New Year Resolutions

I thought I would share some of my New Year's resolutions for 2013.  Some of them are the same as last year, but I'm hoping I can really stick to them this time.

I'll just list them in no particular order:

Stick to my household chores schedule
Start a skin care routine (aimed at preventing fine lines and wrinkles!)
Plan our meals for each week and grocery shop once a week
Do more craft/learning projects with Jack
Get outside more!
Organize our photos and home videos
Kids Babybooks!!!
Be a better wife and mother
Pray more often
Live life positively.  Be happy!
Get into wearing makeup again
Blog regularly :)
Stick to our budget
Become a better communicator

Whoa!  That's a pretty big list.  I'm up for the challenge!  I love a fresh start.

Love,
Bri

Merry Christmas!

Yikes!  Has it really been 5 months!

I can't believe it's Christmas Day!  We had Christmas with my side of the family last Sunday.  On Christmas Eve we had our own little family Christmas, because Mark works on Christmas Day this year (hospitals never close, especially the er).  Then today my parents came over to spend the afternoon and dinner with Jack and I.  We had a wonderful holiday season and it's not over yet.  We still have one more family gathering this Sunday. 

Then it's one of my other favorite holidays...New Years!
Although I'll take it easy on the bubbly this year, meaning I'll have none, because.....

I'm pregnant!!!!!!!!!

We are expecting the next member of our famliy in June!  So happy and excited!

We are also house hunting pretty serious now.  We've looked at three houses and no luck so far.  We have a small budget and what's available in our ideal area of choice isn't shaping up to be a good fit for us.  We aren't giving up though, and maybe this spring some more houses will come on the market. 

I'm hoping to post more this year. (new year's resolution!)  I think it will keep me organized.  I have an exciting year coming up and I'm ready to live it!

Have a Merry Christmas!

Love,
Bri

The Cream Puff

So, for the past I don't know 5 years maybe? we have been trying really hard to become debt free.  I paid off my student loans from my first college degree before Mark and I got married.  I also owned my car.  I paid cash for everything when I went back to school to get my Radiography degree.  Thank God Mark was able to support me with his income, because I didn't work while I went to school.  Mark had lots of debt when we got married, but since then we've paid off his truck and credit card and when we sold the condo we got rid of that debt too (so blessed!). 

A few months ago, or probably more, we had discussed selling Mark's Jimmy for a different vehicle.  We really wanted one with better gas mileage and more room.  The only logical vehicle to choose was a minivan.  I have always been anti minivan, and with all the other more attractive options out there I felt we could avoid them.  We looked at al ot of the "crossover" type ones and they were all out of our price range, even the used ones. 

Price was a big deal to us and we had a limit that we didn't want to exceed.  Mark had the Jimmy up on Craig's List but we only had 2 interested people that fell through.  Then the Jimmy started to have some issues with the anti-lock breaks engaging when they weren't supposed to.  We almost slid into another car when we were at the mall!  That day we went to a nearby dealership.

I think you can guess where I'm going with this story!  We got a minivan!

Meet "The Cream Puff"

And I actually like it (shhhhh).

It has bucket seats in the middle row.  All the seats fold down into the van so you don't have to take them out, automatic slider door and tailgate, rear climate controls, leather interior, and I love the color.

What I don't love?  The price.  We have added a new debt to our pile and it's something we I really struggled with.  The good news is that it's the smallest debt we owe (yikes! ).  Right now it was the best decision for us, especially with the truck's braking issues and the possibility of an addition to the family (we'll see!).  This purchase has given me more motivation to follow our budget and pay off these debts as fast as we can.

Gazelles!!!  (Dave Ramsey reference)

See you on the road!

Love,

Bri

Mickey Lake Vacation

Doh!  We've been back for a few weeks now, but I just haven't had the time to write up a trip report.  I am however going to include some of my favorite pictures from the trip in this post.

We had a great time at the wedding!  It was so wonderful to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in a while.  It was a beautiful day and Mackinac Island is such a charming place, I love it!

Little Stone Church, Mackinac Island

The rest of the week with the family was great too (minus Jack throwing up at a restaurant we tried to go to.  Eeek!).  The first couple days we super hot (like in the 90's!) and we didn't have AC, but the rest of the week was nice weather and the lake was really warm.  There was a tiny island (Picnic Island) we boated to one morning and walked around for a little while.  It had very clear water and was a great spot to look for Petoskey stones.  We also visited Sleeping Bear National Park which has gorgeous views of Lake Michigan and some of the largest dunes in America.  One of the other highlights was visiting Short's Brewery in Bellaire.  Always good great beer and amazing sandwiches!  Totally worth the 50 min drive! 

Mark and Jack in Mickey Lake



Mark and I enjoying the paddle boat

Our cabin

Sunsets from the dock



Jack and his cousin





At Sleeping Bear



At Short's Brewery

Fam Pic!

I hope everyone is having a great summer!  I can't believe it's almost over. 

Love, WW

This Land Was Made For You And Me

Happy 4th Of July!!!

It's a hot one America!  In the Mitten State it's a balmy 98 degrees gasp!

Jack and I are keeping cool indoors (no walk for us today) and Mark is tending to the firework burnned victims at the hospital.

As I watch Jack play around the house I feel very thankful for the freedoms we have in this country.  I look forward to the day when we can teach Jack about the foundations this country was built upon and what it means to work hard and be responsible for yourself. 

In GOD We Trust

We leave for vacation in 8 days! 

Mark and I will head up to Mackinac Island for a friends wedding while Jack spends time with Gma and Grandpa.  Then two days later, we all meet up (my sister and her crew included) for a week-long famliy va-ca on the lake near Traverse City!

Fish will be caught, s'mores will be eaten, and wine will be flowing...trip report to follow.

I promise not to leave this blog too long this time!

Love Winey Wife

A Change Is Gonna Come

I have wanted to start a blog for sooo long but I never really had any good ideas for one. 

The first blog I started was about my love for wine and cheese and was appropriately titled:

Wait for it....



"Brie's Cheese Log"

My goal was to write reviews of different wines and cheeses that were available in my grocery store and also sprinkle in some of my real life happenings along the way.  In theory it was a good idea, but I never even got past my first cheese review!

Flash forward 3 years to today and my life has changed so much.  I'm married to my best friend and love of my life Mark and we will celebrate our 2 year anniversary in June!

Picture Note: That's our caricature from our first trip to Disney in 2008!

And I'm a new mama to our son Jack who just celebrated his 1st birthday on Tuesday!

More changes are beginning for us too. 
Mark just started a new job in a new city 45 minutes north of where we live now. 
I am finishing Radiography school next Friday (an amazing story for another time about these 2 years!)
We are closing on the sale of our condo in 2 weeks and moving to a new city 2 days after that!

These are exciting busy times for us and I can't wait for the journey ahead! 
Thus a blog is born...

Join us wont you?

Love,

Bri AKA Winey Wife (more about that name later)