Rachel's 30!

One of my best friends Rachel turned 30 in early January and with everyone's busy schedules we were finally able to celebrate her birthday this past Saturday night. 

We decided to venture to Raleigh for dinner at Dos Taquitos, and let me tell you, an amazing time was had by all. 

I highly recommend the tostadas

I'd been to the Dos Taquitos before in a different location in Raleigh for our friend Kate's birthday and had loved the atmosphere and the food so when ideas for a restaurant were needed I was quick to suggest it.

Even though we got just a little lost downtown, we made it just a little after our 6pm reservations and ate a ridiculous amount of food and drank copious amounts of margaritas before leaving after 10pm! I feel a little bit sorry for the folks around us who had to overhear our loud conversations.

Rachel, Kathryn & Dana

Hopey, Me & Kristen

Rachel being serenaded by the staff

Dana (who is pregnant) was so sweet to drive her giant SUV and be our chauffeur for the evening!

It was so awesome to have an evening with my ladies for the first time since Brody was born, and even more great that we had so much to celebrate between Rachel's birthday, our friend Kristen's engagement, and Dana expecting her second little boy!

It reminded me just how blessed I am to have such amazing girls to call my best friends.

a decade.

On Jan. 24, 2005, Josh and I officially started dating. That was ten years (and 2 days) ago which means we have been together for a decade.

I really struggled as I tried to think of things to post about our relationship or about the years we've spent together. I've already done a post about what makes us work (here), all the changes that have happened since we got engaged almost 8 years ago (here), the first time Josh asked me out (here), and the awkward first I love you (here), so I didn't know what to write about.

Therefore, I decided on a "newlywed" type game to see if maybe after 10 years of being together we could answer a bunch of questions correctly.

I made Josh answer a set of questions with his answers and than again with the answers he thought I would give. Then I did the same thing. I was pretty surprised at how many we got wrong haha.

So here is how Josh answered the questions about himself (in blue) and how I thought he'd answer them about himself (in red), along with my comments in italics. 

Josh:

1. Between you and your spouse who is the “spender” and who is the “saver” when it comes to money? Lar the spender; Me the saver // I'm the spender, Josh is saver this is true, but I must admit that he is pretty compulsive sometimes and buys random big stuff like the giant beanbag chair


2. Who is your biggest celebrity crush? Miranda Lambert // Kate Upton oops.


3. What is your favorite food? Steak // That sausage and lima bean thing you keep talking about that your grandma makes I should have known this.


4. When you have free time, what do you do? Watch TV // Mess around in the yard well that too...


5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An architect  // A weatherman wow I swear he told me he wanted to be a weatherman and we talked about how he always watched the weather channel, weirdo.


6. What is your most irritating habit? Spitting // Leaving cups EVERYWHERE oh my gosh, yes spitting is much worse but I didn't that he would agree


7. Other than your wedding day or birth of your child, what one day of your marriage would you most like to experience again? Zip-lining on our honeymoon // Our honeymoon take me back please


8. What percentage of the housework would you say that you do? 30% // 50% ha, this surprises me because I thought he'd think he does more than he actually does.


9. Who is more addicted to social media between you and your spouse? Lauren // Lauren guilty as charged


10. What is your favorite fast food restaurant? BoJangles // BoJangles 

Geez, only 4/10 for me, crap. 

Here is how I answered the questions about myself (in red) and how Josh thought I'd answer them about myself (in blue), along with my comments in italics. He did WAY better than I did, crap.

Lauren:

1. Between you and your spouse who is the “spender” and who is the “saver” when it comes to money? I'm the spender, Josh is saver // Lar the spender; Me the saver we both know it.|


2. Who is your biggest celebrity crush? Right now Charlie Hunnam // I know he is dead but Paul Walker I enjoy him too...


3. What is your favorite food? Sushi from Wasabi 88 // Sushi


4. When you have free time, what do you do? Read  // Read


5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A writer // A writer why is he doing so much better at this than I did?!


6. What is your most irritating habit? Not sitting still  // being OCD okay this kind of the same thing, he gets on me all the time about how I can't just SIT DOWN I have to be up cleaning something or picking up toys


7. Other than your wedding day or birth of your child, what one day of your marriage would you most like to experience again? Any day from our honeymoon // Grove Park Inn Spa yes that too, but the honeymoon was so much better


8. What percentage of the housework would you say that you do? 80% // 70%  ha.


9. Who is more addicted to social media between you and your spouse? Me  // Lar


10. What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Wendy’s // Wendy's I do love their chili and salads!

Josh managed to get 7 (I'm counting the OCD thing) right.

Maybe in ten more years we'll be able to get them all correct?

he's got it under control

This past weekend, my darling Mema had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital because her heart was out of rhythm. This isn't unusual for Mema, her heart hasn't been too great at keeping a normal beat since her chemo treatments for lymphoma in 2009.

Mema and Sawyer reading (she is the only person he will sit still with long enough for this to happen)

But this time was a little different.

Instead of her usual cardioversion procedure that she's had a few times before to regular her heart rate, her cardiologist chose to do an ablation where they actually use "radiofrequency energy" (kind of like microwave heat) to destroy a small area of her heart that is causing the irregularity in her rhythm. They were hoping this would result in a more long-term fix for her versus having to have so many cardioversions.

Everything went as expected and she came through the procedure fine with her heart bopping to the right beat. But then I got a scary, scary phone call around 9pm last night.

Mema took a turn for the worst and her heart rate had plummeted to the point that nurses and doctors were having a hard time even getting a blood pressure reading on her. She was rushed to the CICU and was in critical condition until they finally got a central line put in and the right medicine dosage to return her heart back to a better rate.

The scariest part about this? She could have been home when all of this happened and therefore might not be with us today.

You see, Mema was supposed to come home from the hospital yesterday since she was doing so well. We all got a little angry when they waited to late to order her an oxygen machine so she didn't have one in time to be discharged and had to stay another night.

But the Lord knew what he was doing. Here we were so mad that she had to spend another night in the hospital and she ended up being right where she was supposed to be.

If she had been discharged and was sitting at home when this happened, even though my mom was was going to be spending the night with her, there is a very, very small chance she would have made it to the hospital and an even smaller chance that she would have lived.

God works in mysterious ways and I am so grateful that he is in control.

The One & Only - A Book Review

I've read a TON, and I mean a TON of negative reviews about the book on Goodreads and a few other blogs, but I actually really enjoyed this book. Maybe it's just because I love football (although nowhere near as as much as the awesome main character, Shea) or maybe because Shea and I are in the same career area, but I had the hardest time putting this book down.

A quick synopsis from Emily Griffin's website:

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.
 
But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.
 
Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One and Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

Let me go ahead and warn you that there is a fairly inappropriate relationship in this book. One that apparently a lot of other readers couldn't get past, but I just kind of accepted it as a "you can't help who you love" kind of situation and found myself cheering for the relationship to work out!

I do have a few negative comments about the book, It kind of just...ended. A few of the big questions that arose, one being a big "omg, is something going to happen to the coach or Walker because of this investigation?!" weren't answered. And also, I was super disappointed that there wasn't a big love scene between Shea and who she ends up dating. I kept thinking "it's going to happen!!" and then it wouldn't. Don't leave me hanging Emily Griffin!

All in all, I'd give this book 3.5 stars - definitely worth checking out (especially if you're a football fanatic).

netflix addictions

While I was out on maternity leave and recovering from surgery, I watched a lot of Netflix because the TV was always on while I fed Brody, wrapped presents, pumped, or really did anything. Because of this, I became addicted to three new shows: Once Upon a Time, Walking Dead, and Sons of Anarchy.

Once Upon a Time was a show I really didn't think I would like. In the beginning, a lot storybook characters are real and trapped in a small town in Maine and don't know who they really are. While the costumes & special effects are a little cheesy, the character development and the plot are both amazing! Not to mention I fell in love with the cuteness of Snow White & Prince Charming's relationship (which is made even cuter by the fact that they're married in real life). I also fell in love with Captain Hook, it must be the whole Pirate thing.

aren't they precious?
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I mean....
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Now how did I go from a show about princesses, dwarfs, and magic to The Walking Dead? My sister, my friend Jackie & my coworker Vicki have constantly told me how amazing the show is and I was all "zombies? no thanks". I was so wrong. I literally watched all four seasons on Netflix in a week then caught up on season 5 in two days. The writing is truly amazing and while it can get a little gory, the whole "these dead people are coming back to life and eating people" thing isn't really the main focus, it's how these characters interact and survive.

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But my most delicious new addiction? Sons of Anarchy. It makes me want to get rid of my Lilly Pulitzer and Jack Rogers in favor of rhinestone-d crosses, leather, and boots. It also makes me salivate over these two men (Opie & Jax), even though usually my tastes are more centered around southern gentlemen kind of guys in collared shirts, boat shoes, and tasteful athletic gear not scruffy bikers in baggy jeans, tank tops and leather vests that chain smoke.

Opie (yes, that is indeed the QB from Remember the Titans, but bearded and tattooed) and Jax, yum.

The show actually just had its final season, but I have been tearing up Netflix watching it after Josh goes to bed and I'm still up with Brody or while I am folding clothes & Sawyer's getting a bath (not to mention while I am eating lunch at work) and I am currently on season 4. The show is just the right amount of "these are bad guys, but they're also good guys" with some majorly hot scenes and some great comedic breaks too.  And again, just look at Charlie Hunnam (who was originally chosen to play Christian Grey in 50 Shades but had to back out bc of scheduling issues).

seriously.
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What's your favorite Netflix movie/show?

adjusting

Coming back to work after a baby is usually pretty difficult. This time was no exception, not because I was worried about Brody because I know he is safe and sound with our friend Dawn who is keeping him, but because I left for maternity leave during a major time of transition for my College with our long-time dean retiring and a new interim dean stepping in to cover for him.

Dawn sent me this pic Tuesday and I just about died. I just want to *boop* his little nose.

I came back to work and the office atmosphere had shifted, we are in this weird limbo of wanting to get things done but also wanting to wait until a new dean comes in to run the show. I also had close to 1.8 million emails to tackle (even though I tried to stay on top of the important ones while I was gone). Thankfully, a lot of the faculty haven't come back from winter break yet, so at least my inbox hasn't been constantly pinging with new emails requesting website changes they've been saving until I got back.

On top of that, getting used to having two kids has been quite the adjustment. Sawyer seems to only need something when I am either feeding Brody or pumping (or as Josh calls it "tapping the kegs"). He has handled being a big brother fairly well, helping me when I need him to grab something for me or trying to calm Brody if they're in the backseat together while I am driving, but he has also been clingier.

Side note, something is wrong with my taste buds. I was so excited to eat my favorite Mexican food I couldn't eat the whole time I was pregnant because of my horrible reflux,  but then when I got a bite it tasted horrible. I don't mean like "oh, this isn't too bad but I am disappointed because I have been looking forward to it so much", I mean like I had to give it to Josh because I couldn't stomach more than 2 bites. I also can't drink the coffee at work anymore. I used to have at least one and a half cups a day, but all of a sudden it tastes HORRIBLE (and no, this isn't just an excuse to increase my Starbucks pit stops in the mornings).  They haven't changed the kind of coffee or how they brew it, so apparently my taste buds are just out of whack.  Any other moms have this issue? With Sawyer I lost my taste for sweet tea which is HUGE considering it was the only thing I used to drink (besides Pepsi).

Another side note, I got those bangs I was talking about getting 3 months ago! I really like them, even though they add a few extra minutes to getting ready in the am and they make a pony tail look so much more polished (in my opinion).