TGIF!!!

I wanted to get on really quick to say I am soooo glad it's the weekend, yay :)
I came home to the most wonderful surprise, Brian didn't work (that's not the good part of course) today so he painted our office/den room!! We had the color picked out but hadn't had a chance to get started. So I come home and it is completely done with all the pictures back up on the walls and everything!! It was like a mini While You Were Out! Thanks babe, luv ya :) I will post pictures ASAP, we are both thrilled with how it turned out. It is a dark blue/grey color that we originally tried in our bedroom but felt it was too dark for a small room, but the office has two windows and is more open so we thought it would go well in there.

This whole week has been gorgeous weather and now it is suppose to rain tomorrow and be cloudy on Sunday, can't a girl get a break around here??!! I WANT SOME SUN!

I went to work early on Wednesday because Sarah needed to be back in Corvallis for an appointment and we carpool. I was happy because I love to get home a little earlier than normal. I got home around 4, promptly went upstairs and got in my bathing suite, grabbed the Maui browning stuff I got on our honeymoon that is suppose to make you tan, grabbed a towel and a Mike's Hard Lemonade and headed out to the backyard. MJ ran around and played outside while I relaxed in the sun, it was simply heaven. (By the way Sara Holcomb and Heather Holcomb, do not tell mom!!!) So at least I got to enjoy the sun one day this week, it's better than none.

Well anyway, this is kind of a random post, but hopefully later this weekend I will remember to get on and post the pictures of the office. Enjoy your Friday!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all you mother's out there had a wonderful and relaxing mother's day yesterday :) Although the weather could have cooperated more, it was a great day over here! Brian and I had everyone at our house for a bbq and it turned out great (hopefully everyone else agrees!). Everyone brought food with them which was so nice, I felt bad that mother's had to bring stuff, but we have such a big family it's nice to have everyone bring a little something. Plus, they all make such good food! We provided the cheeseburgers with all the fixings, chips, and some pop, my mom and Randy brought over margarita stuff, a delicious fruit salad that had mangos, pineapples, grapes, and kiwi with a honey sauce over it, yum! Jaime and Schuyler brought over strawberry lemonade (which was delicious and a huge hit!), and 2 chocolate pies that were so good! My dad and Anna brought over an enormous caesar salad that was gone as it was sooo good. They also brought over the kids table which is essential and a bunch of toys for all the kiddies which kept them busy :) It was so fun to have the kids running around in the back yard playing soccer, Brian at the bbq, and the girls in the kitchen getting everything ready. We really wished Brian's mom and sisters were there as that would have completed the mothers day gang! She was in Portland spending the weekend relaxing with her eldest daughter, Heather. Brian thought she was going to be there until Sunday night, but she came back sooner so we wish we would have planned something for her to let her know how much we appreciate everything she does for us. She is so supportive and loving, I feel so blessed to have been so welcomed into their family, she makes me feel like I am apart of it and that is so important to me as I love spending time with all of our families!
I also want to tell my mom how much both Brian and I love and appreciate her. I feel so lucky to have such a great example of a mom while growing up, she raised 4 great kids, if I do say so myself! And now, she continues to give and give. It is from her that I learned how to be nurturing yet disciplined, organized and efficient, emotional yet strong. I love you mom and know my appreciation will continue to grow for you, especially when I become a mother myself.

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day:

From left: Kailey (4), Jaidyn (6), and Porter (2)

Brian and I
Jaime, my mom, and I
Porter cracking up!
My bro Lance

Speaking of becoming a mother, Jaime and Anna continue to give me all their baby stuff that the kids are growing out of. Our future nursery now has a crib and matching changing table, a bassinette, a Johnny Jumper, a play pen, and a glider chair. You'd think we were pregnant! But we are saving a lot of money by not having to go out and buy all this stuff so it is more than worth it to store it :) I always get so excited when they think of more and more things to give us that their kids have outgrown!

Our 1st anniversary is coming up, July 15th will be one year from the day we got married! I can't believe it's already been a year, it has truly been a wonderful and blessed year for us. We are planning on going to Seattle for the weekend and enjoying some nice dinners and just walk around, I am really excited to get away for a little bit, just the 2 of us :)

Here are some pictures from our first BBQ of the year :)

Brian and MJ

Brian flipping some burgers

Brian and I, sorry to blind you with the whiteness!

We also gave MJ a haircut this weekend, we like it and she is much cooler!

We painted our bedroom a light blue/grey color and are really happy with how it turned out:

That is all for today, enjoy your Monday!!

Tagged :)

I got tagged by Emilie so here goes....Enjoy :)

I am: a lover not a fighter
I want: to live a long and happy life with my best friend, Brian
I have: been blessed with an amazing family and wonderful friends
I wish: that it was time for Brian and I to start a family :)
I hate: being laughed AT. I love to make people laugh but I don't like when people laugh at me.
I miss: loving my job
I hear: Paris is going in the slammer for 30 days!
I wonder: when Brian and I can start a family
I regret: nothing
I am not: losing weight!
I dance: whenever I can, I love to dance!
I sing: in the car to Brian, he pretends I don't sound horrible :)
I cry: when I feel a gust of emotion (I loved your answer Emilie!)
I am not always: rational
I make with my hands: meals
I write: numbers all day
I confuse: my wants with my needs (so true!)
I need: my husband and family
I should: tone up my body and lose a few pounds
I start: getting anxious about work on Sunday nights
I finished: college last June, Go Beavs!

Now I am going to tag Kari and Jaime, have fun!

Birthday Wishes

First, I intended to blog on Sunday, May 6th, strictly to wish my sister Jaime and her best friend, Julia a HAPPY 30th Birthday!! How incredible that they have the same birthday, they were meant to be best friends :)
We celebrated Jaime's 30th on Saturday at my moms house, the whole clan was there, Jenny drove up from Bend and my Dad and Anna walked down (they live right up the street, you may think that's weird, but it's so convenient!!). We had agreat time sitting outside, sipping margaritas, and talking. For a present we all pitched in and got her a mountain bike, she was really excited! I think the kids were excited too now that mommy can ride bikes with them.
We headed out around 7 to Tiff and Eric's housewarming/cinco de mayo party and had a great time. The whole gang was there and it was fun to talk with everyone. Miranda, who lived in Japan for 4 years teaching English, and now resides in Bend, is a very talented artist. She was given about 8 colored sharpies and promptly turned into a tattoo artist for the night :) I had her draw a gerbera daisy on my ankle and it turned out really pretty. Although if I ever get a real tattoo I wouldn't put it on my ankle, I think it would be on my lower back. I know, typical, but that's where I would want it. Nate & Amy, and Travis & Sarah joined us and I think they had a good time as well. We stayed pretty late and got home around 1:30 am, I was soooo tired!

Sunday was very lazy, we watched Band of Brothers, which by the way is soooo good. It was an HBO series about the 101st airbourne in WWII. It is a true story and is so powerful, I highly recommend it.
We decided we should be somewhat productive, so we went grocery shopping and spent an absurd amount as we had not gone for 2 weeks, ouch! When we got home Brian mowed the lawn and I cleaned the kitchen. Then we promptly went back to the couch and watched The Secret Garden, which is a very cute movie. Our couch is just too comfortable not to relax on, plus we need to enjoy this relaxtion time now since I hear once you start a family you don't have much of that!
Then the dreadful hour of bedtime came and I knew the week was about to start, sigh. The weather decided to be gloomy all weekend (except for a few blue skies here and there) and now it is 80, sunny, blue sky, and I had to sit in an office all day. Not to mention the guys in the office think if it's 80 outside it should be 50degress inside, so my summer attire is not fitting. Brrrr.

Lance is still recovering from his wreck. The good news is he doesn't have to have surgery to put a pin in it, yay! But his ankle is broken and since it's an open wound he has to clean it daily, ouch. He is still in a lot of pain and really tired of it, it's hard because I feel so helpless. Poor buddy :(

I am looking forward to Friday, 1) for the obvious reason that its the weekend! 2) I am getting my hair done, nothing special but that is always a good feeling, and 3) we are going to a play, A Mid Sumemr's Nights Dream at a local theatre. Craig's girlfriend Caren is in it which makes even more fun! Plus, I read that play in high school and college and really enjoyed it.
Sunday Brian and I are hosting Mother's Day at our house, I feel so grown up! We are planning on BBQing up some burgers, have a salad, some chips, and drinks in honor of what will hopefully be an 80 degree day!

Well, I think that about covers things with the Holcombs, hope everyone is having a good week and the sun is shining for everyone!

Work Work Work

I do not enjoy month end at all. It lasts at least 4 days and it entails 10-11 hour days, no breaks or lunches. I left for work this morning at 6:30 am and got home at 7:30 pm. I at a piece of toast at 4 pm while still plugging in numbers. I am so tired and as you can tell, grumpy!

Scary news
My brother Lance got in a dirt bike accident yesterday. It was really scary to get a text from my mom saying she was in the ER because Lance had gotten in a wreck. He was on a gravel road and hit a pothole and slide on his right side. The peg from the motorcycle put a hole in his right ankle so deep you could peel the skin back and see the bone. He also has two holes in his elbow that are just as deep. Since there is a high risk of infection they did not stitch him up, so even with all the bandages and wrapping they did yesterday, he was still bleeding through it last night. The right side of his body is all bandaged up from bad road rash. Luckily he was wearing a helmet and he is okay, I hated being an hour away from him because I really wanted to go see him in the hospital. He of course was in great spirits when I did get to see him last night, tough guy my brother is.

Here he is in the hospital, it looks 10 times worse in person too!

WARNING: Graphic picture below!

Here is his ankle, ouch!

We could not be more grateful that he is okay, love you buddy!

Well, I'm tired and I've been on the computer all day so I think I'm gonna relax with my hubby. He's the only thing getting me through these days, just knowing I get to come home to him is inspiration enough for me! Sorry for the grumpy post, work is weighing on me!

Have a great week!

Case of the Monday's

It has been a classic Monday today and as my friend Sarah told me, I need to press the restart button! My wonderful husband does not deserve to come home to a crabby wife, so in interest of pressing the restart button I thought I should list all the blessings in my life and focus on all the good:

1. My husband. I could make a list dedicated to just him and how amazing he is, I could not live without his love.
2. Our amazingly supportive family who are the most generous people we know.
3. Both Brian and I being done with school, yay!
4. Brian's career and the fact that he loves it.
5. Our adorable dog who, for now, completes our little family. :)
6. Our house that is perfect for US, we love it and everything about it.
7. Our friends who stick by us and are always willing to lend a hand.
8. The Dave Ramsey book Brian reads and we live by, ie the debt diet. We are living like no one else now, so later we can LIVE like no one else. Some may laugh or not understand, but it's important to us.
9. Our health, and our friends and families health.
10. Where we are in our life, the start of our careers and our whole lives ahead of us.

I think it's already helping. Plus, the sun is shining today, which I can only enjoy through the small window in the next office, but hey, you take what you can get!

I also never dedicated a blog to my brother, Lance, who turned 18 on Saturday! Luckily I remembered to tell him, just forgot to blog about it. We had a get together at my mom's to celebrate. Brian and I got him a camera case for the new camera he got. We didn't go all out but we are saving it for his graduation in June, I can't believe my baby brother is going to be a college student soon, where has time gone?!?!?

Love you bud, Happy 18th Birthday!!

We booked our tickets for my sister Jenny and her fiancé, Kyle's wedding in Hawaii :) It will be fun to be there with the family and celebrate with Jenny and Kyle. She's really busy working, going to school for dental hygiene (she is working on her pre-requisites down in Bend), and planning a wedding. Man do I know what she is going through, I was there exactly one year ago and although it's all exciting and good, it's sooo much work! Love you Sis!

I guess that is all for now, hopefully I start out good the rest of the week so I don't have to press the restart button everyday :)

Rain Rain Go Away

Yesterday (Friday) was absolutely gorgeous out, the wind was a little chilly, but still it was sunny and beautiful. It got me really excited for the weekend and how much time we could spend outside, then I woke up this morning to gray skies and rain, boo. I suppose I can get some housework done like vacuuming and getting the office in ship shape. I am also hoping to get our bedroom more put together, we haven't hung any pictures or painted so it feels kind of plain. I wish it was sunny :(

We went to Woodstocks last night with Sarah and Travis and their friends Kaleb and Erika, the company was fun but they kind of burned our pizza which was a bummer since we normally love that place. Afterwards we went to Tiff and Eric's, this is their last night in their duplex, they will be renters no more!!

Embarrassing Moment:
Okay, so I'm not going to tell you my most embarrassing moment, I am going to tell you our friend, Travis's, most embarrassing moment. He told Brian and I last weekend and we could not stop laughing, ever since then we tell everybody about it (good thing Travis is a good sport about it!).
So Travis is 15 years old and his parents have family and friends over for a BBQ. Now, he is at the age where he is trying to impress the ladies so he wears those big pants called Jinko's (I have no idea how to spell that) that are large enough on the bottom to cover your whole entire shoe. Well he is hanging out trying to look cool and walks onto a yellow jacket nest. Obviously, these yellow jackets are not happy so they start flying up his pants and biting him. This takes Travis a second to realize what is going on before he starts running around slapping himself, people begin to stare. His Dad comes to his sons aid and rips his pants off so that Travis is standing in front of 30+ people with just boxers on. It doesn't end here. The yellow jackets are swirming him and they are everywhere, they start going up his boxers, sooooooo his Dad yanks his boxers off and there is Travis, 15 years old, buck naked, because his Dad ripped his pants off. They drag him inside where he treats the bites and then goes to his bedroom since his attempts to "mack" on the ladies would probably not go over so well.
Oh man, that story kills me everytime.

Kind of a short post but I want to be productive today, even without the sun :( Have a wonderful Saturday!