Friday Funnies

Where on earth did this week go?!

I'm looking forward to a laid back weekend at home (for once!)--the plan is to actually work on our house, help our friends Jason and Abby landscape their backyard, pet Bitsy, and eat lots of delicious sushi (I discovered I can have California rolls--boom!).

Hope your weekend is fabulous and fun!

Guilty.

Pregnant in Heels

Disclaimer: I am a member of Influenster and received free products in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

I have the coolest job ever.

Seriously.

As a television reporter, I get to talk with new and interesting people every single day, travel to different locations (it is very seldom that I have to stay in the office for more than an hour at a time), and put together fun and classic outfits that look both professional and camera ready.

My favorite work outfit accessory is heels; a cute pair of heels (the shorter and classier, the better!) can complete any outfit. But.. since becoming pregnant, I have noticed that heels just aren't as comfortable and practical as they used to be (and if it's like this at 3 months, I can only imagine the way it'll be at 8 months when my tooties are swollen and 3x their normal size).

Enter Dr. Scholl's® For Her Ball of Foot inserts. 

I was so excited when I opened my VoxBox and discovered these inserts. Seriously, how perfect?!

I took these bad boys for a spin (or should I say for a walk?) yesterday in my favorite pair of closed toe black heels and I must say that I was impressed. I had to walk all over the place for interviews and felt just fine the entire time--almost like I was wearing a pair of comfortable and supportive tennies. I love the added comfort and support the cushions give you and it was a treat not having to come home to scrunched and blistered toes. The small size is also very discreet and perfect for open toed heels.

Do I dare try them with my favorite red heels?!

I highly recommend this product--and at less than $10 a pair, how can you go wrong (you can buy a pair for each set of heels!)? 

The ultimate test will be whether or not I'm able to wear heels (and still be comfortable) at Tyler and Jessica's wedding in November.. when I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant..

To be continued..

Finding Out/Telling Brandon I'm Pregnant (Video)

I have been wanting to tell this story for awhile now but I've been waiting for the right time and for the right words.. It's finally time.

Brandon and I had talked a lot about when we wanted to start trying for a family but we could never really agree on the "right" time--I was thinking around 30 (which would put Brandon at 34, which he wasn't too keen on) and Brandon was thinking in the next year or two (which I wasn't too sure about) so we decided to just pray about it and let the timing work itself out.

The timing ended up working itself out to where we were pregnant less than 4 months after getting married. And you know what? That was perfect.

The day we found out was Monday, April 29th.

My mom and Auntie Sharon had been out visiting that weekend and I just felt off the entire time. We went out to lunch on Saturday and the thought of ordering a margarita with them made my stomach turn (the sight of any sort of hamburger or meat wasn't helping much either). I was supposed to be getting my period the next day so I just wrote it off as PMS.

Lunch with the girls (I was posing with Auntie Sharon's margarita)!

Well, my period didn't make it's appearance on Sunday. My periods had been pretty irregular so I didn't think a whole lot about it but in the back of my mind I wondered..

On Monday morning I woke up feeling pretty upbeat and energized so I thought I'd walk to the post office to mail a few letters/bills we had (I had fractured my back about 3 weeks beforehand but I felt good and had my brace on and was ready to do something!)--terrible idea. The post office is a good 2 1/2 miles from our house and I hadn't walked in awhile because of my back so it took me a long time to get there and back--boy, I knew I hadn't walked in awhile but I couldn't believe how winded I was getting.. was I that out of shape?!

I returned home from my 5-mile walk tired and sweaty and ready for a shower. As I was getting out of my nasty workout clothes, I looked down and noticed that something was a little off with the "girls" (and by a little off, I mean they were suddenly fuller and had a few other noticeable differences). It was at that very moment I knew.

Quickly I took a shower, changed into clean clothes, threw my wet hair up in a ponytail and drove to the store for some pregnancy tests. I couldn't stop smiling on the way over; I just knew I was pregnant. I made record time to/from the store (chugging water all the way) and arrived home with a full bladder and an anxious heart.

I took the first test, set it on the bathroom counter, walked to the kitchen to find something to do while I waited, stayed away for about 10 seconds and ran back to the bathroom to discover the two solid lines I was so hoping for.

I was pregnant.

Words cannot even begin to describe how I felt at that very moment. I laughed, cried, jumped up and down, prayed, and called Jen (I HAD to tell my best friend!). After hanging up with Jen, I called the doctor to see if I could get in for a blood test later that day--the only appointment they had available was at 3:50 (10 minutes before Brandon got off work). I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't see a doctor that day so I made the appointment.

The next big thing was deciding how to tell Brandon.. telling my husband we're expecting a baby is something I've dreamed about my entire life and I wanted it to be perfect. So I ran to Wal-Mart, picked up a University of Kansas (Brandon's team) onesie and hid it in a shoebox.

Babies first outfit :)

My plan was to give the box to Brandon, tell him I was making him something for the upcoming KU basketball season and let him open it. It was finally time for my doctors appointment (the longest 2-hour wait of my life) where I peed in a cup, got poked with a couple needles and had it confirmed that sure enough I was pregnant! It was time to go home and tell my husband that we were going to be parents.

I have never been so nervous/excited/scared/ecstatic as I was at this moment.

The words didn't come out quite the way I wanted them to and my "inconspicuous" camera work is pretty botched but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment. We hugged, laughed, cried and just talked for the rest of the night (and went out for dinner to celebrate). Our lives changed forever on April 29th.

I don't think I have ever said when I'm due.. January 5th (our one year wedding anniversary, go figure!). God's timing never ceases to amaze me and I'm so happy and excited to be embarking on this new adventure.

As always, thank you for listening to my story and for inviting me into your homes each and everyday--It's a blessing to have you all along for this crazy adventure called life :)

Party, Party, I like to Party

Chic on a Shoestring Budget, 

Doughnut Kabobs, Photo Booths and the Time I Almost Died (Again)

Another fun and eventful weekend has come and gone (seriously, I feel like we've been hitting the "perfect weekend" jackpot lately--such a thing exists, right?)..

We headed east early Friday afternoon to the "Heart of America"--that's right folks, we traveled to Kansas City (technically Overland Park and Lawrence.. but you get the idea)! One of my friends from college was getting married on Saturday so we decided to make a weekend out of it and visit some good friends while we were out there.. we had such a wonderful time! I'll let the bullet points and pictures tell the rest of the story.

Friday:

• Left town shortly after noon.
• Had to turn around a few miles outside of town because Brandon forgot his clothes for the wedding.
• Realized we were hungry and picked up Wendy's before getting back on the road. 
• Made the trek across Kansas. 
• Arrived at our friend Jana's house shortly after 5; sat around and visited for awhile.
• Dinner at Red Robin.
• Lounged around, chatted with Jana, Brandon W. and (my) Brandon, and watched the final Rock Center with Brian Williams (bring it back, NBC!!).
• Slept fabulously. 

One of my favorite things about summer is this salad from Wendy's.. I can't get enough!

Jana and Brandon W.'s son, Brooks--he is such a cutie (he people watched the entire time we were at Red Robin)!

Saturday

• Jana made delicious fruit and doughnut kabobs for breakfast and then took (my) Brandon and me shopping around town (it was my first time visiting a Gordmans... I think I'm in love). 
• Met our friends Tyler and Jessica at Denny's for a late lunch (I didn't get anything too weird this time.. I did my regular Fit Slam drowned in Tobasco). 
• Attended Dawna and Devin's fabulous wedding in Overland Park. 
• Caravanned to the reception in Lawrence with Tyler, Jessica and our friend Heidi. 
• Had a blast visiting, eating and and dancing at what was probably the most fun wedding reception I have ever been to.
• Drove as far as Topeka (which isn't very far at all) and got a hotel room for the night. 
• Slept amazing.

Terrible picture, but here are Brooks, Jana and Brandon W. (legs) on Saturday morning.

The breakfast kabobs--seriously, how pretty are these (and yes, they tasted as good as they look)?!

The King of all Thrift Stores!

My pimpin' husband.

Instead of the traditional bubbles or rice, Dawna and Devin handed out noise makers for their grand exit from the church. Brandon, Tyler and Jessica all got the Chinese Ping Pong Paddle Clicky Noisemakers..

..and Heidi got the barrel whistle that sounds like a duck!

The reception venue was perfect--the room was huge and all decked out in lights and balloons. Once Dawna and Devin are back from their honeymoon and have their wedding pictures back from the photographer, I'm going to see if I can do a post all about their wedding--it was definitely the most fun and creative one I have ever been to!

The fun couple shredding it up on the dance floor!

The "tower of cupcakes" cake was beautiful! I wish I would have taken more pictures of everything!

Yes, the reception was complete with a photo booth (and a man who made balloon animals for the kids--how genius is that?!)!

Sunday

• Slept in a bit and ate breakfast at our hotel (we stayed at the Topeka Ramada Inn and I must admit that I was very impressed--the rooms were really clean, we got an awesome rate for booking last minute and it came with a free, hot breakfast buffet).
• Started making the trek home. 
• Ran into an even more terrible storm than last weekends (at 10:50am--there is no good time to travel in Kansas!). This storm had hail.. we almost died again, you guys! *I can sense my husband rolling his eyes as he reads this..*
• Stopped to see Mamma Nancy at work and Joe, Britney (Brandon's sister) and their family for a few minutes. 
• Arrived home at 3pm, hugged Bitsy and took a 3-hour nap. 

It dawned on me that I hadn't taken any hotel pics for this post.. so I snapped a quick breakfast pic.

What the hail, Kansas?!

We couldn't have picked a prettier spot to pull over at (it was still hailing at this point).

We're staying home this weekend and working around the house which will be a nice change of pace but not nearly as fun and eventful as these last two weekends! Oh well.. On a happier note, my mom called me today and informed me that she and her best friend, (Auntie) Sharon, are coming out for a few days next week! I LOVE it when those two visit!! 

How was your weekend?

13 Week Bumpdate!

Happy Monday!

We just got home from a trip to Kansas City for a friends wedding and had such a wonderful time (except for the fact that we almost died again driving home.. no joke.. just exaggeration)--lots of stories and pictures coming tomorrow!

I can definitely see/feel a bump now so our little babe is growing! Here's our 13 week update!

How far along: 13 weeks, 1 day

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I weighed myself and it looks like I've gained 2 pounds!

Maternity clothes: Not yet, but I think its time to invest in a belly band.

Stretch marks: No

Sleep: I have slept wonderfully this week! If I don't drink any water after 10pm, I typically don't have to get up at all to go to the bathroom! I have also discovered that I am able to cope without naps.. it's hard, but I can do it (but I will say that I did sleep most of the way home yesterday.. and then for another three hours once I was in my bed).

Best moment last week: This whole weekend! It was so fun to visit friends, eat lots of yummy food and shop around KC!

Movement: Not yet.

Food cravings/aversions: I can eat just about anything now (Hallelujah!) except BBQ.. which is ironic considering we were visiting one of the best places in the country for BBQ--I'm not sure what the deal is, but the thought of ribs, pulled pork, etc. makes my stomach turn.

Gender: It sounds like just about everyone has the same hunch as me.. we'll find out in a few shorts weeks!

Labor signs: Nooo!

Belly button - in or out? Innie.

What I miss: Energy is the big thing.. but I'm hoping it'll make its glorious return soon!

What I am looking forward to: Girls vacation with my mom in September!

Milestones: The growing bump!

Baby Mama Drama (Top 5 Meltdowns)

What is the deal with these insane pregnancy hormones?!

Good. Night.

Seriously, one second I'm giddy happy, making jokes and enjoying life..

..and then the next second, I am freaking the eff out.

This pregnancy has been a testament to the man my husband is.. no joke. I have never seen somebody so patient and loving as Brandon is when I'm making rude comments or crying hysterically over God knows what. I'm not even 3 months pregnant yet but I have had some pretty ridiculous breakdowns already--can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store (ha)!

To show you just how bad it is, I'd like to share with you my top 5 pregnancy meltdowns (thus far):

5.) The "Bitsy Doesn't Like to be Held" Meltdown

My Baby.

A few weeks ago, we had some company over to visit and to see our new house. Something I've known right from the start about my bestie cat, Bitsy, is that she is shy when it comes to new people; whenever we have company, she hides or hangs out in her spot next to the couch. I hadn't seen her in awhile and knew she was hiding and figured that was just fine because I didn't want her to be scared. Fast forward a couple minutes and Bitsy was found and was being held by the company (against her will--she was not happy). I asked them to put her down because she doesn't like being held but they wouldn't and I started getting more and more upset, to the point where I finally just broke down and cried sobbed uncontrollably for 20 minutes. I finally calmed down and Bitsy was finally set down again but boy was she mad at me for the next few days. Poor, poor Bits.. (we're best friends/cuddle buddies again so all is forgiven!)

4.) The "Baby Mine" Meltdown

I need to start this off by saying I can't watch this video so if the quality is bad, I apologize.. The other day I was thinking about lullabies and trying to figure out if I knew any that I can sing to the baby and I thought of "Baby Mine" from Dumbo and what a sweet song it is.. then I started thinking about how Dumbo and his mom couldn't see each other because of those terrible clowns at the circus and how he could only see her trunk and I lost it for a good five minutes.. he just wanted his mom! 

3.) The "Humane Society Commercial" Meltdown

I'm noticing that Bitsy is a big cause for most (if not all) of my meltdowns.

I was driving to a shoot in the work car a couple of weeks ago when I heard a radio advertisement for our local humane society and how to adopt (I tried finding the audio or a transcript of it but am not having much luck!). It went something like this: 

Soft child's voice: "My mom has the funniest toys. There's this one that she's always looking at that has games on it and sometimes, she asks it for Chinese food. And then somebody brings her Chinese food! My mom is so smart. I just love her."

Man's Voice: Adopt a cat from your local animal shelter. They will love you forever. 

That made me think of when we first met Bitsy at the animal shelter and how lonely and sad she was.. and then the tears began rolling down my face.. *sigh*

2.) The "Hearing the Heartbeat for the First Time" Meltdown

Okay, that one was warranted. I still tear up every time I think about it. I'm finished talking about it.. 

1.) The "Injustices of the Holocaust" Meltdown

This one just takes the cake. I was in 4th or 5th grade when I first read The Diary of a Young Girl and learned of the horrifying and unimaginable Holocaust, so I have known about all the evil and inhumanity for close to 15 years now.. but when I read a few excerpts from her diary last week and started thinking about how evil and unjust the genocide was, I couldn't stop bawling. For close to an hour. I started trying to put myself into Anne's position (even though its hard to even begin to imagine) and I thought about how hard being a teenager is without having to hide away in an attic and how hard it must have been for her to leave her cat behind (this is where the sobs came in..). I was a mess.. 

Please tell me that I'm not the first person to go into constant hysterics during her first trimester of pregnancy! This is somewhat normal, right?!

A Turkey Burger w/ Pancakes and the Time I Almost Died

Brandon and I had such a fun weekend at (my) home in Colorado!

My parents only live 3 1/2 hours away, but it's so hard for us to get back there with our conflicting work schedules--however, we were so fortunate in that Brandon had a 3-day weekend and I was able to take a few days off this last weekend so we took advantage and headed west!

We arrived at my parent's late Thursday evening and sat around gabbing and eating until it was time for bed (which is at around 10 for me). I. Slept. GREAT. I really didn't think I'd be able to sleep there because it wasn't my bed and because I have trouble sleeping anymore but I was out all night (and only had to get up to go the the bathroom once)!

Friday

• Slept in a little bit.
• Ate.
• Drove to Denver.
• Got to visit with my Aunt Nancy and Aunt Judy and their families (I wish I would have taken a few pictures!).
• Cheered on our Colorado Rockies!

Brandon and I bought tickets to the game for my family as part of my dad's Father's Day gift--we all had such a blast!

My favorite nachos of all time--I have to get these every time we go to a game!

Denver, je t'aime.  

Saturday

• Slept in again.
• Laid around and did nothing.
• Took two different naps. 
• Shopped around my hometown a little bit. 
• Craved and ate steak (if you know me, you know this has never happened--I can't stand red meat of any kind.. but boy, this baby sure demanded it!). 
• Enjoyed dessert at Mickey D's. 
• Looked through this months HGTV Magazine with my mom before falling asleep in my parents bed.

Mom made chicken and steak kabobs on Saturday night as an early Father's Day dinner.. they were amazing!! Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water all over again.

My brother is working at McDonald's for the summer so we went and surprised him (as you can tell, he was thrilled to see us) and had dessert. My family used to always come into wherever I was waitressing at the time for dinner or dessert, so it was fun to do that with Joey (and even more fun because I wasn't the one doing the serving for once)!

Sunday

• Slept in yet again.
• Attended church (I did the music because there were no musicians there). 
• Had an amazing Father's Day lunch at Denny's. 
• Made my dad's candy card. 
• Took a nap. 
• Drove home and almost died. 
• Feasted on the newly opened Q'doba in Colby, KS. 

I couldn't for the life of me decide if I wanted breakfast or lunch, so I got both (and it was delicious!!). My dad had to help me out with the turkey burger and fries, but I devoured those hot and buttery pancakes.

Brandon helped me with this years candy card--my dad got a kick out of it!

We spotted this beautiful rainbow after crossing the Colorado/Kansas border! And then..

..boom! This doesn't look too bad but at times we couldn't see anything on the interstate because it was raining so hard/there was so much back splash from cars ahead of us. Everyone was driving 35MPH on I-70 with their hazards on.. it was crazy! And then we heard/saw a lightening strike yards away from our car.. I'm so glad I wasn't the one driving!

Bitsy sure was mad/happy to see us Sunday night (it takes her awhile to forgive us for leaving her) but came around at about 2am Monday morning (I woke up to her snuggling next to my face.. I love that girl. Even in the middle of the night).