G and P

Game Day!!!

2011-09-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

It's That Time Again!!

2011-08-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

It feels like Christmas around our house! Excitement and anticipation is thick around here. Yes, football season is upon us. We are using this weekend to take inventory on what we have, what we will need and what needs to be done for our tailgating situation. Every year, our tailgate has grown. And grown. And grown. And with all this growth - more mouths to feed. Not that I'm complaining - it's my favorite part! The FOOD! I will do a post soon with all the goodies we end up making.

Also, the Stephens' Hotel will be in full swing. I love when our house has no vacancy! Most of you know, G is quite picky when it comes to eating - mostly with breakfast. He just doesn't eat it. BUT, when we have guests, I get to make all kinds of breakfast goodies!! Breakfast casseroles, biscuits & gravy, cinnamon rolls.... Again, I will do a post on these as well.

(BTW - I need to get better at taking pictures to post... I will definitely work on this) :)

Off to do some cleaning and organizing!! Have a great weekend!

WPS!!
Source

Cute Tailgating Ideas!!
Source

A Little Old Fashioned.

2011-08-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

I am definitely in the minority on this one. As much as I have tried, I absolutely cannot use my phone as a "daily planner." I just can't do it!! And believe me, I've tried! I have always had a love of actual planners. I love to make lists. I love to mark things off my lists. I like to PLAN. :) And it can't be just any planner - oh no. I am so picky when it comes to them. I've tried the MyAgenda.

I liked it ok. It was really pretty, but it was a little stiff and hard to write in some of the columns. Also, it was a bit small and not enough space to write. But it would have worked. Until I heard about.....

O.M.G. This is the best stuff ever!! I read about Erin Condren on a couple of blogs I follow. They were talking about the stationary and cards. I went to her website and there's where I found it - the most perfect daily planner - EVER!! It's called a Life Planner.

I'm telling you - I am completely in love with it. It's perfect for everything I need to keep up with. Work stuff, my daily diet log, workouts, home stuff..... Amazing!! If you go to the website, they even have a video that shows you all it's features. Pretty fancy :)

Anyway - yes I am strange, but at least I'm aware of it :) But do yourself a favor and check it out!! She also has super cute stuff for teachers, stationary, thank you notes, etc.

Gotta go - I have lists to make!!
P

Our New Obsession

2011-08-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

So, we started our new fitness journey the 2nd week of January. In previous years, G and I went to the gym MAYBE 2 times a week. Seriously - it was awful. We would go to the gym, run (I would walk) on the treadmill for a bit, do a few exercises on the machines and finish with abs. It took us around 40 minutes and we would maybe have a tinge of soreness the next day. MAYBE.

Well, our world completely changed when we joined.......Crossfit. It's honestly one of the best decisions we've ever made. Before we joined, I read somebody's Facebook status that said something like, "This is the first year I don't have to make a New Year's resolution about exercising or getting into shape." It was because of Crossfit. And I am a complete believer. G and I workout about 5 times per week - consistently!! And we actually want to go. And we actually enjoy it when we're there. And we've actually gotten pretty good! :)

I won't go through the whole "Crossfit run-down" but it's basically Olympic weight lifting, gymnastics, old school calisthenics and running all thrown together making crazy fun, difficult and rewarding workouts. Each day at our gym (or "box" as they call it), it's a completely different workout. We may do the same exercise once every 2 or 3 months. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of us. We went from completely dreading the gym to actually looking forward to our workouts. I highly encourage you to see if there is a Crossfit box near you. This was completely life changing for us.

Not to mention, I've lost 2 complete dress sizes. :)

Check out www.crossfit540.com for more info.

No excuse!

2011-08-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Well, hello. Wow - 8 months.... You would think as much as I visit my own blog (to view everyone else's blogs, of course) I would be able to muster a post every once in a while. Nope! Well, here's to:

Pour Some Shugah on Me!!

2010-12-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

6 More Days!!! So excited!!

My SmartWater Challenge

2010-09-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

So, over the past few months, I've really taken my health a lot more seriously. I've started working out again and being conscious about what I eat. One of the most difficult "basics" of all this is drinking enough water... I just don't drink enough! I try to drink about 64 ounces, but ideally I need to be drinking more around 84oz.

Here's my challenge to myself. I bought a few bottles of SmartWater - each 33.8 ounces. All I have to do is drink 3 bottles a day and that would be more than enough! Looking at it this way makes it seem not so terrible. This starts tomorrow!! It's funny how ridiculous and simple this seems as I type... If I can get out there and run or exercise or eat more healthy, surely you would think I could do this! But, it's definitely an area in desperate need of improvement for me.

I don't know why I look so orange in this picture - it happens a lot with my iphone... I promise it's not Spray Tan! ha!!

On another note, my half marathon training just started this past week and it's going pretty good. I had a slow start at the beginning of the week, recovering from the Little Rock game. Traveling makes me so tired these days! So I made up the time at the end of this week. I'll tell ya - it's going to be tough. I'm going to have to dig deep and keep my motivation going. Knowing I'll have to run 13.1 miles in December no matter if I'm ready or not is part of this motivation. :)

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!!

What a game!

2010-09-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

Arkansas played Georgia today, and I gotta tell ya - I'm exhausted!! I won't go through the blow by blow, but just take my word for it - WHAT A GAME!! Grant is in Georgia for the game, so I can't even imagine what they are doing tonight. I just asked him nicely to please not get arrested :)

Next weekend is Alabama... This could be another story. Maybe not. Who knows. But I can guarantee it will be an awesome time!!

Woooooooo pig soooooooooie!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

2010-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Aaahhhhhh... This is absolutely my favorite time of the year. I mean, in our neck of the woods, it just doesn't get any better. Perfect patio weather. And with football season starting, it's just the icing on the cake! Add a constant string of friends at our house on the weekends staying at the "Stephens' Hotel," deciding on tailgate menus, putting on that perfect gameday outfit and the hustle and bustle before the big game and you, my friend, have perfection. As Grant would say, "And THAT is why we live here." :)

And on the flip side, we were in Little Rock this past weekend for the second Razorback game...
M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E. Absolutely miserable. It was so hot. It was so humid. It was so not windy. Ugh. I know it was hot in NWA that weekend as well, but oh my goodness. I honestly thought I was going to keel over!! Don't get me wrong - I always enjoy being with our friends at the tailgate and the game, it was just a little harder to enjoy with sweat profusely rolling down my back. ha!

Me and my big little brother

Our seat are NOT in the shade... We definitely needed our SPF

War Memorial Stadium - aka, "Hell"

When we were gone this weekend, we boarded Winston at Dog Party USA. It's this great doggie daycare/boarding facility that lets the pups run free instead of being in kennels. Winston LOVES it so much. It's hilarious when we pick him up. We actually thought he was drugged on Sunday. He was so tired!! Here he is sleeping with his "lady." Such a babe. :)

Talk soon - P

Let the torture, I mean, training begin!

2010-09-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

So, the Fayetteville Half Marathon is slowly creeping up. I know it's all the way in December, but this girl has a long way to go before 13.1 miles will be ran. I'll be following Hal Higdon's Half Marathon 12 week training schedule. It's a pretty flexible program and I can tailor it to my schedule as long as I get the miles in each week. So this week, on Tuesday I'll be running 3 miles, Wednesday 2 miles, Friday 3 miles and Sunday 4 miles for a total of 12 miles this week. I'm pretty intimidated by it already, but I'm taking it one day at a time. I am also in the market for a new pair of running shoes. I am running in a pair of Asics that I really like, but I bought them before I really got into running. I have a very neutral gait and these shoes are more corrective than my stride needs. I went to Fleet Feet the other day and found a pair I love! I am waiting a little bit on the purchase, but I think I've made up my mind.

These are Mizuno and they feel amazing! I also realized I am not getting the right size for a running shoe either. I typically wear an 8 in regular shoes, but the folks at Fleet Feet said I need at least a 9! I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, I will post later on the football weekend! Such an amazing day. Perfect weather, perfect tailgate.... Absolute heaven.

Have a great, short week!
P

August 23, 2008 - What a Perfect Day...

2010-09-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Grant and I just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary!! It seems like only yesterday were we stuffing gift bags and tying ribbon for programs. A lot has happened in the past couple of years. A couple of months after our wedding, I lost my sweet Nana. Grant was so wonderful in the way he looks at things and handles situations, so he helped me so much. We moved a couple of times... No fun. We built a house!! Every day I drive up to our house, I'm just so proud of us for not killing each other during the process! I got a new job - yay!! Seriously, I bet it's been the biggest change yet in our relationship. For so long I was working nights which meant we were on totally different schedules most of the time. What a weird feeling it is to live in a house with someone, but hardly ever see them! My new job has allowed us to spend as much time together as we want! (We were a little nervous at first!) But it has been so much fun. Grant is the most amazing husband and I feel so fortunate to have him in my life! I love you so much.

I love this picture. :)

Best little dude in the world

2010-08-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

We love our dog so much. I really don't know what we ever did without him in our lives. Our nights typically involve watching TV and laughing at his antics. And I think he loves us just as much. :)

Back to School, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool...

2010-08-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Besides the 100+ weather we've been experiencing here, this is one of my favorite times of year here. I absolutely love it when the new students move in at the University. The whole town has a buzz and it's just fun to see all the action! It brings back such emotions for me - scared to death about living in such a huge city (compared to my hometown, come on!), excitement to "be in college"..... So much fun!

The campus has changed so much since I was in college 10 years ago (whoa - that sounds so strange.) All the new dorms, parking decks and facilities are so beautiful!

I know I've posted about this before, but if you live in NWA are are interest in a unique experience, check out www.nwaprofitness.com. It is a four week boot camp that meets four days a week for four weeks. I have participated in one session before, but a new session starts in the morning --------- 5:30am! Woo - at least that early in the morning, it's not scorching hot yet. So wish me luck - more on getting up and getting there on time!!

Also, I have challenged myself to a half marathon December 12 of this year. --What am I doing????---- I am seriously petrified, but determined and hard headed enough that I'm going to go through with it. I have slowly but surely gotten into running lately. I can run a few miles without stopping at this point, so I bit the bullet and decided to do it. I'll give updates on my progress (and blisters...)

Have a great weekend!!

Team Edward

2010-07-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, I went with a group of girls I used to work with to see Twilight! We had such a great time. But boy, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. We ate dinner at 6:30pm, and then we went to stand in line.... at 8:30! I mean, the movie didn't start until midnight!! But the line was already SO long, it was ridiculous. It was a good thing we got there early. Everyone had on their Twilight shirts, and I was no different. :) Much to my husband's dismay, I had one myself. And worse, I made it! Just a little iron-on t-shirt kit and I was in business!

I will say, I loved the movie. I mean, the books are always so much better, but it really was good. I think Kristen Stewart is a strange little girl in real life and Robert Pattinson is as well, but they are so perfect for these roles.

One of my favorite parts of going to the movies is the previews. I love them! And before Eclipse, they were great. Eat Love Pray looks so good. Julia Roberts can do absolutely no wrong. And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer looks amazing too.

Well, again, I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!! Be careful!!

P

Well, hello there....

2010-07-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

As I read back on my previous posts, every one of them says how bad a blogger I am and how I'm going to improve... Well, here we are about a year between posts. I'm awful!! As much as I love reading everyone else's blogs, I really want to get better at this!

Ok, so it's been a year. Quite a bit has happened, however my photog skills leave much to be desired. I don't know if it's that I've been a little fluffier than I would like or what, but I am working on that too! (I'll get to that in a minute).

So rewind a few months and we finally moved into our new house in December! What a wonderful feeling living in a home that is OURS!! We love it so much. One thing I've been doing a lot is working in our flower beds. I've never really been into gardening, but it has become one of my favorite things to do! Now, I can't tell you the names of the flowers/plants I've planted - I'm not that good yet :) I just go to Lowe's or Westwood Gardens and wonder around until I find a pretty plant I like! (I know very basic knowledge, so it gets interesting.)

Let see... What else? I ran my first 5K EVER last weekend. I was SO nervous! But I finished... well kind of. The race included runners running the 5K as well as the 10K. There were signs to designate where each race headed. Well, let's just say I bypassed the finish line of the 5K and ran almost an additional mile in the 10K before realizing that I should have finished a long time ago! A lady was passing me (and I had noticed that not as many people were running with me) - I asked her "is this still the 5K??" She said, "Oh no honey, you should have finished way back there!" Yeah, I'm so smart. I couldn't believe I did that! But I was just proud of myself for finishing the thing without croaking on the side of the road.

I have been doing a bootcamp the past 4 weeks at 5:30 in the morning and it has been so great! It used to be called NWA Adventure BootCamp, but it has recently been changed to NWA ProFitness (www.nwaprofitness.com). I highly recommend it! It is outside and it is so nice that early in the morning! There's a lot of cardio involved along with some strength training. I just needed a change from being at the gym. I think Grant kind of doubted that I could do it (being such the morning person I am).

Well, this is about it for now. I'm not going to promise anything ----- So, I'll just leave it at that.

Have a great 4th of July!!!!
P

The Best Vacation. Ever.

2009-10-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Grant and I took a trip with Barrett and Sarah (our best friends) to Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. We met Sarah's cousins, Brooke and Jordan, along with their spouses (Adrian and Amy), at their beach house and we had the best time ever! Atlantic Beach is very close to the historic town, Beaufort, NC. It's a very quaint town with lots of character. A lot of the houses around the boardwalk were built in the 1700's. So neat.

We mostly laid on the beach, explored the Atlantic Ocean on their boat, and just enjoyed being all together. Lots of late-night talks.... So much fun. Hopefully, we will be making it an annual event! Love you guys!!

I. Heart. Stained Concrete.

2009-10-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Again, I apologize for all the house talk/pictures, but we are really excited. All the details that we have been working on for what seems like forever are finally coming together. One of the main aspects of our house that we've put our blood, sweat and tears into is our floors. One of Grant's best friends from high school has experience staining concrete, so when he offered to do ours, we were thrilled! But that also meant we had to do a lot of grunt work!

Over the course of over a month, we have:
- scrubbed/mopped/swept every single inch of our concrete at least 4 times before the stain was applied and repeated the process over again after the stain was applied
- laid miles of contractor's paper to protect the raw concrete while other aspects of the house were being completed
- and 3 weeks later, we swept and mopped 4 last times before the sealer was applied.

WHEW! I'm so glad it's over, but it was SO worth it! We are so happy with them.

All Things Football.

2009-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

It seems like every year football season consumes us. In a good way, though. Football season always brings all of our friends and family together almost every weekend. Our house is always busting with at least 5-6 people staying with us and I absolutely love it!!

I don't know if I have defined "football Grant" to the blog world yet. He's a curious phenomenon. "Football Grant" is this creature that comes to life the minute he walks into any football stadium. He's insanely intense, insists on yelling individually to players not doing their best, correctly calling plays that will be run before the players even line up (I still don't know how he does it), answering questions other fans have about where every single player on the team went to school, game stats, what their graduating GPA was, height/weight, what they want to be when they grow up, their favorite color..... You get the point... It's hilarious. He's quite passionate, that one. But I am always informed!

This past game versus Georgia was a lot of fun! I was afraid the weather was going to get in the way, but it ended up being great! I didn't take very many pictures, but here are the few I took.

We are going to our first Fayetteville High School game tonight!! Go Bulldogs!

Busy, Busy!

2009-02-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I haven't posted in quite some time. It seems like all Grant and I do is work these days!! That, and we are getting ready to move next weekend... ugh... But I think it will be a great weekend because Grant's parents and my mom and grandfather are coming up to help us! We are also hiring movers to help us with the heavy items we have, so we can save our backs! Our move from Dallas to here wasn't too bad because we hired movers then too, however a while back I helped Grant move into a bigger apartment in Dallas and I thought we were going to kill each other!! We moved everything ourselves with no moving van from 5:30pm to 6:00am. Up a floor. Into another building very far away from the original apartment. In the middle of the night. In downtown Dallas. Did I mention, all by ourselves? AWFUL! I was helping him with his hhuuuggggeee TV that weighs seriously 500 lbs, and I dropped it on it's face! Oh, Grant was furious!! But only for a minute. Amazingly, it didn't hurt the thing, but how could it! It's a tank of a TV!! Anyway, enough memories of that terrible day.

We haven't actually been doing a lot socially lately. It seems like Summer and Fall are our busy times of the year and when January hits, it's like we rest. It's really been quite nice. We did go a concert a couple of weeks ago - Citizen Cope at George's. They are really great! We saw them in concert the very last night Grant and I were in Dallas - such a nice way to end the era!
Well, that's about all I have for now. Again, we will be moving next weekend, so I'll post some before and after pics!

I alway hate posting a picture-less post, so once again, here are some random pics! These are from the past football season and they have some of my favorite people in them!!

Amy and me
Grant and me at our Little Rock tailgate! So fun! It's actually the first day back from our honeymoon - how convenient, huh?!

Me and my sweet Caroline!

Caroline and me again

Two of my faves!! The fabulous Mr. Marsh and my beautiful Amber!

I've Been Tagged!

2009-02-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of Random Pics - Winston with his best friend, Bosco Baber
So cute!!

1. What are you wearing right now?

North Face fleece and Grant's sweat pants

2. What's the last thing I read/ are currently reading?

Pass CCRN! It's a critical care certification study book for nursing.

3. Do you nap a lot?

Not typically. Working night shift has made me more prone to it, but generally no.

4. Who was the last person you hugged?

Grant, this morning, before he went to work.

5. What's your current obsession/addiction?

Watching Lost on ABC.com, my iPhone, refinishing my dining room set, allrecipes.com

6. What was the last thing you said out loud?

"Love you too"

7. What websites do you always visit when you go online?

My blog, facebook, nordstrom.com, forever21.com, allrecipes.com, Fayetteville Athletic Club

8. What was the last item you bought?

I bought chicken breasts for dinner last night

9. What is your most challenging goal?

Going back to school, because I'm not sure what program I really want to do yet.

10. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished- anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Hands down - Aspen, Colorado

11. Favorite Vacation spot?

Cancun or Breckenridge, Colorado!

12. Say something to the person who tagged you:

I love doing these!!

13. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you:

Sonic Strawberry Cream Slush - yum!!

14. What is your favorite item of clothing?

Right now, it's my North Face Fleece! It's sooooo cold!!

15. Favorite pair of shoes you keep going back to over and over, even though your closet is over flowing with a zillion others?

My Clark Wallabees

16. Name one thing you can not live with out: My sweet husband. I love being with him so much! I can't be away from him for too long!

17. Has a celebrity's haircut ever influence you on your own hairstyle?

Not really - I think I have just gone with what I like at the time (or what Julee thinks would be best!! )

I really, really hating moving.......

2009-02-04T10:02:00.000-08:00

When Grant and I originally moved here last February, we found a great house to lease while we looked and saved for a house that we wanted to buy. We've lived in this house for about a year, and we contacted our landlord to renew our lease for another year. We could probably buy a decent house right now, but we want to save some money for another year, and buy a bigger house that we won't grow out of in a couple of years. Our landlord told us that it wouldn't be a problem to renew the lease, and that he would get back to us. Well, we found our a few days ago that we have to be out by March 1st because they are going to try to sell the house. Great....... So, panick stricken, we set out to find another good deal on a house to lease for yet another year. And we found it! It is only about a half a mile from our house right now, so moving won't be too terribly bad. We are definitely hiring movers though - Grant and I have moved together a few times, and it is sooooo worth the money!! So, we are moving February 27th. Here are some pics of the house!

Let it snow, Let is snow, Let it....ICE

2009-02-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Ice Storm 2009 has come and gone and wow..... This Spring will be a strange one because our poor trees are pitiful! It started last Monday afternoon, raining and temperature dropping. I had no idea it would get so bad! And from Monday to about Wednesday, I was holed up in the house praying we wouldn't lose electricity like everyone else! We were very fortunate to have not lost electricity for an extended amount of time. I think we lost it for like 2 or 3 hours in the middle of the night on Tuesday, but that was it! I have friends that didn't have power for 4-5 days! My brother, Andrew, lives close to campus and I had to go pick him up from his apartment because their parking lot was a skating rink - seriously! He didn't get electricity until this past Sunday - needless to say, he stayed with us! Winston had no idea what to think. He wouldn't go to the bathroom on the grass because it was a frozen glacier, so he had to get as close to the side of the house as he could - we laughed so hard at him! I took a ton of pictures - it's a shame it was so pretty, because it really was a mess!

Poor Mr. Winston

The view from our house

Yay for electricity!!

Still up.... As always......

2009-01-19T01:11:00.001-08:00

Man, working nights sure isn't fun. It is yet again 3 in the morning, I'm sitting on the couch "blogging" while my sweet husband is in bed. I realize that it just comes with the territory when you decide you are going to be a nurse in a hospital. Everyone has to "pay their dues" and start off working nights. Well, I've passed two years being on the night shift and dang it, I'm tired of it! You see, when you work nights on at least 3-4 nights/week, it's hard to train your body to switch back to normal on the days when you aren't working.

Grant and I started off in a long distance relationship between Little Rock and Dallas - that went on for a year and a half, then I moved to Dallas. I got an awesome job, however I had to start off on nights. We stayed there for a little over a year, and we've since moved to Fayetteville. I get yet another awesome job, however, I also have to start off working nights. So, the entire time Grant and I have been together, we've had non-traditional schedules to deal with. That being said, my husband is the most wonderful person I believe there is on the planet. He has more patience than I can even imagine I could possibly have. He is such a trooper to deal with everything that comes with a night-shift working, at times grouchy, stressed out and tired ICU nurse. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful person to spend the rest of my life with.

There is, I think, one person in front of me on the list to go to day shift - that may seem like not very much, but that means that two people from day shift have to leave or that the day shift team needs two more members (with all hospitals having issues with decreased admissions, that is unlikely). I didn't mean for this post to become a vent-session, I just want to be normal. I want to sleep when it's dark outside. I want to not ALWAYS be hungry at 2am because that is my typical "lunch break" time. I want to be able to answer the phone before 3pm (I'm asleep so I either get mad at whoever calls me and I don't answer or I just don't wake up to receive the call.) This obstacle made planning a wedding very, very difficult.

The good news in all of this rant is I love doing what I do. I love every aspect of being an ICU nurse. I feel like it is definitely what I was put on this earth to do. Whether I am helping a patient and their families deal with the stress, pain and difficulty of being in not only the hospital, but the Intensive Care Unit or collaborating with other nurses and doctors in guiding treatment for our patients, I truly love my job. I am taking the good with the bad and trying to keep a positive attitude. It will come eventually and when that day comes that I will no longer be on the night shift, I will scream so loud!!!!!

Ok, I feel much better now.... This past weekend, our two best friends came up to stay with us, Barrett and Sarah Baber. It never matters what we have going on, when we are all together, it's inevitable that we will have fun! Barrett (for those who aren't familiar with him) is a singer/songwriter and it absolutely amazing. He sang mine and Grant's first dance song and it made that moment so special. This weekend, he played at show at Z330, a bar here in Fayetteville. As always it was packed!! He has a website with several videos and CD's for sale - check it out!! www.barrettbaber.com I'm a little biased, but I think he's pretty great. :) I don't really have any pics to post yet of this weekend - we take pictures at everything! I just haven't gotten them off my camera yet.

Anway, sorry for all the words and few pictures. I do have a few random pics of our rehearsal dinner that I'll post. There's some great ones of my family! Anyway, hope everyone has a great week. I'm really going to try to keep up with this thing - my goal is to update once a week! So stay tuned!!

Me directing Will Choate and his associate! I was, of course, my own wedding planner!

I like this picture - it gives you an idea of just how beautiful the church was. It was originally built in 1833 - amazing!

My "bouquet" made with shower gift ribbons and bows! It was huge!!

My "n0t-so-little" little brother

Me with my mother and Popo

New Updates: Part 3

2009-01-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Thanksgiving weekend is always a busy one! Of course, Thursday was Thanksgiving, Friday was the Arkansas/LSU game and Saturday was Duck Gumbo! Now tell me we weren't tired on Sunday!! The Arkansas/LSU game was so much fun. We tailgated at Chris Marsh's new house which is so awesome. We had all kind of food, mimosas, bloody marys, you name it! If you remember, it was kind of rainy that day, so I really wasn't too excited about sitting in the rain, in the cold, on metal bleachers..... It took some convincing for me to get moving! But because I was well equipped with jackets and a poncho, I was ready to go! And gosh I'm so glad I did! I was nervous at half-time, but the second half of the game was awesome!! I am so glad Grant put up with some of my griping and didn't listen to me when I said I wanted to go back to Marsh's house! Awesome game!!!

Ok, so Saturday, we all met over at Marsh's house about 11am and the van would pick us up. Yes, the van. We paid Josh Meyer to drive us to and from Duck Gumbo in a 15 passenger van! Duck Gumbo is a party down in Stuttgart, Arkansas where booths are set up to give out their gumbo for judging. That is just the beginning... See the pics for additional information. Each booth that has gumbo in the contest also has their own stickers - these stickers are "placed" on people's "bottoms" all during this party - all in good fun, but still! I'm glad we had friends that had booths to get away from the crowd at times! Anyway, such a blast!!!

I won't name names here, I just promised pics of the stickers!!

Did I mention there were beads too?!
Grant, Rob, Amy, Franklin, Me and if you look closely, Barrett

Me and Bogus

Grant judging the gumbo

Huge crowd, I'm tellin ya!

Haley, Amy, me, Sarah and Nate in the back

Awww!! The soon-t0-be Byfords!!

The girls brave enough to venture to Sugar Town

The Boys in the van

Yay!!! Our post-game happy faces!!!!

Go Hogs!

I'm cold, I'm wet and we were losing at this point in the game = not happy

Just starting to rain...

Robin, Katie, Katie's sister and Me

G/P

New Updates: Part 2

2009-01-12T12:37:00.001-08:00

Ok, moving on to Grant's 10 year class reunion this past October. I knew this would be a fun weekend! It turned out even better! On Friday night, we went to the Marion Homecoming football game, then on Saturday we took a tour of the school and that night was the Reunion Party. It was in West Memphis at a restaurant called Margarita's - the food was so good! They had trivia games and a slideshow with old pictures... so much fun! Here are the pics: Me and Mrs. Byford-to-be
The Marion Wives Club!
Sarah B., Sarah V., Morgan, Kyleigh and Me

The Marion Wives Club again!!

Morgan, Sarah, Me, Kyleigh and Amy

Marion High School, Class of 1998!

We woke up Saturday morning and Grant's front yard and his 4-Runner got rolled! ha!!!

Barrett, Grant, Jett and Jay

The ladies!

Sarah H., Me, Kyleigh, Tabitha, Sarah, Amy, Robin... and Jay!

The Marion High School Homecoming Game!

After a lengthy hiatus, I'm baaack!!

2009-01-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

I know I have completely abandoned my blog, so with much renewed energy and motivation after the new year, here I am.

Usually I am busting with holiday spirit during the holiday season, but this year was the toughest time I've ever experienced in my life. On Christmas Eve, my sweet grandmother passed away. She had renal cell cancer for twelve years and had been reasonably healthy for the majority of that time. After my wedding in August, she just seemed to deteriorate so quickly. We spent Thanksgiving at her house in Carlisle, but soon afterward she was in the hospital. We had the most amazing doctor I've ever worked with. Her name is Dr. Kathy Parnell with Baptist Health in Little Rock. She is bleached blonde and as sweet and outgoing as she could be. Soon after that, we were transferred to Hospice HomeCare in Little Rock. As difficult of a time as it was, they made it bearable there. We ordered Olive Garden and had Christmas dinner there the weekend before Christmas. In Nana's room, we had a Christmas tree and had Christmas music going all ths time. For those who didn't know my Nana, she was the Christmas Queen! Her house was always so amazing, so we had to bring a little of that to her. I miss her so much, and I fight tears every single day, however her passing has definitely brought me a renewed sense of motivation and energy to live my life the way she lived hers.

With that being said, I have a lot of things I've missed blogging about, so bear with me - this blog will be a long one! I was looking back on some pictures and I found some of the best pictures! Our wonderful friends threw us a shower in Little Rock at Ferneau restaurant this past summer. I can't tell you how much fun it was! Grant and I talk about it all the time, but we have the absolute best group of friends ever and we love them all so much! Here are some pics: (and by the way, I got a really bad sunburn the weekend before, so that's why my arms look like that.....nice I know) :)

G and P

Amanda and Me

With Rob and Amy

With Robin - mommy to be!! Yay!

Amanda, Me, Keaton and Lindsey Thaxton and Garner

The boys! Jay, Barrett, Josh, Pedigo, Rob and Franklin

Grant with Marsh and Will

Will continue updates on the next post!

Another game, Another Heartbreak.......

2008-10-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Baggo King

My hubby and me

Robin, Sarah, Me

Our tailgate!

Our journey through campus (Sarah and me)

Barrett Baber

Man, I don't know if I can take much more of this. I understand that we are in a "rebuilding year," but it still hurts when we lose like we have the past couple of games! Ok - enough about that.... We had a lot of our friends up for the weekend, so everyone had a great time anyway. This was the best tailgate by far this season - with a mix of baggo, hillbilly golf, cool Ole Miss fans, ton of food and beverages, it couldn't get much better! After the game, we headed to Grub's to hear Barrett play - as always, he was great!

Last night, I carved my pumpkin! Grant was supposed to help, but he was exhausted from work, so I did it by myself. And if I must brag, I carve a pretty good pumpkin!! Winston put on his Halloween costume too so I could get a couple of pics!

Arrrrrr!

Lovin' his pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!!!

What a Weekend....

2008-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

Sarah and me with Gavin DeGraw!!!!!
Gavin signing my shirt!
Vick and Summers
Barrett was a little star-struck :)

Me, Lauren and Sarah
Sarah and Me
Grant is so photogenic

I am so exhausted! This past weekend was so much fun. Friday night we went to Fast Lanes in Lowell and it is so awesome! It's kind of like a Dave and Buster's. A big group of us went to go bowling, but when we got there, a private party had the bowling lanes rented out until a certain time... We were bummed for a minute, but then realized they also had Ski-Ball, Pop-a-Shot and so many other games! We were like little kids running around with our ticket winnings hanging out of our pockets. We got there at about 6:30 and didn't get home until past midnight! We eventually bowled a couple of games - black lights, hip hop music with the videos blasting - so much fun!

On Saturday, our best friends, Barrett and Sarah, came up for the Gavin DeGraw concert at George's. We met up with a big group at Grub's to watch the Arkansas/Kentucky game - I don't even want to go there.... But after that, we headed to George's for the concert. I've never been to a small, intimate concert with the artist being such a big deal! Immediately, Sarah and I buy Gavin DeGraw t-shirts (our husbands making fun of us...). Mine is a red, Ed Hardy-ish type shirt and it's adorable! Anyway, we get to our table which is like 3-4 tables from the stage and the opening act starts. They were called NeedtoBreathe and I was so impressed. Very soulful with a harmonica and an occassional organ. And then Gavin comes out - we were star struck! It was an amazing concert and towards the end, Sarah and I were constructing a plan to get backstage to meet him. Right before his last encore song ended, we made a run for the backdoor, which lead to the little patio outside of the main area of the bar. We hung out there for about 30 minutes to an hour and finally Gavin and his band joined us! It was really cool getting to talk with him. Very laid back and humble. Of course we got some great pics! What a great weekend. We love our friends so much and I'm so glad we all get together so often.

On a side note, I know probably everyone has heard about Anne Pressley in Little Rock. If not, go to katv.com and read the story about her. I can't imagine what she and her family is going through right now, so I just wanted to be sure you have her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Hope everyone has a great week! Can't wait for the Ole Miss game this weekend!!

Missin' the Big D, but loving the 'Ville

2008-10-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Grant and I went to dinner and a movie the other night (we saw Quarantine - soooo freaking scary!!) and we were reminiscing about living in Dallas. When Grant and I met, I was in nursing school in Little Rock and he lived in Dallas. We dated long distance for about a year and a half, and after I finished school, I moved down to Dallas. And let me tell you - it is definitely one of my favorite places! There are more awesome restaurants and unique places to go, and at dinner the other night, we started thinking about our favorite things/places about Dallas. Here are some of them:

- Chipotle Restaurant (it kicks Flying Burrito's butt!)
- Dee's Doggie Den (Winston's favorite place - they had the best day care)
- McKinney Avenue
- Taco Cabana (so much better than Taco Bell after a night on the town)
- St. Patrick's Day celebration on Greenville Avenue
- NorthPark Mall (we lived like 3 exits down from there)
- Love Field (love me some Southwest flights - so cheap!)
- Baylor University Medical Center - Neuro/Trauma (the best hospital - I miss my job there badly)
- HOV lanes and Texas "turn-arounds" at the stoplights
- Sunset Lounge (a bar right down from our apartment)
- the pools at our apartments during summer (I've never seen so many people and so many beer cans!)
- "The Rack" (Nordstrom) and "Last Call" (Neiman Marcus) outlet stores
- Sam Moon!!!
- Campisi's (the best "hole in the wall" Italian restaurant) - we saw Dr. Phil in there!
- the Christmas lights in The Village
- driving around Highland Park looking at the huuugggee houses
- our friends (who we miss terribly)
- the skyline of downtown Dallas (we had a perfect upclose view from our living room window - so awesome)
- 24 Hour Fitness (the best gym ever)
- Truluck's (a seafood restaurant)
- Dallas' Taxi System - especially Cowboy Cab!
- the "W" Hotel and "Ghost Bar" - amazing!!

I could go on and on, but as much fun as it was living in Dallas, we are so happy where we are now. We are closer to family and friends, so that makes it feel more like home. We traveled so much for football games, weddings and family things that we were always worn out from traveling! Anyway, we will always hold a special place in our hearts for the big D! Here are a few pics from times in Dallas.

Sarah, me, Rachel and Amanda - eating at Monica's Aca y Alla - the best margaritas in Dallas!

Rachel (one of my roommates in Dallas), Katie (my other roommate), Jordan, Sarah and me at a bar called the Green Elephant for a charity event.
Our last night in Dallas with our good friends Taylor and Whitney. We were eating at Cuba Libre - it's a cuban restaurant and it's definitely one of our favorites!
The Cotton Bowl - too bad it wasn't a very good game......

Winston, our big boy!!

2008-10-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

The first day we met Winston! So adorable! Only one of his ears was standing up at this point.

First 4th of July trip! He absolutely loved the boat!
This could be a PetSmart advertisement!
We laughed so hard at him when the boat was moving - he never opened his eyes!
With his best gal pal, Ruby

Grant and I got Winston in January of 2007 in a little town in Texas, and our lives haven't been the same since! He is a West Highland Terrier, so he weighs about 15 pounds, but don't tell him that; he thinks he's a rottweiler!! My aunt and uncle have 2 Westies and I guess that is where we had the idea that we wanted this particular kind of dog. He doesn't shed, he's a stout little dog (he dive-bombs off the back of our recliner) so there's not much chance he'll hurt himself easily.... And he's just so dang cute! Anyway, I highly recommend a Westie to anyone who wants a smaller dog that doesn't shed. Look at that face!!

Honeymoon Pics!

2008-10-06T23:39:00.001-07:00

Riu Palace las Americas - Cancun, Mexico

One of our first dinners!
The view from our room! We couldn't get over how beautiful the water is!
The pool and swim-up bar (my favorite!)
The Stephens!!
So handsome!

I really liked the garden out front... :)

At Coco Bongo!

Earning a VIP table, too!
The most amazing place I've ever been to!
You knew we'd have at least one of these, right?!

I couldn't believe how many people were there!

Welcome to our Blog!

2008-10-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Grant wasn't sold on the idea of having a blog yet, but I enjoy reading everyone else's so I thought, "what the heck!" We've had an exciting past couple of months. On August 23, 2008, Grant and I were married in Little Rock, Arkansas. Like, seriously, the best day of my life. The rehearsal dinner was a Cajun's Wharf and was so much fun! Everyone took the party down to the bar afterwards and had a great time.

Saturday morning, the girls and I had a "Bridal Brunch" at The Painted Pig in the Heights. It's a "paint your own pottery place" and they are so awesome. My whole wedding party and some friends and family painted dessert bowls, dessert plates and serving pieces for Grant and me. They turned out adorable!! The boys played a round of golf. It being only Grant's second time playing golf ever, he had such a good time!

The ceremony was at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock. The church was built in 1833 and is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The reception was at Historic Union Station in downtown Little Rock. Next Level Events, Inc. is the group that organizes the events held there. They do everything but the wedding cake - seriously. The flowers, the food, the sound systems, the bar, the rentals...... everything. It made our day so enjoyable because we didn't have to worry with all the little details. I highly recommend them for any occassion! Boom!Kinetic was our band and I don't have to tell you how awesome they were. It was the most perfect day.

Grant and I headed to Cancun, Mexico the day after the wedding for our honeymoon. Can I tell you how perfect our weather was?! We had like 2 clouds the entire week we were there. It was both mind and Grant's first time in Mexico, so it was a little different at first. We had been so busy doing stuff for the wedding, we didn't look up or think about what we needed to do when we got to Cancun. Um, didn't know it then, but you definitely need a ton of $1 bills for tips. They don't have any anywhere and it's a pain at times exchanging US money for pesos. After we got acclimated, we had a blast! We swam with the dolphins, went to CocoBongo, drank every single frozen drink they offered.......... I was sad to come home! But we did make it home just in time for the first Razorback game. Pretty convenient, huh? I guess that comes with being married to Grant Stephens. :) Anyway, I'm excited about our blog and we'll try to keep it updated as often as we can!!