  I loved cheering and I loved being in the band.  I would definitely encourage my children to go out for sports, or music, or academic clubs.  Not only do they get to experience great things like traveling abroad in some cases, it's a great way to branch out and meet new people. You know what's funny?  As I type this, I'm wearing pants from cheerleading, and a flute t-shirt.  No joke!

Q&A #2

Continuing the Q&A's Keya over at Stolen Fertility...And My Quest to Find It had a second question for me.

What was your wedding like?

 

Our wedding was one of the best days ever.  I grew up thinking I would get married in the church we belonged to when I was younger; I pictured myself walking down that aisle numerous times.  But when my mom passed away, something just didn’t feel right about getting married in the church.  I can’t even tell you how the planning started, but I decided I wanted a beach wedding.  There was only one problem – it had to be a beach close enough that we could drive to.  I’ll go into more of that in another post because that was a question I was asked, but I don’t like to fly.  I started searching affordable destination weddings and Panama City, FL was a location that popped up.  I looked a little deeper at wedding planners down there, the area, houses, etc. and things just fell into place.  My mom was a huge lover of the beach and palm trees so it only seemed fitting to have our wedding in a place she loved; to make it feel like she was there with us.  And I also love fireworks so we decided to get married on the 4th of July.

I went with a wedding planner that took care of everything for us.  Literally all we had to do was show up the day of our wedding out the back door of the house and that was it.  We didn’t have a rehearsal, no practice, nothing – just did it.  JJ and I rented out a beautiful house right on the beach for us and the wedding party to stay at.  We left home on Tuesday and drove the 18 hours to FL.  We got into town on the Wednesday before our wedding, and two more couples arrived that evening.  The rest of the wedding party and guests trickled in over the next couple of days.  It was a blast all staying together, right on the beach, and having friends and family with us during this special time.  We wanted everyone to enjoy themselves, because it was a vacation for everyone.  We didn’t have structured activities, other than the night before the wedding and the day of the wedding, but for the most part we all hung out together.  There were 20 people total, including the wedding party, so it was very small and intimate.

The letter I put in everyone's goody bags

The morning of the wedding, we were sitting on the back deck and saw a car drive out onto the beach.  They were beginning to set up for our ceremony!  It was so cool watching them from beginning to end.  They roped off the area so no one would bother it.  We were actually a little worried about that because we were right next to a church camp for kids, but they were all very respectful of the site.  They raked and cleaned the beach in our area, and set up the chairs and flowers.  While we were watching all this going on, I was actually highlighting JJ’s hair on the deck, and listening to all the kids as they walked across the beach entrance yell “oh there’s a real wedding today!”  It was fun hearing their excitement and knowing that in a few hours we would be down there exchanging vows.

After laying out on the beach for a few hours that morning we all decided to go get cleaned up.  As you gathered, JJ and I saw each other the day of the wedding.  There really was no way not to and I was fine with that.  But he was not allowed to see me once I started getting ready.  The wedding planner arrived about an hour before the ceremony started and filled everyone in on how it was going to go.  I have to mention that earlier in the week there was a threat of rain so we did move the ceremony time back 30 minutes.  The weather ended up being perfect though – we couldn’t have asked for a better day.  Also, since we had arrived in FL, the water was pretty green with algae, but the afternoon of our wedding, it was like it had all moved down the shore and the water was a beautiful blue.  I was also worried that it would be too hot, but since we were right next to the water, we had a nice breeze and were all very comfortable.

So you know how I mentioned I had hoped that having a beach wedding would make it feel like my mom was there with us?  Well, as our guests were being seated, and right before I walked down the aisle, 4 fighter jets flew right over the house in the missing man formation.  My aunt told me afterwards through tears that that was a sign my mom was there.  How cool is that??  The ceremony went off without a hitch.  We only had 20 guests, but about 150 of our closest friends were watching from off in the distance on the beach.  As soon as we kissed, the beach exploded with applause.  Very cool.

Our beautiful house and me walking down the aisle

Wedding Party

This picture of my brother and I still gets me every time

 

  Our programs

 

 We had a dinner catered for everyone, so after pictures we went back up to the house and all ate on the deck.  The food was great, company was great, and then the fireworks began.  We were nervous we wouldn’t be able to see the professional display from the city.  Oh my gosh, I have never seen fireworks like this before!!  They must be legal on the beaches in FL because we were surrounded by people who spent thousands of dollars on fireworks!  All around us looked like professional displays and they went on for hours.  We all just sat on the beach and enjoyed watching them over the ocean.  The 4th was on a Friday that year, but Saturday and Sunday were like the 4th all over again.  It was three straight days of massive firework displays.

Sparklers later that night

JJ and I had rented a condo for us to stay in the rest of our time in FL, we were staying until Tuesday.  We ended up staying in the house again though on our wedding night and even the next night.  We were having too much fun with everyone, and who can blame us for wanting to leave our gorgeous house for a little condo on the 18th floor right in the middle of what seemed like spring break central?  We almost got a little sad when everyone left and we were on our own for a few days.  The only thing I would say I regret about our wedding is that we didn’t have a true honeymoon.  We were in FL for almost a week, but we didn’t have much time to ourselves, and I look back and regret that just a little bit.  But seriously I really wouldn’t change anything about our wedding!

About a month later we had a reception at home for the rest of our friends and family that couldn’t make the ceremony.  JJ was in a tux, we had professional pictures taken again, and we enjoyed the party.  (I don't have many pictures on my computer of our reception, but here are a few).  For our one year anniversary we ended up renting out the same house we got married in and went back for another trip.  Some friends came along with us and it was so surreal being in the same place a year later.  So that’s the story of our wedding!

My dad and I at the reception

 

 

 

 Cutting the cake!

Aw, I had fun looking through these pictures again.  It's crazy how time flies!

Q&A #1

Keya over at Stolen Fertility...And My Quest to Find It started out the Q&A last week.  Thanks for asking some questions and getting me back on track with blogging!  Some of the answers I'll devote a whole post to, others are shorter so I'll lump them together.  But today I'll answer her question...

Tell us the story of how you and JJ met and how romance bloomed. What was your wedding like?

This is a story I don't mind sharing, but sometimes I feel people look at me like...really? I had just finished my sophomore year of college. I had moved home for that year because of a boy, stupid I know, but I was planning to go back to school out of town for my junior year. Things with my boyfriend weren't going well, and he knew that, but he almost wouldn't let me break up with him. I decided to just ride it out for the summer and break things off once I was back at school.

He lived in an apartment and I would go over to his pool a lot during the day. I was working as a server at the time so I had a pretty flexible schedule. There was a guy at the pool that I thought was really hot. He smoked though which was a turn-off for me so I didn't think much of it at first. And the fact that he looked older than me and at the time I was only 19 so I figured he wouldn't want to deal with the whole under 21 thing. He would either go to the pool by himself or one other guy. I had seen him several times before but never talked to him.

One afternoon I locked myself out of the pool area and began to walk around the building to get in. The guy yelled for me to stop and that he'd let me in. He was trying to open the door but it wouldn't open for him either. Turns out he was nervous and had the wrong key. He finally was able to get it open and I thanked him. I went back to my chair and didn't talk to him anymore except on the way out when I said bye.

After that day we began to talk more. I found out he was living with his girlfriend at the time in the same apt. complex but that they weren't happy either. They had been dating about 2 years. As we got to talking, there was just something different about him and I knew he was the one. I told my friend within a few weeks that I was going to marry him. Usually you only see that in the movies but I can say it really does happen sometimes.

The friend that would come to the pool with him asked for my number and put me in his phone as "pinky." I always wore a pink bathing suit and they didn't know my name at first so I became "pinky" to them. One day I was at home sitting on the couch watching tv with my brother. I will never forget that day. My phone rang and it was the guy. He asked what I was doing and if I was planning on going to the pool that day. I got so nervous and got ready right away. He was working out in the clubhouse which was right next to the pool, so I went in there to meet him.

It became an everyday thing. We would both make an effort to be at the pool at the same time. Our significant others at the time had no idea, that's the one part about this story that isn't so cool. But we knew it was wrong with them and felt so right with us. I ended up breaking things off with my boyfriend the day I moved back to school and the very next day, the other guy was down visiting me.

That was the end of single life for me. We spent the first two years of our relationship doing the long distance thing. I think that really proved our devotion to each other and that things were meant to be. I love him with all of my heart and couldn't ask for a better husband.

  We dated almost 4 years before getting engaged.

And now we have been happily married for 2 ½ years.

I'll answer your question about what our wedding was like in the next post.  As you can probaly guess from one of the pictures I posted here, we had a beach wedding.  It was beautiful and everything I could have imagined!

Close to Home

Do many of you watch Desperate Housewives?  I was watching it last night, and ended up with tears in my eyes over one of the story lines.  I wrote about how my mom was able to donate some of her organs when she passed away a few years ago here.  So when Susan reached out to Dick, a man also getting dialysis and was turned down, my heart went out to both of them.  I saw a different side of organ donation that I hadn't thought of before.

These people who are waiting on a transplant list have the guilt that they will live because someone else dies.  So not only do they go through the pain of the dialysis, the way it interrupts their every day lives, the countless hours they spend sitting in a chair while their blood is cleaned, they have to deal with the fact that they are waiting for someone to die in order for them to live. 

Susan had a great outlook every time she went to the hospital, probably because she is new to it and hasn't been on a list for years and years.  But it's obvious how the whole situation can start to weigh on someone like the man who has been on the list for 4 years or whatever it was and only had anger in his heart.  One quote he said stuck out in my mind. "We wait for tragedy and then wish it's us that wakes up at 2 in the morning with the good news that we're a match."  As horrible as that sounds, that's exactly how it is.  It all happens so fast.  Just like the recipient of my mom's kidney.  Within a few hours, the woman was at the hospital in an operating room.  Just like the man in the show last night that got the call with a donor, your life can change in an instant. 

The tears really started when Susan sat down next to Dick and held his hand in silence as they were both hooked up to machines, and holding onto any ounce of hope they had that one day their call would come.  I know first hand how much organ donations can change someone's life.  I'll end this post like I ended the one I mentioned earlier...As my family was mourning the loss of our loved one, other families out there were celebrating the second chances their loved ones had been given because of my mom.  It makes me feel good that we were able to help out others in this situation.  If you have never considered being an organ donor, I hope you read this and realize how much good can come of it.

Ask Me Anything

So for some reason I’ve been a little dry lately when it comes to blogging.  I don’t know what my deal is!  I’m trying to get back in the swing of things, and have seen other bloggers do this lately and thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.  In order to get inspiration to start writing regularly again, what are some questions you have for me/things you want to know about me?  I figure if I get at least a couple questions I should get a blog post or two out of the answers and finally get back in the groove.  So ask away ladies!  Nothing’s off limits here!  And if I don’t get any questions, just ask me one so I don’t feel bad.  Ha!

IF in the media

I've been debating on writing about this topic, but it's hitting me in the face every day now so I thought now was a good time.  Many of you have probably heard about or watched Guiliana & Bill Rancic's reality show.  They have been struggling with infertility for some time and went through IVF earlier in the season.  They were successful getting pregnant, but unfortunately lost the baby around nine weeks.  I don't get the channel the show airs on, but I've read updates along the way.  I'm hoping E will pick up the series so I can eventually watch it. 


Another show that has been talking about infertility is Rules of Engagement.  The couple Audrey and Jeff have dealt with infertility for awhile also - gone through testing, shots, and are now looking for a surrogate.  This is a different view of infertility though because it's a sitcom, not a reality show.

And most recently, The Young and the Restless has added infertility into one of their story lines.  I have to admit watching that soap is my guilty pleasure.  I go to my dad's house for lunch every day and watch my show.  In the last few months or so, one of the couples, Victoria and Billy, got pregnant right away.  (Another couple got pregnant after having sex like one time and it bugged the crap out of me how easy they made it seem, but that's another story).  Anyway, Victoria ended up having a miscarriage.  She was pretty upset by it, but then it started to take a different turn.  She was having doubts, started talking to doctors, and then realized she wouldn't be able to have more kids.  They never said why, but every day the story is about her being depressed and crying over the situation. 

On one hand I really appreciate that the media is bringing to light infertility and all that we struggle through.  BUT I have much more respect for a show like Guiliana and Bill since it's a reality show and they are actually going through it than a sitcom or soap that try to include it in their story.  I guess my hang up with my soap is about 6 months ago, Victoria was hiding a huge preggo belly in all of her story lines as she was pregnant in real life with her second baby.  It almost makes me mad that she's moping around even though she has no idea what it's really like.  I know, I know, it's called acting.  I just wish there were more reality-type shows out there that portray IF and what it's really like. 

Oh I just thought about another reality show that's been dealing with infertility.  The Little Couple on TLC.  I really like watching their story and hearing about their additional struggles and how they are coping with it.  There are so many Kate Plus 8 type shows, but they don't actually show how those families got to where they are today.  Ok, I'm off my soapbox now...back to watching my soap. Ha!

It's Snowing!

Finally our first snow of the year that will amount to anything!  It was a tricky drive into work today, and will probably be even harder to get home, but it sure is pretty!

I promise a real post is coming soon.  I don't know what my deal has been lately.

Back to Reality

Well it's back to work tomorrow for me. After two weeks off, it's time to get back to normal.  I have really enjoyed the time off, and always get spoiled when I have this much time at home, but part of me is ready to get back to my normal routine.  I took an impromptu break from blogging - I still checked in on all of you, but I just had a block of what to write about.  Maybe it's because I didn't do a darn thing (besides celebrate the holidays) over break.  I'm sure I'll get in the groove again real soon.  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year and I'm wishing everyone the best for 2011!!  I know many of us are hoping this is our year!