tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-492157410577891962024-02-02T16:24:11.523-06:00Home With The HomansWhitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-54193552197267886672015-10-22T21:57:00.003-05:002015-10-22T21:57:46.216-05:00I am StitchFixing and LOVING IT!!<br />
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I want to share my Fixes with the world!<br />
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I have received 3 Fixes so far and I am waiting on my fourth to arrive on October 28th! This will be the one I consider my "Birthday Fix"!!<br />
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One of my favorite parts is the texting amongst friends to share our newest Fixes and discuss what to keep and what not to keep!<br />
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I will continue to post on Facebook and here and share the Stitch Fix Love!! Until then...<br />
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<a href="https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/5801483">StitchFix Sign Up</a>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-42003745684758368022013-02-01T09:20:00.000-06:002013-02-01T09:24:31.316-06:00SHOW US YOUR SINGLES....LAUREN HARDY!!!I'm BACK!! But only briefly!! And for a VERY important reason....Kelly's Korner is doing another round of SHOW US YOUR SINGLES....and so I intend to do so!<br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Meet one of my very best friends <b><u>LAUREN HARDY!</u></b> She is single and SUCH a catch! We first met at Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) in 2004 when Lauren pledged Tri Chi as a Freshmen and I was a Junior. I tossed her in the back of my car on bid day, and the rest has been history!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6tQxi0foDj90_hUN7V50t5UBZbWsHrLt86yXxJltXozSxgvgSSFjz48u-R2fucKdQ4Mln4eOhPss3a6Uh-1-Re4uIsw0OaXxMc_SKcgv1hyZdnCpHCtxCQQA23wv4rSKc99CLSNFN_A/s1600/359_512456042643_7069_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6tQxi0foDj90_hUN7V50t5UBZbWsHrLt86yXxJltXozSxgvgSSFjz48u-R2fucKdQ4Mln4eOhPss3a6Uh-1-Re4uIsw0OaXxMc_SKcgv1hyZdnCpHCtxCQQA23wv4rSKc99CLSNFN_A/s320/359_512456042643_7069_n.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">She has a kind and gentle spirit, she is beautiful and fun loving, intelligent, has a great sense of humor but most of all, she loves the LORD. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Lauren is a loyal friend and always up for a good time or great adventure. We joke around and say she is one of my "Sister Wives" because my husband loves her so much and loves being around her (in a completely platonic way).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5OQnvhm99Kax1c9iTRBH5Mm3U8feEFcE0T7a6lOf7rnboC25O-tBJloFL0fM0YLEMRXBuuPfjpi_uX6YG7zS1b2H5ckUTyQLEd2NGYz0mfikeilg5Mng8A9zf78TqT9-V9s1Xx8oXew/s1600/74005_540229918573_5712053_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5OQnvhm99Kax1c9iTRBH5Mm3U8feEFcE0T7a6lOf7rnboC25O-tBJloFL0fM0YLEMRXBuuPfjpi_uX6YG7zS1b2H5ckUTyQLEd2NGYz0mfikeilg5Mng8A9zf78TqT9-V9s1Xx8oXew/s320/74005_540229918573_5712053_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7;"> (Lauren with my husband and I on our wedding day)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Lauren is a lover of sports. Some of her favorite teams are the </span><span style="color: blue;">Texas Rangers</span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> and the </span><span style="color: #cc0000;">Arkansas Razorbacks</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">, but she loves just to kick back, hang out with friends and enjoy a game (and some grilled meats). Besides, if those aren't "your teams" a little rivalry never hurt anyone....it could make the relationship stronger!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Lauren LOVES to travel and try new things. She is also a lover a sushi (but won't force you to eat it if you aren't). She is very thoughtful and always willing to help. Whether its a tedious task like moving, or running over to my house to help me clean last minute and set up for a party I am hosting....Lauren is always there for me and all of her friends. She NEVER forgets a birthday and cherishes life moments with her friends like no one else I have known. She loves life and loves to enjoy it with those that she loves...never taking away from other's in their precious life moments!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Lauren studied law at Mississippi College of Law in Jackson, Mississippi and after graduating (in 2.5 years, not the 3 it takes most people) she moved back to Little Rock/Maumelle Arkansas. She is currently working for OBU (the college I mentioned previously) as a Development Officer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span> (Smart and Fun!!!)</div>
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(Law School Graduate!)</div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">I don't want to give too much information away, because what are you two going to talk about on your first date (and second and third, etc...)?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Comment on this blog, and lets see where it goes!!!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-size: large;">Here are a few more pictures of my beautiful friend Lauren!</span></div>
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She can have fun and laugh with you and at herself!!<br />
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Lauren in green!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> I love her so much, she was in my wedding party!</div>
Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-17904884831727239792012-10-13T12:51:00.000-05:002012-10-13T12:51:18.435-05:00Life UpdateI've recently had some emotional ups and downs with some unknown health stuff.... and Praise the Lord it has turned out okay for now!<br />
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On Friday, September 28th, I went in to see my doctor because some "weird stuff" was going on. I had only recently told Brad about it, so I was SUPER nervous to tell my doctor about it. PLUS, he is a new doctor to me because my previous doctor was just forced to retire due to some health issues....so this was our first time meeting. YIKES<br />
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The WHOLE reason I went in in the first place is because I saw an episode of Dr. Oz (pretty lame right?). This stuff had been going on for a while and I just thought it was just a thing I was going to have to deal with.... but when I saw this episode of Dr. Oz they were addressing the EXACT thing I was dealing with and as it turns out, it could be a sign of infertility. I will be turning 30 on November 8th, and Brad and I have been married 2 years now, so starting a family is a HUGE desire of ours right now, so infertility would be a BIG blow to that plan.<br />
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Anyway, I told the doctor about what was going on and he told me he wanted me to head down to the lab and get some blood work done. They wanted to check for diabetes, any possible thyroid issues, my hormone levels, etc. I am normally a big wimp when it comes to needles, but I put on my big girl panties and did it. I deal with stressful stuff by cracking jokes, so I am sure the lab lady thought I was delirious.<br />
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Almost a week later, I hadn't heard anything back, so I called the doctor. The nurse called me on Friday, October 5th and told me that the test results were incomplete (meaning they were still waiting for part of the results) but what she did know was the my Sex Binding Hormone Globulin (SBHG) was high. The doctor wasn't in to explain this to me.... so I wrote it down and headed on over to Google.<br />
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I found out that SBHG can be increased due to either birth control (which I am on) or hyperthyroidism. I was okay with these results. I could deal with this.... that was an easy fix in my mind. I spent the rest of the weekend not concerned at all and feeling at peace about it.<br />
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Tuesday, October 9th..... my doctor's nurse called me to tell me the rest of my blood results were in. My Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and my Luteinizing Hormone (LH) were VERY low....not just low, but VERY low. The doctor wasn't sure why exactly and he wanted me to go as soon as possible, get some more blood drawn and schedule a pelvic ultrasound...<br />
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I went immediately across the hall (luckily I work across the hall from my gyno) and had the blood drawn and scheduled the ultrasound for later that morning. Let me tell you, that ultrasound was NOT what I was expecting...AT ALL... They could of at least taken me to dinner or for a glass of wine before that (see, joking when I am stressed)....<br />
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The reason for the ultrasound was because the doctor thought I might have ovarian cysts.... YIKES!! I haven't had any pain, or any other symptoms other than the VERY low hormone levels....but the thought is still scary. Thankfully, the ultrasound was normal and everything is fine (Praise the Lord again).<br />
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The extra blood tests was where it got really scary for me. He was testing my Peroxin and Estradiol levels. If the Peroxin levels came back high, it could possibly mean I had a mass or tumor in the Pituitary part of my brain.<br />
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TUMOR. It took me a little bit to swallow that information while reading information online, but when I said it out loud to my mom, I burst into tears. I honestly didnt FEEL like that was what was the matter with me, I haven't had any of those symptoms either.... but I told myself that IF it was indeed a tumor, maybe we caught it early enough that I hadn't started showing those symptoms.<br />
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PRAISE THE LORD those levels were normal. No Pituitary mass or tumor. God is so good!<br />
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My Estradiol levels, however, are low. In the post-menopausal range. Like I said earlier, I am almost 30, not exactly post-menopausal. Or menopausal for that matter.<br />
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Our plan of action for right now is to take me off birth control and reconvene in a month. I am supposed to go back in for more blood tests in a month and we will recheck all my levels without the possibility of birth control suppressing them or elevating them.<br />
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I know this is all in God's hands. I know He has an ultimate and perfect plan for Brad and I and our future children. I know He has placed it on my heart to be a mommy and to raise children for a reason. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who has held my hand through all of this, never faltering and never EVER making me feel bad for the possibility something may be wrong. I can not wait to see how all of this unfolds. Brad will be an amazing father! Whether it is a child created by us, or by a child in need of a home and becomes ours through adoption. That is one reason I wanted to start blogging again and chronicle this journey from the beginning.<br />
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I actually have an amazing peace right now about all of this.<br />
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Brad and I have some fun stuff planned for the next month anyway, and before I know it, it will be next month and time for me to go back in for more blood tests.<br />
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One of my best friends from high school is getting married in New Orleans and I am blessed to be in her wedding!! Brad has never been to New Orleans so we are headed down there a few days early to get the full experience and to celebrate Ashley and Jeremy's marriage.<br />
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Then a few weeks later, Brad and I are headed to the Virgin Islands on a cruise to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary and my 30th birthday!!<br />
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<br />Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-48258928245436466752011-06-29T14:49:00.000-05:002011-06-29T14:49:43.896-05:00Married 8 months recapOH MY GOODNESS....It's been a ridiculous amount of time since I have blogged and I can't believe I NEVER wrote the rest of my honeymoon blog! I am a blogging failure. This post is LONG and it is more for my memories than anything!!<br />
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So much has been going on...let me see if I can remember<br />
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<u>November</u>- Brad and I celebrated our first married Thanksgiving! Let the married weight gaining begin!<br />
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<u>December</u>- First married Christmas....it was so wonderful! I got a Kindle and Brad got a Razorback golf bag....we got other things, but those were our bigs gifts to one another! We drove around so much and ate very little that we were STARVING by the time dinner rolled around that we ended up eating at a Chinese buffet in Maumelle just the two of us on Christmas night. We are pretty sure it will be a tradition if we can help it! The day after Christmas Day, I flew to Virginia to see my cousins, Aunt, Uncle, and Grandmother. We threw a surprise party for my Grammy and her 80th birthday! She was so surprised and my mom did an AMAZING job putting it all together and contacting all of her friends to schedule it, and then she had to reschedule it due to a snow storm that hit the day I flew in!<br />
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<u>January</u>- New Years! We went out to Conway to celebrate with our best friends Chris and Kirby! We ate, drank and played games on the Wii! Im now a big fan of Mario Kart! We also bought and closed on our first house at the end of January. We bought my dad's house! <br />
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<u>February</u>- We celebrated our first married Valentine's Day and moved into our first house! We owned it for about a month before my dad's house was ready and he could move out. The lull allowed for us to gradually pack up our apartment and slowly move things over instead of having to do it all in one day. That worked out nicely because I left for Vegas on February 17th and Brad moved all of our big stuff into the house on the 18th. Chuck Hawley helped him load the moving truck on Friday night and Chris Johnson helped him unload on Saturday. We still owe them BIG TIME!<br />
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While I was in Vegas, I got a text message saying that the water had been shut off by my dad. Brad called the water company about it and they told him it had never been shut off, just turned off and he had to turn it back on. He and Chris and my dad tried and tried but did not succeed. Brad had to go the rest of the weekend with no water to shower with, drink OR flush the toilet with...luckily we still had the apartment so we could go over there and shower. <br />
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I flew back in on Monday and we STILL had no water....OR gas....which meant that we had no heat either. It was toward the end of February...and we were FREEZING!! We wore lots of clothes around the house and used my heated mattress pad at night! At night, I would take some water from one of the jugs he bought, put it in a bowl, heat it up in the microwave and wash my face with that because it was so cold!!<br />
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Every morning, I had to get up extra early, go back to the apartment in Maumelle and shower and then leave from there to go to work in Conway. It wasnt ideal, but we didnt let it bother us...it was funny that it was happening that way and we just laughed about it! We made memories for sure! On that Tuesday, Brad had to work, but we were promised that we would have water that day! I came home, all excited...turned on the faucet and NOTHING! I was NOT a happy camper. I ended up calling the emergency line at the water company and the lady had to talk me through how to turn our water on! I went outside with a wrench and a flashlight and dug through the dirt to find the meter and turn it on correctly! I am super woman!!! We finally had water!!! The gas was turned back on the upcoming Friday! Our house (well, utilities) were finally complete!<br />
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<u>March</u>- Brad and my Dad's birthdays....not to mention Kirby and Chris's wedding weekend at the end of the month! We started to really unpack our house and discuss when we were going to have our house warming party. We had SO much to do in the house in terms of unpacking, painting and updating some stuff...as well as get the backyard cleaned up and the pool opened! We worked really hard for a few weeks and then hit a wall and took a several week break from the unpacking and updating! We did paint our bedroom...it went from a dark forest green to a light blue with a teal accent wall. <br />
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At the end of March....Brad and I boarded Patton and Reagan and took off for Hot Springs...the location of Chris and Kirby's wedding! They got married in the chapel at Garvin Gardens and the reception was at the Country Club of Hot Springs! Everything was beautiful and perfect and we could not have been more excited for our best friends to FINALLY be married! The day of the wedding, Brad got up super early and went and played golf with Chris and the guys. It was FREEZING! I tried to sleep in, but couldnt....I knew there was lots to be done! I met Kirby and her mom and brother up at the Country Club to help decorate. They had most of it done before I got there....but I am so glad I could at least go and help and offer to run any errands they needed. The weekend was fabulous and so much fun! <br />
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<u>April</u>- On Monday, March 28th, I was at work and Kellee (a girl I worked with) said she saw a dog in the parking lot. If you dont already know, I LOVE dogs and would save them all if I could. I ran outside and called the dog to me. She didnt have a collar on and she looked VERY skinny. I called Brad and said "A dog found me in my parking lot and now it is standing in my office". He asked me what I was doing with it and I replied that I was bringing her home. My friend Lauren came over that night for wine and pizza and she was helping me think of places I could take this sweet girl so she could be off the streets and find a new home. I kept her outside, away from the other two dogs I have. We found out that she was fully trained to sit, stay, lay, shake....WOW!<br />
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When Brad got home from night shift, he stood at the back door and looked outside at her, informed me I needed to find her a home, and walked away. Next thing I knew, he was back at the door looking at her and then would walk away. At some point he did go out and meet her. About an hour and a half later he was standing at that door again, he turned to me and said "If we can get her spayed, YOU can keep her!" LOL...i didnt even ask to keep her. He fell in love with her and she became a part of our family that night! I know that happened in March, but her life in our family began in April, so it counts as April!!<br />
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Now we have three dogs! Our Maltese Reagan, Our Lab-ish mix Patton and our Pit Bull-Lab Mix SCOTCH!!!<br />
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Mid April, a friend of mine informed me that he was leaving his current job at Arkansas Otolaryngology Center in Little Rock to open a practice in Cabot, closer to home! I asked him about the opening he was leaving and if they had posted the job...he told his ENT's about me and they said they wanted to meet me! I interviewed at noon on a Tuesday and by 1:15 they called to offer me the job! I talked it over with Brad and then I accepted!! It was truly an answer to prayer!!! <br />
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I loved my job in Conway and I loved who I worked with and who I worked for....but the drive was really starting to take a toll on me...and not getting home until 5:45 when I got off at 5 was hard not to mention I was filling up my gas tank twice a week. Since I have started my new job in Little Rock.... I get home within 10 minutes of getting off work and I fill up my gas tank ONCE every TWO weeks!!! Such an answer to prayer!! The night before my interview, I was nervous and had an uneasy feeling about it. I realized it was because I had not asked God if that was His plan for me....so I prayed and asked him to give me a peace about the interview if it was something He wanted for me and an immediate calm washed over me. I gave it up to Him and told him that if it was His will, I know I would get the job and if it wasnt, then there was something else out there for me. It was such a neat feeling. <br />
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We also opened our pool in April and started to clean up the backyard. We added sand to a portion of the patio to make it feel beachy and it has a fire pit and adirondack chairs! Brad completely ripped up all of the flower beds and re-did them with a pretty red mulch and planted flowers! We got a new patio table and chairs, put together our grill, added some outdoor lights and tiki torches and our patio was a step closer to being Party-ready! I also scrubbed our whole patio with dawn soap and a bristle brush on my hand and knees to get any imbedded dirt up. I will post pictures of our changes one day (probably in another 6 months). HA! <br />
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<u>May</u>- We had our mother's and Brad's dad over for Mother's Day for lunch and it was the first time any of them had seen the house! They were super excited for us and so supportive! The following weekend (on the 14th) was our housewarming party! We had an absolute blast! We ordered 40 pounds of crawfish and also had hot dogs just in case crawfish wasnt an option for someone. We must have had 20 to 30 people at the housewarming and it was so nice to be around our wonderful friends!! We had so much crawfish left over though that we probably threw half of it away the next day! That party for us was the official kick off of entertaining and having friends over for dinners, swimming and hanging out!<br />
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<u>June</u>- We celebrated Father's Day with our father's, Brad's mom and one of dad's friends and their daughter. We made ka-bobs (chicken and steak) with baked beans, corn on the cob and baked potatos. It was a FEAST and Brad did an AMAZING job on all of it. <br />
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Brad and I are really loving our pool too! On Saturday mornings, we wake up, grab something out of our deep freeze for lunch (usually hot dogs), throw it on the grill, put on our swimsuits and swim and relax all day! It really is so nice to not have to worry about going somewhere, run an errand or HAVE to be doing something! We have had a few friends over for swimming or dinners and we cant wait to do more of that in the near future!<br />
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I have really learned in the recent past just how blessed Brad and I are and how things happen for a reason. I have gotten to know some of the most AMAZING girls through Brad and his friends and they have become good friends of mine, as well as invest in my friendships of many years! <br />
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<u>Near Future</u>- This coming weekend is 4th of July and I can not wait to decorate our backyard with red, white and blue and celebrate our freedom! Friday (the 1st) one of my best friends from high school, Trisha, and her husband are pulling into town with their moving truck and they will start unloading their belongings into a house they rented in Little Rock. It has been 10 years since Trisha has lived in Little Rock and I am so excited she is going to be back!<br />
Sunday we are having a few friends over to swim and grill out and just be together! I love entertaining and I always feel so refreshed and joyful when I get to be around our friends!! Good food off the grill is a plus as well!!<br />
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Well, I feel like I have recapped all my brain can handle. I didnt proof read before I published it, so if it has run on sentences, incomplete thoughts or doesnt make sense....so sorry. This is not a grammar blog! I doubt anyone even made it to this point anyway!!Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-71252329845447915642010-12-07T09:33:00.000-06:002010-12-07T09:33:09.937-06:0069 years ago today....<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I was there" was a previous post that I made almost a year ago when I was still working in Memphis at the VA. I think about this man often. I wanted to copy it over here because it is appropriate for this date.</span></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
Today, I am working in Conway at Better Hearing Care and my first patient was a Veteran. He told me that 69 years ago today he was in Hawaii stationed at Pearl Harbor. I can not imagine the fear that was running through his mind and through the minds of everyone there. </span></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today should be remembered forever. </span></span></h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title"> </h3><h3 class="post-title entry-title">"I was there" </h3><div class="post-header"> </div><div>I am in the middle of work, and probably should not be blogging, but i just sat and talked with a piece of history and while it is still fresh on my mind...i wanted to share.</div><br />
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<div>Working at the VA is a great experience for me...you have your good and your bad days...and your good and your bad patients...but there are days like today that you hope you never forget.</div><br />
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<div>I brought back my 1 oclock patient, took him into the earwash room to take a peek in his ears and ask him a few questions about his noise exposure, ear problems, hearing issues, etc....</div><br />
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<div>When I asked him what branch of the military he was in, he proudly replied "Navy"</div><br />
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<div>When I asked him about his history of noise exposure, he replied "I was there, Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941...i was there"</div><br />
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<div>My heart skipped a beat. I already get a warm feeling serving those who have served us. I have spoken with WWII vets who were shot in the face, fought face to face with Germans, rode tanks into Germany, etc...I come from a line of Navy Vets, Air Force Vets, a Marine Vet who was there for the raising of the flag at Iwo Jema...but I have never gotten to sit and talk with them when they were available to talk...and being here at work, i have little to no time to hear about history....and even if I did, I am not sure any of these guys would be willing to share. Some of them still have a hard time thinking about what they saw. </div><br />
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<div>Today, I was selfish, and I took my time to hear him talk. It was after the hearing test and I was making impressions of his ears for hearing aids....I asked him to tell me about it. And he did.</div><br />
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<div>He joined the Navy December 16th, 1940. Arrived in Hawaii in March 1941 and was on the U.S.S. Nevada on December 7th 1941. For those of you who are not familiar (which was me and I had to google it)...this is what wikipedia says about the U.S.S. Nevada.</div><br />
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<div>"In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, she was one of the battleships trapped when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor" title="Attack on Pearl Harbor">Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor</a>. She was the only battleship to get underway during the attack, making the ship "the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal and depressing morning".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_%28BB-36%29#cite_note-bonner101-14" title="">[12]</a> Still, she was hit by one torpedo and at least six bombs while steaming away from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Row" title="Battleship Row">Battleship Row</a>, forcing her to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_%28nautical%29" title="Beach (nautical)">beached</a>. "</div><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" src="http://z.about.com/d/history1900s/1/0/4/2/ph14.jpg" style="display: block; height: 326px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 412px;" /><br />
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<div>He spent 6 years in the Navy until he got an honorable discharge. He and his brother both were there, and they both survived. </div><br />
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<div>After the appointment, he took me out to the lobby where his daughter was sitting. He showed me his official discharge papers from the Navy and his application for a medal for fighting in Pearl Harbor. His daughter told me that he didnt start talking about his experiences until about 10 years ago. Can you imagine bottling that up for 50 years?</div><br />
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<div>I need to get back to work, so I will have to cut this short...but I was so blown away and humbled by the moment I got to spend with a piece of history...i wanted to share. It isnt every day like this that I am reminded just how much people have sacrificed for our safety and freedom...</div>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-29400618542869943002010-11-15T14:25:00.001-06:002010-11-15T14:27:15.058-06:00Learning to ShareWell, tomorrow will mark one month of wedded bliss for Brad and I...and it has been very near to perfect. We are loving married life (why shouldn't we after a month?) and we are learning to live with one another and deal with Brad's changing schedule (sometimes really early mornings and sometimes he has night shift...that is the life of military)...and we are also learning to share! HA!<br />
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We are leaving balancing our checkbook and figuring out our budget until our second month of marriage.<br />
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We got our first lesson in sharing too much this weekend. Thursday night, Brad made a joke about calling in sick the next morning because I was teasing him about having to get up so much earlier than me....well, about 3 am his joke became his reality when he woke up with the stomach flu.<br />
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Except, we didnt know it was the stomach flu at that point. We just thought it was food poisoning from something he had eaten the night before. I got up, got ready for work, and ran to Wal-mart to get him some pedialyte, saltine crackers, and other comfort food (zebra cakes and nutty bars sounded good at the time, now I know they arent the best stomach flu comfort food). He was sick all day Friday. Poor thing. By Friday night, he said he was starting to feel a little bit better, but no where near normal.<br />
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I loaded him up in the car and made him help me load all of our wedding vases and candles into my car so I could help decorate for a wedding this past weekend (had I known it was the stomach flu, I wouldnt have made him work....and yes, i know i am the worst wife ever.)<br />
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He was such a trooper after we got everything unloaded. We headed back to the apartment to get in our jammies and lay around watching tv (Brad slept). This was our first night to do this in MONTHS...we had been so busy with wedding stuff, the wedding, honeymoon, my birthday, that we have not had a free night of nothingness in MONTHS...and it felt great to lounge around.<br />
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He slept on the couch all night (until we went to bed) and then slept through the night too. Saturday morning he was feeling much better. He woke up, made us breakfast, and we headed out to do a little shopping before our plans with Chris and Kirby that night. We met them at the bowling alley and bowled until a little after 10.<br />
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Brad and I headed home and headed to bed because we were tired. At 3 am Sunday morning, I got woken up to Brad's food poisoning...AKA STOMACH FLU. That is how we figured out he had the stomach flu...it got passed to me. I didn't sleep the rest of the night! It was miserable. I ended up just moving to the couch so I wouldn't keep waking him up the rest of the morning. I slept on the couch the whole day. I had the WORST stomach cramps and a fever of 102. My typical body temperate is 96.2 (not the normal 98.6) so that is a bad temperature for me to have!<br />
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At one point I posted to my facebook that the stomach flu had taken over our house. First Brad and then now me....and his dad commented that he was sorry I was sick but he was glad to hear that we were learning how to share! LOL...that is where I got the inspiration for the title of this post! He is such a great and funny man!!<br />
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My amazing husband gave me Saltines, and Animal Crackers and he even went to the store to get me Pedialyte and Gatorade and Chicken Noodle Soup. He took better care of me than I did of him...which I feel super guilty about....and I fell even more in love with him than I already was. Too bad he sat on the other side of the room from me because he didn't want to recatch what I had been given. (I don't blame him).<br />
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So....one month in to marriage and we have survived decorated for Christmas two months early and survived the stomach flu. Pretty good if you ask me!<br />
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Can't wait to see what we get into next!!!Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-72293348512810136142010-11-08T11:34:00.000-06:002010-11-08T11:34:14.233-06:00Birthmonth off to a great start!!!More Honeymoon updates soon...but I have to update on our life!<br />
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My birthday is today! I am 28! A lot has changed in my life in a year! I went from working part time at the VA in Memphis, TN....to finally getting a full time job in Conway, Arkansas. I had been waiting and praying for a job in Arkansas to open up, and NOTHING was budging. I was afraid that I would get married and be a part time wife living the week in Memphis and weekends in Arkansas.<br />
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Our prayers were answered and I am in Arkansas all the time now!!<br />
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In the past year I have lived in Memphis, Beebe (on the weekends), Little Rock, and Maumelle! A lot of moving and I am not sure where half of my clothes and things are...but I am so blessed. It will all find me again one day!<br />
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I am also 28 now! I dont feel much different, except this year I am happy and content. Last year, when I turned 27...i looked at my life and panicked. I had gone to school for 4 extra years to earn my doctorate but was only working part time, I was away from my famiily and friends and I was unmarried....I had an emotional breakdown.<br />
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This year....I am a year older and wiser. I have a full time job now, I am comfortable in my life in Arkansas and I have the most amazing husband ever!!! I have learned a lot about relationships over the past year...and even though they were hard lessons to learn, I grew as a person and became a better friend!<br />
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This past weekend I officially kicked off my birthmonth celebration.<br />
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Friday night I went to dinner at Bosco's with a big group of friends. I love love love Bosco's....i love the Palermo pizza and I love that my favorite wine (Pinot Grigio) is one of the House Wines there....VERY rare to me!!!<br />
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We got there around 6:30 pm....and then were informed that they were closing the restaurant at 8 for a cast party for Wicked....and that last call was around 7:30. Brad was annoyed because they didnt tell us that on the phone! Oh well. It all worked out!!<br />
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So many great friends came to my birthday dinner...and some brought their precious babies who I adore!!! Dinner was fun! I got to finally be with friends, enjoy our time together and relax b/c I didnt have to worry about making bouquets, ordering flowers, addressing envelopes...etc etc.<br />
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After dinner...Brad and I, Alicia and Brian and Jessie all went to By The Glass for one more glass of wine. It was fun to just sit there, laugh, chat, crack jokes and drink wine. RELAXATION!!<br />
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Then I got to go home and put on my jammies and go to bed!!<br />
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Brad had drill this past weekend...so I was glad to have plan on Saturday!! The plan was to meet SaraJane and her mom for lunch at Larry's Pizza and then go down to Holiday House for some fun shopping!<br />
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That isnt quite how the plan ended up. Around 11 I got a call from my friend Stephanie. Her husband was supposed to be bringing their son, Landen, down to Holiday House so she could feed him (He is only 5 months old). The problem was that Rachel (Steph's cake partner) had parked her car right behind Jordan's truck and had ridden with Steph to Holiday House and had taken her keys. Jordan had no way to get out!<br />
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I was the only solution! I was going to need to pick Jordan up, take him downtown to HH and then go to lunch with SJ and her mom. I swung by, got SJ and her mom and headed to Jordan's to get he and Landen. They got Landen loaded in the car and realized the garage door was still open. I offered to close it. I had to push the button from the back of the garage, run toward the closing door, and hurdle across the sensor that is in place to keep the door from closing on something and someone. It was interesting!<br />
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We were off. We were only a few minutes down the road when Jordan realized he had left the stroller in his truck. We turned around, retrieved the stroller and then we were really on our way!! Conversation in the car was GREAT! Jordan is so wonderful with new people, and we all just chatted away about having siblings (well, I listened, i dont have much to say on this) and how mean they all were to their siblings when they were young!<br />
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I dropped Jordan off and then we were headed back to West Little Rock to eat at Larry's Pizza. SO FABULOUS! If you havent eaten there, I encourage you to do so! It is a huge buffet of pizza and they have almost every kind you can think of. My favorite is the Loaded Baked Potato and the Grandma's Bannana Pudding!!! Not together...those are two different kinds!<br />
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After lunch, we headed back downtown to do some shopping at Holiday House. It took us FOREVER to find a spot because not only was it Holiday House...Wicked was showing that afternoon too!!! It was crazy busy! We walked in to Holiday House and the shopping began.<br />
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I got some good gifts for Brad's mom, grandma and sister! Our Christmas shopping is almost complete and I have already wrapped 7 or 8 presents and have them under our tree!!! I also bought some of that netting stuff to decorate with. I have never used it before, so I decided to try my hand at it. I think I did a pretty good job!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N9kolDMZMGDWiv6gNn_dHfdeVAoGMKFPBB0P6Rls168P2FYNyWVojp8TK5JBH8IisMbEKq5JImZOIzYY2_MC848UFEKFdRUCyXluvMEuGr0ppSc3m1kWHLlKQJfPP0t0IzWBHwrACSA/s1600/photo(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-N9kolDMZMGDWiv6gNn_dHfdeVAoGMKFPBB0P6Rls168P2FYNyWVojp8TK5JBH8IisMbEKq5JImZOIzYY2_MC848UFEKFdRUCyXluvMEuGr0ppSc3m1kWHLlKQJfPP0t0IzWBHwrACSA/s320/photo(7).JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used the netting around our mirror. Sorry the picture is dark!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Holiday house was an exhausting success....as it always is!!! Larry's and Holiday House is how SaraJane and I celebrated our birthmonth last year, so it only made sense to do it this year...and we will continue to do it! I love tradition....<br />
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That night the Hogs were playing (that is why I did birthday dinner on Friday and not Saturday). We went to our friend's Chuck and Sherri's house to watch the game and I got to snuggle their newest princess, Olivia Grace. She is so sweet and adorable and such a good baby!!!<br />
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The Hogs won...PTL!!! So all in all it was a GREAT day!!!!<br />
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Sunday I got up, lounged around the house...finished the mirror and rearranged our storage unit so the christmas storage boxes could fit and they wouldnt be in the middle of our living room floor! I wrapped some more presents and then went over to SaraJane's sister's apartment to do some wine glass painting! I have a new love for painting! I am not good enough to make any money from it...but I love doing it!<br />
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I also did some laundry, watched some Real Housewives of Atlanta and ate Pringles....rough life!!<br />
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Brad got home from drill and it was time to meet my daddy for my birthday dinner!! He stopped by the apartment so he could see it all decorated for Christmas and to give me my birthday present!!<br />
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We headed to Senor Tequilas (my favorite mexican place) for a yummy dinner of Chicken Fajitas (my dad and I split...its tradition) and just to spend time together!!! We had told the waiter it was my birthday! I knew they were going to sing to me and probably bring me a big bowl of ice cream like they did for my mom the previous Monday when we took her there for her birthday!<br />
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Here they came..."Happy Birthday to you...woo woo woo" and they put a MEXICAN FLAG SHOT in front of me. This particular shot is a red, white and green layered shot that they give me a straw for and they light the top on fire!!! HILARIOUS!!! I had to chug down this shot (with the straw) in front of my dad and all of the singing waiters staring at me! PRESSURE!!! The shot was pretty good. Burned at first but ended up tasting like cherry cough syrup. I would like to know what was in that!!!<br />
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I may take SaraJane there for her birthday on the 12th and get her a shot like that!!! LOL<br />
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All in all, my birthday month is off to a GREAT start!!! I am so blessed with an amazing husband, family and friends!!!!<br />
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Thank you Jesus!!!Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-1204395189921847432010-11-05T11:05:00.000-05:002010-11-05T11:05:31.197-05:00We skipped right to ChristmasI will do more honeymoon updates later....<br />
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I figured I needed to do some real life updates on Brad and I.<br />
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As you know, we got married October 16th. I LOVE LOVE LOVE October and Fall and Halloween. It's my favorite time of year! I decorate for Halloween (complete with fake spider webs) in our apartment, but this year I was slightly distracted with wedding stuff (obviously) so all I was able to do this year was put out my pumpkin holder body (so cute with a skeleton as the body and the head is supposed to be your jack-o-lantern)....except he had no head this year...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeUBYnIqydqZKUyfJ3U8vvOk4_jAyzmOiEklTwgH_0mw6UwgLboiBgURixoxrf13Xfrc5qGWEoeUHEyElwpUnMQ9o3wdDy5SHA5KsOYia9x7wrqzyyPBmnszf1-qQ5sY-klI0EHz3UQw/s1600/photo(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeUBYnIqydqZKUyfJ3U8vvOk4_jAyzmOiEklTwgH_0mw6UwgLboiBgURixoxrf13Xfrc5qGWEoeUHEyElwpUnMQ9o3wdDy5SHA5KsOYia9x7wrqzyyPBmnszf1-qQ5sY-klI0EHz3UQw/s320/photo(6).JPG" width="240" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halloween 2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I also put out a candle arrangement that spells out FALL. Brad hates it. I love it. I win! LOL<br />
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SO....since we got home from the honeymoon on October 25th...we had no Halloween costumes or plans....we decided to put up our Christmas tree on Halloween night!!! We will tackle Halloween next year...October won't be so hectic then!<br />
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Our Christmas tree went up...but I got tired after fluffing the branches so we decided to do the rest the next night.<br />
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November 1st....I added the ornaments to the tree, while Brad decorated our mantel with garland wrapped in white lights, two angels that hold candles on either side of the mantel and our letters that spell out NOEL. We are super pumped about it! Here is our tree with the ornaments (ignore the wedding presents in the back!)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjw6bgodY1pmSmC-1t8J2I1s6a0rLU1Far6qO73z00_bwsyEjJDYI66mL9KT2sV3LunLbY4F0iFLNSujJ_Rvs8Pq7hzbsLM5_6J7i4eEb7jw-r2lEIVs8O9xsdJ-wQR12JlES7Jk0CEI/s1600/photo(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzjw6bgodY1pmSmC-1t8J2I1s6a0rLU1Far6qO73z00_bwsyEjJDYI66mL9KT2sV3LunLbY4F0iFLNSujJ_Rvs8Pq7hzbsLM5_6J7i4eEb7jw-r2lEIVs8O9xsdJ-wQR12JlES7Jk0CEI/s320/photo(4).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>I don't have a picture of the mantel...hopefully I will soon though!<br />
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I have always told Brad that I want to have two trees. One that is cute and one that is personal. Well, we dont have room in a one bedroom apartment for two big trees...and we dont have enough personal ornaments to go on a big tree....so we bought a mini tree this year to start us off. It is a personal/Razorback tree. It has a red tree skirt and a red star and red and black razorback ornaments.<br />
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We had gotten a really sweet gift from Jourdan Wood during the wedding stuff. It is an ornament that says "Bride and Groom. Whitney and Brad" so that of course made it on the mini tree, as well as the Sandals St. Lucia ornament we bought on our honeymoon. It is of a bride and groom. I thought it was perfect.<br />
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So our tiny tree is on our kitchen counter top and the big tree is where a kitchen table should be. (We dont have a kitchen table yet....we have priorities....like christmas!)<br />
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We also have two wreaths up. One on our front door that has blinking lights and one on our back door that I wrapped the lights on myself and it is battery powered!!!<br />
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I had started buying Christmas presents in August and they have been sitting in a corner in our apartment waiting to be wrapped. Last night, during Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice I wrapped our first two gifts to go under the tree. I only got a picture of the first one!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG63xcHHmD3NvBHPNvkJrt3_jHi7alWq8OAn6DVll3R6Cjut1TF5AkQ6hMXIXdiTvcq6v1v8t3BU0DNLe3Bc67nQqS97yuzQeoumEgCm_ExMEmnjO8JMdG81RlEGzk5kLvONUPhAlm8g/s1600/photo(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsG63xcHHmD3NvBHPNvkJrt3_jHi7alWq8OAn6DVll3R6Cjut1TF5AkQ6hMXIXdiTvcq6v1v8t3BU0DNLe3Bc67nQqS97yuzQeoumEgCm_ExMEmnjO8JMdG81RlEGzk5kLvONUPhAlm8g/s320/photo(5).JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The first gift is for my Father-in-Law. I hope he likes it! The second gift (not pictured) is for my Grammy in Virginia!!!<br />
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I like to start my shopping early so I dont stress out about it and I can find things for people as I see them or as I think about the individual....I prefer my way of doing Christmas shopping!!<br />
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As I wrapped gifts and watched TV...Brad put our Christmas lights on our patio! We are slowly but surely getting everything decorated! We have a few more random decorations up in the apartment, but eventually I want it covered in Christmas!<br />
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We love Christmas and what it means to us and our families! We love to give gifts and celebrate the birth of our Lord....So we figured we would start early this year! Nothing like eating Thanksgiving left overs while looking at your Christmas tree!!!<br />
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This weekend we have big plans. Tonight we are going out to eat with some friends for my birthday. We are going to eat at Boscos. I love the pizza there AND they have my favorite wine (Pinot Grigio) on the House Wine List!! SCORE!!<br />
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Tomorrow I've got a lunch date with my good friend SaraJane Love and her mom! SaraJane's birthday is the 12th of this month and mine is the 8th. Last year, we went to lunch at Larry's pizza and then headed to Holiday House....and it was our way of celebrating our birthdays together. So we decided to do that same thing every year to celebrate! I am excited! I love consistency!<br />
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Brad has drill, so he is getting to work while I play! Good thing he loves his job!<br />
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That is all of the update I have for now! Hopefully I can update you more on our Honeymoon and more Christmas decorations!!!Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-34112769379077270562010-11-04T16:31:00.002-05:002010-11-04T16:31:59.062-05:00Previous BloggingOn my other, single person, blog....i blogged about our wedding day and the days leading up to it...<br />
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Until I can figure out how in the world to move over just the few blogs I want....you can click this link to read what I wrote!!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://whitneyalicehall.blogspot.com/">Whitney's Previous Blog</a>Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215741057789196.post-11193165243538787712010-11-04T16:04:00.001-05:002010-11-04T16:08:16.550-05:00Honeymoon!!!Sunday, October 17th<br />
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When the alarm went of at 3:30 am the Sunday after our wedding...neither Brad nor I wanted to get up.<br />
I had barely any sleep under my belt from the days before and we were so exhausted from the excitement of the wedding and reception...it was hard to get up....even though we knew where we were headed...<br />
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St. Lucia!<br />
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We drug our butts out of bed, got ready for our 6:00 am flight (I wore black capri pants and a black zip up hoodie with "Mrs Homan" on the back), figured out what needed to go with us and what could stay in his car and we headed out the door with it still being dark outside. Luckily, we had planned ahead enough that we had packed over night bags with what we needed to get ready with and had left our big travel bags in Brad's car so all we had to take out was what we had taken into the hotel room the night before.<br />
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We stayed at the Peabody, and thankfully they have valet...so we gave the guy our valet ticket and waited in the cool October morning air for our car to come around the corner. We were tired, hungry and cold....but we were married and on our way to our honeymoon...so it wasnt all bad! <br />
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We threw our toiletries and other things into our travel bags when the car got there and we were on our way to the airport. We parked in the short term parking because the Verdells were coming to get the car later that day and park it at our apartments for us. We really appreciated them doing that!<br />
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Grabbed our bags and headed to the check in desk. Of course the self-service kiosk could not find our information (it NEVER does) so we headed to the desk manned with a real person. They found our stuff, checked us in, weighed our bags (Brad's was overweight) and sent us on our way. The beauty of being military is that they don't charge you if your bag is overweight...so we didn't have to pay...PTL!<br />
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We were super early and hungry. We went through security and headed immediately to the Burger King in the airport to eat our first breakfast as a married couple. How romantic! Then the waiting game began. Waited for our first flight (I took a few pictures). I kept saying "I love you husband" or "Hold my hand husband". I was awake and so excited to finally be married...Brad was not fully awake therefore was incapable of showing the same level of excitement!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look how tired he was!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our first flight was from Little Rock to Chicago...where we walked straight from the first plane to the gate in Chicago and they started to board our second flight. PTL for not having a lay over, but I was STARVING and had no time to get any food. Thankfully on our 4 hour flight from Chicago to Puerto Rico they offered food service....except you had to pay for it. (What ever happened to the days of free peanuts or Biscoff cookies?) I probably spent 10 dollars on a sandwich that Brad and I split because we were both hungry at that point but couldn't see the purpose of spending a ton of money on airplane food. OH! and they no longer accept cash...only credit cards....so they swiped my card on the airplane. Ridiculous!<br />
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Four hours after taking off in Chicago...we landed in Puerto Rico. We had a 6 hour lay over here. I would've much rather been stuck in Chicago for 6 hours. We walked the whole airport probably 3 times. We ate as soon as we landed at a mexican type restaurant that served no cheese dip, but had burgers and fries. Whatever, we were hungry. Then as we walked the airport, we noticed that each restaurant we passed had a different name, but the same exact menu. LOL...it was hysterical. The mexican restaurant had jose's burger and fries while the sports bar had All Star burger and fries. Too funny.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello Puerto Rico!!!</td></tr>
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6 hours, a glass of wine, a fruity drink or two, and a few beers later it was time to board the plane and head to St. Lucia. Mind you, our flight was at 7 pm...we had been up since 3:30 am...we were exhausted, but still so excited! We had eaten dinner in the PR airport because we didn't know how to access food when we got to Sandals. The plane we boarded was a prop plane...AKA puddle jumper. I was too tired to care, so was Brad.<br />
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There were 8 other couples that were honeymooners as well. Oddly enough, we never saw any of them the rest of the trip. St. Lucia is only 27 miles long...but I guess they all went to other resorts...who knows?!?!<br />
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We were given the customs card to fill out. Brad got to claim me because we are family now! I know that sounds silly, but when you have been married for 24 hours, it is the little things that count! The flight was two hours. I can't sleep on planes (another reason why this travel day was rough on me) but Brad sleeps anywhere. So I read his book while he would take little snoozes. We were both so ready to be off of planes and know we didnt have to get on one for another week...<br />
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It was dark when we took off (and of course when we landed) so I didnt get to take any pictures of us flying into St. Lucia (and we didnt get a window seat when flying out...so no in flight pictures for this newlywed). I did, however take a picture of the airport we landed in...so thankful we DIDNT have a layover here!<br />
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When we landed in St. Lucia, we walked down the stairs of the plane, down the walkway that is to the right of this picture and into a tiny room where we immediately met customs. That went quickly, we grabbed our bags, met with customs again and then were on our way out the door and to meet our shuttle. A man met us, put our bags on a flatbed looking thing, rolled them about 20 feet over to where our Sandals person was, unloaded them, and then rudely told us he works for tips. Okay buddy, here is 2 dollars. You took our stuff 20 feet...MAYBE!<br />
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The Sandals representative had our bags loaded into a Sandals taxi and sent us on our way to our resort! THE REGENCY!! The taxi ride was 15 minutes long. I was so tired, I have no idea if anyone else rode with us. I dont think they did. As soon as we arrived to our resort, they unloaded our bags and we walked into the front door.<br />
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This was intimidating because everyone else was tan and dressed for dinner and we were in sweats and jeans and had been up for 18 hours. A random man motioned toward us to follow him...but he was dressed like a butler and had some kind of tray in his hand...so we ignored him and walked to the front desk. While we were standing there, he came back around the corner, told us to follow him and walked off. So we followed.<br />
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We ended up in a room where they officially check you in, swipe your credit card and get you set up with all the important information and send you off to your room! We were starving, but too exhausted to care. They put us on a shuttle to our room...when we got there, they told us where to go while they brought our bags up. SO WONDERFUL. We got in our room, unpacked our bags, turned on the tv and went to bed.<br />
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Side note: our resort was beautiful, but very hilly. They had shuttles that would take you everywhere, but the shuttle the first night was the last one we took. We decided we were going to walk everywhere...which ended up being a great choice. My legs got stronger and we ended up only gaining 5 pounds each by the end of the trip, considering we ate 2 dinners every night and ordered one of every desert on the menu!<br />
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We slept so great and woke up Monday morning feeling so refreshed and ready to relax, drink, eat and be married!!!<br />
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We didnt have anything planned for Monday. They were offering an orientation Monday at 10 am. We decided to go. We figured, what the heck. So we got up, ate an amazing breakfast (Brad had his first mimosa ever) and headed to the orientation. I am really glad we did it. They took us around the resort, showed us where all the things we needed to know about were and even let a tour guide come in and tell us about a tour he offered.<br />
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It was called "Joe Knows St. Lucia" and it sounded awesome. We ended up doing the tour, so I dont want to give away all the fun details right now. It was a great experience and I am so glad we got to see St. Lucia like we did.<br />
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After orientation, we headed back to our room to put on swim suits and go swim/lay out. We got a place by the pool right next to the waterfall. It was loud, but so pretty. We laid there for a few minutes and then decided to get in the pool. As soon as we did, we headed to the swim-up bar. (Best invention ever)<br />
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It had two bartenders and a list of drinks that they offered. There were probably 30-40 drinks up there and they knew what each one had in it. Pink Lady, No Pressure, BBC, Dirty Banana....names I have never even heard of...but now love them!!!<br />
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After a little bit of drinking and swimming (which I am pretty sure is frowned upon) we decided that the main pool we were in was a little bit too busy for us and we were hungry. So we grabbed Brad's bag and headed to the pizza place to grab a quick lunch. It started to rain on us (it was outdoors, with a few umbrellas, but it overlooked the ocean, so it was perfect to us). The table next to us had an umbrella, but we didnt. They let us scooch our table next to ours and share their umbrella. Since we had nothing else to do than huddle under an umbrella, I started talking to them. They were from Jersey. It was their honeymoon and they were both late in life honeymooners like Brad and I. (I will be 28 next week). It was fun to meet them and nice to know someone besides ourselves.<br />
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It stopped raining, their food came, but they had to hurry and eat it because they were going on a tour. They ate and said goodbye and we promised to meet up later. Our pizzas came (thankfully after the rain passed) and they were alright. Nothing fabulous. <br />
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A couple we had met that morning had told us about another pool that not many people go to because there is not a bar up there. We picked up our stuff and headed there! There was NO ONE at that pool, so we jumped in. We swam, took some pictures, got in the hot tub, swam some more. Then it started to RAIN!!! (It rained every day in St. Lucia...but there is no such thing as rain there, they call it Liquid Sunshine).<br />
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I realized we had NO towels either because we had left our on our previous chairs at the other pool. I ran down to the other pool, grabbed our slightly wet towels and headed back up to where my husband was. The rain stopped, we swam a little bit more, and then decided to go take a nap and get ready for dinner!!!.<br />
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There were 9 restaurants at our resort. We managed to eat at every single one of them! LOL. On this particular evening (Monday) we ate at a place called Neptunes. It was right next to the pizza place, except it had a roof! The view was spectacular as it looked over the ocean. They specialized in seafood. <br />
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I had a seafood lovers thing and Brad had tilapia or mahi mahi....when it was time for desert I simply said "I want to try one of everything"....and that is what I got! Brad and I took a bite out of each one just so we could try it! When I ordered it, a girl behind me said "You can do that here?"...so of course I turned around and struck up a conversation with them! There names are Jenna and Cullan and they were newlyweds too!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wandering around the first night</td></tr>
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After dinner we wandered around a little bit and found ourselves in the piano bar. We grabbed two seats and when we looked across the bar, there sat Jenna and Cullan. We made some room, moved some chairs over, and got to hang out with them some more. Later in the night, the couple we had met at lunch showed up too...so the 6 of us hung out. It was fun.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Piano Bar</td></tr>
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Around 1 the piano bar turned into a night club...with a DJ. We left. The DJ was too loud and we were getting tired. (Wow, we sound old!). Besides, the next day we had a tour planned with the Joe Knows crew and we wanted to be well rested for that!!!Whitneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13594131912162263903noreply@blogger.com0