I'm In Love...

So for the past 6 months I've been working my little tushy off to make some mulah at the end of the year & it paid off. When my boss emailed me telling me the amount of my bonus, I actually started crying in the middle of my store...I couldn't believe it. The money was burning a hole in my pocket before it even hit my bank account!

My husband is definitely the smarter one in our relationship when it comes to money...I love spending & he loves saving! I've gotten better at the saving part but the holidays made me want to shop not only for my loved ones but also for myself. I did buy myself a few clothes during the holiday season & I made myself feel better about it since every piece was on sale! You can't walk out of the store knowing there's a bargain. A friend once told me that if you leave a store & you're still thinking about an item you liked then it becomes a NEED not a WANT. I live by this motto now...thanks Caroline!

On Sunday, we decided to take my Mac to the Apple store in Macon to see what was wrong with it since we haven't been able to turn it on since April. The sales person told me exactly what I didn't want to hear...you're computer has crashed & it'll cost as much as it would to buy a new computer to fix it...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! So...it took me 24 hours to convince my hubby that we needed that beautiful new 21.5" iMac & guess what...he let us BUY IT!!!

We got it home last night & we're both obsessed! This computer is seriously cool & I'm hoping it will inspire me to blog more often...especially since we moved away from all of my besties!

Stay tuned for more from the Ricks casa!

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...