Wordless Wednesday

River and Suki love the Xbox360.

Yule Tidings!

Okay, don't be scared.... I cooked! Now, now, I know what you're thinking. .o0(Oh No! Did she burn down her apartment complex?!) And I say to you, "Nay Nay!" We discovered that I'm a great cook. Go figure. I made Roasted Dijon and Apple-Glazed Turkey with Fruited Stuffing, Sweet Potato Oranges, Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip, Peanut butter pie, and Iced Pumpkin Cookies. To my delight everyone enjoyed it. There was no complaints and everyone finished their plates.... and NO, no one dropped their food on the floor! haha. That was the entirety of Saturday. I started cooking around 10am and stopped around 7pm. It wasn't stressful at all, but I was exhausted by night time, and yet, I can't wait to do it again next year.

Now to back up a bit. Friday Brian and I had our own mini Christmas. I lit up my tree (which is hidden from my cats in my bed room.) and we opened presents. I was so excited to find that Brian bought me a board game that I've been staring at in Game Daze for months now. It's called Mr. Jack, where one of the two players represents Jack the Ripper, the other player tries to figure out who Jack is. It's a complete blast! 

Sunday we finished the 2nd season of Dollhouse. Damnit Joss Whedon! I cried! Never would have seen the end of that show go that direction. We pretty much stayed on the couch all Sunday. After the busy weekend I was tired and attached to the cushions.

As for this up coming weekend, I'll be in Kingman to see the folks and Brian will be in Tucson. Can't wait to spend time with my family and close friends. See you all there and everyone else have a wonderful holiday!

Etsy Giveaway? Awesome!

Hey everyone! Ever hear of Etsy? It's an amazing site where you can by handmade items and crafts from the actual people who have put their hard work and creativity into them. 

This chick named Jen just let me know she's doing a giveaway! Check it out, you'll love it! 

Her Blog

Her Etsy

Bring on the Holidays!

This last weekend was a blast! 

Brian, Sarah, Cody, and I all went walking through Winter Haven. Sarah and I raced to post the pictures on Facebook as soon as we got in the car on the way to dinner. (Photos on blog soon to come.) We also helped decorated Sarah and Cody's Christmas Tree. Which for $40 was an amazingly poofy tree. haha! 

Saturday Brian and I went with his sister Holly to the park and had our pictures taken. They came out amazingly and everyone should check out Holly Himebaugh Photography as soon as they get a chance. 

Saturday night followed with Sarah and Cody's Christmas party. Many people came and it ended shortly after a marshmallow war in the back yard sometime after midnight. We ended up taking pictures, but judging that Sarah hasn't posted them, they more than likely didn't come out too well. haha!

Hope all is well with everyone! Can't wait to see you all over the Holidays!

Zoo Lights, Cardinals, and a sad Farewell.

This weekend was full of good times and wonderful memories and one very sad moment.

Brian and I had a wonderful Friday after not seeing each other for two weeks. We took a trip over to Tempe Marketplace to see the new lights that they put up for the season and their Giant tree. I stood at the bottom of the tree looking up and decided to take a picture. Brian pointed out that the bulbs on the tree were as big as his head. Haha!

 

Saturday we were able to drag ourselves out of bed around 10am and grab some nommy pancakes at Good Egg and got a call from Brian's Dad asking if we would like to go to the Cardinals game on Sunday, since he would unfortunately not be able to make it to the game. "But we're in Tempe...and the tickets are in Tucson..." So off to Tucson we went! We ended up having dinner with Brian's parents and sisters, which is always a blast! I got some more insight on their Christmas gifts... Bwahahaha!.... and shared a lot of laughs. One in which where Brian and I forgot the tickets at their house while on the way to dinner and had to go back to get them. Oopes! Once back in Phoenix we headed straight to Zoo Lights (and yes, we got lost. Completely my fault.) Here's some of the sights we saw as we walked around with out Churos and Hot Chocolate (MmMmm).

After the long night out in the cold oddly enough we woke up bright and early Sunday morning. Left overs, Video games, and couch cuddles were the entirety of our morning. Plans were few. We were going to the game but otherwise, staying on the couch.

Much later at the game:

Sunday did come with unfortunate news though. Saturday night the world lost a wonderful and very sweet friend of mine named Tawny Mitchell. I was very fortunate to have gone to high school with Tawny and share many hilarious times in Spiritline (Cheer and Pom) with her. Such a beautiful soul, she will be missed greatly and my deepest thoughts and prayers go out to her family and husband Zach.

Celebration

"You can tell what's worth a celebration because your heart will pound and you'll feel like you're standing on top of a mountain and you'll catch your breath like you were breathing some new kind of air." -Bird Baylor

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where my family gets to do something other than work and relax at home with good food and joyful company. This year I'll be able to actually make it to the festivities in Kingman and see the family and close friends while Brian will be also celebrating the holiday with his wonderful family in Tucson. I'm going to miss him like crazy, but we'll both have plenty of stories to share. 

We haven't been up to much since our treacherous hike. Lately our weeks have been so boggled with work stress that we've been more than happy watching movies on the couch than to be as active as we normally would be. Halloween was fun, we carved Pumpkins with Sarah and Cody and Sarah introduced Cody to the horrors of the movie Grudge while I fled the village back to the city. (Only 17 more weeks of this traveling crud!) All is well!

Everyone have a WONDERFUL Holiday and I hope you all get plenty of time off from work and many Noms.

I Survived!

A treacherous hike it was! Treacherous INDEED! Last weekend Brian and I went with our friends John and Catherine to hike this unbelievably difficult mountain. ELEVEN Miles we tromped (Or trudged in Brian's case) through the foresty wonders. Chats about Bears, Deer, and Chupacabra came up often. Here are some of the pictures!

Almost there. View is awesome.

And then the Cactus said, "Screw you desert!"

Don't. Fall.

Flowers in a rock.

Just too pretty!

So green!

Memorial to some Boy Scouts that passed in the 50's.

Rooted Tree?

Another strange tree.

But.... but.... The trail goes UP.

There's the top.

Mini waterfall.

View from the top.

View on the other side.

Surprise Roses

Friday Brian surprised me with roses and a pasta dinner when I got home. Did I mention I have the best man EVER? If you didn't catch that, I do! 

Apartment Search Is Over!

The search is over! Brian and I went apartment hunting last weekend, which ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be. We learned a lot about each other and met some very interesting and pleasant people in the apartment communities in Tucson. So far we've narrowed it down to two apartment complexes. One I think I favor more than the other, only because the guy that showed us around was incredibly fun and not only told us what he loves about the complex but told us about some of his favorite tenants, including a 100 year old lady that lives there with a "Fabulous" garden (And ohhh is it fabulous!) that the complex allows to be placed outside in front of her apartment. (I knew I should have taken a picture!) The other apartment was just as friendly as well as being a gated complex, but about $200 cheaper! Can you guess which one we'll end up in?

Brian and I also made a trip to the park in central Tucson. AMAZING! They have waterfalls and a rose garden and a lake! I think I know where I'll be spending most of my time while in Tucson. <Enter happy face here.>

One of the three waterfalls in the park.

Is that a Crane? It was HUGE!

Art in the Park. Door to adventure!!

Rose named Love.

Roses in the Test Rose Garden in the Park.

Busy Weekend

Brian and I have a busy weekend ahead of us. He's coming to Phx tonight so we can go to Rey's "Bad Movie Night" Party, and then tomorrow we're off to Tucson for Cody and Sarah's Toga Party. And No, I don't have a sheet for a Toga. Natalie is saving my non-Toga pail tail and bringing me a sheet tomorrow. Le Sigh. Either way I'm very excited to see Brian. I miss him a lot over the week. Only 5 more months and the long distance is OVER. I'll be safe and secure with him in Tucson.

Last weekend was a very good and exercising weekend. Brian helped me achieve 12,300 steps on Saturday. It didn't quite save me from the spider from the land of DOOM but hey, they're haunting me. (Don't ask.)

 We had dinner with Brian's Parents and Sisters on Sunday morning, which was wonderful. I love his Parents, they are so welcoming and very sweet and his Sisters crack me up, they're just so much fun! We missed out on seeing Matt since he lives in Tempe now, but we'll have to make it over there to see him soon. After all, I only live a few blocks away.

All is wonderful in the life right now. I couldn't be happier! 

Suki loves Brian!

Intro to BriLex!

Hi! My name is Alexis and this is my Blog to keep family and friends up to date with how Brian (the love of my life) and I are doing and what we're currently up to. Soon to come I'll be moving to Tucson to go to school at U of A for my Biochem degree and Brian and I wont be dealing with a long distance relationship anymore! Hooray! Although, we have proved that long distance can be done if you try hard enough and are that committed. It's also because we rock! In the words of Lem and Phil from TV show Better off Ted, "Deal with it!" 

As of recent events my 25th birthday passed on the 5th as well as Brian and I's 6 month anniversary. Brian did everything in his power to make sure it was the best birthday ever, and he succeeded. I was pampered and cooked for, for the entire 3 day weekend. Not to mention he bought me beautiful roses and some amazing games! We also just recently made a trip to Kingman to visit my parents near my Mom's birthday. We had a blast chatting up the folks and again getting pampered by awesome food. Guys, this is bad for my diet!

On another note I would like to say Happy Birthday to my friends Travis, Jena, Natalie, Aaron, Sara, and Karen! Happy Anniversary Lori and Zac! And Happy Mabon to all my Witchy friends!