2011 in Pictures (and captions)

As I said in my last post, 2011 was an interesting year. Looking through my pictures, I realized we really did have a lot of fun and had some very special moments. Here are a few of them:

One of my best friends, Millie, had her son Jack Gilbert on March 17.

My nephew, Xavier Joseph, was born March 24.

Cosmic Bingo at Mystic Lake.

Karen and Brad Mills, married April 2, I was honored to be a bridesmaid.

Twins game on Easter Sunday for Bobby's birthday.

Race for the Cure on Mother's Day

Then we had a gap in photos.... Shouthouse with my in-laws in July.

Road Trip to Chicago in August with Ryan and Eric.

Getting to see Julie and meet Tim while in Chicago

This one is a bit early (stupid uploader), Pumpkin Patch in October.

Twins Game in August with my parents

Unstad wedding, August

State Fair!

Thanksgiving

Jeff's Birthday Dinner

Bloxham Wedding, December

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

There are so many other great photos we have from this year with such great memories. In 2012, I hope to have a stronger commitment to getting fit and losing those pounds so my husband can finally shave off that goatee. In 2011, I really wanted to get pregnant and bring a little Pflugh into the world in early 2012. Well, things change and that didn't happen. Here's hoping we have little Pflughs running around soon!

Wishing you a very happy and healthy 2012!

A Reflection of 2011

For the next 6 hours, a lot of people, myself included will be thinking about what they learned from 2011. This was a year of a lot of ups and downs. At the beginning of the year, Bobby was offered a job, which had taken a ton of stress off of my shoulders. Near the end of the year, he had to leave that job, therefore the stress was put back on. Thankfully, this year ended with another job offer and he starts on Tuesday. I was fortunate to bypass the layoffs that happened at SPPS in the spring because if that had happened to us, I don't know how we would have handled it. Although, that did happen in 2010 and we were fine.

This year, my 4 best friends all reached major milestones in their lives. One started a new relationship in February, one had a baby in March, one got married in April and one got engaged in December. I have never felt so much love and appreciation for my friends than I have this year. I had a lot of personal stuff going on and I've been so thankful that these 4 amazing women have been there for me.

Another awesome thing that happened is that my nephew, Xavier, was born on March 24. I admit, this was hard for me because of my strong desire to have my own child but knowing that we couldn't financially handle it. However, whenever I see him, my world is happier. He's the best thing that happened this year and I LOVE being an auntie!

In the spring, I decided to go on a quest to lose weight and get pregnant. That didn't work so well. I have the tools and I've been using them moderately, but not intensely, which is why I haven't seen much progress. We bought a new weight scale today because I've been using one that was my grandmother's and apparently it was off by about 15 pounds. I had a feeling that was the case, which means that I have to get intense now. Not because it's 2012, but because I finally feel like I can really do this.

In 2012, I really hope we can get back on our feet financially, and I can get going with my weight loss. I also hope to get pregnant, I don't know when and I'm not going to stress about it. Over the last 2 years, I've realized that everything really does happen for a reason. When it's the right time for us to get pregnant, we'll get pregnant. And when we do, it'll be wonderful.

I hope you all take the time to look back on the blessings you had in 2011 and look forward to new possibilities in 2012! Happy New Year to you all!

Let's Make a Deal

First of all, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Holiday! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and got to spend it with loved ones.

Now that 2011 is winding down, I feel like I'm finally getting ahold of this whole fitness/eating right thing. It only took me 8 months!

That leads me to my blog title. As some of you know, I hate, HATE my husband's goatee. Yes, he had one when we met and I didn't like it then. I've been trying to get him to shave it off, but he keeps saying he wants something in return. Last night we were out for our 4th anniversary and I brought it up again. First I offered a baby in exchange for the shaving, but then I realized that I wouldn't get what I wanted for at least 9 months, and that wasn't good enough. Although he was willing to accept that deal and allow me to bring the razor to the hospital and he would do it right after the baby is born. Then I decided that I needed a little more motivation to keep working out and eating right. I said "If I lose one pant size, you shave the goatee." He said "Make it 2 sizes and you have a deal."

Now, my husband has NEVER asked me to lose weight for him, EVER. However, he has been a huge support to me and just wants me to be completely satisfied with myself. He knows that this deal pretty much just benefits me, but of course it means I'll be comfortable in my clothes and maybe will be wearing more of the stuff I used to wear in college.

So, it's on! When I officially lose 2 pant sizes, Bobby will shave off his goatee. I know there are several of you out there who want him to shave just as much as I do, so I need your support to keep up the Zumba workouts so I can make this happen sooner rather than later.

Brown Christmas

Usually when I think of Christmas, I think of lit up trees, ornaments, candles, delicious cookies, presents, lots of food, celebrating with family and friends, going to church, and of course....snow. Well, this year it looks like we won't be having snow in Minnesota on Christmas. It's a strange occurrence and I honestly can't remember the last time this happened. When we were getting married in 2007, I remember hoping we'd get some snow in time for our wedding because there wasn't enough snow on the ground at Christmas. But a totally BROWN Christmas? That just isn't right. I have to admit it's been difficult to get into the holiday spirit when it looks like it's still Thanksgiving. I have also found myself to be quite busy this holiday season at work so I've been doing a lot of online shopping. My mom and I skipped shopping on Black Friday because things have been tight financially for our whole family this year. That usually helps me get into the holiday spirit.

Now that Christmas Eve is 2 days away, I'm finding myself getting more into the spirit. I'm excited to spend time with my family and to be off work for 12 days. I try to turn all of my lights on in the evening to keep up the spirit, and light a few candles. I only get one day off before Christmas this year, and I fully intend on using that day to spend time with my husband, visit the mall, bake cookies and watch some Christmas movies.

Of course, I won't lose sight of what Christmas is all about. It's about the birth of Jesus and all of the wonderful things he's done for us and will continue to do for us. No matter what troubles you're going through this season, remember to show a little extra love to those around you and appreciate what you DO have.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This year has had its ups and downs for Bobby and me. The year started with the promise of a new job for Bobby and the prospect of getting pregnant. Unfortunately the job didn't work out the way we wanted and we approach the holiday season with one less income. I could sit here and go on and on about how hard it's been, because it definitely has not been easy. However, I'd rather spend today thinking about what we DO have and how lucky we are.

We are having both of our families over this afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone has been so generous in offering to bring different parts of the meal and it has really been a big help. I'm thankful that we CAN have both sides of the family over and that they get along so well. We're lucky that our parents and siblings like each other and are excited to celebrate the holidays together.

I'm most thankful for my husband. He is my best friend and I couldn't imagine my life without him. No matter what we've been through or what we're going through now, I wouldn't want anyone else by my side. OH, and of course I'm super thankful for Nemo! He brings us joy everyday and loves us unconditionally. There's nothing better!

We wish you all a happy and fun Thanksgiving!

Best Money Saver for the Holidays

Greetings! It has been over a month since I last posted, geez! I've let my life get very busy with work and extracurricular activities and haven't allowed myself time to do any sort of reflection.

The slim-down has been going alright. I've managed to drop a pants size, which is very exciting, AND I've bought 3 items that were at "regular" stores (i.e. not Lane Bryant). They may have been size XL, but I don't care! I'm still doing Zumba on Wii for my exercise and I still love it! Zumba 2 is actually coming out on Tuesday and I'm beyond excited to buy it!

Back to the point of my subject line. A couple years ago, a Deaf student I was interpreting for was volunteering at Arc's Value Village through school. Obviously, I would go with him every day and I started to realize that it was a fantastic place to shop! Once again, I have a group of students volunteering at Arc's and I'm there twice a week, which can be dangerous..... Today, my friend Ryan and I went to Arc's to do a little shopping. Here's how I made out:

1 pair of fairly new jeans

An Emily Giffin book that I've been wanting to read

An adorable Christmas spoon rest

Christmas pie server

3 wine glasses

Christmas slippers

Gift for Ryan

All of this totaled $23.52!!

Normally, one pair of jeans would cost me that alone! We also went to Kohl's where I got a Christmas travel mug and Thanksgiving towels for about $11. Kohl's is having a major sale right now and there were lots of items 50-60% off. Last week at Arc's, I bought a tree skirt that matches our stockings, a Santa candy jar and a cute scarf, that probably totaled less than $12.

I understand that some people are weird about thrift stores, but if you wash anything you buy, it's practically like new! And you save TONS of money! Check it out: Arc's, Goodwill, Unique, or any thrift store near you!

In Search of Convenience?

As pretty much everyone in my life knows, Bobby and I only get to see each other on the weekends. He works M-F 3:30-midnight and I work daytime hours. This means that weekends are very precious to us. While we try and get out and see family and friends, we also try and spend as much time alone as we can. This also means that convenience on the weekends is my best friend.

Two years ago I discovered Coborns Delivers. They have actual grocery stores you can go into, which are located all over the state but the closest one to us is in Ramsey, which is still almost 40 minutes away. They have great produce, bakery and deli items at relatively inexpensive costs. The best thing about it is that I can order my groceries from my computer in about 15 minutes, see exactly how much I'm spending (great for budgeting), decide when I want them delivered and pay very close to what I would pay at Target or Cub. Once you start using the service more often, they just keep everything you've ordered in what's called "My List", so if you just want the same stuff every week, you know exactly where to find it.

They also have lots of store coupons, specials, pre-made meals and they accept manufacturer coupons as well. There are a few things that I enjoy that they don't have, like Sabra Hummus, Dannon Oikos yogurt and Odwalla drinks, but there are so many other things that they DO have. If your order is $50 or more (which ours almost always is) you pay a $5 delivery fee. They also offer delivery passes that are 3, 6, 9 or 12 months that end up saving you in delivery fees in the long run.

We also love using it in the summer when we take trips to the cabin because we can use the green totes that they deliver our food in. We don't have a cooler, so it's great to have those totes. It's kind of like Netflix, where you can keep the totes as long as you want, but eventually they do e-mail you saying "we need more totes, can we pick yours up?" They'll either pick your totes up on a date you choose from their website, or when they deliver your next order.

It's one of my favorite things to use, especially in the winter time and when I have such little time with my husband. Check it out for yourself!