Football Widow

I'm sure I'm not the only girl who loses their husband to football in the fall.  Some lose their husbands to the NFL. I lose mine to the University of Florida.  Every Saturday.  Well let's be honest.  I lose him to NCAA football in general but mostly to the Gators.  It's been like this for as long as I've known him.  In his defense, he did warn me of this when we met.  He told me, and I quote, "You will always be my #1, until Saturdays in the Fall."  At that moment, I was caught up in wide eyed love for this man.  Never did I imagine he was being truthful.

Now fast forward 8 years and 2 kids later.  I'm constantly battling with the Hubs on this.  It's hard to be around someone who gets so personally vested in a football game. Like the outcome truly affects his life.  It's quite obnoxious actually.  I have to keep reminding him that there are 2 little people who depend on him, no matter what day it is, no matter what the Gators's schedule is. I know it's a hard one for him to deal with because this is his life.  He lives for Florida sports, especially football.  It's something that he and his dad have bonded over.  It's what they do.  I'm just waiting for that moment when he truly realizes that what he has right in front of him trumps whatever goes down in the Swamp.

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm a big football girl too.  I love my USF Bulls and I'm a proud Alumni.  I might have been known to get really into a game or two.  And I may hold some grudges based on outcomes of said games.  However, my life does not revolve around the Bulls.  I just don't get it sometimes.  And it can cause some serious frustration on my end.  So until that "a ha" moment happens for him, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm a single mom of 2 on Saturdays for a few more months.

So who wants to hang out with me?!?

   

A quick trip to Italy

Before I go into our amazing weekend, I wanted to say Go Bama!
I don't like LSU or Alabama at all.  They're rival SEC schools to the Hubs's Gators {which I could care less about too (Gator Hater, right here!!!) but it makes my marriage easier when the Gators win} but since they're playing in the big BCS game, I figure I have to cheer for one of them.
Why did I choose Bama?
Easy.
Purple and Yellow don't match.
Yep, that's right folks.  I choose teams based on their uniforms.  I also choose based on mascots.
LSU almost had an edge because they have a really cool tiger eye painted on the center of their field but that doesn't pull them in front of Bama.
I also like houndstooth (but not as much as this girl)....just another reason to like Bama!

Anywho...back to my weekend
We headed up to Orlando Friday night, checked into the hotel, grabbed some dinner, hit up Target (I forgot my brush and the Christmas clearance section happened to be 90% off...had to buy something!!!), and headed to the outlets.  My running shoes, which I also wear to work, are sprouting holes all over the toes.  I'm pretty much one more toe hole away from looking like a bum.  So we hit up the New Balance outlet for some running/work shoes.  Then it was off to CityWalk for margaritas and live music at Margaritaville.  I can't remember the last time the Hubs and I actually sat at a bar and had drinks together.  It was fun and we actually stayed awake long enough to enjoy it!  Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Saturday was our anniversary.  We really didn't have much planned except dinner reservations.  We headed to Epcot since we don't get to explore it with the kids.  The Disney Half Marathon/Marathon was this weekend too so we got to cheer on the runners running that final mile of the Half through Epcot.  Watching them really made me upset I didn't sign up for the Princess Half again this year.  Oh well, I'm determined to do at least 1 runDisney event next year.  We rode some rides and headed off to the worlds.  We had an amazing lunch in Italy (how many people can say their Hubs have taken them to Italy for lunch???), wandered around some more and then headed home for a nap. We woke up, got dressed and headed out to Magic Kingdom for our amazing dinner.
Here's pics from Friday and Saturday

Starting off our Anniversary weekend the right way!!!

Lunch in Italy

Our restaurant in Italy

An anniversary ride on the carousel

Dinner was so amazing that it deserves it's own post but I'll give you a hint.  It involves this:

Stay tuned to see what a great job the Hubs did!  He's on a roll this year!!!

What a weekend....

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  I know I did.  Our Thanksgiving involved me not cooking ANYTHING!  My sweet mother did all the cooking.  We all went to my parents this year (we're usually at John's dad's...well not me...I usually work Thanksgiving) to spend our first Thanksgiving together without my Grandpa.  My grandma did rather well I must say.  It was a little hard for me but I didn't let anyone see that.  We feasted on turkey, stuffing, veggies, fruit salad, and squash casserole.  Let me just say....my pants had to be unbuttoned, and not because my post-"rip your gallbladder out of your belly button"-inability to wear buttoned pants for long periods of time.  I ate that much.  Then came dessert....homemade pecan pie (my fav) and a bunch of others.  Then I watched the NFL for the first time this season.  All in all, great Thanksgiving!

Who did Black Friday shopping???  I did!!!  I decided to hit up Bealls at midnight so I could pick up a new UF shirt for the game on Saturday.  I think stores opening at midnight meant more people shopped since they didn't have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn.  I've never seen so many people at Bealls in my life.  But I got my shirt, refrained from buying more USF goodies, and headed back home for a quick 2 hour nap before round 2.   I was at Mom's at 3:30am so we could head to the mall for an amazing deal on boots.  $120 boots for $30....yes please!!!  JCPenney's shoe department was a zoo and I found a pair of boots that I liked.  We headed to the checkout line and it was like the heavens opened.  The most amazing boots!!!   Out of line we went, found a cute holiday saleswomen, and the ultimate pair of boots were mine!!!  I did pay $40 but still...they were originally $120.  Happy Black Friday to me!!!  A quick trip to Old Navy for the perfect pair of jeans for my boots and a pit stop for a Peppermint Mocha and this girl was a happy camper!!!  We headed home so I could get another 2 hour nap before having to wake up to go to the USF game that started at 11am (who starts a game at 11am on Black Friday???)

The Hubs likes to call this weekend the Ultimate College Football weekend.  He lives for college football.  We went to 2 games in 2 days.  Almost the best weekend in his life.  A few years ago, he and a buddy went a UF game then drove back to Tampa to make the USF game by kickoff at 7:30.  2 games in 1 day....the Ultimate Day in College Football History...I think that's what he calls it.  But anywho....USF has had a rough time this year in the Big East (that's as nice as I can put it....I'm so disappointed this season) but I thought Friday would be different.  But it wasn't.  The Bulls were leading the whole first half and gave the game away in the second half.  So the Hubs and I left with a few minutes left in the 3rd, grabbed lunch at Cheesecake Factory and watched the end of the game on our phones.

The Hubs even wore green!!! 

Go Bulls!!!  Yes the stadium was that empty...sad I know

Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake....this is how I drowned my sorrows after the game

Next up....our day in the Swamp!!!

Fabulous Fall Blog Challenge #1

Well let me tell you how exhausted I am.  I went back to work today (finally) after a long 3 weeks of being useless.  I thought going back for a 10 hour shift wouldn't be too hard but boy am I beat!  My feet hurt, my body hurts, oh and I got kicked right in the stomach.  Yep.  Right at the belly button where my fabulous surgeon so nicely pulled my gallbladder out.  It's one of the few times I hate working with kids....their flailing extremities hitting and kicking you.  But those instances are few and far between.  But I survived and I'm so happy that I have tomorrow off to recover.  Hopefully my next 3 days will be a little easier.

But on a more fun note....I'm linking up with Amber and Neely for the Fabulous Fall Blog Challenge! 



I think these girls are geniuses for coming up with this!  I'm more of a spring/summer girl (I think living in FL all my life contributes to this) but as I get older, I'm starting to appreciate fall more and more.  So this 2 week blog challenge is going to be so much fun!!!  I love the idea of a different fall topic each day.  So for the first day, our topic is Fall Traditions.

1.  College Football! 

I'm a sports girl.  Always have been.  It's one of the reasons the Hubs fell madly in love with me ;)  College football is huge in our house.  I'm a big supporter of my USF Bulls....yay for being ranked #18 this week!!!  I'm so proud of how far the team has come from the first college game of my college career (way back in 2000....man I'm old!)  I love donning my green and gold!!!!  Every Saturday in the fall you can find me watching the Bulls (while the Hubs watches the Gators)

2. Baseball Playoffs

Again, I'm a huge sports fan.  I live for baseball season.  We're lucky to have a MLB team in our own backyard.  The Tampa Bay Rays have turned into quite the team.  The Hubs and I loved them when they were the Devil Rays and, for lack of a better word, sucked.  It's nice that they're playing well again.  And it's even better that they have made a miraculous turnaround and might actually make the playoffs this season!  If they get into the playoffs, maybe we'll go to one of the games.  We've been to at least one game in every playoff series the Rays have been to over the years.  We were even lucky enough to go to Game 1 of the World Series in 2008!  Hopefully going to a Rays playoff game this fall will be on our agenda this year too!!!

I've realized that I really don't have too many traditions that don't revolve around sports....some fall girl I am ;)

3.  Trick or Treating with the Kids
Having kids makes Halloween that much better!  There's something so adorable about little kids dressing up in costumes, looking so cute!  This year, I'm looking forward to having my very own Captain Hook and Little Mermaid walking around the neighborhood! Here's some of our pics from Halloween's past....

Noah's first Halloween as a Turtle. 2007



2nd Halloween. 2008....dinosaur



Halloween 2009.  Thomas the Train and a Pumpkin

Halloween 2010. A firefighter and Tinkerbelle

I hope everyone has better fall traditions than I do!  I guess since we don't exactly have a fall season in Florida, I don't have great fall traditions.  Oh well. Can't wait for the rest of this challenge!!!

Now it's off to get some much needed sleep after my first day back at work!!!
 

What a Great Day!

I almost changed the title to this post because it reminded me so much of The Fresh Beat Band.....a crazy show on Nick Jr that my daughter is OBSESSED with (the songs are really catchy though...don't tell anyone I said that).  But I couldn't change it because that's exactly what today was...a great day!

I knew it was going to be good when I opened my inbox and found an email from Shutterfly for a free photo book.  For those who don't know, I absolutely love Shutterfly.  I love everything about it.  I love their cards.  I love their photo books.  I love their photo share sites.  I should be a poster child for them! (and I am, by no means, getting any compensation for saying this.  I just love Shutterfly this much!)  My creative juices started flowing and I instantly started planning out an NYC photo book! 

The day continued to get better when I got to Noah's school.  The aide in his PreK class is a photographer.  She's actually the photographer we used for our wedding.  She did all the yearbook pictures for the school.  I was talking to Noah's teacher and she yelled over, "Want to see the cutest picture?" I, of course, answered with a sassy reply "Oh you have a picture of me?"  When she showed me Noah's picture, I was in love.  His school picture is absolutely amazing.  He's never smiled as big and bright as he did for this picture.  He looks absolutely perfect.  She was so thrilled when she saw his prints that she knew she had to show me herself.  It's amazing how a great picture of your child can make your entire day that much better!  

I've been working on our photo book all day.  Yes, I said all day.  Not because it's hard but because the program has been a little slow.  But slowness will not tamper with my happiness.  The book is absolutely awesome!  I'm so excited to actually have it!  I think it's going to be a great way to remember and cherish our trip.  And it will look awesome next to the photo book of our honeymoon!

But that's not all!  We took the kids out for a little shopping tonight.  We stopped at Bath and Body Works for the awesome owl Wallflowers I posted yesterday.  While we were there, the Hubs found me a few more owl items to add to my collection and we found a new scent for the fall.  I wanted a pumpkin scent and the Hubs only likes caramel.  What did we find?  Pumpkin Caramel Latte!!!!  OMG it's fabulous.  So we are now Pumpkin Caramel Latte'd out!  Its our hand soap in the bathroom.  It's in our wallflowers in a couple rooms.  It's a great scent and I'm just thankful the Hubs loves it too! 

Oh but the fun doesn't stop there!  Oh no it doesn't!  I am proud to say I finally own a hot glue gun!  I am so excited over this little bad boy.  There will be crafting-o-plenty going on in the Crimella house!  I can't wait!!!

Tomorrow will be a continuation of the fun!  I'm finally getting a new bedset for our bed.  Ours is a hot mess right now.  And I'll be using coupons so its even more exciting!  And my USF Bulls take the field again!  Looking for win #3 tomorrow against FAMU.  Wish I was going to the game so I could watch the halftime show.  FAMU's band is out of this world!!!

But all that excitement makes for one tired girlie.  I hope everyone had as great a day as I did and have an even better weekend!!!

My Craft Wish List

I feel my DIY juices flowing!!!  I have found so many ideas on Pinterest of things I had planned on buying in stores that I can make myself...and save some moolah!!!  I've planned out 2 teacher gifts already, just need reasons to give them (or reasons to tell the Hubs so I can buy the supplies...love you Hubs!!!), I've already picked out potential Christmas gifts to make, and I've found so many tutorials for apothecary jars.  I have been planning a stellar Christmas decoration that I cannot wait to share with all of you for months now and all I needed were the jars.  Now I can make millions of them for half the amount of money I was willing to spend to buy them.  Look how thrifty I've become!!!

So here's just a few things I need to get all of this underway:
1. Hot glue gun.  I don't know how I've survived my adulthood without one.  And come to think of it, I think my mom always had one growing up.  Why didn't I ever get one?
2. E-6000 and Gorilla glue.  Can't glue stuff together without this (obviously when I can't use the above mentioned hot glue gun)
3. Chalkboard paint.  Any ideas about making it yourself?  I've seen a couple DIY recipes but is it better to just buy it?
4. Mason jars.  I just love them in general but I didn't realize they had so many uses!
5. A basic sewing kit.  I don't even own a needle.  Not a one.  I have tons of scrapbooking supplies and tons of ribbon but no needle and thread.  Ultimately I want a sewing machine but we'll have to work up to that. I have huge aspirations of making my own scrub tops and making dresses for Emmy
6. Buttons.  Again, I never realized the unlimited uses buttons had.  I always get rid of the extras on my clothes.  You can use buttons on anything!!!
7. Ribbon.  I have a little stash going but I need more.  Plus Emmy's hair is getting longer so soon I will be putting ribbons around her ponytails.  I also want to make hair clips for her so they are a must.
8. Fabric.  I think I need to start a fabric collection.  Not yards and yards of it but scraps of random fabrics.

That would be a great start.  I have a real desire for a Cricut machine or a Silhouette.  I love the idea of being able to cut your own diecuts and wording for scrapbooks but I really want to be able to cut vinyl.  I have so many ideas for vinyl. 

I can't wait to get crafty and of course, share it all with you! 

In non-crafting news, we took Noah to Disney on Ice last night and had a blast!  It was an awesome show and Noah (and Mommy) loved it.  Here's a pic of me and my lil man.  This is also the first time I've worn real pants in 2 weeks.  Let me tell you...after about an hour of having the button rub my incision, I was ready for my sweats.  I may or may not have had them unbuttoned during the entire performance!

I can't believe how grown up he is now!

Hope everyone is having a good football Saturday!  The Hubs's Gators won and my USF Bulls won!!!  GO BULLS!!!

    

Home and Loving it!!!!

First things first....thanks for all the well wishes.  I am excited to share that I am finally at home and gallbladder free!!!  After waiting all day on Friday (I mean literally all day), I was whisked away to the OR at 9:45pm to have my surgery.  My surgeon was nice enough to come back to the hospital, after having dinner with his family and tucking his kids into bed, to do my surgery so I could finally go home.  He went in to do some exploration to see if anything besides the gallbladder could be the culprit of my pain but all he found was my gallbladder.  I guess a layer of stomach fat had adhered to my gallbladder.  He told the Hubs that this sometimes happens after pregnancies (plus I'm fat too so I guess I was at double risk).  So regardless of my perfectly functioning gallbladder, the layer of fat was irritating it.  So he was nice enough to take it out.  I was discharged on Saturday morning and have been home since.  Today I feel more like a human.  I took a shower and can function a little better.  Sitting straight up in the chair while I type this is a little uncomfortable but I figure a little discomfort is worth it to thank all of you for your prayers!!!  This was quite the experience and my entire family is trying to get back into the swing of things (and I'm trying to get back into the swing of eating. After not eating for a week, it's kinda rough starting to eat again).

Here are the pics I've been trying to upload all week:

Some of my Get Well Goodies (a monkey balloon is missing because Noah took it home one night)

The kiddos having dinner at Mommy's home away from home.  Notice how comfy Emmy made herself

Me, looking like a hot mess, smiling because I've just had pain meds!!!

I will spare you all from seeing my actual stomach.  It's quite the sight.  But if anyone has a good technique to get all the betadine off, I'd love to hear it.  You'd think being a nurse I'd have a good solution but I've always told my patients that it just wears off (which it does) but that answer isn't flying with me since it's my belly that's yellow. 

Another exciting thing yesterday....my friend Jen had her baby!!!  Colton Alexander was born at 5:14pm and is absolutely adorable!!!  I cannot wait to meet him.  I find myself just staring at his cute little face!  I cried when she sent me his picture.  I am so proud of Jen and so happy for her to finally experience motherhood.  She is going to be the best Momma!!!

And to top off the most exciting day ever....my USF Bulls beat Notre Dame!!!  I have never been so proud to be a Bull.  The game wasn't the greatest but they capitalized on ND mistakes, BJ Daniels looked pretty good with his passing game, and they stuck it out through 2 weather delays to hang on and knock off the #16 team in the nation.  You know I was cheering as much as I could!  I even threw on my USF dress over my sweatpants just to be festive for the game! 

Me and the bestie in our USF gear for a game last year

S-O-U-T-H-F-L-O-R-I-D-A
SOUTH FLORIDA
SOUTH FLORIDA
GOOOOOO BULLS!!!!!!

Football Linkup!!!

The Hubs's most favorite time of the year is coming up.....College Football Season.  While we disagree on teams (he's a die hard Gator fan...boo...), we both enjoy a good game.  I'm so excited that Lindsey at Running Down a Dream came up with her Football Link Up party!  We're not NFL fans like she is (we actually don't watch the NFL at all) but we do support our Alma Maters on Saturdays! 
I am a proud alum of the University of South Florida.  USF is just starting to make a name for itself in the NCAA world (we've only had a football team since 1997).  Unfortunately we don't have a stadium on campus but we do get to play in Raymond James where the Bucs play.  Maybe one day we'll have an on-campus stadium!

Here's a style recap from my years at USF football games.  I don't have too many from my early years at USF.  That was the pre-digital camera age.....does that date me???

My first USF game in 2000

Homecoming Game 2002

Homecoming Steering Committee on the field Homecoming 2003

USF vs West Virginia 2007

Me and my bro tailgating for the WV game 2007

The Hubs loving the Bulls (and wearing a USF shirt...the only time he wore one)

My parents and their USF kiddos at the UCF game 2007

Me and some of my girlfriends

USF vs Cincy 2009 (first game after having Emmy)

All dolled up in our USF dresses!!!  USF vs UF 2010

USF vs UF 2010

Can't wait for the season to start!!!