"I want to have my baby here already" - The Hubby

Today I'm linking up with Lauren, Lisa, Samantha and Jessa and had so much fun doing this with the hubs!
  To find out what to do and to link-up head over to Lauren's blog!
Hers I am so glad that it is Friday! I want to meet our baby! I have fears about being a mom and making sure that I am the best possible parent for this little. I wish I was more brave. I hate mustard and mayonnaise! I fear every sound when it's dark outside.  I'm working on this. I hear strange noises when I try to sleep and it drives my hubs bonkers. I search for better understanding and patience when it comes to others. I wonder who our baby will look like more. I regret nothing. I love my husband more today than I did yesterday and will love him less today than I will tomorrow. I ache when I over do it. I always kiss my husband before work, after work and before bed. I usually have at least one pickle every day. I never would make it to closing time at a bar these days...this baby sure takes it out of ya! I rarely eat breakfast although the little is making it more of a point that I do. I am not always confident. I lose my temper easily.  I get overwhelmed and can't hold my emotions in. I'm confused when try to explain directions to my husband...he gets me all flustered! :) I should exercise more.
His I am friendly. I want to have my baby here already I have little patience for stupidity I wish anytime I see 11:11 on a clock I hate beans!  Any kind! I fear wires in the ground I hear what I want to....huh? I search the Internet...a lot! I wonder what my future holds I regret nothing.  I'm better for my past experiences I love my wife and on the way baby...plus my dogs. I ache when my back hurts. I always breathe. I usually try to get out of the house as often as possible. I never give up. I rarely don't voice my opinion. I am not always smart. I lose my temper sometimes. I'm confused when people who are smart act stupid. I should have this make me sound like less of a jerk... but oh well.
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I love this man so much!  He is so inspiring and courageous to me each and everyday.  I think that this was a great link-up with the gals and it really helped us both understand each other a little bit more.
I love you hunny bunches!!!

So You Want to Buy a House But Are Super Picky???

So as you know we are in the process of trying to buy our first home...  

Well this is a lot easier said than done.

I asked our relator if I was being too picky when looking.... he responded with "No!  You have to choose 5 things that the house must have and if it doesn't match those, then we keep on looking."

It was seriously the best thing to hear.  We have made our list and I really don't think that we are asking too much.  We are getting closer, but still haven't found it yet.

Here is our list:

1.  NO front facing bedroom windows

I know that most people won't understand this, but I do not want my kids or myself in a bedroom with a window facing the front yard.  I don't feel as though it is the safest and I know that I wouldn't feel comfortable there while Ryan is out of town.

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2.  Open floor plan

I want to be able to see my kids play in the living room while I make dinner or do dishes.  I don't want every room closed off from each other.  Also, an open floor plan allows for more light to travel through the house.

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3.  In a developed neighborhood

We want to live in a neighborhood that is already established with kind people around.  Now I know that I cannot interview our neighbors before we offer on a house, but when we look at a house and there are kids playing in the street and neighbors talk to one another, we feel very warm and welcome.  That is where we want to live and raise our kids.  Also, we do not want to live on the outside of the community or a busy street.  The quieter the better for us.

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4.  Fireplace

Now this probably isn't a "make it or break it" for us, but I would really prefer one.  I always loved having one growing up and haven't had one in the last 3 years.  I prefer wood burning, but gas is nice also.  Just as long as it provides us with heat I will be happy.

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5.  Big backyard

This is an absolute must!  With two dogs and babies on the way (just one for now - don't freak out!) we want plenty of room for everyone outside.  We want grass for the dogs and kids and then a big enough side yard for the toys and yard stuff.

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With all of that said, I have fully decided that we aren't being too picky.  There are plenty of houses out there and we just have to have patience and wait for the perfect one to come to us.

I know we will find it, although we thought we did twice already, but I am working on being more patient.  

Any house hunting tips??  I'd love to hear them!

5 on Friday! 2014 Edition!

Today I am linking up again with the Darci for 5 on Friday.  This is the first one I have done in 2014, which I can't believe!  Without further ado:

{ONE}

I am so ecstatic that it is finally FRIDAY!!!!  This last week - and I mean since last Friday - has definitely kicked my ass.  Work was not fun, although lately I'm not sure it ever is.  Maybe time for a change in the near future?  That is another post for another time.  And who am I kidding, I won't be doing anything about my job for at least another year, if ever, but complain.

{TWO}

I am having a birthday party with my family tomorrow for me and my Grandpa's birthdays :)  Although my birthday was forever weeks ago, we only get together once a month for the adult birthdays in my family.  That way we don't have to reschedule our lives every weekend for the next birthday.  It works out nicely.  I can't wait for the ice cream cake!

{THREE}

I cannot believe we are already half way through January!  I feel as though we just had Christmas and my 25th!  This year seems to already be flying by.

{FOUR}

Ryan and I made some calls and emails yesterday to try and start the process of getting a house! :)  I couldn't be more excited!  Our lease is up in April and I don't want to extend it for any amount of time.  I am hoping our demands wants aren't too much while looking and that it comes somewhat easy for us :)  Fingers crossed!

{FIVE}

I am thinking about going back to the gym next week.  I know, I know..."thinking about it Sara?"  But I am really hoping to do it.  I went 4 days a week while Ryan was deployed and I had success.  I am hoping that we can both get in a routine and still have fun with it.  Ryan will most likely want to start going a lot due to an upcoming test that will require him to be in excellent shape when he passes! :)  Wish us luck!

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and weekend!  Next week I am going to try and post all 5 days!  I haven't done it since the #12DaysofBlogging and I really want to make that a goal of mine.  Also, I want to finish the wedding recaps and get moving on to bigger and better things that have happened in our lives since then :)

My Hopes and Dreams for 2014...

It is a new year and a new beginning to this crazy thing we call life.  I am on Chapter 25 this year of my book and I am planning on making it the best one yet.

I have a few hopes and dreams for this chapter and I feel as though writing them down will help me accomplish them.  I don't feel as though they are unattainable - but will require some extra work on my part.

1.  Buy a house and make it a HOME.

The hubs and I are tired of renting.  We pay more in rent than we would on a mortgage.  It has never been the right time for us to purchase until now.  We have never been entirely certain where we would be with the economy.  Talk of going Active Duty is always on the back burner as a last resort.  I would go wherever he leads me, but at this time we are secure and happy with where we are.  With that we want to establish a solid ground.  This starts with a HOME.  We currently live in a house and although I have done my best to make it a home it is missing something.  That something where you know that it is all yours and it won't change anytime in the near future.  Our lease is up in April on our current residence and we are hoping to be in our very first HOME by then.  I am so excited to start this journey and see where it takes us.  We have a lot of things that we want in our house and I think that will be the biggest challenge.  The other will be finding a house that our loan will approve.  We will be taking advantage of Ryan's VA loan that he is eligible for after serving our beautiful country.  Let the house hunting begin! :)

2.  Become parents

Ryan and I got married in 2012 right before he was going to deploy.  We decided that it was the best decision to wait until after he got back to start a family.  As badly as we both wanted to start right away we didn't want me to be pregnant and alone for 9 months.  Now that he is back we had our big wedding and honeymoon to the Bahamas.  We have been having a blast these past 6 months of him being home but we are now ready for the littles.  Ryan was meant to be a daddy and, of course, I believe that I was meant to be a mommy.  We strategically want our first little not to be born in the winter.  As much as I love winter and snuggling on the couch with the pup pups and fuzzy socks we both have winter birthdays and they suck!  Ryan's birthday is 22 days before Christmas and mine is 7 days after.  We do not want our littles to experience that at all like we have.  So here is to hoping that we plan it out just right to have littles in the Spring, Summer or Fall :)

3.  Save, Save, Save

So some of you may know that I am a bit of a cheap-o frugal gal.  I refuse to pay full price for any items of clothing and I fully support coupons and secret codes for discounts.  I hate transferring money out of savings and into checking and completely get disgusted when we don't transfer from checking into savings.  While Ryan was deployed I handled the finances - I still do - and got all of our credit paid off.  I built up a beautiful savings account and was so excited for our future.  Well with life being how it is, we have not been able to save as much since he came home as I would have liked.  Now we are in no definition of the word poor or hard off.  We live a very comfortable life and I am completely happy with that, I just would like a little more buffer in case something happens.  So my plan for this year is to save at least $400 per month! :)

4.  Be a better...

I love my husband, family and friends so much.  I don't think anyone has ever doubted that I am all in when it comes to my relationships.  I know that I have high expectations of people and that sometimes when they don't meet those "expectations" I get annoyed and turned off from them.  I am going to try this year, this chapter, to be a better person in every aspect.  I want to be a better wife to Ryan.  I want to go on more dates and be more spontaneous in our marriage.  I want to be a better daughter, sister, niece and aunt.  I want my family to know that I am 100% in.  No questions or concerns.  I am all there.  I want to be a better friend.  Friendships don't come easy to me - and why I don't really know.  I am the girl who has friends for a while and then they slowly - or quickly at times - disappear.  I want to work on the friendships that I currently have and build them to be strong and sturdy.  Just like the solid ground that I want in our home, I also want that in my life.  So here is to being better! :)

5.  Learn to cook

My poor husband...  I am in no way, shape or form a cook.  I am a baker.  Always have been and probably always will be.  But this year, I want to change that for him and me.  I want to learn how to cook good food.  Now this doesn't mean that for the past 4.5 years that Ryan has been starving.  I make a mean frozen pizza and fish sticks.  I can make pasta and tacos just like everybody else.  But I want to make more fancy food.  Food that takes planning and preparation.  I want to dive into a cookbook and get excited.  I have slowly started learning recipes from my mom and make those for him and he loves them.  I just want to do more home cooking for him and make him excited for our dinners at home. :)  So here is to cookbooks entering our house and making me a cook!

6.  Be healthier

I want this year to be the year that everything changes.  I am now 25 ::mid-twenties crises?::  and am tired of being unhappy with my body and things on the outside as they appear.  This year the hubs and I will go on more walks, exercise more and eat more veggies!  Now we are not some big lazy bums that eat fast food everyday at all.  I, actually, can't tell you the last time that I ate fast food.  But we do not eat as many veggies and fruit as we should.  That is the goal for this year.  Get in the best shape ever and be happy about it.  I have cut out all caffeine and alcohol -GASP- and continue to keep it this way.  This hope and dream will go hand in hand with number 5 and my want to learn to cook.  So here is to the healthiest Hughes family! :)

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I don't think that any of these hopes and dreams are completely out of reach.  In fact, I think that they are each going to come ::hopefully:: easy to us.  I can't wait to see how this chapter turns out and hope that you stick around with me as well :)

Here's to you and your new chapter as well!

XO

Presents..Presents..Presents! {12 Days of Christmas}

 Day 9 of #12DaysOfBlogging with Amber and Erin.

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Today we are talking wish lists.  Now if you haven't figured it out by now I L-O-V-E presents!  Not only do I love receiving, but I also truly love giving.  I like to think that I give thoughtful and meaningful gifts.  I would like to think that I do a great job of listening to people throughout the year and remember things to get them during the holiday season.

For example, one year around my mom's birthday ::May:: my mom mentioned that she wanted a white bench for her front patio because her old wooden brown own - that had been around my whole life - was starting to lose it.  I searched high and low for the next 5 months to find her the perfect white bench.  In the end we couldn't find one that we liked so we improvised.  I bought a plain wood one that I liked and then had my hubby - boyfriend at the time - and his dad paint it white for me.  She was soooo surprised and happy that Christmas morning when I surprised her with it.

Now with all that being said, the hubby and I have some very nice Champagne tastes on a Coors Light budget at times.  I thought today's prompt would be perfect to make up a list of the top 6 things that we would each loooooovvvvveeeeee to have that we will never be receiving as a gift from Santa.

The Hubs Wish list according to me:

And now for mine....Oh please Santa dearest!

What's on your dream wish list this year?