Christmas 2012

Christmas this year was different than any other Christmas I've ever had. When I was little, we'd drive the 2 days to Canada and spend the holidays with my extended family. When I was in college, I'd go to my parent's house on Christmas Eve and spend a few days with them. Last year, our first Christmas after we moved, we drove back to Missouri and spent equal time with both of our families. This year, due to the fact that Keegan ran out of vacation days because of the wedding and honeymoon, we had to stay in Mississippi.

Christmas morning was just us. We put on some festive music and opened our presents from each other. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes, far from the hours and hours it normally takes with my family. The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house for the next day when my family would be making the trek down to see us.

On December 26, my mom, sister, and sister's boyfriend came down to spend a few days with us. They had never seen our house, in fact, sister's boyfriend had never been to Mississippi. Unfortunately my youngest sister was having some *ahem* problems, so my dad had to stay back in Missouri with her. Even more unfortunately, my mom came down with the flu (not the stomach flu, thank goodness) the day they drove down here. It wiped her out for the remainder of the trip and by the end, sister's boyfriend also got it. With Keegan just getting over a nasty cold, 3/5 of our house was sick. We spent the days lazing about, watching movies and playing card games.

 

We were so lucky to have Keegan's parents give us one of their extra dining room tables as an early Christmas present. This allowed us to host a proper Christmas dinner when my family came down instead of pizza which was the original idea. And yes, we moved the t.v. and boxes before company arrived. 

Entryway decorations. 

I planned on making our stockings this year. Unfortunately I didn't get around to them until Christmas Eve Day and that's only because Keegan was demanding (nicely) that I got them done so he could stuff my stocking, which meant they weren't around long. 

Ornament from Keegan's college 

Ornament from my college 

Adorable winter birdie that my mom gave me in 2011

Engagement ornament #1

Engagement ornament #2

Ornament from our honeymoon in the Smokey Mountains  

Ornament made by a local artist that was given to my from my boss. 

Keegan's mom has gifted us these handmade ornaments (pictured above) for the last two years. They're beautiful and I hope that it continues to be a tradition.

 

We still can't find a tree topper that we like, so Bendy Santa had to do this year.

Tree. Obviously. 

I'm not going to post pictures of our guests for privacy sake except for one. 

In September, my sister gave me a bunch of her old swimming t-shirts (we both swam competitively for years) so that I could make her a t-shirt quilt. I finally finished it two days before they arrived (shhhh) and she was thrilled with it. I think it turned out pretty cool if I do say so myself. 

Even though this Christmas was a total 180 from other years, it was still pretty awesome. I missed my dad and sister a lot, but, I must admit, it was nice not having to travel anywhere for the first time ever. Maybe we'll start making Christmas in Mississippi a new tradition? 

How was everyone else's holidays? I obviously haven't been around much, but I hope to catch up on blogs soon. 

Blogger Day of Silence for Sandy Hook

Unimaginable

As I type this, my heart hurts for the families affected by the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. I can't believe that someone would go into an elementary school, somewhere that is supposed to be safe, and kill innocent children. At the time of this blog post, it seems that 27 people were killed, 18 of which were kids.
My heart goes out to all the families that were touched by this horrible tragedy. I hope that one day, the children involved will see school as a safe place once again. Hold your loved ones a little closer tonight and keep those families in your thoughts.

I Hate Clothes Shopping

I'm sure some of you are going, "What?! But you're a member of the female race which means you must love to shop!" Ya.....not so much. I've always considered myself to be a bigger girl, even when I was a competitive swimmer and using up more calories per day than I could shove in my face.

Of course, looking back at pictures, I was a healthy, normal-sized teenager (I'm the one in the white tank-top)

Oh what I would do for that body again....

Anyways, since I was always a bigger girl, especially after I stopped swimming, shopping for clothes has always been a pain in the butt. Shirt and tops I can normally find ok, but jeans are my nemesis. The last time I went jeans shopping was when we moved down to Mississippi and I found two pairs at WalMart that fit (and yes, that was two years ago.) 

Since I've lost about 15 pounds due to the medications I've been put on for my PCOS (which you can read all about on my other blog, Baby Makin'), I noticed that I had a terrible case of saggy butt syndrome in my jeans as well as a rip in one pair that could be potentially embarrassing if it gets any larger. Last weekend, Keegan and I were planning on driving to the next biggest town that has a Target, so I figured I'd do some quick jeans shopping. 

While in Target, I grabbed two pairs of jeans, one in my current size, and one in the next size down. Going into the fitting room, I had a vision of slipping the jeans in my current size one, realizing they were way too big and being able to fit in the next smallest size, or even better, two sizes down! I mean, I had lost 15 pounds, that must count for something, right? 

That plan went down in flames when I tried to put on the jeans in my current size and I couldn't get them up past my thighs. After that, I was done. I quickly put on my old jeans, walked out of the dressing room and put the jeans back on the rack. Keegan asked me how it went and I told him the jeans were too expensive. 

In my head, I knew that brands fit differently. I knew that the trend these days are for girls to wear skin tight jeans (not my personal style.) I knew that I was trying to squeeze myself into a pair of Levi's and if I just tried on a different brand, I would probably find some that fit, but I was done. All the emotions from years past of trying on pair after pair of jeans and finding nothing came flooding back and I felt like the 15 pounds I had lost had been for nothing. 

What's funny is I ordered a couple of shirts and a pair of PJ pants from Old Navy during their Cyber Monday sale at my current size, but they're all huge on me! This was the kick in the pants that I needed to prove to myself that my weight loss has been a positive thing and something to continue working on. It also proves that each and every brand will fit differently. (By the way, I think us girls should band together and make clothes manufacturers give us some consistency in clothing sizes. Anyone else agree?) 

Unfortunately my jeans that had a rip in them have gotten worse by the day, so it looks like I'm going to have to put on my big-girl pants on and head over to WalMart to try and find another pair this weekend. Going to WalMart two weeks before Christmas probably isn't the smartest idea, but the only other store in my small Mississippi town is Belk, and I feel like they're ridiculously over priced. I'm just going to struggle through, find a pair of jeans that fits no matter the size, just to hold me over until I'm done with this weight loss thing. 

I've made a promise to myself to stop focusing on the size of my clothing and focus more on how my clothing fits. Shirts that were once too tight on me have become looser. I have saggy butt syndrome in my jeans. Things like this make me realize how much weight I have lost and are the push I need to continue doing so. 

Maybe one day I'll enjoy shopping for clothes. 

Finally! + A Blog Giveaway

Since Thursday, our internet has been out. It kind of amazed me how lost I felt without it and how much I actually use it once I'm home from work. Guess that says something about this generation, eh? Anyways, we had a technician come out today to see what the problem was. Want to guess? The entire problem was caused by a bent wire. The wire that hooked up our modem to the internet was so badly bent that it entirely cut it off. I actually felt sorry for the guy who had to come all the way out to the middle of nowhere just to fix a bent cable.

But, I'm happy that we got our internet back on this day specifically because Becky from Mrs. To Mama is hosting an amazing giveaway with four other ladies. The prize is worth $643 and it would be an awesome way to kick off December for whoever wins. You could hop over to her blog and enter, but if you don't, that just means that there's a better chance for me to win!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Women Connect '12

Today I'm linking up with Becky for her Women Connect 2012 blog link-up. The linkup allows women to really open up, tell their whole story, and maybe find a friend or two that are going through similar issues or times in their lives. 

So, about me. Let's see, I was born in Canada, moved to Missouri when I was just under a year old and then moved to Mississippi in May of 2011 because my husband (then boyfriend,) Keegan got a job. Currently we're living in Mississippi which has definitely been a learning experience! I work in a small art gallery (was a fine-arts major in college) and my husband is an engineer at a steel mill. 

Keegan and I met in college and lived 1.5 hours away for the the approximately 2 years we were dating. Two days after my college graduation, he and I packed up all of our stuff in a U-Haul and moved to Mississippi. When we moved to Mississippi, it was the first time we had ever lived in the same city!  

I started blogging in July of 2011 as a way to document and express my feelings about moving 9 hours away from all of my friends, family and everything I had known. Quickly my blog turned into all things wedding when Keegan proposed in October 2011. I soon started a blog specifically for our wedding planning which includes many DIY projects and money saving tips. I DIY'd everything I could for the wedding (including our invitations.) Anything I couldn't DIY, I purchased at discount ($2 groomsmen ties, holla!) It was our goal to have the wedding we wanted, as cheaply as we could.  

We decided to make the move to Mississippi a bit more permanent when we bought our own house in February. 

 We got married on August 4 in Missouri surrounded by our friends and families. The ceremony was held in a local park and my dad was our officiant. Our reception was basically a big party filled with pasta, glowsticks, and a keg. 

We honeymooned in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We stayed in our own cabin (with a heart shaped tub!) and pretty much relaxed the entire week we were there. We did a bit of exploring in Cade's Cove and white water rafted on our last day, but we spent the most time in the hot tub and watching the Olympics. 

On September 4, exactly one month after our wedding, I was diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance. Our dream of having children quickly came to a screeching halt when we learned that my PCOS would make it difficult for us to conceive "naturally" (without the help of medications or fertility treatments.) Since September, I have been on medications to help straighten out my insulin levels as well as birth control to force my body to cycle. I have been documenting our struggles with trying to conceive at my other blog, Baby Makin'. Many people have asked why I've decided to put such personal details on the internet. I do it because I hope that one day, another young woman who has just found out that she will struggle with infertility will stumble across my blog and I can somehow help her just as many other blogs have helped me.

I'm a huge nerd and many of my nights are spent with my husband on our computers. He's a big gammer and sometimes I join him. We both love to read and I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Did you know that Daniel Radcliffe and I have the same birthday, down to the same year? I thought I was the coolest kid in school when I found out I have the same birthday as Harry Potter (see, I told you I was a huge nerd!)

My husband is a huge car geek and purchased a 1971 Corvette Stingray a few weeks after we got engaged. It's his baby and he loves to drive it.

He has gotten me more interested in the world of cars, so for his wedding present, I booked us a hotel room for Crusin' the Coast 2012 on the Mississippi gulf coast. I'm pretty sure Keegan was in heaven.

(I really wanted to purchase this one, but the $89,000 price tag was a bit steep.) 

I guess you should say that I blog (and have blogged) for a variety of reasons. I blog about regular life, my relationship with my husband, learning how to live in the South and more recently, our journey with trying to conceive. I would love to meet other women who have had, or are currently having trouble trying to conceive. It can be a lonely world and having a network of other women with similar stories would be an amazing help.


Thanks for stopping by!

Fab Fridays 11.2.12

Today I'm linking up with Laura at Between the Lines for Fab Fridays

+ Halloween. I thought we weren't going to do anything (our neighborhood consists of our house and one other for the time being so we weren't expecting any kids,) but one of Keegan's co-workers invited us over to their house. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them, getting to know them better and passing out candy to all of the monsters and princesses that came to visit. I honestly can't wait to trick-or-treat with our future kiddos.

+ Friends. Lately we've been Skyping with some old friends from college. It's been really nice to catch up with everyone now that we're all over the country. It's also nice to have a conversation with people our age.

+ Babies/health. You can read the trouble I've had since my last appointment here. I'm feeling loads better, but cheese still makes me dry heave. One step at a time, right? Also, I've been able to hold/play/babysit a few adorable kids under the age of a year a few times this week which has made my heart happy.

+ Feelings. I had a mini freak-out last night about everything that's been going on. After some quiet reflection at a local lake, I went home and told Keegan all of the worries and emotions I've been feeling. He reassured me that he will be with me no matter what, even if I'm never able to give him a child of his own. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that from him until he said it. I'm so lucky to have someone so strong and loving by my side.

 + Holidays. This time last year, I wasn't looking forward to the holidays at all. It was our first holiday season away from our families and I was feeling unbelievably home sick. This time around I'm excited! There's a possibility of friends coming down for Thanksgiving and the current plan is to have our families down here for Christmas (since neither one of us have many vacation days left because of the wedding.) I'm excited to decorate our house, show my family around our new town and not driving 9+ hours. Neither one of our families have seen our new house so I can't wait to show them!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Ours will be spent doing some shopping and enjoying the 80 degree weather. I'm still not used to the warm temperatures this late in the year!

Crusin' The Coast 2012

So I'm about a week late on posting about this. Last weekend (October 12 & 13) we went to the Mississippi Coast for Crusin' The Coast 2012.

I first heard about Crusin' The Coast from a girl I work with who's from the Mississippi coast. I wanted to give Keegan a wedding present that was car related, but wasn't sure what. I was looking around for a track that would allow Keegan to take a drive on the track, but the prices of trips like that were ridiculous. My co-worker said that every year thousands of classic cars cover the Mississippi coast which sounded like something Keegan would be interested in, so I looked into it a bit more. It sounded exactly like something Keegan would love to do so I made hotel reservations back in May and set on hiding this secret for the next few months.

During the wedding I gave Keegan a card that explained that we'd be going to Crusin' the Coast and that I already had a hotel room reserved. The two month wait was hard, but finally the weekend came. We left our TinyTown around 3:30 and made it down to Ocean Springs, where our hotel was, around 8. It was dark out, but we could see classic cars already driving around.

We grabbed dinner at the Magic Mushroom (an awesome pizza joint) and went to check into our room.

This is where things got....interesting. You see, back in May when I reserved our room, the hotels had already jacked up their prices for this specific weekend. Our hotel room which normally cost about $60/night (which I found out afterwards) was now $120/night. Since I was trying to keep this a surprise from Keegan and I had limited funds, I couldn't splurge on our normal hotels, so I was stuck with a room at Howard Johnson, a hotel chain that I had never heard of before. I had high hopes that for $120/night it was going to be a good hotel, but.......

Not so much. Everything was PINK! The walls, the bedding, the curtains, all pink. The bed was lopsided and the pillows were hard as rocks. The "bedding" consisted of a sheet, what I thought was a piece of foam and the top cover which was so slippery you couldn't keep it on if you wanted to. Instead of towels, we got two bath mats. To say the least, it was the worst hotel I've ever been to. Both Keegan and I slept about 3 hours and at 5 am, we decided enough was enough. We got up, dressed, and went downstairs to check out. The clerk refunded our money, but after looking at the bill, he refunded it to a Mastercard, not the card I made the reservation with. I've never owned a Mastercard in my life, so I don't know who got my money. We were too tired and frustrated to argue with him, so we just left. 

After checking out, we went down to the beach to watch the sun rise, something I've always wanted to do.

Overlooking the Gulf of Mexico

After watching the sun rise, we went to IHOP for breakfast. Nothing too special, just quick and easy. Next, we drove down to Bay St. Louis to look at the cars. There were a few blocks that were lined up and down with some beautiful classics. It was awesome to get out of our car and walk around them, looking inside and at all of the small details. 

This truck had (almost) all of the license plates from 1935 when the truck was made.  

This car was equipped with cow hide accents on the seats and wood floors. 

I tried to convince Keegan to buy this Buick, but the $89,000 price tag was a bit much. How awesome would I look picking up (future) kids in this?!

This Mustang had a pretty interesting carbon fiber detail on the hood. Personally, not my taste, but cool to see none the less. 

After wandering around Bay St. Louis for a few hours, we drove back to the Coliseum in Gulfport to see the auto auction and swap meet. Unfortunately both of them cost money to get into (which we didn't know,) so we only went to the swap meet. We didn't find anything we wanted to purchase (or swap for) but Keegan did get to talk to the head production engineer for the transmission he's planning on putting in his Corvette which was cool and pretty informative. 

In the Coliseum's parking lot, there were some pretty cars as well. 

This rat rod had a PBR can for a coolant reservoir as well as a brass knuckles shifter and burlap sacks as chair covers. 

Keegan was very excited about seeing a Ford GT 40. Apparently this is a very expensive car. 

After walking around the swap meet for a bit, we decided we were exhausted. We drove home (after a stop at MugShots in Hattiesburg) and passed out. Next year we're hoping to get a bunch of friends to come down with us and perhaps rent a beach house for the weekend instead of worrying about hotel rooms. Overall it was an awesome experience. I think Keegan has plans to get the Corvette in tip-top shape so we can enter next year.