Hap-hap-happy Birthday!!!

Today my sister is a year older, but that never stops people from asking if we're twins. She is seven whopping years older than I am but she is the best friend I've ever had! She is my role model and my biggest influence. As any little sister does, I look up to her and want to be just like her when I grow up (for the most part...I don't want to drive a mini van). Happy birthday Becky B! Have your best birthday of the whole year! 

This magnet was part of her birthday gift from Alex and me. 

Goodbye October, Hello November

We completed the photo-a-day challange!! We didn't miss any days and took 31 pictures. I'm not too sure we'll do it again but, it did force me to take a lot of pictures! Happy November!

Photo of the day: carving pumpkins

This year is our 8th Halloween together. Almost every year we carve pumpkins together, I think last year was our exception :(. This year, we didn't try to do anything too fancy, just a traditional Jack-O-Lantern.

Photo of the day: Halloween costumes

Tonight is Trick-or-Treat night! This town takes Halloween very seriously, there was a costume contest last weekend, tonight is trick-or-treat and tomorrow is the big Halloween parade. We met for community group and we had chili,  apple cider, we watched the game and of course passed out some candy to trick-or-treaters. I wore my tried and true Minnie ears and Alex went as an insurance agent (he's clever, isn't he?).

Happy (almost) Halloween!

 Lambie is Mallory, Princess Sophia is Kaitlyn, random TMNT and Kaitlyn and Minnie Mouse (aka Me)

Photo of the day: youth group

Alex and I are youth leaders at our church for high school students. We grew up with some amazing leaders and hope to be a fraction as good as they were. We love our students and love getting to be a part of their lives. We love getting to talk with them, pray for them and hangout with them. It may seem cliché but I'm pretty sure we get as much or more out of it than they do. 

Photo of the day: baking

Alex's birthday was yesterday and we celebrated....by running 13.1 miles. On Friday at our murder mystery party, I made apple crisp for dessert. Alex got a candle and of course we sang Happy Birthday. I know that this isn't technically a photo from this day, but it's a photo and I baked something.

The recipe can be found here.

Photo of the day: half marathon medals

Today is the day! We've trained, sweated and worked very hard to be ready for the St. Louis Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon! Yesterday we went to the health expo to pick up our packets, t shirt's and to get some general information about the race. When we got home, we got our clothes and shoes all ready and after a very exciting Cardinals game, we went to bed.

I set four alarms to wake up at around 4:15 am to give us plenty of time to get up, dressed and ready. I also set an alarm at 5 am so we could leave in plenty of time (they were going to begin shutting down the roads at about 6 am).  Unfortunately, I have developed a habit to snooze my alarms quickly,so Alex doesn't wake up....today was no exception. When the 5 o'clock "leave" alarm went off, we both sat up straight and began racing around to get ready to leave.

We made it downtown just fine, parked and walked to our corral to stand in the cold until race time.

When the race started,  it was crowded....I don't know why I thought it wouldn't be, but it was very congested. In an effort to get around the walkers and slowpokes, we set our pace quick....too quick to sustain for 13.1 miles. We ran the first 9 miles at about a 9:30 ish (I know it's not fast to everyone but it is for Alex and I). Somewhere between 9 and 10 miles my calves turned into rocks and Alex hit a wall. The last few miles were slower than we were anticipating, but we've learned our lesson for next time.

 We I had a great time and I can't wait to register for our next race. Alex is currently looking into the expense of a scooter, he's a bit sore to say the least. But, we made it across the finish line together in 2 hours and 35 minutes. I'm very proud of the Birthday Boy! He did great and stuck with me the whole way. Running was never something that Alex would describe as fun, but he trained hard, was determined and rocked the Rock 'n Roll!

We did it and have the medals to prove it! 

Whodunnit?!

Who doesn't love a good murder mystery?! Last year Alex and I went to the Lemp Mansion for a murder mystery dinner theater and we had a great time. So good in fact, that we decided we could host our own party! We set the tone of the party with invitations requesting "a meeting of the suspects in the conservatory," in full character to boot!

We cleared out our living room, brought in an extra dining table and chairs. Alex wrote the plot and set up the murder and I cooked a fabulous meal: salad, pork loin, green beans, dinner rolls and followed with a tasty dessert of apple crisp and ice cream. 

First, our suspects include (from left to right): 

Ms. Peacock and Colonel Mustard (aka Emily and Lee), Professor Plum (aka Alaina), Mr. Green, Ms. Scarlet and baby Scarlet (aka Kyle, Lori and baby Anna), Mr. and Mrs. White (aka David and Maggie) and last but not least the Butler and Maid (yours truly).    

Alex wrote our mystery and incorporated a little drama, love triangle, comedy and of course a (completely fictitious) murder. Captain Black was murdered at the Williams' Estate. Alex wrote the story so each of us would read our background of who we were, how we were related to the Captain and give details of how the murder occurred. He also added some "rules" that we were to keep to ourselves. For instance, anytime Mrs. White would speak, I would look at her disgustedly and tell her to be quiet. Mr. White was to flirt with all the women in the room, except his wife. Colonel Mustard was to give everyone off the wall advice with no truth or validity...etc. We read our backgrounds between courses to spread the game out so we could narrow in on the real suspect. Everyone stuck to their rules/roles and did a fantastic job. It was hilarious and very fun! I believe this may become an annual event! 

But, back to the drama...whodunnit?! and how?! and where?!  It would be easy to think that it was Ms. Scarlet, the soon to be ex-wife with the most to gain, or the Maid who loved him. It could be Mr. Green, who wasn't very fond of his personality. But, you would all be wrong. It was the quiet and oh, so jealous Mrs. White (married to the not so quiet, very flirtatious Mr. White) in the guest bedroom with a wrench! You see, the Maid and Mrs. White both loved Captain Black, but Mrs. White couldn't handle the love triangle any longer and took matters into her own hands....

Doesn't she just look guilty? I'll leave you with some candid's of dinner. We had a great time and are looking forward to the next party! 

Photo of the day: cute fall outfit

My daily wardrobe is either scrubs or sweatpants. So to have a day were I'm wearing something remotely cute is exciting and rare. Usually on the weekends I wear cute(ish) clothes but until late, fall attire hasn't been necessary. Today I'm rocking a cute 'foxy' sweater, wide leg trousers and some ankle booties. It's nothing to put on a runway, but it's not too shabby. Happy Saturday!

ps- what does the fox say?

Photo of the day: Friday night lights

When I put Friday night lights on our photo challenge I thought we would go to a football game. Unfortunately we have yet to see the Tigers in action. But, tonight we have some fancy Friday night lights. We are hosting a murder mystery dinner party! I'll have more details tomorrow, but for now, our Friday Night Lights. 

Photo of the day: halloween candy

I have a sweet tooth or two. I have discovered a new favorite candy but, don't worry Milk Duds are still my #1. I recently discovered peanut butter Snickers and they're quite tasty! May the season of fun sized candy begin. But please, brush and floss your teeth after your sweets :)

Photo of the day: frisbee in the park

This picture is supposed to be of us playing frisbee in the park, but we broke our frisbee. So instead it's of Moose playing fetch with a tennis ball. Moose hasn't quite grasped the fetch and release method. So, he eagerly fetches the ball and runs around making us chase him for it. He has fun and gets to run around without a leash and we like to watch him be cute and puppy-like.  

Photo of the day: lunch

I don't go to work on Tuesday's until 2pm so Alex and I usually get to eat lunch together. Today we had a hot date at the Golden Arches. Not fancy or exciting, but my fries were hot!

Photo of the day: sunshine/Weekend Update

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. We were busy (surprise!). I had a continuing education course Friday in Carbondale, Saturday we went to a beautiful wedding and Sunday was our nephew, Eli's 4th birthday party, as well as lunch with my parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. By the time we got home on Sunday afternoon, I had mounds of laundry to do and to top off our whirlwind weekend- we had no milk or shampoo! Meaning, I got to go to the grocery store...yay. With all that being said, we had a fantastic weekend and we are incredibly blessed by our family and friends....and with a close by Target! Enjoy some sunshine! 

Photo of the day: changing colors

Fall has been a little reluctant to make an appearance this year, but I think it's finally here to stay. Nothing is more fall like (to me) than when the corn is dried out and ready for harvest with a backdrop of yellow trees. Happy crunch leaf season! 

Photo of day: wedding festivities

Today one of my good friends, Paige (and her now husband Daniel) got married!! She and I grew up together and have remained good friends. I am very excited for her and the new adventures that lie before her. She was an absolutely beautiful bride! I pray that they have many, many years of happiness. Married life isn't always easy, but I pray that God will guide their marriage and that they will honor Him. Congratulations and best wishes! We are very excited for you both! 

Photo of the day: road trip

Today I got to go on a little road trip to Carbondale with my coworker/friend Anna for a continuing education course. We had a good time and the course was very good and informative. 

Photo of the day: apple tree

So this picture is supposed to be of an apple tree...but let's face it, the last time I saw an actual apple tree was the kindergarten field trip (I think). So, I took a picture of some apples. 

Photo of the day: community group

On Wednesday nights we have community (small) group for church. We get together and share life in community with others on mission for Chirst. Our community group has become our close group of friends and people we can truly share life with. It's refreshing to have a group of ladies, for me (guys for Alex) who I can talk to and share my life with and know that there is no judgement or gossip. Group has given me the opportunity to have strong, confident, bold Christian women to have as role models and close friends. I love our group and I love that God has blessed Alex and I to be a part of this group. 

Photo of the day: something I love

I have a love hate relationship with budgeting. I really enjoy knowing exactly what we spend and where our money goes. But, after making our monthly  budget, we have to stick to it. Unfortunately it rarely includes shopping sprees at Target.

We use the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University method to budget. Alex and I both have commission based jobs, which makes planning very difficult (our paychecks are rarely the same month to month). Which means we have to update and change our budget monthly- yes, the mortgage and typical bills stay the same, but we allow for fluctuations in our envelopes. We have cash envelopes that we use for all of our day to day spending and we budget down to the last penny. We've been doing it for about 8 months and we've paid off Alex's student loan (woohoo!!) and are working on the car now.

That being said, we have made sacrifices and have to be pretty creative. We have given up Direct TV and replaced it with Hulu and Netflix which saves a lot. We don't eat out often and we (try) to plan everything (weekends, holidays, gifts, etc.) down to the last detail. There are still some surprises we can't plan for and that's part of life, but this budget has been really great for us. There are a lot of different programs and ways to budget and this may not be the best way to budget and plan for everyone, but it works really well for us.  

Today's picture is our table on budget day, "Something I love."