Customizable Dresses, genius!

This site has a ton of cute dresses, which you can customize! You can pick the length you want, the neckline, the sleeve length (on most) and create the perfect dress for you! I love this idea and the site, Check it out here:

eShakti.com

A Few Major Updates

Our first update required a lot of consideration, communication, and compassion. We made a that we will be drinking 1% milk from now on. We currently are drinking the much healthier skim milk, which I have grown up on from childhood. It is all I know and what I am used to, but I think it is time to switch it up and welcome that more fattening, more fuller milk into our lives.

Our second is a bittersweet update. Curt worked his last day at the 26 branch out my Meijer. He worked there for FOUR years and will now be transferring over to the branch on Purdue's campus, which will work a lot better with his schedule and location. There were a lot of hugs exchanged and tears shed on that sad Friday evening. He received a card of appreciation from his co-workers which had an array of nicknames for Curt, which were:

1. Curt-Dawg (classic)

2. Curty-Curt

3. Curty-Birdie

4. CurtBop (hopefully a cd will come out in the near future)

5. Curtmeister

6. Curty Boy

This is Sarah, who worked with Curt the entire time he was at 26.

Curt definitely is missing and will miss the 26 branch. He had such wonderful co-workers, managers, and friends there. Curt always says that a job isn't worth it unless you love the people you work with, and this job was definitely worth it. But we are also excited for the new environment and opportunities ahead. 

Update #3. My birthday is this very week. I really can't believe it. I have been talking about is since before Christmas, and now it is finally here! 3 more days....Gosh, I really want it to be now. We're not quite sure how were gonna celebrate this one...I mean it is a pretty big deal. It's the big 2-1. Let me know if you have any splendid exciting ideas! I'll give you a little sneak peak of what's on my wish list:

Look at these beauties! Image the damage I could do on the court with these.

These super cute duck boots from Sorel. <3

I need to stay hydrated!

Lovely dress from ASOS.

I could continue for a while. But these are a few of the things I have my eyes set on. I definitely have a thing for shoes & dresses though. Love love love. You can never have enough of those two things. 

Well, until we meet again. XOXO

Thrifty Thursday Begins...

& I would rather by thrifty.
I love saving money and being crafty.
On thrifty Thursdays,
I will share how I save money,
the beauties I find at thrift stores,
and DIY projects that are fun & affordable.

Being close to Valentine's Day,
I thought I would focus on a few super cute home decor ideas that are easy & cheap!
The first one is an adorable garland that you can put up any where in your home sweet home.

All you need is:
1. an old newspaper/ magazine
2. scissors
3. Heart shaped hole punch
4. glue
5. string

The great thing is you probably have most of that at home! And when it is done you have this adorable, trendy garland.

OR, if you want to go more colorful,
 you can make this garland:

This one is just as simple. Next time you are at your local Wal-mart,
grab a few of the paint strips and a heart hole punch,
then start punching away!
You then sew a long string right through the hearts to make one cute garland.

Now, I'm off to make my apartment more Valentiney!

I'd Rather Be Thrifting picture can be found here.

We did.

This is now on our TV stand:

We are so happy.

Funnies

Curt has been really sore these past two days. I went to massage his shoulders and he howled in pain. Want to know why? Of course you do!

It's not because he has been lifting recently.

It's not the p90x sessions he's had. 

It's not our intense volleyball games.

He is sore because of MINUTE TO WIN IT.

& unfortunately he did not win it. He was soo close and it came down to the final battle. Here's what happened:

Minute to Win It Battle #1

There was 32 people, all wanting to win as badly as Curt. They were challenged to spin the arms as fast as possible to roll up jumbo streamers around their arms. This is why Curt is hurting so bad today. He said he never moved is arms faster before. These battles are intense stuff. And Curt came through and made it to the next round. 

Minute to Win It Battle #2

There was now 16 people. They were all given a panty-hose with a penny at the bottom. It was their task to reach the penny with only one hand. It is a lot more difficult than it sounds, and of course Curt came out on top. By this point, he thought he had this whole thing a the bag. He wanted the gold. 

Minute to Win It Battle #3

This one was rigorous. Not many people survived after this one. Curt had to balance SIX whole dingdongs on his forehead. Thanks to his ninja skills and yoga classes, he masters the art of balance and passed through to the next round

Minute to Win It Battle #4

This one was easy shpeasy. He had to keep a feather in the air for 2 minutes. No problem. Curt has the hugest lungs in the world. He could have kept a bowling ball in the air for that long!  

Minute to Win It Battle #5

This was what we were all waiting for. The final battle to the death, kinda. Curt mastered all the other battles and was ready for this one. They announced the challenge. You had to put a panty-hose on your head (while looking ridiculous). The catch is, inside the panty-hose was a baseball. You had to swing the baseball in a circle to knock down soda bottles that were placed in a circle around you. That meant spinning was involved -- Curt's worst nightmare. If you know Curt, you know that how ANY spinning at all makes him real sick and dizzy. It's his weakness and they exploited it. Curt tried his darnedest, but the spinning took him down. So now all Curt has for this is sore arms and a very sick stomach. Maybe next year Curt. Maybe next year. 

The Great & the Terrible

So I just finished this series (props to my mom for showing me these books). At first I was very hesitant to read them, but once I started I couldn't stop. This is an extremely compelling story that shows how real the battle is that we are fighting every single day. It gives you hope, joy, and understanding through an entertaining and spiritual story. Seriously, there are miracles, battles, deaths, evils, and triumphs. The characters are real, colored with their own personal flaws and unique traits. I love love this book.

As I have grown older, the types of books I like has changed. I used to absolutely love Harry Potter and Twilight, but now I want something more. I want to be uplifted by the books I read. I want my testimony of Christ to be strengthened. Those kinds of books are really worth reading. So if you run out of something to read these days, definitely give this one a shot. You can read the first chapters on Amazon.


**PS. The kindle edition is way cheaper! I have books 3-6 on my kindle, if anyone wants to borrow them!

Bored as heck.

This week was the first week of spring semester. Yayyyy. That's means our schedules get changed up a bit and new opportunities arise. For Curt, he is switching branches at Purdue Federal and will be working at the Union Memorial branch. This is very exciting because (1) the location is SO close (2) the hours are great & (3) he will be working with members face to face. (But we will really miss the people at his branch right now. He has some great co-workers). So we are very excited. Also, Curt officially transfered into the school of technology and will be majoring in Organizational Leadership & Supervision (OLS). Another Yayyyy. The end is in sight for us finally!

For me, I am going to school and working Monday-Wednesday. So the first half of my week is busy, but the last two days are soo slow. Thursdays not tooo bad since we are playing on a league for volleyball now, but FRIDAYS are so boring. I have a class at 10:30 (not bad) and then I have a class at 3:30 (very bad). So I kinda just sit around for four hours and do nothing. I need to figure out how to be more productive. I should pick up my baby guitar or finish the paintings I started a year ago. I should figure something out. But the good this is that I don't have to work late Thursday and Friday nights. That means that I can actually work on making a meal for the mister when he walks in the door. To be honest, I really am not a good cook and I don't really like it. It tends to stress me out. But I need to get better, and hopefully this will help! Last night I made some pretty good spaghetti, stuffed mushrooms, and garlic bread. It was a pretty decent meal, but the best part is when the mister walks in the door and gives a big SNIFF. And then he looks so so happy. Dinner is awaitin! I think it's one of the best feelings after a long day of work, especially on a Friday.

Wish me luck!

A chocolate chip vs. a bigger gift

Five minutes for these adorable kids felt like a lifetime. I love this video and what it shows. Marriage is the most important gift Heavenly Father has for us. If we just wait until that sacred, beautiful day, we will be blessed beyond measure. It is definitely worth it, the bond that you share with your husband/wife and with God is amazing. It just keeps getting better. This video means so much to me because I understand how dang hard it is out there to say no and to stay sexually pure. I completely understand the pressures. I just want my younger siblings to understand the beautiful gifts waiting for them if they only wait to be sealed for all eternity. I love them so much and I know that Heavenly Father loves them more, which is why he has promised them so much.  You will be eternally grateful if you wait. I know that I am.

I love Curt with all of my heart. He is the perfect man for me. He makes me laugh, makes me stronger, makes me a better person. He loves me completely, and for that I am so grateful. I know that Heavenly Father has blessed our marriage with eternal happiness and love. I feel His comfort and encouragement as we go through our daily struggles. This is what He has intended for us. I am so grateful that Curt waited for me and followed the commandments given to us by our prophets. I am so grateful for his love of the gospel and for Heavenly Father. Because of that, he is the man he is today. The man I love.

Let's drink to that.

Saturday was great. It was our last night of freedom before school started. So we whipped out our handy dandy Oprah cookbook and created a masterpiece! We made a delicious sweet potato salad, crostini with wild mushrooms & mozzarella (love love this), and Lemon Chicken Scaloppine in Pine Nut-Parmesan Crust. We were fine dining that night! Oh yes, we also had a side of blackberries paired with sparkling grape juice. Perfection on a table right there.

The ONLY thing that could have made this meal more perfect is if we were watching something wonderful, something dear to our hearts. Netflix heard our hearts desires and provided Princess Bride for us. Such a classic! We also decided to play a little drinking game with this movie and our sparkly. These were the rules:

When you hear a predetermined word or phrase, you must drink. Here are some of the catch phrases you MUST use for optimum enjoyment of this game:

• Farmboy
• As you wish.
• Buttercup
• Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.
• Inconceivable
• True love.
• Mawige.
• Humperdink
• Man in black.
• Boo!
• Rodents of unusual size
• you truly have a dizzying intellect. Wait till I get going!
• What's so funny? I'll tell you in a minute.
• ...and dream of large women.
• hahahahahahahahahahaha... (thud)
• I am not left-handed!
• I'm not left-handed either!
• Life is pain, highness...anyone that says otherwise is selling something.
• Ever heard of Aristotle? Socrates? Yes. Morons.
• Anybody want a peanut?
• My way isn't sportsmanlike.

That's a lot of words/phrases as you can see. Good thing we stocked up with 4 bottles of sparkly. 

A few Christmas/Bridal shower pictures

White Elepahnt Gift Exchange



So we had a white elephant with the entire fam. Jessica and Andrew picked the "Shake Weight", which was quickly stolen by Grandma. As you can see, she really wanted it.



Love!



Cole is very uspet about this gift.



Kyle took the safe road and grabbed the gift card. Smart man.

Bridal Shower for Jessica!

These are the three wedding dress options created for Jessica during her bridal shower. Trinity was by far the winner!



Winning team.



Andrew told us that his favorite color is black, so Emily and I bought Jessica these very adorable undies, which I think Andrew will appreciate very much. Heck, he might even want to wear them himself!

Very Very sexy.

Congratulations you two love birds!

The Christmas Cramerbarger Creation

I know it's past Christmas and it feels like spring out there, but this still cracks me up every time I watch it. Thanks Mom for putting this together!

The Cramer Crew

My family needed some pictures with our new member (Curt)! So I set up the tripod and we all put on our best smiles, and they turned out great! 

Kind of angelic, don't you think?