listomania

• my next tattoo appointment for my sleeve is this weekend! I can't wait to get some work done now that I have some birthday money to spend. I plan on at least getting the rest of the color done, and hopefully will be able to start on the background as well. ideally, I'd like to get it finished, but I don't know how long I'll be able to sit. we shall see! 

photo taken after my last tattoo session in October.

•  we have been total rockstars when it comes to gymin' it up. we've successfully worked out at least 3 days a week for 4 weeks now, and it feels amazing! I took spin class last Wednesday and had a serious case of the DOMS until Sunday, so I spent a few days doing upper body exercises. I downloaded an app on my phone to track my workout routine, and it's really helped to make sure I'm working all of my muscles and I can even check to see that my form is spot on. I've noticed a huge difference in my strength and I can tell that I'm slimming down again after my month long hiatus during the winter. 

• regular season hockey is almost over! I'm counting on my Caps to bring home the Stanley Cup this year... that is, as long as we can make it out of the first round. we're hoping to score tickets for at least ONE playoff game this season... if they're in our budget, of course.

photo taken from last season's game 7 of round 1 against Montreal, which we lost.

• I'm walking on May 1st for our local March of Dimes, and I could NOT be more proud of our team. so far, we've succeeded in becoming the largest team in our area and one of our members is currently in 4th place for most money raised by an individual. we are walking in honor and support of our friend's baby Gianna, as well as others babies who were born too soon. so far, we've raised almost $2,000! if you'd like to help us out and donate (or if you're local and would like to walk with us), you can check out my personal page. go to the homepage for our team (appropriately named Gianna & The Baby Steppers) to read more about Gianna's story! 

photo belongs to Gianna's mama, Stephanie. don't steal, or I will CUT YOU.

• speaking of participation, I decided to sign up for the April Photo Hunt Challenge - you can find the link over on my sidebar under "Current Projects." I've been a huge slacker when it comes to taking photographs on a regular basis, so I'm hoping that the challenge will give me a little more motivation to get my camera out more often. I think now that the weather is nicer, I'll have more interest in getting out and about with my camera. 

• I need a vacation. badly. or I might kill someone. I have 4 weeks left of classes, which includes 3 more discussion posts, 1 more essay (600-700 words), 1 research paper (1200 words), and the final exam, which is in essay format. I am SO ready to be done. 

Happy Tuesday! 

holly freaking homemaker [late post]

yeah, that's me. at least this week. ;) 

NOTE: Blogger hates me and did not automatically post this on Saturday, even though I had it scheduled to. 

I've decided it's time to be a grown up... meaning that I've got to start pitching in with cooking dinner and keeping up with the house. which means... no more waiting until the weekend, only to spend an entire day cleaning the crap out of my house. no more leaving dishes in the sink until I feel like washing them. no more unhealthy (yet incredibly easy) meals for dinner. no more buying crap food for lunch everyday at work. 

I'm proud to say that I haven't bought lunch at work in two weeks! it's amazing how much money you save when you just bring your own food to work everyday. this whole concept is completely foreign to me, but I think it's been a success so far! 

everyday when I get home, I try to do one or two small things around the house... like scoop the litter boxes or vacuum the hardwood floors. when we're finished with dinner, the dishes get washed and put in the dish drain, and the put away the following day. I'm cooking dinner at least 2-3 times a week, and I'm loving it. 

keeping up with the house work/chores and cooking meals together every night has proved to be awesome for Sean and I. we get that time in the evening to bond with each other instead of going our separate ways and fending for ourselves for dinner. unfortunately, we had been guilty of doing that in the past. teaming up to make sure the house is always in order is an automatic ego boost for both of us and we feel awesome about it. 

we decided we wanted to have our friends Kaycie & Adam over this Sunday. the Caps play at 12:30, and then of course, there's the Superbowl on later in the evening. since they'll be at our house pretty much all day, I decided to go all out and have a feast throughout the day. I've been searching allrecipes.com for good appetizer recipes, and I think I finally have a set list of dishes to make. 

let me just mention that I am not a chef... I typically do not cook and I certainly don't cook appetizers. so this is a first for me, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they turn out well!

Sunday Funday Menu

APPS

• Homemade Meatballs with Kaley's secret meatball sauce ;)
• Dill Veggie Dip, served with baby carrots, sliced cucumbers, broccoli florets, and cherry tomatoes
• Sweet Fruit Dip, served with sliced apples, bananas, strawberries, and cantaloupe
• Bacon Wrapped Shrimp (I'm substituting the BBQ sauce for a pre-packaged McCormick's marinade)

DINNER

• Garden Salad with Italian dressing and garlic croutons
• Baked Ziti, served with cheesy garlic bread

DESSERT

• Chocolate Candy Bar Dessert (using Oreo cookies instead of wafers and Snickers candy bars)

so there it is, my first ever multi-course dinner menu! I'm pretty excited about all of this, to be honest. I actually cooked Sean's chicken Parmesan (his favorite) as a belated birthday meal a few weeks ago, along with the chocolate roll cake. I honestly just kind of winged it for the chicken Parm, so I guess I can't really post a recipe for that, but I do have pictures. if I have the time this weekend, those posts will be up! 

I'm also still working on a book review for The Help, but I'm having a hard time finding the time to put sufficient energy into it. I'm in the middle of reading 3 different books right now, but all is being put on hold for The Hunger Games. I've had multiple people tell me (just this week!) that they couldn't put it down and they read it fairly quickly (we're talking a day here), so I figured I'd go ahead and pick it up. I need a page turner right now to distract me from my English class. 

I think that's all for now... at least all my brain can handle at the moment. I hope you all are doing fantastic - I'm working on catching up on your recent posts! have a happy weekend, everyone!  

UPDATE: I went out with Sean and his friends last night and got completely way too drunk, resulting in the worst hangover known to man. I've spent the majority of the day in the bathroom puking my brains out. the only dish I actually cooked today was the meatballs... Kaycie and Sean cooked everything else. and for the record, my meatballs were delicious. 

blogsitting! :D

I did a little blogsitting over at 

Becca's place (life in technicolor.) 

yesterday - head over and check it out! 

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PS - my Washington Capitals are the
2011 Winter Classic Champs! 
woooo! sorry, Pens fans!
I'm wondering if Crosby is at home crying today... hmmm.
I wish I could have gone to the game,
but we had a great time watching
and celebrating with friends!

Happy Weekending!

Caps + snow + renovation update

welp, the Caps lost again last night, making it 7 in a row now. we still had a great time at the game despite the loss, but it was definitely disappointing to walk out of Verizon after losing.

our seats were great, but when the teams came out for pre-game practice, I quickly realized that we were in puck flying zone, and I was MORE than terrified that I'd end up getting hit in the face with a puck. I was scared for my life, I'm not gunna lie. I made sure to tell Sean to watch out for me, because I have a delayed reaction time when it comes to those kind of things. luckily, I was safe and no pucks made it over the net to our seats. 

 from our seats before practice started (section 115, row x)

hello, my loves. 

yikes, my hair is lookin' rough. but he's cute in his pea coat! ;)

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OH, and guess what I get to look at all day?

that's right - we're finally getting a decent amount of snow here in the DC area, and I couldn't be more excited! now, ask me again how I'm feeling when I'm driving home tonight, but for now, I'm happy. I love the snow... as long as we're not getting multiple feet of it, of course. I'll be content with just a few inches on the ground... just enough to make it look pretty. 

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also - the contractor's are juuuust about done with the kitchen in our house, and I can't wait to share it with you guys. it's been a long journey with this room and we ended up cheating and just paying someone to do the work because we just couldn't find the time to complete it. I'm so happy with how the kitchen looks now. I'm going to try to take pictures tonight, but I might wait til the weekend when I can get some good light (and a good cleaning!). 

they're also working on replacing the ceiling that caved in a few months back, so things are kind of a mess right now - we have an oversize chair and ottoman in the kitchen and baker's racks in the living room! I'm not digging the chaos, but I know it'll be worth it when it's all finished. I can't wait to have my home back to normal! 

 this is what my living room looked like when I got home on Tuesday =/

Happy Thursday!

PS - if you're joining me from the ALMOST Friday blog hop, welcome! 

have a look around, take a seat, and grab yourself a drink. enjoy!

October Photo Hunt | B&W with Selective Coloring

Alexander Ovechkin <3

what a view!

this was the view from our seats last night at the Capitals vs. Bruins game: 

 

yep, that would be FOUR rows from the glass. 

the best part? we were in the corner of the rink, so there were quite a few cute faces pushed up against that glass right in front of me. 

I'll have more pictures to share tonight!

I'm looking forward to...

(shamelessly stealing this idea from Jessi over at Caterpillar Family Blog)

- finally getting my tattoo colored and filled this weekend. it's been a long journey to get this much work done, and I'm ready for it to be complete. I love this tattoo, and it means SO much to me. it's the place I grew up, it's my home, it will always be my home. I'm proud to represent Maryland.

- going out of town next weekend (October 8-10) to visit some extended family on my mom's side. twice a year, everyone gets together and makes apple butter - and I mean the whole nine yards... picking, peeling, cooking, churning, and canning.

I haven't been there for this event since I was a kid. I'm so, so, so excited to see my second cousin and her babies. we spent every single summer together growing up... running a muck and causing riots and just getting into all kinds of trouble in general.

she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and I haven't seen her since that day, which was over a year ago! she has since given birth to her second child (little girl, Ella) and I cannot wait to meet her. her son, Peyton is so big now, and I can only imagine how he smart he is with a grade-A mama like her! I really just can't wait to spend some quality time with those that I don't get to see often.

- going to see the Washington Capitals take on the Boston Bruins on October 19th with my lova lova. football season is number one in this house, but hockey season comes in at a close second. I can't wait to watch the Caps play their hearts out this season! I'm hoping they continue the dominance they showed last season!

- seeing Louis CK perform live stand up comedy on October 22nd. we've seen him twice before, and he is HILARIOUS. all caps necessary. he has a show on FX (I think?) called Louie, and it's pretty witty and amusing, but nothing compares to the raw talent that is his stand up. he is, hands down, one of my favorite comedians.

VIDEO = NSFW

- my best friend, Kaley, is turning 26 years old in a few weeks! her birthday celebration, which is also being combined with Kath's birthday, takes place on October 23rd. they're starting with dinner at the Melting Pot (NOM!), followed by a little low key shindig at Kaley's house. I'm really excited to have a night with some of my favorite ladies, where nothing but good times is had. AND I'm thrilled to give Kaley her birthday present! :D

- H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N! Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love getting dressed up and hanging out with friends. obviously, we don't have kids yet, so we don't do the whole trick or treating thing, but we make sure to hit a few parties every year and celebrate appropriately! Sean and I have already purchased our costumes for this year, and while we're not matching like we usually do, they're still pretty great. I'll reveal what they are in a future post!

here are our costumes from last year: we were a shotgun wedding. :)

- seeing Daniel Tosh's stand up on November 6th. I've seen bits and pieces of his show, Tosh.0, which is pretty funny, so I'm sure his stand up will be good as well. seeing comedians live is one of my favorite things to do, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed. :)

what are YOU looking forward to?

Tom Petty, preseason football, and the await of hockey season

I still haven't finished all the laundry from our trip to the beach. and I'm not even worried about it.

One thing I am worried about though, is that I'm training at the gym tonight for the first time in two weeks. I didn't go to the gym ONCE when I was on vacation, so I'm definitely going to have a tough time tonight, and I'm sure I'll be super sore tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting back on schedule though. I'm also considering checking out a spinning class to take once or twice a week, but I'm a little nervous. I spent a little time on a stationery bike, and that thing was HORRIBLE for my butt - it was so uncomfortable... so I don't know how I'll last an hour. Anyone have an recommendations/suggestions/rants/raves about spinning class?

Since we were at the beach for a week, I didn't once put on a pair of jeans. It was a little rainy on Sunday for the Tom Petty concert Sunday night, so I decided to throw on a pair of denims. I was shocked to discover that they were LOOSE. Like, really loose. Like, I could pull them down passed my ass without even unbuttoning them. THAT LOOSE. You can't even imagine my excitement. I was indeed SO thrilled, that I wore them to work the next day (yes, two days in a row... without washing them... you know you never wash your jeans) just to show my coworkers how they weren't skin tight anymore. 

Speaking of Tom Petty, the show was AMAZING. I was completely blown away... I'd never seen him live before, so I was pleasantly surprised at how great his performance was... especially for a guy who's been around for a LONG time. He played all my favorites, including Free Fallin', Maryjane, and You Don't Know How It Feels. I got video of all three songs, and I'm hoping to have time to upload them to YouTube sometime this week. Wait, it's Thursday. So maybe I'll get to it at some point this weekend? I didn't bring my camera in with me, but here are a few pictures from my cell phone. 

Saturday afternoon/evening, we're going to our first football game of the season - the Redskins/Ravens preseason game. We bought 12 tickets and we have an awesome group of friends going with us, so I'm sure it'll be a slammin' time. We'll arrive at FedEx Field when the parking lot opens and tailgate for a few hours before heading into the stadium. I'm hoping that the weather is nice, since the last time we went to a Battle of the Beltway preseason game, it POURED down rain and we ended up soaking wet. Either way, it's going to be a good start to the football season! 

Here's a picture from that game. I believe this was back in 2007... maybe 2008?

Speaking of football, I may or may not have mentioned this, but I am a Redskins fan and my husband is a Ravens fan. This means that we do not get along during football season, but since Sean has season tickets for home Ravens game, we don't see much of each other to argue. With the addition of McNabb and a new head coach, I'm hoping our record will surpass those of recent years. At least that way, I won't have to hear Sean tell me every.single.weekend how bad my team sucks. Is anyone everyone else as excited as I am for football season to finally be here?

ALSO, I cannot wait for hockey season to start! I'm so, so, so excited to see what the Caps have to bring this year. We're considering going to Pittsburgh for the Winter Classic (Pens vs. Caps) for New Year's Day, but it seems as if tickets are really expensive (as in, the cheapest tickets I could find were $328 a PIECE), so we might have to hold off and wait til the WC is in DC next year. We shall see, but either way, I'm stoked for hockey season to start so I can root for our Washington Capitals, and maybe even make it to a few games. 

Welp, that's all I've got for now. Happy Thursday!

Wedding Wednesday - V. X

I hope I'm getting these roman numerals right, or I'm just going to look like a giant douchebag... nothing new there! anywhozits, welcome back to Wedding Wednesday, folks, where I shamelessly post some fab pictures from my wedding and you get to tell me how pretty I am. don't you love how it works out that way? if you'd like to be nosy and see past installments of WW, feel free to click right on over here.

as of today, we are one month and one day away from our 2 year "engage-iversary"... otherwise known as the day we got engaged. I know, I know, that was hard to figure out. soooo, in celebration of having this gorgeous rock on my finger for almost 2 years, I'm going to post pictures of it... professional pictures that is... and I may or may not just break the rules and post some pictures of our rings on the beaches of Hawaii from our honeymoon. maybe.

first, I should probably explain the rings. when Mr. FoFandee proposed to me (over Five Guys Burgers & Fries and the TV in the background... he's such a romantic), he gave me a princess cut solitaire ring. I loved it. love, love, LOVED it. and then somewhere along the wedding planning process, I decided that I wanted a solitaire enhancer as my wedding band... so I got it.

and THEN, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the enhancer just made it look like I had a gigantic engagement ring. I told the Mister I'd like to get a new band, and I'd return the original enhancer... I just didn't want it to look like I was only engaged... I wanted my jewelry to show that I was married... get what I'm sayin? so in the end, he told me to keep the enhancer and get the other wedding band as well... which is exactly what I did. for reference, here's a picture of my original engagement ring (from our engagement session, also taken by the lovely Jen Lowe.



As always, all photos are credited to the lovely and talented Jen, from JLowe Photos. If you'd like to see more of her work, feel free to visit her blog here.

and here are the ones I took on our honeymoon:

yep, that's it. I think that's all the pictures I got of our rings. somehow I thought there were more. oh well.

I'm hoping to have some time at work today to update you guys on our kitchen! we finally had our contractor come out and quote us for removing, leveling, and replacing the floors, and they showed up yesterday morning to start working! right now my kitchen is a big gaping hole, but I can't wait to see when it's done!

OH, and since the Caps decided to take it all the way to game 7, we bought tickets to wish them a little luck. so tonight, I'll be rockin' the red and cheerin' on my boys to take the first round!

Happy Wednesday!

riddle me this

I have an irrational fear of being hit by flying objects... more specifically, baseballs and hockey pucks at sporting events. I'm also one of those idiots who, when seeing a flying object coming towards my windshield, I duck. inside my car. where the flying item cannot touch me.


I'm pretty sure that I'm -----><----- this close to having a heart attack every time the Caps play. including right now.


I have a pimple popping addiction. it's gross, I know, but I can't help it. sometimes I rub Mr. MandeeFoFandee's back just to feel for bigguns that I can squeeze. it also helps that he squirms like a little girl every time I get a good one.


when people talk to me about their kids, I automatically think of a similar story I could tell involving my cats. I always compare their kids' actions to something my cat(s) did at one point in time. I'm always telling people about stupid shit my cats do, and how hilarious it was. I don't think anyone really gets it but me, haha.


I am completely and utterly freakedthefuckout by fruit flies.




alright, that's all I got right now. the Caps game is gettin' serious and I need to pay attention. night, bitches!

picture rewind - Caps game!

as I've mentioned before, we went to the Caps vs. Rangers game on March 6th - the tickets were a Valentine's Day gift for the hubs. I got the tickets from my friend Sunny, who has season tickets, but doesn't attend all the games. the seats were in section 114 - AMAZING compared to where we usually sit. anyway, the Caps won 2-0, which obviously made for a good time for us! the $7.50 beers didn't hurt either! being so close to the ice, I had to take the opportunity to takes tons of pictures, so here ya go!

you'll notice that most of the pictures are of Mr. Alex Ovechkin. he's my fave, clearly.

if you're a hockey fan and want to see a good game with lots of hits and goals, make sure to tune into the Caps vs. Pens game tonight! ;)

slacker alert!

I haven't been posting as often as I usually do - I'm so sorry! I've been really busy at work, and at home... I haven't even uploaded pictures from the Caps game that was almost two weeks ago! I may or may not be a little bitter that my man Ovi was suspended during the game for a COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED HIT.

but don't worry - Wedding Wednesday is still in the works for tomorrow (yep, I just heard your sigh of relief), and I have some pictures of an extremely cute baby to share as well.

and maybe a post on babies. just maybe. and NO, I am not knocked up - and if I were, I would be chugging a beer as I type with a cigarette in the other hand. kidding! but I have been thinking about pregnancy lately (it probably has something to do with the fact that pretty much EVERY woman I know is either pregnant, or has had a baby recently), along with the pros and cons of little humans in general. the consensus says I'm not ready and won't be for quite some time, so don't get excited just yet.

anyway, I hope everyone is having a good start to the week - the weather was beautiful here in DC today, and it's only supposed to get warmer as the week goes on! I hope it remains warm for my birthday celebration that's taking place this weekend.

oh, and my birthday is exactly one week away. I just added this glue gun to my Amazon wish list. cause I neeeeeeeedz one, and this one seems to be the Bentley of glue guns.

it has some excellent reviews, and it's made by 3M, and let's face it, they're pretty fucking reliable when it comes to adhesive projects. am I right, or am I right? anyone have any other recommendations when it comes to these multi-tasking wonders? let a bitch know!

Happy Tuesday!

tidbits

Dear Olympics,

Thank you for being over. don't get me wrong, I'm patriotic and shit, but I'm so ready for NHL hockey to be back! I can't wait to watch the Capitals play from section 114 this Saturday. I finally get to rock my Ovechkin jersey I got for Christmas. wooo!

Love,
MandeeFoFandee

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Dear Spring,


hurry.the.fuck.up.

source

Regards,

Sick Of Winter

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Dear Face,

I would really appreciate it if you would stop breaking the fuck out all the time. You never bothered me in my teen years, and you didn't start acting all wonky until the past two years or so. I'm working on finding a skincare regiment that works for you, but it doesn't really help when I can't tell what is and isn't working due to having mini skin breakouts ALL the time. I would especially appreciate it if you could clear up before my birthday celebration on the 20th... where there is guaranteed to be cameras galore.

Always,
Annoyed With My Skin

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Dear Creator(s) Of Spartacus Blood & Sand,

THANK YOU for the deliciousness that is Andy Whitfield, and for the mass amount of penis shots during the show. I'm sick of seeing boobs on TV... and even though Mr. MandeeFoFandee hates it, I enjoy seeing a good looking man with his junk hangin' out every once in a while. andalso, if you could somehow convince Andy Whitfield to come to Maryland and visit me, that would be amazing. oh, and the premise of the show is pretty sweet too. ;)

Love,
Andy Whitfield's #1 Fan EVAR

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Dear Pottery Barn,

It would seriously make my entire year if you could please drop the price of the Samantha Bench... for my entryway. I would gladly pay full price for the item, if it weren't for the fact that the bench alone is $400... and then I have to buy the cushion for $75, and the baskets for $34 a piece. yes, I realize I could make my own cushion and buy the baskets elsewhere, but damnit, I love a total package. I just want to finish my entryway. is that too much to ask?

Sincerely,
Refuses to Pay Full Price for ANYTHING

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Dear Lily,

You are one hairy bitch. I'm so sick of vacuuming "your spot" on the couch every single weekend. You should really start sleeping somewhere else. This is a time when I'm SO glad we decided to not let you and your brother and sisters in the bedroom any longer. I can only imagine how furry our bed would be. Next time I try to brush you, stay still. Then I won't have to yell at you while vacuuming every Saturday.

Love,
Yo Mama

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Dear Andy Whitfield,

Have I mentioned that I love you? seriously. I would even let you go ATM if you wanted. that's how hot you are. orrrr that's how obsessed with you I am. whatevs.



Your Future Wife,
MandeeFoWhitfield



Happy Monday, bitches!