Four is My Favorite Number

Four is my absolute favorite number so when I saw Lauren's post on fours, I just had to borrow it for my own!

4 names people call me other than my real name:  Nic, Nikki (by select few, I hate it!), Pickle (again, select few), Nic Nic

4 places I have been: Vermont, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Tennessee

4 things I don’t eat: pickles, peanut butter, sushi, spicy food

4 favorite foods: mashed potatoes, steak, chicken gravy, milky ways

4 things I’m always saying: "shut ya face", "like um", "what the", "really"

4 things I'm looking forward to next year: hopefully getting pregnant and having a healthy baby (I hope I haven't jinxed myself!!), continuing grad school, possibly student teaching (eep!), another great year with an amazing husband

4 movies I have watched more than once:  The Avengers, Big Fish, Where the Heart Is, Hot Fuzz

4 places I would rather be right now:  on vacation (any vacation!), reading on my couch with my kitties, laying in bed with Dave laughing at Buzzfeed articles, sewing in my craft room

4 books I recommend:  Gone Girl, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear, A Dirty Job, Ready Player One

4 tv shows I watch:  Sons of Anarchy, The Simpsons, Modern Family, Chopped

4 jobs i've had: gas station attendant, bank teller, customer service rep for an insurance company, hoagie maker

What are some of your "four" answers?

To Christmas Card or Not Christmas Card...That is the Question.

Source

Christmas cards always seemed, to me at least, like something families with children did--not a married couple with two cats. When Dave and I got married three years ago, I was 26 and still felt too young to send out Christmas cards. I thought, who cares about the two of us besides family? 

I personally am not a fan of the greeting card type of Christmas cards. Don't get me wrong, I love to get them, but I hate to send them. They seem too impersonal for me to send. And sending out a personalized picture card seemed too weird to send if it was just Dave, the cats and me. 

But this year I'm starting to feel differently. I want to send out personalized cards, even if it's just us and our fur babies. I flip flopped on the idea for a few days and decided that this year we would send them out. It feels a little weird still. I mean, we've been married three years and we're just now sending out the cards, with no kids? But I feel like I'm hitting that "age" where Christmas cards are okay to send.

So we attempted to stage some nice pictures in front of the camera, but they didn't look right. Then I thought back on the past year. All the ups and downs, highs and lows, and decided to just share a few pictures from our year, to sum it up nicely for family and friends while wishing them well for the holiday season. 

What are your thoughts? Do you send Christmas cards even if it is just you and your significant other? 

End of the Week Roundup

Hello Friends! This week has been a crazy but good week. I've been running around nonstop but it's all good things. 

1. Thanksgiving was great and Black Friday was spent on the couch watching TV. Good times. 

2. Saturday I met up with a friend and we created these ornaments. They were super easy to make and look great!

3. Tuesday night was my last grad class for the semester. I know that I've got at least one "A" under my belt, so it was a successful semester.

4. Wednesday I hosted the teen book club's holiday party. It's my favorite meeting of the year. In lieu of reading a book, I bring a pizza and we play games all night. Sorry for the creepy flower faces, I don't think my teens parents would appreciate me throwing them up on the world wide web. 

5. Last night, Dave and I went to a local radio show's food drive along with my best friend Joe. If you haven't heard of Preston and Steve you should check them out, they are hilarious. Here's me with Steve!

How was your week? 

Sweet Dreams Are(n't) Made of These

I'm going to assume that I'm the only one who still has nightmares well into adulthood. Sometimes they vary from the ridiculous (like Freddy Kruger is chasing me) to the way too real for my taste (like losing Dave or one of the cats). There are a few things that I do still that I wonder if I'm the only one that does. 

Like not put my leg out beyond the bed, just in case. 

Or, pulling the covers all the way up to my chin, just in case. 

And, taking a running leap into the bed, just in case something is hiding underneath ready to snatch me.

Or, sometimes (and this is the most terrifying) I'll know I'm in a dream, and I'll tell myself to wake up but I can't. I try to yell out to get Dave to wake me but my voice is always muted, or I'll try to flail my arms and legs to get him to wake me but I can't because I think they're tied down. I can feel myself hyperventilating but I can't wake up until my body lets me. 

Do you still do any of these ridiculous things? 

Hard is Hard

One of the best things about starting this blog was the friendships I've created with other amazing girls along the way. Some of these girls have helped me (and continue to help me) through some really tough times, like when I miscarried.

One of the most inspiring women I've had the blessing to get to know is MJ. She writes over at Luck Fupus and to say that her health got the short end of the stick when it comes to life would be a gross understatement. She has had multiple open heart surgeries, suffers from lupus, and so much more crap it's ridiculous. Today she is having a double mastectomy to remove a precancerous lump from one of her breasts. It's not a decision she took lightly at all. 

The thing with MJ is that with all the things life has thrown at her, she still fights, stays strong, is hilariously positive, and is one of the best examples of how you should live your life that I know.  She is constantly teaching me new things, important life lessons, or putting things into perspective. One of those things is that no matter what "hard is hard". I remember being so annoyed at one of my friend's trivial grievances, especially when I compared it to what MJ has gone through. She told me no, that everyone's situation is different and that no matter what, hard is hard. Then she shared one of her favorite TED Talks with me, which is now one of my favorites as well. 




So today, while my amazing, awesome, incredible friend undergoes surgery, my thoughts will never be far from her side. This is my simple ode to her, thank you MJ for being so damn inspiring.