sunday sundry

that's my kind of night

the concert was friday night.

it was a late merry christmas and early happy birthday for keifer from me.

i made the mistake reminding him of this so - anyone that knows keifer will know what i am talking about - it was keifer's birthday all flippen weekend and yet it will be his actual birthday in march that we will all have to deal with when his favorite saying is, "but it's my birthday month!" so he gets everything he wants.

anyways,

concert was a definite great time. 

erin did my hair before the concert, which i loved.

i felt like i was going to prom again ha. 

but it was adorable and went well with my outfit choice. 

even when i took all the pins out the curls were gorgeous. 

so don't judge me when i say i didn't wash my hair until about 3 hours ago.

even though it takes forever, i may be curling my hair more often.

we got on the road about 4:30pm.

it was a two hour drive and plus trying to get part and deal with traffic in cedar falls, we figured getting there early was best. 

we got decent parking - surprisingly. 

and got in the dome, got each of us a beer, and two our seats with almost an hour to kill.

$7.00 beers... can you say crazy,

but at the same time expected.

needless to say, we didn't get drunk... or even buzzed.

we had two beers each and decided we were both broke and the $28.00 we spent on beer was more than too much. 

just waiting for the concert to start.

when we first got to our seat - an hour early - this is what the dome looked like.

and not even an hour later it was packed.

sold out concert. 

it was almost impossible to move about halls and bathroom lines were just crazy long. 

they even had port-a-potties outside the dome that keifer and i found to be quicker, but also colder. 

we got smart and even both jumped in one at the same time. he peed in the urinal and i sat on the pot - we are so smart.

cole swindell performed first.

we only knew one of his songs.

not sure anyone really knew anything he sang besides "chillin it".

lee brice was second performer,

and keifer and i kind of agreed that he was probably the better of them all, even luke bryan.

he has a great voice and just overall the better performer.

luke bryan, the head liner.

great voice as well, and never stopped moving. 

found out he plays the piano.

he sat on a dock on stage and sang "drink a beer" which is one of my favorite songs of his right now.

and he actually started his performance with "that's my kind of night" standing on a truck that was surrounded by fire.

it was a great time.

we got out of there around 11:30pm, but the drive back home took FOREVER, or so it seemed.

(before i forget, a big thank you to mollie for watching daisy and easton)

we went to bed as soon as we got back.  

and woke up about 1:30pm saturday afternoon.

i made brunch for us 

triple berry muffins

and a hashbrown, scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese creation - yummy!

and after brunch,

while i finished up dishes and cleaning up the kitchen,

keifer gave the "kids" baths.

ha he isn't the biggest fan of bath time. 

he wanted nothing to do with me afterwards. 

i'm guessing he was mad at me,

but he did so well with keifer.

it was definitely a fun and relaxing weekend.

something i think we were both well in need of.

and now next weekend is valentine's day.

how excited are we about that?

ha.

until next time:)

have a wonderful week of work everyone.

tearjerkers

the other night, whitney and i were looking through all our movies.

somehow we got to listing all our movies we consider to be "cry my eyes out" movies.

so it only seems natural to share this with all my female readers - you know as well as i do that us girls need a good cry sometimes and a list like this will be useful - especially during that time of the month...

and though i know i missed A LOT, it's a pretty good start.

1. message in a bottle

2. lakehouse

3. nights in rodanthe 

4. the time traveler's wife

5. p.s. i love you

6. the family stone

7. stepmom

8. what's eating gilbert grape

9. my sister's keeper

10. the vow

11. radio

12. the boy in the striped pajamas

13. the lucky one

14. the blind side

15. the last song

16. brokeback mountain

17. the man in the moon

18. a walk to remember

19. eat pray love

20. the green mile

don't hesitate to comment, adding to the list.

enjoy girlies:)

interlude

moving.

i hate it.

especially when you have to start over on everything:

new apartment.

new job.

new city.

new friends.

ok, it's more so fun and exciting...

...but that is if you got everything in line, and boy oh boy, that was far from being where i was at. 

but it is starting to fall in place (now that i am actually here and it has to).

friday

i was aware there was a storm headed to des moines saturday morning so keifer and i decided to drive down to osceola that night after we got all loaded up.

(again, a huge thank you to those that helped me out: kalvin, casey, shelby, keifer, and even angie, with the tv stand)

we started loading the truck about 5:30pm and keifer and i were on the road a little before 8:30pm.

i was exhausted, 

but knowing my car was sketchily attached to the back of that uhaul that was going 65mph at points, and driving on bumpy road, i couldn't be more wide awake - anxiety at it's worst!

i know it is hard to see, but following keifer, who was driving the uhaul, pulling my car, can you imagine the thoughts running through my head?

if anyone was wonder everything fit that i needed except for my two end tables, and i forgot my bed frame and a few pillows.

we got to keifer's apartment at 11:00pm, but to park the uhaul, we had to take my car off the dolly and park that, take the dolly off the uhaul and park that, and finally park the uhaul. 

we got to bed by 12:00am, which was plenty of sleep.

saturday

whitney and i had to meet at the leasing office to sign our lease and pay our first months rent.

we got our keys...

and it was official.

YAY for us:)

we stopped by they apartment before picking up keifer and the uhaul to fill out our move-in check list - we were thorough that is for sure; we even took pictures.

after that, keifer and i got subway before we started unloading what we could by ourselves.

jarael and josh (huge thanks to them as well) stopped by to congratulate me on my new place by helping keifer move my two sofas, a dresser, and my "aggressive" tv stand all the way up to my second floor apartment. 

jarael obviously had the easiest side;p

whitney didn't move much in on saturday besides dishes - oh my gosh i have never seen so many glasses - so keifer stayed over. call me a baby, but i didn't want to spend my first night in des moines alone (and thank heaven i didn't).

we got breakfast pizza from casey's as well as those new aluminum, twist top, 16oz cans of bud light.

we did a little r&r and unpacking while the cyclone game was on.

after, we thought we would watch a movie and scratch some scratch tickets.

just as we are about to start the movie, a loud ringing/buzzing noise started coming from the hallway.

i'll just make this long story short:

1st floor neighbor called 9-1-1.

she knocked on our door and told us to get out.

there was smoke all over the first floor.

firetrucks were on scene in less than five minutes.

we sat in the car with the dogs for over an hour until they cleared the apartments - keifer was rather irritated that night.

now, yesterday i finally found out that the apartment the fire started in was completely empty and should have been locked up. 

well, it was not.

can anyone say, "sketchy"?

as erin put it, "if this doesn't prove this was meant to be, then i don't know what will." - jokingly of course.

but really, great welcoming we sure had.

[super bowl] sunday

for starters,

GO SEAHAWKS!!!
and no we weren't the ONLY ones cheering them on - i got proof (sorry emily and jason)

keifer bought a cable splitter and moved his bedroom tv to the living room so this is how we got to watch the game.

yes two televisions for three people - keifer, whitney, and myself - to watch football ha.

and i made cheese dip as well to snack on during the game,

which of course was delicious, and keifer had the brilliant idea of adding veggie sausage patties to it!

snacks.

beer.

football.

perfect sunday.

monday

keifer and i went down to osceola to say our "until next time"s to dillon.

that butthead is leaving us all again.

i know i'm not the only one that is going to miss him - those 2 months with him being back we were definitely all spoiled.

we all played some cards and pool.

and i got to cuddle with miss journee some more.

yes, i bought her that outfit.

and whether her parents like it or not, jovee and journee will be packers fan.

i love getting to see "the blakelys" more.

and i can't wait to spend nights with the girls.

even with all the stress of starting over, beginning new, i am also excited and happy it is finally happening and in "play".

[sneak peek]

love the fireplace, even if i never use it ha.

 i got my own bathroom.
not that i would care if whitney and i had to share...
...but we are girls, and bathroom time and space are critical to our beauty.
sharing bathrooms can be a hassle working around each others schedules. 
so a definite plus to the apartment.

our movie collection is quite large.

many movie nights to come (whitney has a popcorn popper too... SCORE).

more pictures, projects, updates to come.

but for now that is all i got.

happy hump day:)

mixed emotions

before i go into full details, 

i should start with some updates.

last weekend,

i was down in des moines to meet up with whitney (my potentially new roommate).

we sat down over supper at legends and got to know each other  a little.

i'm not so sure how much she would agree with me on this, but we have a lot in common.

after an hour of chit chat, we decided we are a good match for each other, and apartment searching would begin.

i know there is curiousity stirring about how dillon and i were planning on being roommates, so where did whitney come into this picture?

simply put,

we all thought this would be the better fit for me.

i'm one hundred percent sure this is what i want to do, and dillon is a little less sure.

so saturday morning,

we got together and drove all over des moines.

oh my gosh, how annoying is apartment searching. especially on a saturday when most leasing offices are only open until 4 or 5.

we viewed two that were definite possibilities, but the cons out weighed the pros at the end out the day.

on sunday,

we had a lot of time to process everything.

our requirements of our potential apartment were adjusted based on what we saw the previous day,

and more online searching began.

so by monday night i had a list and a route of five different places to view on tuesday morning.

it was narrowed down to three places - that worked out great because i got lost which stole an hour of my time - and after viewing them, it was narrowed down to two potentials.

i then had my interview at verizon wireless, which went well, and was on my way back to storm lake.

while i was working and packing all week.

whitney was viewing another apartment.

and this is where it all falls into place.

meadow ridge apartments

includes:

1100 square feet

*2 bedrooms

*1 3/4 bathrooms

wood burning fireplace

*water, sewer, and trash included in monthly rent

*cetral air and heat

*cable and internet bundled at a low rate

*pets allowed - even dogs.

(*met our requirements)

just exactly how excited am i?

freaking out excited.

but oh lordy,

the stress can go away any time now.

so our appointment to move in is on saturday at twelve o' clock.

luckily for us, 

weather is supposed to be nasty with approx four inches of snow - there is a lot of sarcasm in that.

but no really... yuck.

anyways, i'm picking up the u-haul today at ten o' clock this morning.

keifer is driving up when he is off work to help load everything up, and kalvin is going to help as well - thank you so much to the two of you (and possibly casey, shelby's boyfriend).

keifer will be staying the night and we will be taking off first thing in the morning. 

he doesn't know it yet,

but he is driving the u-haul that will be pulling my car and i'll be driving his car;p

once there and all checked in and paperwork is signed and paid for, 

erin and shane are lending a helping hand to help unload.

did i mention this apartment is on second floor? 

i'll say my prayers now for those at the bottom of the stairs while moving the tv stand...

hopefully, saturday and sunday i can get all unpacked and settled in.

monday, i am supposed to start my job at the maids,but i'm also to have a final interview with verizon sometime as well sometime next week. that is a cluster f...

but friday will be a nice relaxing getaway.

keifer and i have the luke bryan concert.

yay:)

well that is where i will leave off for now.

there will be pictures to come of the moving tomorrow i'm sure. 

so keep a look out!

have a good day for it is friday!!

when morning comes

this one will be short and sweet,

but i thought i might update you all on my day tomorrow.

i am getting up bright and early... seven o' clock in the morning to be exact.

i have five apartments that i will be stopping at to see if i can squeeze in a quick tour and gather some information.

(have one apartment or two in mind as of right now, but want to make sure i see all my options)

than at eleven o' clock i have an interview at verizon wireless in altoona - all thanks be to jarael madyun!

things aren't falling into place quite yet like i had hoped would happen this weekend,

but i trust they will soon.

that's it for now.

until next time

:)

busy, busy, busy

well, these next two weeks are going to be crazy.

starting with tomorrow morning.

i have a phone interview at ten o' clock,

followed by a dentist appointment.

(i hate the dentist; my teeth always hurt afterwards)

then i am going into work early to get some extra hours.

wednesday,

i work all day.

literally.

six in the morning to nine at night.

"money, money, money", right?!

and thursday,

i have an eye doctor appointment.

hopefully, i can get some contacts ordered, because i never wear my glasses. and boy am i blind.

i'm almost positive there should be some restriction on my license that forbids me to drive at night without my glasses, but even then my vision is still not all that great.

then i have a short day of work, getting off at five, and heading back to des moines.

have i mentioned how much i have begun to hate this drive.

but...

i'll be there until monday or tuesday night as usual. 

hopefully get more things figured out:

more job interviews and applications to do, as well as maybe see another apartment or two.

once i am back,

i have another week where packing and working will fill my days.

i have a going away get together with all the girlies from work and possibly a few others on the 29th: wild wing night at the one and only regatta grille.

(if you are in the area, feel free to join)

i sure am going to miss everyone,

but time to move forward.

and hopefully, if all goes as planned,

i'll be starting my new job on the third.

well, until next time...

have a wonderful week everyone.

:)

watch me grow

i was looking at my baby book the other day,

which i've seen a million times,

but i couldn't help but laugh while going through it this time.

so i came up with this brilliant and embarrassing idea to share some photos.

i'll start at one week old, or "the ugly duckling", and go from there.
i was 10 lbs. 14 oz. and honestly the ugliest baby i have ever seen.
i mean look at that face.
you know how when it's your child or family the baby is cute no matter what?
i can't imagine anyone thought i was:/
so you know what strangers were thinking...

thankfully by nine months i lost some weight and gained some cuteness.

and my hair went from black to blonde.

now i don't care who you are,

admit it.

i was a doll!

(that could have been mistaken for a boy with long hair, right?!)

and at one year...

why would a mother put her child in such an ugly outfit?!

this is still at one year,

but i have to share.

for some reason my parents thought this was ok and even took a picture.

two years old

and absolutely adorable

as are kalvin and ashley as well.

(does anyone else think i look like michelle on full house?)

three years old.

dressed as a cowgirl.

i have always said i was going marry a cowboy and live on a farm with lots of horses.

yeah, that dream is far from my life today.

though, angie doesn't ever forget to remind me from time to time of my dream... that is now hers.

four,

and i just keep getting cuter.

angie and george sure did good:)

...and of course, ashley is still cute too.

five years old.

the year i forgot how to smile.

also the year ashley and i participated in bv county little miss pageant.

neither of us won.

needless to say, you don't win based on looks, that's for sure.

age six.

there isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that i'm angie's daughter at this point.

or any point after.

seven.

the year my hair was no longer down to my butt.

(anyone noticing how blonde my hair was naturally and how tan i was?)

eight years old.

this is the year the twins had arrived.

and i was no longer the baby of the family.

age nine.

ten.

eleven.

four through eleven almost all look like the same year.
and now at twelve years old,
the "ugly duckling" starts to show again.

thirteen.
(this is the time the giggles start for me while looking at these photos...
well besides for the "huge, ugly baby" pic up top)

fourteen.

fifteen.

sixteen.
i believe this was the first year i actually put any color in my hair.
and started tanning.

and finally seventeen.

my senior year of high school.

in my opinion the "ugly duckling" has left the building again by this point.

but that's also a huge thank you to photoshop!

well, there you have it. 

you've seen me at my worst and

it can't get much worse than some of those.

at least i sure hope not:/