Tuesday, June 26, 2012

just keep swimming...

 First off let me start by saying...

Friday was Joe's 29th birthday.  I actually started the celebration on Thursday by buying him a six pack of Sam Adams Porch Rocker (similar to Leinie Summer Shandy), garlic bbq shrimp skewers & a steak kakbob for the grill, along with a card that he picked out himself at HyVee last weekend when we were looking for Father's Day cards.  It plays bad to the bone, & the dog can't figure it out, it drives him crazy.  I also gave him his present which was a new windshield for the bike.  The one that he had was a big, clear, ugly looking thing, the one I got him is black, low profile, & it has flat black flames etched into it, looks sooo much better!  

Friday I took him out to Bartley's our favorite restaurant here in town.  It's a tiny little place that's only open a few days a week.  Mostly filled with old people, not really a place where the "hip youngsters" would go, but we love it.  Best alfredo sauce hands down & they make a mean Southern Comfort Old Fashioned, which Joe normally drinks 3 of.  I highly recommend it to all locals, just be sure to make a reservations.  


I found this quote via Pinterest.  It made me think about how busy we have been this summer & how much we have going on & how fast it is all going by, but this quote made me feel better about it all, because remember #YOLO!  Moving forward in life, moving on from things, literally moving, being motivated, doing things, keep the momentum going in life!


Saturday I went on my usual grocery shopping & lunch trip with my mom, then headed to my dads to go boating.  It is one of my favorite summer activities and it has been my whole life.  I grew up boating and being on the river.  It was fun, can't wait to go again! Check me out in my L*Space fringe swimming suit!



So next was the "Slap Bet, Pizza Challenge" between Joe and his friend Mike.  Joe had to eat a large, deep dish, LaGrotto's pizza in 90 minutes.  If you know Joe you know he is stubborn & has an appetite, so I had no doubt in my mind that he could easily do this... well, it didn't quite go as he had planned, and 20 minutes in, he threw up some crust and lost.  The winner gets to slap the loser 3 times whenever they want.  One slap was already spent at LaGrottos in front of all 20+ of our friends and family that came to watch, plus anyone else who happened to be patronizing the place at the time.  It was fun, but I was sad to see Joe lose.  We did wear our matching "Bazinga" shirts, to get that you must be a fan of Big Bang Theory, and to get the idea of a "Slap bet" you must be a fan of How I Met Your Mother!



Sunday morning we woke up, went to breakfast, then my friend Jessica and I went to a local winery, August Hill in Utica.  We are wine club members there so we get to do wine tastings for free & Jess still had wine to pick up from last Will Call so we thought it would be a fun Sunday afternoon event.   We had a blast, drank wine, ate cheese, soaked up the sun, our friend Laura met us there & we just chit chatted & got our buzz on.  If you've never been to August Hill I highly recommend it!



Sunday evening we took a limo down to Bloomington for dinner at Biaggi's it was amazing and we had such a great time in the limo.  We were celebrating all the June birthday's, Father's Day, my dad & step mom's anniversary, & anything else we could think of to celebrate.  




All in all an amazing weekend filled with good friends & good food & great wine!   We close on our house this Friday and we are having a garage sale at my aunt's house so lots of things going on once again.  Can't wait to get started on the updating of the new house!

And stayed tuned for an upcoming post, I'll be doing my first giveaway!  

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

summer favorites!

Today is the first day of summer! Hooray!  Check out some of my Summer Favorites, although it's only the first day so I suppose my list is subject to change, but we're going on our 12th day in the 90's so it's felt like summer for awhile here in Illinois. Check out what I LOVE so far.

1. L*Space Fringe Swimming Suite in Tiffany Blue a little pricey {136.00} but super cute!
2.  Skin Dimensions Simply Beautiful Baked Blush in Simply Nectar
3. Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration it's very important to protect your skin with SPF30+ you will get a natural glow rather than a burn!  I promise you!
4. Skin Dimensions Self Tanning Body Butter this stuff smells awesome, goes on nice, & is perfect for a once a week application to keep up your color, especially after a spray tan!
5. Leinenkugel Summer Shandy Lemonade flavored beer!  Very refreshing!
6. Lime a Rita! Margarita & Beer!  My two favorite alcoholic beverages mixed together! 
7. If You Moust You Moust OPI Vintage Mini Mouse Collection! Great summer color.
8. Harley Davidson Twist Back Tank got this as a bday present from Joe.  Love Harley tanks, they're loose fitting, & fun!  But a little pricier again this one is $45.00 

I thought I'd also share a recipe for my favorite sandwich, especially in the summer, a Memphis Style pulled pork sandwich.  {Memphis Style means it has coleslaw on top, the creamy stuff!}



Sunday, June 17, 2012

nothin' sweeter than summertime...

Super busy weekend this weekend.  Yesterday we had the Freedom Run.  We try to do it every year.  It's a motorcycle ride that goes from the Grundy County Fair Grounds back to the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles.  The wall is dedicated to all fallen soldiers from the Iraq War.  It's very emotional & such an amazing experience.  Mother's of those who have fallen read the names of those who have died in the last year.  It takes around three hours to get all the names read.  The moms are called Gold Star Moms.  My heart just breaks for them, but they are so strong. The ride is awesome, people line the streets with flags & it's almost like a parade once we get to Marseilles.  Lot's of support for the families of those who have lost a son or daughter.






Following the Freedom Run was the Lannen/Elms wedding.  The wedding was here in town, then the reception was in Peoria.  It was a blast.  The colors were pink & blue, very summery, colorful, & fun.  After the ceremony we drove down to Peoria, went to Sully's for a drink, then headed to the reception.  Such a fun night of drinking, eating, & and dancing!  I even went without my brace and I felt fine, a little swollen, by the end of the night, but not too bad.





The baby-making is going well... one reader pointed out that if I do get pregnant, we would have conceived Father's Day weekend, how amazing would that be!?  



Monday, June 11, 2012

adventures in baby-making...

So I decided that since my blog is named baby Ridley bump, I should probably blog a bit about our journey to get pregnant.  

Joe & I got married in September of last year.  We've talked about having kids since the beginning of our relationship, we even considered have a baby before we got married, but thought if we did that, we may never get married & marriage is very important to both of us.  So in February of last year when we were on our second cruise & celebrating our three year anniversary and Valentine's day out in the middle of the ocean heading for St. Thomas, Joe proposed & it was truly the happiest day of my life at that time.  We had been together just over three years & I had been anxiously & patiently waiting for him to propose.  I knew right away, when Joe and I got together that we would be forever.  When he and I started dating it was at a time in my life where I was very vulnerable and going through a lot of changes for the better.  I knew that if I was going to be in a relationship it was going to be a serious one & Joe and I had known each other at the time for a few years.  His younger brother Jon, who is my age, is married to my best friend since kindergarten, Jodie, they have been together for about ten years, so I knew Joe and his family for awhile.  Joe and I had talked on MySpace (yeah, facebook at the time was only for college students) and kind of caught up a few times & made plans to hang out one night & we have been together & inseparable every since.  He came into my life at the perfect time & has been my rock & my strength since.  


So now we have been together for over four years, we are married, & we are ready to start our family.  Right now our baby is our pug Frankie & he will always be our baby.  I am anxious to see how he will react to an actual baby... probably pretty jealous is what I am assuming.  Anyway, we have been trying since about October with no such luck.  We know that it will happen when it's meant to happen, but it is kind of a let down each month we go without achieving the result we are after & it does make you start to wonder if something is wrong, & maybe we will end up having to see the doctor.  Kinda shoots down your ego a bit too!  I haven't even had to take a pregnancy test yet because I get the worst cramps usually about a week before my period.  I have been off birth control for right around I year.  I've read it can take the average couple four to six months to get pregnant, but that you don't need to see a doctor until you've tried for over a year, so we aren't quite to that point yet.  In the beginning I used WebMD ovulation calculator to help keep track of my ovulation, I've also used an ovulation test.  People tell me that I should just let it happen naturally without counting and calculating because that can cause stress, but now that I've been counting and calculating for the last several months, there's no way I wouldn't be secretly doing it in my head anyways.  


So this weekend is a baby-making weekend & I have a good feeling about it, I've had good feelings before though & my feeling has been wrong!  I'm stocking up on whole grains & pre-natal vitamins this week, taking in more than usual, just a little boost to hopefully increase my chances.  I love whole grain foods anyways, I love quinoa, which Joe calls bird seed, but you can do literally anything with it!  Check out my pinboard on Pinterest for a few quinoa recipes (and other amazing dishes!) Yummy Stuff!  I also like making whole grain wraps for lunch with The Laughing Cow light cream cheese spread, some ham, cucumber, etc.  Whole grains are supposed to be really good to boost fertility & they're also loaded with other nutritional benefits.

All in all, nothing really serious going on, this is what I want my blog to be about, the journey of getting pregnant, being pregnant (fingers crossed!), and life with a baby.  I know I have some readers out there, many which may be mommies... any words of encouragement, wisdom, advice, even a let down??  For now were just going to keep trying as we have been & enjoying our lives as newly weds, & enjoying our fun-filled summer!




Sunday, June 10, 2012

happy birthday to me!

So Friday was my 26th birthday!  Had a wonderful birthday weekend, aside from having to work through my lunch at work & having to stay late, then having physical therapy, everything was awesome.  We went out to a restaurant in t a neighboring town called Gunsmoke Bar & Grill at Cedar Creek Ranch.  They own 70 acres of land and they have horseback riding and an awesome restaurant/bar & patio area.  We had dinner & cake, then headed back to our house because across the street at the park Road Angel was playing for La Salle Fest, so free entertainment & something to do before we hit the bars.  We ended up at two different bars & we ended up staying out til last call & dancing our asses off, even with my brace off I can tear it up on the dance floor!  Couldn't believe it... & definitely feelin it the next day.




 Saturday we had a softball smoker for a local bar league.  My longtime friend Jessica and I went to that while Joe stayed home and recovered.  His 29th birthday is the 22nd, it's funny the older you get the longer your hangover seems to hang around!  Jessica ended up winning on a tip board so we did the shot-ski and had a few beers there, then ended up going to a benefit for a friend of ours where we continued drinking & finally eating!  Joe and I won an awesome canvass painting of the Vermillion River done by a local photographer that is well known for his photography of Starved Rock and the Vermillion & Illinois Rivers.  I also won a fantasy tan (spray tan) from Dr. Sodostrom's office which I am super pumped about!  After the benefit we went out to Starved Rock's veranda party to enjoy music by our good friends Mike Milligan & Steam Shovel, an awesome blues band from Indiana.  It's always a blast there & the weather & scenery was just beautiful!  


SHOT SKI!



Today I went to my aunts pool and caught some rays & indulged in a few brews.  Planning to take it easy tonight & this week... another big weekend this weekend, the Freedom Run motorcycle ride is Saturday along with our good friends' wedding, tis' the summer season when we have more things to do than there is time to do them!


All in all a great weekend, got some awesome Harley stuff from Joe for my bday presents, got the signature on the contract on the house, got to swim, & most importantly spend time with all my amazing friends and family!




Wednesday, June 06, 2012

back at it baby!!!!!!!

I decided that my ride on the bike this weekend is blog-worthy.  The last time I rode was April 1st, the day of the accident.  Since I was on crutches and unable to put weight on my leg, I (along with my mother who insisted I better not!) decided I better not ride until I am released from the doctor to go without crutches & weight bare.  Since we all know I got the green light last week, I made up my mind Saturday afternoon & we took a ride.  I can't get my leg over the bike so Joe has to lift me on, but my brace allows me to bend my knee 90 degrees so I can sit comfortably.  We stopped at my aunt and uncle's house in the neighboring town & they also ride so we decided to hit up Skoogs for some grub and brews.  It was very relaxing & it felt great to be able to enjoy it without fear.  I was definitely more cautious, & tried to watch everything that was going on around us (maybe a little too much), but it was so worth it & I'm so glad that I decided to do it!








Also, I thought I would include a picture of our bike that we had before the accident.  Joe worked on this bike all winter, he tore it down to the frame and everything was custom & how he wanted it.  We rode it 3 times before we got in the accident.  The 2nd pic is after the accident.  Pretty heartbreaking to see all of Joe's hard work taken away in the blink of an eye, but more importantly, we were ok... & we got a new bike anyway! (3rd pic)



Hoping the next post will be pics of our new house.  Not sure on the closing date yet, but have TONS of ideas for our remodel...check out my pin board on Pinterest... For our Flip.






 
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