Inspired by Megan's Blog

I've been organizing all day & trying to get my life somewhat together....There's a TON more that I could do, but what I did today is at least enough to keep me content for a bit. 

We were just getting tooo squished and It was going to be the death of me! Grant it, we're still pretty crammed, but I feel a little better.....

You guessed it! We still have a HUGE treadmill-that I adore- in b/t our den and dining area! BUT, I moved the coffee table and couch today and the big armoire, pulled the rug over & moved them all back and over, to give me a little bit more "Working out" Space! 

My little working out section! I even removed a few pieces of furniture here and there! 

It's good enough for now! Especially since I wouldn't trade my treadmill for anything!!! :)

I also did a little organizing and cleaning other places...In the garage I found clothes that hadn't been worn-how did they even end up there? hm. I also remembered I have a brand spankin' new Pottery Barn duvet cover monogramed & just waiting on me to get a duvet! Amazing the things I found :)

I also decided to redo the tables more "fall" like. Even though the heat was screaming "It's still summer!" today!

Yes we have hideous blinds, but living here is only temporary, so Im not putting anymore money in!

Forgive my lack of knowledge but could someone please inform me which side the napkin is supposed to be on? LOL :) 

Ihowever, I did not allow myself to seasonal decorate anymore! I had to stick to my plan- picking up, not pulling out! Plus, I thought it might be a tad bit early! But it makes me happy!!! However that would have required pulling about 900 boxes from the upstairs!  We have an enormous collection of Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving décor!! My husband told me last year, I didn’t really ever need to buy anymore! Little does he know, I have about 3 big bags full upstairs! 

OK, so back to the main point…I finally took a short break from doing all of my missions and ended up reading a friend, Megans, blog! It was about how her sweet sister had sent her a goodie bag- a REALLY awesome one, in the mail!

I thought to myself, hey now that’s not fair! I don’t have a sister!!!

& for a second, I thought how nice it would be to maybe have a sister!

THEN, I remembered those two wonderful boys I have called brothers!!!

& although they don’t send me scafts in the mail & we usually don’t talk about fashion, they do take pretty good care of me!

For example, last week-when my internet (vz access card) broke….My little brother went and got me this…

 Something better than I had before!!! J & When I called him crying about there being tooo many bugs and tooo many weeds in my yard, he promised to fill me up a jug of weed spray! When I called him b/c I thought I might have ran out of oil two weeks ago, he met me and filled it up! & He’s always been one for suprises J However, not so much designer scarfs…boys are a little different J Instead they would give me pink caterpillar car tags or pink harley hats! Ha!

Even a knife key chain!  LOL. & Last week, my dad suprised me with........

They are toooo funny :) & Although the chances of them getting me something fashionable are pretty slim, it's still nice to know they are thinking about me!! & Hooking me up in other ways! HA!

Ha-not to mention though, Andrew has taken me for a pedicure!! & He is really good about taking me to starbucks! & to lunch---his treat!! :) ha! So Blessed even if I don't have a sweet sister!

Boys can be sweet sometimes tooo....

The Endddd. BACK to the house work! 

Little Boy Update:

Brice was 3 weeks old yesterday. They have began giving him milk again even though his sodium levels are still low. They started back Tuesday (I think) & now he is up to 1lb 15 oz! Almost two! (Which he may be two by today!)
He is having a little trouble with his lungs. They have had to go up on the respirator a bit. They consider it to be chronic lung disease...but the more he grows the more lung cells he will make & he will eventually grow out of it. He is getting steriods on Monday to help him out a little.
He also got another blood transfusion on Wednesday.
The doctors and nurses had told Brittany & Brandon that there would be some bad days, but overall it looks as if this is just a little bump in the road. Brice is still super tough & from what I hear really strong! :) He can push his little back up with his legs...now that's amazing!
Brittany & Brandon are doing good. Britt is feeling better for the most part & they are both really strong & at peace. They know all is in God's hands & have been so blessed.
The doctors told them that when Brice does eventually come home, they will not be allowed to have anyone over (except maybe the immediate family & by immediate I mean there parents-thats about it) & Brice will not be allowed to leave the house until about April. Well, it's not recommended that they do! & OF course they are going to follow all nec. proceedures.
SO, Just keep the three B's in your prayers! It's going to be a long road, but they are so blessed to have this precious baby boy! :)

Workin' on my fitness :)

Well...When I got ready to leave out this morning, I got in my car & noticed... one of my birthday presents from my husband had came in & he hadn't even told me, but instead put them in my car :) I was super excited. If your wondering what it is, it's the weather tech floor mats...Yes, I know, doesn't sound too exciting for most of you girls, but I LOVE them! SO practical & SO needed :) I was VERY excited. Honestly there awesome!

Anywhooo...
Well I will finally come out & tell you all, if you didn't know, I am taking a few classes at our local technical college in personal training... (Still working though!) & If your thinking not much goes into that...YOUR WRONG! :)
Anyways if you know me well enough you know I LOVE resistance training! It's my TOP favorite. I can get a little slack sometimes with cardio & esp stretching (Im trying to do better...OPTIMAL health!) BUT, Resistance training is my strong point! LOVE it! :) & It's oh so beneficial for those of you who do not do it!  BUT, Cardio is just as important! However, I am telling you this, honestly-b/c I had to brag! ha!!! Today in one of my classes we had to do ONE rep max (I really shouldn't be silly enough to share this but..) anyways guess which girl had the strongest legs in the class??? YEP. Your right! ME! LOL. It wasn't a competition & honestly I wasn't trying to compete against anyone else...no one was. But it did make me feel good to know that :) I told you I was being silly.

On another note, I must say I LOVE my treadmill. Oh it's just the best gift I could have gotten! SO, I have been really trying hard to get my cardio in & this week Im doing pretty good :) I've also started back running. Not too far & not too fast-but it's a start. Running has never been my strong point, but Im learning in some ways to enjoy it. it's a weird since of enjoyment! ha! BUT it is nice when everyday it just gets a little easier.
I've also learned that even if I get home at 6 and am worn out w/ a headache if I MAKE myself I feel better.
I have to make slow progression though-my knees are still trying to get in shape! HA! Last time I ended up getting a little injured which led my fast progression to a STOP. This time I will go slow and progress, just a little slower.
That being said... Last night my husband comes home, who is almost 31, hasn't really worked out in years-although growing up was a talented athlete & honestly still is, played basketball for FMU (Blah blah blah-you get it! He's an athlete!) BUT like I said he hasn't hit the weights in quite a while and besides church basketball in winter doesn't get too much cardio in....(PS-luckily he has a VERY active job! wish I did!)
He jumped on the treadmill, no warm up and ran a 7min mile!  Sure that's great if you run all the time, but to have not ran in forever!!! he really showed me out =) However, SO jealous!!! UGH I guess he just got awesome genes! ha! =)
We are signing up for the Midnight run soon! SO that should be fun! & have us both just a running. However, he may be the speed and I may be the endurance! ha!
We shall see ;)
okay, enough non sense!

Monday Funday..........

It's Monday FUNDAY :) Yeah, that's not exactly how I reallly feel but whatever!
Pretty good weekend....Nothing too exciting!
Friday I just relaxed & read while the husband worked late...

Saturday we went out for sushi & to a few stores (which you would have thought that our 5-10min stop to 4 stores would have literally KILLED  jon!) i LOVE sushi! Esp Sashimi!!
Sunday the highlight was Switch!! & Army Wives finale! Really thought Switch was cute! that kid was toooo funny :)
TV: Army Wives was amazing! Very sad that I'll have to basically wait another nine or so months before it's back on!
Thats about the only show I can really keep up with and keep up with the season. I never know what to watch or when ti comes on....Just a few shows that I do actually sit down to watch...
Army Wives & Modern Family & of course Jillians show when it's on! those are 3 great ones!
Occasionally I'll catch Grey's or Desperate when there on, but I don't always keep up with the whole season.

Food: As far as favorite food right now sockeye salmon (which is absolutely amazing!) is going out of season so Im having to find another fav which might just be rainbow trout! I have really enjoyed that the last 2 times I got it ;)

Another awesome but healthy snack is the Blue Diamond Brand Habanero BBQ Almonds! Sooo Good :)

Just got my j-crew magazine -so excited about fall & the clothes it brings!! :) & EVERYTHING it brings really!! however, not sure how I feel about these....

Okay, honestly I do like them, but I would have no where to wear them! & There $650.00. LOL Plus in the magazine they look kind of ridiculous on the girl. Just my opinion......................

& lastly, Brittany & Brice update: Brittany is feeling a bit better  & Brices' sodium levels are getting better...Still not fully normal yet though! Brittany gets to hold him today for the first time ever! She just sent me a picture! I cannot wait to hear all about it! I am SOO excited she finally gets to hold her precious baby boy!!

back2back!

obviously i have a little freeee time on my hands, so i thought i'd just briefly do a houston house update!
hm... why is it that you move into a place and fill as if have a few more odds and ends you  need to do or add to make it feel homey and complete but then before you know it it's extremely to small. All your odds and ends are done & more odds and ends are done and more stuff is accumulated and accumulated and accumulated & before you know it....you need a bigger house! Really what that probably means is ... we need to get rid of some stuff...but i really don't want to do that b/c we will use it one day! SO for now, we are just crammed in there. Busting at the seams! I have a whole closest/sides of the bed/under the bed in a guest room full of gifts we recieved.
I have an upstairs bonus room=full of seasonal decorations, which my husbands says Im not allowed to have anymore & honestly I don't have an inch left in the house to put them...I mean I have to take down regular decor just to put them up....oh but you can already bet-I've been buying some fall stuff already :)
Sheesh!

On another note, I cannot wait until fall. Fall is my ABSOLUTE favorite, FAVORITE season! i wanted to get married in the fall=perfect....but my husband thought that getting married in football seasons was a horrible sin! He made that clear at about 2 months of dating when we had to go to a friends wedding in the fall & he had to miss a game!
However, i am thankful wedding planning and all that jazz is over!
& I am REALLY glad fall is almost here :)

I love the weather, love the decorations, love the scent fall brings & I love everything PUMPKIN ----especially pumpkin pie & the ohhh sooo amazing STARBUCKS Pumpkin Spice Latteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee =) AMAZING!

oh yes & I love, love, love to go to a good ole fall festival ;) So much fun! I cannot wait :) & I really can't wait until I can drag my children around to these festivals w/ me =) SO fun!

Continue to pray for Brittany & Brice

Okay here's a little update about the two...
Tuesday Brice was not feeling well so they took cultures from him (Im pretty sure it was tuesday or Monday) to see if he had anything growing. (I may have already touched on this)
They started him on antibiotics and gave him some blood, since he is not old enough to create blood on his own just yet...
Well, the good news is the cultures came back normal & baby Brice is seeming to be better. However as of yesterday his sodium was still a little low, which made him go down on his fluids....SO hopefully he can get that regulated soon.
However, I called my poor bestfriend yesterday to touch base & she sounded like death!
Poor Britt, as if she didn't feel horrible throughout her whole pregnancy, then have to go through over a week of hospitilizations, an early delivery/c-section (which they opened her poor incision up in one tiny spot to check it) now she has Mastisis.
I feel so bad for her! She sounded horrible & she said it basically feels like having the flu & strep all in one! She said her whole body just hurts horribly. That's just wild that a boob infection can take over your whole body. But I have heard from others that it's awful if you get it! Ahhhh taht makes me nervous!!
SO, just keep her in your thoughts & prayers! Overall we are so blessed to have little Briceypoo doing good :) He was two weeks old on thursday!!!
Can't wait until she feels completely better.... awww but to make it even worse she was supposed to start Kangaroo care that night & then she got sick so she didn't get tooO :(:(
& She can't go see her baby boy for a few days!
BUT, God is in control & he has a reason and a plan for everything. =) So we're hoping for a speedy recovery for my little mama friend :)

My 24th Birthday

Well today was my birthday, but festivities started yesterday! After spending a wonderful, relaxing day enjoying my husband, my parents suprised us with a visit at about 9pm. They delivered gifts! For my 24th birthday I was getting ONE gift every hour for 24 hours!! :) I wasn't supposed to start until 12, but considering I can't stay up that late & I can't refrain from opening presents, I dove into them about 2 seconds after my parents left :)

Gifts were anything from gum to shoes! :)

Some of my favorites from last night were four beautiful china bowls for my everyday(one of my everydays!) Workout clothes & Socks and dunkin donuts coffee with a dishwasher safe travel mug-keyword ...dishwasher safe!!!

I woke up on my birthday to a song from my husband (oh so sweet-but at the time I really felt like it was tooo early) Enjoyed a big breakfast (could've paid money to curl back up in bed & go to sleep) & a sweet note from the hubs...

Then headed to work & of course splurged & stopped by DD on my way for a blueberry coffee

When I got to work I had more gifts for the next few hours....

I enjoyed lunch with the hubs & Andrew later took me to buy a pair of running shoes at run in & to starbucks!!!

I got lots of wonderful things and ended my bday dinner with the wonderful family @ The Peddler!! Yummy!!!

However my favorite gift was................

yeah, yeah! were super classy and have a treadmill in b/t our dining room & den.... LOL We've just already accumulated so much stuff were growing out of our house ...already!! BUT, to be honest, we don't have that many visitors since we live forever away & it was important to have it somewhere functional :) SOOo thats where it is for now! & I absolutely LOVE it & am SO excited about it ;)
Thanks everyone for all the sweet birthday wishes!!! :) Had a great day (however, would have loved to have been off lol) but I must say I woulda been happy being just 20 forever!! bahaha!!!

Precious!

Brief baby Brice update & tom I will blog about my birthday festivities! Baby Brice opened both of his little eyes on Sunday. Isn't he precious?

He is growing!! Hello World :) He is still doing really well!! 

Today is my birthday & this is what he sent me! 

 

He loves me already!! Isn't that precious! I love it :) Next yr he will be a wild man betime our birthday month comes around :)

Will post more later!!

Much Love from the BUSY Birthday Girl :)

Update: Brice is having some cultures taking from him today to see if they grow anything. His white blood cells are a little elevated and his sodium is low. Pray for no infection. He isn't sick-but they are just taking precaution.

ALSO, Please pray for my friend Megan. I haven't got the details yet, but she just sent me a picture of her car which looked totaled. Im hoping everything is okay.

Baby Brice was ONE week old YESTERDAY! :)

Happy ONE week to Baby Brice! (Yesterday) In one week he has made significant progress. He is doing really good and has gained oz's back to his original birth weight - 1lb 10oz :)
Yesterday, on his one week old birthday, he had a brain scan to check for brain bleeds. He had one but the DR is not really concerned b/c it is not even a grade one bleed and it's not inside a vessel.
Brice also opened his eyes and peeked out to see his mommy & daddy.
They caught it on video=)
His digestive system seems to be working great too!

I got to visit w/ Brittany & Brandon yesterday afternoon. We watched baby Brice's videos. He is absolutely precious! He has beautiful little hands and perfect little finger nails!!  Brittany is feeling good. She looks great! Brandon & Britt are both in really good spirits and really thankful for the miracles God has done in this one week!

It was wonderful to sit w/ the proud parents and watch little precious!

Some parts made me cry others made me life. He's just a precious little boy & I cannot wait till he is bigger and squeezable!!! He is already spoiled rotten!

God is good!!!

Update: 

Today Brice was taken off his light & the up-ed his milk intake. They did however have to go up a little bit on his respirator because his lungs weren't expanding as much. He was just really when they lowered it. But that is okay because from what I understand it is very normal for it to go up & down. He's doing really well. & Hopefully the time will pass quickly, Brice will grow strong & he will be able to go home!! :) I have been sending Britt nursery ideas! It'll be neat to see what she ends up doing. 

There new home is beautiful & I know Brice's room will be too! I can't wait until it's all complete & Briceypoo can go home to it =) He already has a few outfits in his closet! Sweet boy! 

Brice-are you sure you want to go that route? A carolina fan?? Really???

Britt got to change his diaper!

Today brice is five days old!!! He actually opened his eyes!! :) Britt's mom just texted me and said Brittany got to change his diaper-which is awesome since she can't hold him yet. I am so excited for her! Brice just amazes me every single day! He's amazing!!

Tomorrow he has an ultra sound on his brain so please keep him in your prayers! Pray his results come back normal and he continues to grow, grow, grow!
I haven't gotten to talk to Brittany much today, but I am hoping she has gotten lots of rest and continues to do so!

I also found out that Brandon got to pick Brice up in his incubator while they changed his little sheets and stuff! How exciting! God is SO good. Brittany & Brandon are being so strong and and just feel so blessed to have little Brice & see him breathe and be able to touch him. He is truly a little trooper!!! 

They now have a video camera so it's going to be so neat watching little sweet boy in his videos!!! 

& we also found out that Brice's primary nurse during daytime hours, is a good friend of ours mom! So that is great! She is really sweet & from what I understand an awesome nurse so it's good to know he's in wonderful, loving hands!!! 

More Recipes...

To be completely honest I can't really even remember which recipes I've already posted...but I don't think I've posted these...

My meals usually consist of fish & Jon's usually consist of anything fried, casseroled etc 

I had a friend that said the enjoyed chicken SO I thought of two of my favorite SUPER SUPER SUPER Easy & Not tooo horrible for you chicken recipes.

Teriyaki Chicken:

2/3 Cup Soy Sauce

1/4 Cup Vinegar

1/4 Cup Honey

1 tblspn of Oil

1/2 tblspn of Ground Ginger

Mix those up really good & pour over chicken. Best if you let it refrigerate for at least and hour. I like to let it marinate over night... Next bake it 350 for 45-1 hour covered...Then if you want, (I do this when I have time) Go to the grill and grill it for just a minute or two just to get the "Grill marks"! I love it with the "Grill marks" but if you don't have a grill or time it's not a big deal. 

Different kind of Parmesan Chicken

1 Packet of Zesty Italian -not the actual liquid dressing a packet 

& Parmesan Cheese...NOT the kind you put on spaghetti ...  but the kind above in that type of container ...

anyways mix the two together and cover chicken.....bake covered until the last ten minutes then take the tinfoil off  and finish baking! ENJOY :) 

Baby Brice 4 days old

I got great news this morning!!! Baby Brice gained 2 oz overnight just by drinking mommy's milk! So that is awesome!!! :)
Brittany's bp is down & she will be able to come home tonight...
Praying Brittany & Brandon both get some good sleep tonight!!!
God is soo good!!! He's such a little blessing!!

Brice is going on day 3......

Scrubbadubdub!!!

Brice is now almost 3 days old! :) He had his first BM, which from what I understand is really awesome b/c that means his bowels are working properly.Brittany's mom said the nurse was bragging on him b/c of how well he is holding his own body temperatures! So that is great news too! Right now we are waiting on Brices' echo results.

He is having a test on his heart to see how well it's functioning...
I will post the results as soon as I know. I am just sitting by the phone waiting for that text!!
However, I can already tell our little precious miracle is already a fighter!! 
Gooooo Brice!!!! 




update: I just returned home from the hospital after visiting with Brittany & Brandon. I was SO thrilled to get to go visit them today!! It was so good to finally get to sit and talk w/ britt and hear her laugh! She is so strong! I just love them both!! Brittany's blood pressure is still a little high, but she will more than likely be able to come home tom. I hope the next few weeks she will actually try & rest & recover from her C-Section. Brice had to go up on his oxygen a little this morning, but is now at 26%. 
The Couch's also found out that if you baby weighs under 800mg(is it mg's?) insurance will pay 100%. Brice weighed 770. That is a blessing considering these bills will really add up.
Still waiting on Brice's test from earlier.
Brittany is able to pump a little & today they will be feeding him through a tube, his mommy's milk! Hopefully this will get Brice just a growing, since he has dropped a few oz's. 
His parents and grandparents and now aunt (b/c they snuck her in) have seen him, oh yeah and the preacher. Everyone says you just cannot imagine how teeeny tiny! He's 12 inches long :) 


2nd update: Brice is now a little over 3 days old :) His test results came back from his heart test that he had earlier today. They were checking a duct. The dr said it should close up on it's own, so overall the test results came back good!
This little bundle of joy is tough! 

2 days old

Brice is now 2 days old!! What a blessing!!!
The Doctor says that he is headed in the right direction.
From what I understand, Britt is feeling okay too. I think she is just having a hard time b/c she can't hold her sweet newborn baby! That breaks my heart for her. I cannot imagine! Here is the precious little one today at 2 days old...

Little Brice's sweet face at 2days old!!! 

Baby Brice & Brittany Updates

Brice is now one day old!!
Brittany's blood pressure was really high today, but has now gotten better. She is spending time with her precious baby boy as I type. Brice is doing good too. Such a blessing!
Brittany's mom just sent me these pictures of Brittany spending time with Brice. Look at her face-She is so happy! It made me cry! How precious! What a beautiful thing!!!
ahh, I love it!! Still need lots of prayers but GOD IS GOOD...ALL the time!!!

Baby Brice Pictures........

The Newest Addition to the Couch Family

Brice & Mommy

Sweet baby Brice & His daddy

PROUD DADDY!! :)