the most wonderful day of the year

Today is the most wonderful day of the year. See above. I do not get to see my team play today because television is an abomination, but I will be thinking of them and wearing my burnt orange all day. I am so excited!

I am marking the occasion by finally making the whole wheat pizza I've been dying to make for nearly a month...and also cleaning before we go watch JT's team (and everyone else in this state's team) play on my parents' TV.

(edit :: it's even better than it looks. find out at Undomestic Kitchen!)

Yesterday, I made friends with a nice gentleman in my office building elevator. I asked him if he was wearing his Cowboy Orange button-down for a special occasion tomorrow. Why yes, he said, and looked at my shirt, but it's not for Texas. Weagreed to cheer for each other's teams. Cowboys and Longhorns are allies except for Halloween this year when they play -- at least in sports, they are rivals.

Last night, I got new clothes: some tank tops, a nice purple fall sweater, pajama boxers JT picked out, and a uber feminine navy top from Gap. I am already getting more confident with my body, which means my bank account will suffer. I am not the type of girl who just goes out and spends money compulsively -- I probably spend $200-$300 a year on clothes typically, which is not so bad, I don't think.

But I am excited about the girl in the mirror who has been doing Pilates and will only keep feeling better about herself for her hard work!

conversations of late

At 4:00p.m. on my birthday when my boss is leaving for the day:

BOSS: Today is your birthday!? You're joking, right? I am the worst boss ever.
LB: You can't even remember your own birthday.
BOSS: True.
BOSS: So you don't hold it against me, right?

Pillow talk:

LB: Did you know you wanted cuddle time at 4 in the morning during the storm?
JT: That's how I roll (over in bed)

Work email from client (JM) to guy I work with (MB):

"Note: Author’s last name is spelled ABCDE (and pronounced ABCDE, if you’re curious). I’ve already ticked him off once by screwing it up in an email to a niche contact. MB, give yourself 30 lashings with the weapon of your choice. Love, JM"

"JM, I choose a Nerf ball attached to a sock. - MB"

"I’ll let you get by with that this time, MB, but if you ever screw up a difficult-to-spell-and-worse-to-pronounce last name again, I get to choose the weapon! -JM"

On current events:

JT: The Duggars are having number 19
LB: SICK!
LB: You know, it's never too late to catch up with them.

With EL, a girl I work with:

EL: I am obsessed with Anne of Green Gables right now because some friends are visiting Prince Edward Island this weekend and keep updating their Facebook statuses about it.
LB: I've only been to Western Canada, but I'd imagine it's a lot like Maine, only I've never been to Maine.

On the common misconceptions between man and wife:

JT: Aren't you going to be hot in those jeans? We'll be outside.
LB: No, I rolled them up like capris and I'm wearing a tank top with them.
JT: Just because you're wearing a tank top doesn't mean your legs won't be hot. I must be one of the most confused husbands of all time.
LB: No, all husbands are confused, they just don't have to understand everything like you do.
JT: True.
JT: You're going to blog about this aren't you?

Last night, I returned home after cooking a VERY messy dinner and taking it to my friends who had just moved. I felt guilty to leave JT when the dishes were literally piled in the sink, the counter was splattered with egg and sprinkled with flour, and his plate was getting cold in the microwave. When I got home, most of the dishes were in the dishwasher and the counters were wiped clean, a bottle of Fantastik a tell-tale reminder of what my husband had done.

"I cleaned," he announced. I am still trying to pay him back.

And then, he woke me up with the Boomer Sooner theme song. Sick.

silly LB

I just clicked "Sign Up" for a 6am Cardio & Strength Reformer/Tower Class Combination tomorrow. What was I thinking? This past week, I have barely been able to pull myself out of bed around 8 for work.

The website description reads:

A class that combines intense, muscle building through Progressive Pilates and non-impact cardio training on the REFORMER machines for 20 minutes and the duration of the class spent on the Tower, a variation of a portion of the Cadillac the Tower/Spring Board utilized in this class provides spring resistance coils for sculpting and resistance training. This class, taught by a trainer, is 45 minutes in length. If you want an intense workout, this class is for you!

Andrea Cherie, if I never make it to your house with dinner, you can tell the cops to look for my body at the foot of this Reformer Machine. I'll be the one in a pile of sweat and jello-y muscles on the floor, only faintly breathing.

Booty, you'd better thank me for this later!

::edit:: I have survived and made it to work by 7:30. Good news: I did not almost throw up this time. Bad news: I chose Starbucks perfect oatmeal over shower time this morning. A "spongebath" just had to do. I have my own office, so I can do that!

24

Dear Mom,

Thank you that 24 years (and 1 day) ago, you rocked on your side for five hours so I wouldn't be born with a deformed nose. Thank you for your good genes (I'll take the bad ones) and all of the motherly advice and lessons. Thank you for birthday parties and driving me to my friends' houses to spend the night, picking me up and taking me to practices, and everything else that comes with being a mother. I'm glad that our relationship has only grown closer now that I'm a wife myself.

Love, LB

* * *

24 has been a great year so far. The highlights of my birthday? Waking up to breakfast in bed from JT, a cake and sweet card waiting for me from co-workers, lunch (lobster bisque..mmmm) with my parents, surprise flowers when I returned, and a rockin date night featuring gourmet cupcakes, Hibachi, and fun with in-laws.

The birthday songs this year were "You are My Sunshine" and "You are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne. (Click to hear the proper versions.) I got a mix tape and a frame with two pictures of our honeymoon and one picture of us at an FC Dallas game to hang on my bare white office walls.

So basically, I have the best husband, friends, and family a girl could ask for. My theme for Year 24 (and 1/2 of 23, really) is "With Everything," based on the Hillsong United song of the same name. I will explain more later.

plancakes

In my year and over four months of marriage now, I have learned that when it rains it pours. Actually, I learned that a long time ago in high school and college when exams, basketball games, and friendly duties all decided to coincide. And I have nothing to complain about, because I am not moving this weekend like Andrea Cherie. But this week was Goal Week at work, which means we are scrounging to get 30 events before the end of the week, and things can be stressful, hectic, and frustrating.

I usually try to do something nice for the employees, so I decided on Thursday afternoon that an impromptu Goal Pancake Party was in order. Coincidentally, I needed to pick up dry cleaning, clean out my car, put gas in my empty car, mail 293298 thank you notes, bake JT the choc chip cookies that have ruined us because he promised his coworkers some, and put up mountains and mountains of clothes from laundry and workout bags. Then, as I was on my way home from mailing my thank you notes, JT texted me and where was I? he wanted to take me on a surprise date.

Friends, when a man announces a surprise date, you drop everything you are doing to celebrate this monumental occasion. He took me to Carrabba's and pampered me. It was amazing. And somehow I got everything done anyway. When we got home, I got cookies in the oven, put up clothes whilst watching the first Harry Potter, cleaned out my car on my way home (while at stoplights, thank you very much), and filled up my tank and went to the store in the morning for pancake mix, butter, syrup, blueberries, chocolate chips and other things for the Goal Pancake Party.


Oh was it yummy! Today my eyelids are dragging. I signed myself up for a 945 Pilates class and sucked wind. It was bad. I didn't know whether to faint or throw up, so at one point, I ran to the bathroom and sat down on the floor in the dark, afraid I was going to see my pancakes again. Luckily, after a minute, the feeling subsided, and I was a-okay. I finished "strong."

My JT and I are about go help Andrea and Jason. I had every intention of bringing a plate of housewarming cookies, but I will just have to bring them with a meal later this week. My oven was all pre-heated when I discovered I'd run out of flour. I got some and some fresh watermelon to bring them today. We also might make an appearance at a concert my co-workers have been working hard on tonight. We shall see!

love.cake.hillsong

What would I do without this wonderful man? I am so thankful for him today. We spent a wonderful evening worshiping together with Hillsong United last night at their concert. It was a rejuvenating experience that changed my life. They did my favorite song of all time, "With Everything," and it was even more powerful worshiping to it in person.

While working on Love Better, love has been everywhere. Hillsong lyrics have great insights on Savior-Love. I am also reading The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, and who puts it better than him?

Our pastor is even conducting a sermon series on BEING the Church, and all I can think about is pouring God's love to others. I told him that I've been recognizing how unloving I can be to people: snobby, jealous, petty, manipulative -- the works. He agreed that perhaps the first step to Love Better is to recognize where I fall short. This Sunday is a Be the Church Sunday. We do them every month that has a fifth Sunday, on the fifth Sunday of the month. We cancel church service and go out into the community. I'm excited about it and can't think of a better way to celebrate the day before my birthday!

But I have enjoyed loving on my husband this week and lavishing in his love for me. I made him this beautiful cake he'd been craving and deemed it Love Lemon Cake to go with the theme, complete with lovely lemon icing from scratch.



Even though I used the wrong recipe for the cake, it turned out so well and it hit the spot for him. My mom even got to have some after our sushi class on Tuesday. Yes, we learned how to make sushi from a Japanese restaurant owner. (And by Japanese restaurant owner, I mean the owner was Japanese; not sure about the restaurant.) (PS: Still trying to get my mom to say Asian instead of Chinese or Oriental.)

I am bribing my fellow employees with GOAL Pancakes. If they hit goal today, I will bring my favorite 10-grain mix I still need to mail Miss Jessica and the shake and pour variety from Bisquick, which tastes so lovely, along with some fresh butter, blueberries, bananas, and honey and syrup. The cheap and yummy and morale-boosting way to make the last day before weekend more bearable! (And I will probably bring them anyway, even if they don't hit goal until tomorrow.)

Que tengan un buen dia!

Not Me! Monday Returns

Welcome (back) to Not Me! Monday, the blog carnival created by MckMama. It's time for me to share what has NOT been happening this week.

I did NOT sweep and vacuum the floor a combination of five times and still not have the power to get all of the mess off of our floors. I'm perfectly adept with the broom, and get it right the first try. My husband who has worked hours on our yard would NEVER have to pick up after his wife's "cleaning" jobs.

After writing a post (below) about loving people better, I would NOT immediately sneer at a man who almost ran me over in the parking lot and then roll my eyes at a group of ladies who stopped to chat whilst I was holding the 'vator for them. NO, almost immediately, I was a model of patience and virtue in my Project Love Better endeavors, especially pertaining to my husband.

And while embarking on Project Lean Bottom (coming to a post near you), I did NOT make the perfect batch of low-fat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, better than they've ever turned out so far, and so good that they have NOT ruined us and our cookie expectations FOREVER. (EDIT: Recipe can be found at Undomestic Kitchen!)

If I made cookies in a weekend, I'd NEVER make a lemon cake the next night, even if my husband was craving it. I would NEVER take a picture of said cake, in good humor, compose a new blog post titled "My husband eats like a pregnant woman," and then delete it because I was ashamed. NOT me!

Well that's what I HAVEN'T been up to lately. What about you?