New Years Eve Babe

Happy 29th Birthday Love!!!

Blog Christmas Card

Because I can barely get my Christmas gifts bought, don't even think I am getting a Christmas card out this year. Here you are all, Merry Christmas!!!!

Oh, Debo was to busy sleeping by the Christmas Tree to participate in the picture this year.

come a long way.

Milk shake at 4 months:

Milk shake at 7 and a half months:

As you can see, I have been doing some serious baking in that oven. The "fat face" has begun.

Brett: The Bionic Man

I know, you are all tired of reading "Happy Thanksgiving". I really have not had much to update besides me getting bigger by the day. I now sing "Fat Guy in little coat", every time I put my winter coat on since it gets harder and harder to button it up with each day. I was planning to blog about that but then this came up and I could not pass it up.
The day before Thanksgiving, Brett went to the doctor to get a prescription for a rash on his foot that he could not get rid of. It was not athletes foot or anything like that, it was just a rash that he needed to take care of. So, this little visit to the doctor ended up being a huge ordeal. Besides them cutting off three moles that looked suspicions (they were not cancerous) and giving him some cream for his feet, they did this to him:
I can't tell you how hard I laughed when Brett took off his shirt, I still laugh when I think about it, he is like the bionic man! I guess they think Brett is allergic to something and that is what is giving him the rash on his feet. What is he allergic to?? Nike's?? Brett never goes to doctors, never gets sick and hates anything medical. It is kind of funny watching him try to do everything the doctor is telling him to do. The best part about this "Patch test" on his back is that he can't take a shower for a week so that means baths. I want you to think about a 6 foot 5 inches grown man climbing into a bathtub, ha ha. I mean, don't think about it too much but just a little. ;)

Happy turkey Day

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I plan on making myself borderline ill tomorrow as I pound the carbs down ;) The game plan is to eat thanksgiving meal with Brett's family for lunch and my mom's side of the family for dinner. I will need to pace myself but I think I can handle it ;)

Top two things I am excited about for Thanksgiving:

1.) Mashed Potatoes
2.) Stuffing

The end

mean roommate

I am so mean, Brett and I worked in the yard last weekend to get the leaves out of our back yard and into the Roeland Park street for leave pick up and I thought this would be funny:

Not sure why I thought it was a good idea to trap my sisters car in the leaves, Brett wanted no part of it. After all, Callie did rake all the leaves for me last week and she shares her stash of double stuffed oreo's from time to time.

Anyway, Roeland Park this time of year is kinda funny. It is like winter after a big snow and all the snow is on the sides of the streets. Now it is just huge piles of leaves. If I was a kid I would want to run all the way threw them, if I didn't have a kid in me, I still might do it.

Roast Beast!

I know this blog is suppose to be about really interesting things that I think about but I may have to start anther blog about my love for red meat, I can't seem to think of anything else and I fear I am boring some of you. My good friends welcomed their third child into the world last week so it was time to make a comfort food meal to deliver to them. That's right, Roast (RED MEAT) with carrots and onions, mashed potato casserole topped with cheese, cinnamon apple sauce Jell-O salad and a pecan and chocolate pie with a homemade crust.

I know everyone can make a roast but for some reason I can't seem can make a good roast consistently. I think I was 2 for 6 on the good roast score. I could not screw this one up for I was going to be feeding it to other people and because it was a big roast so I thought I would take a half of it for myself ;) This called for desperate measures so I called up one of the best cooks I know (my momma of course) and had her give me some advise on what I was doing wrong. I used all her tips, put it in the oven over lunch yesterday and just prayed for a great roast. When I walked in the house after work, it smelled just like home cooked meals on the farm, oh I swear my eyes were a bit watery!!!! I pulled out the roast and cut a sliver off to see about taste and tenderness. I threw my hands up and out loud said "YES, I DID IT". I danced around the kitchen like a little kid and felt like a million bucks. It is sad that I needed that roast to turn out in order to make my day, it is the little things I suppose.

I do wish I could be more of a Susie home maker but working all day does not leave much time for that. I almost can't wait to be in the kitchen all day to bake Christmas cookies. Maybe all preggers women go through this stage but I just want to bake every night, let me know if you are craving something and I will get on it ;)

bless you, my dear father

This is NOT what a preggers girl wants to eat:

Ugg, sunday I made baked fish, green veggies and rice. I know it is suppose to be good for me but I barely got it down.

Dad, thank you so much for sending some red meat my way, I will be hoarding it like never before. Fish and chicken for Brett, hamburger patties for Vikke.

Sisters Weekend

Wow, what a great weekend! Not only did I find another great deal on craigslist on a buffet table for my kitchen for 60 bones but my older sister, Carrie, came into town this weekend from Seward, NE. While Brett was having a "Boy's Weekend" with his friends in Tampa, us ladies took advantage of no boys and had a little sisters weekend. I thought I would take the opportunity on my blog post today to brag about my sisters. I really have been so blessed with wonderful sisters. Yes we have had our ups and downs in the past and still can have little fights but all in all, we love each other and love spending time with one another.

My older sister, Carrie is so talented and can pretty much do any craft you can think of, she is also one of the most nurturing people I know (she offered me a back rub everyday she was here and I didn't even have to ask). Callie is my little sister and lives in my basement, hee hee, that sounds kinda funny, don't worry she has a nice set up down there. Callie works for a daycare and is wonderful with children so she is going to be such a huge help when this baby comes in Feb. and I have no clue what I am doing. Callie also has a love for raking leaves so she raked all our leaves last week just in time for the Roeland Park leave vacuum pick up (one of the biggest perks about living in Roeland P is the leave pick up I might add, don't even have to bag them).
Back to bragging, Carrie made me some kitchen curtains which look wonderful and she helped me pick out and paid for my baby bedding for the crib. There are so many options on baby bedding that you can buy but they are either really expensive or really ugly. Carrie and I found the perfect fabric for my little guys room ;) Oh, what a great Auntie!!!! Ok, it gets better, not only did she sew and give me a good back rub but she also made me these Swedish pancakes on Saturday morning that were like crepes and were soooooooooooooooooo good!!!!! I can't really remember how many I ate but I am always starving when I wake up so it was great to have some tasty carbs first thing in the morning. Carrie is not just good at sewing, cooking and taking care of people but she also cracks me up. She is such a nut and seems to know just what to do to make me about pee my pants. Oh, I almost forgot, she even took the blue tablet out of my toliet so it is bright white water again, ahh yes!!!

Thanks Carrie for a great weekend and for hanging out with me and Callie and making us laugh so much. Love you and miss you already (please move closer) ;)

Spooky Spooky

Growing up on the farm, we never really got trick or treaters so I always look forward to handing out candy now that I have them coming to my door. Living in the city does have some perks and that is sure one of them. I love seeing some of the costumes people come up with and I get a kick out of kids that can barely walk coming to my door, seriously, can you even eat candy???

Though I love handing out candy to all the wonderful little kids, I am going to put some ground rules in place this year that I have not done in the past.

1. You must say "Trick or Treat"!! Or you get nothing but me coming to the door saying "Hi, can I help you?"

2. If you are an adult and you come to my door and say your kids are in the car and that is why two adults are standing at my door, I am going to have to turn you away. If your kids are in the car and too tired to get out to get their own dang candy then I would say you have enough candy for the night.

3. If you have a homemade costume you get three pieces of candy instead of one. Whatever happened to the days where you would make your own. I never once had a costume from Wal-Mart or Target. Sorry it is not that clear but here is a picture of all us kids back in the day:
That is me second from the left, I was Georgy the Ghost
almost every year for Halloween and I was fine with that, no need to change it up every year, just find a sheet face paint from the local pharmacy and we were set! I think my mom spent no more than $2 per person on Halloween ;) (oh how cool is the color of our refrigerator, I would love to get my hands on a vintage refrigerator like that now).

Ok, back to the rules.

4. If you come up and grab a whole handful of candy, I am just going to slap your hand this year instead of telling each kid, only one piece. I never took more than one piece of candy at each house, dang kids these days.

Well, should be a great night, I will have to let you know how enforcing these ground rules goes, I don't want to come across as a grouch but come on, it is just basic rules.

Happy Halloween all!

Things You Might Not Know About Me…Pregnancy Edition

1. I sleep in sub-zero temperatures (i am normally sleeping with a heat blanket by this time of year).
2. I take showers in the dark in fear that I will catch a glimpse of my enlarged ars in the mirror.
3. I would like to eat red meat for every meal, it even looks good raw.
4. I can go through a box of cereal and a gallon of milk in about 72 hours.
5. I can go only about 40 minutes without having to pee and only about 5 minutes with running.
6. The smell of cleaning solutions smell like heaven but the smell of chicken and pork still kinda make me gag.
7. I find myself crying in my car for no reason daily.
8. It never fails after I tell Brett about some new weird thing that is happening with my body, he responds: "Its magical"!!! It always makes me laugh.
9. Sweets are out and carbs are in!!!! I will pass on the chocolate but would love another helping of mashed potatoes and gravy.
10. I secretly have been flashing my stomach around to see if I get better attention and I am finding that it works. Yesterday I was at a crosswalk and my umbrella was covering my stomach, no one would stop to let me go. The minute I put it down to reveal the baby bump a women nearly made her self wreck to stop for me. People smile at me more, open doors, ask me if I need help and just tell me I am adorable. I could get use to that part, I have not been called adorable since I was 4 years old.

Got the blues

Well, besides it being Monday and me hating this day of the week, I have another problem that is contributing to me having the "blues"..... this:

Thats right, I made the "freshman mistake" and thought it would be a good idea to have a toilet bowl self cleaner, I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I just thought it would be nice to not have to clean it so often although I do love any chance I get to use Comet (one of the best cleaning products out there besides bleach and X14 shower cleaner). Anyway, I guess I was not thinking clear when I dropped this tablet into my toilet tank and it was half bright blue and half white, I didn't think it was going to make my toilet look like one in the Quik Trip down the street from us, CRAP!!! Now, what do I do???

I don't really want to fish this thing out of my tank but I am not sure I can handle blue toilet bowl water for 4 months either. When I get up to flush I almost run away as fast as I can afraid that some of the blue dye will get on my pants or something. Blue water is meant to be at Worlds of Fun and that is it, not in my bathroom. Anyway, guess I will be sure to get the all white tablet next time if this stuff even works.

Oh Mondays!!!!

Larryville visit

Monday night Brett and I took off work early to do a date night in Lawrence. The plan was to go see the boy who I use to babysit for in college play football (crazy that he is old enough to play football, he was just a little guy when I started babysitting). Because of the rain, his game was canceled but we thought we would go anyway and I am so happy we did, what a great time!

Top 5 fun things we did:

- Stopped by our old stomping grounds where Brett and I fell in love, Yes, Oliver Hall baby!!! We even went up to the 6th floor (were Brett lived) and took a couple picks of us hanging out in the lobby area. It was pretty funny to pretend to be a knocked up college kid ;)
I thought I would take an updated preggers pic while I was up there by the elevator:

- Driving through the beautiful campus and played this game where we decided what each person on campus was like or what their major was. Things like "oh, there is a non trad", "Umm, band nerd to your left", "Oh, that guy is for sure an engineering major" and many other comments were made, it was a fun game and I could have played it for much longer but we were getting hungry for some dinner.

- Eating dinner at Free State Brewery. We met up with our friends the Luce's for some cheese dip and good beer, or at least I hear it was good. It was great to see our friends and laugh together, they are the best!!

- Our visit with the Almanza family, I was completely entertained for a full two hours, it was great. The kids have grown so much since I use to babysit for them in college but their personalities are just the same. I adore this family and hope my kid can live up to these kids, Love you Almanza's

- Lastly, hanging out with Brett was in the top 5 of course, I have always said it, he is the best person to travel anywhere with.

All and all, it was a great time to just get away for a weekend night and be with friends and people I love.

Birthday weekend in Sabetha

This past weekend, Brett, Debo and I traveled to Sabetha (my hometown) to celebrate my fathers 45th (or 54th) birthday ;) I always forget how much I love going back to the farm during harvest time when all the combines and grain trucks are out and about. It is such a busy time for farmers but I love it. Brett also loved getting to drive the grain truck for dad on Saturday, deep down I think he wants to be a farmer but I am pretty sure he will have to settle for only growing grass in our yard (we all know he is the cutest lawn boy there is anyway).

The weekend was full of family fun and food of course (the country way). Saturday night we all went out for dinner at a steakhouse that was just 15 minutes outside of Sabetha in Humbolt, NE. This restaurant really cracked me up because it was in a Morton shed building and really didn't look like a place that would serve food but when you walked in, it was pretty cute. Kinda a cabin style if you will. I had baby back ribs and fried chicken, yes that is what came with the meal, I thought it was kinda a weird combination but it all tasted great ;) Dinner was followed by the best chocolate cake in the world, my sisters 6 layer chocolate gauche cake, it was amazing!!! Carrie ended up giving her business card to people in the restaurant because they were so impressed :) My sister even had enough cake to share so pretty much everyone in the restaurant got a piece of cake, I love small towns.

You tell me that is not the most beautiful cake you have ever seen!!!!! Nice work Carrie!!

Following dessert, we then did Karaoke at this restaurant, I know, even more weird right?? I would have to say, I was pretty impressed with our party of about 15 people, we didn't have any wine and most of us got up and sang. Yes, even Brett and I did a duet to the tune of "Total eclipse of the Heart"(Brett's choice, of course). I love the little boys face in this picture, he probably thinks we are crazy ;)

Joce, thanks so much for putting the whole weekend together, you may have a future in event planning ;) Dad, thanks so much for having a birthday so we could come home and get spoiled with good food and fun!!

Feel free to check out the rest of the pictures of the weekend on my slide show.

and I can't fight this feeling anymore...

So I told myself back in the day I was going to be super healthy when I got preggers and that I was only going to gain baby weight. I had a grand plan to hit the gym, get good work outs and eat lots of veggies, fruit and lean meats. Looks like I am dropping off the deep end ;) I have been so tired that going to the gym takes every ounce of energy out of me. I have been doing great on my fruit intake but my lean meats and veggies need some work.


For some reason I have been craving these Baskin Robbin chocolate malts that cost as much as a full meal. I was told by my mother in law that she also craved these when she was preggers with Brett and that she had one a day!! Holy cow, I have not gotten that bad, one a week maybe. Ok, I had two last week, so what!!

I think I may need to go to the grocery store and get some low fat ice cream and start making mini milk shakes at home when I have the urge. Not sure the bank account can handle a $4 malt this often. It is crazy that a chocolate malt cost that much anyway!! Although, it has been worth every penny the minute I start sucking this bad boy down ;)

Anyway, sorry this post is kinda stupid, I know you are suppose to blog about stuff that is on your mind and that you are thinking deep about but honestly, this has been on the top of my list. Ohhh, I must get control!!! I think my new goal is to only allow myself a malt once month and allow myself one free meal a week where I can eat some carbs (potatoes: I heart you!). At this rate, not only will I break the bank but I am going to break Brett's lap when I sit on it.

My obsession continues!

As some of you may recall over a year ago I posted about one of my favorite shows, yes, the Cosby Show of course.

My obsession with this show is now worse than ever, thanks to cable television and my DVR, I am now viewing 4-5 episodes a day. I have a million other things to do but can't make myself get off the couch to do them. I think the obsession is starting to get out of hand, I have decided instead of getting parenting books on how to raise my first born, I will just use the Cosby Show as my example. I come away from watching that show wanting to work hard at my marriage and soon parenthood. What show makes you want to do that??

Desperate Housewives: Makes me want to gossip
The Hills: Makes me want to go shopping and clubbing all day
Project Runway: Makes me wish I would have learned how to sew from my grandmother
The Office: Pure entertainment!
And the list goes on and on, there is just not a show like this today that has so many great lessons in each episode. (with a small exception of Friday Night Lights but even that is borderline sometimes and it did not even make it to cable this season!)

Top Ten things I love about The Cosby Show:
-I love that Dr. Huxtable is married to a lawyer but they still are tight with their money. I am so tired of America spending more than they make, seriously!!!!
- I love that Dr. & Mrs. Huxable are always willing to talk to their children and that their children know they can come to them about anything! Last night's episode was one where Dr. Huxable had been at the hospital all night to deliver a baby and he came home to rest on the couch and Theo walks in from school. Dr. Huxable was dead tired but sits up to talk to Theo about how his day was, just so happened Theo was having some problems and really needed to talk. Who does that????
- I love how the kids love their parents but when they mess up they are afraid of their parents, I think there is something to say about putting the fear in your kids. There is a lot of stuff I never did because my Dad made it clear that if I did, I was busted in a big way. Claire Huxable can just look at her kids in a way and they know they better watch out. Yet, they still come to them with problems and are honest with their parents.
- I love how the parents both have full time careers but there is always a hot meal on the table and everyone chips in. I love that Cliff values that his wife works outside of the home and values that she is a great cook and mother. We live in a different world today where staying at home full time is very difficult but it is good to know that as a team, you can still sit down to the table as a family.
- I love how Mr. & Mrs. Huxtable are calm and rational with their kids. There was an episode the other night where they found a joint in Theo's text book, they never ran up to his room and starting yelling at him and sent him to drug treatment. They questioned him about it and Theo said it was not his so the parents just dropped it and said how much they loved him and that they were proud of him for not doing drugs. Theo still was not happy with that, he found out who put it in his textbook and made that boy come over to his house to confess this to Dr. Huxtable because Theo wanting to clear his name. Theo never wanted to disappoint his parents and worked hard to gain a respect from his parents. I don't see that often enough, I often see these brat kids in target talking to their parents like they were some kind of idiot. As Claire would say: "I brought you in this world and I will take you out!!!"
- I love how the kids lean on each other for help or guidance. Whether it be Denise helping Vanessa to hide a pimple or Theo asking Denise to make a shirt for him that ended up being a huge hit at school.
- I love that Claire and Cliff are so in love and they keep fun and exciting, he is always chasing her, they also never go to bed angry.
- I love how Cliff meets all the kids friends and takes time to make sure they are good kids before he lets them spend so much time with his children, this does not happen enough these days.
- I love the humor in this family, there is always laughter and it is not sarcasm. I love how they play tricks on each other and some times even use humor as a way to teach a lesson. (The best has to be either when they teach Theo a lesson on money and turn the house into a rental property and make Theo pay rent or when they are trying to teach Vanessa about not drinking and do the drinking game with little Rudy and later she finds out the hard liquor they are all taking shots of is tea, GOOOD STUFFFFF)

Cosby's: Thanks for being such a great show to watch, you make me a better person and I can't say that about any other show I watch!
The End

Are diamonds really a girls best friend?

mmmm, I do love the bling but what do I love more:

Pan friend chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy!! Mom, thanks so much for making all my dreams come true, this meal hit the spot!! Not sure if I loved it more because comfort food is my main craving these days or if I would have been this excited about it pregnant or not pregnant ;)

I had been looking forward to this meal for about two weeks and I was finally able to make myself borderline sick on it this past Saturday. I am pretty sure I had four helpings of mashed potatoes!! Nice, I am so lady like ;)

Back with a bun in the oven

Hey there,

did you all miss me??? I have been in "event mode" for the last month and a half and just could not find time to blog. A lot has gone on in the last month (celebrated my 5 year anniversary with my main man and planning Treads and Threads, my biggest event of the year).

The best part has been sharing with friends and family of our recent news of getting ready to welcome Baby Wiese into the world around February 16th of 2009. Yes, it has been a long time coming and we are finally on our way to jumping into parenthood (ahhh crap, what have we done). ;)

Just to put your mind at ease here are just a few things you will not see on my blog moving forward:

1.) Nude stomach pictures, sorry boys, I know you think it is hot but I am not going to do it.

2.) Every day posts about my pregnancy or children. Yes, this baby is an exciting part of my life but it does not define me. Not to worry, I still plan to blog about plenty of other things besides just my kids.

3.) New born pictures with mucus on them. That makes me throw up in my mouth a bit so I will be sure to not post a picture of this kid until a spit bath has taken place.

I also thought I would not only show my progress on getting preggers and fat but also show Brett's progress. Brett has not been eating as many bagels, bowls of honey nut Cheerios at 3am and he has not taken as many pounds of red meat as I have so he is having a hard time keeping up but I will let you watch the progress:

dirt to darn awesome!

Since we have moved into our new digs last month, our dog has been having a hay day in the flower beds that have been filled with dirt/mud. I am not sure why the people before us never planted anything but I was getting pretty tired of looking at it and of cleaning Debo's paws. My older brother, Matt (my new hero by the way) helped me out by giving me some simple ideas on what to plant and since he works at a plant/tree nursery he helped me save some money as well.

Last night Matt came over with all the plants and got me started on how to plant everything. I kinda think sons of farmers are the best because they have a wealth of knowledge and the are the hardest workers I know. Matt is like a machine when he starts working and I LOVE IT!!!! He just started digging holes and throwing them in there to get me started by he really did one whole flower bed and a couple pants in another flower bed. After Matt left I had not planned to do all of this alone since Brett had a business dinner but Matt's work ethic inspired me to get working. So, I decided to just knock this project out last night, I finished spreading the mulch right before dark. Here are some before and after pictures. ;)


































I still have some round up to do and planting some ground cover so is it not so muddy back there but it looks so much better than it did. Brett is a great lawn boy, as most of you know, so I know he is going to have this yard in tip top shape by next summer. I don't have any before pictures to show you but I can tell you that the plants were all there but they were surrounded by weeds in another part of our yard that Brett and I worked on this past weekend. Matt taught us how to put the edging in and it looks so much better than it did. This was one of the few home projects where Brett and I didn't get in a little fight so we were feeling pretty good about ourselves.










Matt, a shout out to you, thanks a million for helping us so much with our back yard, it looks so much better and I owe you big time!!!!! Love you!

another great find on the C list

Ahh, yet again, I find another good deal on Craigslist. Brett and I saw this armoire at Nebraska Furniture Mart (I hate NFM but I liked the armorie, minus the light house they show in this picture) a few weeks back. I found the same armorie from a girl who just bought it but wanted a bigger desk, so we got the desk for over half the originally price and it was already put together. Thank you Craigslist for coming through again!!! Now the office is nice and organized and I can close the doors anytime to make that room into a guest bedroom.

Lets see what else I have been searching for:

-large indoor Plants

-Free Weights with a bench

-Nice metal shelves for bathroom closet

-Lamps

-Two leather chair set

- Sectional couch for the basement

- A jig saw

- A swing for the back tree

I am sure I will come up with more. I am obsessed!!!

Girls Weekend in Nebraska

This past weekend my sister (Callie) and my mom and I traveled to Seward, Nebraska to visit my older sister Carrie. Carrie has lived here for a couple years and I had never visited so it was high time we took a road trip.

It was great to get out of the city and see all the tall green corn and just enjoy the small town feel. I love KC and where we live but it is nice to not lock your car, be able to see the full moon and stars and just be around good ole' small town folks.

We got there friday night and Carrie made a a great meal, Carrie is a wonderful cook so it was pretty stinking exciting. Oh, I also had to do a little fashion show, these boots were really comfortable, I may have to invest in some. Carrie married a cowboy so they house is cowboy theme, I could not help myself when I saw all the dress up fun I could have.

Saturday we went to the cutest little cafe for breakfast and the food was wonderful. It was so fun to observe locals reading the paper and chatting with everyone since they pretty much knew everyone. We then went to Lincoln (just 2o minutes away) to shop around and hang out. I have to say I think I liked Seward more than I liked Lincoln, it kinda seemed a little deserted, maybe because the college kids are gone for the summer, not sure. We did go to this cool antquie mall and I got a globe and could have gotten a lot more. We only got through half of this store because it had so much stuff, I shall return. After a stop at DQ for a star we headed back home to rest for a bit and get ready to go to a rodeo that Jeremy (Carrie's husband) was team roping in that night.

The rodeo was pretty fun and it was great to see Jeremy in action, he did such a great job!!! I would have to say the bad part about the rodeo was when one of the horses has a heart attack and died right there on the spot. As some of you know, I am not even a fan of horses but I had to hold back tears. I could not believe this horse was just going to die right there on the spot. Carrie said it was pretty rare that something like that would happen but it was really sad. On a different note, I was entertained by an activity they do for the kids at this rodeo which is to ride on lambs. At first I didn't think there was any harm in this but when I saw the first kid coming out on this lamb that was about to run into a fence I had to cover my eyes. Kids were falling off these things and were inches from being trapled by a lamb, I am still considering calling social services and complainning about this activity. :) It looked pretty dangerous for a 4 year old to be doing, I can see a 8 year old being ok but there were some kids doing this that looked like they could still be in diapers. Anyway, stupid activiy but entertaining non the less.

Sunday we just went to church and lunch with Carrie and Jeremy and headed home. It was a great trip to be with the girls and Jeremy of course ;) You can check out more pics of our trip on my slide show to the left ;)

A shout out: Carrie and Jeremy, thanks again for having us in your home and taking such great care of us. You did a great job of treating us and making us feel welcome. Love you both!

A visit from the popcorn queen

So, my little sister (Callie) has pretty much grown up on popcorn (maybe that is how she stays so thin). I am telling you, as long as I can remember from childhood, this girl could eat a whole bag of popcorn by herself and loved it every time (even if it was once or twice a day). Callie would have popcorn pretty often back in the day but since college I would say she is on the "popcorn everyday plan". She was really big into the microwave popcorn but in the last year she has started making her own popcorn.

Callie got a stove top popcorn popper that you stir with the handle and this girl has perfected the art of popcorn making. She adds only a certain amount of oil, butter and salt to go on a certain amount of popcorn. You know how you can get it too salty or too much butter, not this girl, PERFECT!!!!

Yesterday Callie agreed to stop by and make me her famous popcorn along with a cold coke (or Coca cola Classic as the popcorn queen says). It was the best and hit the spot, thanks Callie!!!! You can come over anytime and make it again.

Birthday weekend update

Update:

Birthday Dinner: EBT Restaurant, I had lamb chops, mashed garlic potatoes and asparagus. Lime sorbet for dessert.

Birthday gifts: Brett gave me a shopping spree to Nordstom's (not sure if I want shoes, makeup or a hot pair of jeans). I recieved lots of cash, not sure yet what I want to spend it on but I sure lot it that I have a little stash. I got a couple gift cards, a book (Wicked), a wonderful picture for my kitchen taken by my good friend Donna and lots of wonderful cards, flowers and even balloons. I also had breakfast and lunch on good friends of mine, thanks for taking me out peeps!!

I also had a semi-surprise (found out from my good friend David on Thursday night on accident I think) birthday party. It consists of Cherry Pie, smores, friends and lots of cute kids!!! It was a great time.

Thanks all for making my birthday such a special day!

7-11: B-day

Today I am 27 years of age, how does it feel you ask? Not to much different than 26. I am normally really high maintenance about my birthday but this year, I almost forgot about it this year. I think a mixture of moving into the new digs and just being busy with work, I really just forgot it. I really have no clue what Brett got me this year, I kinda hope he does not use the excuse that the house was my birthday gift, I don't think he will. Brett might be the best gift giver I know so I am really looking forward to it ;)

Really my only request this year has been this:

yes, it is an apricot pie. Not many people know about the apricot pie but it is yummy!! I was not feeling cake this year, the problem is that my grandma strahm makes the best one so it is hard to live up to it so I may just settle for a cherry pie from The Upper Crust (best pies in KC if you ask me).

Besides "doing some pie" (this is what my Dad says when he means, eating pie) I think just relaxing this weekend is my request. We have kinda been so busy with house stuff that I have not had a chance to really take a good nap with my beagle or cook a nice meal in the new home so maybe I will try to do that.

Anyway, I will have to update you on monday on how the birthday weekend went!

Thanks all for your birthday wishes and cards so far. I do love all the attention ;) hee hee.

What a great weekend full of friends, sunshine, fireworks, great summer food and relaxing. Brett and I headed to our friends farm house near Wichita on Friday to celebrate July 4th weekend (one of my favorite holidays next to Easter).

Top 5 things I loved about this trip:

- The summer food: I adore watermelon, chips, brats, pasta salad, puppy chow, and seven layer dip! Oh Baby, bring it on!!

- The small town feel: I love how simple life seems to be out in the country near a small town. I loved that at the local fireworks show on Friday night, all the kids were lighting fireworks (some dangerous ones) off up until the show started. You don't see that in KC.

- Watching my dog in Heaven: I often feel bad that Debo does not go out to my Dad's farm more often, he loves to get into all kinds of trouble. Debo has been sleeping non-stop since we got home.

- Spending time with friends: It is always great to spend time with friends and meet new friends. Laughing with friends around the table has to be one of my favorite things.

- Summer Sun: I love being by the pool and reading some trash magazines and sipping on some cold ice tea with lemon. The smell of sunscreen is the best and becoming a bronze beauty is not so bad either.

Check out the pictures of our trip on my slide show to the left!!

Special thanks: Jack and Mindy, thanks so much for having us out, can't wait to go back!!!

Craigslist, the best list of all.

Several years ago we had some friends tell us they were selling their honda on Craigslist and I really had no clue what they were talking about but just didn't really care to much to research it. Then a couple months later another friend found an apartment on Craigslist and again I was confused. What in the world was this list, who is Craig and where could I find this list? Yes, I am kinda behind the times I guess because apparently everyone has been using craigslist for like 5 years. I just started using it last week when I was looking for a few things for the new digs. This table is brand new in the box and is originally $1,499.00, the seller was asking $600 and I got it for $450 last night plus free delivery (eat your heart out Nebraska Furniture Mart)!!!
Sweet Hots!!!! What will I find next? This might be better than estate sales (sorry Kerry, Andrea and Sarah ;)

Mov'in Out, Mov'in On.

A couple of months ago Brett and I thought we would put our house up on the market to see if we had any takers. I know it sounds weird just to throw your house on the market for no reason but I was getting pretty tired of having get togethers and being smashed like sardines. I was also getting frustrated that we were not able to sit down at a table when having more than two people over at one time. We figured we didn't have anything to lose so we would just try it out.

So, after 60 some days of being on the market and over 40 showings, we sold our house!!!

It is not fun keeping your house spotless every day and not even being able to leave a couple dishes in the sink but I think it all paid off once we sold our house for just under what we asked for it. (Guess the market is not that bad in KC after all).
So it was a little stressful to sell a house but buying a new one in record time is a little bit more stressful. We knew it was a great time to buy with interest rates being low and with a lot being on the market for a good price. So, we looked and looked and found a great house, put a bid in and didn't get it. We were pretty bummed about that house but began the search again. After driving our realtor crazy (we are kinda picky and can't make up our minds) we finally found a great home for us!!

The goal was to upgrade just a bit as far as space, stay no more than 15 minutes from work and find something as close to move in ready as possible. We said we wanted to move just a little bit more south and we only got about 10 blocks south ;)

We move in June 21st and we would love all of you to stop by and say hi!! (We are just off of 57th and Roe).

Happy Birthday Little Sister

Callie,

Have a great day!!!!!! Happy Birthday!

"About the Vacation"

So, many of you have been emailing me asking me about the trip to Cabo, Mexico. I hate to report that it might have been the worst vacation Brett and I have taken. Don't get me wrong, it was still time away from work and time together so it was great in that sense. Here are some
highs and lows of this trip. Please notice there were many more lows and I would say they were some low low's ;)

The Lows:
- As you may notice I always post a picture with my blog posts and I don't have one for this post because my camera was stolen/lost the last day in Cabo. The upside is that is was not my "nice" camera from my Dad. But I did just get this one from Brett for Christmas and I have no
documentation that we every even went on this vacation. Actually, maybe that is a good thing...
- Brett being sick pretty much the first two days and then him being stuffed up with snot the rest of the trip. The other low to that is that I can't stand snot and loogies so I would almost gag every time he would sniff, cough or clear his throat. The goal is to be attractive on vacation not repulsing your spouse ;) Poor Brett.
- Brett not covering his whole foot in sun screen and getting third degree burns and blisters all over his foot, he was barely able to walk with shoes on for two days.
- Cost of eating was outrageous for sub par food. Brett got a milk shake for $8, come on!!!!
- I didn't get ice-cream everyday because of the cost, I am way to cheap to spend that kind of money on ice-cream (the high of this is I got a whole gallon when I got home and have been eating it every night ;)
- Brett having major stomach cramps on the plane ride home and having the sharts/shats once we got home. (if you know what sharts are then you know that there was a mess involved).
- Vikkie having the shats pretty much the whole time in Mexico, the plus was at least I was regular.
- Getting my small swiss army knife taken from me in the Mexico airport because I forgot to take it off my keychain. I almost hate flying these days, no customer service and it takes so much time.
And a drum role please........ Just when you think things can't get worse:

- I was not feeling good the night before we left but I thought I had made myself sick because I could not find my camera. We got to the airport two hours before our flight and it was hotter than Hades in that airport. When it was time to finally board the plan, I got in line and started to feel dizzy as I slowing collapsed on the ground. I passed out for a couple seconds and then immediately threw up all over the floor in front of hundreds of vacationers and then twice more in the trash can that Brett found. As I was on the floor sweating and feeling much better at this point. I see this Mexican standing above me trying to get me to get in a wheel chair and saying "You are in no condition to get on this flight, you can not fly like this". I was thinking "the hell
I am not getting on this plane, I want out of here". So, I talked himinto it and we were the last ones to board the plane, I was not staying in Cabo for one more hour. It had already taken to much from me. I was not going to give it 5 more hours of my life.

Highs:
- Seeing/talking to former KU and present NBA player Nick Collison in
the Cabo, Mexico Wal-Mart.
- Not waking up until at least 10am everyday.
- Finishing a book which I have not done in like two years (thanks Mindy, that book was so good).
- Zip lining over the dessert...it was pretty great and now I really want to do more extreme things like this.
- Being called honeymooners the whole trip.
- All the Mexicans pronounced our last name correctly.
- Staying in a premium resort where golf carts took you everywhere and there were great ocean views
- Laying out at the pool eating Nutter Butters and sipping margaritas.
- The shower...it was out of this world! I hate taking showers normally but I took up to three showers a day at this place.

In conclusion, I don't know that I would recommend Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. You can have wonderful relaxing trips right here in the US of A!! The end.

Must focus

Only 6 days until vacation and I am having a hard time focusing these days. Brett and I had a really difficult time deciding where we were going to go this year for "Wiese vacation". We thought we would go back to Hawaii since we went there for our honeymoon almost 5 years ago and it could be a way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary but we just couldn't justify spending that much money. So, I researched and researched and concluded we would go to Cabo, Mexico. So far, I only hear great things about it so I am excited to get there next week. I of course am most excited about being in the sun and soaking up the rays but I am also looking forward to zip lining, snorkeling, maybe renting some scooters and driving them around and eating whatever the h*ll I want to ;) Enough grilled chicken and veggies, bring on the good stuff.

We are staying in this resort called the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach, it is suppose to be a great place to stay so hopefully it is everything I want it to be.

If you have been to Cabo, I would love any tips on places to eat or things to do. As an event planner, you know I have day to day activities already planned but I would love to add to it ;)

My goals for this trip:
-Spend some good quality time with my boy, Brett
-Read celebrity trash magazines by the pool

-Finish reading a book I started a couple weeks ago (I know everyone, big shocker that I am reading a book)
-Eat ice-cream every day
-Come back a bronze beauty

This sh*t is Bananas

In the words of Gwen Stefani....

(Mom and Dad, Don't worry about it, I don't have a potty mouth, I am just quoting someone who had the perfect title to my blog today.)
In my house, we eat a lot of fruit and veggies but we have had a hard time keeping up with the banana supply apparently since we kept having ripe banana's left over at the end of each week. I didn't really notice how many bananas we let over ripen until I opened my freezer last week and a frozen banana fell out and cut my foot. ;) (I put ripe banana's in the freezer to make banana bread). After a frozen banana shot out of my freezer because of overflow and then cut my foot, I took it as a sign that I needed to make some bread. Here is a sneak peek:

Ahh, Banana Bread is sooooo good!!!!! Brett found this recipe online that we think is the best. Brett ate I think close to three loafs by himself last night ;)

Happy Friday!!!