Tid Bits

• I started my new job on Monday and I love it!! I could not be more happy with how things turned out. It's a job that I am excited to wake up early in the morning for!

• Speaking of waking up, I am still trying to get used to this whole "early to work" gig. I get in at 7:30 and it's actually not as bad of a transition that I had thought. It does take me a couple cups of coffee to get me started, but I can handle that.

• I am pleasantly surprised with my commute. It only takes me about 35 minutes to get downtown from where we live. I hop on a toll road everyday and I literally fly the whole way here. Seriously, if you don't drive over 75 people will run over you. Kind of scary!

• The women I work with eat salads every day for lunch. I love that since I am used to working around men who only ate fried chicken or Mexican food. Hopefully the salads will help with a little weight loss?

• Speaking of the ladies I work with, I absolutely love them!! My mentor, boss, trainer, whatever you want to call her is amazing! She is super cute, smart and has the backbone I wish I had. Working on that issue....

• I haven't cooked a real meal in over a week. It's killing me! I love to cook, but have fallen in this lazy rut and I need to get out of it. Let's not even talk about how I have let our laundry and house work pile up around me. Honey, can we get a maid?

• Aaron thinks my new job is sexy. He says I am so professional now. I think he finally thinks I'm a cool chick! Maybe cooler than him?

• I've finally gotten over my cold. It only lasted 2 weeks!! I have been able to go running again since I can breathe, but now our weather has reached 100+ temps, so that is another adjustment.

• I am going to (see, I said I am going to, not I am planning on, or I was thinking about) run the half marathon in January so I am starting the full on training in a week or two. I have to do this! I'm not going to let our horribly hot weather stop me!!

• When Aaron and I went running the other night we came across a snake. I was informed by my snake tamer that it was a copperhead. Aaron is absolutely terrified of snakes. He picked up a very long stick and started prodding at it. It didn't really do much but piss the snake off, so I ran and got the shovel and in minutes it was dead. He was a vicious little sucker!

• That same night I was woken out of my wonderful sleep by Aaron flailing around in bed and screaming like a girl. He nearly fell head first off the bed. I grabbed his arm, to try to catch him, but he yanked away from me and jumped out of bed yelling and screaming! I immediately knew he had had a dream about the above snake and thought it was in our bed. Such a wiener! So my heart is racing, he's still in a fog and has no idea how he got on the other side of the room. I was not happy to say the least! It scared the heck out of me!! We did laugh about it the next day :)

So that's it folks! This is what's been going on in my world. I am super busy, but I love it. I do miss blogging/twittering though. I am going to do my best to make more time for all of it. Just because I have a new job doesn't mean that I can't make time for this little ole' blog of mine! I've missed reading up on everyone and am slowly catching up!

Happy Thursday!

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Baby Wise

This last weekend I spent hanging out at my parent's house. While I was there, my mom handed me a certain book and told me that it would be a good read pre-baby. She said it's the kind of book that you would want to read before you start trying so that you can be somewhat prepared when the time comes. I thought it seemed like a pretty good idea. No, we are not planning on trying anytime soon, but the book was there and she passed it on to me :) Also, I need to clarify that my mom is not the forcing baby issue. At all! Even if I wanted her to want a grandbaby soon, I don't think I could do it. Not that she doesn't want a little Nicole running around, but she just had her own baby 8 years ago and is still in the midst of raising my little sis, so her grandma instincts haven't quite kicked in yet. Which is fine by me. I'd rather her be OK with us waiting a couple of years than talking about grand babies every time I see her like a certain MIL I have. Just sayin'.

So you can imagine the shock from Aaron when he saw this book lying on my bathroom counter the other morning. I didn't even really think anything about it and just laid it on my counter when I got home. He got out of the shower and went over to get q-tips from my jar and stopped dead in his tracks and said "WHOA! What is that? Is there something you need to tell me, Nicole??" I about died laughing. I guess since he saw a book lying on my counter that means I'm preggo? Only a man! Just like a guy friend from high school thought that if he took Midol for a headache it might give him a period! Seriously!!

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Times they are a changing

Yes they are indeed...in the job world at least. It's been a little crazy the last couple of weeks. I applied for a job a couple of weeks ago and didn't get it. When I first applied for it, I didn't think it was that big of a deal whether or not I got it, but once I was told no, I was a little upset. Rejection hurts people! So I took off that Friday to go relax and hang out by the pool with my family. That night my dad came home saying that one of his ex co-workers had called asking about me and wanting my contact info for a job opportunity. My dad said "When one door closes, God opens a window." Did He ever! I sent my resume in last Monday, went in for a lunch interview last Thursday and they want me to start next Monday (22nd)!! Super fast and crazy. I have been with my current job for 2 years and have enjoyed it so much but am wanting something more. A different setting, challenge, and career opportunity. The new job definitely has all 3! I will be going from working at a small office in the suburbs ("field office") to working downtown in a high rise building. I will have a whole new set of responsibilities and I will finally be at a place that offers benefits and vacation. I am doing a test drive with them for 2 months contract to make sure I will mesh with all the employees and then they will hire me on as an employee. And of course they will like me! I mean, who wouldn't? I kid, I kid!

I'm pretty excited about the fact that I will have my own office with a window. You don't even want to know what my office looks like now. Maybe I'll take pics and show you a before and after. I feel like an adult now. I'm a little nervous about going to work downtown, with all the hustle and bustle, but I'm very excited about all the shopping that is so close to me :) They have an underground system here and there are tons of shops, malls and restaurants there. You never have to go outside!

So that my friends is why I've been a little MIA for the last week. A lot of worrying, stressing out about the interview, praying about making this big move, etc. going on. I've also been sick since last Thursday and am still battling the runny/stuffy nose combo, sore throat, coughing sinus stuff. I spent this last weekend at my parents house. My mom took care of me and I realized how much I miss that. I had a mini breakdown when I came back home because I was back to taking care of myself. Growing up is hard!

Aaron spent the weekend on a fishing trip with a few co-workers. He brought home tons of fish so I can't complain. Fish fry, anyone?? He thinks he's a "hunter/gatherer" now since he went and caught our food. He was walking around the house all cocky asking me if I thought it was hot that he brought home so much food for us. Ha, boys! Actually, honey, I would think it's hot if you bring the food home, cook said food and clean up when it's all done :)

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Everyone loves a snow cone

I took Friday off to go hang out with the family! I was able to spend some time with my mom, little sister and big sis. It was a great day! I thought I would give you all a little glimpse into what we did. There was lots of pool time, water balloons, dueling doodles and admiring mom's amazing hydrangeas. It was such a relaxing Friday off. Loved it! And to top it off, my pops took us out to eat at Cyclone's - amazing Mexican food. So we ended the evening sipping on margaritas.

Saturday morning Aaron and I woke up early and headed for the local farmer's market. We had so much fun! We picked up Daisy some pretty fun treats that she happened to love. We headed to an ice house for lunch and had some of the best burgers I've had in a while! It was the perfect afternoon. We decided, as if we weren't feeling fatty enough, that we should stop for some snow cones on the way back home. They had a stand set up at another local farmer's market so we hit up 2 in 1 day! I must say, the snow cones were pretty delicious!! Have you all ever tried cream on yours?? They add it on the top of the snow cone and it tastes so good! I'm sure it adds a ton of extra calories, but as you can see, we weren't really counting any that day :)

We also saw the Hangover this weekend and it was hilarious!! I do have to say that I think we had more kids in this movie than in the movie Up. It was ridiculous!! Who takes their 3 and 8 year olds to a R rated movie?? I know babysitter costs have gone up, but come one people! Oh and can we talk about how HOT Bradley Cooper is, please? Wow!

Happy Tuesday! It's been a long week already and it's only been 2 days. Aaron and I are going to a class tonight at our church called the Quest. It's a 5 week course about making your money work at home, staying close to the one you love, but more importantly "What men need to learn about women" - pretty excited about that last part! I'll be sure to relay any good information I get out of it which I'm sure will be a lot.

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It's like butta...

The newest addition to our family arrived last night. I left work a little irritated (I hate not knowing what I'm doing) and got home to see that Daisy had chewed up her bed...again! I'm about to put a 'for sale' sign on her and tie her to a light pole. Aaron would die if I did something like that to his baby girl though so I dare not touch her. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to be the mean parent and he's going to be the nice one, ya know. Sorry, I meandered a bit. On to our new arrival. I went to the front door to check for any packages and I saw it! I think I might have screamed and then skipped on into the kitchen to open her up! OH.MY.WORD. It's even more beautiful than it was in the pictures, and soft, so soft, like butta! And it smells heavenly of Italian leather. Mmmm! I immediately starting taking out all of the fluff paper and then put it on. It had found it's new home. Right there on my left shoulder. Perfect fit! I inspected it for a good 10 minutes to make sure it was up to par and then began taking pictures. This is a big deal ladies! I don't know about you, but I don't have nice handbags popping up on my door step everyday. Plus I wanted to be able to share my excitement :) That's what it's all about, right?

Sneak Peek!

So there she is. Isn't she a beauty?? Perfect color for summer. Beats my black suitcase of a bag (seriously, it's huge) that I got from Banana 2 years ago. I told Aaron this was an investment. I hold on to my bags for years. I don't go buying one every time the wind blows. He doesn't see it as an investment though. And just between you and me, I don't think he's a fan of RueLaLa either. He was sitting with me as I was looking to see when "butta" would arrive and saw all of my many purchases. He, and I, kind of freaked out when counting up all of my purchases. It was not a pretty, let me tell you. So I'm grounded. For 3 weeks to be exact. Well 2 now, since that was last week. I've done pretty good so far. But so help me if the Rue puts up a certain red soled shoe boutique in the next week or 2. There's not enough willpower.

Oh and I have to post about our lovely meal we had last night. It was dee-lish!! I got the recipe here. This site has tons of great light recipes. We love spicy foods and this had a bite to it. Not sure if it's supposed to - I may have added some extra red pepper flakes - but it was amazing! We couldn't stop eating it.

Happy hump day all! The week is half way over! And don't forget to run tonight since it's National Runners Day and all. Also, don't forget to go to Sonic and pick up your free root beer float from 8pm-12!! After you run, of course :)

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Best.Invention.Ever

I was given this amazing invention from my lovely mother at one of my wedding showers. It is the best wine opener I have ever come in contact with and it's cordless! It operates either on batteries or you can put it in it's charging dock and you're good to go. We keep ours on the dock to assure it never runs out :) And of course it comes with the foil cutter too. It opens the bottle in a matter of seconds! It can be tricky at first for some that aren't used to it, but you'll get the hang of it in no time. All you have to do is hold the "down" button so the screw goes in the cork, then you will hear it reach the end of the cork, continue holding the "down" button and pull up. The cork will come right out! To get the cork off the screw, push the "up" button and it swivels it's way down! Lickety split!! They have them in all different price ranges ($20-50). We have the Emerson brand and the Waring Pro....yes 2! We got one at Christmas from my aunt. That way we always have a back up, right?

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Oh, sweet spine of mine

{not my x-ray}

This morning I had my most dreaded dr.'s appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. When I was 14, I was diagnosed with scoliosis. Basically, my spine is in the shape of a backwards "S". They caught it too late and it was already bad. Normally, you can wear a brace for a year (fun!) and it will re-correct itself, but mine had already gone too far and was told that I would most likely need to move forward with the surgery. The surgery being a Harrington implant (aka, rod in my back). Just the thought of going under the knife to have a stainless steel rod implanted in my back completely freaks me out. Not to mention all of the risks that come along with it. I have seen a few other spine doctors since I moved here. I actually saw one of the first surgeons to operate with the rod and he basically said that my spine was balanced and he didn't think it was necessary to do the surgery yet. I went back 3 years later and it had progressed a little but was still told to wait. My curves were in the upper 40's - I believe the top was 47 and the bottom was around 48-49 degrees. I was on the verge of having 50 degree curves and I knew what that meant. I was terrified each time I would go in because I didn't want to hear the dreaded words "We need to move forward to the next step" kind of thing. I scheduled my appointment last week after having some pretty intense pains in my foot while running. My left foot would fall asleep around 2 miles and it was almost unbearable. It tingled and hurt at the same time. Now, I know this is common with runners, shoes being too tight, but I was worried it was coming from a nerve in my back or a problem with one of my discs. Plus, it had been a good 3-5 years since my last back appointment so I figured this would be a good time to get in. I was fine until I had to sit in the waiting room for what felt like forever! I took a million x-rays and then played the waiting game. My lovely husband came along with me to this appointment. He knew how insanely scared I was so he decided to take the morning off to be my support. We prayed about it and I kept saying mini prayers as I was waiting. Boy, was I glad he was there! I almost had a melt down when he said he was going to have to leave. He had a doctor's appointment scheduled this morning too and it was time for him to go. Right before he was about to walk out the Dr. came in. Whew! He first walks in and says "Sooo, looks like we've got some scoliosis here." Reeeeaaallly? Docs and their humor! He then put my x-rays up and showed us the damage. It looked pretty much the same to me. I was waiting to hear the numbers and was almost sure it would be in the 50's, when he said "Your top curve is 36 and lower curve is 38." WHAT!!! That was what it had been on my very first appointment 11 years ago! How could that be?!? I asked him if it was possible for the curve to lessen - I was seriously speechless! It's amazing what the Lord can do. That's the only way I can sum it up. I know it was not something I did. Over the past 11 years, it has progressively gotten worse and today it was back to what it was when I was first diagnosed. You have no idea how happy I was! I know I can trust God and that He has all the answers and knows what's best for me, but it's so hard not to get worked up and scared over situations like this. I have to keep telling myself to have faith and He just proved it in my appointment today! I feel so very blessed!! I was told to come back in another 3 years and he would check me again. He said he thinks I'm fine. No worries and definitely no surgery. He even said he doubts it will get much worse. All morning I was fearing the worst and had no idea I would be leaving my appointment with a huge smile on my face! Now, that my friends, is the power of prayer!!

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