Life lately. Rambles & such (in case you weren't interested in reading about 1D)

So, in the past week (or so) I've been in and out of blogland.

Because life has been happening.

And I'm okay with that.

BUT I HAVE MISSED Y'ALL!

I've done my typical creeping/reading.

But not a lot of commenting, or posting, obviously.

So, lately..

The first weekend of Summer was pretty top notch for me.

Friday was the concert, and then Saturday was just a chill day. Doug let me sleep in (til 3pm) & then we spent the day doing nothing! Sunday we got a grocery list together and headed out to spend way too much money get food for the week. And we had an amazing supper Sunday night. If you follow me on IG you've seen a lot of food lately. Sorry bout that. ;-) 

Friday night, after the concert, we stopped at Taco Bell once we got closer to home & while ordering I heard a funky ass noise that my car was making. Thankfully, we all made it home safely. The next day my mechanic hubby tore it down and figured out what it was. But I ended up having to spend the week car-less (unless I drove my dad's truck). So it's finally fixed & I got to drive her today! 

I've been so tired this week with having to make sure broseph wake up for work, and I've been sleeping in the recliner. THE RECLINER. Why? Because if I go to bed after he leaves for work, I sleep ALL. DAY. So, the recliner was the way to go. 

But, my back hurts. I'm SO happy to go to bed in my bed tonight.

I've cooked every single night since Sunday.

Done dishes most days/nights.

Cleaned..a little...not as much as I'd like, but whatevs.

I think I do fairly well at running a house.

My bro also handed his finances over to me & it stressed me out once I figured up how much he has going out per month as opposed to what he has coming in. I'm really hoping him not having quick access to his money will help him save. He's just going to have to accept it when I tell him no sometimes & he's just going to have to really be smart with spending & loafing.

I've also had a hold on Hubby loves card too, so we can try to tighten up. But, it hasn't really worked, yet.  We got so low that it'll take a couple of weeks to see in build back up to our, or my, comfort zone. For instance, right now, we are about 4 days late paying our cell bill, & won't be able to pay it til tomorrow. Yeah, too low for this girl! So, I forsee a lot of home fun. I'm still hoping that we can get a lot of that summer bucket list done, though.

We'll see.

And then of course, job hunting. I spent hours upon hours yesterday looking at job listings.

I found one that I felt comfortable applying for. So I did & then I woke up to an email that read, in part, "we're sorry to inform you that you have not been selected to interview," I'm so tired of getting that email.

I feel hopeless. No one seems to want anyone with no experience...even the jobs that say "will train the right person". Are you fuckin' kidding me? So today, while I was at the mall having my rings cleaned & grabbed a paper of who all is hiring there. So, I'll read over that and see if there is anything I want to try for.

I don't want to be in retail. And I don't want to be in the health field. I honestly don't know where I would really do well. I don't know where I belong.

I seriously feel lost when it comes to the career aspect of my life.

It just...ugh.

Frustration isn't even the right word for it.

 

July is knockin' on the door! It's My Birthday Month! My B-day is in 13 days y'all. :-) Which means I have 13 days to get my 30 Before 30 list made. I should probably get started on that, huh?

I love summer, but it's not my favorite. It's too hot, I don't like being miserable.

I don't like sweating, I sweat too much anyways, so summer is hell for me.

Well, I figured I'd drop in and ramble.

Let you know I'm still here.

& I'll be back.

I gotta go finish up supper now.

TGIF & Have a great weekend.

 

Lovins & stuff!

♥♥♥

Brandy

One Direction.

One Direction. They really are nothing short of amazing. Point blank. Period.
And I cannot believe it's already been a week since the show.
It's like it was only a dream. A damn good dream.

So, I was nervous about this show. Not really about the show itself. More so about the fact that I had to drive into, not through, but into Atlanta. Now, I have driven out of Atlanta, at night, when traffic isn't too bad. But driving into it, in the middle of the day, and me being the driver. And I had a teen & a preteen with me. So, I was accountable for them also. I was nervous.

But, I did good. I made sure we left with at least an hour & 1/2 drive time which would put us there around 4:30 & we'd be able to go ahead an park. So we actually got there around 4 & luckily they already had parking decks open. So, it was a successful drive & I was super proud of myself.

We got there and walked around in front of the arena doing random stuff for about an hour and half or so, like buying our merch, taking pictures in front of the Nabisco/1D Truck, taking picture with cardboard cutouts, you know. The usual. ;-)

Okay, I know it isn't 1D related, but I like this picture of me. & It's JT, I mean, c'mon!

We got in "line" waiting for the doors to open at around 5. Doors were supposed to open at 6. The show started at 7:30. 6:35 or :40-ish rolls around and the doors finally open. Everyone pours in & disperses to the food & then to their seats.

 

About 7:35 the show starts. The opening band is called 5 Seconds of Summer, they are from Australia, & to be quite honest, they were not bad! A lot of people always dread the opening acts. I know I do. But I am always really happy when I actually like them. & I liked 5SOS. They were very good and entertaining and I think they were a perfect opening act for 1D.

So, fast forward about an hour & it was finally time for 1D. Here it was. The thing we had been waiting on for a year. Counting down the months, the weeks, the days, and the hours, and then boom, it was here. Let me tell you, those guys mean business (in the most non-business-y way). They put on SUCH a good show. To the point that I had to stop & take it all in a one point & I also had to hold back some tears. Don't you look at me like that! They are so fun to watch, you can tell that they just go out there and have the time of their lives. They just have fun & joke around the entire time & sing their songs. They're not into any choreographed dancing (ala NSYNC or BSB) but that, I think, really is what makes them, them. & Their vocals are just as amazing live and they are on their albums. I was also so glad to hear not only one, but two, of my favorites off of their newest album that aren't singles. All together, they sang 22 songs, which were a mix of song from their first & second album & a couple of cover songs (Teenage Dirtbag & One Way or Another/Teenage Kicks). And they sang them all amazingly. During a song, they were lifted on a piece of the stage and brought out to a smaller stage in the middle of the crowd, with was awesome to see. While on the smaller stage they sang a couple of songs & then answered Twitter questions (something they do during all concerts). They select a few twitter questions from people at the current concert, display & read & answer the question & then they try to find them in the audience. I love it, I think it's a really awesome thing for them to do. Once that was said & done they were lifted back up, taken the rest of the way over the audience & then all the way back to the stage while singing another song. They show was amazing. The band was amazing. The band's band was amazing (drummer, other guitarists, etc.) I honestly don't know what else I can say that won't make me sound like a broken record...

We're already planning on saving money to get closer tickets for next time. Oh yes! Next time! They were are that good.

The only cons I have are not even really band related. One was obviously trying to hear over the thousands (seemed like millions) of teenyboppers (I mean that as lovingly as possible). I, myself, reverted to teenybopper status at time, too. And that is perfectly acceptable. And two was me. I have a problem with trying to snap pictures. Like, I can't just snap some & then let it go, I have to keep trying. Even though we were freakin' 3rd level, I had to keep trying. It's the photographer in me. What's bad about it is, sometimes I don't let myself fully get lost in & enjoy the show. But, what can you do about it now, right?!
It was also my first time going to that venue, & it actually wasn't that bad. Leaving the venue was actually fairly easy, also, until you get a couple of turns away from the parking deck and then you're on your own. And for someone who isn't really familiar with downtown ATL, I was a little panicky for a minute thinking I've done taken myself the wrong way (even though I was following other people). But we were on the right road & made it out fine.
Unnntil we got to Taco Bell & I noticed my car making a funky noise, but that's irrelevant to this post.
One Direction left me speechless, damn near voiceless, and content with a happy heart. I knew post-concert depression was gonna be bad after that one & I'll be damned if I wasn't right. It's rough.
So, not that any of my readers would be interested, but should you ever get the chance to see them, GO! It's worth the time, the money, the everything.
So, until the next tour, the 2014 Where We Are Stadium Tour. We have a good little bit to tide us over.
Like a new song, & a movie, and their perfume.
♪Check 1D out HERE & HERE (in case you live under a rock & haven't heard them.)
♪Follow them on the bird. One Direction. Louis, Niall, Harry, Zayn, Liam.
♪Sneak Peek of their movie, This Is Us, in theaters August 30.

♪1D Our Moment fragrance, not yet released.

So, there you have it. An entire One Direction post, pretty much.
Gone leave you with two things.
One of my favorites:

And a collage of Harry. Seriously, I got it bad. Love them all equally, to be honest, but there is just that little something else about Harry...

And that's all she wrote, folks.
Summed up in a word, amazing? Although I feel like even that is an understatement.
"just can't lie, was the best time of my life."
;-)

♥♥♥
Brandy

♪♪And should the guys or any of their team ever see this: Next time you come to Atlanta (or anywhere in Georgia), GET IN TOUCH WITH ME! & come see me! It's out of the city & it would probably be quieter for you! You can sneak out of the city & we can have a massive family cook out, have some drinks & hang out! :)Everyone is invited! The guys (of course), Paul & any of their gaurds, the band, Lou & family, etc. We'll find room.
For real though. Think about it.

Four A.M.

4:18 to be exact.
I'm awake so that I can make sure my brother gets his ass out of bed & off to work.
You see, he & I, we don't usually hear alarm clocks.
So, part of my duties this week are making sure he's up and at 'em.

I found myself in the middle of getting a post ready yesterday & just stopped.
I thought, why the hell am I doing this?
I have a lot of cleaning to do. This is taking a lot of time.
I honestly don't want to do either one.

So, I didn't.

I put off cleaning for a couple of hours, which resulted in me cleaning from about 10 to 11:30pm, taking a 2 hour break to watch RHOC & then cleaning from 1:30 to about 3am. Nope, I'm not kidding.
& then I obviously put off blogging.
I'm sure I'll finish the post later, so you may get 2 posts from me today.
Woohoo, I'm sure you just wanna know about my weekend, right? -_-

It boggled me that in the middle of doing the post my mind just started racing.
It's not the first time it's happened. Definitely won't be the last.
But I just had one of those moments of wonder why I started blogging.

I though to myself, I'm basically "scrapbooking" certain things, only writing more than one might in their scrapbook.
And to be honest, it bothered me.
If I spent half the time working on my scrapbook as I do trying to put a blog post together, whether it be a scheduled post that I work on in advance-or one that I type up on the spot, I'd be good.
Merp.
I just have a lot of creative energy in me that needs out.
I know that might sound a little crazy to some, but not me.
 
And to continue with blog posting bothers.
Time management.
It's pretty rare that I can a post out in a timely manner. I don't try to rush, but I can seriously spend way too long trying to type out a simple post.
It's ridonkulous.
I legitimately sat for a few minutes and wondered how some of you ladies, with Full time jobs (plus a family and a household to run), do it. I know you probably adjust and adapt, but I don't know. I just don't like feeling like I've wasted way too much time doing something that I could have spent doing something else.

So, yea. That's my late night/early morning rambles & rants.

4:39 now.
Broseph is awake & I am off to cuddle with my hubs before he has to wake up for work.
I'll be back later, I'm sure.

♥
Sissy

Survey Says...HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

First & foremost! 

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER! 

  

Now everyone can talk about their summer without me cringing & thinking to myself, IT'S STILL SPRING! Yes, like I said, I'm that girl.
So, Erin posted a survey on her blog & I thought you know, since I need a post to schedule for Friday, why not do one of those. So, here you have it. Random facts about yours truly.

1. What's your middle name?
Nicole 

2. How big is your bed?
Full. Merp. We want a King! 

3. What are you listening to right now?
Fall Out Boy- 7 Minutes In Heaven. 

4. What was the last thing you ate?
Dominoooosss. Pepperoni pizza & stuffed cheese bread. 

5. How did you learn of the band that's currently your favorite?
Well, they did the rock version of Lollipop, which was everywhere back in '08. Then I heard a ringtone of another one of their songs. And then a couple of years later I listened further & fell in l-o-v-e. 

6. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
My granny. 

7. Favorite type of food?
Um,..I like all different types. But you can't go wrong with mexican or italian...or Southern ;)

8. Do you want children?
Yeah.... 

9. Do you drink?
On occasion

10. Ever get so drunk you can't remember the entire night?
Newp. Never forget the entire night, maybe small bits, but not the majority.

11. Favorite holiday?
Christmas, Halloween, My Birthday...what? It's a Holiday!

12. Favorite season?
Spring & Fall!

13. Last movie you watched?
She's All That

14. What book(s) are you reading?
"A Fool To Guide You" by Drew Maples.

15. Tattoos?
4 so far.

16. Piercings?
Just basic ears.

17. Favorite color? 
I love many, but above all, blue! Almost any shade of blue, I love it.

18. Favorite sports team?
College FB- Georgia Bulldogs, Pro FB- Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lion & Cinci Bengals... NASCAR- Dale Jr. & mayyybe Kasey Kahne. Baseball- Atlanta Braves (I actually don't really watch baseball, or basketball or hockey or anything else...)

19. Favorite movie?
Can't pick just one. Literally cannot. Wanna have a Jackass, Step Up, or Fast & the Furious marathon, I'll love you. Wanna watch Grease, Across The Universe, or Chicago? Yes, please. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Insidious, Sinister, Paranormal Activity? Yeeaa-uuh. And comedy, oh lawd, YES! Seriously, I love movies...lol

20. Favorite Flower?
i love roses, hibiscuses, bleeding hearts, pansies, lilies, & I looove elephant ears (i know it's more of a plant than a flower, but I don't care.)

21. Favorite hobby? 
Photography & scrap booking mainly. Cooking is fun if there aren't many people around.
 
22. Who would you like to see right now?
My bestest & her family!

23. Have you ever fired a gun?
Sure have.

24. If you could go any place right now, where would you go?
To Florida to see my best friend & her family.

25. What are you afraid of?
Death.

26. Are you a giver or a taker?
More of a giver, I think. I'm a taker, too, but I think I'm more of a giver. I like to see people happy.

27. Are you currently happy?
YES!

28. Colored or b&w photo?
It depends on what it is a photo of.

29. Do you believe in astrology?
Well, actually I kinda do, but that's another post for another day.

30. Do you think dreams eventually come true?
I think some variations of some things in your dreams might. It's hard to explain.
 
31. Have you ever stolen anything?
When I was a kid, by accident, both times. Once I walked out of Eckerd's with some tic tacs & then once in Helen I walked out of a shop with a ring on my finger. Mom returned them both immediately. lol
Oh & I had to "steal" my stuff back from a klepto friend I had. True story.

32. Last time you cut your hair?
November...of 2011...

33. Last thing you bought?
A shirt!

34. Plans for the weekend? 
To have a freakin' blast today/tonight & maybe some cleaning mixed with a lot of nothing the rest of the weekend.
 
35. Ever cried because you were so happy?
Oh yes, happy, sad, mad, silly, doesn't matter. I'll likely cry. I'm a cry baby.

36. Who was your high school crush?
Jay Doles, John Watts & Doug. I married Doug & am still friends with John, & I haven't spoke to Jay since probably freshman year of hs.

37. Last thing that made you laugh?
Watching my cousin run around and be silly.

38. What is your "Song of the week"?
This week it is "Blurred Lines"-Robin Thicke ft. T.I. & Pharrell

39. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?
Oh gah,,...I remember being Snow White, Pocahontas, a cheer leader, a witch...

40. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yeah. I want to see one to fully believe though.

41. Is Christmas stressful?
Abso-freakin-lutely. But it's usually worth it! ;)

42. Ever dance when there is no music playing?
What? There is always music playing! No? So, only I hear it? Okay...cool.. so the answer is YES!

43. Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to?
Um...too many of them. I have an entire room of stuff. Not exaggerating, at all. Pack rat, right here!

44. If you had to move to another country, where would you move to?
Um,..maybe England. Or Scotland. Or Ireland. Not entirely sure.

45. Play any musical instrument?
Nooo. But I'd love to learn piano, guitar & drums. Or at least one of those.

46. Something people may not know about you?
I used to be "into" witchcraft. My Goth stage started in Elementary school (not kidding, when I was in 3rd grade I was sent to the principals office for having a picture of Marilyn Manson taped to my desk.) &  I never really grew out of my gothy-ness. It's still in me & yea, I still embrace it. There are many sides to me.

47. Last movie you saw in theaters?
The Hangover III

48. Which band (current or past) would you want to go on tour with (travel, not perform)?
Framing Hanley. One Direction. Maybe, Linkin Park. And I've already decided, if I ever did with any other them, I'd be their photographer. :-)

49. What are 5 things you absolutely have to have in your dream house?
Basement, large kitchen/living room, large master bed and bathroom, at least 4 or 5 rooms, 3 car garage.

50. How many concerts have you been to? Who did you see?
In my entire life...if I have counted right...I've been to 17.
-Billy Ray Cyrus (my very first concert, I was like 4 or 5, oh my achey breaky heart) I LOVED HIM! ;) I wish I could remember that concert though...
-Miranda Lambert & Tracey Byrd
-Def Leppard/Poison/Cheap Trick
-Justin Bieber
-Framing Hanley (5 times, so far)
-Project Cinco: Avenged Sevenfold/Shinedown/Alterbridge 
-Craig Morgan
-Me Talk Pretty (now called Cilver)/ Hawthorne Heights & Medina Lake
-Def Leppard/Poison/Lita Ford (Although we missed Lita, she was first & we were a little late)
-Hysteria (Def Leppard tribute band)
-Linkin Park/Incubus/Mute Math
-Jingle Jam: Grace Potter/Andy Grammer/Alex Clare/Phillip Phillips/ Jason Mraz/Ed Sheeran
-Jason Aldean/Luke Bryan/Jake Owen/ Thomas Rhett

And I'm adding Number 18 TODAY!
ONE DIRECTION!
You may be tired of reading about them, well then click dat "x"! I'm sure I'll post about the concert later, just not sure when!
That is, assuming I didn't meet Harry and runaway. (I'm kidding, Doug!) ;) 


TGIF!
Happy Friday love muffins! If you don't hear from me this weekend on here, I'll "see" you Monday.
If you wanna hear from me.
I have The Bird (@bnb03) & IG (BNBA)! You can follow me there!
♥♥♥
Brandy

Guess who's been a Lame LLama?

ME!

So I totally skipped out on blogging Tuesday & Wednesday.

Whateva, whateva, I do what I want!

And guess who STILL hasn't posted her wedding posts?

Whatevs.

They're coming.

You're starting to not believe me, I know. 

HOLD. THE. PHONE!

I cannot go any further with this post without showing you this picture.

 Is that not the funniest/creepiest picture, ever?! 

Just look at it.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, one of my friend posted it on IG & I was in TEARS laughing at like 1:30am and I couldn't look away. 

OMG! HAHA. Okay, I gotta stop.

I love being inspired by other bloggers posts.

And lately that seems to be happening a lot.

I'll see a post & think, "dang why can't I think of that idea?!"

So, every time I see a post idea I like I jot it down, or start a draft.

But this week...this week is just gonna be a lame week.

My Wednesday link-ups will be picked back up next week. 

I have had a semi-busy week & Tuesday I just wasn't feeling life.

Aside from actually getting a few things done & typical social media, I've been just lurking. 

I haven't even responded to emails. Please don't take it personally, I'll get to it.

:)

Anyway, today and tomorrow are going to be just as busy.

Tomorrow's post will probably be a scheduled one.

Cause you know, I'll be gone all day. I'll be sharing air with One Direction. In the same building. 

Hold me. I get chills just thinking about it. I know I won't get to see them up close, but still.

I cannot wait.

So I'm trying to think of what to post about for Friday.

Any suggestions?

Anywho, 

Smile, pretties! It's almost Friday!

♥♥♥

Brandy

Changes.

There have GOT to be some changes made in our spending habits.
I think everyone goes through phases throughout the year where you just freely spend.
We apparently have been going through one & our account hit the lowest it's been in...I don't even know how long.

I feel your pain.

So...
Tightening up a little as of today.
I say a little because there are things coming up such as birthday & preplanned things, so that will make it a little difficult to completely cut out the "extras". But I can watch more closely to spending. So, we're gonna do that...or I am. Which means I'm gonna snatch my hubbies debit card from him this evening.
Coming up we have: Finish paying club dues, concert for me on Friday, my brothers birthday on Thursday, bills due next week, a baby shower next week....and then there's July aka the best month ever. On top of another baby shower, July is my birthday month & it's all downhill from there. The rest of the year is (can be) just expensive we know at least one person with a birthday every. month. & then Holidays. Haha. So needless to say, I've got to kick my self discipline back in.
So with all that in mind, on top of me saving, I'm still hoping that I can get back to my comfort zone with our account in the next month or so.
July is also when I start talking about Christmas (this is your warning. I'm one of those people.) No, I'm not kidding. It's actually already on my mind, but I try to not talk about it too much 'til about July or later.
Anyway.
On a lighter note.
I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Mine was fantastic.
Friday my hubs & I laid in the driveway for hours talking. Then at midnight, midnight, the Goldshlager came out to play & yours truly played with it a little too much. it's was smaller bottle. Doug took one, mayyybe 2 shots. The rest of the bottle? I drank it. And then, what did I do? I finished off my moonshine. By 3am I did my share of drunk FBing & Tweeting, (which I don't think was too bad). & then my husband woke up to get ready to go fishing & I passed OUT!
Saturday I woke up with a slight headache & a bit shakey, needed food & water. But otherwise I was good to go. My niece came up so I got to see her pretty face all day. And what was even better is my niece and nephew were both here. So after a short shopping trip with everyone (minus my dad), we spent the bulk of the day at home & I got to play with them both! We had fun. & I got some new pictures for mom & dad. Dues to situations, we always want to make sure we get as many pictures as possible, especially when they are both here at the same time.
Sunday, Father's Day, I didn't even get to see my Daddy until after 9 last night. He had to work & we had a cookout to go to at Doug's Nana's with his family, which is always a good time. Dad's gift was originally supposed to be his Father of the Bride gift. It's a picture frame that says "Anyone can be a Father but it take someone special to be a Dad" & it has 4 photo slots & small plaque that I had engraved saying,
"I Love You, Daddy
Love Always,
Sissy"
(& yes, I've had this thing for 2 years & am just now giving it to him, I know, I suck.)
He also got a Home Depot from the 3 of us & then Doug is gonna fix his weed eater.
Coming Up, this week, I'm gonna kind of lay low- other than my typical housewifey type shit, like making sure my man has clothes to wear. Before Thursday I gotta take my mom to get a few more clothes for their trip & then Friday I will be in Atlanta probably all day, or most of the day for One Direction. 1D. Y'all, OMG. I don't even care how crazy I sound. I bought the tickets A YEAR AGO, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR ABOUT A YEAR. I just reallly wish I had meet & greets to surprise my cousin & her cousin with. (& for my pleasure too, of course). I'm not a creeper. I promise. I love you, Harry.
What?
Mom & Dad are leaving for Maryland Friday. So I'll get to cleaaaan. I'm excited about it now, lets just wait and see what all I actually do. Why am I excited? I don't like to clean when there are people here. Mom & I don't work, she's ALWAYS here, meaning I never clean unless I do it while she's asleep or by some crazy chance, gone. I just clean better when no one's here. I don't like people watching me, or in my way. Just gtfo, thanks. :)
As far as blogging, I'll try to have the first Wedding post ready for tomorrow.
:-)

How's that for rambling?
Oh you know how I said I get songs stuck in my head & I have to listen to them?
Current songs stuck in my head:

 Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell & T.I.- Blurred Lines.

Alrighty, I'm out!

♥♥♥

Brandy

Damn you, Google Reader!

With the impending doom of Google Reader approaching.
I finally decided to try to acquaint myself with Bloglovin;...
I still don't like it.

I'm sure it's because I'm not familiar with it.
And that I don't like change.
At all.

I mean, how do I do a new post from it?!
How do I fix my little picture? I am not connecting it to my facebook!
Whyyy does google have to be stupid and get rid of this?
I'm mean hello, there are other things that can go in it's place!
Google+

But, oh well.
If anyone wants to enlighten me on how to do a new post on bloglovin'...
I'd appreciate it.
I'll fully admit that I haven't played around enough with it.
And if I did, I'd probably figure it out.

I did re-import my GR feed.
So I'm hoping it worked right & I won't lose any blogs that I follow.

I don't have many readers anyway,
but if you do follow & read
be sure to follow me on bloglovin' too!
I'd love to keep you ladies around! :-)



Short & sweet today, lady loves.
Just want to make sure we don't lose each other!
I've gotta work on my Dad's Father's Day gift.

What are your plans for Father's Day?

HAPPY FRIDAYYYYY!!!!
Lovins!
♥♥♥
Brandy

Dear 21 year old me.

Holly & Jake are doing a "Letter to your 21 year old self" link up. Mine's not very interesting or anything, but here goes nothin'.

Dear Sissy (21),

Left: 8-'09, Wasty pants and singing along at the Def Leppard concert.
Right: 1-'10 Tattoo night, fresh wrist ink, aww yeah.

I mean, I really don't even know what to say to you.
I hate having to preach to you, I mean, you're making me sound like mom and dad, more so dad.

You and Doug got through that big rough patch last November, that's good, but the work isn't over. Don't give up, he's so worth it (of course you know this, I just want to reassure you.) He's gonna finally pop the question this year. Exciting, right?! It is about damn time. Don't stress about planning. People will start bombarding you with questions. You're going to answer about 95% of them with "I don't know." That's okay, it buys you some time.
You'll be married right before you turn 23, & don't worry, once the planning is all said and done and the wedding happens, it will be absolutely amazing, for everyone and 2 years after the fact you'll still be getting compliments on how "that was still the funnest wedding they have ever been to." And it makes it all worth it.
Continuing on with relationship stuff. I know you just decided to stop birth control and have the "whatever happens, happens" attitude. That's fine. No one knows that deep down inside you actually want a baby (mainly because most people would think you were nuts).
When you start to have that "something isn't right feeling", I wish you wouldn't have ignored it. It's almost 4 years later and we are still baby-less. While in some ways this maybe a timing thing, I feel like if you would have got the ball rolling then, we might be in a different place now.
On the other hand, you should also continue having your fun. Enjoy your drunk nights with Carla. Enjoy the few times that you get to hang out with the guys. Really enjoy them. In a few years, there will be major tests in your friendships and you'll pretty much be at the end of your rope. Basically all those friends will be gone. Don't worry, you'll slowly start speaking to them again, but it won't be the same. The silver lining in this is that you and Doug will really, really connect more and have a lot of fun together. You'll pull Doug even more out of his shell & he'll realize that even though somethings are uncomfortable for him, he has fun. That itself, will make you happy.
You're about to be seriously reintroduced to concerts and you'll be on a mission to see at least one every year. Do it to it, girl. No one will ever understand your love for music, but in most cases they'll support it. Especially Doug. And you'll fall head over heels for Framing Hanley, this is going to be a good thing because you will meet lots of friends through them.
On the opposite side of the spectrum. That wonderful Billing and Coding course... Yea, it will serve you no purpose because it will be difficult to find a job without experience. As a matter of fact it will be difficult to find a job, period. Part of this will be due to the economy, and part of it will be due to you. Whether it be not looking/trying hard enough, or not looking/trying at all. Trust me, if you can put a little more effort in and get something now, it will serve you better. Otherwise we end up exactly where we are now. Sitting at the kitchen table, at home, eating Cheetos with still no success on finding work. You know how easy it is for us to feel like a failure, believe that feeling just gets heavier and heavier.
I'm not completely sure exactly where your head is. I think it's stuck on fun mode. Not really uncommon for your age, so that's okay.
The good thing in all of the stuff just not happening for you is that you become more smart with money. You're already really good with it, thanks to Dad. But you'll become even more savvy and more aware of where your money goes & more importantly where it shouldn't go. This isn't gonna come right away, it'll really hit you in about a year. Not going to preach too much about that because like I said, we're good with money 90% of the time.

Oh and your weight. Yea, the weight that you started gaining in high school. Well you should probably go ahead and try to get it in check. Because you gain a little more & then end up sitting around try desperately to motivate yourself to work out.
Oh and just fucking go to the dentist. You know we need to. But you won't. You little bitch. It only progesses and gets worse. Which cause money stress on me, and even though we are good with money, one income with all of a sudden having to have dental procedures done, is bullshit. You coulda helped me avoid it.

Even with all the things you should have done and didn't do. You're going to turn out okay. I mean, I'm fine for the most part. But to be honest I would love nothing more than to shake you and tell you to start getting it together or you're going to be 24 -about to 25-, married, unemployed, and still living at home.
*sigh*
I am definitely not where I should be right now and a bit of that blame does go to little ole you.
But, you're okay. I'm okay.
While things could be better, they could also be far worse.

Thanks for being strong through the issues that have already come your way, it helps us to be strong with the issues that are still to come. While we are weak in many ways, we learn just how strong we can be at the same time. You'll change a lot, but in many ways you'll remain the same, so don't be scared.
I know I'm only a few years away from you, but that 3-4 year span is enough time for a lot of things to happen. The things that are top priority to you now won't be quite as important in a couple of years. Don't feel too bad and feeling lost in life, that part will still hover, I still feel it...but you'll start to figure things out. Even I'm still learning.

Everything is gonna be alright.
♥love always,
Sissy (24)

March'13

From one year to beyond, pt. 2! & Eating. I'm doing it wrong.

Well, not completely.
Not according to me.

Click on to link up.

The only reason I say this is because you know on some days there are certain difficulties that you may have. What you've eaten for the day can greatly attribute to it.
I just need to reassess what I'm doing. It's not so much of what I'm eating, but making sure that what I'm eating is giving me enough of what my body needs, (fiber, protein, etc.)
This is the part about healthy living that kind of sucks, I don't like having to pick apart everything I eat just to make sure it's enough. But it's whatever. I really don't think many adjustments will need to be made. I'm just having an uncomfortable stint right now, just feeling uncomfy. I also gained weight. But that probably has something to do with eating at 2 diff. restaurants twice in one weekend. So I'm okay with it...slightly.
I saw a pin on Pinterest with a bunch of suggestions and one said have a meatless night. We rarely do this. We're meat eaters, for sho. But I may see if everyone would be willing to do it. Have a night where we just have a big salad and maybe some side veggies, whether they be raw or cooked. Or something like that. Hell I don't know. Speaking of veggies, you ever feel like the fruit and veggie drawer in your fridge just is not big enough. I do. Pack it to the top & then things get lost & forgotten. 
Oh well.
This week: 160.5
Last week: 159.2
Up: 1.3
It's whatever, no ones fault but my own. I'm not happy about seeing 160 again, but it wont change until I kick myself in the ass real hard.
Moving on...

Click on pic. to link up.

From One Year To Beyond, Part 2.

The hardest moments from your first year of marriage.

Well. This one can be a little tricky. Doug & I have been together for 10 years (I know I sound like a broken record) and we've only been married for 2 of those. Which means we had been together for 8 years before marriage, and we've lived together all of those 8 years, (now 10 yrs, obviously).

So, the two main challenges the I'll combine into one is that: 1-I don't have a job & 2- we still live at home (at my parents). 

While this has been hard on us before our first year of marriage, I'm still goin' to talk about it. The main issues that these present are very obvious. We have to live off of one income & little privacy. We are very blessed though that my parents are generous enough to allow us to live here, rent free. We contribute in other ways such as groceries and other household needs, and of course helping around the house with cleaning and such. We always look at the silver lining, that being, we could be out on our own, struggling with one income & barely making ends meet. So, ya know. It could be worse, so we're not really complaining. :-)

Losing friends. This affected me more than my hubs. He's easier to say fuck it & I'm the one that cares, too much. This really happened towards the end of our first year of marriage and carried over into the second. It had nothing to do with our marriage & it didn't "rock" our marriage in any negative way. There were just things that happened with some friends that basically resulted in us not talking to any of our friends-that live here-. Doug wasn't jolted by it too much, and at first, I had that same attitude; Fuck it, fuck that & fuck them. But I ended up in a slump a few months in, my depression slapped me in. the. face. HARD. But he worked with me & always been quick to reassure me of things. It actually turned out to be great. It brought the two of us closer together. It sucks to not really have the luxury of calling and hanging out with your friends, but you know...sometimes it's for the better. This was one of those cases. 

(We've all started speaking again, but it's not the way it was. And for now, I'm okay with that.)

The baby thing. You know, once you get married everyone asks "Well, when are you going to have babies?" But not many of them knew that we were basically just waiting for it to happen. I've been off of BC since I was 21 (I think). There's not much of a reason why I shouldn't have had a baby yet. Being asked all the time, is hard, especially when they don't know the struggle. I know I'm not the only one who faces it, but still, things affect people in different ways. And seeing people get knocked up left and right, is a tiny bit frustrating at times. Again this is one of those things that doesn't pertain to just the first year of marriage, but to us in general. And it's another thing that bothers me more, because of the worry of what's wrong with me. Doug's a great support system, though. He doesn't always know what to say, but to just let me get it out, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, matters. And as I've addressed in my past posts. We've pretty much figured out that I'm not ovulating. Poo. We did one round of treatment (ovulation meds), but I haven't been for a follow up or anything. I'm really hoping I can get in gear and lose some weight and that will maybe help me out. I know that being overweight can have a negative affect on trying to get pregnant. So...there's that.

Basically I'm overly emotional and my husband is my rock. lol

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind. 

I'm still going to continue realtionship posts. The next installment is wedding stuffs. I know I said I'd pick back up on it Monday, but Aunt Flo drained my energy & now the bitch is gone. I think I'm starting to regain it, so I'll actually stop being lazy and work on it, I'll save it for next week though.

Happy Humbday!

♥♥♥

Brandy

My weekend...

Was 50% good and 50% what the actual fuck.

Friday (Doug's Birthday)- He took the day off & we got a later than wanted start to the day. He wanted to go fishing, so we did. And it rained...no..it poured. Fishing in the rain is no biggie, really. But we were SOAKED. The bottom fell out so fishing was cut WAY short. And we didn't catch anything. Then we had to stop in a get me something to wear to the wedding for Sat.
Then we went home, changed clothes, & waited for his mom. His mom, brother, my nephew, Doug & myself all went out to eat. Hubby love got his seafood. He filled up on crab legs, and a couple of frog legs while I enjoy my grilled chicken. lol. I did try the frog leg though, only cause he asked me to and really only because it was his birthday.

Saturday- I spent literally hours on curling my head full of hair, only for it to not hold. -__- But the wedding was adorable. It was so weird seeing his cousin get married. He's only a couple of years younger than me, but still. After that we came home and did nothing. Then some of Doug's family were leaving for the beach, I decided to not go, because our anniversary was the next day & I'd really rather Doug go too. And now I'm wishing I was on the beach. *sigh*

Sunday (Our Anniversary)- We really didn't know what to do. We knew we were going out to eat, but we had no other plans. So we decided to ride upto his moms so he could shoot his gun. Then...the eating. We decided to go to Chili's, because it's one of my favorites. Their chicken club tacos & a pom margarita make me smile...or did. BUT...to my extreme disappointment. Those motherfuckers took Chicken Club Tacos off the menu. I'm a creature of habit...when I go to Chili's that is literally the reason I go. I actually got extremely pissed, but I kept my mouth shut, it wasn't the waiters fault or anything. Then after reading the menu a good 8 or 9 times, I finally decided to try the Bacon Ranch Quesadilla.... meh, not impressed. I seriously probably wont go back. And if I do, unless I'm feeling froggy and want to try something new, I'll stick to the texas cheese fries. So-fucking-pissed. I think the main reason I was so devastated is because I had had my heart set on those tacos alllll weekend. I don't like change, don't mess with my food. Just...no. So, I downed a few margaritas and got a buzz.  We got home and it was only like 7 maybe. We ate early. So I got home and with a fully belly and a little buzz, I went to sleep on the couch for about an hour or so.
Woke up and we decided to go to bed and relax. I still had a full belly. A couple hours went by...and I still felt full. I was miserable. It's like it wasn't digesting fast enough...or at all. Idk. But it was aweful.
Then, we ended the night right...
By watching Hook!
Bangarang! ;-)

So yea.
I never gave him a birthday or anniversary gift, I have to order it. I didn't even give him his anniversary card.
Fail.
I didn't even get him a bday cake until yesterday. lol
But it's okay cause he lurved it, Oreo Ice Cream Cake.

I have was a lazy blogger yesterday.
Oh well.
I'm just meh. I've been tired the past couple of days. I don't even feel like posting any pictures.
But I'm still here!

Have a good one!
♥
Brandy

10 Years.

10 and 2!
Today is our anniversary!
♥

We got married 2 years ago, on this date.

6.9.11 BrittanyBradyPhotography

(I still haven't got to the wedding posts, so this is the only picture I'm gonna share, for now. :-) )


But we started going out 10 years ago, on this date.

2003. This is actually a couple of months before we started going out. 10 years ago.

2013. Last Night. 6.8.13

Ten Years.
I have been with the same fella since I was 14. Fourteen.
It's a big deal to me.
To be with the same man for 10 years.
There are so many couples that don't make or don't put forth the effort to make it for even a couple of months, or one year, and we've somehow managed to stick together for 10.
We've worked hard to keep it going at times, but most other times it's so effortless.
Relationships really are lots of work & you just have to be willing to do the work.
I hope that we can continue lifting each other up, helping each other through any hard times, and making each other laugh and smile & just happy. But also keeping each other grounded and humble.

I would have never guessed that I would meet & start going out with the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with, when I was just 14.

It's surreal sometimes.
But I can honestly say, I don't think I would have it any other way.
Now we're gonna go see what we can do to entertain ourselves today.

Happy Sunday Funday, Lovelies.

♥♥♥
Brandy

Happy Birthday, Lover Boy.

Taking a break from the relationship posts.

I've got you up to the point of us being engaged.

I hope you've enjoyed them, I've loved the comments I've gotten so far.

I'll either continue them tomorrow or Monday.

I also didn't respond to any emails yesterday or comment on any posts.

I will, promise! Don't take it personal, I love you ladies!

I've been down in the dumps since Wednesday. Bad.

That positivity from Monday faded away by Wednesday

& I've basically hated myself since then.

Wish I could say I was exaggerating.

Gotta love depression. Constant battle, that shit is.

Anyway, I'm hoping today will be tons better

because not only is it Friday...

It's one of the greatest days, e-v-e-r!

Today is my handsome Husband's 28th Birthday!

It's also his Pop's (his grandpa) Birthday!

Source. Side note: this would be 100x's better if it were a Football picture.

 
And he took the day off!
So, aside from still having to find something to wear to his cousins wedding Saturday,

we will be hanging out & doing what he wants to do.

Which should hopefully include getting bullets for his new gun so I he can shoot it. ;-)

And then we're going out to eat some seafood with some family.

(A treat for him because I don't eat it, so it's rarely an option for date nights.)

I'm super bummed I wasn't able to get his gift this week.

But that's okay, I'll just get it in a couple of weeks.

I'll get more into the stuff that didn't go my way this week, later.

So today kicks off the busy weekend.

Birthday today. Cousin's wedding Saturday. Our 2 & 10 yr. Anniversary Sunday.

Bring. It. On! 

I mayyy be MIA on here. Unless I get some down time to type something up.
But there is always Twitter (@bnb03) & InstaG (BNBA) 

I hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend.

♥♥♥

Brandy

We're engaged...finally!

So, as of Dec.25,2009 I was a soon-to-be-Mrs.

Dec. '09

As I said in the last post, by this point we had been together for 6 and 1/2 years.
It was really one of those "it's about time!" things.
I was so excited! We had tossed around the idea of getting engaged, on a serious note, for a while.
And it was so weird that this guy that I had called my boyfriend for 6.5 years was now my fiance.

And then came all the questions about when was the wedding?
We need to hurry and get to planning.
Some people actually thought that we would go ahead and get married that summer after becoming engaged. (summer '10) since we had already been together for so long.
But no, I didn't want to rush planning. I did want a proper wedding. I didn't to be forced to pick a date, or anything like that.
So, my answer to everything was basically, "we haven't decided yet."

As I also said in the last post, we had been going through a bit of a rough patch not long before becoming engaged. Things were obviously better, but there was still a lot of work to be done on us.
It takes time.
We were engaged in total for a year and a half.
We spent that year continuing to work on ourselves while beginning the fun and super stressful task of wedding planning while also being about to have fun.

There had also been an unexpected tragedy in his family so we had to really step up and be there for his mom and little brother.
We ended up basically moving in with the two of them for the about 2 or 3 months.
There was a lot going on.

 But we still managed to focus on getting back to where we really wanted, and needed to be.
And we did.

One of our Engagement pictures. AG Photography

 

2010 rounded out with an engagement shoot, a nice family vacation, and more fun.

 

Then it rolled over to 2011 and continued & the countdown to the wedding was on!

This is one of those short and sweet type posts I mentioned. I'll get into the planning in the next post....

♥♥♥
B

Moody Judy.

Post number 2 for the day. Should you be the slightest bit interested you can read numero uno here.

I'm just going to keep this short and facking sweet. Or as short as I can doing multiple link ups.
Which means, not "short" at all.
I'm quite honestly not in the mood for anything right now, mood swings out the ass today! But I'm not going to let it completely ruin my day. I'm just gonna do what I normally do, only add in a bunch of relaxing. My sleep schedule is way off, which means my tank is on low. Plus, that bitch, Aunt Flo, is hanging out..it would happen this week. So, I'm not gonna get myself too wound up today & at about 8 or 9 I'm gonna pop a ZzzQuil and hope it puts me out of my misery for a good 8 or 9 hours. :)
On with the linkies!

Robin has been super busy with work, school, company in town, and just life in general, so there is technically no "I Can't Believe" link up today, but I'm still going to give her a small shout out. Definitely check her out. :-)  I can't believe I let my sleep get this messed up. I'm actually not surprised, but I'm mad at myself a bit.

Heather, Ash, Bailey, & Amy

So, Weigh In Wednesday.
Welp.
Last Week: 158.5
This Week: 159.2
Up: 0.7

Working out has been at a zero. So, I understand. Not even mad at it. Actually I haven't even thought about my weight in a couple of days. So, ehhh. The past couple of days I've been so consumed with trying to spoil my hubs a bit once he gets home, that working out or weight just isn't at the top of my list...or brain.
Wanna reiterate that my UGW is 135. I started out at 163 in April. That means that in almost 2 months I've only lost about 3.8 lbs. I'm not complaining. But I know I can do better if I just put my mind to it more. I gotta find that happy medium between being wayyyy tooo lenient and wayyyyy to strict (or putting wayyy to much pressure on myself).

And now for a new link up.
From One Year To Beyond. This one is only happening during the month of June & it's about the first year of marriage. But, really I think anyone in a relationship can participate. For details, go over visit my girl Karla at Forever Newly Wedded and check it out. She happens to be a co-host, along with 9 other ladies. I'm not going to link to all of them. (Don't take it personally- as I said above. My mood isn't where it should be and I just don't feel like it)
But definitely go check them all out. I know I'm gonna, you can get to their pages from Karla's! SO GO!

 

The first topic is:
The funniest moments from year one.

As bad as it sounds....
I can't think of one. But yet there are many!
I know, I know...so very anticlimactic. Merp.

We have many, many funny moments. We constantly are cracking ourselves up over the dumbest, silliest, and funniest stuff. There just doesn't seem to be one "Oh my God, Let me tell you..." moment that is sticking out to me right now.

I almost feel like it's pointless to link up, but I'm doing it anyway. If I have an AHA! moment I will just post it in next weeks!


Okay, I'm done!
I'm now going to become consumed by blog reading & maybe working on some more drafts while laying in bed listening to music, inhaling Mt.Dew and eating M&M's. That's all healthy right? No? Ehh, Fack it!

Don't forget about the CMT Music Awards tonight!

Happy Humpday, Ladies.
And here I find myself giggling.
Mood swings, I tell you.

♥♥♥
Brandy

My Boyfriend.

Read Chapter 1 here.

So, in the beginning of June, we had established that we were bf/gf.
Summertime was typical summertime, lots of hanging out.

July '03

He would hang out in my room more.
He stayed the night more...in my room.
We grew closer.
I still remember when he said I Love You, when we first kissed...aaannnd when we first...well....
It was all in about the first month of us being bf/gf.
He very quickly became a little more...permanent at my house. He was there all the time. During the day. Overnight. Within a month or so he had essentially moved it. I turned 15 in July.
I know you're thinking, "what, you were 15, he was 18 & he lived with you?"
Well,...simply put, yes.
Everything was going good.
In July, I went to Florida for a week as I had done before, to spend the week with my best friend & it was so cute when I got back I came home. This boy had gotten me a dozen roses and a note. (The only time he's even gotten flowers for me-lol).
He was getting ready to go away to college. To Wyoming. He was initially going to leave in September, but changed it to end of Dec./beginning of Jan.

Nov.'03

I still didn't fully meet his mom, step dad and baby bro until a few months into the relationship. His mom was very unsure about our relationship in the first couple of months since he had turned 18 & I was 15. There was the whole "underage" issue and all, but she still accepted it. And then by the time December came around we had been together for a little over 6 months & I remember having to say goodbye to him not long after Christmas, (it might have even been in like the first week of January.)
I was devastated. My boyfriend just moved to freakin' Wyoming, to go to college. We had decided that we were going to try this long distance thing & see if we could pull through. If I'm being honest, I really didn't see it fully working out. Let's face it. I was a 10th grader & he was about to start college and we were basically on opposite sides of the country now. But we didn't want to break up.
Well,...about a week into him being there, it was time for him to actually start school.
He didn't even finish his first day. His mom called to my school, had someone from the front office call me out of class to talk to her on the phone. She told me a few details & told me to call Doug. So I hung up with her & called to talk to him.
His anxiety got the best of him, he was homesick, didn't want to be there, etc, etc. Everything just kind of hit him at once. And when it came down to it, it just wasn't for him. So it was either by that night or the next day his mom and I were on a plane to Denver.

If I'm not mistaking, I think...this is a small part of the Rockies (obviously, not the big parts, haha)

Now, I'm a puss when it comes to flying. I always said I would never, ever fly. EVER. EVERRRR. And yet here I was agreeing to go with my b/f's mom to Denver, Colorado to get him. We landed in Denver & then drove up to the CO/WY line to meet him & then we all drove home. And just like that...3-4 days later we were back home.
A couple of months later he landed a job at a car dealership.

 
Everything was going good.

June '04

June '04 Vacation

June 2004 marked 1 year & I was even invited to go on vacation with his family.

And then we added another year,
and another, and another, etc, etc.
We had been through ups and down. Been there for each other in bad times, sad times, happy times and all.
We went through many times when I was sure we'd break up. I'm a difficult one to deal with and he can also be hard to handle.
But, I don't know, we just worked so well.
I graduated in '06 & turned 18. Age was no longer and issue, not that we cared anyway. We hit our 3 year mark a few weeks after I graduated.
We started getting a little more serious. We moved from upstairs at my house, to the basement. We had a dog and eventually got a cat. (lol, that sounds dumb saying it or typing it, but that can be a big deal for some.)
Over the next couple of years we tossed around marriage, kids, jobs/school (mainly for me), etc etc. Typical "adult" type stuff, even though I was only 18-19-20, it was still something on my mind. I had always been okay with being a mom that young. I kind of got baby fever early in life... But I needed to try to get back into school or find a job.
We were a typical couple. We had some pretty rough arguments, but we also had some very special times.
We basically "grew up" together, and that came with a bunch of trials. We grew stronger together.
In many ways we grew up faster than most people our ages, which is what presented a lot of our problems. It can be difficult transitioning from teen to young adult anyway, add on a serious relationship & it can sometimes speed it up a bit.

'07

'08

Fast forward ahead to about 2008. We had been going through a rough period due to outside influences. It had been an up and down battle & It came to a point where I had to give him an ultimatum. It came down to "it's me or that". Well, he chose me.
I'm not going to get too much into that right now. But it all came to a peak in October of '08. It was a huge eye opener to him I think & he realized how he looked & learned real quick that I wasn't playing games. Over the next year or so it took a lot of adjusting. I've always been willing to work with him. It didn't come easy, but we had been together for 5 going on 6 years and been through too much for me to just give up without trying at all.

Brings us to the end of 2009 and on Christmas Day. We always spend the night at his moms on Christmas Eve so we can open gifts with them on Christmas morning.
So that morning I got one gift from Doug.
I pulled a little box out of a little bag on Christmas morning & he looked at me and just simply said "Will You?"
So romantic, right? ;-)
After 6 1/2 years together, we were finally engaged!
I know I have a couple of pictures from that morning...just don't know where. lol 

Just Engaged! Christmas Evening '09

♥
B