Photo Challenge

So in my last blog I mentioned a possible photo challenge, and after an afternoon/evening filled with a football game I really had no interest in, I found a photo challenge I think I can handle. I found it on photo challenge.org. It's actually from 2010, but since they don't have a challenge for this year and I didn't participate in 2010, I have adapted the 2010 challenge for 2012.


How it works
Every four weeks there is a theme and all you have to do is post one picture per week. Simple enough, right? I'm thinking since the group doesn't exist anymore I'll just make a folder on my Facebook and/or just post on here.

Themes
Jan 1 - Jan 28: Resolution
Jan 29 - Feb 25: Natural Landscape
Feb 26 - Mar 24: Signs
Mar 25 - Apr 21: Down Low
Apr 22 - May 19: Flowers
May 20 - Jun 16: Gadgets
 Jun 17 - Jul 14: Color theory
Jul 15 - Aug 11: Symmetry
 Aug 12 - Sep 8: Macro
Sep 9 - Oct 6: Doorways
Oct 7 - Nov 3: Architecture
Nov 4 - Dec 1: Shifting seasons
 Dec 2 - Dec 29: Feet

 So there you have it! A year long photo challenge to fulfill one of my goals for the year. Feel free to join in, make suggestions, or comment on the challenge as it unfolds.

New year, new goals

Last year was a little bit crazy. We moved... Twice. Both changed jobs... A few times. Decided it was time to start making this family a little bit bigger... Only once this time :0) And along the way learned, grew, and all that good stuff that comes with life's little lessons. This year doesn't appear that it will be any less eventful, and for one reason in particular; the arrival of Kolby. Definitely welcome and exciting, but scary all at the same time. Obviously neither of us has done this before, so I would say it's more a fear of the unknown than anything else. The bright sides, I have a wonderful and supportive husband who will continue to shine in the coming months; we have great family members and friends who are near-by and always willing to jump in and lend a hand; and pretty great work situations, in that we are both seeing the support on that end as well.

Soooo... Overall, I'm going to go out a limb and say that everything is going to work out just fine. I should, however, probably get started on getting everything ready for the little guy here soon though :0)

With all this said, the Nixon household has a few resolutions for the new year. Brett only has one; weight loss. Changing to office jobs and marrying someone with super high metabolism haven't helped, and with his possibly more prominent position and the promise of many photo opportunities with Kolby on the way, he decided it's time to get things in gear. To start things off he joined weight watchers (he probably doesn't appreciate me broadcasting that, but the commercials say it's the manly way to lose weight so I'm going with it) this way he has something to keep him accountable for what he's consuming. The nice thing about it is that it doesn't necessarily tell you what to eat, but the points keep you accountable for what you do eat. Also, with the apps and website, it's interactive enough to keep his ADD-self engaged. For exercise, he's decided to start going for runs. There is a co-worker Brett has that started this running thing last year, so he talked Brett into joining the program. The down and up sides are that Brett is going to be losing weight as I'm just starting to put it on (as if I wasn't starting to get a complex about the weight gain and that's mainly because my ever decreasing wardrobe), however, in about four months it'll be good to have him already of the bandwagon for my own motivation; I am going to be losing my lunch buddy, but that'll save us money and mean that I take a shorter lunch and get to leave work earlier; and it'll force me to eat better which will definitely be a good thing since it technically helps Kolby and I. Overall, as if we couldn't have figured out that Brett's weight loss goal was a good idea for him, it seems to work out for the whole family!

I was a little less goal oriented this year, mainly because I have no idea what is in store. Due to my fear and respect for the unknown, I made my goal simple; keep it together. Yes, it's a broad goal which would typically mean that a person is setting themselves up for failure, however, I have set up specific ways to make this dream a reality. This plan is three-fold (which means it must be a good plan if it's composed of three parts). Part one, I have plenty of help available, but it doesn't do me a bit of good if I don't recognize the need, ask for, and accept it. Therefore, part one is to learn to ask for help and/or accept other's offerings of help. Part two, take time for myself. I'm really good about worrying and taking care of others, hence my profession, but I've come to realize that I can't take care of anyone else if I'm not taking care of me. A key part of this goal will be getting back into things I haven't done awhile. I'm thinking for this I'm going to dust off my camera and get back into my photography. I've been looking at some photo challenges and maybe that's what I need to keep myself "accountable". Plus, once little man gets here I have all these cool ideas I've seen on Pinterest that I want to try. So, at this point in time getting back into my photography will be a key in taking care of myself and having me time. The final and third part of the plan im going to classify as "other". Honestly, I did have three parts but due to preg-nesia, I forgot. Therefore, I will leave part three open to whatever doesn't fit under the first two parts. You could say part three is my "safety".

I did only have one goal this year, but then today I decided that adding a more specific resolution might not be such a bad idea. So as I was putting together dinner for tonight I decided that my other goal should be to cook more. I've never been real big in the kitchen and haven't really had to be because Brett is a phenomenal cook. However, due to my new Pinterest addiction I've found lots of ideas that require little effort and seem like they will be quite tasty. So starting today, my goal is to try at least one new recipe a week. Tonight we're trying Hawaiian BBQ chicken. It took less than five minutes to put together, I only have to come up with a side, and it will make the house smell delicious. What could be better motivation to continue with this goal than meals like this?!? Plus, with the new recipes it will add some variety and hopefully some healthy back into our dinner routine.

So there you have it! A new year that will hopefully bring the world new and improved Nixons! ...and if nothing else it will at least bring a new Nixon.

The goal for you the reader, is that with a cute little one, more pictures, and more food experiments you'll get more blogs :0)

It's a.....

Boy! I don't have the ultrasound pics yet, but Brett is going to scan them in tomorrow. But since I said I would post today, I figured I should at least update this this really quick and give the play by play tomorrow. I'll leave you with at least one picture though :O)

I'm Back...

Again, yes it's been a long time since I've been on here... Blah, blah, blah... You've heard my excuses before so I won't waste too much of your time with any more. EXCEPT (I have to get in at least one) to say that I haven't had internet since January and managing things from my phone, well I just didn't have the patience for it. Looking at my blog though it's definitely been awhile. I mean we've moved twice (yes, twice.. well we're still in the process of finishing up the second one. I'd say it's for awhile this time, but that seems to be a common saying and not a common action). We've had chickens, goats, and a steer (and had to get rid of them due to the most recent move). And most importantly, our little family unit is expanding.

Yes, you read it right. Another Nixon!

17 Weeks

It's week 20 as of today. Tomorrow we get to find out (if this little one cooperates) whether it's a boy or girl, which will definitely make this whole experience more real. It won't be an "it" any more. It'll be a "he" or "she" and more than likely have a name.

We're having a family dinner at pizza tomorrow night to announce the gender. Way easier to get everyone in one place than to make a million phone calls and text messages. Not to worry though! I'll update this with the most recent ultrasound pics and pics of the festivities once we're home. 

As always with my first blog after a long period of silence, I'll leave you with promises that I'll be better, post more often, etc. In all actuality though, I really hope to! With a little one on the way it'll definitely be a good way to share stories and pictures with the family. So here's to turning over a new leaf.... finally!

A Little Life Update

A lot has happened in the last month or so...

1.) I officially graduated
2.) I passed the NCLEX and got my RN license
3.) I got married
4.) I got a job
5.) We're moving (yes... again)

These would be all of the reasons I've neglected this lovely blog creature for the  past three months or so. My original plan was to start writing on the status of the wedding and show off all the cool things I was making/doing for it. Yeah... Didn't happen obviously.. slightly disappointing but yeah. Maybe now that I'll a "regular life" with "free time" (this is what my cousin told me, but I'm not so sure it exists or at least it's been on hiatus from my life for quite some time now), I can do a little something on it but at this point it seems a little pointless so we'll see what happens, but here are a few pics anyway.

The job and the move part all kind of go hand in hand. For awhile now Brett has been driving an hour for work because our lease wasn't up and we were waiting to see where I ended up getting a job. This week I finally got said job and since this mean a 30-45 minute commute for me in the same direction Brett was going it only made sense to find a house on the other side of town. 

Today we decided to go drive around the area and see what we could find because there wasn't much online. The one that we found online we went to check out and it was SO tiny and they were asking for more than we pay at our current place. Seriously I was claustrophobic in this place, in fact I'm getting anxiety just thinking about it so lets move on. This first house wasn't far from where I work so I decided that I would take Brett by the house I found on my way to my first interview. The neighbors probably thought I was pretty creepy the first time I drove by it because I circled around like five times (no exaggeration). The next day I had a second interview and drove by about two or three more times. Stalker status! I have no idea why I kept driving by but something just kept pulling me back. Today when we went by the landlord just so happened to be out on the front deck working on the house so we walked up to see if he would show it to us. The guy was super nice and the house is almost exactly what we were looking for. Three bedrooms (large ones at that), only one bathroom (that was the almost perfect part), it's on a large lot with a fenced backyard, a large kitchen, and two living rooms (I think we're going to make one the dining room to leave more room in the kitchen). It's super old (built in 1899 but well taken care of) and has the quorkiness of an old house but I think it's really going to work well for us. The even better part is that it's only three or four blocks from my new job. Hello not having to wake up even earlier than necessary because I have to drive 45 minutes (or an hour because of traffic)! But yes, we are very excited about the house and all the new things in our life. Once we get all moved in I'll post pictures.... and in a timely matter. Promise!

One day I'll learn...

They might be cute, but lately our dogs have had the raunchiest gas EVER!!! They just come up and lay down next to you, start cuddling, and then all of sudden it hits you like a wall, the freaking great wall of China!! Literally, it's like a fire. It hits your face and then sucks all the oxygen out of your lungs. You find yourself gasping for air only to realize the only air surrounding you is the same air that knocked you on your ass in the first place. Yes, this raunchy doggy gas lingers also. I know what you're thinking and I'd have to agree, you're definitely missing out.

The reason for this sudden tirade on my oxygen supply--- I switched the dog food. We ran out of the the regular food and then we had puppy food to start feeding them. However, since we have to free feed for Lola, the puppies aren't eating solid food yet, and we don't need Boston to gain a ton of weight. I just grabbed some regular food  while we were at Costco the other day to feed until we actually need to use the puppy food. Puppy food is expensive, we're going through food pretty quick because of Lola, and yes, I'm cheap. But can you blame me? I'm a college student with no job and a set amount of money to make it on until I find a job (so September-ish if things go well). Oh and did I mention my car needs fixing?? Timing is definitely my specialty! But I digress... SO the dog food. Well I should have just skipped the Costco food and went to the store and got their regular food but I didn't. I learned this the last time I tried to switch food. I thought they would like Kibbles and Bits better. They totally did, however, it was attack of the gas part one. We switched back... after they finished the bag of course and things got better. Now we've moved onto the sequel (the much more horrific sequel at that) and we've got a solid week or two left of this McNasty-ness until we finish the bag and by then we'll probably be moving on to the puppy food. It can't be any worse right?? Well I sure hope not...

My Blog is Looking Ridiculous

As you can see the whole layout is messed up. I saw the design tools had been updated and some of them looked pretty cool. I thought it was time for a change so I started switching things up. A few minutes I realized the background wouldn't go away but everything else would change. I continued to try everything I could think of to try to get rid of it but nothing would work. Finally, after about 30 minutes of getting no where I tried to work with what I was left with, and gave up. Sooo... if you know how to get rid of this stupid shabbyblog background please help my tech-tarded self! Otherwise those few who read this are stuck looking it. Oh, and yes, I seriously contemplated just starting a new blog.