Overnight Sensation.

On Friday night, Elliott and I went to our Super Target (I am forever spoiled and hardly go anywhere else to grocery shop) where I indulged in some "me" treats that I could enjoy in small portions instead of making a whole batch of cookies, expecting Elliott to share in the spoils, and he only has ONE. True story. 

I tell you, the guy is not a sweets person. 

Itching for a change in desserts, I picked up the adorable little $1 sized portions of the two goodies below and died. Honestly people, I am not an ice cream person. You know this! I am a straight up cupcake/Costco cake and cookie person. Sure, I'll dabble in the occasional Ben & Jerry's (again, I'm spoiled and only buy those since I'll never finish a gallon...anymore..) but ice cream tends to make me sick enough that I'll stop eating it for months at a time. 

Well.

Here I am last night, sitting in my workout garb at 7pm while Elliott is at his soccer game. He wanted dinner before leaving and I knew it just wouldn't be fun to partake in such exciting sweets and not be able to share, so I ate my dessert early. As an exercise warm-up, I turned on an episode of Entourage and began to sample my small treasures. 

Thirty minutes later, I finish my episode of Entourage and both of my mini ice creams.

 Chewy brownies surrounded by caramel and thick, gooey peanut butter--never, and I MEAN NEVER, have I had such good ice cream since B&J's Cinnamon Buns.

Well, let's not forget this classy picture of me at Hillstone earlier this month as I'm inhaling the ice cream I mentioned we had in Newport. YES. It is HERE in Arizona! I swear that has to be Ghirardhelli chocolate sauce.

Divine.

Ten minutes after finishing my ice creams (and starting my second episode of Entourage), the stomach cramps ensue, followed by some more unpleasant biological occurrences. This was the food that sent my nutritional pyramid crashing. The whole weekend was a bust in terms of even remotely healthy eating.

And so it was; the workout didn't happen, but let me tell you what DID happen:  

Those ice creams. 

PS: Word on the street has it that the Brownie Chew Gooder is ONLY offered at Target--some ridiculous "exclusive" thing. So go there when you get it. Not if.

To Do:

Elliott was so thoughtful as to help me through my pregnancy with Beckett that he gained empathy weight. Here's the thing: I lost my weight. He didn't. Now these are just FACTS people, I'm not badmouthing my husband here publicly. I'm just zeroing in on something he's been struggling with and displaying it to the public. See? Big difference there. Anyhow, he's an allstar and already lost 10 pounds which is a third of the way there... Give or take. Seriously, 10 pounds in a week. It's really something that most of us other Brennan's envy (in a very loving but smug way) about him. His soccer legs and athletic history burn more calories walking to bed than I do in a serious workout. We like to joke and reminisce to one another about our rockin' post-pregnancy bodies. 

Elliott broke his wrist a year before he met me and had surgery on it several months later. Before confining his wrist to a cast and doping up on pain pills, he was training for a marathon running upwards of 8 or 9 miles in a day. He informed me that he possessed wings. 

(See picture below, but don't pay too much attention to the detail) 

I told him I felt somewhat cheated that I didn't get to ever experience Elliott with "wings" since his exercise had greatly diminished over that time. 

He then created the to do list below and I added the drawing to help him visualize his goal.

My to do list? Either lose the minor double chin or inform my husband that the next time he takes a picture of me (ON the first day of school no less), he had better tell me my neck isn't angled in the appropriate "double chin masking" style--really, there's a whole technique. And yes, I DID start school and yes, I am playing nice with the other boys and girls, making new friends, swapping numbers, and gabbing. That whole bit. It's fun. 

PS. Excited for wings

PPS. I don't think I'm fat, just angle challenged. 

Bugfail.

Whilst Elliott was away in Mexico, I wanted to protect myself from as many of the world's evils as possible. The very day he left, I hustled over to Home Depot and acquired several scorpion traps. I'll put the word out now so you can all prepare: If Elliott is ever gone for an extended period of time and I end up with a scorpion in my house... Expect a call. Day or night. I'll reward whoever the lucky exterminator is effusively.

This is 2 weeks later. Not only did I not catch any scorpions, but I killed a lizard, which probably would have eaten lots of scorpions. Alas, the nightmares continue multiple times a week and it still takes me 30 seconds from the time I step into my 5x3 powder room to do a quick eye scan of the walls before sitting down on the toilet (that's where they've been the most, see).

Morning Run.

Some people run in the mornings.

I "run" to Sprinkle's in the mornings. 

I had to make sure I could get my hands on their very limited supply of German Chocolate Cupcakes (see below??)

They're only being offered from January 14th through the 30th.

Of course, me being super paranoid, I was the first and only person in the store. Because really, who drives 30 miles to Scottsdale at 9:00 in the morning to get sweets?

The nice girl working there asked me if it was for a special occasion (well... yeah, it's always for the party in my mouth). 

But I didn't say that because that's a hideous and tacky thing to say. 

What I DID say is that they are to celebrate my husband and his brother coming home off a week-long dental mission to Mexico... AND SURVIVING. 

They come home tonight where Buono's and Sprinkle's (and QT, naturally) will ensue. 

Miss you Ello. Can't wait to see you. And if your brother's by your side when I see you today, that's nice too. 

PS, this guy's pretty excited to see his Dad too!

Sometimes.

You just gotta smoke a mental j.(ag) and let your insomnia floaaaaaaaaaaat away.

See, happy?

I feel like I'm in high school. 

If you're thinking because of the maturity level here, I never left high school in that department. 

I feel, physically, like I did in high school. Late nights, early mornings, little food because you're too lazy to make a full meal for one. Nothing agrees. I'm not pregnant, I'm not depressed, I'm not even lonely.
 I'm just missing my noisemaker. 
The hum of breath and the soft snore delivering security.

Be Thou Humble...

...in thy weakness.

I like New Year's Resolutions. I think they're fun and challenging and I think a lot more people actually do follow through with them than we all give credit to (myself excluded). In THE CHURCH (bah-dum-bum) we have our own special name for New Year's Resolutions. It's called, "Long-term, Short-term, and Immediate-Goals." Don't worry, I won't pain you all with mine, as so many are very generic. Some of my more "individually special" goals, heh-heh, include to dry clean our fancy clothes more often and take our fancy shoes to get polished and repaired more often. It's true. It makes me feel more responsible and boy do I need all the "I'm responsible" feelings I can get. By the way, I do have a blouse waiting for me at the Cleaners that I dropped off two days ago. YES! My other special lil' goal is to eradicate all naughty language, as much as it all makes me giggle. I also hope to read more, which, even if I only read one or two books this year, is an improvement. 

While on his mission in New Zealand, Eliott had the opportunity to serve very closely with his mission president, who is now an Area Seventy. They invited us over to dinner while we were in Utah, and we could not have had a better time. After we left, Pam (Nana/Elliott's mom) said that there is a certain spirit within people such as President (Elder?) Cook and his whole family, that comes from a lifetime of obedience to Church and marriage obligations and covenants. They don't look to the world for justification and they don't look for that gray area or wiggle room when it comes to deciding what is right and what is wrong. At the same time, they weren't judgmental or extremist. Their happiness was inspiring and peaceful. I have always wanted a "Simplify" sign in my house, but all the signs I've seen have been, "Simplify STUPID" which... being the classy girl I am, have still even considered buying those. When I saw the sign in their house I considered it well... 

maybe a good sign that maybe my heart has been attempting a move in the right direction... Or something like that! 

(Left to right: Jay, Pam, me..., Beckett, Elliott, President Cook, Sister Cook, and their equally lovely daughter Marie manning the camera).


PS: I know I didn't do it here, but I just remembered that I also have a resolution to NEVER enact the "supermodel arm pose" ever again in my picture taking life. It makes me feel just too pretentious. Now, both hands on the hips is plain in your face fun and sassy. 

Beckett Turned 8 Months Yesterday...

...and I pretend our Sunday dinner with Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Ginger Snap cookies for dessert are really an 8 month birthday dinner for him... that Elliott and I eat... for him.

The framed picture of Elliott was Nana and Papa's Christmas present to us. I know, I know; no words. It will be promptly hung in my bedroom so that I can constantly speculate and wonder if Beckett will continue to grow and look just like his Da'. Fingers crossed for a little more red in the hair, though the bright blonde in the back and soft brown in the front is perfection as is. Oh Beckett. Speaking of fingers, let's all look at Baby Elliott and Baby Beckett's.

 To die for.   

Remember how I said last month that I was going to have Beckett's silhouette done at Brilliant Sky in Chandler? The process of having it done was as amazing as the silhouette itself. Taking all of 2 minutes, the wonderful Judith Housel simply glanced at Beckett sitting on Elliott's lap from time to time, all the while cutting her black contact paper and chatting to us. Real talent. 

Matching cords.


 One of my guilty pleasures in life is Las Vegas. It is one of my absolute favorite places to go. Usually you can find steals on hotel rates and it's close enough to drive over for just a weekend. I've gone there to see concerts and Cirque du Soleil shows and to simply just wander (but not too much, it is Vegas), peruse and shop (my favorite outlets are there). I like that I can go for a day and a half and still enjoy it without feeling too gross or "exposed." Heh. Elliott and I aspire to one day go to a UFC fight (another guilty pleasure) there as well. When we were driving home from Utah (via Las Vegas) on New Year's Eve, we lucked into driving by the strip right as it hit midnight. Red fireworks simultaneously shot into the sky along the strip and put on the best (and probably only) coordinated fireworks show I've ever seen. It was kind of like the Bellagio water show but for fireworks. One of my non-guilty pleasures is Brandon Flowers. Well, I'm keeping it at non-guilty because I am a married woman after all. He and The Killers hail from Vegas, but when he released his solo album, kept the theme very much alive. This song is my favorite off the album:   

Creating Yellow Snow.

I'm just going to lay it all out for you now. I'm very tired, I've only slept four of the past 48 hours. If this post is rambling, nonsensical and disturbing, you know what to blame it on. 

We got home from Utah today where we visited Nana and Papa (who recently moved up there for work). We stayed an extra day because of the heavy snow, and couldn't deny our excitement over the extended vacation. The trip was bliss and gave a whole new meaning to the word "relaxing." The drive home was fast, easy and the least bit busy. However, before I discuss our wonderful vacation we enjoyed, I can't seem to shake the thorn in my side that has been needlessly plaguing me over the past 12 days. 

The drive there.

The first leg was fast, easy and the least bit busy as well, but the second leg took 8 hours when it should have only taken 5. Why? Well, as I mentioned earlier, there has been heavy snow on and off the past little bit. Last week was no exception. There was SO much snow, that the Flying J we were hoping to stop at for me to use the bathroom was closed. UNFORTUNATELY, this untimely closure was not realized until we had schlepped ourselves off the freeway and across the overpass. The whiteout hid the lights (or lack thereof) of the Flying J, rendering our ability to determine it's "openess" impossible until it was just...*sobs* too late. The snow plows hadn't quite cleared off the overpasses and we were putting our car into reverse and drive over and over again until we had finagled our way back onto the freeway.Ok, maybe it wasn't as easy as just a little finagling and perhaps Elliott had to jump out of the car with nothing but his Rainbow's on and eventually wound up barefoot and ruining his sandal by using it as friction for the tires while I gunned the gas to make it up over the snow mound. 
#Frontwheeldriveproblems.

#Arizonadriverproblems.

30 minutes later, we were on our way but I still had a littttttttle problem that now had only one solution: 

 I peed-- in a beef jerky bag.

After all hope was lost, I lost my dignity to a beef jerky bag.

And when I had finished with the beef jerky bag, I zipped it up like any classy lady would, and threw it out of the window into the white abyss.
What?!
Yeah, I mastered the squatting without messing technique.
Anything's possible.
Except being able to get to a bathroom in that storm.

Special thanks to Jonny for buying a few too many beef jerky bags and giving us some for the road. 

You helped us more than you knew, good buddy.  

Meanwhile; a small taste of our Christmas.

 Clearly, we were all charged and ready to revel in the holiday spirit.