We're Officially Maconites!

Wow...it's been 2 months since I've posted anything but I have a good excuse. Between being home alone without Johny for nearly 6 weeks, packing up our entire house, moving to Macon, Thanksgiving, a new territory & getting settled into our new apartment...life has been a bit crazy!

We moved to Macon the weekend before Thanksgiving & we're really enjoying life here. Things are a little slower paced & there's NO traffic. Did you hear that?!?! NO TRAFFIC!!! Dooley has settled in nicely. We were worried about him living in an apartment but so far he's been great. Johny is so happy at his new job & that makes me happy. He is challenged everyday & feels like this is where he's supposed to be. I'm enjoying my new territory as well. It's a lot of driving but the people in Central & South GA are so sweet & laid back. It's a nice change of pace. We have started going to Ingleside Baptist Church which is where Johny grew up going as a child. I think we're going to love it there & look forward to getting involved at the first of the year.

We can't believe Christmas is almost here! This is my favorite time of the year but things have been so hectic this year, it seems like it's just flying by. We debated long & hard about whether or not to get a Christmas tree this year since we have a little terrorist living in our apartment that loves to get into everything but in the end we gave in. Dooley has nearly eaten every branch off the bottom half of the tree & we couldn't put all our ornaments out but it's still a Christmas tree & puts us in the Christmas spirit.

Today officially began my vacation for the next 4 days & I'm really looking forward to a break! I have a little more shopping to do & then it's time to wrap all these presents! Tomorrow we plan to bake our goodies, relax, go to the Christmas Eve service at church & then welcome The Campbell side of the family to Macon! It's going to be a great weekend!

We wish you & your family a very Merry Christmas!!! Remember the reason for the season!

With love,
Kristin

The Ricks Family Update...

It's been forever since my last blog update...I really thought I would be better at this blogging thing but turns out I'm not. I promise to start updating more often.

We have had a lot transpire over the past month since my last blog.

First, Johny has taken a new job with a company out of Macon. It is a wonderful opportunity for him & for our family. He will be doing the same thing he was doing (selling material handling equipment) in Atlanta but for a much larger company out of Macon. He'll be covering Central & South GA. So, this means we're MOVING! Luckily, I work for a wonderful company who is willing to transfer me to Macon & allow me to switch around some accounts with other reps to make it work. As most of you know, I love city living so luckily I'll still be traveling to Atlanta twice a month to cover my largest account.

This has been a bittersweet decision for both Johny & myself but we are looking towards our future together & what will be best for our future family. We would like to start a family soon & we just can't do that living in a 2 bedroom townhome in Atlanta. We don't have any family here & quite honestly don't want to pay an outrageous amount of money in daycare. We are both from small towns & loved that lifestyle. We are sad because we have built a family of wonderful friends here in Atlanta. I've lived here for 4 years & absolutely love it but if I'm being honest city life can have its' ups & downs. We are going to miss seeing our friends all the time & just going to grab dinner & drinks on a whim any night of the week. To those friends & you know who you are...we love you very much & appreciate your support during this exciting time in our lives! We love each of you & couldn't imagine life without you! We'll be back often to visit & you're always welcome in MAC town!

So with moving comes some adult decisions. To buy a house or to not buy a house? That's the question of the day. Buying a house is something Johny & I have been wanting for awhile & feel it's just the next step in our marriage. We've been looking & have seen some things we like but just want to make sure we see everything before making such a huge decision. We hope to have a decision made very soon! Please pray that all goes well & we make the best choice for us!

Johny starts his new job in about a week & he'll be traveling quite a bit for training over the next few weeks. I hate being alone & don't ever like to be away from Johny so this could get very interesting! At least, it'll give me plenty of QT with my fav ladies before I move south!

That's just a quick update on our life lately. There's a lot going on but we couldn't be more excited about this next adventure in the Ricks marriage!

Here's to Macon!!!

It's Fall Ya'll!

Well I survived the holiday weekend at work...thank goodness it's over! I am sooooo exhausted for being in heels on concrete floors & driving over 400 miles in 4 days! Craziness.

I just have to say that fall is my favorite season of the year! We always look forward to this time of the year because it means cooler weather & UGA football. Johny is a HUGE football fan & loves the Bulldawgs! We plan on heading to Athens this fall to tailgate with good friends & watch some good 'ole football. Fall also means our annual mountain trip which we decided over the weekend we have to start planning very soon! We have such busy schedules with football & weddings that planning a getaway can be tough...but no worries we will figure it out!

Please say a prayer for our sweet Mr. Dooley. He had to go to the vet today because he has a urinary tract infection. His doctor (who we LOVE) put him on an antibiotic for 10 days & if we don't see a change in the next few days he'll have to go back for further testing. We are hoping it's nothing more serious than a UTI & that he'll be back to normal in no time at all. On a side note...our little bundle of joy weighed in at a whopping 24 lbs today! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! This dog is going to eat us out of house & home! :) He takes after his mom & dad because we don't back away from the table at dinner time either! HAHA!

I hope ya'll have a great week & enjoy this beautiful weather!

Until next time...

Enjoyed A Much Needed Day Off!

As most of you know, I'm in the mattress industry. Yep, it's a totally glamorous job & I get to train people on how to sell mattresses every single day! It's not always an easy job, especially if you didn't get enough sleep the night before...you just want to lay down, grab a blanket & a comfy pillow & take a nap right there in the store! That's not an option because I would totally get fired!

Summer time is our busy season & this summer has been no different. It all starts with Memorial Day then comes July 4th & finally Labor Day. We work the entire weekend & are out there in our stores helping the sales associates sell more Sealy! Labor Day is coming up & it's our biggest time of the year. We have to pull out all the stops so we can get a great start on the 4th quarter. Come next Monday night, I will be mentally & physically exhausted but hopefully all of the hard work will pay off. Because I have to work the entire weekend, I've taken some time off this week to relax & get ready for the weekend.

It all started with sleeping till 9:30 this a.m. which never happens for me anymore. I did a little house cleaning & laundry...ate some lunch & then took a mid afternoon nap! I didn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes you just need a break from the craziness of life!

I have to say the thing I'm looking forward to most this weekend is Sunday night at 6 p.m. when we head to Buckhead Church for Part 3 of Time of Your Life with Andy Stanley LIVE!!! If you've never been to Buckhead Church you should definitely give it a visit...it's amazing!

Here's to hoping all of you have a fun & safe holiday weekend with your family & friends!

Yoga, Playstation 3 & Visitors!

It's been awhile since my last post & we've had lots going on!

I recently decided to take up yoga lessons. I'm the least athletic person you will EVER meet. Seriously, I don't like to break a sweat, it's gross! But...I know it's important to stay healthy & as we get older we need to take care of our bodies. A friend of mine recently became a certified yoga instructor & she offered to give me private lessons until I got the hang of yoga & felt comfortable coming to her classes twice a week at a local gym. She came over this week along with one of my besties & we had our first lesson. I was so nervous because I was seriously injured 4 years ago in a car accident & because of this my body is not very flexible. All in all, it was a great lesson! I was way more flexible than I thought & I loved all of the different poses I learned. I was hooked after one night & felt great the next morning. If you've never tried it, you totally should! I'm really excited for my next lesson this week!

So...Johny & I have been talking about getting a Playstation 3 ever since we bought our large flat screen tv a few years ago. Because Johny doesn't like to spend money at ALL it's taken awhile for him to finally break down & let go of the money. He calls me this week & says he had to stop at Best Buy on his way home from work to go to the bathroom (yea right, he totally planned that stop...people who need to pee on the way home from work typically stop at gas stations & restaurants...not electronic stores) & saw a great deal on a Playstation 3. I want to make a note that this whole time Johny has led me to believe that there were fun games besides sports & killing games that I would also enjoy playing plus the fact that we could watch Blue Rays on it. Here's what I just found out...there is no such thing as a Mario Brothers game for the Playstation 3. I'm pissed. Johny's relationship with this electronic machine is crazy. He compares his love for his new toy to my love of reality tv. Not much I can say to that! Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've had lots of visitors in town lately which we love! Our friend Russell has been in town searching for new jobs. My friend Becky has been here too visiting before she's goes back to teaching in a few weeks! I've loved visiting with her & helping her prepare for baby! I'm a little psycho about making sure she takes care of herself...too funny! :) My parents brought my grandmother up today to visit for the first time since I moved to Atlanta. She's terrified of highways so this was a big step for her! We had lunch at Red Lobster (her fav) to celebrate her recent birthday & then brought her back to our house to meet our puppy, Dooley! She loved playing with him & we loved having them here!

We hope you've had a great week too!

Until next time...

I'm Going to be Aunt!!! (not by blood)

I'm beyond excited that my best friend and her husband are expecting their first child next spring! They've been married for almost 3 years & they've been so excited about trying to have their first baby. I've known her since my first day of college where we met on the front steps of our dorm waiting to pick up the keys to our rooms. We decided to go thru recruitment together & luckily both pledged ADPi (which I might add is the best sorority ever!!!)! We became roommates our sophomore year & then lived together in the sorority house as well. I've been there thru most everything with her & even rememeber when she & her now "husband" started dating. I was there to celebrate with them when they got engaged & stood by their sides as they said "I do!" For as long as I can remember, she has wanted to be a mom. I'm excited that they'll be going on the parenthood journey together! They will be wonderful parents & I'm just excited to be a part of the next step in their lives! God has truly blessed them & I pray that this child will know how very lucky he or she is to have these two people as their parents! Congratulations ya'll...I couldn't be more happy for you!!!

P.S. I think it's a BOY!

Until next time...

Our weekend...

Johny & I had a great weekend just the two of plus & Dooley of course!

It's nice sometimes just to spend time with one another & not really have anything to do. That doesn't seem to happen to us very often so when it does we try & take full advantage. We slept in on Saturday morning (Dooley even slept in too!) and decided to go to the bank to finally get a joint checking account. I've had two identities since our wedding & now I officially feel like I'm Kristin Ricks. Afterwards, we went on a lunch date to a local Vinings restaurant called The Vintage Tavern. We'd seen it before but never tried it. It's one of those great hole in a wall restaurants & the food was awesome! I even loved the zebra fabric that covered the booths...it had a lot of spunk! The food was so yummy & our waitress was great! Johny was pooped after lunch so I took him home & then I went shopping for a few hours with the girls! I'd almost forgotten how great it was to have a weekend off with my girlfriends! Later that night, our friend Annie invited us to her new place for dinner & drinks. It was a great night of fun!

Sunday was the laziest we've been in quite awhile. We moved from the bed to the couch where we watched tv until around 1:00. We ate lunch & returned to the couch because it was raining cats & dogs outside! Mr. Dooley was disappointed because he was looking forward to an afternoon walk. :( We went grocery shopping which is so much more fun now that I'm a coupon clipper! I LOVE saving money & getting that receipt at the end that shows your savings makes me happy! :) I love bargain shopping for sure!

It was a wonderful weekend & I hope there are many more of those ahead now that my work schedule has calmed down a bit. Sometimes it's just nice to take a weekend for yourself & relax.
This coming up weekend we're headed to Macon to see Johny's parents & to celebrate his dad's birthday! Looking forward to it!!!

Until next time...

Home Alone.

For those of you who know me well, you know I HATE being by myself! I'm scared of everything especially the dark & just get bored very easily when I'm alone. Now, don't get me wrong I love having a few hours or a day here & there where it's just me but that's not very often. I love to socialize & if I'm being honest you can only say so much to your sweet pup!

Johny has been in Dallas since Monday for a work conference which has left Dooley & I here in Smryna to fend for ourselves. I was nervous for him to leave me alone as a single parent for 4 days & 3 nights with a rather crazy puppy. So here's how our week went....

Monday night: I dropped Johny off at the airport & came home to finish working & eat dinner. I invited my friends Maggie & Annie over for a full night of fabulous television...RHONJ & The Bachelorette. Maggie couldn't make it so Annie and I indulged ourselves in reality tv. Dooley was obsessed with Annie all night. He wouldn't leave her alone. He sat in her lap eating his raw hide bone all night. I was so embarassed when she went to leave because she had dog hair & bone debree all over her comfy blank pants. Dooley & I slept just fine this night.

Tuesday night: I got home from work & did some more work. Story of my life. Speaking of life...I need one that doesn't revolve around work. Ugh! Mags called and invited Dooley and I to go on a walk on a trail near our house with her and her pup Ellie. I happily decided to go & as soon as we stepped into the car to go meet them I knew this would not be a good idea. Dooley saw Ellie & went CRAZY! I mean literally CRAZY. I mean let's be real here. Dooley is a growing boy & Ellie is a beautiful little girl...he likes her if you know what I mean! He was jumping on her and slapping her in the face trying to hump her. Does he not know this is not a way to get a lady friend. It's so embarassing. Dooley LOVED the walk, he got to smell everything on the trail. He had himself a jolly ole time! On the way home, I picked Dooley up and noticed that his back paws were bleeding. Poor guy. I felt like a terrible mother. Apparently, the pup has sensitive paws & our very long walk irritated them. No worries, he's totally fine & doesn't even act like they bother him but I felt terrible. I even called the ER vet who was less than helpful. Dooley passed within 15 minutes of getting home & slept through the night! WOO HOO!

Wednesday Night: Same routine. Got home from work & did more work. Ridiculous. I ate dinner & then decided to veg out on the couch until midnight watching tv. Insert bad idea: Dooley laid on the couch with me snoring for 2 hours. What was I thinking? Why didn't I go get in bed? The dog went buck wild when we went upstairs. He was like a bull in a china shop. Needless to say, Dooley and I didn't go to bed until 2:30 and we were up and at 'em at 7:15. I am sleep deprived.

I say all of this to say two things. I have a new found respect for single parents. I don't have a child but I do have a very high maintenance puppy & I'm exhausted. I also have a new found respect for people who live alone. I don't know how people do it. I've been so bored it's not even funny!

I love my sweet husband & can't wait to pick him up from the airport in 2 hours!!! Looking forward to a fabulous weekend with him & friends!

Until next time...

He liked it so much, he put a ring on it!!!

One year ago today, Johny popped the question in Charleston, SC. It was one of the most exciting days of my life. I mean I'd only been waiting 5 years & 1 month for him to ask me!

In fact, we'd been on a beach vacay in Seaside, FL for our 5 year anniversary the month before our engagement & I thought for sure he'd ask me then. I literally thought about it for WEEKS before we left. Everyday, I would wake up smiling hoping today would be the day. I would get ready every night for dinner with diligence & making sure I looked picture perfect when he popped the big question. All of this hard work for nothing...it didn't happen. Of course, Johny thought this was hilarious because he knew the whole time he had a big surprise up his sleeve.

Our trip to Charleston was supposed to be for Johny's aunt & uncles's 50th wedding anniversary but little did I know there was no party! Thank goodness, Johny suggested I wear something cute on the drive down & not bum it for the car ride there because he proposed minutes after we arrived.

I've never seen someone more nervous than Johny that day. Looking back there were signs of nervousness which I had mistaken for him being tired & restless on the drive over. He was up bright & early ready to go & didn't want to stop much along the way. My bathroom breaks drove him bonkers. He breathed hard & heavy like he'd been running a marathon for about the last 30 minutes & was sweating bullets before we even stepped into the oven that was Charleston. His hard work & preparation paid off when he proposed & I was the happiest girl in the world! :)

I was in complete shock & even asked him if I was being punked...was this for real? Are we seriously getting married? I was shaking all over & sweating like a whore in church but it couldn't have been any more perfect. I was in my favorite city with the love of my life who was now my fiance!

I've known I wanted to marry Johny since the day we began dating. I've talked about it forever & drove him crazy wanting to know how & when it could happen. I hate surprises because I like to have everything planned out down to the smallest details. But Johny made all of my dreams come true with the best surprise I've ever gotten.

I love you Johny & am so happy to call you my husband!

Till next time...

Mr. Dooley

I've been asking Johny for a puppy for about a year now & it just seemed that the timing was never right. While we were planning our wedding it didn't make sense to add another responsibility to our plate with all we had so much going on. Once we were home from our honeymoon, we started looking online & trying to decide on a breed we could agree on. After much research, we decided we both really liked the Beagle & started searching the AJC for breeders in the Atlanta area.

We drove up to White, GA on Sunday, April 18 to look at a litter of Beagle pups. Much to my surprise, after playing with the little ones for about 3o minutes Johny told me we could take one home!! I was beyond excited because I really thought we were just shopping!

On the way home, we took our new little one to PetSmart to get all the puppy essentials! We also gave him a name...Dooley (after Vince Dooley of UGA) & it couldn't fit him more!

Dooley has completely changed our life & in a good way! The only thing is...he's a VERY early riser! We are up every morning between 6:30 & 7:00 and ya'll know I am NOT a morning person! It's taken me awhile to get used too but we're slowly getting there.

Dooley will be 17 weeks old next week & he's growing like a weed. Below are a few of the things he loves most:

-Blankets...he pulls all of our blankets out of their basket and drags them all over our house until they're where he likes them!

-Toys...our house has become a PuppiesRUs!

-Food...esp. a puppy food called Bil Jac (aka Puppy Crack). He can be upstairs & I can open the fridge & he will nearly kill himself to get to the kitchen. He has a keen sense of smell!

-Shoes...he pulls all of mommy's shoes out of the closet & under the bed where she can't reach them.

-Bath Rugs...he pulls them everywhere!

-Socks...loves Daddy's socks!!!

-Naked people...I swear! Every morning when I'm in the shower, Dooley stares me down & whines until I get out. Then, he will not allow me to dry over without biting my towel and pulling at it. The worst is trying to get dressed...he has literally ripped holes in my pants to keep me from putting them on! The dog LOVES for everyone to be NAKED...I mean I guess he's naked so he figures everyone else should be too! Honestly...it's sort of creepy! hahahaha!!!

Mr. Dooley is officially one of my boys & I look forward to having him around for many years to come! He has made our little family complete until we decide to have children one day!

Night...

My First Blog!

Well I finally caved...

First it was email, which I remember signing up for on Yahoo in middle school sitting in the office of the house I grew up in. I still have that same email address today! Next, it was Facebook in college...I'm more addicted today than I was then. Then, it was Twitter which took me awhile because I didn't understand why people wanted others to know what they were doing every second of every day! I have to admit though...following your fav celebs is totally cool! Now, after reading my friend Anna Claire's blog for several months in addition to others, I decided to join the world of blogging. Not sure if I'll be any good at it but I figured what the heck...I'll give it a try!

I look forward to sharing our daily lives with ya'll & hope that you will find it entertaining! We're an everyday average couple enjoying life as newlyweds!

Now that I've spent the last 3 hours setting this blog up (because I'm a perfectionist) I'd better go to laundry so we have clean under garments to wear to work tomorrow & take Mr. Dooley (our beagle pup) on his daily neighborhood walk!

Happy Trails until my next post...