DONE! DONE! DONE!

Well, it's finally over!! My 21 detox is OVER!! When all was said and done I lost around 9 pounds, I'm feeling better and looking better!!!

I am going to try and stick to some healthier habits from now on. I found an app on the iPad that helps me keep track of my calories so I know that will be a very helpful tool for me. It's INCREDIBLE how just that one simple step of recording that information makes you SO aware of what you're putting into your body. It's insane!! I am planning to start my workout plan next week since it got derailed a little bit a few weeks back. I'm looking forward to getting my workout started and feeling even better than I do now. Even after a few days of "back to normal" eating, I've maintained my weight loss thus far!! So, even that is encouraging. I thought for sure after the weekend I had with a date with my husband a quick little trip an hour our of town I definitely took advantage of being able to eat some foods I hadn't had in 21 days.

I'm so thrilled to be done with the detox (although, it really wasn't that bad at all) but I'm even MORE thrilled to keep up a healthier lifestyle. I think this will be a great jumping off point for things that will eventually be coming in the future.

2 Days Left!

So, I am pleased to inform everyone that I only have 2 days left on the detox!! This is SO exciting to me mostly because I want a piece of fruit and a cup of yogurt so bad I cannot even describe it to you!!! I of course want a bunch of other things that are terrible for me too, but at the same time, I am definitely thinking twice about what I'm putting in my body from here on out. For example, Kevin and I went to Red Robin as a kind of "last hurrah" before I started the detox. We thought it would be fun to go there after I was all finished too. Needless to say, I'm having second thoughts about going, mostly because I'm thinking about all the calories and unknown sugar content in that food!! Seriously, this detox has been such an eye opening experience (which I've said before). Who knew sugar was hiding in so many foods?! I sure didn't.

I am also excited to be done with the detox because it is SO restrictive, I couldn't even let myself enjoy treats that aren't even that bad. For example, we did a showing of Courageous at church last night and there was popcorn (which is a favorite snack) but I couldn't have any because of the oil that is used to pop it in :( In the grand scheme of things, this is not a horrible snack, especially compared to a piece of chocolate cake or a brownie or something. However, I still have not been able to eat any for the last 3 weeks. That has been SO hard, but I'm doing it. I'm also finding it easier to turn down treats. As much as I love baked goods, I don't eat them all the time. I mean, truly, it is not too hard for me to turn down dessert most of the time. I'm either not hungry or I'm so picky about my treats I'm not interested in what's being served. My biggest downfall I think is the other sugars I ate. I drank soda all the time and I used so many products with added sugars in them that I never even knew about. I am definitely going to be taking the things I've learned from this detox and putting them into practice from now on.

I am going shopping on Saturday for next week (my first official post detox week) and I'm so excited. I can't tell you how pumped I am to buy some fruit and yogurt!! Greek yogurt and honey crisp apples are high on my list. I am also going to be getting some clementines and try a few other things that I've found recipes for, now that my diet will not be AS restrictive. I'm definitely going to be making more meals at home and keeping an eye on sugar content of stuff in our house. However, I don't think anyone was meant to eat only the foods on the detox list for the rest of their lives!! So I'll be happy to be finishing up my detox on Saturday!!!

4 Days Left! Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day.

So, it's Valentine's Day. I am SO excited to make Kevin a DELICIOUS dinner tonight (at least I hope it's delicious. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a night in with my hubby hubs just eating some yummy food (I'd be happier if I could enjoy a glass of wine but nooOOoo) and enjoying each other's company. We are home together a lot, but we aren't together a lot. We're usually both running around here and there trying to get this, that or the other thing done. So, I like it when we have no plans but to be together!!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I have to brag on my husband a little bit. He did such a sweet thing for me this morning. Well, I woke up REALLY early for some reason and got up to make sure he was okay and then I went back to bed for another 30ish minutes. Anyway, when I woke the second time, there was a sticky note on our bedroom door that said "The Many Reasons I Love My Wife, By Kevin..." as I left our bedroom, I found sticky notes all over the house! Each with something Kevin loves about it. I won't tell you all of them but some highlights are "You enjoy singing around the house and overall just being weird with me!", "You are so very gifted and creative with food.", "You know how to make one mean pot of coffee.", "Your smile never fails to make me smile.". Needless to say, I started the morning with a cry because my husband is so sweet and romantic. I am seriously keeping these sticky notes for the rest of my life!

Anyway, I only have 4 DAYS LEFT on the detox. I hope I don't gain all the weight I lost back in the first 2 days. That will really make me mad. Here's hoping I can stick with a slightly different version of the detox for the rest of my life!!!

Less Than a Week!!!!

Hello Friends!!

I've got 6 days left on the detox. I've got a few more meals up my sleeve that I am really looking forward to trying and I'm really excited about making Kevin and myself a delicious dinner for Valentine's Day. We are having crusted steak, roasted asparagus and quinoa pilaf!! I just finished making Kevin his Valentine's Day treat because he is gone for the day. While I was making the delicious treat... out of habit I licked my finger when some chocolate got on it. I immediately got mad at myself. But I'm totally NOT starting my 21 days over again for what was probably 1/8 a teaspoon of chocolate. The guidelines say that if you cheat you are supposed to start over. I'm not going to eat one of the actual treats. So I think that should count for something.

This week, we're going to try Tuscan Turkey and White Beans plus we'll be revisiting some old favorites. Kevin and I have found that we LOVE the Gluten-Free Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes. So, I made a double batch of that yesterday so we can have it through the week. I just keep looking toward next Sunday when Kevin and I get to go on our Valentine's Day date and I get to eat normal food again!! I am not going back to old habits, but I am looking forward to going to a restaurant and having a night out with my dear husband.

I have already seen some great results. My clothes are fitting better, I've gone down an entire notch on my belt and I am just feeling better overall.

Here's to the next 6 days!!!

Becoming Second Nature.

Hello Friends!

I'm on day 12 of my detox and the diet change has pretty much become second nature at this point. Not to say I'm not looking forward to my first apple or cup of yogurt when I'm done, but I know a lot of these habits are going to stick! I've still got a few recipes I'm itching to try out and I've got a delicious and healthy Valentine's dinner planned (well, except I am making Kevin a special treat that I will not be partaking of). I'm bound and determined to start up my exercise routine this weekend. I wanted to wait to start this because I didn't want to shock my system too much at once. Eliminating sugar and then doing way more physical activity than it's used to all at once, I think that's just asking to get sick!! So, on Saturday I'm hoping to start the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (again) and hopefully finish the whole 30 days this time. I think the most days I've done is 10. So, I really want to finish and now I feel like, if I can finish this detox, I can finish the 30 Day Shred. It's going to kick my butt, and probably add a few pounds back on, but they will be muscle instead of fat and I will gladly accept that exchange!!

There are going to be a few rough temptations this weekend, but I am bound and determined to power through. We have a youth group event with our girls this weekend and there will probably be some crazy delicious sweets staring me in the face, but I will not give in. I'm going to bring some healthy options to snack on while we watch girly movies and bond with our girls!! Saturday Kevin and I are going to a dance at the fairgrounds, and I will SO desperately want something to drink besides water... but again, I will abstain. I've made it this far and to give in now is just ridiculous!!!

Here's to one more day of making it through my detox!! Going strong with 9 days left!!!!

Just About Halfway!!

Well Friends, I am just about halfway through this detox!! I can't believe how quickly the first 10 days have gone. I thought this whole process was going to be torture (and at times it has been) but all in all, it's been an eye opening experience. I'm learning that there is sugar in just about EVERYTHING. Seriously. Store bought chicken broth, sugar. Canned veggies, sugar. Canned beans, sugar. Bacon, sugar (even plain and Turkey bacon). Sugar is in EVERYTHING. It's kind of ridiculous. So, shopping has become very interesting. If I take nothing else from this experience, I've become a more conscious shopper and I am planning to keep a lot of these new habits once the detox is over. Thus far, since my initial weigh in with ladies at church, I've lost 7 pounds. Since I've started the detox I've lost 5. I'm pretty happy with that number. If I can mirror that number with my remaining time on the detox, I will be a happy camper!

Day 9 was pretty uneventful. I had some soup for lunch (and dinner) and had some air popped popcorn for a snack that evening. It was a pretty normal day with not much to report.

Day 10 has been pretty normal thus far too. I'm having soup for lunch and I think I'm going to try to make a curried chicken for dinner tonight. I found a SUPER simple recipe online that I'm going to try and serve it over some brown rice. I think I'll make a veggie too just to add some color to the plate!!

I found a recipe the other day too that I think I'm going to try sometime this weekend. It's White Beans and Turkey breast in a slow cooker all day. It's got some yummy seasonings and spices in it. It sounded promising and since I FINALLY found a chicken broth with no sugar added to it, I can make soups and other such delicious fare all day long!!

Here's to the second "half-ish" of my detox journey!!

Days 6, 7 and 8

So much for blogging my progress everyday. Whoops!! Anyway, here is a quick catch up blog!

Day 6 was probably the hardest day I've had yet. I DESPERATELY wanted something sweet. It was RIDICULOUS how much I wanted some chocolate or ice cream or SOMETHING. I powered through and didn't give in. I ate some carrots to help calm that craving. That seemed to help. It's incrdible how sweet things that have some natural sugars in them taste when you've not been having sugar for even a few days. Crazy. Anyway, I promised to let you know how my tortilla-less fajitas came out. They were pretty good. I think I overseasoned the chicken. Next time I think I'll just stick with simple salt and pepper and then maybe squeeze some lime juice over the meat instead. Overall though, the meal was good and really filling. I made it through day 6 (just barely) and powered on to day 7!

Day 7 was BUSY. I was bound and determined to get some mass cooking done on Saturday since Kevin would be at work and I'd be home to keep myself occupied. So, I loaded up with all kinds of ingredients to make 3 different soups to have throughout the week for lunches or quick dinners. I made a DELICIOUS Gluten-Free White Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Lime. It turned out SO good I will probably make another (double) batch this week or weekend. Seriously good. You can find the recipe here: www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com. Next up was a Cuban Black Bean Soup. I had to work with this recipe a bit since there were a few things listed that I can't have right now, but still it turned out well. I think when I re-heat it for dinners or lunches this week, I'll have to add some meat or other veggies to it for some added flavor. Of course if I could have cheese or some other goodies like that right now that problem would be solved!! Anyway, all in all, that one turned out well and Kevin even liked it more than I thought he would. I had wanted to start the third soup but ran out of time because we were attending a hockey game for a friend's birthday that evening. That was another point of temptation for me. I desperately wanted some concession food. I'll admit it, I LOVE a good hot dog. I wish it wasn't true, but it just is. The inticing aroma of popcorn was also calling to me (which is an okay food as long as there is not butter on it). I stayed strong and did not give in!! I was very proud of myself, especially because the real test was yet to come on day 8.

Day 8 was the Super Bowl. Kill me right now. I clearly did NOT think this thing through. Anyway, let's start at the beginning of the day. I wanted to make sure I got that third soup made, so I went for it right after church. I made a chicken tortilla soup that I got from www.thepioneerwoman.com and it turned out SO amazing. I had to make a few modifications to that recipe as well, but I have to say, I really like the result. I had some of the chicken chili for lunch and then had the chicken tortilla soup for dinner since it was fresh off the stove!! Then, we went to our church Super Bowl party. Let me first say, it was SO much fun because I love my church family and it's impossible to not have fun with them. However, the fare for the evening was a nacho bar (which I love) and I could not have one bite of it :( I brought some snacks to keep my cravings at bay, but it was SO hard to watch everyone eat some delicious nachos and there I was munching on a brown rice cake and water. I was having such a hard time I almost started crying because it was just SO difficult to not be enjoying the food with everyone else. I abstained though, and I'm feeling good about it. Looking forward to seeing if all the sacrifices I made this weekend will show on the scale when I weigh in for the Biggest Loser at work tomorrow. I sure hope so!!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. A short blog about today will be coming later :)

Days 4 and 5

So, I didn't have a chance to blog about my day yesterday, so here it is a day late!

I'm feeling really good so far! Yesterday I started with the regular, light breakfast. I had snackies for lunch again. I chopped up some colorful peppers and had those. I also have been enjoying celery and carrots (in moderation). Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day for us, so I had leftover brown rice pasta and meat sauce for dinner again. I'm still trying to work on getting food made in advance so that on days when Kevin and I are really busy, we have more options for things to just throw in the microwave. We had our church small group to our place last night, so in order to not tempt myself to eat dessert, I made an apple crisp (for the first time) because fruit dessert doesn't usually do anything for me. I think it turned out okay (I don't know for sure because I didn't have any). In fact, the hardest thing not to take part in last night was the coffee (I don't like black coffee so I've basically stopped making it). All in all, I'm feeling good. I've lost 4 pounds in the last week or two. So, I'm already feeling good about that!! Hopefully it will be followed by at least 6 more in the 16 days I have left!!

So far, day 5 is going well. I'm having snackies for lunch AGAIN but tonight, I'm going to make what I think is going to be a delicious dinner. I'm going to make fajita chicken and veggies and serve it over cilantro lime brown rice! I am going to have two different types of onion and four different types of peppers as well as some delicious spices on the chicken!! I think all in all it's going to make for an incredible dinner. More on that tomorrow, I guess.

So far, I'm feeling great about this whole thing. I think the first big test will be this weekend. This will be my first whole weekend on the detox and I'm nervous that I will cheat. We have a Super Bowl party to attend as well as a hockey game for a friend's birthday. The temptations will be high, but I KNOW I want to succeed with this detox, so I am going to fight them as much as I can. Here's to trying to eat well in a world full of yummy, terrible food!!

Sugar Detox Day 3

Day 3. Today, I'm feeling much better than the last two days. I'm figuring out some new food options and finally getting excited about some of the food that I do get to eat! Last night for dinner, I had brown rice noodles with meat marinara sauce. Honestly, the brown rice noodles didn't taste much different than regular noodles. So, I'm glad to know that!! When I'm really wanting pasta, I can have some!!! The mornings have been the hardest part. My stomach doesn't really get along with eggs at all, so I'm pretty limited on what I can eat in the mornings. So, I've been eating a lot of rice cakes with peanut butter on them. I'm not really having a solid lunch today because I am have a very busy day today. So, I've been snacking on fresh salsa, celery, limited amounts of carrots and later, some peanuts! Tonight for my rushed dinner, I will have leftovers from last night.

We are doing a Biggest Loser program at work and last week was the first weigh in. Today was the second weigh in and I have lost 3 pounds!!! I can't believe it!!! Mostly because I can't really tell yet that I've lost any weight. Hopefully, this keeps up though!! I'm looking forward to getting back to a healthier weight and ingraining in myself some healthier habits.

What Did I Get Myself Into?!

Hello Friends!

So... it's been a LONG time since I've last blogged. It's mostly been because we have been running here and there, keeping ourselves QUITE busy. The other part of it is that I'm lazy. So, to catch up as quickly as possible, we've hung out with friends, karaoke-d to our hearts content, had our first married Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve, we've babysat some adorable new babies and have enjoyed some fun (and not so fun) times with family. Overall, 2012 has been great, except for my ever expanding waistline. No, this is not a pregnancy annoucement. This is an, I'm lazy and it's finally catching up with me annoucement. Anyway, a friend of mine just finished a sugar detox and found a lot of success with it. I thought this might be the best way to kick off my plan/goal to eat better. So, yesterday I started the 21 day sugar detox and I thought a way I could keep myself even more accountable would be to blog about my experience. So, here goes.

Day 1... was TERRIBLE!! I wanted chocolate SO bad (which made me realize just how addicted to sugar I am... YIKES). I had already felt defeated before I even started!! I was telling myself "I can't do this. I can't do this. I don't really want to do this!!". Although, I would like to fit into my pants again, so I guess I really do want to do this. However, I powered through the first day. I drank more water yesterday than I probably have in the last month and by the end of the day I was really not doing too bad. I made some delicious broiled chicken and asparagus for lunch and made some salsa to have as a snack throughout the week (there is STILL jalapeno on my hands, a shower and like, 20 handwashings later). So, all in all, day one went as well as I could have imagined it would go.

Day 2. Well, I'm only about halfway through day 2, but I'm doing well. I've been drinking water like I'm going to run out tomorrow!! I had a VERY light breakfast (which is not too different from my norm anyway). I had a brown rice cake snack in the morning and then had leftovers from yesterday for lunch and then I snacked on some peanuts this afternoon. Tonight, I plan on making brown rice pasta with meat sauce for dinner. I'll report back tomorrow with the verdict on brown rice pasta. I'm not missing my sweets too much, but it is only the 2nd day. I still REALLY want some chocolate, but, I'm determined to power through!! The main goal is to get some immediate weight loss results so that I am more motivated to keep up the lifestyle (with some changes after the initial detox) so that maybe I can keep the weight off!! That's what I have to keep telling myself. I have to keep the end goal in mind!!! The only negative side effect so far is that I have been EXTREMELY tired both yesterday and today without my usual caffeine boost throughout the day. Thankfully, I have not had any headaches or "withdrawl" symptoms, just really tired. Hopefully, I get over that quickly!!

Anyway, I am going to blog about my progress every day!! So, if only for a little while, there will be an update every day!!

Also, I'll try to do a better catching up with the Bradfords blog post soon!!

It Was a Year Ago Today...

So... I have not been doing well keeping up with my blogging. As the name of our blog suggests, we have been super busy still. Anyway, I am going to do a few posts today I think, so I keep the posts short.

Anyway, it was a year ago today that my dear, sweet Kevin Ryan asked me to be his wife!! What a wonderful (and

cold) day it was!! I decided that I'd blog the engagement story as I remember it now to remind myself and anyone else of the incredible day!! So, here's the story:

Anita, Robin and I are BFFs with ridiculous schedules. We FINALLY planned a date to get together for Robin's birthday (which is actually on the 16th). So, we made plans to spend the day in Galena. We decided to get dressed up so we could take some super cute BFF pictures and we let the birthday girl decide where we were going to go for lunch! We had made plans to meet at Robin's house (which is in Galena) and walk into downtown from there. Whenever we walk from her house to downtown, we walk through a park called Grant Park so, it was not weird for me when we started toward downtown through the park. We were talking on the way to the park. Kevin and I had been talking about marriage before this day, so I knew a proposal was coming, but I thought it was going to happen at Christmas or after. I had asked Kevin's permission to book the reception hall that we had wanted the day before this BFF birthday date. I was talking with my gal pals about how silly I felt making official wedding plans without a ring on my finger. Anyway, as those words were coming out of my mouth, I heard a guitar playing in the park and a small voice singing a familiar song. I looked up and there was Kevin, in the park gazebo, singing and playing his guitar. I joined him in the gazebo as he finished up singing me "God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes and then he started singing "Now and Forever" by Richard Marx. He finished with a line from the Moldy Peaches song "Anyone Else But You"... "I don't see what anyone can see in anyone else, but you". He put down his guitar, got on one knee, held out a ring box and said "Anna Leah Soderman, will you marry me?". I just nodded and got out a very quiet "yes". Kevin had also schemed with our friend Graeme Pitman, who is a photographer, to hide out and take pictures of the whole thing! It was just the most perfect proposal. I could not have dreamed of anything better!! Even to this day, it was one of the best days I can remember.

We're going on a date tonight to celebrate!! Perhaps I'll take a few pictures and add them later!

Thanks again Graeme for being there and recording the whole thing!

Catching Up...

Hello Friends!

So, this last month has been particularly busy for us Bradfords. We've been in and out of town quite a bit, hosting youth group events and hosting my new sister-in-law for a visit or two. So, please excuse the delay in my posting. I'm hoping to get you all up-to-date with this post!

For those of you that don't know, Kevin is a flight instructor at a local university (University of Dubuque) and sometimes that allows him the opportunity to represent the University at different events, mostly air shows. One of the air shows that he gets to go to every year is in Osh Kosh, Wisconsin and is one of the biggest in America. It's a week long and there is so much to do and see the week is almost not enough. People fly in from all over the world to network and share their passion for airplanes. It's a pretty cool experience. Kevin was VERY excited to be able to take me along this year. We went for the second half of the week and it was quite overwhelming for me, as it was my first experience at any kind of air show. I did a lot of nodding and smiling when Kevin told me about different airplanes and what they do. Not that I don't care, I just have no idea what he's saying most of the time. There are lots of technical terms I don't know yet. Anyway, it was a really fun weekend for several reasons. First of all, I got to spend it with Kevin and share in something he really loves. Second of all, I brought another flight instructor wife with me!! Kevin's supervisor, Brett is also on the leadership team at our church, so his wife came along with me!! We had SO much fun. We supported our husbands and went to the air show the first day we were there, but then the second day we were in Osh Kosh, we went OUTLET SHOPPING!!! We found some great deals and I think we found ourselves a new annual tradition. Thanks Brett and Iuliana for a super fun weekend!!

A couple weekends later, Kevin took me for another first, the Iowa State Fair. Kevin and his family go to the Iowa State Fair every single year for the first day of the fair. Kevin, again, was really excited to share this with me (and so was my sweet sister-in-law, Wendy). So, our group set off early to hit the fairgrounds. It was Kevin, Wendy, her boyfriend and our dear friend Jake, Holly (my mother-in-law), Nate (my father-in-law) and me. We hit up the coffee stand first so we could start the day off of right and we watched the tail end of the opening ceremonies and then started going around to the different exhibition halls to look at vendors and all the other great things the fair has to offer. I got to see the famous butter cow (yes, that is a cow made of butter) and then we made our way through some art exhibitions which were wonderful (and always make me wish I had SOME sort of talent). After that, we had our first food on a stick. I had a State Fair Corn Dog and I have to tell you, I wanted to eat them all day long. Seriously. After that, we did some wine tasting and went on the skyride/tram thingy. We finally split up and the kids went one way and the adults went another. The kids decided to ride some rides and boy oh boy was that fun. We first rode something called The Crazy Mouse and I think almost all of us decided that was the best part of our day. It was just about the most fun roller coaster I think I've ever been on. The happy new couple rode on the ferris wheel and Kevin and I did a few other rides that were more nostalgic for me. Then it was time for some more food. Pork Chop on a stick was next on the menu. I am not a big fan of pork, so I passed on that one. I also passed on the fried butter on a stick that Jake tried. We slid down the giant slide, listened to some a capella music, rode a few more rides, ate a few more delicious foods (not all on a stick) and finally decided to call it a night. We went back on Friday for a few more hours of fun too. I have to say my first experience with any state fair was pretty amazing. I loved every minute of that weekend.

The weekend after that, Kevin and I went to Davenport to finally finish up buying some stuff off of our registry at Target. We decided to go to Davenport because they have a Super Target and since it's back to school time and there are 5 colleges in Dubuque, we thought our chances to actually get the things we needed would be better in Davenport. Plus, we love any chance we can get to go to Davenport. We made a whole day out of it. We had lunch, met up with friends who tagged along while we went shopping and then went to our friends' home to grill up some burgers and hang out. We enjoyed our time with Brandon and Kelsy SO much. We're so excited that they MAY (fingers crossed and prayers being said) be moving to Dubuque soon!! We would love nothing more than to have them back in Dubuque to hang out with all the time!!

THEN, the weekend after that, we went on a tube float down the Maquoketa River with two of our great friends Matthew and Leah Johnson. It was SO much fun. We left at 9:00 in the morning and came home at 5:30 in the evening. We had beautiful weather, lots of yummy snacks, drinks and wonderful company. I can't wait for next summer to do it all again!!

Finally, this last weekend we were back in Des Moines for Kevin's friend's wedding. We spent the long weekend with Kevin's family and it was so much fun. The wedding was beautiful and I got to meet lots of Kevin's friends from high school. We were also able to just hang out with Kevin's parents and eat delicious food as well as play some fun board games. It was such a relaxing way to spend Labor Day weekend.

Well, that should catch us up to the present. I'm sorry I don't have pictures from each event, I may add some later, but for now I just wanted to FINALLY get this blog written!!! I started it WEEKS ago and then got busy again and didn't have a chance to finish it. I am also having a hard time getting the format of my blog down and adding pictures has proven to be quite a challenge for me.

Also, in the last month, we've met the newest members of our Great Adventure Church Family, Daniel Theron Young and Isabel Grace Warren. We've babysat some cute, cute kids. We've hung out with other dear friends and have had wonderful times together. We are looking forward to many more memories in the coming months!!!! I hope you can all forgive me for the extremely long post and for not breaking it up with any pictures. I hope to do better with the posts as the weeks go on!! Thanks for reading!!

Already Behind

Hello Friends who actually read this blog, I sincerely apologize for not blogging in almost a month. As the name of this blog suggests, things have been busy in our little household. We've been hosting guests (yay), traveling a little, and just keeping up with the day to day busy-ness that is full time jobs, being involved in church and making time for some fun stuff too. I will have an enormous blog to post after this one, catching you up on all the fun things we've been doing lately. I just wanted you all to know that I have not died or fallen off the face of the planet or anything, we're just busy!!!!

On a completely different note, I joined something called emusic (www.emusic.com) over a year ago and let me tell you, one of the best investments I've EVER made!!! You pay a monthly fee (you can choose how much or how little that fee is basically) and then you can buy music off of the website each month. They have lots of good stuff, lots of indie artists as well as mainstream artists. It's helped me limit my music purchases (for the most part) but also allows me to splurge on a guilty pleasure now and then. Right before our last roadtrip (which was last weekend) I went on a little music buying binge. I went a little crazy but every purchase made ended up being wonderful!! So, now I want to tell you about these purchases. I've stumbled across the name Greg Laswell a few times and finally decided to purchase a few of his albums (on emusic) and let me tell you, I'm hooked. He has a crazy range, somewhat Joshua Radin-esque. His voice is like buttah. Seriously. It's smooth and beautiful and gives me goosebumps. I have listened to his album a few times through already and I haven't even owned it for a whole week! Also, I have been a fan of Matt Nathanson for a LONG time. I really enjoy his folky/poppy style and his lyrics are really great. He finally came out with a new album (Modern Love) and I am quite pleased with it. It's definitely more of a pop album than some of his works in the past but I really enjoy it. I would recommend it to a friend for sure! I also bought the new Augustana. I have also been a fan of them for years now. They are quite unique and each album brings about a new facet of their greatness. This new album (self titled) took me a few listens to really start enjoying it, but I have found that some of the albums I like most these days, that ends up being the case. So, if you're looking for some new music check out Greg Laswell if you're in the mood for something a little more mellow, Matt Nathanson if you want some acoustic pop or Augustana for some pop/rock/country/folk hybrid.

I'll try to get my next post up as soon as I can. Thanks for being patient with me.

1st Monthaversary

So, life has been pretty hectic since the last post. We've had company two weekends in a row. I LOVE playing hostess now that I finally have the space, so having company is always tons of fun for me. My awesome sister-in-law, Wendy, has been our lone house guest these past few weekends. She says it's because she loves us, I suspect it has something to do with the man who is now her boyfriend :) We are so thrilled for the new couple!!! In fact, we went on a little double date this past weekend to see Captain America (which was a pretty good movie, by the way). At one point during the movie, I looked over and happened to catch Jake and Wendy holding hands, and I about died from the cuteness and had to restrain myself from squealing like a 12 year old Justin Bieber fan. Instead, I made Kevin take a peek too and of course that happened to be a fairly important moment in the plot and he missed it. I felt really bad after that and tried to stay quiet for the rest of the movie. That is, until Samuel L. Jackson popped up. Seriously, is he in EVERY movie EVER or is it just me?!

We've also been able to babysit a few times recently. We even got to have one little cutie over to our place for a leisurely Sunday afternoon. Jude was probably the easiest baby I've ever taken care of. He's super content and really quiet. It was awesome. Also, he's stinkin' cute. See for yourself:

In other news, I have a tremendously talented husband. Not sure if you all know that or not, but it's true. Sometimes, I forget just how incredible he is. I say this because he was asked to sing for an event for the Alzheimer's Association of Dubuque this past weekend called Monarch Moments. It is a memorial service for people who have lost a loved one to Alzheimer's or knows someone suffering with it. It was a really touching service. Anyway, he was originally asked to sing one song, and then ended up doing music for the whole program. Also, I'm pretty sure he learned the songs they asked him to sing in less than a week. He did such a great job and I'm so proud to be his wife!! Here are some pictures from the event:

Finally, today is the anniversary of our first month of marriage!!!!! Kevin is going out of town tomorrow for the rest of the week, so I had already planned for us to have a night in together before he left, then it hit me today that it was our monthaversary. So, it worked out pretty perfectly!! I made us Caribbean jerk chicken (one of Kevin's favorite things) with brown rice and broccoli (and lots of cheese). It turned out pretty well. We ate by candlelight and we had Norah Jones serenading us quietly in the background.

I will try not to make the rest of my entries as lengthy. I realize there is probably quite a bit of information here that you didn't want. Bear with me as I still get the hang of this blogging thing. For those of you who made it this far, thanks for sticking with my rambling story telling!

Starting a Blog?!?

Hello Friends!

So, I've secretly been wanting to start a blog for quite some time, but kept discouraging myself with the constant reminder 'what on EARTH do I have to blog about?!'. That sentiment is still running through my brain as I type this very line, but I've stopped caring. I am not a writer by trade, so for all of you grammar freaks and spelling fiends, know that there will be mistakes in this blog. I will try VERY hard to keep them to a minimum though.

I've decided that this blog is going to be about life as I (we) live it. I'm FINALLY married!!! The dream I've had as long as I can remember to be a wife has finally come true and I could not be happier about the wait I've had for the man I love. I figured, I can blog about being a newlywed and all of the fun/frustration that comes with that. I like to cook (and hope to do more of it now that I have a second person to cook for). I can blog about that (plus, we got half a dozen cookbooks from the wedding and I'm DYING to try out some new recipes). Also, I love, love, LOVE discovering new music (or what I think is new music) and sharing it with my friends. I can blog about that! Plus, I feel like Kevin and I are constantly going here or there for various events and we're constantly intruducing each other to new experiences. I can blog about that, too. So, like I said, this blog is going to be about life as I (we) live it. I bet Kevin will even make a few posting appearances (and his will be spelling and grammar error free).

So, please excuse me if it takes me awhile to get the hang of this blogging thing. I hope you enjoy being part of the ride in the lives of The Busy Bradfords!