2012 in Review

Now that I have a hot minute to enjoy my coffee on this lovely, sunny Sunday morning, I want to take a moment to do a '2012 in Review'. I live my life in such full throttle ahead that sometimes it's nice to look back and remember some of the great (and not as great) memories from the year before. I did this last year (when I figure out how to insert link to that post here, I will) and loved the walk down memory lane. In my January post this time last year (again, with figuring out the linking up thing) I mentioned my word of the year this year would be 'ADVENTURE'; and that I was finally going to push myself to discover new things in travel (which we did in Greece & Istanbul) as well as many other avenues I had been wanting to try. I'm really proud to say that I really did take a lot more risks this year and have pushed my comfort zones further than I ever have in both my professional and personal life. And? .... it only brought forth successes, growth and better results all around. To me, that's what life is all about; growth, learning & no regrets!

Flashback of 2013, ready, GO! {warning mass pic overload}

My girls made it to States! 

...and finished 7th! :)

Boop surprised me with a Valentine's Day surprise/road trip to Rosilli's for my favorite pie in the WORLD! {The Fresca}

Our sweet Gram Albright turned 90 in February!

and sadly passed away in December. We miss you Gram.

Our sweet Lucy Lu turned 2!!!

 ....and I celebrated the last year in my 20's! Such a fun time with friends at The Wine Bistro!

Celebrated Year ONE....

....and couldn't be happier!

Sir Isaac Daniel was born; and has made for such a wonderful year...

 

Summer visit with Lucy per tradition, they are some of our favorite memories of all

Our little Riz got married!! Nash-vegas trip & Memphis wedding were a BLAST!

Cody graduated & is a Columbus Firefighter; taking his late Grandfather Davis' badge number. Pretty special.

Summer softball league {league champs} ..reminded me of all the fun I had playing this sport growing up!! Good times!

ALUMNI GAME!!!! Love my Buckeye Family!!

 

I started working for B.Braun, Medical as an Ambulatory Care Specialist {working for a medical manufacturing company} which has been a huge career industry & position for me in August. Very exciting. 

after Vascular Access training in Bethlehem w/ Deb & Leiann

  

Greece Island hop & Istanbul, Turkey... absolute dream vacation with my Yubb.

TURKEY

We closed on our new home!! :)

I finally made a trip out to see Kelly Cox, my lovey, in New Haven, CT and had a blast!

...college roomies, back together again.

 

 

 

Last up, my bestie announced her and her husband's pregnancy right before Christmas and the little Garee nugget will be born this July! EEEEEkkkkk. Couldn't be more excited to be an Auntie again. It will be one loved little nugget. (I couldn't find the post of the U/S so I'll post a beautiful pic of the happy couple}

Can you see Soon-To-Be-Gorge-Babe? check please!

 This year was such a blessing in so many ways; I really don't have a complaint in the world. BRING IT ON 2013, I can't wait to see what you have in store <3

I'm Alive...barely.

Hello again. Happy 2013. Serious blogging hiatus over here but my life has been so jam packed busy & insane that I could scream {TGIF}. This is the first night in a longggggg time where I've had no gymnastics, basketball games to support Blair at, out of town travel, etc. So what am I going to do you ask? Sit right here on this recliner and watch recordings and do NOTHING. Ahhh, bliss. Considering we are getting mass snow, I'm not even mad about it. 

As you can tell, I've been MIA and 'tis the season. This post will be as random and all over the place as my brain is right now. Think radio station style, bee boppin' allover the stations. Pretty much my mind 24/7 these days. March will be here before I know it and then I'll be able to breathe (and sleep well) again; is it March yet? ;) 

Soooo... some updates on the New Year. It's off to a fab start with work as I have two large deals in the works that if close would make my entire year; no pressure, right? {back to the whole no sleeping thing} Coffman Gymnasts are doing great and are currently ranked #1 in the District and I'm certain a handful of our girls will make it to States, as well as team. 

Arent they so cute? Love them

Most importantly, and stressful as of late, Atticus has been limping and dragging his hind leg for a month or so. We thought maybe he tweaked it, and that it would improve, but it hasn't. Blair was so worried that I finally took Atty over lunch to the vet this week and they did X-rays. We are awaiting the second opinion from OSU as next to arthritis in his hip (from hip displeasea) she doesn't see any bone cancer or tumors which is good, but we aren't sure what the swelling around his ankle means. They want to rule some things off, so keep him in your prayers. We love him to pieces, but most of all we've began to worry about what his big brother Nova will do long term. He's been squeezing onto the pallet (that isnt even big enough for Atty let alone both) at night to sleep with Atticus and will NOT let him out of his sight. So sweet, but also worries us as usually they know before we know when something is wrong. 

so precious, taking care of his brudder.

I found this picture of Casanova from when he was a puppy and living in Texas {I think we were in New Orleans when this pic was taken) and Blair has become OBSESSED with it. Literally. He has it as his screen saver on his cell and he'll text it to me daily {probably because he knows it's starting to annoy me and therefore makes me laugh}. But seriously, how cute is it?! Nova and that tennis ball... his fave <3 Love these furbabies. Whatever will we do one day without them? :(

On a happier note, I'm almost done with one of the rooms in our home; the Dining Room. I got rid of the ugly Dominion flower -limb- looking -thing and hung a really cool artsy one my Mom got me for Christmas that I asked for. I wish I had a pic of her and I hanging it; that was hilarious as we are both short and have 0 patience. But, we hung it nonetheless. The table lights bring a great texture to the room (from Homegoods) and I'm really happy with having another room completed (next to the office that is). 

this picture absolutely will not rotate, even after re-saving it. Back to my patience factor these days and how frustrated the littlest thing makes me.... turn your head to the right, you get the point ;)

 

 

 

 

 

On a positive note, I've lost 5 lbs this month. Which should tell you how many sweets these Carty teeth ate over Christmas!! I did Dr. Oz's 3 Day Cleanse just to get the body de-toxed and cleansed and have kept it off for a full week now, which leads me to believe that it will stay off. So, I'm pretty pumped about that! I hit the weight (5 lbs more than I way) that I said I'd never hit and had a bit of a breakthrough moment... I'm just relieved that it's possible to lose as for a hot minute I convinced myself it was the fact I'm heading into my 30's..... yay! Try the cleanse/detox if you need a jump start. It's only 3 days and totally worth it....

 

Ok, now that I feel like less of a slacker, I'm going to put all devices away and try to REEEELAX. Early a.m meet tomorrow at DeSales, wish us luck! GO ROCKS <3

xoxo,

Andi

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