Catch UP

So I got the flu, and that was super not fun!  Then before I knew it, it was Christmas, I had work to catch up on, food to make, and bags to pack!  So here's the rest of December in a nutshell.  In 3 days I go to Vegas and I cannot wait.  Just me and my man relaxing.

Merry Cwissmas!

The gift my sissy made, it's hanging in my kitchen!

My boyfriends mom tested out her new blender at 11am!

Shower drinks always taste the best.

And that platter of cookies never emptied

This is from my man's brother's wedding in October

I'm such a polish fan and I scored the left one for a $1.50, it sells for $20 normally.

I'm putting my Christmas money to good use.

Shopping and Projects

I had such a good weekend!  Lots of dining out, good friends, shopping, craft sales, family and accomplished some projects.  My anxiety was just ok the last couple days.  My man has been hunting and didn't take his phone with.  He shut it off and left it at his parents, but never thought of telling me that.  I didn't worry that much but I rely on talking to him at night and that's really thrown me off the last couple days.  He called me as soon as he got in the car and I just hung up with him for a second time.  I think it's safe to say we both miss each other.

Projects I've accomplished include:

• painting a board and affixing clothes pins for a holiday card holder
• using nail polish to decorate the inside of some plastic clear ornaments (not dried or I'd have a photo)
• using pledge inside a clear ornament and adding glitter (I think the glitter is falling off :( )
• adding glitter to a cute Christmas sign I bought last year at Kirklands (not dry)
• painting golf tees (3 sets for each member of his family for the game that they invented)
• placing tacks, polishing tacks, and making ornaments (photos below)

• watching my 4th cheesey Hallmark Christmas movie
• cleaning glitter endlessly
• organizing my office for all the rest of my tack projects.  I've got a giant santa hat started out of a foam tree form.  I would like to make 3 small trees, a small snowman and 4 more ornaments. I've got 1/4 Cinderella themed ones done for my Boo.

Tomorrow I have an exciting drive up to Lake Superior for an inspection.  The guy has lakefront on 3 sides of his property so I'm hoping to take some cool photos.

I wish I was Oprah

I've never done this before but it seems like fun.  I present to you my list of favorite things.

Aveda is a must for dry winter hands

I ordered this Erin Condren Planner 

I'm so excited to use it and make it pretty.

My Gelish light and polishes.

Lanza haircare, best stuff ever.  

Without it I'd have a rats nest on my head

I'm not a make up person, this is my go to mascara

Louboutin Polish, this bad boy is on it's way to me.

I have no link because they are impossible to find anywhere!

This orchid is the exact one my man gave me, makes me very sentimental

World Market Mason Jar Measuring Cups

Breeze gifted them to me and I use them all the time!

Because Starbucks

Silpat baking mats, find them anywhere.

Move over Pam baking spray, these are far superior!

GBP

Overwhelmed

Yes she's painting her nails with Princess hobbitch (polish)

I am a list maker, if I don't have a list things just don't feel right.  Lately even with a list I've been out of sorts.  My sis and I did some shopping on Thanksgiving and she diagnosed me with anxiety.  I get stressed out over silly things, I have an almost constant pain in my side and a twitchy eye lid.

I'm working hard to feel better, but so far it's not working.

• my gifts are all purchased and wrapped, including stocking stuffers
• birthday presents are all purchased and the last 2 arrived today to be wrapped
• I made all kinds of appts today.  Hair, facial, massage, dentist, gutters, and most importantly the doctor for my anxiety and nerve pain when I concussed myself last year.
• I did all but 3 things on todays list and still feel awful

My man wants to be understanding but he doesn't get it.  I tried to explain it like this - I just want to relax and every time I try and let out a nice long breath i think of something else and have to get up and do it.  I'm forcing myself to just chill out tonight.  My list isn't too far away and I keep adding to it.  I have a whole week without him while he pheasant hunts and I hope to have the list down to nothing!  So far it just keeps growing.

Today my sis told me about Erin Carden planners and I think that's going to occupy tonight.  This seems like my level of organization!  I'm off to Pinterest

Thankful

Just a few blessings to be thankful for this year . . 

Double Trouble

Boo-yonce

The love of my life

My parents

and last but not least, Team Ingram

All ready for Christmas

How awesome is this chunky unicorn?

She's got one special spot on my tree!

Dress rehearsal of her new outfits!

The dress is for seeing Santa.

And I quote, "Momma, Santa's gonna be 'cited to see me!"

This one is just pure innocent childhood magic!

Trying on Shoes

This is the proper way to do it, right?!

My sis had several pairs for her try on and only made it through the first ones.

Last week a real testament to me not freaking out.  In the past 7 days I've had two crying jags because my man and I cannot communicate with each other.  Most of it is me, because I'm an emotional robot and I can't say what I really mean.  He's not a mind reader so the whole thing just ends badly.  I need to work on not relating sex as love and he's going to try an read me a bit better.

Work has a lot to do with it as well.  It's been very slow since the transition but I'm trying to get used to it.  Wednesday I spent 5 hours driving to spend 5 min taking photos of a hail damaged boat.  At least I was able to stop at the good cheese shop, butcher shop and bakery.  I kinda feel like a 50's housewife typing all of that ;)  It's all a new learning process and can be a lot to take in when you have nothing to work on.

On a positive note, all the Christmas decor was up on Tuesday and my house is very festivus!  I even have space to add some more small items AND I'm going to glitter up some things I bought last year. Not every fiber of my being is shiny from glitter so I'm going to add more!  GLITTER ALL THE CHRISTMAS THINGS!

Game Day

Double fisting before the game

Because we are just that damn cute!

He was worried we weren't close enough.

2nd Row, 30 yd line, Vikings side

I am officially hooked on attending NFL games.  I cannot wait to get tickets for next year and make my first pilgrimage to Lambeau!  We had a fantastic time, despite some rude assholes next to me and in front of us.  One guy kept saying he was "from LA and that's how they act!"  What a cop out.  He really rubbed me the wrong way.  Also, who harasses the kicker.  Come on!

Wordless Wednesday

This kid!  Her mom had just done her nails.  

Per Boo "One hand pink one hand purple, just like Auntie Libby!"

This week's mani, all colors chosen by my man.  

He's a good picker!

A boring weekend

People this child will be the death of her momma!  She was an angel at DQ then was incarnated by the devil at Toys R Us and hugged a public toilet basin.  My sister had to use bribery of a new toy to get her out of the store and to stop her demonic ways.  I had bought the same stroller for Christmas, but it's an easy return.  Baby Bingo is a Cabbage Patch Kid dressed as a a flamingo.  I think she might be saying baby Mingo, but other times it's Baby Bingo.

This kid loves some sparkles (sprinkles)

Her new stroller and baby bingo

My man and I went over to visit my sis and her family on Saturday.  That kid entertained us the whole time because she had just eaten some of my birthday cake.  Kids on a sugar high are hysterical.  She could not get enough of my man and him tickling her, hilarious!  She would also fall on purpose and crack herself up!  She loves to make people laugh and really has it down.  The highlight is when my sis asked her to tell us about her fit the night before.  Poor lil boo hung her head down and said "No Mommy, I don't want to."  She knew how naughty she had been!

After we came home we camped out on the couch for the rest of the weekend, minus my massive food prep Sunday afternoon.  Lots of football and cheesy popcorn was had by all.  I made some cookies with new caramel filled chocolate chips.  Holy crap are they some tasty lil treats. 

Happy Birthday to me

Not much has changed since this photo was taken 30 something years ago.











My man did good with this cake.  It was marble which isn't my favorite, but the taste more than made up for it!













My gift!  That light is the greatest best thing ever for an at home nail girl like myself.  It's just so amazing and fast and just the best!  Seriously go buy yourself one.














My anniversary orchid, how gorgeous is it!!!

My birthday was amazing!  I couldn't have asked for a better gift.  My man JOINED PINTEREST so he could view my "Gifts to buy for me" board.  THEN he went to the Sally's website and had his credit declined.  He had to log in and verify that it wasn't a fraudulent charge!  I find the whole thing just simply adorable.  I've never had anyone go to such great lengths to make me happy.  

Our dinner was even more amazing.  We tried out Acqua in Forest Lake and I am going to find any reason to go there again.  Lobster mac and cheese, calamari, lobster bisque and garlic shrimp and scallops.  It was a party in my mouth!  I have to go back just to try the desserts, we had cake waiting but I was so tempted to get creme brûlée anyways.  Ah Mah Zing!  If you are local, run to this eatery ASAP!

How to ruin an anniversary

Impromptu babysitting

She's not tired at all . . .

Celebrating my 1 yr anniversary didn't exactly go as planned.  On Thursday night we went out to dinner and had a lovely meal, came home and he started to fall asleep on the couch.  That was not the romance I had planned or really expected.  Eventually we went to bed with barely a kiss.

I laid in bed and let my brain spiral out of control.  I moved myself to the couch and cried for nearly 2.5 hours.  I worked myself up and started having a panic attack.  I woke up my man and sobbed for another hour.  I gushed out all kinds of crap and of course made him cry too.  Waking someone up to make them cry is not an ideal anniversary present.  I need to work on expressing my feelings in a much more constructive manner and he needs to do the same.

Overall it boils down to me feeling very unappreciated, him not acknowledging all I do and me needing a lot more attention.  We are both workaholics, we enjoy feeling needed by our peers and management.  Right now is his time to shine and he's doing a great job, but working 10+ hours a day is not cool with me.  I stay home all day and do training and other boring things.  When he gets home I want someone to talk to, to pay attention to me; not sit on his computer and get all riled up over stupid mistakes his India team makes.  Plus working at that level complete exhausts him and by the time he finally logs off he's 2 min from falling into a deep sleep.

We've pinky promised to really work on these issues.  Every 2-4 months I have this breakdown and feel awful, leading him to feel awful and we have a really rough 24-48 hours.  I ended up not sleeping for nearly 36 hours and was just crabby all day, which to me, really ruined our anniversary.  It'll be memorable but not for what I wanted.  He did get me a really cute card and the most beautiful orchid.  It's just perfect and shows how much he really does listen!

What really made me feel good was his mom and sis in law.  On Saturday we went crafting and at the first stop they both mentioned how good I've been for my man.  His divorce was rough and he privatized the whole ordeal.  His family was super worried about how he'd handle it.  I've turned him around and brought back his positive side.  Per their words, it's obvious how happy I make him.  His mom expressed how worried she was when I said I was stubborn because so is my man.  Neither of us likes being bossed around, BUT what she didn't know was my art of compromise.  Our issues are less about fighting and more about needing to be expressive.

I thought I had ruined our anniversary, but in reality I think I made it better.  After my outbursts he's always more attentive and loving and I'm pretty fragile, both things we need to do more often.  This Thursday is my birthday and I cannot wait to celebrate with him.  We have reservations at a new nice seafood restaurant and I finally get my present.  He's been teasing me with this for a weeks now!  I know it will live up to it's hype!

Mani's, a shack and Tapper

This weeks mani.  Used my favorite dark red and added some glitters.  Still looking good a week later.  I may or may not have splurged and bought the entire Gelish holiday collection.  I had a coupon and for once Sally's had them all.  My man didn't even blink, he just stood there and held them for me.  Also St. Cloud mall Sally's is a hidden gem!!  They had everything, oh and that mall has a Scheels!

My dad's new hunting shack!  Yes it's steel siding and roofing, has 1/2 in foam board insulation and 2 shelves for his coffee cup.  All 4 windows open and it's sturdier than their house!  He's insane and just slightly excited for hunting in 10 days.

This lovely doggy is Tapper, he belongs to my man's parents.  He's just the bestest!  He doesn't know how to bark, and he's trained to yodel, shake and play dead.  If every dog was like him I'd have a dozen!  He also gets very sad when all his people leave.  He sulks under the front bench when all the kids leave.  2 weeks ago he actually went into the bedroom at 5pm.  This is unheard of for Tapper since he always has to be in the middle of all of us.  His favorite is to sit on my feet under the dinner table.  I don't even feed him table scraps, I'm just the new favorite!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Halloween a week late!

World cutest Cinderella

Spiderman and a Dragon (3 yrs running)

Never buy me cleaning products

So my mother got me this ridiculously expensive mop for my birthday.  People, I HATE CLEANING!  I would never ever in a million years ask for this. EVER!!!  I want nail polish and all the sparkly things because I am a 12 yr old girl.

I asked my sister for some advice about how to tell my mom.  Who in no uncertain terms at my party told me it was very expensive and to tell her if I didn't want it.  This was in front of my man, my pseudo in-laws, a college friend and some of my sister's friends.  It was horribly inappropriate and hurt my feelings.

My sister response is below:  (I shall now be my sissy not myself)

"Here is exactly what happened. 

I created a Pinterest board of gift ideas for myself.  All I put on there was that mop as I was looking for norwex rags at the time and saw that mop come up on Pinterest.  I knew nothing about it and had no idea how much it cost.  The reality was I wanted a steam mop but thought this might be cool for during the week when I just need to go over the floor quickly.  You know, instead of buying swiffers all the time.  At NO TIME did I go to her and beg for this mop or say I really wanted it or ask for it. 

 So I mention in passing that I was going to order some stuff on Amazon and Darren says “don’t forget you need to order new cleaning rags.” She hears this and FREAKS OUT that I am going to order rags from Amazon (LIKE I ALWAYS DO)  and not from some yahoo at her work.  So she takes it upon herself to order me norwex rags (the wrong kind mind you, I use the cleaning and then the buffing and she got me the cleaning and then some bullshit window one that doesn’t work at all).  I didn’t ask for them.  I didn’t want them.  She got me the wrong ones and I hate them. 

 At the same time she decides to order these two mops.  I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. 

She tells me she got one for you and one for me and goes on and on and on and on about how much they cost.  It was actually laughable.  Like South Park or Family Guy.  She just would not stop talking about these mops.  Every time she saw her for weeks we had to hear about the mops. 

 
So it’s an okay mop.  Not great.  A pain in the ass to clean.  WAY too big to use in my bathrooms and annoying to use in my kitchen as I have to move my table out every time.  I can’t clean my floor on my hands and knees because she got me the wrong kind of rags.  I don’t feel like my kitchen floor has really been clean in weeks and it’s driving me crazy. 

 MORAL OF THE STORY – GIVE THE BITCH BACK HER STUPID MOP.  She must want it for herself for how much she talks about it!!! Leave it in all the packaging and that way she can return it in 6 months when she still hasn’t used it and decides to redecorate some stupid room in her house. 

Also, for the record.  I TOLD HER TO STICK TO THE LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 
Also, for the record, I understand that I did not stick to the list but my taste is flawless and I DARE you to deny it! "

Please note my sister and I are not broke.  We can afford to buy our own cleaning supplies.  My mother just takes these things upon herself and creates pure havoc!

I would like to state that my list is flawless.  I created a wishlist on Amazon and another on Pinterest.  I made sure all links were active and products in stock.  My mother was quite nice about me not wanting the mop and asked what I would like instead.  I referenced the lists and Pinterest AGAIN!  She told me she broke her Pinterest.  Bitch please, you got me the Pandora beads I asked for, now go buy me nail polish!!!!! 

(Again, please note I can afford all the nail polish I want, BUT in the spirit of the giving season I am trying not to buy any because it's a fabulous gift and makes me stupid happy)

So the moral of the story is never ever in any uncertain terms buy any woman of any age, race, color, creed, marital status, or otherwise cleaning products.  It's not a good gift!

Surprise . . .

I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason, put it out to the universe and it will be returned, karma all that.  A long long time ago I mentioned to my sister that no one in my family had ever attempted a surprise party.  Consider that game on for her and she pulled off a great party for me.  It was small and absolutely perfect!  If you've never played Cards Against Humanity you really should. The more the merrier for inappropriateness, shenanigans and belly laughs.

The world's most awesome cake table

Possibly the highlight of the night was my dad laying on my sister's oversized ottoman playing with Boo's iPad and trying to figure out how to play the Barney app.  He couldn't figure out how to get out of the app either.  Technology is not his forte!  Possibly a dozen High Life's doesn't help :)

Debbie Downer Alert:  I will say that I was very very disappointed in several of my friends.  Some couldn't make it due to prior commitments which I understand.  Another asked my sister to move the party!  I found that quite rude, but considering the source it kinda fit.  Another handful must have forgotten common courtesy's and how to use a phone.  Don't RSVP and then not send regrets when you can't make it.  I'm not Emily Post or Martha Stewart, but I do enjoy their directions on manners and social conduct.  Overall the party turned out great with those that did attend, but not without my sister having a small fit.  To be honest, I don't really blame her.  I'd be pissed if I'd gone through all that trouble, planned for a specific number of guests and then they don't show.  Rude, just rude!

Now it's time to get down to business.  I think this week will take forever because Friday is my 1 yr anniversary with my man!  I'm so excited to reach this milestone, I never ever thought I would get to this place.