Yes Man

Thanks to the janitor's epiphany roof toilet episode of Scrubs that I recently watched, I have already had one of my own. I know I have plenty and plenty to learn still, but since my 2 month aggravation hiatus ~ Let's celebrate! ~ I have been learning my lessons much more quickly. Isn't life wonderful that way? I have maturely decided that my wanting to cook dinners for Michael will remain solely about bringing us closer as a family and getting me into good habits for the future when I am further blessed by becoming a mom. That way it is not about anything else.. since those harsh discussions only get brought up by myself. And how can I be so hypocritical by doing that while, at the same time, I'm trying to create a stronger marriage?

(Can you tell that it is very overcast today?)

On a separate note, I should get into the habit of watching Yes Man more often. I watched it last month, but with all the new opportunities and experiences that Michael and I will have available to us next year, how can we even begin to turn down any fun ideas the other may have? (The same goes for all of our awesome new friends, which I have already begun to pray for.) Hopefully this colorful piece of art will remind me of all the great times we can have, if we just say "YES!!"

& I'm sure I don't need to remind you --again-- how excited I was to find out on Sunday that anyone can get into a Los Angeles movie premiere for free! Not technically "in" to see the movie, but I always assumed that all the screaming fans had to pay, even to get to that point. Turns out, that's not true. All you have to do is show up a few hours early (or days, if its a franchise like Harry Potter) and wait until they arrive!

Soon enough I will be taking my own photos such as these!!
(Obviously I didn't take this one of Emma. *sigh*)

Apartment Therapy, Orlando

I'm not sure if I have mentioned on here that I found an incredible website about decorating houses. It's called Apartment Therapy. I usually search for smaller places (600-900 sq ft) since that's the kind of space we are looking into. But yesterday I was able to take pictures of some of the organized ways Miriam has decorated her house:

Miriam studded those shorts herself!!

And she recently upholstered these beautiful chairs!!

And she took this incredible photo while in Venice, Italy!

**Post entitled "Apartment Therapy, Los Angeles" to come mid January. EXCITED**

Play Date & Private Screening

Of all the days in the past two wonderfully cheerful months, yesterday may have been my favorite. Next year, one of the things on my long list of fun changes is to write down every favorite day or event on a piece of paper, put into a Mason Jar, then read that following New Years to remind us of the wonderful times we've had!

In the early afternoon hours (or as I like to call "the morning"), Michael and I got some important things done such as filling out paperwork at the complex office to let them know when we are moving. Then he filled up my tires with air, as well as put gas in my car. After he left for work, I spent a couple hours editing more of the Blood Widow behind the scenes video I began making a year ago. And by "editing" I simply mean watching clips to see which are my favorite. No editing actually occurred.

Before heading to Miriam's house, she sent me a last minute text asking "Do you want to bring Sasha?" My brain began to fill my frontal lobe with why that would be a bad idea. Thankfully, angels pushed positive reminders into my mind immediately after: "I'm not sure if her and Matilda will get along. Sasha barks a lot." The lady at VIP Pets said Sasha did a great job with the other dogs! "Plus I don't have any doggy bags in case she has to poop." True, but the complex has them all along the sidewalks! And you keep saying you want to try new things. Why not involve Sasha as well?

Sasha loved playing with Matilda (after the first couple minutes of aggression) and they had so much fun running around the back yard together! It was hard to get pictures of them running so fast, but these came out pretty well. You can tell which dog is younger, haha.

While I was there Miriam made dinner again. She cooked the broccoli and pesto noodles while Garth grilled the chicken. It was all very good. And to be honest, it did make me wish that I made dinners for Michael already. But something keeps telling me, "Nope, you can't start until January." I need to enjoy my last two months as a lazy girl. Once the New Year comes, I will magically be transformed into a responsible wife.

The main reason I went to Miriam's house last night was to watch Blood Widow. She had a lot of shots as an extra during the party scene, as well as a name credit at the end. Jeremy (the director) must have thought she was especially attractive and asked Andrew (the DP/ camera man) to keep panning to her! Matilda and Sasha watching their "Mommys" on TV!

Miriam's boyfriend, Garth, and his friend, Tom, also watched. Luckily, they didn't mind my commentary and just thought it was cool that I worked on it. They said the movie looked like something that would be on the Syfy Channel. And they liked all of Michael's special make up effects work in every death scene. Here is a recap of the incredibly fun Hipster Party, in June of last year!

Copy Crafts

I will admit, my mom does have a cute sense of styling- mainly speaking about decorations at this point. Although I would not want so many, I feel like we barely have any at all. And I don't know if we will even have time to get a pumpkin!
I did like a frame I noticed this year, with a picture of my brother (Zach) and I one year. I'm guessing tenth grade for me? Dressed up as my second favorite female character, Hermione Granger. Following Dorothy Gale, of course. I don't have any young Halloween pictures of Michael, although I have seen a few, but I figured Michael modeling his first self-made Boba Fett outfit could be "celebration" enough. Not sure how long ago this was. Maybe he told me seventh grade? I didn't want to buy another picture frame and already got this colorful polygon one two months ago and hadn't filled it yet. Plus, the bat adds a festive touch!

I was also very proud of how my mom recently made a travel laundry bag out of a pillow case. She showed that off to me a couple days ago and I immediately knew I wanted one too! Normally I just use a plastic grocery bag, but hers was much more pretty and looked so simple. So I bought one today. However, Target did not have pillow cases. Or at least none that I found that weren't in a big pack with bedsheets, so I got a sham instead. It was a little more expensive ($10)- as Target is, but they have so many items that I love. Plus Michael and I don't care for the Wal-Mart nearest to us.

Apparently teal, gray, yellow and white are my new favorite colors? I hadn't even noticed that they matched the 23" x 18" Sham I bought today! Here you can see how it looks regular (all wrinkly). Even though I opened it in the store to see how big it was, I didn't realize that its not like a regular pillow case until I got home. So I had to spend a little time sewing the edges down with the right amount of distance from the fold so I could fit the blue shoe string in, which allows the sham/bag to close. I was less bummed about spending a whole ten dollars when I noticed that the sham had been folded inside a smaller 10" x 6" bag- with the same pattern.

It also has a lot of uses. You could put mail in there if it's raining, you can fit 2 DVDs, wrapped candy, troll dolls.. But I think I will bring that on vacations too and use it to carry my hygiene products: tooth brush and toothpaste, deodorant, retainers, tooth whitener, floss, chap stick.

My favorite use for the bigger sham (aside for why I made it) is as a sleeping bag for Sasha!!

Atlanta, Pt. 3

Friday morning Jessica made us cinnamon waffles for breakfast - with a side of Airborne to drink. Very simple and quick. She just smashed (for lack of a better word) cinnamon rolls into the waffle iron. They were really good, something I will definitely try myself. However, Michael gave away our waffle iron soon after we got it for our wedding... I'll have to sneak in a new one during our big "what else do we need want" shopping trip once we move in to our loft in LA. Only 74 more daaaays!!

I wanted to also partially show off the cute Halloween jars Jessica decorated. And although you can barely see the plate, I liked those as well. I honestly do really like decorations. I saw so many at Target that I liked. But its the amount of space that they take up in bins the other 11 months of the years that keeps me from buying them. Plus, its not stuff that I need.
I need to pay off my student loans.

Just before 5pm we all drove to Lindsey's new apartment, but in separate cars. Not sure why we left at that time, since the Atlanta traffic added on an extra 45 minutes, but we got to see a lot of cool buildings! I was excited to finally meet her cat, Charkole. Or when Jordyn likes to use her full name: Charkole Princess Midnight. She was very skiddish, but sweet. Lindsey made us all a delicious dinner of rice with a thick chicken and broccoli soup.

Unfortunately, Jordyn kept coughing and crying from being sick all week (hence our Airborne every morning- sometimes twice a day) and Jessica's allergies caused her to have an asthma attack, so they had to leave early. But Lindsey and my mom and I watched a few episodes of Scrubs and had warm chocolate ship cookies for dessert before going to sleep.

I was fine when we went to sleep, but woke up in the middle of the night, adding two more blankets to keep me warm. Once I had my reindeer sweater and jeans on again, the brisk and slightly windy 65 degree weather made it feel like a "real" Christmas. I wish it felt that way in Orlando- or at least something similar, but no such luck yet. Sweaty every day. I did notice outside of Lindsey's balcony was a tree with leaves changing from yellow to orange and red. They are all still full and green at home, so I had to get pictures to remind me how much I enjoyed the weather this week!

The trip home was another good one that didn't seem as many hours as it really was, still I think the best part was the great laugh my mom and I shared as we drove into Butts County!

Atlanta, Pt. 2

The weather has been beautiful here this week. Its cool, but I don't need a sweater. Its pretty much perfect. I think Michael would enjoy it a lot too if he were here. Only this morning did I wake up wanting to spend all day snuggling under a blanket with my reindeer sweater! Yesterday was the photo shoot day, so of course I had a lot of fun. It was good getting the hang of the camera again, trying different angles and switching out lenses.

We ran errands to Kohl's and Sam's,  picked up Jordyn from pre-school, then James had Special Instruction/play therapy. I went for a walk with Jordyn during that, then we took these photos while James was taking a nap. However, he was quite the "sport" in the football photos once he woke up again. We took these pictures especially for our cousin, Greg, who graduated from IU/Indiana University, then bought James the shirt to match. However, it was too big on him until now!

Atlanta, Pt. 1

On Monday morning, I woke up with such speed, after only two hours of sleep. I was racing the clock since I had to be out the door by 9:45am to make it to McDonalds for their greasy yet delicious sausage, egg and cheese bagel. Plus I tried the Mocha Frappe, which I ended up liking a lot. I took a nap before my mom and I left for Atlanta. But I first found these amazing tiny pictures of my Grandma & Grandpa from 1977 and then my dad and his brothers working on something manly.

I was surprised that I was able to drive the whole way myself. I was fine and able to stay awake pretty easily since my mom was talking to me the whole time. That kept me talking and my brain functioning, etc. Same with why I don't fall asleep at work. I was impressed with a "fancy" Burger King that we stopped at as it got dark. We got to Jessica's house around 8:30pm, unfortunately Jonathan had to leave for Marine training before we got there. I was so anxious to see Jordyn, but had to wait until the next afternoon when we picked her up from pre-school.

 

This was the first picture I was able to get of James before all the batteries died, so I spent the rest of the day charging them. Jordyn opened some Halloween presents and did a Princess puzzle and a "Cooties" game with my mom. I gave Jordyn and James a bath after dinner. Oh- Jessica has been making delicious dinners this week. They all seem pretty simple, but I love how I am eating less and being healthy. Which is exactly how I plan to be once we move to LA. However, I did tell Michael that I should start practicing with dinners now (only on my days off) then spent quite some time on Pinterest saving dinner ideas that looked especially yummy!

Two Girls, One Camera

On Thursday afternoon, after Michael left for work, Miriam texted me to plan out our next photoshoot. Since I have already made plans for a lot of the days I have off before Christmas, I went ahead and mentioned that I was free that evening. So we decided to be spontaneous and push past our comfort levels, due to us both being avid planners. Life is too short not to fly by the seat of our pants!! Miriam also invited her friend, Brittany, but unfortunately she already had plans to go to a Magic's basketball game. We had a few different ideas going, but somehow all of the Halloween decorations were pulled out from the garage and it went from there.   
While I was at her house, Miriam showed me how she rearranged her bedroom since I last saw it in July. Although she had bought a big new dresser from IKEA, it did not make her room look any smaller. The dresser is not only beautiful, but also very tall and spacious. I think Michael would like it too since it was a dark brown wood. Miriam also has a lot of pretty jewelry in different places around her room and also in the attached bathroom. However, it doesn't look cluttered or junky. A lot of her more delicate necklaces were hanging from a stick. She had a few earrings hanging from the rim of a cup, a few rings were in a small wooden.. "thing" (not sure how to describe it). And in the bathroom there were some racks specifically made to hold jewelry. I could have - and now think maybe I should have - done a whole post about her decorating skills! I was even impressed with her organized (horizontally, by size) magazines and book collection, including a biography of Lady Gaga. And did I mention that when I got there she was cooking spaghetti for her boyfriend? While wearing high heels! I am really looking forward to all the changes I plan on making in my/our life once we move to Los Angeles. (More blog posts each month is also on that list. Hooray!) But I can wait and be "lazy" for a few more months. Right now, with God's grace, I'm continuing to keep up my wonderfully positive attitude adjustment.

 This last photo was kindly taken by Miriam's boyfriend, Garth.

Lego Us!

These super cool Lego versions of Michael, Sasha and I will have to do for now since we haven't taken any real pictures together lately. I wanted to give a quick update about his 24th birthday:

We celebrated this past Wednesday since that was a day we both had off. I sure do love those days! We went to the mall where Michael got very excited to buy the movie Silent Hill for only six bucks. I feel like he does have some of my "Amish charm" in him and it makes me extra happy. The DVD had a lot of cool behind the scenes, that even I didn't mind watching- since its a creepy movie. We had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. (My body needed salad.) Then walked to a Halloween store to look at possibly getting me a Red Hiding Hood costume to wear to work on the 31st, although these days its hard not to find something extremely skimpy. I'm blanking on a 4-hour time period before we dressed up a little and had dinner at J. Alexander's. Michael mentioned wanting to see Hotel Transylvania, (which I hadn't seen a trailer for until right now to link it) but we were too late by the time we checked for showings. We saw Looper instead. It was interesting; Michael liked it a lot.

Yesterday (I still count it as Thursday) evening, I went to Miriam's house and we had a last minute photo shoot. I'll plan on posting a few of those for you this weekend. & I'm hoping to have a lot of wonderful family photos to show off in just over a week. My mom and I are going to visit my cousin Jessica in Atlanta and will get to spend time with her kids, Jordyn and James. Yippee!!