My Niece Made Me Laugh Out Loud

You know the love I have for my niece. She is the most darling little one.

Sean told me that his sister called to let him know about the little conversation they had today.

My sister in law: Nadi, who is the President of the United States?

Nadiyah yells: JESUS CHRIST!

So funny.

Sometimes and Always {#4}

Linking up with Mackey Madness today for Sometimes & Always.

Sometimes I wonder where life is going to take me.
Always I know that I am right where I am suppose to be.

Sometimes I tell myself not to look up anymore chicken recipes.
Always I do because I can’t help it, I love chicken.

Sometimes I take Izabella out for a walk.
Always she walks me.

Sometimes I really miss my college friends and hate the distance.
Always I know that they are just a phone call away.

Sometimes I have a bad day.
I {Always} know that hubs will try to cheer me.

Go on, link up with Megan and let me know if you did!

Rugby Pub Crawl - Numero Cinco

Sean’s rugby team had their 5th Pub Crawl on Saturday. Sean is actually the one who came up with this fundraising idea and it has been a success each year. This year, he decided to let go of the reigns and it was nice to actually enjoy it with him, instead of him collecting money and handing out t-shirts.

We dropped Izabella off at my MIL as we reserved a hotel room to stay the night in Saratoga for the crawl.

We had such a good time. The weather was perfect for a crawl too. First pub crawl where I was not freezing my behind off.

Here are some pictures:

Pretty sure she was singing an 80s song on the right :)

Hope you all had great weekends too!

P.S. The rewind posts will begin soon. I’ve been a little busy and haven’t decided exactly how I want to start it. So it will happen, just probably not this week.

Let's Rewind

When I started blogging I wish I had known about blogging way before that. It would have been incredible to see my life in college, after college, when I began dating Sean, etc. To know what I was feeling at that exact moment.

Because I was a picture crazy before I started blogging, I have tons of pictures from our early dating days. I still have my Myspace page account because I just can't delete all those albums. But since I plan on blogging until I'm 95, what better place to store all my old pictures that way I can finally say goodbye to my Myspace account. I mean, come on, Myspace has been over since 1995.

Although, I don't have the exact thoughts, I have memories because of the pictures. Also, it will be nice to have them stored in one place.

These Rewind posts will be a rewind to the good ole early dating days. You know, the first date, our first travel, etc. It will be nice to remember how young I looked and the questionable outfits I wore. And to remember when Sean biceps didn't look like they were going to bulge out of his shirt.

Hope you enjoy these future posts down memory lane as much as I will when I'm 95.

{Dinner} Thai Chicken Curry in Coconut Milk

I haven't shared a recipe in a while. There is still a ton of cooking going on in this household though.

Any who, this dish was so delicious. I cannot wait to make it again!

You will need:

Cooking Spray

Curry Paste

Chicken Breast {Cut into strips}

Onion

Green bell pepper {Or red}

Lemon zest {1 tablespoon}

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

Heat cooking spray in skillet over high heat. Heat the curry paste in the spray for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

Stir in the onions, bell peppers, lemon zest, coconut milk, fish sauce and lemon juice and bring to a boil.

Cook until the chicken is cooked through about 5-7 minutes. Serve over rice {I used Jasmine Rice}. And enjoy.

And try this hot sauce. It is incredible. We put it on pretty much everything we can.

Friday Date Night

Last Friday, we had date night at Applebees. I can count on one hand the amount of times Sean and I have eaten at an Applebee. We received a gift card on Christmas so we took advantage of that. There are few things that are better than a free date night.

And I loved the food. It was really good and I think we would try to go there more often. Great prices and the food was/is delicious.

{Here are some pics of us {mostly me} before we headed out}

{Car picture. I haven't shared one of these in a long while}

{Food}

{Sean got a steak meal but there was no way he was letting me take a picture of it. Lame}

Before, we got seated Sean recognized a girl that he once dated was the waitress for our table. Sean got so red. It was hilarious. I was seriously eating it up and busting his chops. I told him that I was taking pictures of her for my blog. Of course, I wouldn't do such a thing but he didn't know that. I mean, I bust out my camera at the oddest time like any good blogger so of course he would believe me.

It also helped for me to bust his chops because I liked how I looked.

Anyway, Sean was hanging out with her before we got together but once we met again we were pretty much inseparable. We got to talking and it hit me that if anything had happened differently, Sean could be with this girl. And it made me realize just how happy I was that I was eating with him at that moment and not her.

She asked another waitress to be our waitress, which was kind of strange because it was so obvious, since she was working every table in our section. I guess, 5 years later she is still mad at Sean for picking me.

It was a delightful date night :)

Fyi: Those boots I bought at JC Pennys a few months ago and they are SO comfortable.

p.s. I am having so much trouble commenting on some of your blogs. I don't know if my computer is about to give up and go to the light or if Blogger is just trying to annoy me.

I'm It, Again

I was tagged by Sunkissed & Southern to play along.

The rules:

1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post,
and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

12 Facts About Me

1. I've never been to Disney World but that changes in February. I cannot wait!

2. If I could eat ice cream everyday, I would. Especially Ben & Jerry's, Smores.

3. I love Indian food, but can never get Sean to go with me because he doesn't care for it.

4. I don't check my email. It is too overwhelming.

5. I miss my cat. He is always in the basement now because of Izabella. Everytime I go down to the basement, I pick him up and pet him. I love to hear him purr because it lets me know he still loves me even thought I allowed another fur baby in his territory.

6. I have been watching episodes of "My So Called Life" on Netflix. Why did they cancel that show? I have to google that.

7. I still can't let Izabella lick my face. I don't know how people do it. It feels so weird and gross. I guess, I'll like it someday???

8. I like casinos. I don't like losing money so I'm kind of not sure why I like casinos.

9. I can't remember anything I learned in college.

10. I go to bed at 11:59pm on the weekdays.

11. I worked as a camp counselor during the summer when I was in high school.

12. I still find Uggs to be incredibly unattractive but they are so warm and comfortable. I have been living in mine the last few days and my feet thank me.

My Tags:

1. Ashley @ Life After the Aisle
2. Jessica @ you are my color
3. Tenecia @ Boobs, Barbells and Broccoli
4. Brittany @ Fun with the Fullwoods
5. Carlie @ Life Full of Stories
6. Redwhitebride
7. Chrissy @ Everyday with the Jays
8. Elizabeth @ Love is the Adventure
9. Amy at Making Mrs. Mauritz
10. Musings of A Geek Goddess
11. Dani @ Me and My New Life
12. Michelle @ Sweet Peas and Seashells

Sunkissed & Southern questions are:

1. Which day of the week is your favorite and why?
Saturday. Any day I don't have to work is a perfect day to me.

2. What is your favorite season?
Love the Fall. Everything about it.

3. Name 2 life changing events that changed you for the better.
Getting married to Sean and graduating from college.

4. Pizza or nachos?
PIZZA!

5. If you could trade situations with Kate Middleton (and replace your love, family, etc with you)...would you want that life?
Honestly, no. It just seems like it would be too much for any person to handle.

6. Whats the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
Hmm, tribe. I think that is how you spell it. It is a cow's tongue and I kinda liked it. It is chewy.

7. How long have you known your oldest friend?
I consider Emma, my sister, to be my oldest friend. So 29 years.

8. What is the strangest job you've ever had?
Hmmm, I was a receptionist for a brokerage firm. The things that went on around there were definitely strange. I still wonder about it.

9. Any fears?
Losing someone close to me.

10. How did you get into the blog world?
I was bored after my wedding but I was still on the wedding website. One day a bride posted a post that asked if anyone had a blog. I didn't have one and was curious so I checked them out and decided that I wanted one too.

11. What was the first blog you were hooked on?
From Marriage to Motherhood . It was because of her blog that I decided to continue to blog.

12. Do you think Bobby Flay is handsome? Um, who is Bobby Flay?

Now my questions are:

1. If you could be given ANY gift what would it be?
2. What is your favorite TV show of all time?
3. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?
4. What is your favorite item of clothing and why?
5. Apple juice or orange juice?
6. What is usually your first thought when you wake up?
7. Name 1 thing you miss about being a kid.
8. Name 1 thing you love about being an adult.
9. What's your favorite song of the moment?
10. Do you have any hidden talents?
11. What would be your dream job?
12. What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon?

Peeve on Peeves

You know what I dislike more than anything about blogging. A blog post that is targeted to point out to others what they dislike about other people's blog.

Yes, most of the time the posts are general but I often wonder, why anyone wants to put something like that on their blogs.

I understand that by me writing this post I am doing the same thing but I just had to say it because I'm kinda sick of seeing these posts. They get so much attention and they make me sick.

For instance, I understand that some people cringe at the thought of grammar errors. Yes, they happen. To the best of us. But when you make a post just to poke fun at people who make them it gets to me. If you don't like a post because of grammar errors then unfollow and keep it moving. Why make a whole post that way you can get others geared up to say other things they dislike about bloggers?

If a blogger wants to post a million and one pictures of the same thing, their child, etc, what do I care? It is their blog after-all. They can post whatever the hell they want. If you don't like it, unfollow and keep it moving.

If a blogger wants to showcase every single outfit they wear, let them. If you don't think they have the style to showcase their outfits then again, unfollow, and keep it moving. You don't like their style in clothes? Who cares? You aren't wearing it. Does it hurt you in any physical way?

I am certain I do plenty of things that annoy other bloggers. So for me to go out of my way to point out things that annoy me about other bloggers is just ridiculous. None of us are perfect so there is more than one person that I annoy the hell out of. And do I care? Not at all. Unfollow me and keep it moving.

All of this to say, if you have nothing nice to write about your fellow bloggers, write nothing at all.

I might delete this post depending on how I feel in a few hours. So the few of you who get lucky enough to read this, awesome.

Not My Greatest Decision

I decided to eat a whole bag of chocolate covered pretzels, minus four, and I regret it. My tummy is yelling at me. If I wasn't at work, I would be yelling at me.

I would like to give the remaining four to Sean but then I would have to explain that I ate a whole bag. I was going to come up with something, like a co-worker gave the remaining four to me and I just didn't want them. But it would be pointless. He knows when I am fibbing so why even bother.

p.s. Thank you all so much for the prayers and thoughts regarding my grandmother. I read every single one and had/have the greatest feeling of gratitude for all of you. I got to see my beautiful mother this weekend and she was in high spirits so I am feeling so much better. I truly adore you all!

Sometimes It Makes You Feel Better...

To begin the day with this:

And end the day with this:

My Grandma Passed Away

In 2002, I met my grandma for the very first time. She lives {or is it lived now?} in Ghana, Africa so my sisters and my parents visited for a month trip.

At that time, I wasn't a picture taking crazy. Oh, how I wish I was. I wish I could share a picture of the beautiful woman that she was.

Since we {my sisters and I} don't speak the language fluently everything we said to our grandma had to be translated. That really stunk. It made it harder to connect. But she was such a lovely little lady. Reminded me so much of my mom.

When I spoke to my mom after my grandma's passing, she was strong. She said that grandma is with the Lord but I could hear that her voice was about to break. And then we cried. I cried for my mother. I cried because I wasn't crying because my grandma died but because my mom was sad. I feel horrible that I didn't really know my grandma. I feel horrible that I don't know my extended family. I feel horrible that I can never truly feel the pain that my parents feel when a family member passes away because I don't know them.

That is the saddest part about being born here and my extended family still in Africa. We don't know them. So we can never feel the pain our parents feel.

It got me thinking about how much I want my future kids to know my parents. I want them to cry with me because they feel the pain too and not just because I am sad. I want them to remember all the great things my parents did for them and all the memories they shared. Because if I could, I know that I would feel like a better daughter at this time. I would feel that my mom knows that I know what she is going through because I feel the pain too.

Please pray for my mom. Please pray that God gives her the strength to go through this difficult time because all her siblings that feel her exact pain are thousand and thousands miles away.

Tag, I'm It!

I have been tagged three times. I will do each tag on 3 separate posts just to break it up a bit.

The first tag was by Ruthy Ann @ Discovery Street. Thanks for tagging me!

OK, here are the rules:

1. You must post these rules.
2. Each per­son must post 11 things about them­selves on their blog.
3. Answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post, and cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
4. You have to choose 11 peo­ple to tag and link them on the post.
5. Go to their page and tell them you have linked him or her.


11 Things About Me:

1. My real name is Ruthfaith. But people don't get it. It is one word. ONE WORD! I get called Faith Ruth a lot, Ruth Ann or Ruth which I would rather not be called until I'm 85. So to make it easier for those who don't get it {and my ego} I introduce myself as Faith but everything is signed Ruthfaith.

2. My nickname in my sorority was Stiletto. Because I wore them every.single.day. Even in the snow. Oh, how things have changed.

3. I watched 3 seasons of the Sons of Anarchy in 2 weeks. I'm addicted.

4. Izabella follows me everywhere I go and I think I like it.

5. I use to want to be an actress.

6. I wish I were crafty.

7. I was 24 when I "met" Sean.

8. My 5th dating anniversary is coming up on February 14th which also happens to be Sean's birthday. Best gift he ever got. He told me.

9. My favorite color is green.

10. I am cooking Chicken Spaghetti actually Chicken Bowtie as I type this because I can multi-task.

11. I am going to a concert on Friday to see Everclear and I'm secretly hyped up about it.


11 Questions Ruthy Ann asked me:

1. Introvert or Extrovert?
Extrovert.

2. Who is your celebrity look a like?
No one looks like me and vice-versa, I've checked.

3. If you had to live one place for the rest of your life, where would it be?
Maybe San Diego, I visited once and it seemed like it would be my type of place.

4. What's your favorite holiday and why?
Christmas! Jesus' birthday.

5. Favorite book or movie?
Anne of Green Gables

6. What are your top 3 favorite blogs?
Oh boy, I really can't choose. I follow way too many awesome blogs.

7. What are you great at?
I am great at cooking.

8. If you could choose between a personal chef or housekeeper, which would you choose?
Def. a housekeeper because of the answer above.

9. How long could you go without your phone?
Forever, I hate that thing.

10. How many bones have you broken?
None {knock on wood}

11. Are you on twitter? What is your handle?
Nope and I intend to stay away.

My questions for the 11 people tagged are:

1. What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

2. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?

3. What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?

4. What is one of your favorite quotes?

5. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be and how long would it take you to spend the $10,000?

6. What is your favorite meal to prepare?

7. What is the silliest prank you ever played on someone?

8. Who would you want to play you in the movie about your life?

9. How many siblings do you have?

10. What is your guilty pleasure?

11. What food/dessert couldn't you live without?

Tagged In No Particular order

1. Kathy @ Lovelace Files
2. Nini @ Mrs H
3. Jamie @ What I Did Today
4. Nancy @ House of Hudspeth
5. Monique @ Tipa Tipa
6. Jenni @ The Sweet Pea Life
7. Tiffany @ The Chocolate Knot
8. Samantha @ The Long Haul
9. Dana @ Sweeping Through Life
10. Ashley @ Stink & Schmoop
11. Gina @ Blond & Dangerous

Sometimes and Always {#3}

I missed "Sometimes and Always" with Mackey Madness the last couple of weeks but it's back! ;)


Sometimes – I make a grocery list and then go even further and put the list on my phone
Always – I forget something on our grocery list

Sometimes – I don’t want to do laundry and the dirty clothes pile up
Always – I love clean clothes

Sometimes – I miss my relaxed hair
Always – I am glad that I made the decision to never relax my hair again

Sometimes – I go clothes shopping and nothing looks right
Always – I leave with a new pair of earrings because they always look right

Sometimes – I have several voice messages on my phone
Always – It takes me several days to return the message {I’m working on this!}

Sometimes – I want to order something different when I get sushi
Always – I get the same thing

Go on, link up with Mackey Madness. You want to.

2012 Resolutions

{Would you think I was a dork if I wrote "Twenty Dozen" Resolutions? I was so tempted to}

1. Read the bible more. Build a closer relationship with God.

2. Be an incredible, supporting, loving, understanding wife to my husband. I am not the most patient person that ever lived so I plan on getting my impatience in check especially when it comes to Sean.

3. Get to my “happy weight” – I know I can do this because I made some changes last year. I still am not at my “happy weight” which I call my wedding planning days. I know I will get to it this year!

4. Be a better daughter, sister and friend. This means that I need to get over my hate of the phone and pick it up. Since I don’t stay in touch with friends via Facebook, I really need to start to pick up the phone.

5. Pay off my 2 remaining store credit cards. I know I can do this! And it excites me to know that I will end twenty dozen 2012 without any store credit cards! College days are stupid. I'd never own a store credit card again.

6. Draft out what our goals and expectations are for our new business venture and how we expect it to grow in the upcoming years.

7. Start discussing seriously when we want to bring little Seans into the world.

8. Go on 2 big trips/vacations and 2 small weekend trips with Sean.

9. Get Fella and Izabella to love each other {i am only half kidding about this one}

10. Be true to myself & have the best year ever!

How I did with my Resolutions of 2011

Before I go into how I did with my resolutions of 2011, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the well wishes. We are excited, nervous but really happy with our decision to purchase an investment property. We are putting all of our faith in God that it will be successful and that we will be able to own more than one investment property in the future.

Moving along,

The below was my resolutions last year and I am proud to say that I didn't fail :)

1. Most and foremost, I need to build a stronger relationship with God. I don't think I've ever used the term "most and foremost" in a sentence before.

{I always want a stronger relationship with God so regardless of the year, this will always be a resolution or goal of mine}

2. Keep the communication doors open between the husband and I, to ensure that we always have a healthy and happy relationship.

{Our relationship is stronger than ever. If we continue to do what we're doing we are going to spend the rest of our lives annoying loving each other}

3. Get back in shape (workout 4-5 days a week) and choose healthier foods to eat.

{I lost 20 lbs! Yea, I did. I still did not get to my pre-wedding weight but I will do that in 2012 with continuing to work out 4-5 days per week and portion control. Here's some pictures for comparison from last year}

{2011 NYE, just look at my cheeks}

{2012 NYE}

4. Go natural

{I did it! Best decision for my hair, ever!}

5. Pay off 2 credit cards, those suckers suck.

{I paid off 3!}

6. Be the best friend, wife, family, me I can possibly be.

{This year, I made sure to spend a lot of time with friends and family. But of course, there is always room for improvement especially in the calling people on the phone department}

I'll write what my new resolutions are for 2012. Some might repeat but I have a feeling it will be more than 6. We shall see.

......and we're Landlords

{sorry for the crappy picture}

Hubs has wanted to get into real estate for the longest time.

Well the dream has finally come true and we are now proud owners of an investment property.

Now hubs has no choice but to become a handyman. I'll just pick out the paint.

2012, you're looking good already.

Scenes from New Years Eve

This NYE we went with some friends for somewhat of a fancy dinner and then to our friend's house party. To say that we had a great time is an understatement. And I took a lot of pictures. Because I'm a picture taking crazy and Sean did not mind being in pictures this day. Win, win.

{All ready to go. I even had Sean apply fake eyelashes for me. It had rhinestones on it so it was a must. And I'm not sure he would be proud of me to say this but he did a mighty fine job}

{I felt pretty. That's always a nice way to welcome the new year}

{Before we headed out for dinner we all met up and had some wine}

{Then it was off to The Van Dyck for some dinner}

{Menu}

{And somewhat of a group picture}

{Couples}

{We had to take a picture of us with the tree}

{Crab cake for my appetizer. It was so good}

{See, I told you Sean didn't mind being in pictures that day}

{Filet Mignon for Sean and Chicken Francais for me}

{The band}

{Chocolate Stout Lava Cake for me and Apple Crisp a la Mode for Sean}

{After a delicious evening, it was off to the house party to welcome 2012}

{Nothing says a celebration like a Chocolate Martini}

{What has happened to my husband? And can he stay around?}

{Then it was time for some board games. Girls vs boys. I hate losing which we did}

{And when the clock struck mignight we celebrated. And I took silly pictures of hubs}

{Seriously, my husband kills me. Only he would flex with a tiara on his head}

{It was a perfect night}

{And just because I liked my outfit so much}

Hope you all had a wonderful time bringing in the New Year. Wishing that 2012 is an incredible year for all of you. Xoxo.