David turns the Big 2-9!

We celebrated a big bday this week!!!

Happy Birthday to David!!!!!

He turned the Big 2-9 on Tuesday and since we didn't get to celebrate on the actual date last year....so this year just getting to be together...AND celebrate....it was a pretty big deal. (Also me not having to work def was the icing on the chocolate bday cake....but I'm getting ahead of myself)


Since we didn't get to spend his bday together last year (because I was already here...and he was still back home) I decided to make everything about the day extra special.  So I got up extra early and decorated the apt. (I've decorated our house every year we've been together...and was super sad I didn't get to last year....it's one of my fav things about bdays!)

Since there's absolutely no where to hide (or keep secret) anywhere in this apt....I then made a trip to Target to get some party supplies. Balloons, plates, streamers, the works.....

We had already planned to have dinner and celebrate with my parents (b/c that's a Domis tradition....dinner and gift opening festivities with the parents...however this celebration proved to be a great deal more low key than any Domis bash) and he had already decided he wanted BBQ and chocolate cake....

So after my Target party supply run...my mom and I went to Jimmy Jacks for the bbq--- let me just say their bbq is the most like home that we've had here....however they were lacking in the carb heavy side department (but that's par for the course in this neck of the woods!)

After errands were all run...and supplies were gathered....time was running out before David was due home from work. (I'm pretty sure time is the #1 reason people don't wait till the last minute to plan a party...but hey that's how we roll) We threw together more decorations....

 (Of course we had to do a sports theme...it is David after all)

....then a quick wrap job on a fun gift from my parents.....

(we didn't have a box or enough gift wrap for the massive box...so we wrapped it in fabric...BRILLIANT! I'm totally requesting all my gifts from here on our be wrapped in fabric...it's like two gifts in one! ....but I digress....)

....next up was the cake....and of course while it was baking there was a split second for craft time....

Then FINALLY the Bday boy was home!!!! Let the party Begin!

Dinner was DELISH!

After dinner it was time for gift opening!! My parents ended up getting him a "drive up" ramp system (for when he works on our cars) and I got him some shelves to organize the garage (per his request and also not pictured here...) 

Also a big thank you to Renee and Matt for their delish Buffalo Wild Wing gift card they sent (that we used last night!) and also to Laurie and Brian for the generous gift card to Outback! (which we can't wait to use!) And a big thanks to everyone for all the Bday love....I know all the texts and phone calls really made his day extra special!

After gifts it was time for that delish chocolate cake.....

    It was to.die.for.

The party ended with some fun board games and a little Amazing Race action on the Wii...

Happy Birthday Pookie Bear!!!

Another year for the memory books!

Happy Bday David Part Deux:

Weekend Edition

Because I'm an awesome girlfriend (and I too often feel cheated when my bday falls on a week day) .... AND because I had this weekend off....I decided to continue the bday celebrations and give David full control over our weekend plans. While I would have had a hayday with that kind of free range....David would have probably sat on the couch all day .... but again....awesome girlfriend....researched gun ranges on the trusty ole google and found one about 45 min away...pack your range bag bday boy....adventure calls! 

As a side note....I'm pretty sure I've conquered my crazy uncomfortable-ness/extreme anxiety when it comes to visiting places that looks like that pictured to the left.....thanks Iowa for all things DGF that you have instilled in me...how liberating!

So as we pull up to this otherwise terrifying gun range (that I'm pretty sure we may not have been able to get to if there had been snow on the ground without a 4 wheel drive super huge redneck  truck)...we walk through the "front door" and let me just say.... I was absolutely amazed. The people there were SO nice....they greeted us (which doesn't happen here very often...which you already know if you have ever read any post in this blog)... and welcomed us! They also chatted it up as we filled out paper work (also never happens)...we joked around... and as we're talking to the friendly redneck gun range owners (aka good ole wholesome down home boys)...we find that they have outdoor ranges...which I've been telling David we should try...and also since it warmed up (to a balmy 35 degrees)...we decided to skip the indoor (claustrophobic anxiety attack waiting to happen on my part) range and head straight outside. So the guys walked out with us...showed us around...and set us up..and we were ready to go!

 The guy set up our range which was super nice... and David set up the "gun stuff" and it was time to shoot!!

David of course popped off some rounds top shot style....and I sat back and took some photos (which btw these were taken with my phone...because DAVID was too embarrassed for me to bring my camera along....I told him I'd tell the range people that I'd be sure to advertise for them on our oh so popular blog...but he still wouldn't let me....good thing my awesome photography skills got us some good photos inspite of the crappy camera phone!)

 <~~~~~ Check out that top shot photography shot I got...awesome!


Then it was my turn!!!  P.s. this photo was staged for everyone's safety... I did however shoot some pretty awesome rounds after I learned how to aim!!! I shot AND hit the target twice!!!

<~~~ See PROOF! It was loads of fun after I got the hang of it!!! (at the risk of sounding like a redneck)



So the range was a success...and thus Happy Bday David Part Deux was a success! We had a great day and can't wait for summer to do some more out door shooting!!! We also found a "popular" pizza joint in the next town over that we'll be sure to try next time we venture out to the country!!!!

Next year...it's the big 3-0 .... I better start planning now!!!!

We're in the thick of it here in Iowa.....Winter is here to stay!

You know that feeling of dodging a bullet and escaping your worst night mare come true??? Well that has been our feeling so far this winter. With a few snow "flurries" and no "real" (read significant) accumulation we've totally lucked out in the whole "winter weather" department so far (think South Carolina snow/winter weather and that's what our winter has equated to)....until yesterday.

*cue daunting suspenseful music*

All that snow and cold we have been escaping from late October/November until now was dropped on us like an ice cold atomic bomb yesterday in the form of blizzard/blowing snow, zero visability, and freezing temps (we're talking negative double digit windchill).  The worst part about it all....the towns down shut down like they do back home in dreadful  winter weather. You don't stay home and watch tv/play in the snow here.....no.....you put on that huge heavy coat over your hoodie, mittens, hats, scarves and every pair of pants you own and brave it girlfriend! You go to work (in spite of the panic attack you have trying to drive there), and you carry on your day to day activities as if it were a bright and sunny day at the beach! I'm going to tell you all right now there is nothing like the feeling of getting your breath taken away from you as you get blasted with icy wind/snow in your face when you step out the door to try and brave the roadways! Yesterday was the most terrifying day we've had to date. So now that it's done and over with and put behind us....I decided to take some photos of the day after our snowy doomsday.....put on your coats SC friends...you may get cold even looking at these photos!!

If this view alone doesn't make you want to stay inside curled up on the couch under a huge heavy blanket in your warmest pj's I don't know what does! While you may see all that snow out of our hallway window....you don't feel the wind....and that's what gets ya every time!!!!!!!

This is the view from our building down our "courtyard" area looking towards the bike trail....I'm going to take a little "photo" walk with you down (and back up) that side walk and I want you to notice how right in front of me it looks like just a dusting of snow on the ground.....

.....look at how the snow was blown between the buildings....almost covering the AC units and the bushes....it's crazy to see how some places look completely bare...and then right beside you there's this huge pile of snow that's up over your knees! (the parking lot and sidewalks were scraped by the landscaping crew...but in between the buildings was done by pure wind....that's crazy!)

My fav thing about when it snows alot...is when they scrape the sidewalks and they make these little "tunnels" .... when we had the real blizzard last year (when there were snow drifts over your head and a couple of feet of snow) the tunnels really were crazy...like almost up to your waist crazy! Needless to say it makes taking winter walks fun!

P.S. Have you ever seen snow that's covered the bottom of a door before??? Now you have!!! Now that's what us southerners call "snowed in"!!!

Here are more snow drifts around the buildings looking back up the sidewalk...you can see how some of them are totally covering the bushes!

This is the view of where you drive into our parking lot from our "driveway" into our complex...see those HUGE drifts that are almost up to our road sign???? yea all that was covering the parking lot when I came in from work last night at midnight....let me just say it was a challenge just trying to park...but I managed like a pro! My car may be old.....but Charlie Cavalier was a champ on the road way yesterday and took great care of me in my snow panic stupor!

And I can't leave out the view of our porch!!! Our mat (that is atleast a couple of inches thick) is all covered up in there somewhere....who wants to enjoy a nice sunny sit on the porch in our snow covered chairs?!!!!!

Joke of the day: Last night at work (when the overnight nurses were coming in) the staffing office called to make sure everyone made it in ok....I loudly stated that if I could make it in...no one else could even have an excuse....and let me just say...the humor is in the truth of that statement!

It is still snowing out there right now (and while I was taking these photos...take your moment...feel special) with flurries in the forecast for the rest of the day ...and after braving the apocalypse yesterday...I'm not even scared of the roadways today (mostly because I can actually see the actual road....and I don't have to guess where I'm driving)!  So Winter is finally among us...and I think it's safe to say....she's going to stick around awhile! We're hoping to get to break in the snow toys Santa brought this weekend....stay tuned for the snow filled fun to come!

Quick Snipit BoozeDay Tuesday

I don't know about ya'll...but I'm pretty sure if I had to take some psych evaluation where they ask me the date, day, time, year and/or who was president....they'd probably determine I'm all kinds of crazy. It seems like ever since Christmas I don't know what day it is....what year it is...if it's a weekday, a work day, or a vacay....I'm all kinds of confused. Fortunately I have a few more weeks of "winter break" to work out all the kinks before classes start back....and then I'll have to come up with new excuses for my crazyness. In my crazy mix up of what day it is...I thought: "I'm pretty sure I haven't given yall an update/snipit of what's going on with us in a while...I should probably do that"...and who knows....maybe it will help me get my days straight!

So here ya'll go:

Your BoozeDay Tuesday Quick Snipit Update

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I've decided to kick off our "healthy whole food" eating goal by incorporating atleast 3 new "healthy" recipes a week (this way it's actually an easier transition and we can still use some of the "junk" we have in our cabinets without being wasteful...and by this I really mean hopefully when it's all said and done David won't even realize we don't have junk in the cabinets anymore...he doesn't do well cold turkey) So here's my 3 things to try this week:

• Granola bars/cereal (that I am going to use as a trail mixy/snack food)
• Pumpkin Muffins (which I may also try with sweet potatoes...since they are uber cheap right now)
• Pizza Pockets (I hear from my wwbfftwomom these are really good after they're frozen and reheated so I'm also going to try to make a bunch for my frozen dinners I have to eat when I work evenings)

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We've also added a "new to do" on our 2012 list of things to do....call home more. David's sister Renee called David this weekend (and she does a really great job of calling us often...which we LOVE) and I think it really helps morale around here. I also talked to Bff Ashley last night and just getting to actually talk (instead of texting) can really make a difference in a mood let me tell ya. Bff Jamie said we only actually talked twice on the phone last year (we text like everyday multiple times a day) .... and that my friends is just unacceptable. So don't be surprised if you get lots of phone calls from us randomly....we  need to hear your voices!!!!!!!

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This week I will be celebrating my 1 year anniversary of being in Iowa!!!! (January 5th) It's crazy to think how fast a year flies by. David and I were discussing anniversaries (since we NEVER celebrate ours) and realized that lots has happened this year!!!! I know I say this more and more...but this crazy town is actually starting to feel more and more like home. I've decided there were 3 "benchmarks" that occurred along the way as this place started more and more to feel like home:

• The first time was when we returned after our first trip away. (This was after the Domis Fam Kentucky Maraton weekend) We had already been here awhile and to get on the interstate heading south was the most amazing feeling there ever was. Getting to spend time with fam and being away....and then to return and unpack and resettle really helped with the needing of this place to feel like our "home." 
• The second "benchmark" of this place feeling like home was the first time I saw someone in public that I knew. I know this sounds weird...but every time I go out (whether it's to the grocery store, or to Target, or the mall or where ever) I never expect to see anybody I know (because obviously outside of my parents, and people we work with we really don't know anybody here...and up until this benchmark we really didn't even know the people at our jobs that well) But we've finally reached the point here to where we go out and see someone we know .... and that means we have friends!!!  Which is a milestone in and of itself (and is sort of the 3rd benchmark too)
• Having friends....knowing people (even if they are just the people we work with)...doing things outside of ourselves as a couple again is benchmark #3...it's really nice to have atleast one person you can call a "friend". Daivd and I are finally developing our circle here...and it's kind of nice...our "friends" here (and I'm using air quotes because who knows if they really consider US friends ...so I'm using the term loosely) are really teaching us about ourselves, this place, and what it is to be from this neck of the woods!  And it's def making this a little more "homey"

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As I'm running out of time...I realized....big news that I can't forget...David has a B-day coming up this month...I'm trying to start my brainstorming process early so I can make this year super special (since last year we didn't get to celebrate together on the actual day!!)



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Hope you've enjoyed this quick snipit installment on this lovely BoozeDay Tuesday .... I never lie when I say they're going to be quick....there's never enough time in the day!!! Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off to work we go!!!