Happy Halloween! Let's Look Ridiculous Together!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

If you know me at all, you know that I pretty much loathe Halloween. I'm NOT a fan of scary movies, commercials, costumes, vampires, darkness, night, mean people... You get the point.

Some people are all, "OH EM GEE I love Halloween, it's like, totally THE BEST holiday ever!!" And I'm all, "Ok, weirdo... I don't like being scared, I like happiness, sunshine, and rainbows."

I will say, however, that when I check out at Publix with my GIANT bags of delicious candy, when the cashier says, "Wow! You must be expecting a ton of trick-or-treaters!" I always respond with, "Yes. Totally. I LOVE Halloween. Now put the candy in the bag as I walk away slowly." I never mention that I live off a highway, and that the first time I trick-or-treated was when I was 15. Not important.

This year, I am so excited about Halloween! Why? I'll tell you!

CANDY! 

(I know I already mentioned that, but come on. It's awesome. No trick-or-treaters = candy all to myself. Hello, shows that I've taped to avoid scary commercials!)

COUPLES COSTUMES!

This year, I have a fiancé. This means that I'm not scared to force him to dress up, because he already admitted he wants to marry me, so it's fair game! Welcome to the next 97+ years of your life, BABE! 

Or should I say....

DR. SHELDON COOPER!

That's right! For an awesome Halloween party that my boss invited me to last Friday night, we went as Sheldon and Amy (Farrah Fowler) from the Big Bang Theory!

Kevin and I, or should I say, "Shamy" were very successful in our representation of the fabulous couple! We rocked those costumes. I'm still trying to find a photo of us, I'll post it here as soon as I do! (We tried finding costumes at the store, but homemade ones are so much easier! On a side note, I found out that a "Large" at the costume store is actually a child's size 4T, and should not be worn in public. Seriously, people.)

Tonight, because it's actually Halloween, we will be dressing up as yet another amazing couple, Katniss & Gale from the Hunger Games! Super easy costume, because I had everything already in my closet and "borrowed" my niece's Brave Bow & Arrow set. (Ok, so I bought it for my costume and plan on giving it to her later. Don't judge me.)

I'm Katniss at work today, so if anyone gives me crap I'm just going to roll my eyes and maybe punch them. A few people said I actually looked like J.Law, (Jennifer Lawrence? She plays Katniss? Catch up, will you?) and I seriously almost started crying. She's amazing. 

Being in love means doing things you sometimes hate. Smiling. Watching an action movie. Looking at fishing stuff. (OMG How many different fake worms do you actually need??) Dressing up together. 

Kevin has been such a sport about the whole ordeal, after the initial resistance. You know, to prove he's "a man." (If I were a bad fiancé, I'd mention that he's worn his Sheldon 'Flash' t-shirt not once but about 43 times since the party... but I totally won't.)

Have fun dressing up and stay safe! We'll be trick-or-treating with a little Doc McStuffins (Madisyn, although Kevin would try to wear that outfit...) tonight, and I'll be doing quality control on the candy that she collects. You know, because I want her to only have the best. 

What are your amazing Halloween costume ideas and plans? Can't wait to hear all about them! If your significant other does dress up, make sure to take A LOT of pictures. You'll be happy you did!

Fishing in the Dark REMIX

If you've ever heard the country song, "Fishing in the Dark"by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, you know that fishing, in the dark, is super romantic. It's full of "counting the stars" and the moon "shining through the trees", and most importantly, "fallin' in love". 

Reality check. The only people who actually believe that this can happen are boys. Big, redneck, momma-lovin boys. Because I can tell you right now, this is not how a girl would have written this song.

How would a girl have written this song? I'm glad you asked. 

See my lyrics below, play this video and sing along. If you want to get really fancy, here's a karaoke version. You're welcome.  

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"Fishin' In The Dark"

Gettin' in the boat and I almost fell out,

I hope we'll be fine,

I really hope that leak doesn't sprout

like it did last time, 

I hope we don't si-ink...

Across the bridge I see some alligators, 

I hope they aren't hungry,

He says it will be fine they're more scared of us,

But he can outswim me,

I hope they are aslee-eep, ooooooh, ooooooh

Chorus:

You and me going fishing in the dark,

Who's idea was this the mosquitos are out,

I'm getting cold.

I haven't caught a thing and I lost my bait,

I don't want to touch the worms, that's your job babe,

I wan't to go home...

Stayin' the whole night here, sounds like a nightmare...

It's really cold now and I've got like twenty seven-bug bites,

I forgot my sweater and you're getting on my nerves

Is it time to turn around? 

How far are we.... away from the shore?

Chorus

And it DOES matter if we sit forever and the fish don't bite,

because I won't be jumping in the river because gators might...

Baby let's goooooo.....ooooooh oohhhhh

Repeat Chorus until your boyfriend/fiancé/husband takes you home.

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You're welcome. Yes, these lyrics were completely made up by me, composed of true events. If you'd like to share or sing on the Voice, you're welcome to it, but you have to pay me royalties and make me famous as well. Do we have a deal?

Feel free to enjoy these pictures I took during our most recent fishing trip to Lake Manatee. These pictures were taken using my iPhone 4. No filter, no special lens, no editing. God sure has a talent for making these fishing trips tolerable!! 

No Cardboard Box for This Girl

We have a very big announcement to make.....

WE ARE BUYING A HOUSE! 

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, I should say that our offer on a home was accepted this morning!

Kevin and I have been stalking, obsessing and praying over a house that we found in Myakka. It is literally in the middle of our parents' houses. We would never have to grocery shop. I'm kidding, of course.... totally kidding.

We have waited for this home to go on the market for months, and when it did, Kevin pounced like a lion on a weak and wounded gazelle! (It's true, that image is accurate.)

We are so blessed. I'm crying, alone in my office, thanking God for his favor... and Kevin's going to "call me back, because he's at McDonalds and he's in the middle of lunch". 

I see where our priorities lie.

We still have to go through closing, inspections and appraisals and all of that official mumbo-jumbo that is required, but I'm so happy that we are going through this together! God really had our backs. This home is on 5 acres, in a great location, in Myakka and we got such a great deal on it. Just when we thought it couldn't happen, it did. Color me impressed. 

Keep us in your prayers if you think about it, we need them! I'll keep you all posted, and we'll have to have you over for a barbecue or something! You bring the food! (Just kidding.)

*** Side note... I did confirm this with our realtor before posting. Kevin played an awful trick on me. When I called him to check to see if he heard anything back.... (offers were supposed to be in last night) he said we lost the house by an offer that was $1000 more than ours. I almost lost it. He then said, "Kidding, it's ours. We won." (Like it's eBay....) All jokes aside, our offer was the best! Just thought I'd put a disclaimer for anyone who actually knows Kevin.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

I'm pretty sure I'm like, the best aunt ever. 

Well, I'm trying to be.

My biggest goal as an aunt is to influence that girl as much as I possibly can. I'm succeeding. 

(I just high-fived myself.)

Because of this, today I experienced something awful. 

A heart-breaking, painful experience.

I had to drop Madisyn off at her new day care.

"Can you take her? We are afraid she'll be too sad if I take her," said Mimi. "I can't do it because of my new work schedule," said her mother/my twin sister, Jessica. "We hate you and want to punish you for being amazing," they both thought in their minds behind my back.

Cowards.

I took her all right, and I got her all excited. I did her hair (duh), we practiced dancing and singing (she's like, really gifted) and introducing ourselves. (I also told her what to say when someone said they didn't want to play with her. You're welcome, Jess. I hope you're the one that gets yelled at for it! I'm half kidding.)

She was magnificent. She's brilliant. Sure, she didn't want me to leave, but thanks to a brilliant teacher, Madisyn met two new gal pals. 

What they didn't tell me is that I would be the one to cry. 

To look back. 

To keep peeking around the corner to see if she really left. 

My heart is broken. 

Thanks a lot, mom and Jessica. 

I owe you big time. 

Madisyn is so amazing and I can't wait for her to be "discovered". Need proof? 

Aunt Kell Kell & Maddie "First day of Daycare Selfie"

Getting ready to go to Daycare!

First day of school picture!

The place is called Jump, so.......

This is before we built the giant racetrack.

Her new friends!

How I found "The One"

I just knew it. The moment I looked over, I saw a light shining down on my perfect choice. I laughed a little, blushed, rushed right over and took what was mine.

And I've never been happier. I can't wait to wear it!

Oh, you thought I was talking about Kevin? Well this is awkward....

I said "Yes" to the dress! Yep, this girl has found her a dress! 

After a David's Bridal trip that left me feeling a little "eh", we decided to make a spontaneous trip to a few wedding dress consignment shops in Sarasota. If you are dress hunting, I highly recommend trying consignment first. I was really concerned that the dresses would all be 80's style, big poofy sleeves, crazy accents, big bows on my rear.... and there were a lot of those. Don't get me wrong.

However, there are quite a few dresses that are from this century, and many of them are exactly what you'd see in a store. The only catch is they have usually been worn, or if you're lucky, the original owner never got married!

Kidding, that's actually really sad..... How dare you.

Anyways, my dress looks like it should cost about $2000-$3000, and I plan on looking up the retail cost if I can find it! (Not that it matters, I'm just a little curious!)

This dress has everything I was looking for but couldn't find. Isn't that funny how it works out?

Speaking of working out...... that's what I should be doing right now! I have a dress to wear! 

;)

Stay tuned for more adventures in wedding planning//job drama//being engaged to Kevin!

{{thanks for reading}}

How to Fail at Cooking

I wish I could say that this post was full of great recipe ideas, or pictures of food I made/managed not to burn, or even tales of success from attempted Pinterest dishes. 

My Pinterest food board, titled, "Recipes I Could Actually Make!", hasn't actually seen the inside of my parents' kitchen.

Don't judge me.

At first, the fact that I can't/am too lazy to cook really bothered me. I can make a mean pot of spaghetti, I can brown ground beef like you've never seen, and I can make this amazing taco salad.

However, if you're trying to throw in fancy words and phrases like, "Steam", "Tablespoon", "Simmer", "Measure",  "Broil", "Oven", Timer", "Don't eat the raw dough".... I'm kind of lost after that.

I decided the other night that I was going to cook for my man! That's right. Cook. I quickly snapped a screen shot of a delicious (easy) looking recipe... crayoned a quick shopping list of ingredients on my nearest empty envelope (there was no paper/adult writing utensils anywhere near me, and I had thrown away my old receipts/note holders, as I like to call them), and the excitement set in. That's right, this Martha Stewart-in-training was going to make a very complicated meal of BBQ Chicken Pizza things for her fiancé. (Chicken, cheese barbecue sauce, pita things... advanced level stuff.) If he ever doubted that I was ready for marriage.... I was about to squash all of those fears.

Then.... I felt it. The anxiety. Do I have to use the oven? How much will this cost? Is it too late to cook? Is there a curfew on this kind of thing? Wow, didn't realize it was already 7pm.... 

My knight in shining armor comes over and I tell him, "I'm going to cook for you. Let's stop by Publix on our way in." 

Kevin leans in and whispers the magic words, "It's late, I'm starving, and we're broke. Let's get McDonalds."

I can't wait to marry this man. 

Five Speeds & Triple Dates

A note to my readers: I've decided that this blog will not only be about my adventures as a bride-to-be, but I will continue to keep blogging on this site after we are married. Future blog posts will probably include topics like:

How to NOT kill your husband 101

I'm not your mommy

Don't make me choose between you and the cat

Why "House Hunters" is a giant lie

How being a twin prepared me for marriage 

My struggles with my new name/identity 

Etc.

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I'm very excited about this prospect of blogging from this new point of view, and I hope you'll continue to read/follow/adore/stalk, whatever you want to do!  

There have been some really funny things that have happened since my last entry. And no, I'm not referring to the conversation I had with a man in Office Depot this morning while I was trying to make business cards, "Here's MY card. Made it free. Vistaprint. (As if I'm the one person on the planet who hasn't heard of vistaprint... gee thanks, Mister!) It's brown. Keep it. No, really. (After I said, "Wow, love the swirls. Very nice." and tried to hand it back.) I wanted yellow and black (He was a bee farmer, I'm not kidding) but hey, the bees can't tell the difference!" Me: "Thanks!" (As I'm running outside.) Nice..... but just a little creepy.

Anyways..

TRUCKS

Kevin's always had really nice trucks.

(Girls, if your man has a truck, refrain from using words like "pretty", because apparently...... they don't like that. Weird, because I personally love that word!! You should approach with extreme admiration using words like "macho", "studly", and of course, "date me, now." You'll thank me later.)

He decided to buy a truck, or in his words, a "grocery getter". Not that he actually buys groceries.... but something to help him save some gas money during the week. Wow, responsible, right?? He shows up with this little stick shift.... contraption. It's so rusted that I decided I might need to get a new tetanus shot. Well, it's fine as long as it's just his back and forth truck, right?

Imagine my surprise when this truck became our date night transportation. Yep, nothing cooler than the ol' rust bucket. 

It's a truck/meat defroster! (On the roof, so handy!)

This is how he has to honk the horn.

   

So fresh, so clean.

It's probably the most hilarious truck you've ever seen, and guess what. He loves it. He reminds me of a high-schooler who just got their first truck. His enthusiasm (and sound effects) when he's driving make me laugh. The other night, he let me drive it. (It's a stick shift...)

I only stalled out 3 times! 

(This was while trying to start it. It's not as easy as it looks in the movies!)

Attempting to drive the beast...

DATES

Our most recent date was a trip to go cosmic bowling. We met up with Steven & Stephanie (Kevin's brother & his bro's girlfriend) and Jason & Heather (Kev's cousin and his wife). It was super fun, even though I am a horrible bowler. I chuck the bowling ball, get it perfectly straight, and manage to knock down two pins. I did get some strikes the other night, which was very exciting! I like triple/double/group dating because it's a fun time and you can vent about your boyfriends/fiances/husbands/girlfriends/fiancees/wives and trade stories! Believe me, we always have a good time because the boys are always giving us new material!!

Bowling is fun, but it's awkward when you go bowling as a group for the first time and find out everyone else was in a league together. (Oh, did we forget to tell you that? Giggle giggle... Was that another gutter ball? Do you need the bumpers? Giggle.) Thanks, guys! Had a blast, because this time I was prepared, with my super sweet & extremely distracting dance moves. Take that, last place! (For the record, I was still in last place, but I was TIED for last place, so there.)

I'm enjoying this time with Kevin, because life is just too short to be annoyed at every little thing... so I'll update with some more funny pictures/stories soon! 

       

       

From top to bottom, clockwise: Kevin & Lulu, Going Venue shopping, Kevin driving and being excited, and Kevin driving like a ghost! (Like in the movie Bridesmaids, "Hey, Who's driving that car?")