Busy Days with a Splash of Fun

Well, it's been a very hectic week but we've been squeezing in a little bit of fun too.  Tuesday night we celebrated Matt's birthday at Cafe' Prego.   His choice...and might I add a good one!  It's a quiet and quaint local restaurant here in Little Rock with great Italian food.

~ Happy 34th Birthday Matt ~

The rest of the week was spent with Matt taking tests and me focusing on trying to play catch up with my docs (since I've been in meetings and we had the couple of snow days.)  Needless to say, we were glad to see the weekend!  Friday night I met Kyndall and Charla for a drink at the Fountain for happy hour, then Matt and I ordered in pizza.  I love the feeling of knowing it's Friday and I don't have to get up on Saturday morning.  I slept in, my poor better half was up studying at 7:30 and spent the day at the library.  On days that he has to hole up and study, I try to plan some fun things to do.  I started my Saturday at Indulgences Day Spa.  I had a facial, hand/foot treatment, a lip exfoliation, and ended with a Swedish massage.  It was heavenly!!  Afterwards, I decided to do a little shopping. (Ladies, if you are looking for some nice shirts for your guy, Dillards was having a huge sale of 30-50% off long-sleeved Perry Ellis and Thomas Dean shirts and Polos)  Matt racked up and didn't even have to set foot in the mall! 

Saturday night we had reservations at YaYa's with some of  my favorite people!!  What a great time!!

Waiting patiently for our reservations...

Chance and Matt

Corie and I by the fountain

Sabrina, Jules and David joining us

All the girls

These pictures are kind of dark, but you get the idea...a GREAT night!

This morning we went to late service so Matt could get up and study a couple of extra hours.  Afterwards, we made a run to the grocery store and went straight home so he could study some more.  I sware, I am so ready for him to be done with school...and not for selfish reasons.  Yes, I miss our lazy Sunday afternoons curled up on the couch, our late nights of going to the movies, or our random date nights during the week.  But he is working SO HARD, I am just ready for him to see the end result. I am so proud of him!!  We have been so blessed these past (almost :) two years.  Matt's been able to solely focus on school and I've been blessed to have a fantastic job with a phenomenal company.  I often pause when I start thinking about it all and just thank God.  HE IS THE ONE WHO HAS MADE ALL THIS POSSIBLE.

We're getting ready for another VERY busy week.  Matt has two tests and clinicals in the ICU and I have a ride-a-long with my boss and my interim review.  We are looking SOO forward to a weekend in Rogers.  It's going to be jam packed with loving on two sweet little girls!  Aunt Kia can't wait to see you Brynlee Claire and Emma Grace!!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!!

 

Happy Birthday To My Handsome Man!!

A couple of fun facts about this silly guy that I love... 

 1) He's 6'4" and has one of the lowest voices you've ever heard 

 2) His upper arms are bigger than my thighs

 3) He can't carry a tune in a bucket

 4) He always holds my hand when we pray

 5) He never hangs up the phone or leaves the house without saying, "I love you"

 6) He would've had a baby the day we got married...I am the one who's holding us up

 7) He's the calm, relaxed, and laid back one in our marriage

 8) He's a smarty pants, pursuing his second degree, one he is passionate about...I truly admire that

 9) He has quite a bit of red/auburn in his hair (I pray our children get that gene:)

10) He would much rather spend a quite night at home instead of going out

Happy 34th birthday to the most perfect man for me!!  I thank God for you each and every day and am so glad I waited 28 years for you to enter my life!!  I love you CHARLES MATTHEW FITZGERALD!!!

My Latest Obsessions

It's been fabulous around here the last couple of weeks.  Now that the holidays have past and we're back into our routine, we have just been spending some quiet nights in along with some very low-key weekends.  However, because of this lull in our normal warp speed schedule, I have had more time to "play".  Meaning, surf the internet, read more magazines,and spend more money (NOT A GOOD THING :)  These are a few of the things that I've been obsessing about lately...

POTTERY BARN...I love this store and it has me wanting to do a total remodel on our house.  Well, we didn't win the lottery so that's not happening.  But, I have been getting some good ideas and am ordering a couple pieces here and there. 

HUNTER rainboots...they are all the rage with the celebrities and totally affordable.  I just ordered a pair and can't wait to get them!!

GWYNETH PALTROW...I saw her in an interview the other day with Chelsea Handler and I truly just fell in love with her.  She's featured in the new In Style magazine and I loved her interview she did with Faith Hill (focused on Country Strong, her new movie.)  She's a beautiful successful woman who loves her man and keeps her family as her first priority.  I am enjoying her website "Goop" too.  Check it out, lots of good recipes! 

Wearing Hunter boots :)

I am also a little obsessed with lighting right now.  Here's a chandelier I just ordered for our dining room (I  love the design and it matches perfectly).  I am also now thinking about new ceiling fans.  I HAVE TO STOP!!

BEACH VACATIONS...I do like the winter weather, but I have to admit that it has given me a little bit of the winter blues lately.  I am in the process of planning a June vacation for Matt and me.  It will be kind of like a graduation present/early 2nd anniversary celebration kind of trip.  It's almost completely booked...

HAWAII...here we come!!!

I love Hawaii and have been blessed to have been there once already, but Matt has never been.  It's amazing that I have traveled all over the world and yet I want to do it all again because I want to experience it with Matt.  We are looking so forward to a MUCH DESERVED 8 day stay on the islands!!

We are wrapping this weekend up and getting ready for another busy week ahead.  We enjoyed brunch after church this morning with a group of 8 friends at 1620 and now Matt will be studying for the rest of the afternoon.  I will probably be curled up reading a book and then watching the Golden Globes tonight!  I love a relaxing Sunday evening.  Hope everyone has a great week!

30 by 30

I thought this was a fun post and I've been seeing it on other blogs. You younger gals are posting 30 things you want to do by the time you are 30.  Well, I've had a bucket list for a while now, so since I am 30 I figured I would post all the things on my bucket list that I HAVE done by the age of 30. It's pretty cool to look back and see all these things that I can check off the list!

 1. Live in Europe (backpacked through 9 countries)
 2. Vacation in Hawaii
 3. Go on a mission trip (went to New Zealand)
 4. Run a 5K 
 5. Paraglide off the Alps in Switzerland
 6. Visit a WW2 concentration camp (Dachau, Germany)
 7. Buy a house
 8. Read the Bible cover to cover
 9. Get my MBA
10. Learn to cook (I'm getting better:)
11. Go to an NFL game (Colts vs. Bears)
12. Celebrate a birthday in Vegas...my 30th!!!!
13. Watch a baseball game at Wrigley Field
14. Buy a Louis Vuitton (yes, I know this may seem materialist and petty, but I bought this with my hard earned money and have wanted one for years)
15. Watch the entire series of Sex In The City
16. Support a specific charity on a regular basis
17. Watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person
18. Parasail over the ocean
19. Visit the "Sound of Music" tour in Austria
20. Go to an NBA game (Miami Heat vs. Pacers)
21. See "Phantom of the Opera" on broadway
22. Swim with stingrays
23. Travel by train, sleeping overnight
24. Go whale watching in the Pacific
25. Take ballroom dancing classes
26. View the Eiffel Tower at night
27. Soak in the beauty of a sunset by the ocean
28. Rescue a stray dog
29. Throw a surprise party for someone
30. Find my soulmate!

After reading through this, all I can say is, thank you God for letting me experience all these amazing things!

Stylish Blogger Award

Janelle, thank you for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award!!  I don't know about stylish because my blog is oh so simple, but you are sweet to recognize me amongst everybody!!  I know I am supposed to award this to other bloggers, however I haven't been good at keeping up with too many people lately.  Consider it one of my New Years Resolutions to start reading more blogs!!



Back to Life...Back to Reality

It's amazing to me how quickly things pick up after vacation...we're right back in the swing of things and lots more!  Right now, I am typing while looking outside at the beautiful snowflakes falling.  There's already two inches on Matt's truck and it's supposed to continue like this through the night.  They have closed schools tomorrow, therefore I will be working from home.  I LOVE days when I can work all day in my pjs. :) 

Anyways...we've been busy around here!!  Matt's had two tests and I was in Indianapolis all last week for meetings.  I had a great time with my team, despite the fact that it was SUPER cold and snowing...plus I was running on about 5 hours of sleep a night and fighting bronchitis/sinus infection.  I was thrilled to fly home on Friday.  I was so tired Matt and I ordered in and I was asleep before 10:00.  You know you are exhausted when you sleep 14 hours without waking up!!  Because I was gone all week, Saturday was full of cleaning the house, Target, Home Depot (we're re-painting one of our guest bedrooms), grocery shopping, Sephora, and the list goes on.  I was excited to be done with it all and enjoy a night at Cantina Laredo with Matt and Kyndall.  Afterwards, we went over to Sarah and Clint's house.  Jeni and Clay were in town visiting from Monroe, so the six of us sat around the fire and had a great time catching up.  Sarah and Clint are expecting their first baby boy in March.  We are getting very excited to meet little Ross who will join us in less than 8 weeks :)

Today, we spent the morning at church.  Pleasant Valley Church of Christ has a theme this year called Project Love.  It focuses on reaching out to the community through different acts of love.  I really think that it's the coolest thing!  This month we have a project called the ten-ton project that consists of providing ten tons of food to those who are in need.  It was awesome to see all the canned goods, boxed foods, etc. this morning...and this was just the first Sunday we have done it.  I am looking so forward to going through this journey with Matt and our amazing church!  Afterwards, Matt and I enjoyed brunch and came back home only to be in for a little while before all the snow started.  I am pretty sure we will not be going anywhere for a while. 

Hope everyone had a good first week getting back into the groove of things.

Reflections

I can't believe that tomorrow is Monday.  A part of me is not looking forward to getting back into a routine, yet a part of me is really excited to start the new year.  As I reflect on 2010, I think of all the blessings that God has given me.  Some people had life-changing events occur, I didn't really.  2008 was when I bought my house and met the man of my dreams.  2009 was the year I married Matt and had an outstanding year in sales with Lilly, finishing in the top 10%.  2010...well it wasn't extraordinary, but it was another year that God blessed my life.

Matt turned 33 and Jack Henry turned 3 on January 18

 

I got a promotion with work (and no I didn't get it in Cabo, this was one of the only pictures I could find of me by myself - I am even wearing one of my Lilly tshirts.) - February

Kyndall turned 25 in March

We celebrated my 30th birthday in Las Vegas!!

GOOD TIMES in April

June 1, sweet little Emma Grace was born to Landon and Brandi

Proud Aunt and Uncle

Matt and I celebrated our anniversary in Chicago

Cubs Game



College Football/Tailgating - September

Go Hogs!!

This sweet girl turned 2 in October

And of course we enjoyed the holidays with family in November and December, but I've just posted all those pictures.  When I think of the definition of a "good year" there are certain things that come to mind.  Some people need something outrageous to happen, but for me I am thankful that my family and I are healthy, that my grandparents are still on this earth, that I have a job, that God has watched over all those I love by keeping them safe, that Matt has continued to do so good in nursing school, and that God has guided me through his Word this year, cover to cover.  Becauses of all these things, I am thrilled to say that 2010 was a great year.  2011 should be even more exciting!  Matt will graduate from nursing school, we'll be traveling a little bit more, we may even toy with the idea of expanding our sweet little family.  Who knows what other wonderful things God has in store for us?  All I know is that I fully trust him to take care of us and am looking very forward to seeing his plan for us in 2011 unfold. 

Ringing In The New Year

New Years Eve was special for us this year because Emily and Jack drove up from Monroe to spend the night with us.  The kids stayed with grandparents, so we had some "adult" time and were able to get out for a bit to just have fun!  We started our night off with reservations at Bonefish (Em and Jack had never been), then moved our party to Bar Louie for an after dinner drink, and then headed to Heather and Clints for a fabulous house party.  I really don't like to be out when the ball drops and would much rather prefer a quiet night with friends and last night was perfect. Below are some great pictures of our NYE 2010.

Jill, Emily, and me at the house right before dinner.

Emily and Jack at Bonefish

My H-O-T date

My beautiful sister

Love this girl

Moving the party to Bar Louie - Kyndall, Laza and Charla

Group pic

Jello shots at Heather and Clint's

Jack, Mike, Laza and Matt

Two of my favorite ladies

Tara, Clint, Heather and Me

Brother and Sister

Showin' some skin :)

Some of the girls

We were actually home by 1:00 a.m. and had the best time ringing in the New Year with friends and family that God has richly blessed our lives with.  Jack and Emily left a little while ago but not before we enjoyed some New Years Day lunch at Cantina Laredo :)  It was a perfect night!