Take it back... TAKE IT ALL BACK!

So we had our girls weekend and it was So much fun.

We got to KC around 530. Just in time to put the food in the oven. Andrea made her fabulous enchiladas and Carly made some Ah-mazing guacamole. Which we all know how much I heart some guac! We all sat around and talked for most of the night catching up, telling stories and maybe a little bit of gossip! Leah, Kathryn & I were staying in the hotel so we headed home around 1230. We THOUGHT our friends were going to bed too, but turns out they headed out to the bar down the street and stayed up a little to late.

So when Leah and I woke the next morning saw the pictures they posted on FB from the night we figured they were going to be: a. feeling like crap b. really tired or c. all of the above.

So we headed out to shop while they slept it off. We met the 3 sleeping beauties around 11 for brunch at a place called ingredients. I had a wonderful breakfast burrito and 2 LARGE cups of coffee. I also learned that in the time that it takes me to drink 1 regular coffee & 2 large coffees, it takes Leah to drink a small. Andrea appeased me and Kathryn by taking us to Nordstrom's.

That is one thing I will say that I really miss about Dallas. At the time I really didn't shop there all that much, but now I realize what a fabulous store it is and how I WISH we had one.

We also got SUPER crazy and spent a while at Babies R Us for KABB. Andrea made the comment about how much things have changed, we now spend girls weekends at Babies R US!

For dinner Andrea took us to a tapas place and it was really good. I had goat cheese, which I have tried several times and I still have determined that I am not the biggest fan of the goat cheese.

The next morning Andrea took us to the great restaurant where she use to work and I really think that I my weight in Huevos Rancheros. Plus they had this awesome appetizer bar set up for you to eat at while you are waiting for your food. If was alone, I may have licked the plate. The humus was so good!

All in all it was a really fun weekend and I loved spending time with everyone. I am not going to lie though, I was very excited to get home to my sweet hubs and precious pup!




I am on the way out of town and Kelly texts me to remind me... that Joseph A Banks is having a sale.



Well Sunday I am sitting on the couch...

Hubbs- "They are having a shirt sale at JAB."

Me- "Great babe.. is it the SAME sale you mentioned to me on FRIDAY?"

Hubbs- "Yep, did you get a chance to go this weekend?"

Me- "No babe I didn't."

Hubbs-- "UGH whatever I hope you are kidding."



So I sneak in to the bedroom and get my card number and type it in to my phone so he won't see it.

I go and sit on the couch and start online shopping. Well I added all the shirts to my basket and I was ready to purchase but I got distracted.

Well Kelly gets the computer and starts shopping and ends up getting on the JAB site. He then proceeds to check the cart history. He is such a SURPRISE RUINER!



I then decided to go after work on Monday.

Well I get home and I am sneaking to put the bag in the closet and I hear

"HEY, can you help.. What are you doing babe?"

Me- "AGH! did you see?"

Hubbs- "yeah I saw the bag"

Me- "Did you see what was in it?"

Hubbs- "NOPE"



I then proceed to wrap presents..

Hubbs- "Did you just wrap my presents in front of me?"

Me- "Yes I did"

Hubb- "So you just wrapped my shirts in front of me"

Me- YES BABE"

Hubbs- "AHA! So you did get me shirts.'
Seriously?? I am taking them back.. ALL of them. BACK!
 
 
So Kelly is out of town this weekend. I am fine with our little weekends alone, but I feel like we haven't spend quality time in a while.


I am excited to have the WHOLE bed to spread out on, not excited to sleep alone.

I am excited to watch girl movies (which include Fa La La La Lifetime & the Xmen series), but sad I have no one to snuggle with.

I am VERY excited to eat whatever I want for dinner and not have to worry about cooking... Last time I was alone I ate a whole cucumber and rice with salsa. This time I am thinking hot dogs! Don't judge me. I heart hot dogs. Maybe I will get a little crazy and cut up the hot dogs and throw them in some mac and cheese!

I am NOT excited about running my 11 miles alone.

Girls Just want to have FUN!

These are the cupcakes I made for Kelly's birthday
Vanilla Pumpkin with Cinnamon Buttercream frosting!
Not gonna lie these are slap yo momma good!

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. The whole Carlson family was in town so that is always fun. Thursday we got up and did the annual Turkey Trott.


This tradition started about 6 years ago. The Thanksgiving of 2004 when I went out to visit Kelly & his family in AZ. I remember it was the first time I had ever really ran. I was working in LR at the time and I would come home from work and run laps around the track so I could make sure and run the whole 3.1 with his family.

The tradition has been carried on every year since. Even if we don't have an actual organized race we will still got out and run as a family. Last year we had to run 6 since we were training for the Memphis Marathon and the weather was beautiful. This year we woke up at 6:30 for the 8am race in Springdale.

The temperature was 32 when the race started. Which yes, that is cold and miserable enough, but when you add in sleet and a strong wind it is almost unbearable.

Kelly won, with me in 2nd, Kaylee in 3rd, Bobby & Julie crossing together, & Kurt and Kelsey dropping out. Well we stuck around to find out the all 3 Carlson women placed 3rd in their age group. We were freezing but we just kept repeating that these were memories..

Friday I did a little black friday shopping with Julie. Kaylee was supposed to go with us, but she was not about to leave her bed at 3:30 am.

Julie and I hit up Belk's & Target before 6am and stopped by Bath and body works before heading home. Well then we saw the sign for Gap that said 50% off of everything in the store until 10am. So we had to stay and shop there too!
After that we went and picked up Kaylee and hit a few more stores including Hobby Lobby where I got stuff to make my MIL some burp cloths for her hairstylist.

Here is how they turned out!
 

When I got home I decided I better run cause if I didn't just put my big girl panties on and do it there was no way I was going to run. So on went the big girl underware and I headed out for a fabulous 10 miler. PS the wind was BRUTAL, but I made it through!

Friday night we went to Table Mesa for Kelly's birthday dinner. I try to get something new every time and every time It is AMAZING! After we ate to much we went over to the new ice skating rink to look around. We were a little tempted to try it, but it was so cold outside we all changed our minds!



I leave for Kansas City tomorrow for our girls weekend.

Here is our hotel

Here is our Dinner

la bodega

Here is our After Dinner

Skies

There will also be lots of shopping on the plaza!

P.S....

I got a new job...

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Dear Peanut Butter:


You are 29 today! I can't believe how fast time has gone!

I remember meeting you for the first time in the Bentonville High school cafeteria. You had on the Eddie Bauer shirt that reminds me of a napkin. You were the new kid in school and I really just didn't have time for you. OH how things change. Fast forward 1 year and 1 broken heart later and who was there? The cutie in the napkin shirt.

I remember working at the bank in the supercenter and you were a CSM and every time you would walk by I would watch you.

May 21, 1999 I went to a graduation party and you had a curfew. I got a call on my way to the party from you asking me if I would be your girlfriend. Since you were just about the sweetest thing I didn't even hesitate.

We both thought it was going to be a summer crush.. over and done, but one year later May 20, 2000 it was our own graduation and you were going to Harding & I was staying here we decided we should just see where it goes. Over 11 years later it is still going pretty well.

God knew when he brought us together what he was doing.

You helped me to be the Christian woman that I am today. You challenged my faith and helped me to grow and be a better person.

You balance me. The things I stress about are the things you laugh about.

You are so generous. You truly live the turn the other cheek lifestyle. When I hold the grudge and want to wash my hands of things you are there with your giving heart.

I love how insanely excited you get about Christmas & how as long as it is for Christmas I can break the budget.

You challenge me to try new things. From trying spicy food to running to camping and learning to golf.

You brag about me when I am not around. It feels so good to have people come up to me and tell me how highly you speak of me when I am not around.

You will indulge my crazy ideas.. like painting a chair bright red or even when I want to camp in the backyard.

You know how anal I am about things and you will usually allow the neurotic to come out is small doses. You then reel me in when they are taking over me!

You love to spend time with me.

You have fabulous hair and beautiful eyes.

You are the spiritual leader and are my accountability partner.

We are both on the same page of our lives. We are content with just the 2 of us, ready for Europe, then children.

When you don't think I am watching I love how cute you are with the dog. I can only imagine what a great father you will be.

You can't stay mad at me. Whether I am hitting cars or just infuriating you, you are only angry for about 15-20 minutes.

Your competitive nature.

I am so proud of you working full time and getting your masters.. with a 3.85 GPA

I love that you refer to my student loans as OUR loans

I love how honest you are...most of the time!

I love that you have just as big of a sweet tooth as I do!
I never could have imagined how my life was going to end up, but I am so thank that I have shared 11 years of it with you. I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

I love you very much!
Love-Jelly


I hope everyone has a fabulous thanksgiving! The Carlson Clan will be at the Turkey Trot and then watching lots and lots of football!

Silhouette Machine Giveaway with a wknd wrap up!

I am not going to lie I am glad last week is over. It was a very long and exhausting week & weekend! Tuesday I got tickets to a charity event in Fayetteville so me and megs spent the evening at the Celebrity Chefs auction. It was fun. I always have fun with megs.. she is my spontaneous friend. But I didn't get home until late and bed even later.. so starts the vicious cycle of my week! Then Wednesday I got a text from Tammy stating that my auction items were in a state of confusion and I needed to come quick.. Not as life threatening as I make it sound, but this was a pretty big deal to me.


I should explain that Tammy,Terri (the other girl that helped me with the auction) and I spent a good 3 hours pairing items together and getting baskets set up on paper so the night we got all the stuff we would be quick and efficient. Disclaimer...I love volunteers and I know that they are giving of their time and have great intentions and with out them things wouldn't get done. Having said that I will say it was very overwhelming to walk in to the building on Wednesday and to see the chaos. Terri spent Tues. working with everyone getting the baskets in order. Telling everyone please group the items according to the lists that we had printed out & if any basket is done to please leave it alone. Well when I came in Wednesday I was told, "The list is gone.. and we aren't using it." Now if I hadn't spent 3 hours the week before organizing everything and giving it a home then I may not have been as upset as I was. So we ended up doing triple work.. Terri making things on Tuesday night, Volunteers changing everything on Wednesday, and then me changing everything back on Wednesday night.
 
 
Friday I left work & went straight to the Embassy to work on decor for the auction room.
Here are some pictures of the room.

It was a long night. we had over 180 auction items that had to be set up. Including a crib that had to be put together. Around 9 the staff from the Embassy came in to hang our records from the ceiling. Well by 10 they had to leave and the records weren't done, but they assured us they would get to them Saturday. You know that wasn't good enough for us. So after the staff left I hear this.. BEEP..BEEP..BEEP and I look out in to the hall to see 2 of the volunteers driving the scissor lift down the hallway in to our ambassador room. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. So for the next 30 minutes they finished hanging the records. While we took stock of the seating arrangements.

The razorback lounge was in the auction room, problem was there was only 1 couch and a 32" tv. HUMMM.. this could be a problem. So after talking it through we all kind of decided people were going to be pretty frustrated with the lack of seats & crowding around the 1 tv. So we decided we for sure needed more chairs. Where could we get them? Steal Borrow them from the Embassy of course! So at about 11pm we were going up and down the hall swopping the orange chairs that were used throughout the facility. PS. They are not the lightest thing incase you want to try to steal them. We then figured we should have coffee table for people to set their drinks on or prop their feet up on. Where could we get those?? Borrow them from the Embassy of course. So me thinking I am big stuff I run out to the hall way very eager to make my point with visuals, I try to lift the table. HOLY COW. Yeah.. they are granite. PS. Granite is even heavier than the orange chairs. So we scoured the place and found the bell carts and helped ourselves to them to get the job done. I think you can see them in one of the pictures above



Kelly & I were 60/70's, The necessary's were 50's and the Wilson's went 80's. We could not have picked a better group for the event! Alexia came over and helped me out with my hair and I swear between my Bouffant hair and Christy's Cindy Lauper hair there is a hole in the ozone above 1800 SW sequoia. I used some hot rollers and some Aquanet, but it still didn't make it through the night!


I won a contest at COL & got a fancy limo to pick us up and take us home for the night. Jason our driver was there at 6pm. Kelly & Alexis love Christmas so we asked Jason to stop by the Square where they were doing the lighting on the square. Unfortunately the weren't lit yet, but we tried.

Aaron & Christy

Alexis& HSC

Groovy

no words.. but oh how I love you!

Malt shop?

Chocolate or Vanilla?

It really was so much fun and I am so glad that our friends were there! They made the night for sure! So on our way home we asked Jason to drive by the square again. The lights were on so he graciously stopped for us to get a picture!

yeah to jason!

We decided Alexia was missing all the fun.. so the boys went and woke her up.

Aaron & Callaway love to dance to NKOTB.

Silhouette Machine Giveaway

I got an email from aunt Jamima and she told me about this FABULOUS give away!! It is for the Silhouette. that I would probably give my pinkie toe for-cause lets be honest here people do you really need your pinkie toe? I mean what is it good for? Not to say that this is a small sacrifice on my part! I will look quite funny in my sandals in the summer, but you have to do what you have to do in order to get a Silhouette! Or you could just take the time to enter this give-a-way. I will be honest though I had a moral debate on if I should share this or not. Since Santa Claus is watching me though I figure I will tell you all about it!! JWOW has one of these and it is kind of fabulous and every time I look at stuff now I think about how easy it would be to make if I had one! SO go enter. If you win.. share!

PS. My AARP bound hottie is turning 29 on Wednesday. 29!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean wow! I am considering trading him in for a newer model!