breehunny

[breehunny]

Not an update, a rant.

Let’s talk tampons. I cannot anymore. What is going on with their packaging? Were there zero women in the room when it was decided that tampons would no longer have words on them and instead be ONLY colors?? This is the LEAST helpful way to wrap tampons. Do you expect me to memorize the color key on the box? How long can I leave a size green tampon in? Will a size purple get me through this meeting? Just use your words. Men, let me explain exactly what a period actually is. Women have a period once a month or so (depending on the woman). A period happens when a woman’s ovaries release an egg and it doesn’t get fertilized. The blood (and chunks) happens because it is also shedding of the uterine lining. Think of it like when you pick a scab….you dispose of the scab and you bleed. Same same. Your body disposes of the lining and we bleed. Okay now let’s knock out a few myths. The bleeding isn’t something we can “control,” think of it like an open wound again. It’s going to bleed until it’s done, no amount of muscle can stop something from bleeding, it just slows down until it’s done. The size of a tampon does not mean a woman has that size of vagina. The size of a tampon determines how heavy her flow is that day. Everyone’s flow is different but it’s usually pretty heavy then gets lighter as the week (or so) goes by. Now back to my rant. The REASON we cannot have colored tampons is because every brand has different colors for different sizes. When I put three tampons in my purse, I won’t have the box with me to look at the key. I will have three mystery tampons, one might get me through a few hours, one will get me through 15 mins, and one might get me through the rest of my work day….BUT WHICH ONE IS WHICH. I already know exactly what you’re thinking...jeeez Bree, just use alternatives! Listen Linda, I want to, trust. My only fear is that I’ll get pregnant a month after buying a diva cup, I won’t have my period for a year, and BOOM I just lost $50 because I’m forgetful and will lose it. I’m also terrified that it will get suctioned inside of me or lost. For those out there that don’t know what a Diva Cup is, it’s a rubber cup you insert into your vagina to catch everything. Depending on your flow, it can last up to 8hrs I believe. You just dump it out into the toilet and reuse it. It’s collapsible and comes with a carrying case. You save a lot of money because tampons are expensive, and it’s better for the environment. The other reusable item I want to try are Period Panties. But it’s honestly the same thing holding me back. What if i get pregnant, by body completely changes and these expensive as undies don’t fit me anymore! What if I lose them? What if I flat out can’t distinguish them from regular undies and forget they exist after a year? So for now. I will still with shitty tampons and continue GUESSING what size I am using. The world needs more women in charge of marketing toward women.

[breehunny]

Last Minute Vaca!

This weekend Cam and I went on a little trip to Minneapolis to get away for a bit! We had originally planned on taking a road trip in August to go back and visit North Carolina but decided it would be cheaper to just do a weekend get away instead since we’re trying to save money for house updates. We went up on Thursday morning and left all our kiddos at the house with a couple awesome sitters. We stopped at a casino in Wherethefuckarewe, IA and quickly lost $100. Our trip was off to a good start so far! Haha It’s okay though because we still had fun. We listened to music and played carpool karaoke the rest of the drive and Cam even drove the whole way there...LOML (Love of my life…). When we finally got to the hotel they offered to upgrade us for $50/night. We’d get breakfast every morning, appetizers every evening, and a room on the top floor in a corner suite! I booked the room with a Groupon so it was already super cheap, so OBVI we were all in. Our room was SO COOL. We had amazing views of the city, ROBES, and a king size bed! It was luxury. We were going to go out and watch fireworks but the views from our room were so pretty! We didn’t see the city fireworks but we saw hundreds of fireworks in the burbs of Minneapolis. We perched our chairs next to the windows, cracked open a couple cold ones, and watched! So pretty. The next day we went to the Mall of Americaaaaaa!!! I used to go here every year for Spring Break with my mom and sister so it was kind of sentimental to be able to go back again for the first time in almost 10 years. Cam wasn’t super impressed haha but it is a mall...so I guess that’s fair. We were able to walk the ENTIRE mall in 6 hours. (Fun fact, if you spend 5 minutes in every store it would take you over a week to get through the whole thing).We didn’t get much...a shirt and belt for Cam, a dress and shorts for me. Honestly I wouldn’t recommend shopping to anyone at the MOA. The stores like Old Navy, Lane Bryant, and The Gap were SO much more expensive that our local stores. The locally owned or less franchised stores didn’t carry either of our sizes. So between prices and selection, we were disappointed. All that turned around when we went to Dick’s Last Resort though! Our bartender was an asshole...just kidding he said it was tough for him to be so mean. Cam doesn’t call me Bully Bree for nothing, I still talked shit to him, we decided I should work at one. For anyone that’s never been to a Dick’s before, bad service and attitude is their specialty. They give you ridiculous hats with mean things written on them. Cam received a hat that says “Gets Cheated on” and I received one that said “Loose” with the O’s turned into nipples...so cute. Hahah We had two 48oz margs and went on our jolly way! We went back to our hotel to regroup, and ate at Buca Di Beppo….Guys I know. I TRY SO HARD not to go to chain restaurants on vaca. But Bucca is SO GOOD. Honestly. I don’t regret it. I miss it. Saturday was the best day. It was great. We slept in and went to brunch at a cute little restaurant in a little college part of town. We had bottomless mimosas for $10 each and sat on the patio for 4 hours to get our money’s worth. We talked with almost everyone that walked by and talked a handful of them into the mimosas...we should have asked for a discount tbh. Our waiter loved us and kept our glasses full. We went back to the hotel, took really long naps and went to Ping’s, a weird little chinese restaurant that we’re pretty sure is just a drug front. It was a prime location that was empty on a Saturday night and had TERRIBLE service. The food was bomb though so we would definitely go again. I’ve got to say, my only regret about the trip is not trying the city scooters earlier. We used one on our way to Pings and it was SO MUCH FUNNNNN. Seriously. It is the only thing on my christmas and birthday wish list now. I found an electric scooter that is almost exactly like those city scooters for $300. Hear me out. You can get places so much faster and it’s way more fun. You don’t have to worry about parking and you can fold up the scooters and carry them with you wherever! This is going to be a thing. Mark my words. IT WILL.

[breehunny]

Okay, IUI.

After trying on our own with Femara we were directed to try Intrauterine Insemination next, also known as IUI. This process is the most romantic way to have a baby by far. I took Femara again that month and ovulated late, again. So I went in for another ultrasound and had another fully developed egg ready to be released from my ovary, yay! This is actually kind of a cool process, they print out pictures of the egg from the ultrasound. I love the idea of having a picture of my baby on week 0! Haha Okay, IUI. First, Cam goes in to give them his spermies. They “wash” them by taking out the slow swimmers and helping the fast ones swim faster. This process takes about an hour. Once that was done, we went in together. We both signed a bunch of consent forms stating that we wouldn’t come to the clinic for child support, our child wouldn’t go to them for any kind of support, and that we both consented to have a baby together. It was kind of crazy to even think of some of the situations that must have happened for these to be so specific! We were called back to the room and Cam had to verify that was his sample, and give verbal consent that he understood this procedure was being done to make a baby. It was a pink liquid after being washed. The nurse inserted a catheter so the spermies would be placed directly next to my ovary with the developed egg. This part was not pleasant in the least bit. It felt kind of like a scratch, then pressure...like period cramping. I cramped and was uncomfortable for about 30mins afterward. I was directed to take it easy and be stress free. We were also directed to try on our own that night or the next morning, which honestly didn’t sound fun after being in pain like that. We waited and waited and I took 4 pregnancy tests. All negative, and then my period came. This one hurt extra bad. I really got my hopes up. The doctor was so sure that we would conceive on before the second round of IUI. We decided we needed a break again. This time we didn’t put a time limit on it. We needed to process things and take back our relationship.

[breehunny]

We want a baby!

My husband, Cam, and I have been trying to make a baby for over one year now. I had a history of ovarian cysts so I was worried about fertility even before we started trying. I overthink things a lot and get stuck in my head, but I also love going to the doctor, so I figured why not go get checked out. My mom got pregnant with my sister and I very quickly. My sister got pregnant very quickly with all three of her kids. Other than the occasional cyst, there was no reason for me to worry. In Fall of 2017 I went to my family doctor and asked if there were any preliminary tests I should do to see if I’ll have a high risk pregnancy or have trouble getting pregnant. We did a pap smear and progesterone test and that was it. I was told my progesterone was low but aside from that everything was totally normal and we should have no issue getting pregnant. Cam and I were engaged at the time, but knew we wanted to start trying for kids pretty early on in our marriage. We started in February 2018 with the mindset of “if it happens, it happens.” We were both pretty uninformed at that point. I wasn’t really tracking ovulation or any other daily symptoms, we weren’t scheduling sex, it was literally just not using any kind of birth control method. We got eloped in April, and my next period was due at the beginning of May. I missed it! I took a pregnancy test every day from the first day of my missed period for a week….all negative. I called my OB and scheduled a blood test, there’s no way my cycle is this long, it’s been almost 40 days, I’m for sure pregnant. I was so excited. I started planning how I was going to tell Cam, my family, his family, how I was going to hide it for the next 8 weeks, everything! The blood test came back...also negative. My OB told me I was not pregnant and that since my cycles usually lasted 32-37 days this was “normal.” Turns out I just didn’t ovulate that month, my cycle lasted 58 days. That crushed me. That was not normal. While I was waiting for my next period I decided we should buckle down more. I did my research and we started trying every other day during ovulation. This new schedule threw Cam off a bit, he was under the impression that I was fertile every single day. I blame California sex ed, I had the actual sex talk with one of his friends a few months later. When Cam and I were both on the same page we both agreed we would officially start trying. I scheduled another appointment in July after I’d had another full cycle. I wanted to know what to do next. Am I just not going to ovulate regularly anymore? Are my eggs bad now? I’m only 27, why is this happening? My OB gave me a list of tests and medicines we could do before referring me to a fertility specialist. Insurance doesn’t usually cover anything with fertility and if we did everything it would cost in the thousands.I had a thyroid test, hormone tests, an ultrasound, and HCG test where they insert a dye into the uterus and see if it there are any blockages (that one hurt effing bad) all between July and January. I started Clomid in November, a hormonal pill to induce egg production. We did two rounds, with no luck. By this point I was frustrated and crying every time I got my period and it was taking a toll on our relationship. Every period felt like a loss. Between being sad a lot of the time, losing drive to help out around the house, and not talking about how I was feeling with Cam, we struggled. We had some long conversations, and what I was reading as him not caring, was him trying to be strong for both of us. We have gone to couples counseling previously so we were able to use tools from that to help us through this. I asked to be referred to a fertility clinic. My OB prescribed me one more round of clomid and sent us on our way to our local fertility clinic. Even though I had specifically asked for one more round of clomid, I didn’t end up taking it. After such a long period of time of scheduling intercourse...it was taking a negative toll on our relationship. We took a one month break from trying before seeing the specialist. Before we could go to our first appointment, Cam had to go get tested. He was bizarrely excited to go and bragged to his friends that he was going to the “spank bank.” LOL His results came back great and we were ready to get started on our fertility treatment plan. Our doctor is great, we were pretty positive about our chances of conceiving and laid out a plan for the next few months. He also explained why exactly we were having trouble...which I had never really received a clear answer from my OB so I didn’t know it was even figured out! I have PCOS which is commonly misdiagnosed as Endometriosis. I have acne, struggle with weight gain, have irregular periods, and I don’t always release fully developed eggs or an egg at all (hence 58 day cycle). My cysts were being caused by underdeveloped eggs essentially burying themselves in my ovaries. For the next 3 months I would take Femara (another fertility drug). The first month we would try on our own, the next two would be with intrauterine insemination, or IUI. The doctor seemed very confident that we would be able to conceive on the first try. We left feeling confident and with lots of fun paperwork outlining our instructions. -Take Femara as prescribed on days 3-7 of your cycle -Have intercourse on day 10 or 11 -Abstain until you see a surge on an ovulation test -Take ovulation tests days 12-15 -Have intercourse every 36 hrs once you surge - If you do not surge, call the office Romantic, right? We got to day 13 and I was getting nervous. What if we missed it? What if my surge doesn’t read? Did I do this round of Femara for nothing? Cam called the fertility clinic, they told us to go ahead and start trying every 36 hours, and continue testing. Day 16 came and I still hadn’t had a surge, I called in and they told me to come to the office that morning for an ultrasound. The tech said I had “a very good looking egg ready to release any day now.” Perfect! I went in for another progesterone test the following week and it was higher than it ever had been before! This is the month, it had to be, everything was looking good! 11 days later my period started. I was crushed again, but I didn’t cry much this time. I don’t know how to explain exactly how I felt. All I know is this meant we were done trying on our own. It was the end of the road for conceiving even a little bit naturally. We were one step closer to IVF, or surgery, or adoption. Don’t get me wrong, we’re open to all of those, and want to adopt in the future regardless. But not yet, I want this.

[breehunny]

Some pictures from our elopement ceremony! We started with our "First Look" at the hotel, then two different locations for the actual ceremony haha We put it on facebook live using my friend Kim's phone...held up on a branch by twigs...somehow..haha

[breehunny]

Eloping with the LOML

Cam and I left for our elopement March 30, 2018 and officially tied the knot on April 7, 2018. We started with a weekend in New York, then road tripped through Italy stopping in Rome, Florence and Venice. It was 11 days long, but felt so much shorter. While planning our elopement, we decided not to tell anyone when we were leaving...except our bosses and pet sitter, obvi. We made spy themed wedding invitations and sent them out the night before we left for Italy. We invited our friends and family to watch us tie the knot on facebook live on April 7th, as well as celebrating with us at our reception on June 22nd. Our ceremony was just us, my friend Kim who married us, and our photographer. I hired the photographer through a wedding photography site online...which was a real gamble since he could’ve just not shown up and it would be no skin off his back. Luckily we got the most amazing photographer who ended up playing a huge part in saving our wedding day. We decided to have our ceremony on the hotel grounds, it was in the hills of Tuscany and was beautiful all around. We found a spot that is particularly beautiful at sunset, which was noon in Iowa, so it worked out perfectly! We spent the day of our wedding together. We went to a neighboring town and did a little shopping, got my nails done and had an awesome lunch. My friend Kim met up with us in the afternoon after buying my bouquet in Florence. Cam and I got ready separately so we could do the first look thing. I started making my way down to the courtyard of the property where Cam stood. We took a few pictures before hotel staff started running towards us yelling at us in Italian. Our photographer spoke with them and translated, and the hotel manager started speaking in english and italian. There was another wedding on the property and they paid to be there...we did not. So we had to leave. We asked if we could take pictures, no. We asked if we could stay on the edge of the property, no. There was a retaining wall with really pretty views on the other side we asked if we could go back there, no. They would not budge and we were supposed to start streaming during sunset in 30 minutes. The manager told us to drive to this town down the road 30 minutes...we could potentially miss sunset by doing this. We had no other choice, the photographer told us to jump in his car and he could drive us all together. We found a beautiful spot with park benches and even better views. We parked and RAN there, then ran back to the car so we could go toward the town the manager told us to go to….it ended up being on the other side of the mountain and we were losing light at this point. We pulled over to an abandoned restaurant with a huge field. We perched the phone in a tree and held it up with twigs on a branch and started our ceremony. It was a mess but it ended up being perfect. We got really good pictures, we are able to watch our ceremony on our facebook memories every year, and it really felt like we were the only ones in the world. The next morning we were supposed to make our way to Venice. We loaded up the car and went to the front desk to checkout. The same hotel manager was there. The one that tried to ruin our ceremony. He kept saying “you must understand, you must understand.” I told him no, I didn’t understand. We wanted pictures on the edge of the property behind a retaining wall, on the opposite side of the property from the wedding, we asked for 15 minutes of time. He apologized for our confusion and told us that he would like to offer us a bottle of olive oil made in Tuscany. I declined. Which in European culture is extremely rude, I know. But he was extremely rude to me the day before, I didn’t want his dumb olive oil. We started walking out, he told us to take the olive oil and I told him no and we walked out. We were halfway to the car and this man CAME OUTSIDE WITH THE OLIVE OIL. He repeatedly said “you must understand, you must understand” and kept telling us about the other wedding. We told him we didn’t want to hear it, we were done talking about it and he STILL kept at it. We walked away from him, got in the car and made our way to Venice. So our ceremony was still perfect and now we have a fun story to go along with it! Haha If you’re getting married soon, consider elopement. I was still stressed haha but it was so much easier to go with the flow since we were in vacation mode. We didn’t have to worry about the wedding party, or our guests arriving on time, or anything else that goes along with a wedding day. We had a leisurely day together and had our first dinner as husband and wife together in a little restaurant….and lived happily ever after. ;)

[breehunny]

Couple’s Counseling

My husband and I got engaged May 4, 2017 and got married less than a year later on April 11, 2018. Honestly, the engagement was stressful. Planning was one thing, but all the added pressures from outside opinions definitely made things more stressful. It seemed like a really long engagement, but in reality we just changed and grew so much as a couple in those 11 months. One of my parent’s requirements for them to pay for our wedding was for us to go to premarital counseling. This is usually done through a church, with the pastor that will marry you. We are agnostic so we didn’t have a church and didn’t want a religious wedding. We were fighting a lot for a lot of different reasons at the time too. I felt under appreciated because I was always cooking and cleaning, and felt ignored because Cam was playing video games constantly. Cam felt I was nagging him for playing video games and saw it as social time with his friends and brothers since he doesn’t get to see them often. He didn’t like to help cook and clean because I didn’t say thank you when he did. It was a vicious cycle and we were not seeing eye to eye. At one point Cam moved into our spare room and we screamed at each other about being roommates from now on. It was turning toxic. I found a therapist in Ankeny the next day and we started going once a week. I felt really ashamed of it, like we *were in shambles and this was a last resort for us. We couldn’t figure out things on our own so we had to PAY someone to figure it out for us, is that worth saving? We had already talked about being comfortable with a divorce if we were unhappy, as long as we tried therapy first. Now we’re going to it before we’re even married, is that a sign? We told people it was premarital counseling per my parent’s terms for the wedding...which I suppose wasn’t a total lie. We dug into our pasts so much and learned so much about each other. Our childhoods were polar opposites, our parents are so different, our experiences as adults were different, our relationship with alcohol is different. All of these molded us into who we are as adults and how we act in relationships. We don’t do the things we do to spite our partner, or because we disregard their feelings. When we do things in a relationship that hurt our partner, it’s because that’s what our past experiences taught us to do. I don’t want to go to far into detail about what we talked about in counseling because we talked about such personal and intimate details. We grew as people by better understanding ourselves, and grew together as a couple. We put arguments on the backburner if we have been drinking. We know it’s okay to go to bed mad, sometimes it’s better to cool down first. We don’t assume the other person knows if or why something has upset us. We both help around the house and purposely put time aside every week to spend time with each other, and have alone time. I’ve talked with a lot of my friends about this topic and told them a lot of the details of our counseling. A lot of those friends tell me their significant others refuse to go to counseling. That it’s not worth the money, they don’t want to sit and talk about their feelings, their parents didn’t go and they’re fine. Truth is, that all sounds like their ego is more important to them than their relationship. You invest money into streaming services, gambling, drinking, why isn’t your relationship as important as those things? You don’t want to talk about your feelings, so you would rather argue with the person that is supposed to be your best friend instead? Your parent’s relationship is not a reflection of your own. You are 4 different people with 4 different backgrounds, the relationships are incomparable. Set your ego aside and do something good for your household, the positive effect will reflect onto so many other parts of your life. We aren’t perfect, we never will be. We still argue and disagree, but we do it in a healthy way. We don’t scream, we don’t make threats to end things, and we remind each other we love each other by what we say and do. If you are in a relationship that feels like it’s on the brink of destruction, ask yourself if it's worth saving. Is it worth giving counseling a shot? Try three sessions and see what it does for your life.

[breehunny]

The Reception

I never really pictured what my dream wedding would be...I just knew I wanted to have a good time at the reception. I didn’t want my guests to feel like they had been at that wedding before...like wedding dejavu. I wanted my fiance to help me plan it so it wasn’t MY day, it needed to be OUR day. A wedding shouldn’t be the perfect day for your guests, it should be the perfect day for the bride and groom. It is a celebration of the beginning of your life together as husband and wife. We got started by picking out a kick-ass theme. We wanted to have a spy wedding. We wanted my nephew to be our ring bearer and walk down the aisle with a little briefcase, the groomsmen to wear earpieces, the bridesmaids to wear garters with fake guns, we had so many ideas. We also had a lot of outside opinions. It started becoming less about what we wanted and more about what everyone else wanted. It started causing a rift in my family. Cam proposed we elope instead, I loved it and immediately agreed. We love a good party and we love being able to throw a good party, so we decided we’d still throw a laid back reception. We searched Groupon day after day looking for the perfect destination for the perfect price. I found an 11 day trip to Italy for $2800 ($1400 each). It included a rental car, round trip plane tickets from New York to Italy, accomodations, breakfast every day, and 2 wine tastings. If you’ve ever looked for plane tickets to Italy, they’re usually over $1000 per person, so this was a STEAL. We waited as long as we could, and bought it on one of the last days it was available. Then started looking into what it would take to get married in Italy. Oh my word...you have to do SO MUCH. You have to pay a bunch of fees and do a bunch of paperwork in the US, then pay a bunch of fees and do a bunch of paperwork while in Italy. I was about to turn 26 and get kicked off my parents’ insurance plan. I would have had to pay a few hundred every month we weren’t married. We decided to sign our papers early and were married by law in October in a courthouse. We didn’t say our vows and didn’t promise ourselves to each other, so we don’t consider that our anniversary date. I could make a whole post about our trip to Italy...so I did. I'll post that next week! Anyway back to the rest of planning things…. :) We decided our wedding reception would be a reflection of us and be the perfect party. Our favorite food, our favorite people, our favorite music and our favorite drinks. We had a budget total of $15k between what we were prepared to chip in along with what my parents gave us. That seems like a lot, but for a wedding it is not. We booked a venue with ping pong tables, pool tables and other entertainment, and it was like a rustic middle school gym vibe. We bought posh looking decorations for centerpieces and some flowers as decorations. We had disposable cameras available EVERYWHERE. My aunt made our wedding cheesecake, and we bought a bunch from Costco for our guests. We had a taco bar catered by our favorite mexican restaurant for $8/person. We bought cases of wine at a bulk rate, and 2 kegs of beer. We asked our photographer friend to bring her camera for candid shots. We hired a friend’s friend as a bartender, and we hired a wedding DJ. Between the reception and our entire trip to Italy we spent the entire $15k...mayyybe a little less. It was an awesome evening and we had fun dancing and drinking all night with so many of our closest friends and family! I wouldn’t change a thing about it, except drinking a little less….haha But really it was our perfect wedding. If you’re wedding planning, please keep in mind that in 5 years from now nobody is going to care what cake you had or what your centerpieces were. They’ll probably throw away the party favors, and forget what they wrote in your guestbook. Not everyone is going to like every detail of your wedding, and they’re not supposed to, it’s your wedding. Don’t forget that, make it a reflection of you and your partner and I promise everyone will remember that.

[breehunny]

Meeting the LOML

A little background before we jump in: For those of you that haven’t had the pleasure of meeting strangers online through dating apps, you talk to lots of people at the same time. From there you weed out the weirdos and boring people. I had a rule that if a guy didn’t make plans to meet in person within a week of our first message I would lose interest. I also want to make it clear, I wasn’t there for hooking up, I genuinely wanted to have bad dates with interesting people for funny stories. This made it easy to be myself because I didn’t care if it went well or not. So one of the guys I was talking to messaged me and said “Did you know you’re talking to me and my roomate? Don’t worry, we flipped a coin and I get to take you on a date.” First of all, WHAT...WHICH ONE IS YOUR ROOMMATE? Awkward!! What if I end up dating one of them and have to see the other one all the time, weird! I don’t remember HOW I found out which one was his roommate, but the roommate (Cam) was 6’8” and the guy that “flipped the coin” was 6’1”...myself being 6’...this wasn’t a tough choice. I told the guy that I was going to go on a date with the roommate first. Cam worked nights at the time and I worked roadshows for 11 days on and 3 days off. So we met for breakfast at La Mie on a Monday morning. I didn’t know if would ever go on another date with a guy that tall, so DUH I wore my tallest heels, and shorts so my legs would look 3 miles long. We waited in line together and ordered our breakfast, the girl at the register dropped his card and seemed nervous. Me, being not nervous, ask if she was intimidated by how tall we were. Cam was just as caught off guard as the register girl, she laughed though! Cam kind of laughed but it was more like a “what did she say?” kind of laugh. We sat down and got our breakfast, Cam had the saddest looking omelette ever, and I had some bombass french toast. We talked we laughed, we had a pretty good time. After we finished Cam asked if I lived nearby and asked if I wanted to go back to my place to “watch Netflix.” Okay, it’s like 10am? And we just met...no! Hahah So he tried really hard to think of something else we could do, which led to this convo… Cam- Do you want to go to Gary’s Lake? Me- *genuinely confused* What? Where? Cam- Gary’s Lake, it has a walking train and boats and stuff Me- *he means Gray’s Lake.* I’ve never heard of that, what is it? Cam- Gary’s Lake, in Des Moines Me- It’s Gray’s Lake, not Gary. Cam- You’re an asshole. Me- Aw Pet names! In my head I thought “Yessss hilarious date story number one, CHECK.” Then started realizing...shit….this guy is kinda cool. We went to Gary’s Lake (hehe) and sat and talked at a picnic table...I was wearing my bigass heels, remember? After an hour or so we both had to head out. So we walked back to the parking lot and for the first time in my 24 years of life, HE PUT HIS ARM OVER MY SHOULDER WHILE WE WERE WALKING. Every single guy up to this point has not mastered this because of their little baby legs. I lost my shit. I did not keep it cool even a little. After talking about this weeks or months later, he admitted it was weird, but since we kissed at the end that sealed the deal. We’ve been together for almost 4 years now and it is the healthiest relationship I’ve ever been in! We like brunching, travelling, trying each other’s hobbies, hanging out with the same people, and we almost always agree on what to watch on Hulu next. He truly is my best friend! Finding a good relationship really does come from loving yourself and not adding pressure to your dating life by setting unrealistic expectations. Dating should be fun and carefree, not every date is going to be perfect, not every relationship will be either. Know when you have something good, and if you find yourself questioning it, talk to someone or take a step back and figure it out.

[breehunny]

My beautiful lil family!!

[breehunny]

5 years later....

I clearly dropped off the face of the world for a bit....a lot has happened since March 2014. Haha like...A LOT. I’ll do a few posts about how I went from single as a pringle in NC to married and living back in Iowa. As for now, let’s keep this in chronological order.

I lived in North Carolina for about 2 years. I had a love hate relationship with it. I loved the beautiful mountains, the town I lived in, my friends! I hated missing things back home, losing touch with a ton of my friends back home, and had a general sense of loneliness from not finding many friends my age. Honestly, if I gave myself one piece of advice at that age, it would be to move somewhere nearby someone you already know. Even if it’s an hour or so away. I was too socially awkward at that age to network well with people my age. Haha

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the friends I did make! We went out every weekend, I got to see the mountains, shoot guns, go swimming in the lake all of the time, it was great. I met so many unique interesting people and did things outside of my comfort zone that helped me gain confidence and become more fearless! I now have new fears like, messing up when installing kitchen cabinet handles, and snoring when I fall asleep during a movie, because these are adulting fears.

The crowd I hung out with were all 15-40 years older than me. I hung out a lot at The Elks Lodge which I didn’t even know was a thing. And I eventually started dating a guy that was 15 years older than me. I know what you’re thinking, bad idea...I know it’s fine, that’s not where the story ends!

After ignoring advice from my North Carolina friends, my bosses at the time, and my family, I moved to Louisiana with him. Honestly, the weather was amazing and the food was phenomenal. I lived there over the winter so I never had to experience the humidity thank goodness. We lived a little south of New Orleans so we did end up going there quite a bit. It’s super dirty and dangerous. If I went back it would be with a group with lots of dudes or couples. I would for sure go back to Louisiana for the food and culture though.

I won’t go into details, but it wasn’t a great relationship. It caused a lot of strain between my family and I, and I felt even more isolated being in Louisiana. If we got into a fight he would storm out...I don’t know where or when he’d be back, or if that meant we had broken up. Each time we made up though. Except the last time….but this is actually pretty funny.

I was on my way home from work and I called him and said I didn’t feel like making dinner. I asked if he was going to or if I should pick something up. He said he’d make something. Welp. I got home and he didn’t feel like cooking anymore. So I made mac and cheese, I got myself a bowl and added buffalo sauce. He was pissed. He said he didn’t want buffalo mac and cheese, he couldn’t believe I ruined the whole pot ( I legit ONLY added it to my bowl) and stormed out. I called my mom, started packing and left within 3 days.  It was a rocky ending (obviously, I had to live with him for 3 more days hahah) and we didn’t officially “end” things until a few weeks after I moved back to Iowa. I was young and naive and didn’t see how terrible that relationship was at the time so it was hard to move on.

Will Feral (my cat) was an outdoor cat when we moved to Louisiana. He would come in every once in a while and want to leave after a few snuggles. Iowa doesn’t have as forgiving weather so I left him with my ex. I wish I would have taken him with me, I miss Willy so much, but he wouldn’t have loved being indoors so much in Iowa.

When I moved back I lived in a friend’s basement and eventually signed up for online dating after a few months. I really didn’t want another serious relationship, I just wanted to go on dates. I used Plenty of Fish back in like 2011(ish?) and have a handful of funny date stories from it now. I thought I would go on some more and get some more funny date stories.

My first date was hilarious and awkward, and it’s the story of how I met my husband Cam. So my first date was also my freaking last one. I’ll leave it at that for now because the story of how we met is hilarious and totally worthy of being its own post.

If I could give my 2014 self one piece of advice, it would be to listen to the advice of your family and friends. If they don’t like the person you’re with and they openly tell you this, it’s for a good reason. That’s not an easy convo for them to initiate in the first place, please listen to them.

[breehunny]

I’ve always hated the saying “starting a new chapter to my life,” YUCK, so cheesy! I think life is more like a bunch of movie sequels. With each new sequel comes new adventures, new lessons, and a mix of new and old cast members. That being said, I’d like to tell the world about what I’ve learned from moving across the country seven and a half months ago.

I’ve started viewing things in life differently since I’ve moved. I think more young people should learn to take advantage of being young and irresponsible. I read an article recently that talked about regrets the elderly have. Most of them were about wishing they hadn’t worked so hard (or worked a job they hated for so long), travelled more when they had the chance, and spent more time with family and friends. I know it’s a dark thought, but nobody ever knows how long or short their lives are going to be, you can’t procrastinate on doing what you want to do and what you want your life to be.

I think a lot of high schoolers feel pressure to pick a college and a career path and don’t take time to think about what they really want to do with their life.  Post-high school and pre-family is the only time in your life when you’re free to do what you want without the restrictions of a career, family and bills. I wish more people would realize that and not feel like they have to do what society tells them to.  Just because everyone else is going to college doesn’t mean that you have to as well. If you work your life a way at a job you hate with people you can’t stand just for the benefits at retirement, you need to find a new job. Don’t make yourself miserable for money and material things. I’ve learned that if you enjoy your job, you’re going to excel at it and go home feeling accomplished and happy.

I also feel that more people my age need to take advantage of this time to travel. I’m not saying you can’t travel outside of your post-high school pre-family phase, but as time goes on it gets harder and more expensive.  Sure you can wait until the nest is empty and go on adventures with your spouse then, but you’re not guaranteed to live until then.  If you want to take a road trip across the country, don’t tell yourself you’ll have to save up for it someday. Start saving now. You may have to cut back on your spending money but a huge trip is going to be a lot more memorable than those new shoes.

Don’t take your family and friends for granted. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a loving supportive family, or any family at all. I’ve learned that the people in my family are the only people on the earth that will love me no matter what.  No matter how many times my sister tells embarrassing stories about me, I still love her. No matter how redneck my dad dresses, I still love him…even if he meets me for dinner dressed like that haha! And no matter how many times my mom will ignore my texts, even if they’re important, I still love her. And no matter how many times or how far away I decide to move, they still love me. I know that one-day when I decide I’m ready for a family of my own I will take time to listen to them when they are upset, help them when they’re in need, laugh at their jokes (which probably won’t be hard if my humor rubs off on them) and I will always love them, no matter what.

Friends are also very important to me, especially the ones that really make an effort to keep in contact with me. Since moving I’m still in the process of making friends here, I’ve learned you can’t rush the process of making friends. One of my pet peeves is when people lecture me on needing to make friends. You can’t go to the store and just pick out some people you want to be friends with and call it a day. Friendship is a process of getting to know one another and finding common interests. I would rather have a few close friends than a bunch of people I hangout with but don’t have anything in common with. I don’t feel alone without all my friends physically being here because I still have friends I can talk to back home and I still have co-workers that I can talk to about almost anything. Those are the friends I want. Life isn’t a popularity contest, as long as you have good friends that you can depend on, you’re good.

I know that there are things I have done in my life that people don’t agree with or people look down on me for, I have decided to ignore them though. You can’t base your happiness on other people’s approval or you’re never going to be happy.

I would love to hear people’s feedback on this post, it took me a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to say but I hope it made sense. Most of all I hope it helped someone in some small way start thinking for themselves rather than do what society tells them is right or wrong.

[breehunny]

This is my room currently.....Look mom!! My floor is full of carpet, not clothes! :D

[breehunny]

Work is going so great since ive been back! Not that i didn't love it before I left lol but I'm starting to do sales now and it gives me the opportunity to earn a little commission! Saweeet!! And im getting more days rather than nights which is def awesome.

Will Feral is doing well too, hes not a fan of the commission I'll be earning because its going to a fund called "Bye Bye Will's You-Know-What's" haha he'll get over it ;)

I finally got decorations up in my room so I can post pics soon! I think im gonna rearrange though...its really cold sleeping by the window. And I dont think im all the way done decorating yet but its a start!

For Christmas I hand made almost everyones gifts and I loved it! I always forget how much I love making things. Im doing a couple projects in the near future (as soon as I get enough supplies) to decorate my apt. If anyone reading this has any old clothes or scrap fabric please send them to me, id love to use them!! I dont want to post my address here...my mom taught me better than that ;) but if you need it then just message me privately!

Oh and also I checked my voicemail on my old phone and just now received all the messages I got on Christmas! Those meant so much to me! Thank you to everyone who called and thought of me on Christmas! I do have a new number now and I think most everyone that called should have it now but if you dont have my 828 number then let me know! :) thanks again, it was good to hear from everyone!

[breehunny]

This is my haircut...I didn't actually style it...just kinda blow dried it and called it good haha

[breehunny]

Iowa

So I can finally start posting here again! I was worried I'd spill the beans about my surprise visit home! 

Last weekend I flew in to Chicago to surprise my extended family for our family christmas! The only people that knew I'd be there were my parents. Everyone was really surprised and it was A LOT of fun!

I also got to hangout with some of my close friends, going out to eat, shopping, going to the hookah bar and of course going out downtown :)

One of my friends, Kayla, was preggo and due the 14th. Well Antonella OBVI knew her auntie Bree was leaving and she wanted to meet me. She was born Thursday and I got to hold her before my mom! ;P She's so beautiful and I can't wait to visit again to see her! 

So much happened this week, I don't think I have time to write about it all....I'll summarize and if anyone has questions you can just ask me :)

Got checked by TSA in Charlotte...ugh!!

Spent $100 of someone else's money at a casino...lost it all.

Helped a very inebriated man put his coat on...stole his drink.

Went to a gay bar...watched a drag show.

Cut all my hair off

Was forced to sit in those embarrassing massage chairs at the mall...enjoyed it very much.

Tried fried oysters...loved it!

Got a Christmas Bonus from Golden Rule haha

I think that's it. I know I'm leaving out stuff I still enjoyed, like shopping with my family members, eating with friends, and just spending time with people that I lost contact with since moving. 

Now about my flight today!! I made it through security this time lol My connecting flight from chicago to charlotte was overbooked though. So after waiting in the airport for 3 hours, they asked for volunteers to switch flights. I have Monday off and they were offering up $300 in travel credits, a hotel room, and $21 in food vouchers! Awesome!! So I'm currently in Chicago eating fancy chocolate cake in a swanky hotel bar haha

Unfortunately my suit and clean clothes are in my checked bag...I didn't think this all the way through. haha I'll be home tomorrow afternoon though and I'm actually a little bit excited. :) 

[breehunny]

So a lot has happened since I last blogged. I'm just going to share a few  short stories.

1. I dyed my hair red

2. The day after I dyed my hair red, i was at work and this happened...

       Old guy: You must get made fun of a lot!

       Me: *confused* Why?

       Old guy: Because of your red hair!

       Me: ................I guess I'll have to find out, I just dyed it yesterday.

3. About a week after dying my hair this happened whilst standing outside of work...

A girl I work with always curls her hair and she hates when people ask if its naturally like that, so I always ask. She asked if my hair was naturally red, touche. We both told each other to change their hair, snickered and went our separate ways. Well her mom was sitting in the car waiting for her and must've heard the convo. As I was walking inside she yelled "THE RED LOOKS BAD!" hahahaha I don't know if that was her true opinion or if she thought I was genuinely making fun of her daughter and she was trying to avenge her....either way, it was hilarious.

4. Enough about the hair. Now lets talk about Walmart. Last night I went to walmart and it was insanely busy! I'm used to going at 10 or 11 at night when it's pretty dead....nope not 5 days before Christmas. So I'm pushing my cart through the crowded aisles and as I pass one hick looking guy walking by himself, he farted...very loudly! And everyone just kept walking around like it was normal!!!! I think that was the most surprising part!!!

5. I was in the toy aisle (ugh. that was the most crowded part!) and I know its not good to leave your purse in your cart but there were at least 4 other carts in the aisle and 10 other people so I just left it there while I looked at some toys and kept it in the corner of my eye. Well thank god I did, some guy started walking away with my cart!! I told him three times that he had my cart, and grabbed his shoulder before he stopped!! I pretty much bolted out of the toy section after that. That was sups scary! It was one of the very few times I had cash on me and I would've been screwed if I lost it all. I'm leaving it in the trunk from now on.

6. Last but not least, I locked myself out of my apt, I locked the handle and left my keys inside. My lease states that they won't come to unlock your apt unless you have $25 cash when they arrive. Well the nearest ATM is NOT walking distance and I didn't have cash on me at this point....plus I don't want to pay someone $25 for my stupidity. haha! So I looked through my purse for anything that could help me out. I found a card and remembered what my dad taught me, and successfully broke into my apt! :D yayy!!! Now I have to make sure I always use the deadbolt because if I can break in, literally anybody else can do it haha

Well that's all, I'll try to post more since I won't be doing much at all for the holidays haha

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)