New(ness) & Marriage

If you are newly engaged or married, you are probably starting to think like I was at the time - I didn't know that there could be so much 'new' in my life and all of it happening at the same time. 

There are new people that you are meeting - friends and family of your significant other and attempting to remember all of their names and how they fit into the family so that you have something to talk to them about the next time you see them. 

There are new bills to be paid - mortgages/rent, cell phone bills (holy cow!), power/electric, water (who know water cost so much?), cable & internet, car loans, college courses, retirement, student loans, credit card debt, Netflix (or Hulu or Spotify or Amazon), etc. NOT TO MENTION gas & groceries which add up really fast.  Then throw in birthday presents, wedding/baby showers, weddings (& travel to and from), Christmas gifts & other parties/celebrations. Life is expensive (and that's without a ton of fluff). Josh and I joke that we totally took for granted how much our parents paid to just support us until we moved out & got married.  

There are new routines that are trying to mesh when you were once independent and now have to somewhat plan your life around someone else. For those of you that don't know, I left Fort Myers to go to Liberty University for 3.5 years. My last semester of college, I moved back home to students teach in Lee County. During that semester, I met Josh (fell in love, right?) and we were engaged by Christmas. We bought a house in May and Josh moved in shortly after. There never was really a good time to move back out on my own because I was finishing off my student loans and paying for our new home. 

There are new responsibilities. All those things that my mom used to handle growing up - yeah, that's my job now. I never knew that guys could possibly go through so many outfits (approx. 3 a day for Josh). I also feel like there is a never ending amount of dishes and grocery shopping and cleaning (dogs & husband = constant mess). AND THIS IS ONLY FOR THE TWO OF US. I can't imagine the amount of laundry and dishes when kids come along. I used to yearn for my mom to just come and sit down and talk to me, but it seemed like she was always unloading/reloading the dishwasher or folding laundry while listening to my high school drama. She was always there, just typically multi-tasking. Now I totally understand why - being a wife is a lot of responsibility. We've come a long way in our two years of marriage and Josh is a total help in these areas these days, but it is still a lot of responsibility. And that's just the day to day stuff. Keeping up with things like getting your oil changed, replacing burned out light bulbs and changing air filters (oops for forgetting for 6 months) is a lot of responsibility too. 

There are also new passions. I was an athlete in high school, but y'all, I did not like working out. I worked HARD, but only at what I needed to do to get better for that particular sport. Well Josh comes from a family where his dad has always coached football and been a personal trainer. Josh has always wanted to be a personal trainer and did that, along with group fitness for different sports programs since I've known him. He always tried to get me to come lift with him or run sprints with him, and when I wasn't giving in and trying it out, I was complaining about the amount of time he spent at the weight room. I didn't understand him when he says that it was a great stress reliever. In November, he started a job at a new gym and after about a month, convinced me to come in and give it a try. Guys! It has been so eye opening. For the first time since high school sports, I have found something that I really enjoy. I actually dread the days that I am too busy to go. I typically go right after work and I totally get what he meant now when he says that it relieves stress. I love that for 30 minutes a day, I can go and focus on myself and making myself better and stronger. I know I am a better person because I am taking care of myself (almost) every day! 

Let's not forget that there are new foods. I say this partially as a joke, but everyone who has been in a serious relationship knows that there has been sometime when your significant other has eaten something and you look at them just trying to figure out who they really are. "You like whattttt?" What's even better is if this food is being served at a family dinner you are at and now you are trying to figure out how to be polite and (not) eat it without offending the cook. There are foods that Josh's family cooks that my family never did (and vice versa). Now as a wife, I am trying to bring both food preferences into our family (even if that includes lots of vegetables). 

*Side note: Josh's family pokes fun at me because I told them that one of the foods I would never touch to my mouth is meatloaf. I stick with the line from Drake & Josh when Josh asks "if meat should ever even be served in the form of a loaf?" Anyways, they knew this about me and one evening we all went over to Meme's house (Josh's grandma) for dinner and she made, you guessed it, MEATLOAF! They all stared at me the whole meal to see how I was going to get out of eating it. In case you were wondering, I ate a few bites and slid the rest on Josh's plate when she wasn't looking. 

And lastly, there are new adventures. I have tried so many new things and made so many amazing new memories since meeting and marrying Josh. The first one that always comes to mind is being a dog mom. We NEVER had a pet growing up (unless a goldfish counts?), so taking on a dog (and now two) has never challenged me more. This dog mom life is full of adventures, but each one of them leaves me smiling. I also fell in love with a new city (Clarksville, TN - where Josh grew up), and enjoy visiting there. I feel like each and every day is an adventure when you are married to a man like Josh. 

So here I am with all my crazy stories just to simply share that there are times when all the new(ness) is completely overwhelming. There are days when I don't think I can handle it all. There are days when my house stays a complete disaster (as does my moms) because we will just sit on the back porch and chat instead of tending to our wifely duties. And I'm here to tell you that IT'S OKAY! He can wear something different tomorrow. You can eat off paper plates and drink milk right out the gallon. You can use a flashlight in the bathroom because all 4 of your vanity lights have burned out (I'm not speaking from experience here or anything). 

Embrace the new and take it one step at a time. Grow in your love for each other and for the people around you, and the new will slowly become your routine and you will laugh back at this adjustment period when it all seemed insane. 

You got this. You are a rockstar. 

- Hilary 

Food We Currently Love

For most of our lives, my mom worked (and worked hard). She is a SUPERMOM (do not let me fool you) and she cooked for us often growing up, but she was not a 4-course meal kind of mom like maybe yours was. I came from a family of four kids and all of us were super involved in sports and our school activities. Between practices, games, church/youth group and seeing family, we were rarely home long enough to prepare fancy dinners. I loved a good serving of tacos, spaghetti or something simple like heating up soup (or my ALL TIME FAV – spaghetti O’s). Josh tells me that his meals growing up were similar.

We are SO thankful for our moms and how much time they spent watching our games and toting us around to practices, rather than cooking us fancy foods. They kept our bellies full and that is all you really need.

ALL THAT TO SAY, I did not come into marriage with a recipe book full of yummy foods to feed my husband. I had a few staples (moms spaghetti & manwich sloppy joes), but I have explored Pinterest a million times to find some quick and easy meals that us picky eaters can enjoy. I work as a teacher and do not get off until 3:30 (after 5:00 during cheer season with practices). Some days, I stay after school and tutor, and most other days, I head to the gym after work. Josh does not get home until after 7 most days, so I like meals that I can go home and cook and have waiting for him when he gets home. I do enjoy cooking, but am trying to find a balance for time I spend in the kitchen and the amount of time I spend cuddling my dogs.

The qualifications for my meals are the following:

1 – They must take under 30 minutes of prep time

2 – They must not include fish (unless its on the grill for Josh and I can eat something else)

3 – They must include easy-to-find ingredients

4 – They must be (mostly) wholesome and good for you foods

So without further ado, food we currently LOVE - 

• Lettuce Wrap Tacos (inspired by this wonderful blogger) with our toppings of choice
• Turkey Meatballs (sometimes with cheese & sometimes without)
• Tortilla Pepperoni Pizzas (this is my inspiration)
• Chicken Quesadillas (with my favorite clean eating tortillas)
• Pulled Pork/Chicken (literally insert pork butt & chicken broth in crock pot and cook until it shreds easily - try it on a pretzel bun, it's delicious)
• Chicken & Dumplings (hereon the stove & here in a crock pot) - pushing it on the "healthy"
• Sloppy Joes (we use this and sometimes use ground turkey) - again, not SUPER healthy
• Cabin Chicken (this is what we call it, but it is basically just chicken tenderloins cooked in a pan with a tablespoon of butter and seasoned with Lawry's seasoning salt. I don't know why the butter and Lawry's make the perfect combination, but it does. We cook them as tenderloins until cooked through, then but into bite size pieces and throw back into pan just to crisp the ends)
• Breakfast for Dinner (Kodiak Protein Pancakes - topped with blueberries or chocolate chips)

Besides this, we just grill EVERYTHING and have a side of broccoli or asparagus (which is what we eat about 4 nights out of the week). We rotate between chicken, pork chops, pork loin, steaks, burgers/turkey burgers, and sometimes beer brats or salmon for Josh. We typically have a "cheat meal" kinda meal once a week where we indulge in some pizza or hit up Duck Donuts.

Here are some sweet (healthier{ish}) treats that we like to splurge on sometimes (sorry if you hate peanut butter):

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (flourless & dairy/gluten free)
• Dark Chocolate PB Banana Bites (Josh doesn't really dig bananas, but I LOVE these)
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars (Rice Krispie Treat Style)
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (Can't stop. Won't Stop.)
• Protein Peanut Butter Dip (Delicious Snack)

What are your favorite meals to cook at home? Do you have any healthy substitutes that you have tried? Let us know. We love trying new things!

Josh & Hil

Quick Life Update

Well we did something crazy two weekends ago - we got another dog!

Ever since we had a friend and her dog stay with us over the summer, Josh has been itching for another dog to run around and play with Cincy. He also wanted a Blue Tick Coonhound (to match our Red Tick Coonhound) and has been on the prowl across a ton of different websites to find the perfect one for our family. Well who would have guessed that only 15 miles from our house, Otis was being fostered by the sweetest family and was going to be put up for adoption in the middle of February. Otis was about 3 years old when we rescued him, and although he is a little smaller than Cincy, they are so similar in personality - constant energy with so much love to give. We tried to think of another name for him (considered Monty, Onyx and even Blue), but for now, Otis has stuck. 

Well the adjustment wasn't always easy (still isn't), but we can say that we are loving it. You honestly can't look at the next pictures and not just love the way that they are bonding and really taking on the brotherhood mentality. I have had my fair share of doubts along the way, but I don't think that I can honestly imagine life without these crazy guys in it. 

   

As of now, I am officially outnumbered 3:1. I guess it's time to consider adding a girl or two to the family. But maybe our next kids will only have two feet instead of four paws :) 

Otis says to send peanut butter as a welcome present if you'd like :) 

Happy Tails,

Josh, Hilary, Cincy and Otis

2017 Recap

For those of you that have been following the blog for a little while, we wanted to give you a bit of a quick life update for the year 2017 (from the back of our Christmas card, so it's super cheesy), a quick look at our years highlights, as well as a video that I shared on my Instagram at the end of the year.

Year two of marriage has almost come & gone and we can't even believe it. This year was filled with travel, college classes & lots of football. Josh is working towards his Bachelors in Human Health & Performance, while also working at a gym as a Personal Trainer. Josh is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and has been working on growing his business since he passed his test in July. Hilary is still working at SFCA as the Educational Technology Specialist where she is in charge of an iPad lab and teaching MS/HS students. Josh's football team went to Regionals this year for the first time in program history. It was a momentous occasion and Hilary loved getting to coach the cheerleaders and cheer on Josh's team. We can't wait for everything that 2018 will hold.

2017 Year Highlights:
* Josh got a new job that he LOVES
* We sold both of our cars & got new ones
* Josh passed his ACE Personal Trainer Certification
* Hilary became a certified Apple Teacher
* Josh & Hilary both coached for SFCA in the first ever regional game as football & cheer coaches
* Pup turned 3 (where did the time go?)
* We got to visit lots of family & friends

See our year in review in picture form:

Can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us,

Josh & Hilary 

Road Trip Games

For those of you that don't know or are new to the blog (WELCOME!), you might not know that Josh is TERRIFIED of flying! Don't tell him I'm mentioning this, but he might've passed out and had to have MedVac come take him off the plane the first time we flew. Anyways, due to this fear, we don't often fly (and when we do, it's typically to a far away place for something quick like a wedding or funeral). We also don't love to fly because Cincy, our 80 pound coon hound, can't come on vacation with us if we fly.

ALL OF THAT TO SAY...we are the master road trippers. I just wanted to hop on here really quick and share with you our two favorite road trip games. We play them pretty much every time we travel past Tampa (about 2 hours away), and they keep us entertained for at least a portion of the trip. 

First is the license plate game. This is about as easy as it comes. We first played this game when my parents used to put us in the car and transport us from Fort Myers, FL to Detroit, MI every summer as kids. My grandma used to pay us 10 cents for every state and 25 cents for every Providence. This used to keep us entertained and keep us from asking "Are we there yet?" over and over again on that fun 24 hour drive. 

The Breakdown: We open up a new page in our notes app and we try to find all 50 states (and a bonus for any Canadian Providences). I think the most we got in one trip was 36. Try and beat us. Make sure you check the big trucks because sometimes they have more than one plate on them. For this game, we always work together. This past weekend, my parents were going to our cabin in GA while we were TN bound. Josh & I raced my brother and sister to see who could find more on our trips. In case you were wondering, they beat us by 1 state. 

Second is the ABC game. This is another easy game that takes no supplies and just alert eyes. I would tell you that I win every time, but Josh would tell you I'm a liar. Basically, you start at A and try to find a word that starts with the letter "A". Think eye spy but going through the letters of the alphabet A-Z. If you want to play again, start with the other person the next time so that you have to find the opposite letters. 

A couple rules we play by (adjust as needed):

1. The word must be outside of the car

2. You cannot find two words on the same sign (So if a business is called Apples Bananas, it will only count for Apples. The person with the letter "B" will have to find another one)

3. Sometimes we let it slide for hard letters like X, Q, and Z to find it on a license plate. If this is the case, my sister (the stickler of the group) always made it be the first letter on the license plate to make it a little more challenging. 

4. Abbreviations don't count. So the Q in DQ doesn't count. It would have to be Dairy Queen to count as a Q. 

A few hints: 

* Look for car makes and models

* Look for names of restaurants on interstate signs

* Look on bumper stickers 

* Look for X on a Nissan Xterra

* Look for Q on a Dairy Queen, La Quinta, or Quality Inn & Suites 

* Look for Z on a Zoo sign or a Zaxby's 

The other thing we love to do to make road trips pass a little quicker is to have a really good playlist. Josh thinks that a really good playlist includes ALL the genres and ALL decades of music. Throw in some old stuff & new stuff. Add some country, pop, hip hop, R&B, blues, and rap. Add your favorite songs from when you were a kid and maybe add some brand new songs. Add something to sing along to, and something to bring back sweet memories. If you are traveling with your love, play "your song" or the song you danced to at your wedding. Keeping the songs random like this will keep you talking about/laughing at/reminiscing on the playlist and the lyrics and less about how many miles you've traveled in the last hour. 

How do you pass the time on a roadtrip? 

Tell us in the comments below,

J&H

Christmas Lights in Fort Myers, FL

Be a tourist in your own town.

Josh & I typically escape to Georgia over Christmas break for a little getaway, but due to a wedding this year, we had to stay put. Since we both had the time off, we decided to take this as a chance to be a tourist in our own town and explore the best lights in Fort Myers.

There are two wonderful places that we like to go to see the Christmas lights each year downtown - The Edison Home & The Burroughs Home! Both of these come with a price tag, but they are totally worth it to go (at least once in your lifetime). If you don’t know what these places are, they are beautiful older homes that just have breathtaking architecture. These amazing decorators string and trim the whole house with Christmas lights & decorations and it looks like something out of a Hallmark movie. Don't forget to get your picture with Santa before you leave!

Also this year, we are headed out to Babcock Ranch to see their Christmas lights. We missed the tree lighting ceremony (which we heard was ahhhmazing), but we still want to see what all the hype is about.

There are also a few residential homes that we think have amazing lights this year! Check out these homes -
1536 Pinecrest Road, Fort Myers 33919
1856 Oak Drive, Fort Myers 33907
8161 Harrisburg Drive, Fort Myers 33967

Where in Fort Myers have you seen the best Christmas Lights? 

Let us know so we can take a drive,

Hil & Josh 

** If you have kiddos, I have heard a lot of great things about this Santa in the Stables event even though it has nothing to do with Christmas Lights!

Melbourne Beach

We made this quick day trip over to Melbourne Beach to visit my uncle and his family one weekend this summer. It's a place that Josh and I look forward to returning to and exploring more. 

My absolutely favorite part was walking from my uncle's house to this beautiful boardwalk. This is right next to that Melbourne Beach sign (pictured above). On the west coast of Florida, we don't have many areas with beautiful boardwalks like this. I just couldn't help but smile as I felt the breeze rushing over us while I stared out into the deep blue. We saw dolphins and watched a seagull dive for his lunch. Find a boardwalk near you and do yourself a favor - take a nice walk on one. Hold the hand of your significant other and enjoy the walk. 

The food highlight of this trip (besides my cousins AMAZING homemade brownies) was donuts for breakfast at the Sugar Shack. Most of you know that Josh & I typically try to eat pretty healthy regularly, so often when we travel, we splurge. These donuts were to DIE FOR. To tell you the truth, we ordered donuts, and then he brought out a fresh batch, so we went and ordered more. We couldn't stop eating them. SO delicious. I just can't say no to a homemade donut. BEST NEWS - most of them are open ALL DAY! So donuts for breakfast, lunch & dinner (AM I RIGHT?)

Hopefully I have more to share about Melbourne soon,

Hilary & Josh