Pregnancy Bucketlist

Now that this pregnancy is coming to an end, I can share how we ended up making the most of this experience. I wish I could tell you that we have a baby already, but she's STILL hanging in there. In fact, I think she has grabbed onto my ribs and is hanging on for dear life, because that's what it feels like. However, don't be surprised if you see something popping up via other social media in the next day or two. I think the stork may be a'comin!

When I asked everyone what were our must do's during the pregnancy, everyone agreed on date nights, movies, and stocking up on sleep. I figured these were some good tips, but it wasn't enough for me. I'm not one of those people that thinks our life will be over when we have a baby, but I am embracing the fact that our priorities will change. Luckily, even before we knew we were pregnant we soaked up every minute of fun and will always savor the memories.

Throw a party {or three}.
Try new things.

Bike ride while you still have balance.
Whip up a labor intensive recipe that you won't be able to enjoy with a newborn.

Dance even if it's superdeeduper awkward with a belly.

Run {or walk} a 5K.

Wear a bikini while no one can judge you.

Go on at LEAST one adventure.

Volunteer in some capacity.
Visit any theater...movies, musical, comedy, and/or thespian.

Get a tattoo...j/k, but I did do this by accident. Whoops.

Date nights, both on the town and cuddled on the couch.
Enjoy fun in the sun and water whenever you can.

Travel until your doctor grounds you.

It's strange to think that a year ago I was sending Will off to Survival Training and a month apart. So much has changed in that year, and I can't believe the memories that we've made. Some of the best times of our marriage have actually happened while we've been pregnant, and still I know even better memories are to come. Once Charlie gets here, it's like we get to experience life with her all over again, and I can't wait.

Holiday Bucket List

+ Put up a REAL tree. We don't need it to be all Rockefeller Center up in here, but we've never had a real, honest to goodness tree. 

+ Decorate the exterior with lights, which would be another first for us. It may happen this weekend, but it's pretty frigid these days. I'll just have to ply Will with lots of spirits.

+ Make it through our Annual FRCSC Hollyday Bazaar. I mean, it's going to be Ah-Mazing, but considering I'm in charge of publicity, I'll be happy when it's over and I know I didn't fail. Hope, hope I didn't fail. I'm doing the best I can, but a month is not enough time to promote one of the biggest Bazaars in this area.

+ Visit the local Holiday Spectacular Park.

+ Christmas movies until my eyeballs fall out. My faves:
Miracle On 34th Street
Love Actually
One Magic Christmas
The family Stone
It's a Wonderful Life
...And every other sappy, lovey dovey, holiday movie there is.

Most Importantly...We want to soak in every joyous moment with friends and family. Our time here is going to be over before we know it, and we most definitely won't be here for the holidays next year, so it's time to party like it's our last holiday season ever.

My Travel 'LUST' List

If I made a Travel Bucket List of every location my heart desires, it would be about 10,000 items long, but that wouldn't do for a blog post. Instead, I'll take a cue from Helene and I'll just share my Lust List a.k.a. the places that I won't feel complete until I've visited.

Mykonos Greece || There is just something so seductive about the Grecian coastlines, their lust for life culture, and the food? Don't even get me started on how much I LOVE Greek cuisine. I just want to eat some Spanakopita, drink some Ouzo wine, and dance on some tables.

Italy || Has always been intriguing, but after visiting Napa I knew I was going to have to graduate to visiting the Italian wine country.  The desire grew even more now that we have a few friends living there. This is why we planned to go for Christmas this year, but the Army has us on lock down, so I'm not sure if they will allow us to go during Flight school :(

Either way, it WILL happen sooner or later, and I've mapped out my ideal route. We can start out in Venice visiting mi amica Adair in Venice, then Vicenza to catch up with il nostro amico Jon who is stationed there, and then I'd love to bounce all the way down to Venice. It's only 1,078 km, which is nothing when you talk about breaking it up as a train or road trip. Our last road trip was double that. Ti amo, Italia!

Ireland || I've been to Scotland, and while it was amazing in it's own right...Ireland is where it's at. Holly Cross Abbey, Blarney Castle, Dublin, and more specifically the Guinness Storehouse are just a few of the reasons why Ireland is a must.

Thailand || A few years ago, I had a friend go teach over in Thailand, and I fell in love with the paradise portrayed in her photos. To explore the culture, nature, and lay out on those gorgeous beaches while eating Thai food would just put me over the edge. White girl mode...I can't even.

Morocco/Egypt || I've been entranced by Morocco and {mostly} Moroccan food for a few years as well. I'm a little scared to go there at the moment, but some day we will visit both Morocco and Egypt. I want some authentic Moroccan cuisine, dance in the streets of Casablanca, and ride a camel with the pyramids in the back ground.

via

Australia || I actually don't really know what draws me to Australia, but it just seems fun. Everyone I've met from there is a cool cat, and it seems full of adventure.

England || When we went to Europe, I was so sad that we were so close to England, but didn't have time to go there. I even have family there, and yet I haven't checked out Big Ben, ventured to Stonehenge, or frolicked in the land of Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Paris, France || Eiffel Tower...City of love...'nuff said.

Port Elizabeth, South Africa || My best friend Dani happens to be from P.E. You can see her down there chillaxin' with an elephant on a safari, and if that doesn't make you want to visit, then I don't know what will. Her dad owns hotels and and a few businesses down there, so he'll show us a good time, as per usual.

My whole family loves to travel, but there are two people that have really influenced my love to travel: Dani and Papa. Dani and I have the type of relationship where one of us says "Let's go to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Mexico...etc.", and the other says "When and where, I'll be there." It makes for mucho excitement. Papa, my {very young} grandfather might be an even better travel partner because he foots the bill *winkwink.

In all seriousness, it's Papa's birthday, so I wanted to dedicate today to him. Isn't he a handsome devil? He has been there for us in spite of anything thrown at him, and he has truly unconditional love. I don't have a single bad memory of him because he always keeps his cool, and if he does slightly lose it...that person brought it on themselves. Thank you, Papa, for being a great example for us all and putting up with Tata. {I say that out of love, because my beautiful grandma is a handful.} Hope you have a wonderful birthday, and know that I miss you terribly! Hope to see you soon, because it's been far too long. Love you!

Green Is My Favorite Color, But Never With Envy

Let me start this out by bragging  that I ate my first doughnut in YEARS the morning of the race. As much as I preach that calories don't come free, one does not say no to a fresh Krispy Kreme. I asked Will if he would eat half, but two bites in, I knew I might as well eat the whole thing. It was pure heaven, and the only thing that would have made it better would have been chocolate icing. Fun fact: Will and I got into a fight one time because he wouldn't go into Krispy Kreme with me after a night of drinking. Come to think of it, I'm still bitter about that. I'm not used to him telling me no, even if he does hate doughnuts. Seriously, who hates doughnuts?

I'll also blame my doughnut eating on the fact that I got zero sleep the night before and having to get up at 5AM. Technically we didn't have to be there until 8:30, but we caught a ride with my brothers and SIL who were working the race. We knew we'd be drinking aaaall day, so we planned ahead. No car, no DUI. Don't worry, we weren't the first ones there. By the time we showed up people were already dressed up and drankin'. No kidding, even Will was taking shots of Jameson at 7AM, for he said it was "cold". I can't play innocent, though. We ended up hanging out with some friends at a Crossfit gym, and they had me taking so many jello shots that I was lovin' all up on Will before the race even started. Don't judge.

This was in fact, the first 5K that Will or I had participated in, so we were all prepared to have 24 minute run times. Originally, we were going to head to the starting line as soon as we arrived, but our friends are bad influences and seduced us to stay and drink. From the picture above, I would say that we ended up behind about 5,000 people. However, I won't complain about weaving through the people as we ran; it made it more of a challenge. Plus, I was just enjoying running behind this hunk. It makes me think of those Memes where Ryan Gosling is at the finish line. Except mine's hotter.

Will finished first so he {tried} to take pictures of me crossing the finish line. If you've done a race, you know this is easier said than done with tons of runners crossing at the same time, but I found the following picture on one of the sites that had race recaps. So candid.
Candid / ˈkandid/- (of a photograph of a person) taken informally, esp. without the subject's knowledge. For everyone that takes selfies or has someone take your picture and says hashtagcandid, we all KNOW it's not really candid. Just thought you should know.

Now, I don't know how most 5K's are, but this one is more about the after party than anything. They give you FREE UNLIMITED BEER AND IRISH WAKES UNTIL NOON. I didn't even know this until the morning of. Can you believe it? All you can drink, and there weren't even lines to get the booze. You walked up, and they handed you a beverage of choice. My mind was blown, and it was party on.

Side Note: The blonde next to Will that isn't me, is a friend of his from high school in Virginia. We met up with her beforehand at the Crossfit gym, and she happened to be with friends that I used to go to church with! Just goes to show what a small world it is.

Even after noon we kept going since the other bars around had parties going on, but we still made it back to McGuire's to eat. You just can't beat their food while you are drinking, and I wanted to go mess with my little brother while he worked. Isn't he so cute in a bow tie?

You would think we stopped there, but our ride was coming to get us until 4:00, so back out we went.

With a few stops in between.

I can't wait for next year! You should come too.

If You Don't Appreciate Romance Or Beautiful Scenery...

You should look away.

The rest of you can enjoy the beautiful Colorado backdrop that we will miss when we move. For those of you that asked, we are moving to Fort Rucker, Alabama, and it will probably happen within the next six months! We are still waiting for orders {instructions and dates for our move}, so now we are just soaking up  every last drop of Colorado that we can.

Colorado, you have treated us well the last three years, and we promise to make the most of you in our remaining time! Now, we need a whole new bucket list for Colorado...

+A Colorado Blogger meetup

+At least one more trip to Denver to see Sami.

+I want to try out these Hot Springs I keep hearing about.

+Seven Falls, weather permitting

+The Broadmoor for the tree lighting and brunch, of course.

+Uwe's German Restaurant

+My FAVORITE little bistro, Coquettes

+Mona Lisa Fondue

+The Sunbird. We just went, but we have a $50 GC left.

And I'm sure I will add a few more as we go along.

Now I just can't wait to spend another surprise weekend with Will coming up! You see, there is a big possibility that he will, in fact, miss my Birthday for the fourth time in a row. I may have already cried a few times about it, but he's going above and beyond to make this time special for me. He will be gone for a month again, so this last week is dedicated to us. I even told him that if they make him go to work on Friday, I will be working right along with him. If they think they can take him from me for a month for no gosh darn reason, then I won't give up the days that he's supposed to be off. Don't think I won't. They are just lucky that I'm not planning to stow away on the bus, and boy would that make a good story for the blog. Hmm...I'm pretty sure I could fit in his duffel bag...

Kicking Off Fall With A Bang

Member how I said that I was going to clean the house this weekend?
Totally didn't happen. Instead I was wifenapped by the hubby and forced to visit Harvest Festivals, eat amazing food, get lost in corn mazes, and even took the bike all the way down to Canyon City, knocking three items off the 27 In 27 List! I guess he got all those hints that I've been dropping ;)

Friday, albeit cold, was a beautiful start to the weekend, and then I got to come home to the first fire of the year, wine, and watching the movie Crash. I probably cried half of the movie... Mostly because of all the times that Lauren made me watch it before she had cancer, but you can't help but cry a mixture of happy and sad tears from the heart wrenching scenarios. "Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption."- IMDB

Saturday, we headed up to Rock Ledge Ranch where Will participated in his first Silent Auction, explored Garden Of The Gods, and then ate at the famous Sunbird for dinner and relaxation.Sorry about the random picture of my hair, but I'm really proud that I rocked a messy braid. I have never liked my hair 'up', so this is huge for me. Just don't tell anyone that I only did it because the curls were not working with me that day.

As if Saturday was not enough, Sunday was going to be another day of Fall celebration visiting Diana's Pumpkin Patch in Canyon City! We hopped on the bike and made the hourish trip down to enjoy Hot Apple Cider and one of the best Corn Mazes I've ever done.

After that, we took a walk along the Arkansas River, so we can now say we have been there, and we worked up enough of an appetite to visit the Gooseberry Patch. It was like being transported back in time, and yet the place is current enough to get an 85% on Urban Spoon. We assumed it was a little diner, but it ended up having a down home buffet that you wouldn't believe. I almost felt like I was back home in the South.

Hi, My Name Is Janna, And I Am Addicted To Buffets.

Bet you didn't know that about me. It's not that I want to gorge myself even if that sometimes happens, it's that I love getting to eat a little bit of everything. I like variety, and I'm not ashamed to admit my desire to stop at every buffet I see. Don't judge.

As I sit here going through the memories of this weekend, I am so incredibly thankful for such a wonderful husband. I can't believe he planned all of this, and that he goes above and beyond to make me feel special. How did I get so lucky?

27 in 27, Update

Boy, am I glad this week is over. Every year I reach this point where I can barely make it through the work day, and we are at that point. I just keep reminding myself, "I love my job, I love my job...", but sometimes certain aspects of my job just push my buttons. Does anyone else get a case of the "F%ck-Its" at certain points of the year?
I'm hoping it's not just me.

Remember when everyone did these fun lists and linked up with Erin?

Well, I figured that it's time to check out our progress on the 27 in 27 bucketlist, since it's about to be my Birthday month *cough, cough* A few things have been adapted, but the essentials have not changed.

...27 in 27...

DONE || IN Process

1. Go to our first Homecoming Ceremony, and squeeze Will until someone pries me off of him! Triple CHECK!

2. Go home to Florida!

3. Spend Christmas with our families.

4. Go to Las Vegas Chicago.
We decided to go on one big trip instead of Vegas. I can only hang for three days in V-Town, so the thought of a week+ sounds awful. Anything over three and my body shuts down.

5. Visit Will's grandparents in Ohio.

6. Visit Royal Gorge and the bridge.

Sooo happy we got to go, because the fires damaged the area this year.

7.  Start moon shinin'.
Technically...we did start it. We have researched and even picked up supplies.

8. Explore Denver more.

9. Make it to the top of the incline.

10. Celebrate Will's Birthday with friends.

11. Take picnics.

12. Get back to cooking, since I will have someone to cook for.
13. Attend our first Ball.

14. Go snowboarding more.

{We went once last year, but three times this year!}

15. Find a yoga class.

16. USE my Nike's.
17. Get Will out on the Pueblo Reservoir.

18. Get the Monte Carlo in top shape.
We aren't completely finished, but I'm amazed at how much we have gotten done this year. We will have her back on the road soon, and to be honest, a project car is never really done. That's the fun of it!

19. Work less, and dedicate myself to our year. 
I am happy to say that I have stuck to four days a week, and just took off twelve days for the last vacation. I haven't had that much time off for a vacation since Europe six years ago.

20. Enjoy the HELL out of MY husband. Excuse my french.

21. Write more.

I would LOVE to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, but work may get in the way of trying to write 50,000 words in one month. Maybe I should just take that month off ;) That's okay, right love? I mean you said I need to 'get to writing', so that you can retire...
22. Get published.
This could happen two ways. I may be in the Hooters Calendar and our Engagement story has made it to the finals of an upcoming Chicken Soup book. I have faith that one or both of these might happen! Cross your fingers.
23. Enjoy my first birthday with Will in three years. Damn training and war.
So far we are on track for him to be HOME for my Birthday!
24. Keep learning about my camera and photography.

And all we have left totally doable:
25. Take the motorcycle on an unplanned day or weekend getaway. 
Just take off and go!
26. Go into the mountains to see the leaves change this fall. 
This may go hand in hand with #25.
27. Visit a Corn Maze and/or Fall Harvest Festival.

If you can't tell, I'm ready for Fall, and it's not just because my Birthday is during this time. I actually dislike my Birthday, so I want to enjoy the season, and then it will be time for my FAVORITE season, winter CHRISTMAS!
Cheers to twenty-seven coming to a close, and I hope we go out with a bang!

Now, I just need to make it through one day of work before my three day weekend. Why, yes, I did give up a day so that I didn't have to work six shifts next week. I'll keep my sanity over the money any day!

A Dive Bar On Christmas

I've gotten wild on a lot of holidays, but Christmas was not one of those. That is, until this year!

Christmas day was pretty traditional. Christmas night? That's a different story...

From left to right, you will find my big brother Michael, our friend Adam, and Will enjoying stogies and scotch. This was meant to be a relaxing "man" thing, but once they took my dad on in pool and got a few beers in my mom...it was party on. 

Just when I was all funned out {yes, I'm an old woman}, I heard my mom mention The Trail {neighborhood dive bar}, and boy-yoy-yoy-yoy-yoing! I was instantly ready to go again. There is something about partying with your parents that just makes it more exciting, and throw in the fact that your are getting down and dirty at The Trail? Pure awesomeness.

Just missing our big sis and our little brother. 

We totally would have brought Marc if we wouldn't have gotten arrested.

Did I mention that there were crazy storm warnings? We didn't just go out on Christmas; We braved a storm! That is some determination.

You know you love our reindeer antlers. Such an amazing Dollar Store find.

A dolla' makes me holla!

Our parents were pretty much the life of the party too.

Daddio, was a pool shark:

And mom was taking Irish Car Bombs with the boys. Yes, I said Bomb(s), as in multiple.

Evidenced here:

I would just like to take a moment to simply thank my parents for being so effing cool. You guys have always been "rad" parents, and obviously great at child rearing {Hello? My siblings and I turned out awesome}, but now I can truly appreciate how kick-ass y'all are.

I can now check this off my bucket list ;)