Blog Challenge: 5 Senses

Sight: Derek's video game on pause, Bentley walking back and forth between Derek in the kitchen and me in the living room.

Sound: The hum of the PS3.  Derek singing in the kitchen.  The microwave running.  Derek's video game.  My stomach grumbling to be fed.

Smell: Coconut candle that is burning.  Parmesan chicken cooking in the oven.

Touch:  The keys on my laptop.  Very uncomfortable chair that needs to be tossed.  Blanket.  Bentley's head as I pet him with my foot.

Taste:  Nothing!  At least not yet.  Dinner is in the oven and I cannot wait to eat parmesan chicken and some corn on the cob with a side salad.

Blog Challenge: 10 Songs You Love Right Now

I have never been a fan of the song "Amazing Grace" until Citizen Way came out with this version that I absolutely LOVE!

The first time I heard this song I almost cried it was so powerful.

I adore Britt Nicole and her music.

Seriously, every time I hear this song and most songs by Shakira I just want to dance!

I am a recent listener to Katy Perry.  She has such a great voice and the video for "Dark Horse" is just crazy.

Whenever this song comes on at work I tend to just belt it out.

I love p!nk.

Because I will never outlive my youth and love for punk music.

Again with loving my youth but with recent releases.

If you take Disney and pair it with classic, you get amazing!

Blog Challenge: What are you afraid of

~I am afraid of the same things most people are, losing their loved ones.  It has always been a fear of mine and I know that it is inevitable but still very hard to even think about it.

~Having a break-in while husband is at work.  This is a totally rational fear, we had beak-ins about a mile away from us where people were getting tied up and hit over the head with the butt of a gun.  Crazy scary!

~Needles.  You know how people who are scared of heights get sweaty palms when even thinking about it, that is what happens with me and getting my blood drawn or an IV in.  It seriously feels like they are putting a gigantic needle into a hole the size of a pin.

~Medium size spiders.  Think about it.  Small spiders are just barely there.  Large spiders like tarantulas you definitely know they are there.  Medium size spiders though, those guys are wicked fast and kind of creepy.

Other than that I try to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment.  We really do not know how long we will be here for and what we will encounter on our journey.

Blog Challenge: Favorite Quote

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you. —Luke 11:34-36 -

This is one that I found recently but I think it is very powerful.


Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Gandhi

A quote that inspires me to be better than I am.


I still believe, in spite of everything that people are really good at heart. --Anne Frank


We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. --Sir Winston Churchill

Blog Challenge: 20 Facts

1. I cannot go a year without a vacation that requires me to fly somewhere.

2. My middle name came from my Great Aunt.

3. I always knew I would marry somebody younger than me and somebody from a different state.

4. I cannot remember about six years of my life, just one or two things from those years.

5. Husband and I have lived in Illinois for four years.  I am still not used to everything here.

6. I LOVE knowing about my heritage.  It is so fascinating to know where your ancestors came from.

7. Saying that, I would love to visit where my families began.  Husband and I will eventually make it to his birthplace, Germany!

8. I am crafty.  I grew up doing crafts and working with my hands.  Sewing, drawing, and painting are the things that I do most often.

9. I have two scars on my face because my brother and I would race in our house, and two times I ended up cutting my head open.  I actually remember going to the ER when I was three years old for stitches, including what I was wearing.

10. I also have three birthmarks.  1 brown and 2 white.

11. Husband and I married on our five year anniversary.

12. My favorite color is green.

13. I love watching husband and our pup interact.

14. I have yet to finish our wedding album.  Seriously, when you hire a photographer that should be included in the package so you do not have to do it yourself.

15. I hate that "'Merica" is a thing right now!  Men and Women have not died for our freedom and our country to have it called 'Merica.

16. I have always wanted to live near the mountains.

17. I am super excited to be a homeowner one day.  Everybody complains about hidden costs coming up and always having to fix things.  I grew up watching my dad fix things around the house and helping him with them, he still has to teach me more but I am excited for that day I get to use what I have learned.

18. The first concert I ever went to was Matchbox 20.  The opening bands were Old 97 and TRAIN!  Train before they were this big band was the opening band!

19. I cannot watch the movie My Girl.  It came out the about the exact time that I had lost one of my best friends in a car accident.

20. I LOVE LIFE!  I have learned at a very young age to never take life for granted.  Enjoy each day and strive to make somebody else's day even if it is just smiling at them.

21. I am astonished that I was able to write 20 things!

Blog Challenge

Since I am going to have a little more time I thought a blog challenge might be fun to try doing again.  My goal is to actually do each day and have some other posts in between.  I got this challenge from Kristi but I changed some things here and there.

Day 1: 20 Facts about you (I'll try to think of some you haven't heard!)
Day 2: Your favorite quote
Day 3: What are you afraid of
Day 4: 10 songs you love right now
Day 5: Your 5 senses right now
Day 6: What's in your handbag
Day 7: What are your worst habits
Day 8: What have you made lately?
Day 9: List of your favorite things
Day 10: What's inside your fridge
Day 11: If you won the lottery....
Day 12: Timeline of your day 
Day 13: Your bucket list
Day 14: The meaning behind your blog name
Day 15: What do you collect
Day 16: Your favorite vacation spots
Day 17: The best thing to happen this year
Day 18: A difficult time in your life
Day 19: Your dream job
Day 20: Your 5 favorite websites/phone apps
Day 21: An old photo of  you
Day 22:  Post your favorite recipe
Day 23: What are you looking forward to
Day 24: Where have you traveled
Day 25: What's in your makeup bag
Day 26: 3 Personality traits you are proud of
Day 27: Piercings and Tattoos
Day 28: First celebrity crush
Day 29: What makes you feel better, always
Day 30: Weird quirks
Day 31: Why do you blog

Day 20: Photo and a bonus story to go with it!

My Engagement Ring!

Haha I told Derek that I would get engaged and have a huge bruise on my hand (and now a large cut somehow I got yesterday cleaning)!

The Proposal

So Derek and I are not really extravagant people and like to just do things at home and we have been together for over four years so I never really wanted anything BIG.  Valentine's Day I woke up to a beautiful bouquet and big heart balloon (that scared me half to death because I first noticed it when I was not totally awake and it was in the dark).  Derek had to work so I went on my day with going to see my trainer and home to play with Bentley and do some homework.  We had made plans to go see The Vow that night since he owed me for seeing Chronicle (don't go see it unless you want to waste $20).  Once we got home from the movies he asked if I wanted help taking my boots off which I totally did because I rarely wear dress boots.  Then he asked after he helped take off my boots!

I love my proposal because it is mine and done perfectly!  Nothing extravagant and just us (and Bentley of course).

Day 19: A bad decision I've made

So instead of writing about a bad decision that I've made I am going to defend a decision that others generally think to be a bad decision; tattoos.


For as long as I can remember I always knew that I would have tattoos when I grew up.  My grandpa (same one that did "drugs" from my previous post) has three of them and I always loved how artistic they look.  I even have a nickname after one of his tattoo, Little Della Devil (the tattoo is of a baby devil).  My mom had always given lectures about not tattoos and that we would regret it if we got one.

With knowing that I would always have a tattoo I never wanted to just go out and get one, I wanted it to have meaning.  I thought long and hard about what tattoos I would be able to love for the rest of my life.  Being that I am terrified of needles I told myself that if I made it through my back surgery and double lumpectomy surgery I would get a tattoo the following year.  The following year I got my first tattoo and I still love it to this day.  For me it is a gift of rebirth to me because I got my life back the previous year.  It is something that once Derek and I have children I will be able to put their initials or names by each dragonfly or add onto.


The second tattoo is a snowflake.  Now my mom didn't speak to me for a week after I got the snowflake, because it is on my wrist and is visible.  I knew that I wanted a visible tattoo but something that wouldn't offend anybody but would still have meaning to me.  A snowflake it was!


I love winter and snow!  Being out of Minnesota has been difficult at times but during the winter it was always a little bit more like home.  Snow actually fascinates me, perfect conditions are needed in order for snow to be created.  The first snowfall is always the most magical and beautiful to see everything shimmer from the sun.  And then it reminds me of Christmas time which reminds me that if you really believe and have faith, miracles are a real thing.  Finally, it is for Derek.  Each and every year including our first date it has snowed, kind of perfect I think.

Dec. 2, 2010

It's kind of funny really because people will see tattoos and judge me for having them.  I get comments like, "You will go to hell for having a tattoo" and "You are going to hate that when you are 60".  When in reality yes in Leviticus I believe there is a verse about marking your body and going to hell or something.  I don't believe this because the majority of people I know with tattoos have religious tattoos.  When it comes to the day I die I would rather be judged by whether or not I have been a good person not what I look like and what is or is not on my body.  I also have the perfect response to the second thing people tell me too!  "Then I will have until I am 60 to LOVE it!".  I don't judge people for not having tattoos and I don't judge people who do.  It reminds me of when Derek and I first started dating and people would always ask me if his tattoos bothered me or offended me at all. They don't, they are tastefully done (He has many tattoos, three of which are pin ups) and done very well.  I don't date him for his tattoos I date him because he is an amazing person.

Day 18: Funny story

So I am really bad at telling stories, I'm not kidding I am one of the worst story tellers.  It takes me forever to get to the point and finish telling stories.  Well, anyway instead of writing a super long funny story I thought it would be nice to just tell two funny things that my mom reminded me about a couple weeks ago.

My folks raised us kids to be honest and that drugs and drinking are bad.  With that said when I was little I would tattle on people who did bad things.  For instance I told on my Grandpa when I was little for doing drugs (he smoked cigarettes) and drugs were bad.  I also told on my dad once for drinking while driving!  He was drinking Mountain Dew though.  Maybe mom and dad should have clarified drugs and "drinking" to me a little better when I was about five years old!

Day 17: Most daring thing I have ever done

This topic I found to be a little hard to answer because I don't really see myself as a daring person.  I actually asked my mom and Derek what they thought was the most daring thing that I have done in my life.  They came up with a list of things (surprising to me since I didn't think I was daring at all):

• Rock climbing - There is danger in this especially if your belayer is not paying attention to you while you climb (I have had that happen before).
• Para-sailing - So incredibly fun!
• White water rafting - also incredibly fun!
• Stopping on the side of a road to drive a guy home when I was in my teen years - okay maybe that wasn't the brightest idea Mom but he was nice.
• Flying and airplane without any lesson.
• Cheerleading (mom's idea) - I guess it is true.  As the base it was my responsibility to ensure that the flyer was caught to prevent them from getting injured.
• Chopped all my hair off short - you may laugh but that is super scary to somebody who has always had medium to long hair!
• Took a weekend trip to meet a friend I had met online - She was a friend of a friend, I'm not that crazy!
• Competing with my brother to see who could get closest to the edge in the badlands without falling to our death - Sorry about freaking you out mom and dad!
• Moving to Illinois with Derek - I knew him and only him.  Neither of us knew anything about IL other than Chicago was located in the state.

The one thing that I really want to do though is go swimming with sharks!

What is the most daring thing that you have done before?

Day 16: Funny photo

So I don't have many of my photos in Illinois with me as they are still in a tub at my folks house.  This is one of the funniest photos on my laptop though.  Mom had sprained her ankle like the week before on a cruise (first night of the cruise too!).  She was stacking rocks or something and Dad came along and I guess tried to put one more on it and they all fell right on her sprained ankle.  We were all cracking up as mom fell to the ground holding her ankle and laughing (even though you can't tell by the photo).  I managed to capture the moment well.

Trip to Duluth

Day 15: Movies I'm looking forward to seeing in 2012

A two for one because I missed yesterday.  Just a warning that this may be a long post but I will try to organize it by month!


For those who don't know me well, my boyfriend and I see a lot of movies, a lot!


January:

• The Grey - We actually saw this and it was really good but didn't know we should have stayed to see a final scene after the credits were over.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Probably a red box since it hasn't gotten really good reviews.
• Red Tails - A definite red box since the last few Cuba Gooding Jr. movies have been really horrible.

February:

• This Means War - It kind of looks like a action chick flick.
• The Vow - I would never make Derek see this with me but I will go alone if I have to!  I am going to try to get a girls night together to see this movie).

March

• The Lorax - A red box one but I'm curious with this Dr. Suess movie.
• Mirror Mirror - Looks like an interesting twist on Snow White

April

• The Lucky One - Yep, based off another Nickolas Sparks book.  Possibly another girls movie night out!

May

• The Avengers - We might actually go to the midnight showing of this but from seeing all of the other superhero movies I am excited for this one to come out.
• Battleship - It looks alright.
• MIB III - I'm not wanting to see this Men In Black movie but I'm sure it will be Derek's birthday celebration or something since he is uber excited to see it.

June

• Star Trek 2 - I surprisingly really enjoyed the first one!

July

• The Amazing Spider-Man - People think I'm crazy when I say I don't like the Toby versions but I am excited for this one.

August

• Red 2 - I loved the first one!
• The Odd Life of Timothy Green - A couple who is having trouble getting pregnant plant a box of what their child would be like and a child appears.
• The Expendables 2 - I don't know why I enjoyed the first but Derek will want to see the second and it shall be a fabulous date.

September

• Finding Nemo - I believe they are releasing it in 3D.

October

• Taken 2 - Liam Neeson is one of my favorites!

November

• ??? TBA

December

• The Hobbit - I have been waiting for this to come out for SO long!  

Day 14: My favorite iPhone apps

Hello delicious apps!

As much as I love my iPhone I don't use a whole variety of apps like I initially thought that I would.  I use my camera so much and have so many photos and videos on my phone that I don't have a ton of room left for many apps.  Some of my favorites though (again no particular order):

• The Weather Channel (especially when driving back and forth between states)
• TargetWeight (since I am working on losing weight this helps me keep track of progress and how many more days I have to go in getting to my goal weight)
• iP Free (a cycle tracker, just very helpful to keep track of moods, appetites...)
• Words with Friends & Hanging with Friends (I'm not the quickest at keeping up with my games but I still love playing them)
• Kare 11 (Derek makes fun of me and says, "we don't even live there right now why do you need to know what is going on?".  They have a Whatsupwiththat feature that has odd stories that I love to read)
• IMDB (For any movie and trivia lover!  Derek and I cannot watch a single movie without looking it up on IMDB)
• Pandora (because I cannot clean the house in silence)
• Craftgawker (I think it is similar to Pinterest but I haven't checked Pinterest out)
• Weddingawkr (because I hope to have a wedding in the future)
• Dwellinggawkr (this has great ideas to decorate a house/apartment)
• Bodybuilding (because I sometimes am not sure how to do specific exercises and it has videos to help out!)

What are some of your favorite phone apps?

Day 13: Something I'm looking forward to

So in no particular order...

• Getting out of Illinois or at least out of Ptown!
• Finally getting back to being physically fit after my years off from surgery
• One day getting engaged and planning the wedding
• One day being a wife
• A fabulous honeymoon!
• One day being a mom (not for quite some time though)
• Traveling (I need to get more use out of my passport before it expires and I have to apply for another new one!) 

  

  Everybody should have a passport!

• More dates! And double dates!
• Game nights
• Getting rid of stuff I have held onto through the years but just takes up too much space
• Building a home with Derek
• High school 10 year reunion (Really didn't think I would ever go to it but it sounds like it might be a good time and a great opportunity to see some old friends)

That's all I can really think of besides the basics of everyday life and going to visit family!  Each day truly is a blessing and something to always look forward to.

Each day I am alive is a good day

Day 12: Favorite place to eat

So not to sound cliche but my favorite place to eat is at home (my kitchen or my mom's kitchen...).  I've been cooking my own meals and helping my mom cook and bake since I was about nine years old.  There is something about creating your own food that makes it taste so much better than going out to any restaurant.  Plus, making your meal yourself you can add or take out whatever you want to and not have to worry about getting your order correctly.

My old kitchen that I miss!

If I had to choose a restaurant it would literally be any restaurant that has an incredible salad bar!  Ruby Tuesday's is always a good choice for salad bar.  In Ptown there is Alexander's which is good for the carnivorous and those who prefer the veggies! 

YUM!

Day 11: Funny photo of myself

Celebrating Derek's birthday and messing around.  I make a fierce firefighter!

Day 10: iPod Shuffle - first 10 songs

Here you have my very random taste of music!  I am told I have horrible taste in music but that doesn't bother me.

1: Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

2: The Last To Say - Atmosphere

3: Rocket Man (I think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)  - Elton John (LOVE him!)

4: Freak On A Leash - Korn

5: Just Friends - Gavin DeGraw

6: If you See Kay - The Script

7: High Speed - Coldplay

8: Taking Chances - Celine Dion

9: Summerland - Everclear

10: Das Beste - Silbermond

Day 9: Fitness Challenge Update

So... the fitness challenge kind of went downhill during December when nearly everybody got sick and then got the flu.  We are starting it back up again though and I'm not totally sure when the final weigh in/measurments will be.


As of right now Derek is totally winning at both the weight loss and loss of inches.  I have lost a total of I don't know close to 10 lbs and I think almost 2 inches.  Which actually meant I am down 1 pant size and some shirts are starting to fit better.


I only have four training sessions left which is a major bummer but I have learned a lot from her. The biggest challenge that I have found for me is that I have a hard time getting myself to go work out by myself.  Derek works out with some of his coworkers which I think makes it easier to get yourself to the gym each day.  This coming week though I am going to push myself to go 5 days and shoot for a minimum of 4 each week.


What do you find to be your biggest challenges in going to the gym and getting fit?

Day 8: Something that stresses me out

I'm cheating and doing two in one night because I fell behind from celebrating Christmas with family (good excuse)


So, I'm sure that my family and Derek might say differently but I don't get stressed easily.  It takes a huge amount of one thing or many things to stress me out.  The only thing that both Derek and I could actually come up with that stresses me out is my issues with food and not wanting to talk about it.


For those who don't know me that well, I have food issues.  Really bad food issues!  I have always been a finicky eater and for some bizarre reason people like to point out that I am a picky eater.  Please tell me something that I don't know instead of pointing the obvious.  Going out to eat is a pure headache because everybody tries to have me pick out a restaurant when in reality I would much rather make something at home.  I worked in the food industry for about 7 years and I am just not a fan of dining out.


I'm not sure why I am such a picky eater maybe it is a fear of the taste and textures of different foods.  Yes, those really are defined phobias as well as hypersensitivity disorders.  Maybe I just have selective eating disorder.  Any which way there is something there that hinders my ability to try new foods (seafood will never be on the try list though) even when I am feeling in a good mood of wanting to try something.


A common misconception that people have about me and my picky eating is that I don't know how to cook anything other than what I eat.  Oh those who believe this are so very wrong!  I am actually a great cook.  I love to experiment with new recipes for Derek to try out.  Coincidentally the only thing that Derek has not liked so far that I have made was an apple pie where I used store bought crust to save on time... will not do that again because apparently the crust was incredibly gross.  I am fairly good at reading ingredients and knowing which ones would go well together and which ones might be a little different.


Some things that people should NOT say to a picky eater are:

• Just try it.  You don't know if you don't like it if you won't try it. (Sometimes, it isn't the trying the food but a fear behind trying the food even if they think they will like it.  Sounds nuts but it is true.)
• Where do you want to go to eat?  (Honestly, most picky eaters will eat before or after going out to eat so everybody else can eat as well.)
• How can you not like insert food?  It is SO delicious! (Doesn't matter if somebody else thinks it is delicious or not.)
• Wow, so you know how to cook. (Doesn't matter if the picky one is eating it or not, some people just like to cook.)
• Are you still a picky eater? (Really?)
• What do you (or don't you) eat? (Why?  Are you planning on becoming a nutritionist who works with picky eaters?)

And the thing that absolutely drives me nuts that people do is freak out and make it a huge deal when I do try something new.  That is not in the least bit supportive by any means and does not encourage trying new things in the future.  In fact, it kind of does the opposite and makes me not want to try anything new especially in front of that person who just made me feel like the size of a pea.

Day 7: Highs and Lows

I used to love Highs and Lows during Confirmation every week.  It was a great way to look at the brighter side of things when you thought you didn't have anything good to look forward to during the week.  I always wanted to start with my lows because that way I ended on a high point.


My lows for this week:
I kind of feel behind in classes which coincidentally just started
I haven't gotten to the gym at all and I really need/want to (I want a workout buddy again)
My house is a disaster (anybody want to volunteer cleaning it for me??)
I still have not gotten over the cold I had all of December
Had to schedule my annual Dr.'s appointment (at least it is not the same doctor as last year!)
Winter is still MIA




My HIGHS for this week:
We FINALLY got to celebrate Christmas with family!
I got to spend time with family (ahh it was so needed!!!)
Classes started yesterday and I'm looking forward to having something to do again each week
I got my diamonds back! (Derek was awesome and picked up my earrings for me)
It is my turn for a tickle-scratch tonight!
Derek still loves me!

The family!  (and some that are almost family)