Hangin' Tough in 2008!!!!!

grab your 80s gear, NKOTB t-shirts, and cassette tapes



My friend Julie and I have been chatting all day (yes, during work hours) about the possible reunion of New Kids on the Block. We fully support this venture and will probably do about anything to get tickets to this momumental event! As we chatted, memories of the NKOTB days came rushing back to me. The t-shirts, the dolls, the buttons, the pillowcase, the books, the lunchbox, the trading cards... I had it all! Well, I always wanted more, but I really did have a lot of stuff. The photo below is of the NKOTB Dolls. Alicia had Jordan and I had Joey. Mmmm.... our Barbie's just loved their new friends. :)



The next picure I found is a T-shirt that I actually had back in the day! I went looking through Ebay to see if they had pictures of anything I had as a kid and sure enough, there it was!

I can remember listening to the Top 10 Countdown on Oklahoma City's KJ103 everynight at 9 hoping to hear a new song. With my radio/cassette player ready to go I would wait and press RECORD just at the right time so that I would have the new song before anyone else.

I can remember getting the call from my friend Amie when she got tickets to the concert. I was sooooo jealous and mad at my parents. I remember crying and telling them how bad I wanted to go and asking them why I couldn't go with her. I even remember saying, "Well, if Debbie Gibson or Amy Grant comes, can I go see them instead." Little did I know that my parents were making me go through this torture because they had tickets for me all along and were waiting until Christmas to give them to me. I really thought they just wanted me to be the most un-cool person ever because I didn't go to the concert, haha. On Christmas Day it was the last present I opened. It was placed at the bottom of a clothes box and it was covered with packing peanuts. I remember opening it up and thinking, "what the heck is this?" Low and behold at the bottom of that box was the "Golden Ticket"! I remember asking, "I get to go? I really get to go?" My mom laughing replied back, "well, you have a ticket don't you." I screamed and danced around the living room... it was the highlight of my 3rd grade year!

Jordan, Jonathan, Donnie, Joey and Danny... will you please let it be the highlight of 2008 too?! :)

Cause my Southern Belle tagged me...

Just for you Mar Mar

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Senior Prevention Specialist at Greenbush
2. Staff Writer at the Morning Sun
3. Vision Therapist at Coleman Vision Improvement Center
4. Customer Service Clerk at Dillons

4 Movies Watched Over and Over:
1. Grease
2. A Few Good Men
3. Anchorman
4. Top Gun

4 TV Shows I Watch:
1. American Idol
2. Days of Our Lives
3. Sell this House ( I need all the tips I can get right now)
4. Rock of Love (I don't care if he is a man-whore... I love Bret Michaels)

4 Places I've Lived:
1. Moore, Okla
2. El Dorado, Kan.
3. Pittsburg, Kan.
4. Girard, Kan.

4 Places I've Been:
1. New York City
2. Las Vegas, NV
3. Baton Rouge, LA
4. Paln Springs, CA

4 People Who Email me Regularly:
1. Misty
2. Mike
3. Sherry
4. Melanie

4 Favorite Things to Eat:
1. Mexican Food
2. Pasta
3. Chicken Quesadillas (see #1)
4. Anything I don't have to cook (I agree with all of Marla's!!!!)

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
1. at home working on the house
2. anywhere but work
3. sleeping
4. Bahamas

4 Things I Look forward to This Year:
1. Moving to Indiana
2. Starting a new career
3. My one year wedding anniversary
4. Possibly making a baby :)

4 People to Tag:
1. Sherry (cause she's new to blogging... and she loves these things as much as I do)
2. Sarah (cause, I miss that gal)
3. Don't know anyone else who blogs
4.

Another one bites the dust

and there goes another plate

I've often heard people say that if you have an expensive pair of sunglasses you will lose them, but you will hold on to cheap pair for years and years. I have a feeling that goes for dinnerware too.

For the last 6 years Jared and I have dined off of hand-me-down dishes my parents gave us. The design looked much like the couch on "That 70s Show" but by golly they were sturdy pieces of stone. Never once did we break or chip any piece of this dinnerware. Some of it was already chipped, however we never broke one ourselves.

As a wedding gift, several members of our family bought us new dinnerware. Beautiful stone red plates and bowls, just like I wanted. I take a lot of pride in this new set, placing it ever-so-gently in the dishwasher and buffing all the spots off the dish before placing it in the cabinet.

Within the last month, we have lost one bowl and chipped a plate. One of them was Jada's fault for knocking a vase off the top of the cabinets that fell into the sink and busted a bowl. The other one was my fault for dropping a knife and butter tub on a plate and chipping a corner off.

I guess that just goes to show that sometimes the cheap stuff is better!

A busy weekend

what a crazy, busy weekend

Jared and I got a lot done this weekend. Friday night we headed over to Pittsburg for our friend Eric's birthday party. It was a lot of fun, especially since we hadn't been out in a while. I got to see a lot of people that I hardly get to hang out with anymore, like my best gal Chesney! Here are some pictures from our evening. The first one is Jared Hicks... we will be rooming with him for a little bit in Indiana. He is a lot of fun and it will be nice that Jared and I have at least 1 friend when we move up there, haha.


On Saturday my dad came to town to help Jared re-frame a few doors and fill a few cracks in the walls before we put the house on the market. It didn't take them too long at all and I think Jared learned a little from my dad, which is always good. This man has so much knowledge and Jared and I need to learn as much from him as we possibly can.

That was about it, besides packing, packing packing.... which I did a lot of that! We are slowly, but surely getting the house ready. I hope to have it listed in a week, but we'll see how that goes.

Playin' around

trashbags make great toys, apparently

So, here's a few pictures of Jada getting in way. I was clearing out some clothes and putting together a bag of clothes for Amanda (or Aunt Amanda as Jada refers to her). Well, I guess she wanted to go home to Amanda's house with the clothes cause once I told her where they were going... she hopped right in and started playing. She just loves her Aunt Amanda and she will miss her a lot! :(

Because everyone needs a laugh once in a while

it has been a horrible week

Jared and I have had a horrible week filled with worry, doubt and questions about our financial future.

They say laughter is the best medicine and this video has always made me laugh. I thought I would share with all of you.

So much to do, so little time

i don't even know where to begin

I have prided myself in the past for my supreme moving skills. Since moving from my hometown of El Dorado I have moved 5 times, although not a single one of these moves was over 20 miles. Jared and I had the perfected the art of "Moving on the cheap and on the quick". Armed with Wal-Mart sacks, trash bags and old boxes, we were the "American Gladiators" of moving. Give us a half day, some good music on the radio and a few borrowed trucks and we out of there in a flash.

I have quickly learned, however, that packing up everything to move 5 miles is a little different than packing everything to move 687 miles. I can no longer throw my clothes in the car on their hangers and pack dinner plates in bags and just say "be careful" to whoever puts it in the car.

It took me a while to figure out where to begin, but now, newspaper and bubble wrap are quickly becoming my best pals! With every box I pack I feel a weight of stress disappear from my neck and shoulders. It will be a long process and I am not even close to having the house ready for sale, but I'll get there! The house is a flippin' mess though and it is driving me crazy! And it doesn't help that Jada likes to play in every box I open. But, I know it will be like that until we can get the clutter packed away and into storage.

Everyone please keep us and our little house in your thoughts.... we need all the luck we can get to sell the house and come out on top. Hopefully I'll get some pictures on here once I get it ready to sell. Or, if I can get some cute ones of Jada playing in the boxes, haha.

Changes are a comin'

our life is about to get real interesting

Ok everyone... I'm sorry if you haven't heard from us yet about this but we just made our decision yesterday.

Jared and I are moving to Elkhart, Indiana! Jared was offered the Warehouse Manager position earlier this week and after much discussion and some bargaining with Jake's we have made the decision to move our little family up there.

For those of you not familiar with Indiana, Elkhart is just minutes from South Bend, Indiana (home to Notre Dame and the College Football Hall of Fame), less than 2 hours from Chicago and about an hour from Lake Michigan. We will be right on the border of Indiana and Michigan (they like to call it Michiana apparently... haha). So, there is a lot to see up there and it appears that there are a lot of opportunities for my career.

I hate to leave Greenbush, but this will give me an opportunity to get out there, try a few new things and find a position that I can grow with. I am excited about this opportunity, but also frightened.

Selling our house in Girard is the part that scares me the most! I have already started de-cluttering the house but it will be a large task considering all the crap we have managed to cram into this place, haha.

Anyway, I will update you all more later and Jared and I have been making calls to everyone.... so, again, sorry that some of you have to hear about it this way but I've been itching to blog about it for a while! Talk to you all later and we love you all.

Oh, Topeka... my home away from home!

this is going to sound like an advertisement for Hyatt Hotels

I just have to brag for a minute and give the newly remodeled Hyatt Place in Topeka some much deserved free advertising.

Hyatt Place, formerly known as Amerisuites, is our favorite place to stay when we head to Topeka for work. It is a nice hotel with fabulous staff. In fact, we stay here so much we have learned the names of most of them and they ususally recognize us and can call us by name as well.

While Amerisuites was a great place to stay, they are currently renovating the entire hotel into Hyatt Place and it is awesome! when I first arrived Sunday night they did not have the new rooms ready yet. So, much to my disspointment, I had to stay in an old room. But, I asked if I could be switched to a new room once they are finished. They worked hard all day to get at least 2 rooms ready so that Lisa and I can try out the new rooms. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL! Flat screen tvs, down comforters, large sofa with ottoman and the best part... they are super clean and we are the first people to stay in them! The manager even took us up to our rooms to show us all the new features and make sure we are comfortable. That's what I call service!

So, if you are ever in Topeka, check out the Hyatt Place (Amerisuites) I think you will be satisified with your stay... I am so far!

Good times with my sista!

i had a blast with my sister this weekend

Jared and I headed to good ole Ta Town this weekend for some quality time with our friends. I had the pleasure of spending some time with my little sister Alicia. We met up with Alicia and several of our friends for dinner Friday night and then Alicia and I went back to her house to take care of some very important business... teaching her the Soulja Boy dance! Oh my... we were both a little "dance challenged" especially when Busch Light and White Zinfandel decided to join us. Needless to say, we will not be back up dancers or appear in a music video anytime soon. But we had fun trying... and I think Chris had a good time watching our uncoordinated antics.

Besides our attempt to be kick-ass dancers, we also took a trip back in time and recalled stories from our childhood. I laughed so hard my stomach still hurts. I can't wait until I get to hang out with her again. Hopefully it is soon!

While I was with Alicia today, Jared and the boys trekked out to Great Bend for Pheasant hunting. They had a great time and Jared finally got to get his new shotgun that he has been talking about. He was so excited and so proud of his new hunting equipment. He really enjoys the sport and I think it is good for him to get out with his friends and do something he loves.

In other news, please keep your fingers crossed for Jared on January 30. We are heading to Dr. Quinlan's office to see if he is a candidate for Laser Eye Surgery! His vision has gotten so bad that he can't even wear contacts anymore. While he looks so cute and smart in his little glasses, they are a pain and he is tired of wearing them. So, we hope that the consultation goes well and that he can have the surgery! I'll let you all know what we find out.

I saved $145 by switching to Geico!

not really, but we saved $145 by not hiring a plumber

Thank God for Jared's friend Skip that knows how to fix just about everything. Skip was able to fix our toilet in record time and for the cost of a few beers. Now, that's how I like to do business!

So, that is all taken care of... but wait until I tell you what we are dealing with now.

I have had my first lesson in parenting. We have a 2 year old. Well, a 2 year old cat that acts like a 2 year old human being. She is always in the way, we trip over her all the time. She gets into things, she climbs up on furniture, she whines, she always wants to sleep in bed with us, she tries to get out of the house, and now she a picky eater.

When we got home from Louisiana, we went to the store to pick up a few things. When we were going down the pet isle Jared asked if Jada needed anything. She really didn't, but Jared wanted to get her a few packs of that soft food "Turkey and Gravy" type stuff. I said that it was ok, but last time I got her some she just licked up all the gravy and left the food.

Well, we bought some and gave her one packet of it that evening. She licked up all the gravy first, then ate all the food later that evening. We thought, "oh, she really liked it, we should get it for her now and again as a treat since regular cat treats make her sick"

Well now the little stinker is not eating her regular food! Usually she eats like a hog and I have to give her food every morning or she whines at me until I do it. Sometimes she needs refills mid-day because she is such a pig (good thing it is diet food). But for at least 4 days now I have not had to refill her food bowl. Jared suggested I give her the other packet of soft food that we bought just so she has something to eat since we are leaving town this weekend. That little shit ate it all in one setting, and then just looked at the hard food in her bowl, looked at me, and walked away. I could have killed her!

(This is an old picture of her after I remodeled the bathroom. She was into EVERYTHING during that project. She even had some blue paint on her nose.)

Bathroom Blues

so, apparently our toilet broke this morning

I'm still not sure what happened, all I know is I got yelled at for asking. :) Jared got up this morning just as I was about to get up and start getting ready. He used the bathroom, flushed the toilet and just when the water should have shut off, it didn't. I could have swore that water was spewing all over the floor. He came back to bed before this noise started. So, we both laid in bed, not saying a word to each other and listened for a little bit to see if it would stop. It was like a "drip, drip, drip, kssshhhhhhh, kssshhhhhh, drip, drip, drip kamooooossshhh" (You like my typed sound effects)

He got up after a few minutes to go see what the deal was. I laid in bed and though, oh crap, this is gonna be a wonderful day! I waited to see if he would holler me in there to help him, or if he would just do it himself. I heard him flushing multiple times, jiggling the handle, cussing to himself and messing with the tank. I remained in bed for a bit, then decided I better check it out.

As I walk in he puts the tank lid back on and then turns the water valve off.
Me: "What's wrong with it"
Jared, in a frustrated tone: "the water won't stop running, so I turned it off"
Me: "Um, I need to pee"
Jared, still in a frustrated tone, "so go, just don't flush"
So, I do my little girl business and go back to bed for a bit.

Once I lay back in bed I ask Jared "So, what are you gonna do". (I realized at the exact time that the last word left my mouth that maybe I shouldn't have asked him that right now)

I WAS RIGHT!
Jared, in an angry tone now, "I will fix it later when I am awake"

Apparently he was alseep the whole time. Could have fooled me! :)

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

i wasn't ready to go back to work

As I sit here trying to keep my eyes open (I've got that whole fluttering eye syndrome... I bet I look REAL good right now) I am convinced that I needed another week to recover before coming back to work. Just getting up a 6:30 was a challenge... we never got up that early in Louisiana. But, I keep grinding away at my work and think about the weekend.

We have decided to head to good ole Wichita this weekend. Jared will get in some quality "walk in a field with a gun" time with his buddies (otherwise known as Pheasant hunting). And I will be hanging out with my sister and friends. Alicia is pretty excited that I am coming. Apparently she wants to "show off her house". I can appreciate that... I was the same way when I graduated college, moved into a better place and finally was able to buy (or con mom into giving me) nice furnishings :)

Either way, I always have a great time with my sis, no matter what we are doing. So, when work gets me down.... I am gonna think about chillin' with my sis and maybe that will get me by... and maybe an occassional online shopping adventure :)

Home Sweet Home

it's great to be home

Jared and I made it back to the great state of Kansas on Friday evening after a well-deserved stop in Tunica, MS for some gambling. Looking back on the trip, I am really glad I did it. It wasn't near as bad as I expected, actually several parts of it were quite fun! The 31st definitely WAS the busiest day, just as Jared said it would be. Everyone waited until the last minute to come in to get their fireworks and then they all wanted a DEAL... yeah right! "Hey man you gonna cut me a deal?" "Hey, how much dis is?" "Hey man, what dis do?" "Hey, ya'll got any stems?" Stems is the southern way of asking for punk sticks to light their fireworks. Haha.

Anyway, it was a busy and tiring day, but we made it through! Here is a picture of Jared and I after midnight. Don't we look tired?

The good news... I did get my first-ever New Year's kiss with Jared!!!! It was totally worth it! XOXOXO