Step Brothers Review

OK I have been obsessed with this movie for quite some time now. Let's just say Josh and I purchased the DVD about 2 weeks ago and I've probably watched it about seven times I loved it so much!

If you liked Anchorman and Talledega Nights, you must see Step Brothers! (Warning you though, if bad language and f-bombs aren't your style then don't go see it- if you can tune them out to appreciate the humor then definitely see it!)

Basically the synopsis is Brennan Huff (Will Farrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reily) are 40-year old men still living with their single parents. They pretty much act like they are 13. After their parents fall in love and get married, they are forced to become step brothers . Instead of moving out on their own, they decide to live together and share a bedroom. Conflicts arise as you enjoy hilarious scene after scene. This is comedy at its best, in my opinion.

Here is one of my favorite scenes... Brennan finally sings in front of Dale (This is blog appropriate- no swear words!):

This has pretty much become my favorite movie of all time-

I give it 5 stars!

Preggers!

I felt the need to express my total excitement and joy about the news I found out yesterday...


My older sister Amber is PREGNANT!


I'm going to be an auntie againnnnn :) :) :)


And I could not be happier for her and Andrew. I know they have been trying for almost a year now and it's so frustrating. Will Addy have a brother or sister? I don't care, all I know is that this is going to be so much funnnnn!



...thank God it wasn't me, right? PHEW!

Christmas Cards

This year instead of going out and buying Christmas cards I decided to hook up with my crafty friend Brook and make them instead.

Brook is very, very talented when it comes to paper crafts. I knew she would be most helpful because she has given me a card a time or two and I loved them! After looking through all of her past Christmas card ideas I came across the wreath designs. It was so simple!

All you needed was some different colored cardstock. I used red, green, and cream colors for the card, then cut out a dark brown square piece that you glue in the middle. Then you just need to have a variety of different Christmas colored paper in a mix of designs. Luckily for me Brook was generous enough to let me use all her stuff. She had 2 different sized hole punches so you go through all your different paper and punch 'em out. Then arrange them in a circle, glue 'em down, and tie a cute little ribbon and glue that on the top. Easy right?

After doing a lot of these my creative mind started to drift and I just made them up as I went- it was more fun for me that way. This one turned out to be one of my favorites. Doesn't it look like it's got an Old Navy theme to it?

It was so fun to do these, and the best part is that when your family and friends receive them with your hand written note inside they will know you spent some extra time on them.

Hope every has a Merry Christmas!

OMG I'm still crying a little...

... this video is hilarious!! Watch if you are having a bad day and want to laugh at other people falling/getting hurt.



I felt kinda bad for that chick in the end though... that's not very funny....







...heheheh

Thank you for the broken road...

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise
if we have waited in the darkness"
-Unknown

So, the other day... (being the deep and emotional person I am) ... I was inspired by my friend Heather's story and struggle to find true love in her life. It's really confusing to date around, how do you know when you're being too upfront? Or you suck at flirting? Or you just don't know how to play the game? It made me flash back to my dating days and all the feelings I felt going through that.

I gave her some advice and told her that it doesn't matter how much baggage you carry around with you because literally everyone must have SOME kind of baggage, whether it be a weird family or some crazy screwed up childhood. But I basically told her that it is inevitable that you will encounter douche bags and jerks along the way, but the real prince is out there waiting and willing to accept you as you are and love you, even with all that baggage.

So, I got to thinking about my journey through love and all the jerks and ex-boyfriends I came across along the way. And I thought it would only be proper manners to thank them for being the douche bags that they were... cuz if they hadn't been so douchey, I might have stuck around longer and who knows how that could have screwed up my road that lead to Josh. I want to do a shout out to all of my ex-boyfriends (names have been replaced with fake ones):

To Max: Thank you for teaching me about lust. I now understand that true love doesn't happen in a 5 month relationship, or when you are only 14 years old. It's called INFATUATION.

To Roy: Thank you for only looking for an object to screw with. You taught me that no matter how much I pressed the fact that I wanted to wait for marriage to have sex, there will always be dirt bags like you that will try and convince you otherwise. I'm so grateful I didn't budge :)

To Zack: Thanks for showing me what a cheapskate really is. Sneaking into a movie on our first date should have been a warning sign...

To John: Thank you for grabbing my boob in public, and in front of my younger sister after we kissed the night before... you really taught me how shallow men can be, and how sometimes a kick in the shin is completely appropriate.

(OK enough with the men bashing... I know I had a part in all of it and learned my lessons the hard way, even though they were pretty douchey...)

And my last shout out is for Josh... my one true love... thank you for treating me with respect from the start and making me your #1 priority. Thank you for always being there for me regardless of the distance and for having patience through those long 12 months. Thank you for showing me what real love feels like, for always kissing me goodnight, and all of your "I love you's". You have taught me that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that hard work pays off in the end. I love you, all of you, as you are, with all of your baggage... and I'm so grateful that you love me too :)

It's beginning to look a lot like....

* Christmas!! *

I woke up this morning to a whole lot of snow! I think that's a good 4-5 inches right there...

Gray skies have never been so beautiful! I have a love/hate relationship with snow. It's like any snow around Christmas time is great... but ya know, come January, I'm pretty much over it. Unless the snow lures Tyler & Macy up to Salt Lake for a visit- then I would love it!

I came inside and caught my little man taking a nap all wrapped up in his doggy blanket. His favorite place to lay is right in front of the heating vents.

Here's our Christmas tree! I actually put it up last weekend but never got around to taking pictures of it until now. Six feet and pre-lit sounded good enough to me!

Here are some close ups:

I love having memorable ornaments that take you back to a time and place. We don't have very many of those since we've only been married 2 1/2 years but there's a few. This one we got at our wedding, I think it's darling. It has our wedding date on it and everything :)

This ornament we got in Cape Cod on our honeymoon. Love it!

Nothing too special about this one except I think the picture came out lovely!

Take a look around you and observe your surroundings.
Christmas is everywhere!

Numba Oneeeeee!

Just felt the need to announce that, oh maybe....



we might have....



WON THE WINDOW DECORATING CONTEST! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!


First Place!!! I honestly couldn't believe it! Heather got the call on Friday at work from our complex owners saying that we had won and they would be mailing us our CHECK next week!! When I heard her squeal I got right up, we ran and met each other in the hall and started running around and dancing and screaming like a bunch of crazy Edward fans! lol

I believe we just earned ourselves our own Christmas bonus! WOOT WOOOOT!
Numba oneee!!

OK I'm officially in the best Christmas spirit EVER!

Pretzarollo's

So I want to share with you this amazingly quick and easy Christmas treat recipe that I got from my lovely mother-in-law over Thanksgiving break. (WARNING: They are highly addictive!)

Ingredients:
Square Pretzels
Rollo's
Holiday Peanut M&M's (red & green)

Start with conning someone into unwrapping a bunch of Rollo's (because this part sucks). While they unwrap, spray your cookie sheet with cooking oil and line up your square pretzels, as many as you possibly can fit on there (my pan fit 88 so you know one batch will make plenty!). Then take the Rollo's and put them on top of each pretzel. Heat your oven up to 175 degrees and bake for 8 minutes.

When you pull them out of the oven the Rollo's will be soft but not melted. Push each M&M in the Rollo. Then put them in the fridge, still on the pan, and let them cool down and solidify. When you sneak one for taste, you will understand why you unwrapped so many Rollo's!

They are DELICIOUS!! And the best part is that you don't need to tell anyone that they were actually Rollo's... people will think you made your own caramel and chocolate by your own Betty Crocker self! (I'm just nice enough to let you all in on the secret)

...you can thank me later :)

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Window Decorating Contest

So before Thanksgiving break, Heather and I got a newsletter from our office's complex announcing a window decorating contest! The first prize is for $1000, 2nd prize $500, and 3rd prize $250. They showed pictures of last years winners and we thought "Hell, we can do way better than that!"

So we thought up a cute and creative idea to tie in our real estate business with Christmas. Santa & Mrs. Claus have had enough with the North Pole so they decide to have RE/MAX sell their home. Then after they pack their moving boxes in their sleigh, Santa pictures a sunny warm place they are moving to.

At first I thought I could do this painting myself, but after thinking of all the details and time it would take me while still working my job (and the deadline of Dec. 4th) we decided to ask the pros for some bids. After seriously searching, we found The Sign Hub, which created a proof for us with awesome graphics showing our idea exactly! It would be a custom sticker/decal that would go on our front entrance windows and doors. We loved it and decided if we win first prize, we could pay off what it cost to purchase the decals...plus have a little left over for us to split.

So after getting approval from the broker and fine tuning our order, we decided we were going to hold our breath and DO IT! It was pretty nerve wracking considering all of the other shops work going on around us. Other stores hired some painting professionals and we knew we had some serious competition... even after asking some of the agents for their opinions whether we could win or not, we were put down and told our idea would only make 3rd place!! That only put more fire in my eyes and more desire to win... because me and Heather never back down from a challenge! We have a history of winning every art project our office throws at us and always having fun with it. We decided that if the decals weren't enough I was going to do some other holiday paintings on our side windows so that we could be confident we could win!! Pros.. shmos... we could DO this!

Thursday, December 4th was one of the best days I worked. I got all of the paints I needed, got all of my ideas collected, and pretty much painted outside all day! I didn't even notice the freezing weather because I was so focused and enjoying every minute! I got a lot of compliments from the agents, since my artistic abilities aren't exposed very often. Now I'm starting to wonder if I should be in real estate or working in the art industry!

Here is our office windows completed and ready for judgement!

Front Entrance

Santa's house SOLD by RE/MAX!

All packed up and ready for some surfing!
Notice the U-HAUL sled and snowflake swimming trunks!

This is my Happy Holidays painting!
(I stole the idea offline but free-handed it!)

Heather begged me to do a Christmas tree.. here's a closeup...

The winners will be announced next Friday, December 12th... wish us luck!!!

My Dream Home Design

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm going to practice my writing again today, especially because I love the prompt.

One Minute Writer's prompt today was on Design:
"You are designing your own house. Describe it."

My home will have a white vinyl exterior with black shutters, cottage style, residing on a quiet tree-lined street somewhere in the country, with lots of trees and a flower garden in the yard. A cobblestone walkway will guide you to the front porch where I can sit out and drink my coffee in the mornings, or maybe paint. The front door will be a dark hunter green with a wreath hanging in front. Warm distressed wood floors will go through the living areas with neutral colors and pops of color in each room, combining old style with the new. The kitchen will have white cabinetry and tan granite counter tops. The ceilings will be tall and there will be a wall of windows overlooking the backyard. There will be big comfy couches and a brick fireplace. And of course lots of style throughout in shades of brown, white and green. It will be comfortable and cozy, somewhere you can just relax and enjoy yourself.

Ok so that was a little more than 60 seconds but I got a little excited there!

Someday this will happen for us... but for now I'm perfectly happy where I'm at :)

California Trip

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all ate lots and lots of turkey and pie and spent time with your families. There is nothing like being together on the holidays. We definitely had a great time in California. We got to take our little Sammers with us and he had a great time too. I got this picture of him napping after he ate a bowl full of yummy turkey...

Josh's entire family wasn't there so we had a small group- Josh's mom, his step dad, his brother Jarred, and me and Josh. We enjoyed each other's company and in the process we got a little addicted to the Wii bowling game... so addicted that I was recovering from some intense shoulder pain the rest of the trip!! The Roberts clan is VERY competitive with each other so that made it extra fun. We also loved the Wii American Idol and Tennis. I know what I want for Christmas...!

Our last day there me and Josh spent the day with Bob and Liz. Liz and I got pedicures together in the morning and then we all headed to the Swap Meet in San Diego. Look at these beautiful palm trees! Just looking at them makes me feel relaxed.

So I fell in the with the Swap Meet! Kinda like a flea market, everything is pretty cheap. We got all our nieces and nephews Christmas presents and we got ourselves a couple things too. Then we headed off to go see Portside Village right next to the beach. It was beautiful!

Portside Village has so many little shops and restaurants. We bought a San Diego shot glass. I think we'll start collecting those wherever we travel...

The view of the ocean was gorgeous!! I loved feeling the sea's breeze and the humid air. Reminds me of back home...

This is my mother-in-law Liz and her hubby Bob. Aren't they cuuuute!

While walking around San Diego city's sidewalks there are a bunch of entertainer's around. One guy was making roses out of corn stalk and gave some to us! Here we are holding our souvenirs in front of the ocean and the cruise ship about to take off. And below is this crazy dancing dude who is painted silver... even his teeth! He would be a statue and then just start dancing, he even posed for the camera!

What an amazing view!

Snapshot of the waves crashing on the shore.

We went to Anthony's for dinner and the restaurant is literally right on the water. We got a window seat and got to watch the sunset...

What a perfect way to end our trip!! It was so much fun and just the perfect place for me and Josh to get a little R & R. I am so thankful we got to go and thankful for the hospitality of his Mom and step dad. Family is so important and being around them is like a breath of fresh air. We have gone through so many struggles this year and the fact that we were able to go is such a blessing. We can't wait to go back!!

And so the Twilight Saga Comes to an End....

So after Heather so kindly lent me her copy of Breaking Dawn (...2 months and 754 pages later...) I have finally finished the Twilight series!

I definitely enjoyed reading these books, it gave me a whole new perspective on vampires (secretly wishing they were real) and sent me back into that giddy teenage love daze!

It's such a dark romance.. exciting yet a little creepy. I will miss staying up hours past my bedtime anxiously flipping pages while trying to keep myself from falling asleep.

I did get to see Twilight in the theaters this past weekend and LOVED it! I think the storyline was pretty accurate (except the tree climbing... little confused about that) and I think they got the characters down perfectly. It did go a little fast but thats what happens when you cram a whole book into 2 hours. I especially loved the baseball scene and the MUSIC (mostly by Muse)! Did anyone catch Stephenie Meyer at the restaurant? I heard a lot of people were disappointed but overall I think they did a good job. I'm really excited for the other movies to be made!

Now I just need to find another good book to read... any suggestions??

Sweet San Diego... Here We Come!

"Vacation is what you take when you can't take
what you've been taking any longer."

Yes ladies and gentlemen... the day has finally come! The heavens have parted and angels must be on our side because we are FINALLY going on a vacation!

Remember way back when me and Josh had to cancel our Cali trip over the summer at the LAST possible minute? Yes people... now is the time to make up for our heartache... we are leaving for sunny San Diego tomorrow morning!!

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!! Nothing is stopping us this time, that I can be sure of :)

I'm looking forward to....

California breeze
Warmth on my skin
In & Out Burger
Relaxation
Sunglasses
Flip flops
Feeling sand between my toes
Palm trees
Feeling carefree
Summer nostalgia
Taking pictures
Watching the sunsets
Spending time with family
Thanksgiving comfort food
Watching football
Naps with full bellies
Feeling thankful for everything we've overcome
Dare I say..... a tan??

...... and also blogging about everything when we come back!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving weekend! Anyone ready to put up their Christmas tree yet?

.... me either.

Hubby Tag

1. Where did you meet? New Britain Ward in Connecticut... he was on his mission and I was a Mia Maid! lol
2. How long did you date? 2 years.. well after he was off his mission!
3. How long have you you been married? 2 years and 3 months... WOW!
4. Favorite Feature? hmmm... I would have to say his green eyes. And the way they wrinkle when he smiles :)
5. What is your favorite quality of his? He has a very positive attitude about life and he always keeps my spirits up.
6. Does he have a nickname for you? Baby
7.What is his favorite color? I'm going to go with..... blueee?
8. What is his favorite food? His Momma's cookin
9. What is his favorite sport? Football all the way
10. When and Where was your first kiss? It was on our first date at Monique's apartment in Provo I think... on the floor after watching Love Actually. He didn't make a move all night so I went for it... time was of the essence!! And I had been waiting a long time to kiss those lips :)
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Honestly, we're couch potatoes. We are happiest just at home with Sam and a good flick on TV. Lame, but we don't care!
12. Do you have any children? Hell to the NO! We're putting that on hold until we're good and ready.
13. Does he have a hidden talent? He can play piano.
14. How old is he? 26
15. Who said, "I love you first?" I think it was him, and I didn't have to think long to say it back.
16. What is his favorite type of music? Classic rock
17. What do you admire most about him? He is book smart and also street smart, he has taught me so many things about life. I call him a walking encyclopedia.
18. Do you think he will read this? Someday!

I tag: Nicki, Lauren, and Nicole- have fun ladies!

And the winner is....

After much anticipation I finally got to see who won America's Next Top Model.......

and the winner is.....

McKey

... BLAH... can I just say that I totally disagreed with this decision!!! I guess the judges are the professionals here, but they seriously eliminated Annaleigh FIRST out of the 3! I couldn't believe it! Poor Annaleigh didn't do great at the commercial, although she had a good photo shoot but they decided she was too commercial looking and her face wasn't balanced enough- with her big eyes, nose, and lips. Whatever...... Tyra is whacked out of her mind.

So Sam and McKey got to do the runway show... obviously at this point McKey was going to win because she has a better walk. I guess I'm happy for her. This show never ceases to surprise me at the very last minute.

Congrats to the Lurch er, scuse me, MCKEY. You're stuck with a Cover Girl contract while Annaleigh has plenty of designers just waiting to hire her :)

Gibberish

Is everyone glad Monday is over? I sure as hell am. Only 3 more days until the weekend!

Thought I would practice my writing again and asked One Minute Writer for help:

Consider the "WORD VERIFICATION" word at the bottom of your comment window. Create a definition for it, and use it in a sentence.

scrit [scr-IT noun]

definition: the nasty dried up food remains left on your skillet after leaving it on the stove overnight.

"I hope you plan on cleaning up that scrit so I don't have to soak it in hot water for an hour."


lol that was thoroughly entertaining... Now YOU try!

Antique Clocks

Last week my friend Jodi from work invited me and the other office girls to sign up and make these beautiful antique wooden clocks. She has a friend that hosts these clock parties and she brings all of the materials and vinyl lettering. I'm always up for something crafty so I decided to make a big clock to put in our living room, customized with our name and the year we got married.

I chose to make it look extra old with this old world font which I looove. You literally do the whole thing yourself; from the tick marks, to the rub on vinyl, to the spackling and staining, and putting on the hands. I love the way it came out!!

What do you think? I absolutely love how this clock makes my living space personalized. And the best part is you can customize them any way you want, with any saying or quote that you like. They also make great wedding and Christmas gifts.

Chillin with Jammers

Oh how I love vegging out with my little Sammer Jammers.. he is such a cuddle bug! He rarely gets up before me and Josh do... he always digs himself a burrow underneath all of our piles of blankets. It's hard to find him under all of those layers so I usually sing his name in the morning and he'll finally grace us with his presence, after stretching and yawning for a good 15 minutes. Oh what a life it would be to be Sammers. He is my little man. Look how cuuuuute!!

Guilty Pleasure...

Many of you already know that I am slightly obsessed with this show called America's Next Top Model... it's what you would call my guilty pleasure.

I cannot believe how much I get into this show! I've been watching it ever since I was 16 and have watched 10 cycles... currently watching cycle 11. Not only do I love the fashion world and love seeing the backstage hair/makeup, but I like seeing these girls start off as nobodies and grow to try to reach their goal. I take it very seriously!

So I just watched the 2nd to last episode and I was so sad that Marjorie went home! :( I actually cried, no joke. I know I'm a loser, shut up. But anyway, that means next week is the season FINALE! Who will win??

I love Sam, she has amazing photos and has a great fun-loving personality, but she always tends to over act and doesn't look like a model in person. She almost got eliminated last week so I'm pretty sure she's going home... sad but true.

I adore Analeigh! She is always so sweet and has a great attitude about the competition. She struggled with her photos in the beginning but keeps getting better and better, thanks to her ice skater grace. She rocks at commercials and is charming in person. I hope she wins!!

McKey is unique in her beauty and takes probably the best photos, but the ultimate prize is for a Covergirl cosmetics contract, which includes smiling, being girly and doing great in commercials. She is a little too high fashion for that sort of thing, in my opinion, and doesn't do good with commercials. She's one of those just sit there, look pretty and don't speak kind of models.

Next week the girls will battle it out in a Covergirl commercial/photo shoot and one model will be sent home... then it's time for the final 2 to duke it out on the runway for their very last chance to prove they are ANTM! So excited! May the best girl win!!

(Tune in on Wednesday, November 19th at 7:00 pm on the CW!)

One Minute Writer

Happy Wednesday Morning! I was on time for work today- yay for me!!

I was browsing through some blogs that have been highlighted for the week, looking for some inspiration, and finally came across one called One Minute Writer.

What you do is view the posted subject of the day and use 60 seconds to write a response. That's it! It even has a 60 second timer. The point is to show you that you only need 60 seconds a day to practice your writing. You can either comment on the post or write your response on your own blog.

The author of this blog has some really great topics that get your creative juices flowing such as, "If you were on Jeopardy what story would you tell to introduce yourself?" or simple things like, "What is your favorite place to be in your home?"

It reminds me of a creative writing class I took in high school that I really enjoyed. Every day there would be a new topic on the board to journal about for like 5 minutes. I would love to keep using these daily ideas to get better at writing and blogging.

So today I chose to blog about:

"If writing was your career, what would you write about?"

I would definitely write children's books! There are tons of morals and lessons you learn while growing up. I would choose one that I feel passionate about like for example, being yourself or following your heart. I would then draw out some cute and witty animal characters to tell the story and illustrate as well. That would be so fun as a career. How cool would it be to read them to my children some day? My mom always wanted me to be an author/illustrator...

...maybe someday...

Thank heaven for little girls...

Can I just say how much I love my cute little niece? Not only is she the most adorable little girl alive but she is saving me from having baby hunger. I just loving being Auntie Kiki :)

I went up to visit my sister Amber on Saturday to spend time with her and Addyson and Andy-rew. First she wanted me to go check out her new school she is teaching at, which is so awesome and quite the upgrade. I'm so proud of her. Me and Addy played the whole time with a some hide and "BOO!", jumping in the elevator, and lounging in these big comfy bean bag chairs. She is such a doll it's ridiculous.

Then we decided to go to the school's playground and take some pictures. I am in love with my new camera, I'm having a lot of fun playing photographer...

So cute...

Giggling and swinging around the pole...

Going down the slide, her favorite.

Trying to capture a close up...

Jumping up & down!

I can't believe her hair is already in a pony tail!!

Sort of a smile... I take what I can get :)

Playing on the monkey bars with Mommy!
(This girl can really hang on there surprisingly!)

Addy and Mommy all smiles

"Whoa Mom, not so cheeky!!"

Fishy kiss faces

Silly face... always watching Mommy

We grabbed some yummy Farr's ice cream on the way home. I can't help but notice all of Addy's special characteristics. She is so adventurous is always observing, never wanting to sit still and always looking for excitement and fun. She is not shy but friendly and talks to everyone around her. She is also getting so smart! She can already sing part of the ABC's and can count to ten. Did I mention she's not even TWO yet??

She had been mentioning her bike all day and how she can ride it all by herself. I had to see! I think she was getting a bit tired of me following her around with a camera all day... oh well!

Afterward Amber and Andrew cooked us a delicious steak & potatoes dinner and we got to hang out a bit more before I had to leave. I decided I have to visit way more often before this girl grows up too fast on me!