❤️ Our Wedding. (I got more pics from AS). #WeDontShineWeGlisson ❤️

I recently got more pictures from our wedding, this time from Aunt Susi. Now all we have to do is get our disposable cameras from the big day developed and we'll be good to go. Needless to say, it's been quite the process and we're already over a year in! But, at least we're getting there little by little. Right? RIGHT?!!?!

Also, nobody told me that I looked like I swallowed a beachball on my wedding day. Like, if I didn't know for a fact that it wasn't true, I would almost swear I was pregnant when we got married. But no, I was just at my absolute chubbiest. I've lost somewhere between 20+ pounds since then, and I can definitely tell when I look at me now versus these photos. But you know what? I was so f*cking happy that day, I don't even care. My hubby just had some massive boobs to stare at. 

Over the weekend and through the woods to grandmother's house we go.

Ok fine, that was a little bit dramatic, but it was an eventful weekend. Even with all of the rain that seems to be lurking around for the past two weeks, we've managed to get quite a bit accomplished. Go us!

I may have even made a couple of friends? Well.... ok.... they're technically D's friends, but I think they might like me or at the very least be able to tolerate me, so that's good, right? 

This past weekend, even though we were both supposed to be off, we spent the majority of Saturday morning at his job and then the majority of the afternoon/evening at mine. Why? Well, we're gluttons for punishment.

I'm kidding. Mostly. No, we had to change some stuff for D at work and just ended up hanging out and talking to a couple of his friends up there (that may be my friends now too, but I don't know for sure?). Just talking and hanging out and Ariel even fixed my key fob! 

Then we picked up ten pizzas (it was like a pepperoni and sausage sauna up in that car!) and made our way to the shop (after letting our pups out of course!) to help out with the party. It was the first "event" that we had at the shop that D got to come to, and I really liked that he got to come with me.

Even though we spent the majority of our day at our jobs, we were together and had a really nice time. I guess we can be social little folks when we want to be. You know, since we essentially always just hang out in our cave. 

Then we went home and spent that evening and all day Sunday just relaxing and watching Marvel movies. Because why not?

Side note: A police officer knocked on our door at four o'clock this morning and by the time I realized who it was, got dressed and woke D up, he was already in his vehicle and had driven away. So.... anybody have any clue why that would happen? I assume nothing was too wrong or he would've stuck around, but I'm still curious?

We don't mean for our faces to do that thing.... it just happens.

Today we had a "farewell" party at the shop, since we are moving buildings this coming December. It was a bit sentimental and everybody that showed up had a real nice time. While everybody was reminiscing about all the years that our company has been around here and things of that nature, I found that the majority of my reminiscing about this place makes me think of Dani.

Most people that ask me about my job get the same answers. I make no bones about the fact that I essentially "lucked" into my job. Now, I might have lucked into it, but that doesn't mean that I get to keep it for no reason. I have to work hard to keep up in an ever evolving and hectic business. Otherwise, Dani would fire my ass.

But, the fact of the matter is, I was lucky. People go to college to get degrees so that they can have the kind of job that I have now and it would be immature of me to dismiss that. Afterall, my education stops after high school. Don't get me wrong, I did well in school, but didn't have the opportunity to pursue college and once the opportunity arose, I felt like it wasn't for me. I have nothing against people going or not going to college, I think it really just all depends on the person. I just wasn't a college bound person.

However, I've always been good with working hard to get where I need to be and am comfortable with myself. When I moved Momma to Indy I was just going to go back to a nursing home as that was what I knew, but Dani showed up out of the blue and offered me a job with her in the office at the shop.

To say I was surprised was an understatement. I was appreciative of her offer, but immediately let her know that I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, as I had never done this kind of work before. She told me she didn't need me to know what I was doing, she just needed me to be willing to learn what I needed to know without giving her attitude and backlash with it. With those terms, how could I refuse?

The rest is history and while Dani and I have always been good, we've definitely gotten closer throughout the years. I mean, you can only spend five days a week/nine hours a day in a tiny office with someone before y'all either kill one another or become friends.

Lucky for me, it was the latter of the two. Now, she's my cousin, my boss, and my friend. Even when D and I got married, I couldn't think of anyone better than her to marry us. It just felt right.

She's ten years older than me and don't tell her I told you, but she's kind of the shit and I've idolized her my entire life. 

When I was little, I really wanted to grow up to be as awesome as her. I wanted to be tough and strong like her. She took absolutely no shit when we were kids (and that didn't change as we got older). When I was a young pre-teen/teen, she was in college and I wanted to dress like her and have her hair. She was the epitome of coolness and it was awe-inspiring to see her living her life like she wanted and not listening to the other people around her that tried to get her to do things a different way. In my early twenties is when she took me under her wing and gave me the opportunity to grow into who I wanted to become and into even more of a responsible adult.

We've been through alot together. Growing as people. Growing as wives. For her, growing as a mother.... which she is incredible at and I am so lucky I got to see and be a part of. For me, growing as a person and accepting to be comfortable in my own skin and way of life. Growing as women who work in a male dominated field. We've both dealt with losing a parent together and have managed to make it through almost ten years of being with each other constantly and neither of us have murdered the other yet. In all fairness, it would definitely be her that had the most legitimate reasons to murder me, but she doesn't, and for that, I am forever grateful.

In fact, there are many things in my life that I am thankful for and she has helped me accomplish many of them. Even if she doesn't know it, because she doubts herself constantly (something she should never feel the need to do), she is amazing and while I don't like putting my emotions out there for people to see, I do love her. And I am so damn thankful for her existence.

With that being said, I just want to say, thank you, Dani. You may not know it, but you are the shit and I am forever grateful for you and the person that you are. You're an amazing wife, mother, friend, boss, sister, daughter, cousin, business woman, and everything in between. And if anybody makes you doubt that for a second, let me know, and I'll hit that bitch with a forklift.

Because you, my friend, deserve it all. 

Stu Macher was the beginning of my trust issues.

When I was six years old, a movie came out that rejuvenated horror movies into something that no one saw coming. From the opening scene with Drew Barrymore fighting and ultimately losing her path to survival, everyone knew that this was something different and.... amazing.

Back then, Momma let me watch pretty much whatever I wanted when it came to television. I think a lot of people did. The 90s were a different time; more laid back and benefiting from the fact that social media wasn't a thing yet. It was simple and people weren't offended by everything coming around the corner. Good times.

Scream was a movie that I insisted on watching, because even as a small child I was obsessed with movies that were particularly made for adults. Interview with the Vampire.... Braveheart.... Tombstone.... Legends of the Fall.... Seven.... Twister.... Armageddon.... Pretty Woman.... and so on and so forth. I think you pretty much understand where I'm going with this.

I have been obsessed with horror movies for as long as I can remember, and Scream was no exception. I've literally been watching this saga since I was six years old and now at thirty-one, it's still one of my very favorite go-to's. 

With that being said, it was recently announced that they had made a fifth installment. And as soon as I heard that, I was all WWWHHHHHAAAAAA????!!!!! And then I watched the trailer and my response was **heart eye emojis** **heart eye emojis** YYYEEEESSSSS!! (And then I got sad, because I realized this would be the first installment that I'll have to watch without Momma.... horror movies were kind of our thing together and this particular franchise is a forever favorite for us).

It looks intense and even has my returning faves (I'm look at you Sid, Dewey, & Gale) and a few new faces that I'm excited to see (I'm looking at you, Kyle Gallner). I mean, once you put Kyle Gallner in a horror movie (or really, any movie or tv show for that matter), it just gets better and better (in my opinion). I'm legit obsessed with his acting.

And, I'm pretty sure they're just calling this movie "Scream 2022" but let's be honest, I'm still going to call it Scream 5, because that's less confusing for me. Twenty-five years or not, the original will always be the shit. The last installment to come out was in 2011 and it was completely different than what anything in the other three had done (for the most part). I'm going to blame it on the changing times and growing social media presence. 

I don't know how they're going to do this movie with technology being what it is, but I hope it still has that old school kind of feel. Because at the end of the day, no matter if someone is live streaming or sharing what is happening (like in the fourth installment) at the base of the movie, it's supposed to be about survival from psychopaths. And they don't care what year it is.

And that's what I hope they go back to. I want to feel what I felt when Billy Loomis and Stu Macher ended up being the bad guys in the original. I want it to be simple, but oh so good. Surprising and just an all out fun time with serial killers. And yeah, I know that makes me sound a little psychotic, but I don't even care.

Also, if one or more of the three originals dies (which I feel like is going to happen), I will be so f*cking pissed off it won't be funny. Don't ruin my lifetime devotion to these movies, y'all! I mean, you already took out Randy in the second one (even though he kind of showed up in the third) and Cotton in the third, and it hasn't felt the same since.

This is also the first installment to not be directed by Wes Craven (may that genius man rest in peace), so we'll see how someone else lives up to it. It's big shoes to fill, and I hope they do it with as much passion and intensity as he always did. With the fact it's being directed by the guys who did that movie "Ready or Not" (and I lllooooovvvveee that movie), I have high hopes.

There's a rumor that Matthew Lillard is supposed to return and I for one am here for it! I don't know if it's true, but I would love it. Whether he's still a bad guy or has been rehabilitated (I mean, it was peer pressure! lol), like every other 90s/early 00s kid, I love me some Matthew Lillard.

Furthermore, can we all just agree that if this were real we would think every single person that lived in Woodsboro was a complete idiot? Like, why haven't y'all moved yet? And why do you insist on having so many teenagers in that one tiny town? It's like they're asking for generation after generation to be chopped up. 

Alas, it's not real, it's a movie franchise and I am here for it. 

Tell me what your favorite scary movie is on January 14, 2022.

One year and all of the love and shenanigans that make our lives ours.

One year ago today, I married the love of my life, and it's been a hell of a ride ever since. 

D and I decided to take an extended weekend for our first anniversary. We never have gone on a honeymoon (Covid) and honestly, we just prefer to stay at our own house. So, we decided that we would take off Friday and Monday so that we could spend four whole days together.

Now, being locked in a house with someone (and I say it like that, because I literally lock the doors at our house constantly.... you would think I have people stalking me or something, but no, I'm just naturally paranoid 24/7) continuously might not sound like fun for some people, but I can assure you that it is.

Afterall, D is my best friend. 

Now, hear me out. I know a lot of people say their significant other is their best friend, because they love them SO much. However, this is not me being emotional or trying to get an aww. The truth is, I literally married my best friend. He's pretty much the only person I hang out with, talk to, do activities with, chill with.... and now that I'm saying it, it sounds like we're very codependent on one another.

Oh well, you live trying to be happy. I have absolutely no regrets with the fact that my husband is my bestie and lover all wrapped up into one pretty/6'3/ass like an apple package. And he's known me since we were fifteen, so he's literally seen me look my very best to absolute shit within two hours of each other. #Anxiety

So, what did we/are we doing for our big weekend? Well.... absolutely not shit. And that's kind of the point. We were responsible adults and did all of our running and errands on Friday so that we wouldn't have to go out after that. We've done a couple of house projects that we've been meaning to do, mostly just deep cleaning the bathroom, painting a little (more to come), hanging some curtains throughout the house, little things like that.

Other than that we've just hung out together, cuddled, played games, watched tv (he even binge-watched the entire third season of YOU with me), caught a buzz or two, cooked together, and basically have spent all the time with our pups and each other. We even made a fancy anniversary dinner together. And when I say fancy, I mean D grilled some filet mignon and I made red mashed taters. Ain't nobody got time, effort, energy, or cash to be going out to fancy places and shit when we can do our own thing at the house that is just as nice.... and I don't have to wear pants.

Since we've been off, D has consistently given me his undivided attention when he isn't asleep, and let's just say that I literally thrive off of it. I usually don't like having attention on me. I'm perfectly fine being off to the side and people leaving me alone. But with him? GIVE ME ALL THE ATTENTION.

Seriously though, I know I'm rambling, but I can't believe that we've actually been married for a whole year. It feels like it was two weeks ago and forty years all at the same time. I am so incredibly lucky to have had D come back into my life at the exact time I would need him the most and didn't even know it. He's my rock, my love, my true north. Literally, my world revolves around that man and our pups and I have no issue with that. In fact, I thrive on it.

So.... here's to us, baby. We're a year in and you haven't even attempted to smother me to death with a pillow yet. You deserve some recognition and love for that, because I am A BUNCH to deal with. You're amazing and kind and funny and smart and loveable and I am quite literally in awe of you. You're simply it, my love.

One year in.... here's to many more to come. I love you.

A thirty-one year habit broken. (Side note: my hubby might be a wizard).

Everyone has bad habits. I don't care who you are or where you're from (I totally just sang that in my best BSB voice), you have them. And if you don't think you do, ask anyone that knows you well and I guarantee that they can pull something out of their hat. Some people twirl their hair, others smoke. Lord knows I have a long list of bad habits that I don't foresee going anywhere, but the one I've had the most consistently and longest? 

Nail-biting.

Yeah, yeah, I know its a disgusting habit that is not only annoying, but also unsanitary. And the fact that I take sometimes three showers a day, because I'm a bit of a hygiene freak and still have this gross habit doesn't make much sense.

I've always prided myself on being able to step away from bad things. Sure, I've tried things and some I've even done for awhile, but eventually I realize that this isn't what I want to do and I simply walk away. No ifs, ands, or buts. It's just always been that simple to me. A mind over matter kind of thing.

Now, I know this isn't that easy for many people, but I've just been fortunate enough in my life to be able to make a decision and once that decision is set, there's no going back. Call it the stubborn in me, but my personality is what it is and its not going anywhere. (And yes, I usually hate the saying "it is what it is" but the fact of the matter is, in this situation, it applies.)

But, nothing has ever broken me of the habit of nail-biting. I'm not sure when exactly it started, but Momma always told me she couldn't keep my fingers out of my mouth even as a baby, so I'm thinking it dates back a long ways. You would think something along the way would have stopped it. I've even semi-attempted it many times over the years.

I've tried it all. The polishes, the oils, the hot sauce. You know, all the things you're supposed to put on your nails to break the habit of biting? Yeah, I just ate through it all. I tried to get acrylic nails once and just ended up chewing them off while watching a movie that very same night like an angry honey badger. And the biggest thing that I did that should have most definitely changed my mind and ended the habit? I worked in a motherf*cking nursing home and assisted in wound care. I'm sorry, but if that doesn't break the habit all on its own, then you need to seriously apply yourself, because you have a problem. 

And by you, I mean me.

My aunt once told me that it takes twenty-one days to break a habit. She said if I could just make it to twenty-one, then I was home free. I tried that countdown method too, but it didn't work. Instead, what broke my thirty-one year struggle?

My f*cking husband.

That's right, I said it. And you may be wondering how he broke me of this habit that has managed to stick with me longer than quite literally everything else in my life. Well, to be perfectly honest, he Jedi-mind tricked me. Oh yeah, straight up, 100%, Jedi'd the f*ck out of me.

How may you ask? A couple of weeks ago, we were laying in bed watching tv and D had his head on my belly and I was scratching and running my fingers through his hair (which he has since cut off). Out of the blue he sighed and said, "this feels nice.... you know what would make it feel even better?" I waited for him to continue and a few seconds later he followed it with, "if you didn't bite your nails they would be longer and then the scratching would feel ooohhhh ssssooooo gggoooooodddd." And then he kind of wiggled and snuggled more into me. I just chuckled at him and continued on for a little bit until we went to sleep. Never thought about it ever again. Or, never knew I was thinking about it at least.

Cut to a little over a week later and Dani mentioned that my nails were getting long, as she could hear them tapping on my keyboard. She asked if I was trying to grow them out and once I looked down I realized that I did in fact have long nails. Not crazy bitch nails, but legit fingernails. I tried to think of the last time that I had bit them, but I kept coming up blank. I truly hadn't even noticed that I had stopped or that they were there.

Blew. My. Mind.

I immediately called D out on his witchcraft and wizardry when we both had made it home from work, but he just looked down at me with those big ass baby blues of his that make me melt into a f*cking puddle and smiled that innocent little "you know and I know and I know that you know and you know that I know that you know" smile that he always has with me, kissed me on the forehead and went on his little merry way. 

Twerp. He's lucky I love him. 

And this isn't even the first time he's used his voodoo magic on me either. Did I ever tell you about the time that he traded me a penny for my hiccups and I immediately stopped f*cking hiccupping? No. Well.... another story for another day.

The point is, I married a MOTHERF*CKING WIZARD.

No wait, that wasn't supposed to be the point. The point was supposed to be that now my habit is essentially broken and I have to do shit like cut my nails and file them. Like, what? This is some adult lady shit and I am not on board with it.

(And yes, I reserve the right to call my husband a Jedi, wizard, sorcerer, and anything else that seems appropriate for my anxiety and jumbled word vomit filled thought process). 

Today, a good man was laid to rest and we will truly miss him.

Mark was an amazing guy. He was always funny and brutally honest. I don't know if the man ever met a stranger, because within the first three minutes of meeting him I was convinced that even I had known him longer. 

D met him through work and they became fast friends. Always hanging out and playing COD Mobile at every available opportunity. It was nice to go over to their house and just talk to him and Amy whenever the occasion presented itself. They truly are amazing people.

Even when he got ill, he still tried to use that to help other people. He truly cared what happened to the people and world around him. I know I've said it before, but it bares repeating, he was just a damn good man and will be truly missed. The world is less of a bright place without him in it.

Our hearts, love, condolences, and prayers are with his family. While I know that isn't necessarily a comforting thing during a time like this, I also know that sometimes its just nice to know that someone has your back. And I know you're not lacking in support, but Amy, if you need us, we're only a phone call away.

We loved him. We love you. And we're here.

"The comfort of having a friend may be taken away, but not that at having had one." -Seneca