Not Me Monday

So between the working, Christmas and being sick, this is my first post in awhile...and I have lots to confess NOT confess. Here we go again!

I did NOT go out with my friends Monday night instead of cleaning/wrapping/packing/shopping which did NOT led to a frantic 11pm Kohls/Old Navy trip between bars...thank goodness for holiday shopping hours!

I did NOT buy Mr. Football a Christmas present after we had agreed on "no gifts" this year...I would NEVER buy him this awesome jacket for our upcoming ski trip.

And since we're so awesome at following our own rules, Mr. Football did NOT get me Lost Season 3 and 4...I can't wait until January 21st!

I did NOT get a WII Fit and a Pink Yoga mat from my siblings! They are NOT completely wonderful and I do NOT love them to pieces...I'm the baby so I do NOT get the best gifts..

I did NOT fall asleep Christmas day after opening presents and completely miss my family playing Guitar Hero World Tour...that would just make me so sad that I missed the hilariousness...(I worked all night Christmas Eve, a girls gotta sleep at some point)

I did NOT convince my 9 year old cousin to see Marley and Me with me because all of the boys wanted to see something else. I did NOT cry throughout the entire movie, and she did NOT look at me like I was crazy the entire time...

The Mr. and I did NOT drive from our house to my parents (100 miles) on Christmas morning, then leave the day after Christmas to return home (Friday) then drive to my sisters house Saturday morning (200 miles) and come back Sunday afternoon. So if we do the math or NOT do the math, that would equal 600 miles+ in one long weekend...and to make it even better, my brother, Mr. Blackhawk, took our car while at my sisters and drove another 110 miles (220 roundtrip) to finally purchase the Christmas present he wanted for himself, so we're NOT at 820 miles + total...

And we were definitely NOT at my sisters because Mr. Blackhawk wanted to go to a Gun Show (I did NOT make muscles when he first suggested this, who would do that?) in the area...And after driving all that way he didn't even find what he was looking for and had to go to another store hours away...

During all of this family fun, I was NOT cuddled up on my sisters couch too "sick" to go to the Gun Show, but NOT too sick to read Eclipse...or maybe I NOT not was too sick...I'm confusing myself now...

I do NOT feel like my head is still underwater and that my ears might explode at any minute...and I'm definitely not wishing that they would explode so that the pressure in my head might get some relief...

I did NOT try to finish my Secret Santa gift and realize when it was half done that I had run out of ink in my printer, I would always make sure I had everything I needed when working on a project...I did NOT push it aside and consider it a lost cause...

I also did NOT figure out who everyones Secret Santa is...I hate that. I always want to be surprised, but everyone ruins it for me. Its impossible to keep things secret when your shopping with your friends and they're picking out their own presents for their Santas to buy them. SERIOUSLY?!!!!

And finally, our Christmas pictures did NOT turn out fabulously! I loved the sweaters, everyone else pretty much cooperated...and the doggies even got their own Christmas outfits! My parents have 2 dogs also, so my Mom likes to buy them ALL matching outfits. Gotta love doggy grandmas!

My brother in law, my sister, Mr. Blackhawk, myself, Mr. Loves-football-more-than-life

my mom, Lilo, my dad
??Why is Lilo the only dog in the picture??

my mom and dad, Lilo, Lucky (his jacket is blue, but he's too fluffy to see it)

Jax and Lulu

So I guess that will do for this week, although I'm sure I could keep going...I'm off to take some more cold/flu medicine and hope that my head stops pounding/nose stops running/quit coughing/ears stop popping...maybe theres a magic medicine that will do that...Please send your prayers MckMama's way, her sweet baby Stellan is battling a pretty severe case of RSV and is in the hospital right now...

Merry Christmas!

One word...ICE

Not snow, not rain....

ICE.

I hate it I hate it I hate it.

Now that I've got that out of my system I can continue. Things here are going pretty well. I'm working tonight then its off to see the family for Christmas! Yay! No matter how old I get I still want to spend Christmas at my parents. Now I'm sure that once we have our own kids we'll start our own traditions, but for now I'm sticking to my mom and dad's.

Our shopping is finally done (well my shopping, Mr. Football isn't the "shopping" type, he's more "ok we got the 1 thing we came for...lets go!" type.) We pretty much got what everyone asked for, so there really aren't any surprises this year...except the matching sweater thing. I even managed to pick up a few festive shirts for the dogs (I know...too much, but they were 50% off at Old Navy) I can't pass up a deal. My brother will meet us over here in the morning, then we'll pack up the gifts, 2 crates, 2 dogs and ourselves for the hour and a half trip. It's really not a bad drive to my parents, I did it pretty much every weekend for 4 years but now we've got 2 dogs who are not polite passengers. We'll spend the weekend at my parents then head back to face the real world on Monday. I'm hoping to catch up with some of my high school friends while I'm home. Its always nice to see what everyone is up too. Even after living away from my parents for 7 years, I still call their house "home". I'm not sure why that is though. I dont feel at "home" there, I feel at home at my own house, but its still what I say when I go there. Old habits die hard I guess.

So I hope that everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

Not Me Monday

I came across this poem that Sarah posted on her blog and decided to post it on mine also. This year I feel so thankful that I get to be with my ENTIRE family for the holidays...I realize so many others (many whom I met blogging) are spending this year away from spouses and loved ones because of deployment. I realize being a part of a military family now that's always a possiblity for me, so I'm going to live it up and enjoy every minute. I am also going to take time to think about all of our soldiers and their families out there keeping us safe...and I hope you will too.

Merry Christmas, My Friend
By James M. Schmidt, a Marine Lance Corporalstationed in Washington, D.C., in 1986

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone, In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give and to see just who in this home did live
As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand. On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.
With medals and badges, awards of all kind, a sobering thought soon came to my mind.

For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.This was the home of a U.S. Marine.
I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more, so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.

And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.
He seemed so gentle, his face so serene, Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.

Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read? Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?
His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan. I soon understood, this was more than a man. For I realized the families that I saw that night, owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play, And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home. Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye. I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice, "Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice

I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more. My life is my God, my country, my Corps."
With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still. I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill. So I took off my jacket, the one made of red, and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.

Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold, with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold. And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night, this guardian of honor so willing to fight. But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure, said

"Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."

And now...

Well another week has passed and I feel the need to confess the things I certainly did NOT do...

Here goes!

I am NOT getting sick right now. It's the middle of the holiday season and I have far too many things to do still. I absolutely eat 3 square meals a day and get 8 hours of rest a night...I'm the picture of health, so it is NOT phlegm that is sitting in my chest right now...

I did NOT decide to keep my sister's christmas present for myself. That would be selfish and unnecessary. I was NOT planning on re-gifting a wedding present to her but then decide that the crockpot is way too cool and I want it for myself (hey I registered for it afterall)...

I am NOT planning on going out after work today to buy her the exact same crockpot...

I would NEVER continually harass my brother to find out if he's gotten me the 3rd and 4th books in the Twilight series for Christmas. I'm very patient and appreciate any gift I receive (just like the crockpot)...

I did NOT have 2 college-aged guys show up on my doorstep this week to ask to shovel my driveway on 2 separate days. I also did NOT have a detective show up a little while later to ask about these guys...and inform me that a house was broken into down the street. I then did NOT call everybody I knew to talk to because I didn't want to be alone in the house...scary!

I did NOT guilt Little S (my friend) and Mr. Blackhawk(my brother) to bring me dinner at work after he arrived into town yesterday. That would just be very selfish...and I did NOT justify my selfishness by having them bring Mrs. P Olive Garden too...yum!

I did NOT go to lunch this week with work friends and snuggle with all of their babies! I would never monopolize all the time with the babies...

Finally, I did NOT go Christmas shopping one day this week until after 11 pm, then come home to find out that Mr. Football had not eaten dinner and was still awake. I did NOT feel guilty about all of this and make him pizza rolls at midnight. I always have a home cooked meal on the table when he comes home...remember??

Well I feel better about all the silly things I did NOT do this week...Check out MckMama's page for more confessions!

Finally Friday

Well for most people the work week is ending, mine is just about to begin. Ugh... but I finally started and pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, Yay! I met my friends for lunch today at Bravo (yum!) and got to play with their sweet babies...Baby B is 3 1/2 months, Baby A is 2 months and Baby E is 1 month. We had an epidemic at work last year and pretty much everyone had babies sometime this fall, I think there were 14 girls pregnant total. I decided it was safest to only drink bottled water...

So then we had a day full of shopping. Mr. Football wasn't exactly pleased that I shopped until 11pm tonight, but I felt like I HAD to keep going. I knew that once I stopped, I wouldn't start again. I have something to pick up at Target and Walmart on Monday, then I think I'm officially done. I'm very excited about these cute sweaters I found at Old Navy. Every year we take a family picture Christmas day, it's the only day everyone is actually together. So this year I decided I want everyone to match (corny I know) and found an assortment of grey/black/white sweaters for a very reasonable price. I can't wait to see how it turns out...

My brother "Mr. Blackhawk" is coming into town this weekend, so I planned on cleaning the house, getting the spare bedroom ready, and finally putting away the last of our wedding gifts...instead I finished Twilight and had to run out to Walmart at 9pm to buy New Moon. Pathetic. So tomorrow, before I go into work, I'll be speed cleaning (aka throwing things into totes/baskets/anywhere else unseen). No wait, I NEVER do that...

It finally feels like Christmas! Bring it on...

Oh! and I almost forgot...

2 months (and 1 day, I said I almost forgot, so I'm a day late) ago...

We got married! It's been a wonderful (and busy) 2 months...here to many many more!

seriously, who blogs about their dogs?

...I guess that would be me! The adorable Milo over at the Jet Plane's tagged Lulu and Jax for their very first post! I'm going to let Lulu handle this since she's the opinionated one...

So here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

From Lulu's bark, to your eyes...

1. I'm the guard dog of the house...really. I might be smaller, and a girl but I see and hear everything. I'm often found perched on the armrest of the sofa looking out the window just to make sure those people up on the balcony next door don't try anything funny...

Here I am protecting my family...I have to stand on the table to see out the window

2. I don't like the water, at all...I hate baths, puddles, rain, anything that might make me wet. BUT if my brother is out swimming in the lake and playing with my mom, I might just jump out of my lifeboat and swim to them...


3. I will not lay down on anything hard or cold. I MUST have a blanket, a pillow or anything soft if you expect me to go to sleep. And if I have to sit on the ground I will sit on my legs. My booty can not and will not touch the floor.

Lazy days...

4. I am very lady like. I always cross my legs when I lay down and I have a "prance" to my step, but I snore like a bull (at least thats what my mother says). I may have a longer snout, but there's still a pug in me.


5. I really like to play, but only by myself. As soon as that big lug Jax goes outside, I find the nearest ball/bone/toy and run around like crazy. I will bring it to mom or dad or anyone else in the room to play fetch/tug/keepaway with...but the second I hear Jax at the door, I drop the toy and lay back down on the headrest of the couch.

I had an allergic reation to my vaccinations. I was miserable.

6. I used to have a best friend named "hump-doggy". When I was little I was in love with a brown and white stuffed dog. I carried it around with me everywhere I went. I used to clean it and shake it around, then I would hump it...even though I'm a girl. It was my bestest friend for 2 years, then He came, and ripped her apart. Now I have no one...no wonder I'm so onry...

My bestest...

Well now that you know all of my embarrasing quirks, its your turn! I'm tagging:

1. Boo at Losing Weight With Cookies

2. Taylor and Jackson at Polka Dots and Paisley

3. Chief and King Arthur at First comes love

4. Marley Aspen and Thumper at With Love from New Orleans

5. Poodle Puppy at Momstheword

6. Cheeto at Navigating the Quarterlife

Have Fun! Love Lulu!

Not Me Monday

So I thought I did pretty well this week, until I started writing my “Not Me’s” and they just kept coming… So here goes!

This week I did NOT go Christmas shopping and buy myself 2 Christmas ornaments and nothing for anyone else…

I did NOT read a book (Twilight) instead of doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, sleeping etc…

I did NOT make myself look busy in my patients room all night “working” when in reality I was taking photos of the babies and making cute signs to post over their incubators…

I also did NOT put off doing my Christmas cards because I still have NOT finished my “Thank you’s”...I have terrible bridal etiquette.

And I would NEVER go to a jewelry party and buy something because I felt bad that only 3 people came… I always purchase products at parties.

I did NOT justify not cleaning the house this weekend because I’m off work midway through the week…my house is always spotless.

And finally, I had to write one for Mr. Football himself, he did NOT cheat at cards this weekend because he could not stand to lose another game to his lovely wife…he would NEVER do that… he’s such a gracious loser.

Thanks MckMama for the free therapy! Be sure to check out her blog for more fun “Not Me’s”!

11 days till christmas

Mr. Football and I had a pretty busy weekend...We started the excitment Friday night when one of my bestest girlfriends came home from Hawaii, yes Hawaii. Little S (as we like to call her) happened to meet this boy at our wedding. They started talking and decided to exchange phone numbers. While the hubby and I were on our honeymoon they talked pretty much everyday. This boy just so happens to live in Hawaii and invited Little S to come visit anytime...well Little S, being a very smart fun girl, decided to take him up on his offer. So she was able to fly to Hawaii for 12 days pretty much all expenses paid. She had a wonderful time there, and while I'm not exactly sure of their relationship, I know that they are great friends now...oh and did I mention that this "boy" happens to be my brother? I think it would be so much fun to have one of my best friends as my sister-in-law but I think I'm getting ahead of myself...we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

So Friday night we all went to dinner and exchanged Secret Santa names. I'm very excited about who I picked because I already knew what I planned on getting this person...and that just about never happens. I'm always at a loss as to what to get people...either I want to buy someone everything, or I have no clue.

Saturday the hubby and I spent the afternoon "attempting to" Christmas shop. Pretty much we went to several stores, got discouraged with the crowds and left with nothing. I did find a 2008 ornament for our tree and a photo frame ornament for Jax. But shopping for myself defeats the purpose of "Christmas Shopping".

Our friends invited us to a Christmas Party Saturday night, there was good food and fun people. We played Euchre, where I happened to beat Mr. Football pretty much every game. He and his friend were not very good sports about losing so they ended up cheating to win! Very uncool...

Today we went to a friends for a Premier Designs Jewelry party. The girls shopped for jewelry and the boys played Guitar Hero. There was lots of cute jewelry that I wanted but since we broke the bank with our wedding we only have enough to spend on others. I bought my mom a very cute charm bracelet. Hopefully it will be here in time for Christmas...

Tonight I'm on-call for work again. Someone must have called in sick because I'm the "A" transport person. I should probably try to get a nap in since I could go out anytime, but I really just was to read my book...

Everyone has been talking about it and I really wasn't that into it when I first started reading it, but now I'm hooked...

...back to reading!

baby, baby, baby...

I just want to start with saying that I LOVE my job. I don't say that everyday, and that's because I don't feel like that everyday...I'm not sure anyone does. Obviously there are other things I'd rather do than work, a million things I'd rather do actually. And when I have a crappy night at work, I feel like why do I even bother? My job is serious, pretty much all the time, and when I have a bad night, believe me...its bad. Thankfully I've only had a handful of "bad" nights, and in my line of work that means...well I work with sick and premature babies, you get the picture.

Last night I had the privilege of taing care of the sweetest babies ever...3 little boys, who just so happen to be triplets. They are doing so well and are absolutely thriving. They are the reason I LOVE my job. It is the best feeling to take care of little people who have fought so hard and are on the path to go home. Normally I take care of sick babies, the sickest, and when they get better I move onto the next sick one. So when I actually get healthy babies, I take advantage of the situation. Their mother was discharged from the hospital last night, so she was pretty tearful. Every mother imagines going to the hospital, having a baby and then going home with that baby...so its only appropriate to be sad when your vision doesn't take...especially times three.

Since I had three very nice babies last night I decided that they needed to be fluffed and buffed...meaning baths and linen changes for everyone. We just so happened to get a delivery of clean baby laundry so everyone got cute bedding and outfits. The hospital provides standard baby shirts, but we are fortunate enough to have a closet of donated baby clothes and blankets. Most are preemie outfits donated from our graduates and others are bought by staff. (If anyone has preemie and newborn outfits lying around look into donating them to a children's hospital. We are always VERY grateful.) Anyways, after bathtime it was photo-shoot time. Its amazing to me that I can not motivate myself to scrapbook anything at home, I don't really know why. I love scrapbooking and I'm always looking for new ideas and buying things, but then I get home and I have no desire to do it...hmm.

A lovely family donated a digital camera and printer after their son was discharged so now we frequently do "photo-shoots" of our babies. Then we make cute cards and signs and banners when we have the time. So each of my boys last night got footprints done, a picture of their face, and a close up of hands or feet. I creatively scrapped each picture on different colored paper and attached each square with ribbon for each boy. It's not the greatest but it was the best I could do while at work. Hopefully mom will be surprised when she comes in and feel at ease that her boys got plenty of attention while she wasn't there...

...and my baby itch was satisfied, at least for a little while.

so I repeat...I LOVE my job!

If your looking for something new you should consider being a NICU nurse...its pretty great.

how I wish I were there

Its been a busy week, I worked every night so far and have one more to go... Haven't had a lot of time to blog this week so I thought I'd write a quick one. It was 24 degrees when I left work this morning (at least that's what the temperature thing in my car said). Theres just a dusting of snow on the ground, dirty snow that is, and random patches of ice. Yuck. So I was thinking as I drove home, how I wish I was there...

Tulum

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Our Resort-South Half

Deep Sea Fishing

Lounging Poolside

Mr. Football and I had a fabulous time on our honeymoon. Even though it rained half the time we were there, it still wasn't 24 degrees. Hope everyone's thinking warm thoughts!

One Week

I've officially been blogging for one week now and I think I've done pretty well. I know I've met some really great people...and I can't wait to meet more!


So my silly dogs today were going crazy outside. I just figured there were people walking around or a cat in the driveway...nothing unusual. Every time I would let them outside they would bark and bark. It wasn't until this evening that I realized what they were barking at...


...a shovel. Mr. Loves-football-more-than-life had shoveled the driveway over the weekend, and left the shovel propped up against the house. That apparently was enough to get my dogs stirred up. Silly babies.


On another note, I finally put the Christmas tree up and started to decorate the house. I realized this year that almost all of my ornaments mean something, and I love that. Eventually I would like to have all our ornaments mean somthing, but these will due for now...

We only have 3 stockings right now, Jax still needs one...but I think we're off to a good start. And if you noticed, there aren't any gifts under the tree because I haven't started shopping yet. (I'm such a procrastinator) I finally our christmas cards last night, so hopefully they'll be out by the end of the week. It feel like we just got back from our honeymoon...I need a few more months until Christmas. Anyone else feel like this year flew by?

Not Me Monday!

I’ve been following MckMama’s “Not Me Monday” for a while now, but this is my first post! So here goes…

This week I absolutely did NOT check my email every 5 minutes every single day until I received the link to see my wedding pictures. I am much too busy of a person to waste time doing that. That would just be obsessive…they’re fabulous by the way…

Also, I did NOT spend all of my free time on my new blog meeting great new friends this week. There is just too much housework and Christmas decorating to get done, that would have been a huge waste of time…

I would NEVER use the excuse of work to get out of attending a Christmas party, and then actually get called into work…

And I did NOT cut 6 inches off my hair that I’ve been growing for the last year and a half. I’ve worked so hard to grow it out for the wedding, I would absolutely NOT be spontaneous and cut it all off…and if I did do it, I definitely would have let Mr. Football know ahead of time…

I did NOT buy a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough at the store this week. Whenever I make cookies they are always from scratch. I then proceeded NOT to eat ¼ of the roll and bake only 4 cookies for myself. That would just be selfish…

Mr. Football and I did NOT eat out practically every night this week. I am a wife now and I always have a hot home cooked meal waiting on the table every night…

I would NOT have started my blog last Monday night because I really really wanted to participate in “Not Me Monday!” And if I did, I definitely would have gotten it done before midnight so that I could participate…

Finally, I did NOT have a huge baby itch when our friends were over Sunday night with Baby B. He is absolutely adorable and squeezable. I am much too practical and I know that we are just not ready for babies yet, and I would NOT have asked Mr. Football for just one…

What a fun post! I love reading everyone’s “Not me’s!” Read more at MckMama’s page!

And what did you NOT do this week?

an explosion!

I absolutely love my friends, especially on random days like today.

This afternoon the Mr. and I had an impromtu gathering. Mr. T and Ms. Cookie stopped by first, then we invited the P family over. We were watching football and ordered dinner...pretty ordinary. The Cookie family brought over their child, a black lab/weimaraner mix named Boo to play with our children and the P family brought their sweet 3 month old baby B over. Normally these nights are a little more planned, but this works too.

Since getting engaged last year Mr. Football and I decided we needed to save money for the wedding, but we still loved hanging out with our friends. So we started having Game nights, and they became a hit. Each time we had one, we would plan on playing a different game...but we'd always end up playing Cranium Pop 5...girls against guys. Some of my best memories this past year are of us girls beating their pants off!

So after we were done eating our delicious chinese food we ordered (Mr. Football had chili-dogs because ironically enough he's not a fan of chinese food...maybe he should re-evalulate who he married) the baby started getting fussy. At first we could see what was wrong, but then on further examination...

An Explosion!

This sweet baby boy made such a mess he had to go the rest of the night dressed like this...

But he was all smiles! So being the amature photog I try to be, I had to snap some pics...

The rest of the gang played video games and blogged themselves...

Daddy P, Mr. Loves-football-more-than-life

Mr. T and Ms. Cookie

Lulu, Boo, Jax

me, Ms. Cookie, Mama P

Look how cute...Mr. Football looks pretty good with a baby...don't you think?

P.S. Jags and Browns let us down again...is football season over yet??

faithful companions

So its 5 in the morning and I'm awake watching SATC, the movie and blogging. After 3+ years I'm officially a night-shift girl. I'm sleeping while Mr. Football is awake, and I'm awake while he's sleeping even when I'm not at work. I ended up getting called into work last night to go pick up a baby from another hospital that was sick. Part of my job in the NICU is being part of the transport team...which is exactly what it sounds like, we "transport" babies. We go to outlying hospitals and bring babies to our Level 3 NICU or we take babies to other hospitals when necessary. I got the call at about 11pm last night while the hubby and I were watching Hancock. The charge nurse told me that I'd be going to pick up a baby from a hospital 45 minutes away that was pretty sick. We would be going "lights and sirens" which means its pretty serious. No matter how long I do this job I always get butterflies when I go out on transport. I never know what I'm walking into or how bad it is going to be...

I ended up not getting home until 7:30 this morning so I slept ALL day. I consider the first day after I work my "lost day" because that's what it is. Sometimes I can urge myself to get up around noon but today was not one of those days. Mr. Loves-football-more-than-life is pretty good about letting me sleep, especially on football days. So I did not get to go to a Christmas party today and I did not decorate the house like I wanted...

Instead we watched football, had chili for dinner, I slept some more and now I'm still up watching movies and blogging. I've got my two faithful companions to keep me company...

...ok maybe not.

On another note, today was the first snow fall. I mean the first REAL snowfall, that stuck and everything. Theres about an inch or so, and its beautiful. I love the first snow fall of the year, especially when I dont have to be out in it. Im looking forward to snowboarding and sledding, making snowmen, and Mr. Football's birthday!

What are you looking forward to this winter?

my very first...

Looks like I've been tagged by Ashley at Polka Dots and Paisley!

The rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

And here they are! My 6 random things/quirks:

1. I absolutely hate going through the mail...well sort of. I thoroughly enjoy getting mail, in fact I race Mr. Football to get it everyday. But once I sort through it and pull out all of the fun stuff, I dread going through the rest. So my system is I leave "piles" of mail through out the house, organized "piles". I know exactly what is in each pile, I just choose not to deal with them until 1 day a month when I do all of it. Its tedious and time consuming but I just can't bring myself to do it any other way...

2. I have an obsession with cookie dough. I can eat cookie dough everyday, all day. Its bad for you and full of terrible calories but I LOVE it. I'm sure this isn't a random quirk because lots of people love cookie dough...but my best friend is also named Cookie. (well her nickname)

3. I have a chronic raspy voice. More often than not I get asked if I have a cold, which is terrible when you work with premature babies...but I don't. I had vocal cord nodules when I was 15 and had laser surgery to remove them...which has left me with a raspy voice. I used to hate hate hate it and I didn't really like to hear my own voice, but I think it's just me now.

4. I planned my entire wedding myself...I'm sure I'm one of millions who have done this. But I mean EVERYTHING. I made all of my save the dates, invitations, programs. I made the centerpieces, all of the decorations, and picked all of the music. I picked bridesmaid dresses (2 to be exact), the photographer, and designed my cake. I spent hours and hours on tedious details, and on the weekend of my wedding, when everything didn't go as planned (of course), I said "oh well".

5. My dog Lulu came from my mother in law. The first time Mr. Football and I went to meet his parents, his mother gave me a dog. She has a pug and his dad has a hunting beagle. They randomly "hooked up" one day and along came 6 puppies. They obviously had no desire to keep 8 dogs so they started giving them away. After some research she realized her pug/beagle mix, a "Puggle" to be exact, was worth a lot of money. So when Mr. Football and I went out for the holidays she gave me one as a present. I had recieved a $500 puppy as my first gift from my future mother in law.

my first child:

6. I'm a blog stalker. I love reading other people's blogs. I don't know who they are or anything about them but I get sucked up in their lives. It started when I randomly found Mckmama's blog one night and read about sweet baby Stellan and I was obsessed. I wanted to know how he would do and if he'd survive (if you don't know his story, you should check out her blog)...so much so that even on my honeymoon I paid $2.50 for 15 minutes of internet to read about his birth. Are there any other blog stalkers out there?

And here are my 6 chosen ladies..have fun!

Losing weight with Cookies

Learning to be a Wife

Leaving and Loving on a Jet Plane

Never Apart In Heart

Lovely Yellow Ribbons

The Crazy Life of a Navy Wife

Thanks Ashley for my first Tag! It was fun!

They're fabulous

so just a quick post because I'm going to bed...and waking up in 4 very short hours for a hair appointment. It takes work to be beautiful as you know. :P so here is a sneak peak!

Huge Huge Huge Thanks to Jeff at Making the Moment Photography. I can't wait to receive my storybooks!