Uncategorized

So, I finished reading The Longest Ride last night. Cue the tears! I sobbed and sobbed towards the end, but it was amazing and beautiful.

Without giving away too much in case you plan on reading it….I just really wanted to share some insight on the book. I am so glad that I read it.

The book basically jumps back in forth between two story lines.  An elderly man(Ira) in a car crash who talks with his dead wife (Ruth) to hold on. They reminisce about how they met, their love story, their problems, and how much they really meant to each other. You see, they collected art by artists who were just starting out, but later became very well known. Their collection ended up being very unique and expansive. Worth unbelievable amounts of money. But to them, it was a story of their love, the memories of meeting the artists and becoming friends, traveling to see different museums, etc. A news reporter does a story about the collection several years after Ira’s wife passes away. Ira doesn’t like the article because it leaves out what the collection was really about, his love for Ruth. He just wants people to understand that his collection is NOT about money. It is about a lifetime of love. The money doesn’t matter.

The other story line the book follows is a blooming love between a professional bull rider named Luke and a college student named Sophia who dreams of working in a museum one day. They are both different, yet similar. Their love is strong, even from the very beginning. The book follows along when they meet, how their relationship transpires, some things from the past that they must overcome, and their love for one another.

It is amazing to see how Ira’s path crosses with Luke and Sophia’s. They understand what is important to Ira most. His love for Ruth.

The book is unique in that it has details from World War II and a lot of information about different artists and the start of modern art. You learn a little bit as your heart overflows with the love stories.

While reading, seeing Ira try to make people understand how much he loved Ruth and how little the money really meant to him was beautiful. It is a good reminder that love conquers all. Love is what makes people happy. That no money in the world can fill the void of love. Ira just wanted his story told properly. He wanted people to understand.

It’s confession time!!!! Give it to me baby!!!!!

Oh yeah! Rocking the old school songs today! Don’t even pretend that you didn’t love that song. If you don’t know what song I am speaking of…then you are probably a baby with no fine lines around your eyes and you shut your whore mouth!

–Speaking of songs…I listened to Aerosmith’s Pink about five times on my way to work yesterday. I don’t know why? I was in a weird music mood. I get that way. Every day.

–After the Sh!t Chris says link up, I am not sure if I should be jealous at how much more attention he gets than me on my own blog, or feel good that I am the one whom calls him husband.

Me every day at 9:15 am

–I totally went out to an unplanned lunch yesterday with one of my friends. Sometimes you just need to get out of the office and ditch your brown bag! I said it once and I will say it again; COURTNEY YOU ARE A BAD INFLUENCE!!!!

–Basically now that we have started working more on getting our house together, I want to decorate all the things!!! You can send your donations to: Make Nadine’s House Pretty….

–My work shoes that I wear like four days a week are a sad atrocity. One of them now makes a weird squeaky sound when I walk. the insides are torn to hell, and one of the backs of one of the shoes has completely torn apart…making walking in them entertaining at times. Yet, I continue to wear them and if you only saw them with my pants on….they look perfectly normal and not a hot mess express heading right to hell! I figure after Easter it will be appropriate to wear flipflops “sandals” to work and these shoes can finally retire to the trash can. Where they should have retired back in oh I don’t know….November!!!!

See, they look perfectly normal from anyone’s view. Stop judging! They are the only shoes that I found that don’t kill my feet! Irreplaceable if you ask me!

–We may be getting a kitten…or two…soon. We are working towards having our very own zoo. I haven’t had a cat since college, what is the best kitty stuff out there for all you people who love all the animals? There are a LOT of cat haters up in blog land dude. Like, don’t get me wrong…I am a DOG person…but I have a soul and love all the furry critters. I mean, if I could have a pig, I would. Hell, I still might 😉

Linking up with Kathy and Liz today!

It is the second Tuesday of the month. You know that the means!!! Another edition of Sh!t Chris Says!!!!!

—-We are at Red Robin for a Friday night dinner. We decided to sit at the bar because duh, no screaming kids. We had ordered some beers and were snacking and making friends with our bartender. We learned that she is sort of new to the whole craft beer experience and hasn’t tried many. Chris says: “Shes cute. Like a beer virgin. I want to take her to World of Beer with us one day!”

—-Chris asked me to get a Claritin D out of his glove box in his car. I was like ummmm you have some in there? Sure enough, there it was! As I am handing it to him, he shows me this meme:

—-We are lying on the couch watching TV and Chris farts.

Chris: “Oh good, it doesn’t smell.”

Then he proceeds to lift the blanket.

Me: “Don’t encourage it.”

Chris: “It’s not alive….”

Me: “Well they come out pretty fresh more often than not!”

Chris: ” Let’s try to reason with it!”

—-Chris went to get a massage one Friday after work. During his massage, a train goes by.

The girl giving the massage: “I hate the train, it sounds like it could derail at any time and kill us it’s so close.”

Chris: “I can see the headline now ‘massage with an unhappy ending.'”

She had a good sense of humor and laughed.

—-Chris messages me on gchat, our conversation went like this:

Chris: I may not be home for a few days.

Me: Why?

Chris: I had a file server go dead. I need a Bennett witch.

Me: LOL ummm ok, why?

Chris: To raise this shit from the dead. DATA GO AWAY FROM THE ANCHOR.

(You have to watch Vampire Diaries to get that joke.)

Then I look on Facebook, and he created this meme:

#IT nerd probz

Well hey there, blog land. I am not going to lie. I am freaking TIRED this morning. I didn’t sleep much last night, and my nerves are completely shot. We had severe weather overnight, and if you know anything about me…you know I do NOT do severe weather. At all. Nope. None. Some of you may be asking why in the hell I am living in the southeast. I ask myself this question every time April rolls around. With a tornado watch, an actively loud thunderstorm and flash flooding….I basically stayed up worrying all night. Misery loves company though, and my sister was worrying herself to death as well….so we texted back and forth for a few of those hours. This morning Birmingham woke up to some serious flooding. Lots of road closures, people being rescued on boats, etc. I am just SO SO thankful we had no tornadoes. I probably need to seek counselling for my fear of tornadoes. Seriously.

Anyways, enough talk about the weather….let’s take a look at this weekend.

Friday evening we went to dinner with my sister in law and her family, then came back watched some TV and went to bed fairly early. Perfect night if you ask me.

Saturday – Chris worked outside in our yard for awhile cutting grass and removing some leaves and debris while I cleaned the inside of the house. Then, I hung a picture that Chris surprised me with on Monday in our kitchen. I LOVE it!!!

After all that work, we decided to take it easy and spend the afternoon enjoying the AMAZING weather on our back deck with a few beers, and our dogs.

It started to cool off when the clouds rolled in, so I decided to go get the grocery shopping done since I knew it was going to rain all day Sunday. It felt so good to just get it out of the way! When I got home, we watched some TV and cuddled the dogs.

 Chris and Mac fell asleep holding hands/paws. So sweet!

Sunday – The perfect lazy day. We pretty much watched TV and did nothing ALL day. It was wonderful. I also had an idea for  fun snack that I created all on my own yesterday afternoon! Sweet potato chips. I love when something just comes together perfectly! I will be sharing the recipe next Tuesday, so be on the look out for that!

I enlisted Kathy to be my fitness guru go to because duh, she knows fitness jesus and is a complete bad ass. She suggested that I try body beast. I will start it tomorrow! Wish me luck! I couldn’t start anything today on no sleep. I have a feeling you need to be well rested for something called body beast.

Linking up with Kelli today for picture practice. This week topic was animal and hello, Mac!!! Perfect test subject.

It is time for me to load up on some caffeine and try to make it through this work day without taking a nap under my desk.

With working a full time job, working out five days a week, running this blog, owning a home, and life in general…it gets a little busy around these parts some times! Couple that with trying to eat clean and organic, staying trendy, and decorating a home…money can be tight too! What gets cut first in the budget? Unnecessary spending. Bottom line: spa time!

I am always on the look out for new products that I can enjoy in the comfort of my own home, that are friendly to my wallet, and make me feel like a million bucks! Enter: Tone Body Wash.

I was lucky enough to receive a bottle of Tone to review and I was SO excited when I opened the package! First of all, did you see the packaging???? It is a BEAUTIFUL pink color! I was in love already. Second, I noticed the scent. I am a scent snob and can be hard to please. I was nervous that this was a floral scent, sometimes they can be overpowering. I loved the Petal Soft scent I received! It has a combination of pink peony and rose oil. Hello, luxurious! It is a delicate scent, certainly noticeable but soft and just the right amount of scent. After a few uses in the shower, I knew I was hooked! I loved the way the body wash lathered, the scent that turned my shower into an instant spa, and how soft my skin was after just one use!

No wonder I felt like I was at a spa, with ingredients like cocoa butter, white clay, and alpha-hydroxy fruit acids; my skin stays moisturized and nourished all day! But don’t take my word for it. Light up a candle, and try out the Tone Body Wash for yourself! At this price, I want them all!