2013 in 1 Picture

This 1 picture sums up a lot of our 2013.

We spent the first 4 months and 4 days of 2013 planning our wedding.
That day changed not only our lives but the lives of a few others forever.
It was the first time that I left my home, my parents, my brother and our dog.
It was the first time both of our parents handed off their children to antoher human for care,protection and love.
It was the first time that we officially became "adults" buying a home, furnishing and decorating our home,getting married, adopting a pet, making a life together, cooking and cleaning, learning how to live with each other and not kill each other

I like this picture because it shows a lot of the important people in our lives together with us in this 1 photo... front and center is me and the Mr., next to me is my maid of honor, my sister in law, a dear friend and my cousin. Next to the Mr. is his best man and next to him is my brother. Behind me you can see my parents and catch a glimpse of several of my grandparents. (Sadly we didn't have the wide lens to capture Ryan's side) but they are all there. This photo was taken in my childhood church; I went to school here K-8th grade and had an amazing foundation in God and the Lutheran church built there. So many years I took part in events right there in that church (singing in church services, participating as an acolyte and usher, Christmas programs, witnessing and confirmation services) and on this day I stood in that church and had my childhood dream come true. Our future baby Norman's will be baptized in that same spot one day.I feel so blessed to have such a great church, pastor and ministry in my life.

2013 was an amazing year and 1 FULL of life changes! I am sad to see it leave because it was a year that I SO looked forward to!... but I take joy in knowing that 2014 and beyond will continue to be year's worth writing about. Our story has only just begun!

Thank you for taking a look at my 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR - WELCOME 2014!

2014 Goals

A bad habit I'm going to break:
Complaining about the things in life that I am not happy with - I do it a lot and I do it often.

A new skill I'd like to learn:
Knitting and I would like to learn more about wine, football and hockey! (I hate sports; primarily because I don't UNDERSTAND them, my husband LOVES sports- so I figure I should try to learn them and participate in watching and cheering on his favorite teams.

A person I hope to be more like:
My husband - he is patient, understanding, and typically (almost annoyingly) positive on all things!

A good deed I'm going to do:
Random acts of kindness

A place I'd like to visit:
San Francisco and Napa Valley with my husband in April for our 1 year anniversary!

A book I'd like to read:
Not sure yet - I will have to scour the book lists and find one! I am hoping to find a good author or a good series to read. I love to read books that continue through a few books or books by the same author that have the same theme and general idea...

A letter I'm going to write:
If all things with a job interview go as I hope and pray - I am going to write a letter to my current employer explaining why I am leaving!

A new food I'd like to try:
I try almost everything at least once - if I don't like it, I wont try it ever again. Not sure what I haven't tried YET - I'm sure something will come up!

I'm going to do better at:
Thinking positive and saving money!

Frankenmuth, MI

Hubs and I just got home on Tuesday night from a few days to Frankenmuth, MI for a work trip. The office that he works for has a company in Frankenmuth that they work with - his office takes a few days a year to go and visit the office in MI and learn a few new things. The best party?!...they take the wives on the trip to spend the days of work/training out shopping! Me being the new one this year didn't really know what to think or expect; but we've heard a LOT about this trip and I was totally looking forward to going!
The wives spent all day Monday at an outlet mall where we all scored some really good buys! Normally, this trip is in October but it was pushed back to December this year. We drove through snow to get up there and it was pretty freezing while we were there but it was the perfect time of year to spend some money and blame it all on Christmas shopping! I scored some good buys! I came home with a gorgeous new all leather Coach bag, my first ever Bare Minerals makeup kit (LOVE IT), bought an adorable Santa candle and some peppermint hot cocoa, found Christmas gifts for the Mr, the MIL and his boss;plus tons of new clothes for the Mr,and the last purchase of the trip, a Birthday gift for my dad!

We at at the German themed and famous Bavarian Inn for dinner on Monday, followed up with some more shopping (where I bought me some Holly Nog WINE!)YUM! and then wrapped up the night with some drinks at this cute little bar near the hotel.

Tuesday the guys headed back to class and the wives headed to the Worlds Largest Christmas store, Bronners. I managed to pick up a 1st Christmas in our new home ornament, a Frankemuth, MI ornament, and a special one for our loved ones celebrating Christmas in heaven. The guys finished up early and went to the hotel to pick up our things and the ladies made a run to the outlet mall for some more shopping... the guys met up with us and shortly after, the shopping ended and we were munching on some lunch.

Overall, it was a fun trip and I am already looking forward to heading back next year! If you get the chance to visit Frankenmuth, I would say GO! it's an adorable little German town settled in the middle of "no-where" Michigan (right before the thumb). There's not a lot to do around there but that's part of the beauty of the town! Its charming, quiet and fun!

We're Married, We Have a House, We Have a Cat!

Well shame on me!... It's been A LONGGGGG time since I've posted!
But a LOT has happened since I last spoke! So give me a break OK! :)
- New Job April 2012
- New Job August 2012
- New Job August 2012 for the Mr.
- New Job February 2013
- New House March 2013
- Married April 2013
- Ruby Sue May 2013
- New Job August 2013 for the Mr.

In April 2012 - I left Medieval Times to go work for a hotel. I was hired by a great boss and GM and I must admit I am lucky to have been able to work for such a wonderful team of management. In August 2012, both my boss and GM were offered a position at another hotel property, they moved me there with them and I spent another 6 months working with them and making a life-long mentor/friendship with my boss. Stupidly, I decided that the position wasn’t something that I enjoyed and I looked for a job and accepted one with Little Caesars. (I loved the hotel, the staff, and the event hosting/booking/busy work of the position, but hated the sales calls/driving and the feeling of accomplishment).

Which brings me to February 2013 - I started a marketing position with Little Caesars. Almost here for a year, I will admit that I have had some awesome experiences including, trips to California, Detroit and Vegas, growth in my career and skill set, but overall; its a position that I despise and cannot wait to leave. I drive 600+ miles a week and I really don’t see what the point in me doing this is?! It's not "my home yet". I don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life and I really don’t know what position/company will be my "home" I feel like I missed the boat on what I should have really done with my life, but that's ANOTHER story for Another day!

March 25, 2013 - after about 4 months of HEAVY searching, 10 offers, many heartbreaks and stressful moments - Ryan and I finally became homeowners of our DREAMHOUSE! This house made every NO worth it. Our home is everything we want and more and we've had an absolute blast making our house - home. Painting, furnishing and decorating our home together has been so much fun, and a new hobby and relationship building experience for us! We've done a ton of work on the house and still have more (always will have more) to do. I would have to say that we love being homeowners!

One of the best days of my life to this date was April 5, 2013. That day, I married my best friend and my partner in life and in crime ;). It truly was the most perfect day! Everything was exactly as I had planned it and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing. It was amazing to have our closest friends and most importantly our family there with us as we tied the knot. My pastor (since I was 5) was the efficient of the
service and he provided the most meaningful sermon and service. We are blessed by God to have such an amazing pastor in our lives. As much as this was a wonderful day, it was also a really hard day. For the first time in my life I was "leaving" my parents. My dad and I had a really special walk down the aisle, followed by a surprise speech when he gave me away, a tear-filled dance at the reception and another speech which brought the room to tears. I think I realized on that day how much I’ve grown up, how much my parents have done for me, and how quickly life passes us by. I sobbed during our slideshow (both making it and watching it) because you literally watch your life flash before your eyes. The song for our slideshow and theme for my dad during the wedding process was "Don’t Blink" by Kenny Chesney (look for another post on this in the coming days) but I truly think that song captured that day and our lives past, present and future perfectly.

After getting home from our amazing Cruise Honeymoon it was time to settle into our home and begin our lives as the Norman family. It didn’t take long for us to realize that we needed to make our home a family of "3" and it May we adopted our first furry baby - Ruby Sue. She’s out kitten and I love, adore and cherish her to pieces! One of the things I REALLY missed from my parents house was my dog Dixie and I knew that I needed to fill that void in my heart with a pet of our own. Not being much of a cat person, I was hesitant to adopt a cat, but I can honestly say at this point in my life, I AM SO HAPPY WE HAVE HER! Ryan and I often talk about what a pleasure it is to come home every day to somebody that is waiting for you to get there. I cant keep my hands off of her (which I’m sure drives her crazy) but for now she’s my baby and I want to love her as much as I can! She has really made our home happier place :)

In August Ryan was offered a position that will change our lives FOREVER! I am so grateful that this opportunity was given to him/us. I have made no secret of the fact that I hope and plan to be a stay-at-home mom someday in our soon future and with this new role that Ryan took on, I think that dream is really a possibility for us. I am so proud of him because he took this position for us. In order for this to happen he had to take a test to become licensed and he studied his butt off and passed that test! Since then he has been working just as hard to increase sales. My unhappiness with my current position hasn’t made things easy - there have been many a days that I cry and complain about how much I hate my job and I want to quit and the person that hears this the most is Ryan. I know this puts some added pressure on him because he knows my goal is to work at home as a mom and then the main source of income would be through him. I am a lucky lucky lucky girl to have a man like him that is willing to work to support our someday family.

Ok - Well I think that is something of a caught up version of our lives! I am hoping to get on here to post more often so things are much more current and up-to-date! Thanks for reading and stick around for more.