4 Days 'Til Christmas

...and I'm glad the world didn't end today! :)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!! Eat too much, drink too much, love each other too much. Sleep in, cozy up by the fire with hot chocolate. Turn out all the lights in the house next to your Christmas lights. Have a holiday date night. Cuddle your lovies....be thankful.

SO excited to spend time this holiday with friends and family.

Have a Very Merry Christmas Everyone <3

xo,

Andi

Gram Albright

I have been completely off the 'page' lately (blog, work, holiday prep, etc) as we have spent the last week preparing for Grandma Albright's viewing and funeral. It has not been an easy time. Her funeral was yesterday and we now feel at least a little better that she has been honored, remembered, buried and now lays in eternal rest with God.

Gram Albright was one of the sweetest, brightest, most poignant people I've had the pleasure of getting to know and love the past 5 years. I love her as if she was my own Grandma for the past 29. She had that way about her that made you love her from the second you met her. She didn't know a stranger. Even as she battled her last 2 years with cancer, she was sad when they told her she would no longer have to go to chemo/radiation as there wasn't anything more they could do. It was time to live out the rest of her days. She responded 'Well, I wont get to see any of those nice people and nurses anymore; I wont be able to see my friends'. She even found a positive in that she saw her cancer as a blessing as it lead her to love and help others.

She was 4"10 inches of sunshine, light & love. There was always a smile on her face. I will hear her laugh and see her smile forever. I can still hear her call me 'Honey' how she did, and I hope that will never fade. Every time I eat a Mentos i'll think of her, she ALWAYS had a roll of them in her pocket and more to spare in her purse. One of my favorite memories of her was at Blair and my wedding, she danced the night away {so hard in fact she fell, but popped back up to boogie some more}. Blair and I have fun photos of her from our photo booth that night that are just, hilarious. She lived life like a rockstar up until the last 6 weeks of her life, we were relieved to know she didn't suffer and passed quickly. 

I know she's one of our angels and that we'll see her again one day. She has made me a better person and for her I am forever grateful.

We love you Gram!

Merry December

....and to all a good night! :)

xox,

Andi

Thank-FULL!

Lazy, sicky, couch, haze. That's me today. Meh. May as well get caught up on blogs & blogging, and respond to the occasional work email/call, right? Shhhh.

 Everyone and their BROTHER has been coming down with the funk as of late. Achy, stuffy, ears throbbing & clogged, fever {that's me minus the fever}OR the 24 hr stomach virus. Luckily, I have the first, the lesser of the two evils. Although, after I ate 100 reese cups like a pig over the holiday week at least one might take away my bloated face, belly and arse...I ate, drank, and was very Merry. All in all, a fantastic holiday.

We have done alot of hosting at the casa this month and have really enjoyed it! Although we don't have the house 100% (still need to hang blinds in guest room and continue to decorate as we go), money doesn't grow on our trees out back & the holiday season is near so we're being practical. I'm obsessed with some of the bloggers I follow & all of their thrifty decorating ways. So stay tuned for all the fun ideas some of these bloggers have motivated me to try/create myself. This month I've discovered something new about myself; I LOVE handling a drill. Serious y'all. It's powerful. How did I not use it sooner? Back to the 'hosting of friends' point.

First stop on the 'friends stopping through 'list; Kittle & Glenna!! Our only reason for working at Dawson was that it brought us all together, no joke. There is absolutely nothing it did for my resume or mental health! Next to these two, it would have been a complete and utter mistake {Are you pickin' up on how I felt about working there yet?!} We share the same feelings regarding that stop on our resume, and luckily share the same feelings about our friendship. I love these girls & my husband might even love them more! He called me 3x the Friday Kittle was traveling from FL to OH to ask if she was in town yet. His love for Glenna goes without even saying<3 (duhbabe) If you don't have the game Table Topics, get it, NOW! That is an order. We stayed up all night answering these entertaining/insightful questions and then found more via 'Would You Rather' online. Thanks Glenna for taking it to another level...

Glenna reppin the shirt where it all began, Kittle breathing fire to singe it right off her back...

Sunny walks with the dogs and lazy afternoons with my nephew are next up! Love him to pieces and I'm sure the pics don't lie; he's a total dollbaby. I know everyone thinks their kids, nephews/nieces are the cutest of all, bla bla bla, but his smile? I die. I'd be willing to enter a competition against all the others with the way his lights up a room. I braved Black Friday (day this year vs. midnight the night before like last years hell) with my sister and surprisingly the worst part was finding parking. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I got an arm workout carrying around this nugget & eventually sat at the food court while he slept in my arms & my sister did the rest of the shopping {swoon}. Is it obvious to you yet that I'm totally snorting the 'baby crack' ...#babyfever

...which brings me to; MISS LUCY! Is it bad that my husband thought I sent him a pic of my own bare butt {how I would do this AND be watching Dora via the ipad is quite the anomaly} but hey, stranger things have happened I'm sure. I tell Kimi all the time I'm going to be the one to pop out the skinny little brunette after she popped out Lucy, the bubble butt/ muscle gymnast thigh-ed blondie!

Not appropriate to post a child's bum at this age? ... considering she never wears clothes, you'd see it anyways if you ever met her.

Kimi and Lucy came to town to break up their drive to her side of the family in PA Thanksgiving Eve and returned for MI/OSU weekend the day after Thanksgiving. I CANNOT WAIT until Kimi finishes nursing school and moves to Columbus; Hurry up 2015. We froze our tushies off at The Briner Tailgate {Lucy's cute tail remained in tact as she stayed with Mimi Shawn inside the warm house while we froze} but seemed to find a way to survive Red Stag Whiskey/Tuaca/Coors the cold. BEST OF ALL THE BUCKEYES WON; Undefeated baby!! I wish we had the chance to go to a Bowl Game...

We love our Bob & Lila Briner!!

HOT HUBBY ALERT!!! 

Christmas decorating has begun in full force at the homestead & I"M LOVING IT THIS YEAR! This will come as a complete shock utter embarrassment to those of you who read this and know me well. But, the first step is admitting...that....

........

I've been listening to XM Radio's Christmas station; and I may or may not also be guilty of Pandora's once home!!

Fa la la la laaaa la la la LA!

xo,

Andi

Sandy Betch

I 'spose I'll take a minute to soak in what was a very SHORT Fall bliss as this betch Sandy rolls through today & ruins this fabulous weather, and bask in the memory of an amazing (much needed) weekend of doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (with our social calendars). Ahhhhh, heavenly.

Date night Friday with my honey to try out a new restaurant in up-town Powell, Football Game Day via couch in the mancave with the fireplace a blazin. Sunday Funday w/ Mom & Gramma doing our annual Fall Crafting (Fall and Winter wreaths displayed below) followed by Grams 1st spendover at the casa. Waking up and gabbing (ok, her gabbing and me yawning) over coffee w/ her hyper self at 630a was a bit abrupt for a Monday, but anything for my Gramma <3

how the weekend began...

craft time w/ Mom & Gram

My fall wreath

my winter wreath (red berries glued to an A w/ burlap bow) will add my two small Christmas trees onto the porch all lit up.. ahhh, holiday season <3

Pretty much sums up the way we ALL felt last weekend...

HA! Holy slumber....lazy much? Yes, I checked his pulse and he was still alive.

Happy Monday all (ikkk)!! Stay safe & warm (if possible), and hell, alive for that matter East Coasters :/ Many prayers to all my friends & their loved ones.

xo,

Andi

OCTOBER RECAP

Holy October 25th--HATE that I've nearly missed my favorite month of the year. This month I've been cooped up in a training room in Bethlehem, PA for work learning about Vascular Access products, Pain Control and IV systems- oh my! It was one of the most challenging things I've had to endure in my life, no joke. 8a-5p with nothing but clinical education and product information to them immediately regurgitate to a clinical panel for evaluation and grading. Only to hit the hotel for more studying as every morning there were tests and MORE product presentations in front of the class. I Survived.

As you all may know, I originally intended to go to Nursing School and be a NICU nurse until I had to work on cadavers in Anatomy (or had to take 100 math/science courses for that matter). Looking back, now that I'm in Medical Sales, had I gone to nursing school I wouldn't feel so foreign to the lingo and what most of the products are used for and why that makes them important to the clinicians. Honestly I think I would have been a loaded gun by now with the combination of medical AND sales experience. But, I'm learning. I'm challenged daily & I'm surprising myself at how much I'm actually retaining. Who knows, maybe I will go back someday and get my RN's license on B. Braun; never know. Good news is I'm finally in the position i've aspired to be in all these years, so nowhere to go but up on the knowledge ladder but MAN this stuff is intimidating sometimes. Luckily, I"m surrounded by nurses both in the field and in my family. Between my sisters Megan, Steph, Paige & Kimi-- i'll figure it out eventually.

In between my 15 days in PA I had the chance to schedule two really fun weekend jaunts in between the training weeks to Lexington, KY for Ashleigh's wedding as well as to New Haven, CT to see Kelly Cox, my former college roomie & cheer mate. Both stops were just what the rejuvenation doctor ordered.

Ashleigh was a close childhood friend of mine that was like another sister to us during my years living in Lexington, KY. Her mom used to drop her off at our house for the summers as my sister was our 'babysitter'. Megan and her best friend Tiffany used to basically harass us all summer; they are now fond memories but they weren't always at the time. Ash and I would do pageants and modeling competitions at the house and play 'MTV's lip service' and see who could remember all the words to the songs. My sister always had me win the competitions and contests she judged, poor Ash probably still has scars from those days- HA! The wedding was really special because she asked my Dad to marry her; and he used my sister and I's exact same sermon/vows. It was really special to be a witness to her and her husbands exchanging of those vows. When she cried saying them it made me cry remembering how special they were to both Megan and I as well. They got married on a vineyard after we spent the day at Keeneland Horsepark & the reception was in this old vintage barn-- very Kentucky, very cool.

After training I drove through NJ and NY to CT to see Kel for two nights; New Haven is pretty fun actually. It's definitely very eclectic as he lives down on YALE'S campus. Lets just say the people there aren't quite like the people on OSU's campus. Lots of theatre, smarty pants and MD's bee boppin around the bar scene which makes for some great people watching. We went to Gypsie for a little Karyokee on Friday night; when we left a Possum ran down the sidewalk next to us and almost into the bar. Shit you not; I nearly died. Absolutely petrified of those things and they continue to haunt me to this day!!! I mean, how does that happen?!?! Saturday we went to a YALE football game, the weather was perfect. That night we went to a friends for a bonfire relax fest and I woke up and made the drive back to PA to fly home. So good to see Kel.

But, SO GOOD TO BE HOME! There's no place like home <3 My honey got the house spic and span, cooked dinner and left me a so so sweet chalkboard love note.

 

 
 Missed my boys.

xo,
Andi

I read a quote this morning while drinking my coffee that I absolutely love and it reminded me of one of my favorite lyrics from the song "The Impossible Dream" from Broadways play Man of La Mancha I saw back in 2007. 

 

"For this is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far. To fight for the right, without question or pause, to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause". 

 

It's in reference to the Knight's quest, but I relate it to the meaning behind life and ones purpose. That it's not always about winning or losing (unless in sports of course-ha!) but being true to one's purpose while on Earth. Those words etched in my head and heart and have helped guide me through  many difficult choices in life. Relationships (stay or leave?), moves, careers (is this part of my long term goal?), friendships (is this healthy, worth it, good for my soul?). Never know who else this line will speak to. While reading the following quote, it reminded me of the line from that show I loved so much & I found myself in reflection again.

 

 "When we fearlessly fight for what we believe in and remain hopelessly optimistic about life, love and the future, we create an authentic creation with all in our path. Most importantly with our self"

Happy Weekend all!

xo,

Andi

Wordless Wednesday

A whole lot of fun with my Nephew Isaac yesterday...

Paige is engaged!!

Sooo excited to announce that my Sissy-In-Law Paige is GETTING MARRIED! We absolutely love Jeff and cannot wait to share in all of their wedding festivities with them. Happy day!

We phone tagged for a bit before getting this text where she then called me GIDDY as a school girl, love it!

Her beautiful bling!

I also got underway at starting to paint and decorate our dining room... One room at a time! I love the color and can't wait to get more of it underway. Izzy came in town and we went countertop hunting, as his company 'TRC Countertops' are going to do our kitchen. When we built the house I went with the el' cheapo on the countertops as the three options we had to choose from for our 'Dominion Upgrade' weren't my color or taste; think i've narrowed it down to this fabulous white marble which will look great with our white cabinets w/ black hardware. We'll stick to a subway tile backsplash and doing the pops of colors w/ the decor elsewhere. LOVE THEM--install mid Oct, weee!

Neutral Gray before/Color After. That god awful light will be the next thing to go when I find JUST the right new one

Hellooo Wanescoting!

Marble for kitchen I chose--love!

Brittany's 29th birthday cele at her house was a blast, also I finally got to meet up with Kat who is now through her first trimester and feeling a bit better/more social. Poor thing has been so sick--hoping her next trimesters go smoothly. If they have a boy they've decided to name him Walter and go by Walt; Walt Plant! I can hear it now. Can't wait to meet her little nugget, they find out the sex soon. Also, Blair was asked to be little Miss Whitney Gischel's God Father when we met her today at lunch, such an honor and SUCH a doll! 

Whitney Gischel <3

Ummmm, Future DILF much?

Seems like an appropriate time in the blog to announce that Blair and I have officially 'pulled our goalie' and are letting the baby chips fall where they may. We're finally ready to be parents after nearly two years married, we wanted some time to be just he and I, and to cross off our Greece/Turkey Bucket Lists before even considering children. I hope it happens for us rather quickly/stress free as possible. I've always thought that due to my irregularities I would have issues one day getting pregnant, so I'm hoping it was always just my imagination. Crossing fingers (not legs) ... sorry, it was too easy! :)

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Happy Monday!

xo,

Andi

RAH RAH SIS BOOM BAH!

Although i've been traveling a TON this month, I was able to make our once a year OSU Alumni Cheerleading game last weekend and it was so fun! Why some of the other cheer alum dont take advantage of the opportunity to run the team out once a year and cheer on the Bucks is unbeknownst to me. Sadly, only myself and Bob did it this year (Ash at least get an A for effort, as she fell and knocked her tooth out the night before--woops--yes, there was tequila involved, poor thing). I suppose I've given up at the idea of my entire class (or more than Bob and I for that matter) attending, so we just have fun merging with other classes of graduates just the same. We have an absolute blast & I love seeing all those who travel from allover to join in on the fun. Luckily, I'm here locally and wouldn't miss it for the world.

Some fun recap pics from the OSU v. UAB game, an undefeated record so far. GO BUCKS!

Alumni Dinner w/ my Barker Babe

Fun surprise, James invited my Momma as his dinner date!

 GRASSY KNOLL

Love this family, used to babysit Kahla & Duck Duck Goose w/ Rog ;)

Drummer/OSU Alumni Band

Ya still got it James!

My TZ <3

Sneaking my Nephew Isaac onto the endzone, a MUST!

Briner Tailgate fun post game!

Love my Buckeyes & Love my Cheer Alum--such an awesome time that I'm thankful my husband supports. He played Rugby for OSU and we often talk about how we wish we could have shared those gameday moments together then, but happy we make a point to share them with each other now. He adores my friends and alumni family; that's all a gal can ask for :)

xo,

Andi

IT'S FALL Y'ALL

...and there is NO BETTER SEASON in my opinion!!! <3

Last weekend was just what the MD ordered as my dear friends Izz, Glenna, & Britt joined Kimi, Lucy, Blair & I for some weekend fun as Kimi & Lu were in town! We had such a great time finally having room in a house to host friends (and not stuff Lucy's pack n play in our closet, bathroom or some other makeshift 2nd bedroom/dark place to sleep or sleeping 3 deep on the couch/blow up mattress). They all had their own bed & bedrooms; who needs city dwelling now, Blair! He's officially been sold on leaving. Ha! I think Kimi & Lu enjoyed my little kitchen project upon their arrival. We had a wall that was just the right spot for a chalk paint board so I had a fun lunch break and got busy crafting :) Stay tuned for my reveal of the fall wreath I made; our front porch needed some serious curb appeal!



kitchen wall before/after



Friday night Kimi, Lu & I did our fave type of evening, hanging in under some blankeys catching up with the windows open and the breeze a blowin. It was the perfect weather weekend to curl up with some Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale and watch our Dateline, 20/20 and I Survived shows. Yes, we have officially turned into 'nearly 30 somethings'. After Buckeye gameday at Origional Joes down the street Saturday w/ Glenna, Izz, Jess, Lee, Kianna & her man, & Trevor (yes, he FINALLY moved back from FL, so good to see him)  Britt joined us for a little step-it-up night on the Delaware town (that was filled with some seriously hilarious moments) while Mimi Shawn & Poppi Dan took Lu for the night. Thank G. Kimi/Momma needs some let loose moments sans 2 year old! We had a fantastic dinner @ 1808 & hit up some hole in the wall pool bar and danced the night away. Sunday a.m coffee/eggs recapping some key evening points including our Kittle from FL on speaker phone to spice it up, and all in all it was a fantastic weekend with friends <3 Photo proof below...

gameday Sat @ Origional Joes- Americheer group! Friends since since age 15 (Kimi age 7)

Back in O-H, so good to have Trevor back!

Best buds! Entertaining Lu so Kimi can enjoy the Bucks

great capture of the day-- Casanova & Lucy fun in the backyard

NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN

Ma Girls <3

Off to MN for the week to spend time w/ my trainer from B. Braun, Trevor. He is an absolute blast who has planned some evening fun @ a Twins game tomorrow night, dinner @ NE Social Weds and Bachelor Farmer on Thursday. I've never been to MN but knowing Trevor's taste, I'll be in for some fantastic meals & am staying at Towne Plaza Suites right downtown Minny. yay! Home for a short weekend next weekend & off to PA for IV training the following week. Hello Delta sky miles!

Have a fabulous week everyone!

xo,

Andi