Welcome to 25

Whoever said turning 25 is a bad thing? And why do people always say, "wow now you're closer to 30 than 20!" like it's such a bad thing! I am gladly welcoming turning 25 with open arms and if this past weekend was any indicator as to how the rest of the year is going to go, then I know it will be a good one! Janelle got to town late Friday night and right from her bus, we went downtown for some early birthday celebrating. What started out as "just a few drinks," turned into staying out until bar close, going to aftie's with some friends, a trip to Wal-Mart at 4am for wings and fries...and of course, The Hunger Games on blu-ray!!!! Needless to say, it was a fantastic start to the weekend! Saturday we got to Des Moines and hit up the State Fair for some drinks, people watching and fried food before the concert. Fried pickles and beer were a huge hit. So soooo good!!! Then we headed into the concert... It. Was. Awesome. Loverboy went on first then Pat Benatar came on stage and totally rocked it. Jordan and Scott got a kick out of how many of her songs that Janelle and I knew! I mean, who doesn't know "Heartbreaker" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot!" Throw back 80s jams are the best! And then the real entertainment of the night hit the stage....JOURNEY!!! They were amazing! I am not sure if any of us stopped singing and dancing and rocking out right with them and everyone else there! The best songs were definitely "Faithfully" and of course, "Don't Stop Believing"....they ended the song with confetti and streamers blasting everywhere! Epic concert and we all loved every minute of it. Big shoutout to my parents for the tickets for all of us! It was a blast for the 5 pack to be together so thank you for the fun outing!!!!

early birthday celebration!

Sisters at Brothers!

State Fair Fun!

Awesome electric guitar solo playing
The National Anthem!

Don't Stop Believing!!!

The Fab Five!

May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

It has been less than 12 hours since we've seen the midnight premiere of The Hunger Games and I already want to see it again in theaters. No joke, it was that good. I read all three of the books and while watching the movie, I was still cringing and fidgeting around because I was so nervous about what was going to happen. Even Jordan kept looking at me and at one point told me to "stop cracking." Apparently, I was cracking every knuckle and joint repeatedly without even realizing it. Like I said, the movie was just that good and so true to the book! I was pretty hesitant to see the movie at first, I'm not going to lie. I loved the books and was a freak about them. I even had nightmares sometimes that I was actually IN the hunger games and was fighting to stay alive. I did NOT want this movie to be a disappointment and to ruin the books. I've seen so many book to movie adaptations which have cut out so much of the plot or characters that it just isn't even the same story anymore or as enjoyable.

This movie however, they did everything right. The cast was so perfect and each person fit the role and character from the book that I had visioned in my head. The directors made the Districts look even more run down and depressing and the Capitol all the more lavish and colorful than I had pictured. Which was a great surprise, it really added to the books I thought and gave life to the words. Obviously, the main plot of it is the actual part of being in the arena where Katniss has to fight for her life. This is a battle to the death between 24 tributes from each district aged 12-18 years old. Scary shit, right? Yeah, hence why I was having nightmares! Anyway, with such a young crowd and following, the rating could only be PG-13 so they didn't lose a big chuck of movie ticket sales. Which at first, I thought, "how are they ever going to show kids killing kids and battling like this and do the book justice with it being rated PG-13?!!" And much to my surprise, they did. Every bit of it I think they did justice and Jordan wholeheartedly agrees with that. He even said, "I think that was one of the THE BEST book to movie adaptations I've ever seen. Including  all of the Harry Potter movies." Whoaaaa big words coming from Jordan, who has read all of the Harry Potter books twice and owns all 7 movies in a boxed set.

So whether you've already read all three of the books, have only read the first one, or want to see the movie then maybe read the books, I would suggest to go see this movie. It has a kick-ass strong female role and heroine for once alongside two smoking hot dudes. Really, it's an eye pleaser for everyone. If there's one thing you do this weekend, go see The Hunger Games and may the odds ever be in your favor!

give me a break

I have officially been on "Winter Break" since last Wednesday until January 17th. That is 5 weeks. 5 WEEKS. What in the hell am I going to do for 5 WEEKS?!!?!?!?!!!!! I'm going crazy just thinking about that.... First off, I'm going to be sleeping in. Although my body now only lets me sleep in until 9:00, sometimes 9:30 if I'm lucky. Maybe over break I'll acquire tons of motivation to start working out. I mean, I have 5 weeks to come up with a routine and start getting my sweat on. After all, that size 2 wedding dress hanging in my closest isn't going to wear itself! Or maybe I'll start catching up on scrapbooking....or read a new book series (I just finished all of The Hunger Games recently. I recommend the series to everyone. Read them. Love them. Get pumped for the first movie to come out in March!!!!)....bake and cook some tasty treats and meals....lounge and cuddle on the couch all day with Paisley. Clearly, my possibilities here are endless! Realistically, the amount of time I'll spend napping/laying on the couch/watching movies/snuggling with Paisley could be scary. But since I just officially finished my first semester of grad school with stellar grades and have made it through 4 months of wedding planning and puppy training without entirely losing my mind, I think I deserve to kick back and relax for all it's worth! The things that I know I will definitely be doing over break are:


1. Celebrating Christmas with my whole family all together and then celebrate with all of Jordan's family. I love family get togethers so much and I can't wait for Christmas just to see my family!
2. Drinking the two bottles of wine I have on the counter. They've been staring me down the past few days and I think it's time that I enjoy them. Maybe I'll get the new wine glasses/bottle opener I asked for which means I'd have no choice but to drink them.
3. Making our guest book for the wedding. It's going to be a photobook with fun tid-bits and stories along with lots of pictures, duh. And it's going to be the bomb.
4. Decorating a mailbox that will be used for our cardbox. Unique and DIY is the theme of our wedding. So again, it's going to be the bomb.
5. Enjoying and loving all of the down time with my fiance. Sometimes the stress and routine of school, work, and balancing our families gets both of us acting all sorts of crazy so I'm looking forward to lots of lounging and laughing with Jordan. 


And on that note, Jordan just said we're going to a movie at 9:30 tonight. Yay for a surprise date night! And an even bigger yay that I get to pick the movie! I have a feeling these 5 weeks will probably just fly by but either way, I'm loving break already :)