Reunited (and it feels so good)!

Last Thursday was a total Monday..

..I woke up, began making my coffee in the Keurig, walked off to do something else, and suddenly realized that I forgot to put a cup under the spout..

Huge mess.

Then, Mr. Jax had the blowout of the century all over our clean, Egyptian cotton sheets..

..yuck.

Makeshift sheets during Thursday's nap time (he was so happy when I took him out of his clothes so I let him nap in just his diaper).

Anyway, it was just one of those days until I received a text from my dear friend Abby seeing what we were up to and if we were up for a visit from her and Ben (her adorable little boy) on Friday.

Umm, yes!!

Abby and Ben live 5 hours away so it was such a treat--and surprise!--to hear they were coming to visit! They arrived in Denver at around 11 on Friday morning and we spent the afternoon shopping, catching up, and eating delicious Red Lobster. It was a perfect day!

We didn't get too many pictures because these two little tykes were tired and grumpy (though you wouldn't know it by looking at them--cuties!).

I have to include a few throwback pics..

The Roomies (FREs), circa 2010--this was actually the night that Brandon and I first met.

Oktoberfest 2011 (why are our lips white?)

Abby's graduation day (with Mal Pal!), 2012

Abby's bachelorette party in Downtown Wichita, 2012

My bachelorette party in Downtown Denver, 2012

Abby's wedding day, 2012

My wedding day, 2013

As you can see, we've been through a lot together in the four short years we've know each other and it's been weird not seeing each other on a regular basis since moving.. hopefully we'll get to catch up again in June when we (plan) to visit Hays!

In other weekend news:

• We got Brandon some new tires on Saturday morning/afternoon.
• Burger Saturday at Giant Burger. 
  
  
• Jax now has pink eye in his right eye (ugggggh).
• Family pictures in south Denver.
  

  

  Don't adjust your screens, folks--this picture is super blurry! Brandon found a great Groupon for pictures in Littleton (which is why we had them taken in the first place) and the proofs they sent us are all really tiny and of poor quality so we can't steal them.. we have a viewing next Saturday and will buy the rights to all of them then so check back next week for all of our pics!

• Swim suit, capri, & shorts shopping at Kohls and Gordmans--I'm now summer ready! 
• I took my first baby less nap since having Jax (it was lovely.. we're going to begin crib training next weekend).
• Nice visit with Ryan (one of Brandon's best friends and best man at our wedding) and his girlfriend, Allison.

Have a great Monday, everyone! 

Annie: Then and Now

Disclaimer: The following post may contain images disturbing to some readers. If images of awkward adolescents makes you uncomfortable, causes nightmares and/or a loss of appetite, please leave this page now. Annie One Can Cook will not claim responsibility for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from reading this post.

You've been warned. 

It's weird for me to think that I'm old enough to be a mom--I feel like I should only be an 8th grader, still living at home with my parents! But alas, I'm now an adult and have several important stay-at-home mamma responsibilities such as keeping house, paying bills, and keeping an adorable little tyke fed and happy--it just doesn't feel real sometimes!

Anyway, while I was making my blogging rounds the other day, I stumbled upon a "then and now" post from Alexis at We Like to Learn as We Go and thought it would be fun to do (especially since the "then" is as old I currently feel).

Let's do it!

Then: 2004 - Age 14

Now: 2014 - Age 24 (next month.. I'm still 23)

Please note the braces, hair, & Bush/Cheney shirt.

Crushing On

Then: Drake Bell

Now:  This hot soldier I met who is a computer whiz, amazing cook, and makes beautiful babies.

My taste got better with age.

Attitude

Then: Moody, grumpy, paranoid.. pretty much your typical teen.

Now: Laid back, happy, and grateful!

Family vacation to Washington D.C. & Williamsburg, VA - Summer 2004

Hair

Then: Rats nest (I would occasionally brush it and that was the extent of my hair routine).

Now: Short, staticky mess.. but at least I make an effort now, right?

My Aunt Nancy & Me at the infamous chicken coop B&B - Fall 2004

Style

Then: Lots of jackets (I hated my arms), jeans (I hated my legs), shoes (I hated my feet), and loose fitting blouses/dresses (to hide my hips, thighs, and butt).

Now:  Yoga pants, t-shirts, blazers, and dresses (whenever I can!).

"Favorite Era Day" at school - Fall 2004

Watching

Then: Drake & Josh, Friends, & whatever was on MTV at the time.

Now: The news (& news magazine shows like Dateline and 20/20), Curb Your Enthusiasm, Family Tree, Shark Tank, Duck Dynasty, & Breaking Bad.

Apparently not going to class.. - Fall 2004

Listening

Then: Sheryl Crow & Top 40

Now: 90s Alternative & Grunge

My photogenic family - Christmas 2004

Reading

Then: Teen Romcoms & Romeo & Juliet (9th grade English)

Now: My current read is One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak (which I will be doing a review on soon).

8th grade dance - Spring 2004

Leisure

Then: Hanging out with friends, shopping, talking on the phone, & dancing in my room.

Now: Blogging, reading, going for walks, & traveling.

8th Grade Cotillion - Spring 2004

Dreams

Then: Move to Hollywood, become a famous actress/singer, marry Drake Bell, and introduce my best friend, Jen, to Ricky Ullman (which I actually referenced in my MOH speech at her wedding).

Now: Being the best wife and mother I can possibly be and raising my children to be good, contributing members of society.. and going to New York City. 

Better than being a famous actress--being mommy to this little guy and wife to handsome Brandon!

Throwback: He's Home from War!

It's Throwback Tuesday here at Annie One Can Cook! I know, I know.. the term is Throwback Thursday but February 18th didn't fall on a Thursday, it fell on a Tuesday so we're going with it.

What's so special about February 18th, you ask?

February 18, 2011 is the day Brandon came home from Afghanistan!

For those who don't know, Brandon and I met when he was on his two week leave from Afghanistan in September 2010 (you can read all about that here). Needless to say, we didn't get to spend much time together because of the time constraints but were able to keep in touch through letters, texts, phone calls, Skype dates, emails, etc.

I couldn't wait for him to come home!

The night we met (it was a college party so ignore the beer--classy, I know)

The next 5 months slowly crept by but it was finally February--he'd be home in a few weeks!! His hometown was about an hour and a half from where I was living at the time so his plan was to stay at his mom's house for a couple of days before coming out to visit me (he was supposed to arrive home on Friday and then come to Hays on Tuesday and spend the rest of the week with me and some of his old friends). But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn't wait another day to see him--not only was he going to be in the same country and timezone, he was going to be in the same state!

And that's when it came to me: I was going to surprise him when he arrived on the 18th.

How was I going to do it though? Do I just get up really early and wait for his plane? Would that be weird? Would I be stepping on his family's toes by doing that? Should I try contacting his mom (who has probably never heard of me)? I didn't know what to do!

After consulting the "dream team" (my mom, Aunt Nancy & Aunt Judy), I decided to contact his mom to introduce myself and ask her if she'd mind me being there when he arrived home. I. was. terrified. After a few hours, I was finally able to get the nerve up to look her up on Facebook and write her.

*My Actual FB Message*

Conversation started February 11, 2011 

 2/11, 7:12pm

Hi Nancy,

I'm Brandon's friend, Annie. I hope you don't mind me getting in touch with you like this but I have a question to ask you.

I'm not sure what all is going on schedule wise next week with Brandon (I don't think he really knows yet either) but I was wondering if you'd mind if I came to Salina and surprised him when he gets back? I'm not sure if you're picking him up at the airport but if you are, would you mind me going with you?

If you want to keep this a family thing, I completely understand! Please let me know. I just figured I'd run it by you to see what you think. Like I said, he has no idea about this. I would come down for the day and head back to Hays that night. Let me know your thoughts.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Annie

Annnnnnnnd... send.

I waited by my computer and the anxiety began sinking in.. was it weird that I just contacted her on Facebook? Of course it was! Was she going to think I was a weirdo? Definitely. It'd been 5 minutes since I sent the message.. why hadn't she written me back yet? Probably because she was creeped out by me contacting her, that's why! Now it had been 6 minutes..

After about 7 minutes, I had decided that I'd just totally weirded out his mom by contacting her and gave up.

Oh well.. it was a nice thought.

Three hours later, I had a message.

It was her! It was Brandon's mom!

She'd written me back! She knew who I was and wanted to meet me! She thought my surprising Brandon was a great idea! I was on Cloud 9--this was really happening! He'd be home in a week!

The week leading up to Brandon's return actually went by fairly quickly (thank goodness!)--he arrived back in the states, we celebrated our first Valentine's Day with a phone date, and he finally got the official word that he'd be coming back to Kansas by bus and that he'd be in Salina at around 4am. Brandon's mom and I had also been in touch several times that week and she invited me to come stay with her on Thursday night (which sounded great to me!).

Another picture from the night we met

Thursday finally rolled around and it was time for me to pack my bags and head to Salina--I was so excited! To kill time on the drive, I jammed out to Alice in Chains: Unplugged, called my friend Jen, and prayed. Doing all of that apparently made the time go fly by because before I knew it, I was pulling into town.

This was it.

Hopefully his mom would like me..

Mamma Nancy & Me-Thanksgiving 2012

I am happy to say that Brandon's mom and I hit it off immediately (she's one of my best friends and apart of my go-to "dream team" now) and had a wonderful time visiting. We went to dinner that night with Brandon's sister and her family (I later found out that Brandon's mom invited them along in case I wasn't very talkative and things got awkward--I was happy she invited them because I was worried about the same thing!) and then headed home and got ready for bed. We had an early morning and exciting day ahead of us!

As luck would have it, I didn't sleep at all that night; I was just too excited (and nervous!) to see Brandon again. At around 3am, I decided to go ahead and get up, take a shower, and get ready (I planned to do my hair and makeup for once and needed all the time I could get). Once I looked presentable, I joined Nancy in the kitchen and she informed me that Britney (Brandon's sister) and Benny (Brandon's nephew) were awake too and wanted to come to the bus station with us--sounded great to me! So off we went to pick up Britney and Benny--after visiting at their house for a few minutes, it was finally time to go pick up Brandon!

We waited for the bus to arrive from Nancy's car (it was the middle of winter and I was wearing a dress..) and all jumped out as soon as we saw it pull up.

This was it.

Brandon was home!

We watched the soldiers march out of the bus one by one to greet their families as we patiently waited for that first glimpse of Brandon..

We saw him! He was out of the bus!!

Benny and Nana waiting..

I hid behind Nancy and Britney and waited for Brandon to walk over.. 

"Whoa, what are you doing here?!" Brandon asked as soon as he saw me (don't worry, he said it in a happy way, not in a "oh shoot, it's you again.." kind of way). He proceeded to give me the biggest and best hug that I have ever had and it was then I knew that all was right with the world. 

Brandon was home. 

I ended up staying the rest of the weekend with Brandon and his mom. During that time, Brandon and I went on our first, non-Skype date (we went to see "Just Go With It" and then had ice cream and chili fries at Bogeys) and celebrated his return with a surprise party. 

Since I've written you a novel, I should probably start wrapping this up but I'm guessing you all know how the story ends?                 

10 Facts About Me

Guys, I have a confession..

..I didn't get out of bed yesterday.

I think I've finally hit some 3rd trimester wall because I am absolutely exhausted and hurt. Seriously, my body is one massive cramp right now; legs, feet, head, back, stomach.. you name it, it hurts. Okay, I'm finished complaining now..

My boss was nice enough to let me do some work from home so I got a bunch of pillows, propped my head and my legs up, grabbed my computer and a glass of choco drank (chocolate Nestle Carnation Breakfast Essentials), and cuddled with Bits while I worked on production notes. Now if only I could figure out a way to actually bring my bed to work with me..

Anyway, since I had a pretty uneventful day (nothing really to blog about), I decided to write up a little "10 Facts About Me" post. If you've been on Facebook at all over the last week and a half, you may have noticed people putting facts about themselves as their status--being the nosy person that I am (why do you think I went to school for journalism?!), I always enjoy reading these unbeknownst to me facts about friends and thought it'd be fun to share a few things with you that you may not know.

A post like this calls for a bunch of random pictures.. and what better one to start with?! Here is Baby Joey and me on his Baptism day, 1993.

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..and here I am bossing him around directing his senior pictures, 2011.

1.) I hate Burger King. Like hate, hate, hate it. I'm not sure when this started (I would eat it growing up), but all of their food smells/tastes the same to me and it's not good. The last time I had anything from BK was over a year and a half ago when Brandon got a chicken sandwich and I took a small bite of it to see if maybe things had changed. Nope. No change. Still can't do it.
I don't eat a whole lot of fast food to begin with but others that I cannot do are Long John Silver's (anything off the menu), McDonalds cheeseburgers, or Taco Bell bean burritos.

My mad Photoshopping skills.. here I am vacationing with my teenage love, Drake Bell (who is standing in place of Joey) at our Nation's Capital, 2004.

2.) Anjoyabel.. now where did that come from? If you follow me on Twitter or Pinterest (or basically anywhere), you may have noticed that my screen name is "anjoyabel." Why? Well, my real name is actually Anabel (but I've gone by Annie my entire life) and my middle name is Joy; put the two together, and you get anjoyabel (which sounds like "enjoyable," which of course I am)!

An old school camera phone pic from my friend Megan's and my 16th birthday party, 2006.

3.) I have never had chickenpox and used to want to get them so badly (did anyone else watch "Arthur" growing up? He and his sister both got oatmeal baths, ice cream, back rubs, and days off from school when they had them)! In hindsight though, I'm glad my mom had us vaccinated for them.

Jen's Sweet 16 Tea Party at the Molly Brown Palace in Downtown Denver, 2005.

4.) This may come as a big surprise to most, but I'm actually not a cat person. I always grew up around big dogs (like Great Danes and Black Labs) and have always loved them--cats are just too independent and unpredictable for me. I didn't start really loving (all) cats until we adopted Bitsy last March. We had just moved into our duplex and wanted a pet so badly (we couldn't get a dog.. or cat for the matter so don't tell our landlord about Bits) that we went to the humane society and immediately fell in love with our Bits. She is my favorite thing in the whole world and I now think that all cats are pretty great. 

How can you not love a little face like this?!

5.) I was in 4-H all throughout junior high and high school and was terrible at it excelled in all of it! I did everything from still and video photography to all different kinds of cooking. My favorite story to tell from my 4-H days was when I did cake decorating--I was the only one in our county to do cake decorating (which took a little bit of pressure off of me) but still managed to place 3rd. That takes talent, people!

One of my many masterpieces, 2005.

6.) I have to sleep with a fan on--if I don't have that white noise, I don't sleep (or I wake up every 3 minutes). 

Mamma and me, 2008.

7.) Don't ask me what the Top 40 songs are right now because I couldn't tell you. When I'm not listening to Catholic radio or to the news, I listen to CDs (primarily 90s alternative.. and yes, I still use CDs!). So if you ever need to hear the lyrics to an Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, or Smashing Pumpkins song, hit me up!

3 generations with Patrick Swayze, 2005.

8.) Onions.. ugh, onions. I'm really not that picky of an eater (besides the whole BK thing) but I cannot do onions. I'm not sure what my problem is with them but that crunch just freaks me out.. just one of my "endearing" quirks, I guess. If you ever come over to eat at our house, I can guarantee you an onion free meal!

Turin: can we bring back these looks? 2005.

9.) Growing up, we didn't have cable so we watched a lot of Disney movies, old school Looney Tunes, black and white sitcoms, and classic films. At the time, I didn't think it was so hot (I was missing out on quality programming like "Rugrats") but looking back, I can really appreciate it.

My brother and I used to love going to Blockbuster with our parents on Friday nights to rent movies--our favorites were anything Marx Brothers (we actually own all of those movies now), Ma & Pa Kettle, W.C. Fields, Lucille Ball, and Doris Day (well, that was more me than my brother). To this day, these are my favorite movies to watch!

Kendra and Annie (circa 1993 and 2013)

10.) My first ever "real" job was as a cashier at an Alco store.. I was 16 and just had to have this $400 Jessica McClintock prom dress. My parents told me that it'd be fine for me to get it (yes!) but that I'd have to pay for it with my own money (what?!).. I worked my butt off and saved for that dress and was finally able to get it! I wore it an entire 4 hours in 2007 and it's been hanging in a closet at my parents house ever since. 

For my senior prom, I opted for a $40 dress off the clearance rack at David's Bridal. 

It was a very beautiful dress.. 2007

The "Annie One Can Cook" Halloween Extravagaza

..yeah, not really.

This post is actually going to be pretty weak but I felt like I had to do something for Halloween!

Truth be told, I have never been too big of a Halloween fan.. I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved it when I was a kid (you get to dress up and get free candy? umm yeah, sign me up!) but apparently once you're an adult, it's looked down upon to go door-to-door asking for free food.

Psh, whatever.

Anyway, these last few years have been fairly decent and I am starting to actually get more excited for the holiday to roll around (24 hour horror movie marathons on AMC are fun, right?). I'm so excited to dress Baby Sand up as a little lion, Alex from A Clockwork Orange, or something as equally adorable next year! Please know that I'm semi kidding about the Clockwork Orange costume But until then, I will be handing out candy (come trick-or-treat at our house!) and working on assembling a few Christmas gifts.. does that sound like a perfect Halloween or what?!

Here are a few pictures/stories from Halloween's past that I would like to share with you (my parents have all of the cute childhood costume pictures at their house so the following pictures are ones I found on my computer/Facebook).

This isn't really a throwback picture.. this is my husband at work yesterday. He ordered a horse head off of Amazon for $18.. just thought I should share. 

Halloween 2003.
My dad took Jen and me to the video store after school on this particular Halloween to get some scary movies for the sleepover we were having--we were so excited! Long story short, we had a few titles like The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre picked out, my dad immediately said no ("Those are rated R. Here, get this one!" *hands us Casper w/Christina Ricci*), I was mortified, threw my 13-year-old hissy fit, and we left empty handed. We were somehow able to talk my mom into taking us back to the video store (she didn't know my dad had already taken us.. not good, I know..) and this time left with Children of the Corn! It was going to be an epic night! We dressed up as little kids (pictured above) and went trick-or-treating so we'd have candy to eat while we watched our movie.

We wound up not being able to sleep that night because the movie scared us so much and I was so grossed out and disturbed that I couldn't eat for the next few days (candy included).. Good call, dad. Good call.

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I don't have any pictures from Halloween 2004 (ugh!) but I have to tell my haunted house story. Jen and I went to (the park formally known as) Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver with her church youth group for Fright Fest and we were pumped--we were going to ride so many roller coasters, eat so much greasy carnival food, and go through their awesome haunted house! 

The. Haunted. House. Was. Terrifying. 

Jen and I walked together and held hands the entire time but somehow managed to get separated about halfway through. I was freaking out! I finally found her again (a few rooms later), grabbed her hand, and we continued walking along. "Jen, I'm so scared," I kept whispering over and over. Suddenly, off in the distance, I heard the blood curdling scream of a girl who sounded an awful lot like Jen.

Wait.. It couldn't be Jen.. Was that Jen?? But, if that was Jen, whose... hand.. was.. I.. hoooooooooooldiiiiiiing.. Not Jen's!

Definitely not Jen's!

I had been walking and talking with one of the scary monsters from the haunted house.. and I was holding his hand!

I gave him my most scared/disgusted face, made some weird gutteral noise, pushed his hand away, and ran.

I finally caught up with the real Jen but we were once again forced to separate after one of the actors scared me into a corner and Jen karate chopped him in the throat..

We had to finish the rest of the haunted house separate. 

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Halloween 2008
It was my first Halloween in college (and political season, of course)! Here are a few shots of me as Hilary, my dad as Bill, and Jen and I with "Grandpa Moot." I think I spent that actual Halloween night making dinner with Jen at her townhouse. 

Halloween 2010
Left: Abby, Jason, and I went to a bar (oh, college..) dressed as a mob princess and Greek god & goddess.
Right: Abby and me as Thing 1 & 2 on Halloween night.

Halloween 2012
We spent last Halloween with Brandon's family and had a blast! Mamma Nancy dressed as a vampire, Benny as a scary robot, Baby Sara as a beautiful flower, and Aunt Annie as a mob princess (again). We had such a fun time taking the kids around the mall in their costumes and making smores around the fire pit!

That concludes my walk down Halloween memory lane.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!