Life in pictures

Sometimes life does get to busy to take the time to write about it - no matter how much fun you're having. I'm not complaining, I know I'm blessed. Right now my day consist of working 8-5, stopping by the hotel and then going to the gym, around 8:30 I shower, return emails, work some more, 10ish - catch up onlife, laundry, etc. and go to bed around midnight. The weekends are spent travelling home, so it doesn't leave a lot of free time. 


To catch up on blogging, here's a glimpse of life in pictures...

We had a absolute blast in NYC!!

NYC

NYC

Here's a few from my trip home over the weekend...

Beach Day

Pepper's Date

Baby Kisses!

Blooming in CT

Blooming....at night

 That's all for now, I'm hoping that things settle down a bit soon!

xoxo, Brittany B.

Nashville Star

   Last weekend Keith and I flew to Nashville unexpectedly for a funeral. Nashville had never been on my radar as a place I wanted to visit, but we thought we would take the opportunity to explore the city for a day before the funeral. We were looking for something fun and not overly "touristy" to do. I had no interest in the Country Music Hall of fame and I'm pretty sure I would have had to drag Keith in kicking and screaming. We spent the day wandering around the city, and lucked up with amazing tickets to see Keith Urban at the Grand Ole Opry on Friday night. We skipped the 1st hour of the show because we didn't know the performers and thought we might hate it...

Delightful!

     Surprisingly, Keith enjoyed the concert so much that he bought front row tickets for us to go back the very next night to see Brad Paisley & Luke Bryan! He brought his cousins Philip & Abby along too. Abby & I had an awesome time, she touched Luke Bryan 3 times and was so excited about it. We took so many videos and pictures with our regular camera, but all you get is the crappy iPhone pictures :p

You can't see that Luke Bryan is behind us b/c of the lights :(

Love me some Brad Paisley...

Keith & I before the Opry

     We didn't get in from the concert until very late, somehow we managed to get a flat tire on the way home... The next morning we had to get up early to get ready for Keith's uncles funeral. His uncle was only 59 and passed away of stomach cancer (it's actually his second cousin, but he was more like an uncle) Funerals are always so terribly sad...a few words that the pastor said really stuck with me. He said that Keith's uncle had an infectious enthusiasm for life and that people were drawn to him because of it. Keith is exactly the same way! Of course, we were reminded to never take one second of life for granted. After leaving the funeral we headed directly back to the airport, but I did make Keith slow down to snap a picture of the beautiful Dogwood trees that were in bloom everywhere!

Beeeeeeeeeaaauuutttiiifffuuullllll

   And of course, you need a goodbye kiss picture....

smooch!

   We got exciting news today that we are soon getting a nephew from my baby brother. We have been waiting for weeks to find out what they are having. 


   Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for... NEW YORK! Keith booked an amazing room with a terrace and I COULD. NOT. BE. MORE. EXCITED! I'll be boring you with those pictures very soon!
~xoxo, Brittany B.
  

Mystic Pizza

Baby,  it's cold outside!

    It started with a few tiny snowflakes... It may be hard to tell in the picture above, but the snow was just starting to fall. Keith and I had been waiting for this moment since the day we arrived in Connecticut. We had already warned our co-workers that if it started snowing we would be making frequent trips outside. True to our word when we looked out the window and saw snow we immediately went outside. At first I was worried that the snow wouldn't stick, but it eventually started to. We went back to work and peeked out every so often to check on the progress. As soon as I saw that there was a layer of white on the ground we bundled up and headed out again.

White jacket...White snow :)

    At this point it really started to snow, and we were so happy! People in the hospital thought we were nuts... I was acting like a kid on Christmas and Keith was thrilled. After a few minutes of this there was enough snow to make a baby snowman.

 

    Then I got hungry....

NOM NOM NOM

    And then we kissed!

SMOOCH!

    We left work and went to Target where we found sleds for $2. We found the nearest hill and acted like kids in elementary school. We sledded and made snow angels and froze because we didn't have proper snow attire. It was so so so soooooooo much fun.

   For the weekend, we were supposed to go to NYC. We found out that it was going to be nasty weather and we decided to postpone that trip and go somewhere closer instead. There really isn't a lot to do in CT so we picked a town on the coast and headed that way. We wound up in Mystic, CT which is actually and adorable town. There was a cute area with shops that reminded me of Center St. back home. We managed to find plenty of souvenirs for Lauren :)

In downtown Mystic...

    If you look closely you can see the tiny signs above out heads, this was in the downtown area. We had lunch at Mystic Pizza, which is actually the same Mystic Pizza that the movie was filmed at. I didn't even know there was such a movie, but I now intend to watch it. (It has to be good, right? Julie Roberts is in it...) The pizza was absou-freakin'=loutely delicious.

Delish!

     This weekend we are hoping to go to NYC if the weather is decent. I can't wait to spend some time in Central Park. Keith is really excited about getting a hotdog from a street vendor...


    That's all for now!
~xoxo, Brittany

Here & There & Everywhere

   Today is my first day back at work after my fun weekend home. Our plane arrived in Orlando on Thursday and we had to drive to Fernandina. We got home so late that we didn't have a chance to see anyone! 

Flying over Florida

    I was super happy that I was babysitting Lauren on Friday. I soooo look forward to my time with her. Keith and I took her to Target and she insisted on walking by loudly yelling, "WALK!" until we put her down. She is at the age where she repeats single words and will answer you when you ask her "What does a frog say" so I am trying to teach her to say "I love you" when you ask her "What does Aunt Brittany" say. So far she only has the "I" down.

I ain't smiling for nobody!

Ok...maybe one smile

   Friday night Keith and I were able to watch Karli and Lauren and they had the best time together! We threw them in the bathtub and they took turns dumping water on each others heads.

 Splash!

    Late Friday night I drove back to Orlando for work and Hannah came with me. She stayed at the hotel all day Saturday and read a book. (Big Surprise) Saturday night after work we went to Crispers for dinner and then came back to the hotel to do our couch-to-5k run. Hannah managed to slip on the treadmill about 2 minutes into the run. I laughed so hard when she fell that I had to recover for 5 minutes before I could run again!

Hannah taking a break...

Sweaty, but happy!

    Sunday Hannah came to the hospital with me because my shift was so short. We had fun checking out the Disney Pavilion.

The Little Mermaid was my favorite when I was growing up!

I wanna be like you-ooo-ooo

 

    After my shift on Sunday we drove back to Fernandina and Keith & I had dinner at Pepper's with our friends and then visited my cousins. Whitney & BJ are used to stopping by my aunt's house after our Pepper's dates and my family loves seeing Karli!

Me & Jenna

Having a stroke I think...

Lots of girls!

    Monday after a hair appointment and accountant appointment we had lunch at Barbara Jean's with family. I bribed Lauren by taking her outside on the deck which she loves!

BAD picture of me, but look how Lauren is laughing!

Blurry but beautiful!

All the ladies after lunch

    Monday afternoon was spent hanging out with my family and squeezing in as much time with them as we could! We got a little silly and snapped a few family pictures.

As close to a smile as you'll ever get from my dad

Snuggling on the couch

Jared took this picture and cropped off my head!

Tutus are perfectly acceptable on Mondays

    I actually cried when we got in the car to leave for the airport. I won't be home again until the last weekend in March. I'll miss my family so much! Lauren came outside to wave goodbye to us.

Bye Bye Britt Britt!

On our connecting flight from Baltimore to Connecticut we ate at a diner that had a mini jute-box you could play at your booth.

    The flight had WiFi so I was able to FaceTime Hannah from the plane!

Hi Hannah

    Today we got back to business at the hospital, but since there are so many pictures in this post I decided to snap one more of Keith & I working.

I do love this boy

   I know this post is short on words, but it's late and I'm off to do my couch-to-5K run! Until next time...

~xoxo, Brittany B.

Natural Born Worrier

    Today we will be hopping on a plane at 2:30 and landing at 5:30. Then immediately driving from Orlando to Fernandina and should arrive sometime around 9. Tomorrow is my only real day off, and I get to spend it babysitting Lauren (which is time I treasure!) and then plan to go to a club-esqe class with Whitney at 5:30. After the class I will drive back to Orlando so I can work Saturday & Sunday. Sunday after work I will drive back from Orlando to Fernandina and will get in around 8. Monday I have a very early appt. to "get my hair did" at 8:30 (thank you, Miranda!) and then Keith and I meet with an accountant at 10. Hopefully I can grab lunch with my family and chill for a bit before we catch our flight from Jacksonville to Connecticut at 5pm.

    I say all of this because I often think of life in "hours I can't get back." For instance, I'll spend 7.5 hours in a rental car this weekend just to go back and forth to work. 6 hours in the sky traveling to/from home.  16 hours working in Orlando. Only 18 hours will actually be spent surrounding myself with the people I love. Precious hours that I CAN'T GET BACK will be spent just going from point A to point B. 

   I think that becoming a nurse caused me to think this way. When I work at the bedside I see life at its most fragile and vulnerable state, but even when I'm not at work I view life like that. It's also because I'm a natural worrier. I worry about flying, landing, driving in traffic. I worry about if I'll be on time to work. I worry about things that probably won't even come to pass. I worry about the past, present and the future. I truly envy people who have a carefree existence and spend their lives just living. Not thinking about time being wasted... just enjoying the moment they're in.
  Lately I've made a conscious effort to spend more time enjoying the present, but today I've fallen back into my worrying habits. I think it's the stress of the plane ride. Everything will be fine again once my feet are firmly planted on solid ground in Fernandina. 
~xoxo, Brittany B. 

Soda...The Other Love of my Life

How Soda Impacts You

    Many of you may not know, but I am a former soda junkie. I LOVE Soda, Coke is my all time favorite. Is there anything better than a large fountain coke? I think not. It's not like I would just have a soda every now and then; I had one with breakfast, lunch and dinner. If it wasn't soda it was sweet tea. When I started working in Orlando I found out the campus only sold Pepsi products (insert disgusted sigh here.) I had to quickly find an alternative to the Coke I loved so much; it came in the form of Mountain Dew. I went from drinking 3-4 sodas or tea a day, to 4 glasses of Mountain Dew. I didn't know it at the time, but Mountain Dew has about 50 calories more per serving than coke does!

    After a few months in Orlando I stepped on the scale and realized I had put on 4 pounds. WHAT! That can't be right.... but it was. Yes, I went out to eat frequently, but I would be willing to bet money that those sneaky pounds came from the soda I was consuming. I decided I wanted to cut out soda and tea once and for all!  I knew it would be hard because I consumed so many sodas a day that I would get terrible caffeine headaches if I didn't have a drink by 10am. I was also the most irritable and cranky person you have ever met (no exaggeration) if I couldn't get some caffeine in my system early. After seeing the above graph one afternoon I decided that I would power through the headaches and quit drinking the stuff. I've always known how bad soda is, I'm a nurse for crying out loud! After two days of near-tear inducing headaches I smartened up and had one Excedrin in the morning (just one of those has more caffeine than a can of coke!) After two weeks I stopped taking the Excedrin and found that the headaches were gone.

   I'm happy to say that yesterday marked 2 months since I've had any soda. I won't even drink diet soda because they are just as bad but without the calories. Now I only drink water, and on occasion diet cranberry/raspberry Snapple. I do miss the taste of Coke, but I no longer crave them like I did when I drank them all the time. 

   I have so much more energy since giving it up, and I get more sleep at night. I also think my bones, teeth, and heart are very appreciative! I'm eating healthier and exercising and I've replaced my standard soda can with a hhhuugggeeee bottle of water. I really do feel an amazing difference.

                     Say what you want, but Fiji water really is the best!

Bottom's Up!

~xoxo, Brittany

Things I miss...

 Traveling is one of the best things about my job. I love that I've been able to spend time in different places and experience things that I normally wouldn't. Since June of last year Keith and I have spent more nights away from home than I can count. For this year we have been checked into a hotel for 55 nights, and there have only been 49 days in the year so far. (Some weekends we are in different locations.)

  I'm very lucky that I am able to travel home as much as I do to see my family and friends. My heart goes out to everyone who is away from their family and can't visit like I get to! Every time Keith and I are home for a weekend we rush to see everyone we can in such a short amount of time, and we never make it to see everyone we wanted to. 

Look, I'm a Panda!

  I miss everyone in my family more than they know! Hannah has always been my go-to person to take with me to Target, run errands, go to the beach with, or just do nothing at all with. I miss her company all the time! Lauren is probably who I miss the most; I love snuggling up to her every chance I can while I'm home. When she's very, very sleepy she likes to lay her head on your shoulder and bury her head in your neck, one of my favorite times to be around her. She's smart, stubborn, determined and reminds me a little bit of me ;) I face time her every chance I get, but it's not the same as being with her in person. I also talk to my mom all the time on the phone, but hardly ever talk to my dad or brother because they are always working or busy.

  Keith and I are incredibly blessed to have the jobs that we do, but no amount of money in the world could ever make me as happy as my family does. It helps a lot to know that the jobs/locations are only temporary, and that our house is waiting for us right where we left it. I also can't believe how fortunate we have been to travel together for the past several months. There may come a time when we land separate contracts, but for now our project is scheduled to last through June.

  I know that I'm going to have a blast traveling to the fun spots Keith and I have picked to visit on the weekends, but the trip I look forward to the most is the one going home every month. Until then, I hope my family know how much I love them (pretty sure they do!)

Sunset from above the clouds on our plane ride last night.

~xoxo, Brittany B.