A Day in the Life of Phillip & Alyssa

Our anniversary vacation starts next week!!!

Alyssa: "Remember that time we got married?"
Phill:    "Nope"
Alyssa: points at wedding picture "See? Proof"
Phill:    "Photoshop"

*minutes later*

Phill:    "This is a house of lies!"

*Phill takes tortillas out of the fridge*

Alyssa:  "Don't! Don't eat something big!" {He's a major quesadilla consumer and dinner is only a couple hours away}
Phill:      Holds tortilla up, displaying the skinny tortilla "But it's thin!"
Alyssa:  "Are you just eating that?"
Phill:     "Yes!"

LAUGHTER ENSUES. Alyssa laughs for a minute straight. {I mean seriously! "But it's thin!" haha!}. Of course I married the guy who just eats a tortilla plain. Actually, that probably is pretty normal.

Ok, I realize this probably isn't too funny reading it from a blog, but as I re-read the scenario it brings a big grin to my face. It truly was a super funny couple of minutes here.

Ahhhh true love...

Margot & Me

Can I please tell you how I spent my Wednesday? Ok.

12AM-12PM     Bed
12PM-4PM       Lounge around apartment
4PM-7PM         Bed
7PM-11:59PM   Lounge around apartment

Some would call me lazy. Ok, it's true. But it was so freaking awesome. I was just so tired. I can't explain it.

So, due to my lazy day yesterday, I decided that even though I had no plans for the day I had to at least get out of the house today. So, I went to the store, a little chores around the house, and FINALLY got out for a coffee date with a friend from church. Not much, but at least I got dressed. And I styled my hair! Shoot I should have taken some pictures to prove it. Oh well. I did take some pictures though!

Without further ado...Margot & Me

Check out how long my hair is getting!

She's always sitting on the couch looking out that window

I love when she gives me kisses

Watching HIMYM

!!!

Dinner & My Loves

Successful Eggplant Parmesan. Technically there was a recipe involved, but since I didn't plan on making the full dish with a 9"x13" pan I kinda fudged around a bit.

Fudged.

Apparently, fudging works out alright! It may have been well to let it cook a couple minutes longer to allow for the perfect texture of the eggplant, but it was still pretty good! Now, I'm wishing I had used an even smaller amount because I have all these leftovers and I can pretty much bet money the mister won't even try it! Anyone want some?!

Also, please look at this and feel my heart melt.

White Trash

I can't believe I haven't gotten around to posting these pictures earlier! A couple weekends ago we went to a FABULOUS White Trash Birthday Party for our friend Heather. Originally there was even going to be beer tasting, but we ended up just all hanging out and having a laid back, hillbilly good time...horseshoes and all.

Brian {2nd photo} obviously didn't have to try too hard for this party ;-) It's also worth mentioning that Jake {in 2nd to last photo} did NOT know ahead of time that this was a White Trash party. This is what he was wearing without knowledge. He thought it would be funny. Also noteworthy: Phill was a poophead and didn't dress according to the party's theme. Lame sauce.

Crazy Dog Lady

Phill & Co. are off at houseboat camp this week.

That's right. Camp. On houseboats. Lucky highschoolers! And...I miss my husband :-(

Since Brian and Sarah are obviously gone to camp, too, Henry is hanging out with Margot and me again. I'm sure, as a result of this week, most of our neighbors think an old lady, deeply in need of anger management, lives here.

I yell. Too much.

Two barking dogs are worse than one barking dog. Also...Henry is a majorly annoying whiner. Sorry, Brian and Sarah.

Check out Margot in that first picture. Demonic, right? Hey guess what?! I won this giveaway from The Peanut Gallery a while back on IROCKSOWHAT {blogosphere for the win!} and my sweet headband prize arrived today!

Yay!

Mood-Lifting Date Night

Last week I worked Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday. Many nurses purposely schedule themselves to work their 3 days back to back in order to have their days off back to back, as well.

I am not one of those nurses.

I like breaks in between my work days. This is going to sound really sad, but I prefer it this way because then I can easily prep myself knowing I just have to 'get through' one or two days of work rather than a whole lot in a row. As much as I hate to admit it, I really am in a stage in my life where I have to 'get through' my work days.

All that being said, by Thursday I was really dreading Friday. Nothing out of the norm awful had happened Wednesday or Thursday, but I really hated the idea of going in yet again the next day. I had all but decided that I was going to call off. BUT I knew deep down that it would be silly, a waste of PTO, and I couldn't really afford another call in. Plus, Phill would not support my decision if I called off. But I wouldn't be able to leave it at that. My mentality was so out of wack that I knew by going in to work, like normal, that my attitude was in such a place that I was going to guarantee myself a terrible Friday at work!

Therefore, I came up with a solution: I needed something to look forward to after work on Friday. DATE NIGHT! Throughout Thursday night and all day Friday, Phill and I never could really solidify plans, but I NEEDED something. The only thing we decided on was a Thai restaurant in downtown Phoenix, but by the time we arrived...they were about to close in 12 minutes. Sooooo...we went to Pei Wei {first time!}.

Afterwards, we were really struggling to think of something to do. *Sidebar: I realize there are 1,309,417,420 options of "things to do" in Phoenix and the surrounding areas. We, however, enjoy free or nearly-free activities!* I am nothing short of pleased with our solution, though. I, being the glutton I am, suggested we go for dessert. I was really craving apple pie. Apple pie......all-American...

LET'S FINALLY TRY 5 & DINER!!! 

And we did :-)

Apple pie {a la mode...duh} for me, and a root beer float for the mister. *2nd sidebar: Isn't he the cutest? Ok, perhaps, being the wife, I'm a bit biased. Gosh, I love him*

5 & Diner has now joined the ranks as one of my favorite places. It has so much to offer:

1. Good ol' fashioned yummy food
2. 1950's atmosphere, including jukebox
3. Friendly staff...with poodle skirts!
4. Various types of other patrons. Some were pretty sketch-tastic.
5. Open late {or even 24 hours--perfect}

I'm so glad there's a location nearer to us, too. Needless to say, my sweet husband obliged my craziness and made helped make my 3 days in a row far less terrible by taking me on this little date.

Alright Already! It's Tattoo Time!

Welp, my dear friend Dbo brought it to my attention that my sweet ase tattooed arm has made Apryl's online portfolio. So...there's definitely no sense in hiding it any longer! Actually, I already showed my parents and my brother through Skype, so it's only fair the rest of you see. Plus, y'all have been asking like crazy!

Outline complete

You can also see it here in Apryl's portfolio.

These pictures were taken the day after.

I love it. Seriously guys. I already feel like it's just a natural part of me. I think it's beautiful and special and I love the way it fits on my arm. I'm most excited for what's yet to come, though! Once the feathers are healed we're gonna tie it all together with a really light black & grey background.

This tattoo is a reminder of all the love in my life. I have been so blessed and this tattoo is a little keepsake of all the important relationships in my life.

Yellow--friendship color --> love for my dearest friends. My closest friends mean the absolute world to me. You know who you are and you know what we have is really more than a 'friendship'.

Blue--blue for my Grandma --> love for my family. My family has never left my side. I can always rely on my wonderful family.

Purple--romantic color --> love for Phillip. Cheesy or not, he really is my better half. He is the bread to my butter :-)

Green--my favorite color --> love for myself. Remember when I said this is partly a reminder tattoo? God is always working in me to instill self-love and self-confidence. This little feather, the one I can see most easily, is a constant reminder to treat myself right and remember that I am a child of the Lord.

Black & Grey Background--ties it all together --> The Unending Love. The love of the Lord that encompasses all the rest.

Independence Day Hike

Phill and I chose to wake up bright and super early for a morning hike on the 4th. He has been hiking every Friday morning {his day off} and we decided to add another one in & go together!

It.
Was.
Hot.

Both of us were so amazed by our surroundings. Even though we're in the 5th {6th???} largest city in the nation, there are wonderful little uninhabited areas, such as this, left to simply be. As you can see from the fourth photo there are some petroglyphs on this trail. These markings have been here for so many years. So much history. It's really amazing.

As awesome as it felt to be out there hiking, I can safely say I'll save my future hiking days for Autumn. Luckily, this was a pretty short trail. I love the idea of getting good physical activity just from being outside amongst nature, but for now I'm going to stick to the elliptical! Air conditioning? Yes please!

Stupid, Stupid Stuff

Phillip and I have a new obsession. I never imagined I would enjoy such a thing, but...things happen.

So sue me. We're watching Jersey Shore. I feel I must reiterate that Phillip and I BOTH are obsessed with watching this. I'm not sure how it came to pass that we watched that first episode, but we've been hooked ever since. We have a mutual favorite in Paulie D. That dude is hysterical. Paulie + Vinnie = Awesome. The rest of them are crazy pants, most of the time.

Sooooooo, I found these terribly awesome pictures of real life Jersey Shorealiciousness.

Alright. That's enough for now. 

ENJOY! HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Good 'ol American Summer

Typically, I avoid mock meat products. It just seems strange to me. I found an exception. I tried these once before and remember thinking it was no big thing, but right now...I'm a bit obsessed.

These taste exactly like what I remember hot dogs tasting like {Phill even agrees!} and, for some reason, it really hits the spot right now! I opted for the jumbo size {go big or go home, right?}, but I definitely don't have to feel bad about it because it has only 80 calories, no nasty animal filler products, no cholesterol, and only 1g of fat! The only downside? 5 dogs per package. Five?! Way to totally screw up the weiner:bun ratio!

It pays to eat veggie.

Tattoo Progression & A Birthday Fiesta

Here are some shots Phill took during my tattooing. I promise my face of disgust was in response to the movie I was watching and not due to the tattoo. I swear! It didn't even hurt at this point! Also, please ignore how unladylike I'm sitting in the first two photos. It makes me look disgusting, so pay attention to the third picture only, where I look much more acceptable. K, thanks :-)

After we left the tattoo studio we went straight to our friends' house for a birthday fiesta! Jake got a pinata and everything!

Robin holding it steady

Yup. He did it blindfolded...indoors...I nearly died

After it fell off the pole Jake was forced to stab the thing.

Saturday was lazy and uneventful, save for PPV Fight night at Sean and Dani's. Yeah. Somehow Phill and I are now regulars for the PPV UFC fights at the Brainard household. You're disgusted, right? Months ago, when we first went out to eat to watch fight night with friends, I did not want to go. To me, fight night = disgusting and stupid. Now, I know it's disgusting and stupid, but it's still somewhat enjoyable! It's just ridiculous. These idiots fight each other for sport. But it's so easy to kinda get into it, at times.

Today, I was able to enjoy a full day of church. Main service {aka me service} at 9, jr. high at 10:45 (Ice Cream Olympics woooo!), and high school tonight at 6. I'm so excited to have an additional day off with Phillip tomorrow. We're going hiking in the morning...early morning...then probably hanging out and generally being awesome until our 4th of July celebration at night! Our church, and apartment, is literally blocks away from the Peoria Sports Complex {which evidently is home to the 3rd largest fireworks display in AZ, or something} so every year lots of people just hang there to watch the show. I'm not sure if it's an annual occurrence, but at least this year it's an actual planned ordeal with food and all. I'm so excited to get together, share in community, and just celebrate and have an all-in-all summery good time =)

Ta-Da!

I'm full to the  brim with love {and a pinch of pride} right now.

We're in bandaged mode right now. Operation: Tattoo was a giant success! Apryl {my tattoo artist} seemed pretty impressed that I went forth and completed the whole thing in one sitting. She constantly kept asking me if I was doing okay and she told me I was quite the trooper, especially since this is my first "real" tattoo. Yes, I have a tattoo on my foot, but considering that took approximately 3 seconds from beginning to end, it hardly counts. I'm pretty darn proud of myself! I really really wanted to be able to get it done and finished today. I'm stubborn like that. I didn't want to have to come in an additional time and I didn't want to have a partially completed tattoo for the time leading up to the next session.

We got started at about 1:30 and we finally left the parlor at about 8:00. Yes, I did have breaks in between. Duh. Can you sit in one position without pee breaks for 6+ hours? Nope. Luckily, the sitting really didn't phase me too badly. Prior to arriving I was thinking 6 hours would just drag on and my arm would feel like falling off, but it turned out to be an all around decent and rewarding experience! Rest assured, though, I was definitely pleased when we reached the end!

I'll be going back in about 3-4 weeks to do the background shading/filling in. I'm still debating whether to post pics of what I have now. Phill thinks I should wait until it's completely finished, background and all, but I also kinda want to show it off! Plus, I think my fam {yes, YOU} might kill me if I don't reveal it now. For now, just wait it out!

**I highly recommend Apryl at 27 Tattoo if you're looking for a tattoo artist in the Phoenix area!