Friday's Letters (a day late)

Dear Friday:  I know you were yesterday and I am a day late - but this was a WEEK!

I still cannot get the picture to actually work so: http://comeoneileen86.blogspot.com/

Dear Tiffy T: I hope you had a really great birthday celebration last night! Even though we rolled out early and didn't hit the clubs with you - it was so great to see you and laugh with you!  And just as a heads up, Afton and I have decided we want to infiltrate your circle of friends sicne they're so fun.

Dear Hot Summer Heat: Wowza.  Go. Away.  Our AC cannot keep up with your 100* plus days. And Kyle, Mulligan, Ken Ken, and I are MELTING!

Dear Hunger Games: You were not supposed to be good. You were not supposed to suck me in. I wanted to stay away but was forced to read you and now I am anxiously waiting for the last 2 to come in the mail.

Dear Pure Barre: I am offended. After praising you and telling all my friends about you and getting them to come to class with me and then praising you some more you block me on twitter. What in the world could I have done to offend you. Did I complain about my core hurting too much? But that is fine. My last pre-paid class will be used tomorrow and if you don't want my business then you don't have to have it, nor do I have to tell people about how good your classes and studios are. Consider me not your advocate anymore. xoxo - scorned lift.tone.burn.-er.

Dear Northern Virginia: Kyle and I have been life planning. I was on Trulia this past weekend looking at house prices and I had a heart attack.  $500K for not so fabulous houses?!  How are Kyle and I ever supposed to move back there, buy a house, and raise a family!? 

Dear Erin Condren: I think you should pay me a commission for promoting and pushing your life planners as much as I do.  In 1 week, I got 4 people to buy one.  And I know I have got like 3 others in the past.  And I still cannot wait to buy my 2103 planner. I just have to wait till November. Le Sigh.

...best breakfast ever...

since getting married and discovering pinterest i have found a new love of cooking and trying new things. i am enjoying filling up my recipe box {and have kind of made it a game}. i have not really experimented with breakfast foods - but everyone loves a good breakfast so i decided to surprise Kyle J with something yummy this morning.

:: SAUSAGE AND EGG BREAKFAST BAKE ::

...recipe from plain chicken...

.ingredients.

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 lb sausage
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

.how to.

Preheat oven to 350.
Brown sausage; drain. 

Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. 

Unroll crescent rolls and press into the bottom of the 9x13 pan, pressing seams together to seal. 

Sprinkle sausage over crust. 

Whisk eggs, milk and pepper until well blended. 

Pour over sausage. Top with cheeses. 

Bake 25-35 minutes or until center is set.

.my changes/additions.
I layered cheese between the sausage and the milk/egg mixture.
I added Cajun seasoning to the sausage when browning it.
I used Kraft Mexican cheese rather than the cheddar and mozzarella mix.

Legit. It was good. And really really easy to make. Kyle wasn't a big  fan of it - he liked that i cooked him breakfast - but he isn't a fan of egg bake things. oh well. i tried. right?

And Mulligan really enjoyed eating the paper towels out of the trashcan that I soaked the sausage grease up with.  So now we get to spend the next few days watching him. Yay. Joy. Dumb Dog.

-------------------------------------------------

oh. and last but not least. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE JEAN!! i hope you have had a super fabulous birthday weekend!! :)

:: Friday*s Letters ::

I really liked this last week so I am bringing it back again.  And then probably again. and again. and again.

Dear Adventures of Newleyweds: I LOVE that I discovered your blog and your Friday Letters Link Up.  I am loving this link up, I love participating, and I am love discovering new fun blogs.  One of this days I will figure out how to put the pretty little graphic in for the real legit link up.

Dear Weekend: This week has been easy and uneventful, but I am really ready for you. I am not looking forward to our scheduled deep clean.  But the brown, dirt dust needs to be taken care of {thanks dogs!}. But I am looking forward to sleeping past 6:15 and being able to crawl back into bed after letting the dogs out.  I do hope I see the gym this weekend. And I wish you wouldn't fly by too fast.

Dear Bridesmaid Who I Had To Ask If You Still Wanted To Be In My Wedding: Every now and then I think about you and I miss you and our dinners and phone chats and inside jokes and long laughs and zoes kitchen and pure barre obsession. And I think about how it hurts my heart that we are not friends any more and I do not know what happened.  But then I have to remember that you're not a good person. You didn't even have the decency to tell me that you no longer wanted to be part of Kyle and my big day.  I had to awkwardly ask you.  To this day I still think that had I not sent that email you never would have said anything and you would have chosen to humiliate me by not telling me. Letting me put your name in a program. And then not showing up.  When you pop in my mind from time to time I remember that email chain and am immediately reminded that you probably never valued our friendship since you wouldn't even tell me why or what happened.  And then I laugh because wedding pictures are forever and I dodged a bullet. I am in your wedding pictures but I don't have to look at your face in mine.

Dear Vets Office: You all have really gone above and beyond the call of duty to ask about Kennesaw and how she is doing. Yes. I realize both our dogs visited you with paw issues back to back, but I promise we don't abuse our  dogs.  They actually are treated like royalty and live in a puppy paradise.  This was a weird fluke freak accident that they both got hurt.  Or... maybe Kyle and I are overanalyzing this and Ken Ken's paw injury actually was a serious one.  I mean 2 weeks later she is just now finishing her meds. Hmmm...

Dear Justin and 375 Photography: I know I have been married since March and I got my wedding pictures while on my honeymoon - but they still blow me away everytime I look at them.  Thank you so much for capturing so many awesome moments.

Dear Whoever gave Bert Weiss and his family another dog: What in hells bells were you thinking?  Do you not listen to The Bert Show?!  Don't you know that he gave he recently gave his other dog Pancake up rather than first taking the time to see if he could work with the dog and train him?  Obviously Bert and his wife don't understand that a dog is a lifetime committment and think it is okay to get rid of it when their is trouble and they're teaching their kids the same thing.  Granted, I know I am late hearing this news since I do not listen to that show anymore - but really another dog?!

Dear Wedding Guests That We Really Didn't Talk To:  I have been feeling really bad about it ever since March. Sometimes I feel like the worst Bride and Host that I didn't talk to everyone and give everyone the time they deserved. Especially since so many of you  drove from so far.  I wish I had a do over. I wish I had made a better effort to move from table to table, person to person, and then partied with my friends. Just know that you being there meant the world to both Kyle and I and we both love you all so very much.

Dear Mulligan: You need an attitude adjustment.  I love you.  You're my first born furbaby.  But what happened this week with the dog food bag was unacceptable.  You and I sir will be working on this respect issue and you are not gonna like it! (But rememeber momma loves you!)

Is this my dog?

I saw this and immediately emailed it to Kyle.  This is 100% our Mulligan.  He has shredded countless beds in his crate.  Recently he shredded Kennesaw's bed when we left them over night at daycare for a few days. He has put holes in his new "king bed".  And the best part: he totally gives us the same "I don't know what happened" look.

newleywed advice - merging bank accounts

Kyle and I had discussed the topic of money before we got married.  We are both traditionalists and knew that we were going to merge our accounts together - my money is his money, his money is my money.  Before we got married and when we were making big purchases {our cars. my new laptop.} we sat down and discussed (a) how much we would pay at the most and (b) if we could afford it.  Big purchases were joint purchases because we were getting married and we would inherit each others debt.

We talked about the big bank account merge many times - but I guess for me - we had not talked about it enough.  Hence the sporadic "oh we have time lets head to the bank to merge accounts" panic attack.  For me I wasn't ready and Kyle could not understand why when I said "we haven't talked about it" (his answer: we have our plan) or when I said "we have not budgeted yet" (his answer: we don't need to to merge we can handle that after) or when I said "my accounts aren't in order" (his answer: what does that even mean?!) Long story short: I did not feel prepared enough to make that step.

1. I wanted a budget.  I wanted to know how much money he made per month and how much money we made together per month.  I wanted to know how much we were spending per month on living expenses and if we were living too close to our means and so we could readjust things. I wanted to know how much was left over after all the bills were paid so I could know how much was going into savings.
2. I wanted to know our plan.  I knew we would have one main account that we would pay our bills out of.  With 2 checking accounts coming off that for our allowances and then 1 credit card for bills and 1 credit card that Kyle cannot see that is my play money.  But I wanted my allowance and play money defined.  How much was I getting?  Could I survive on that?!
3. I wanted my accounts in order. I wanted to pay off my credit card bill. in full. so i would not have to use my allowance to do so and then be broke for a month.

Once I explained it all to Kyle, he got it.  And we sat down and budgeted. I made a spreadsheet {this is just a snapshot - it is wayyy more elaborate than this} that outlined our gross income & every living expense.  We went high on things like power, water, gas just to be safe.  We decided anything that was left over {after savings, allowances, and bills} would go into our Oh $h!t fund.  Yes. That is really what we're calling it & that fund is for the unexpected tire that needs to be replaced.  Things that were just not budgeted for.  And we track how much goes in it per month and how much is taken out per month and the final dollar amount in that fund. {this is all on a different part of this same spreadsheet}.  Then at the end of the year - we leave a portion of that money in that fund ... but we're going to move the rest into a savings account.

my oh la la fancy spreadsheet! so proud. so proud.

Speaking of savings accounts.  Saving money is wickedly important to me.  I always need a "fund" - it is like the grown up version of a piggy bank. So I decided to keep my need of "funds" {it really was not up for discussion} so we have like 8 savings accounts - future vacation fund. moving fund. buying a house fund. future baby fund. future college education fund. new car fund. just because fund. oh $h!t fund.  And we know how much per month we are going to put in each "fund".  So we track the starting balance {what was brought into the marriage} and how much we put in monthly - tracking how much each fund has it and how much money we have in savings in general.  And then when we bonus - 25% goes to the individuals allowance and then the recipient of that bonus decides how to save the other 75% {defining what is currently important to them.}

It is a lot.  We're tracking each penny we spend - which is a big change from before getting married.  And every year we are going to have to re-hash this budget thing as our salaries go up or our car insurance goes down.  But this works 100% for us and it took A LOT of communication and about 3 days of going back and forth but we got it worked out. So when we did go to the bank to merge accounts there was no panic attack.  I was comfortable and ready to go.

So my best advice when it comes to merging accounts and money - money is a sensitive topic and no two people really spend and save the same way so it takes a lot of open and honest communication to make it work & do it right.  We're just grateful we're no longer having to keep track of who owes who what!

The Weekend Round Up.

.most.relaxing.weekend.ever.

but seriously. it was.

after last weekend and kyle sitting through pretty much TV hell {90201 and Ramona and Beezus}, we decided it would be "fun" to have a Netflix movie marathon one weekend.  And we chose this past weekend. and. seriously. where to begin?!

:: FRIDAY ::

Pretty much a typical Friday night in the Shanahan house.  Kyle went to the gym. I "played" with the dogs {aka drank wine on the back porch and read a book}.  Took the pups for a walk/got stopped by an overly chatty lady who stole our early evening to talk about anything and everything.  And then we had dinner.  BUT.  Not your typical Friday night at the local Mexican restaurant. Back in the day, Kyle and I used to make mini personal, English muffin pizzas all the time and suddenly, randomly stopped.  But I brought the tradition back and we had so much fun {and decided that this is wayyyy cheaper than Papa Johns}. And our normal entertainment {Shark Tank} was cancelled because some cray cray decided he wanted to walk from the US to Canada over Niagara Falls on a tightrope. So of course we watched wondering WTF? and if he would fall. But the excitement/thrill was taken away when we learned ABC was making him wear a harness. Long story short, we both agreed we wanted those 2 hours of our lives back.

English Muffin Pizzas: Bake 20 minutes on 375* all you need is English muffins, pizza sauce, pizza cheese, and your toppings!  So easy and it forced my husband to be in the kitchen with me. VICTORY!

:: SATURDAY ::

I started the day off at the spa. not going to lie - they were pretty unorganized {which surprised me a lot since it was a Marriott spa} but it was a groupon deal so i cannot be too annoyed with the mass confusion. The massage and facial were uber relaxing and made me crave a nap.  But I told myself no and that I had to get amped up for the TV Show marathon {We chose White Collar}. 

But. I got home. Ready to make my grocery shopping list to prep for the HOURS of TV watching only to learn that Kyle wanted to go to Best Buy after cutting the grass.  {Original Plan: Me grocery shop while Kyle mows.  Kyle showers, I make snacks. Then onto the main event.} ...Obviously Kyle missed out on the "movie marathons" in college and doesn't understand that THEY ARE ALL DAY EVENTS.  They don't start at 3.  I HAD SNACKS PLANNED!

Anyway.  We went to Best Buy.  Yawn.  And Target.  And at 4:00 PM just in time for dinner we got the show on the road.  :: Not Cool Kyle J.  Not Cool. ::  ...Needless to say, I told him that he pretty sucked at movie marathons and we needed a "do over".  {which has been scheduled.} ... When we finally got started I tried to make these baked mozzarella bites, but it was a total failure and I couldn't get the bread crumbs to stick to the milk coated string cheese so I skipped right to dinner and well, dinner was fabulous and easy and will be a staple in our lives going forward ...

croissant hamburgers. croissant rolls. hamburger meet. cheese. so easy and so good.  Recipe HERE

We ended up watching about 6 episodes of White Collar - which is an awesome show and I vote that Matt Bomer plays Christain Grey when they make the 50 Shades movies.  And I guess that does constitute as a TV Time marathon -- it just got started too late for my liking. And since I had never really woken up from the day before I crawled into bed at 10:00 and called it a day.

::SUNDAY ::

FATHERS DAY!! We opened presents from the puppies and I made Kyle his favorite sausage muffins.  And we started the TV watching marathon.  But... about 4 episodes in Kyle needed "break" to take a nap.  You know, since sitting on the couch is soooo hard.  And his break was a nap.  Really.  His life.  So hard.  How does he do it?!

For dinner we had another Pinterest recipe.  I made Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups and let me tell you, it was so good.  Annoying to make {since you have to roll the chicken in the lasagna noodles with Alfredo sauce} so it will only be a weekend meal.

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups - recipe HERE - highly recommend!!

Over dinner we watched 2 more episodes of White Collar and then Kyle called it quits.  So I just started up 90210. :)

WE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT THROUGH A WHOLE SEASON DURING OUR "MARATHON WEEKEND" ... therefore, even though I enjoyed hanging out with him... it was a failure.  K really needs to work on his marathon movie watching skills.  But I will say that is one of our big difference -- I can sit in front of the TV all day ... he cannot.

But... it was a relaxing weekend.  Relaxing and indulgent.  So much food and TV!

Friday's Letters

I have had some free time on my hands now that I am not planning a wedding. Probably too much free time. So, I have started exploring other blogs and have found some pretty cool things.  One of those "cool things" is this "Friday Letters" link up.  Granted, I don't know the full who.what.where.when.why. but I think I got the jist down good enough to participate. So, with that introduction, today I am linking up with Ashley over at Adventures of Newlyweds for my very first Fridays Letters. :)

 

Dear Husband: I feel like a total dork, but I am really excited for our movie marathon this weekend.  If we thought merging bank accounts and starting a budget was a test to our marriage, just wait till we have to decide on movie after movie and TV series after TV series.  That my love will be the real test.  Chick Flicks please? Annie? xoxo, the sun will come out tomorrow.

Dear Dad:  HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! :)  I hope you have a super fabulous weekend and remember that you're LOVED by your two crazy kids in Atlanta.  Thank you for always being the best father a girl could ask for and thank you for standing by my side on the biggest and best day of my life.  You really are pretty great and Sam and I really are pretty lucky!  Talk to you on Sunday, don't forget to answer the phone!!  xoxo.

Dear Weekend: I am so forever grateful for you.  I cannot wait to lounge around and wear my PJs for days and eat lots of food and not worry about anything but the next movie or TV show to watch.  Treat me well.

Dear The University of Alabama: Are you serious about life?! Raising out of state tuition to $11,475 per semester.  That is $22,950 per year.  Like, I want my children to go to Alabama and be little Roll Tide babies, but that is like $100K+ for just 4.5 years(you know the average amount of time it takes a kid to graduate).  And that is just in 2012-2013. In 20, 21 years what will it cost Kyle and me?!  Thank goodness we already have a kids college fund.  xoxo - a December '06 graduate/Alabama legacy who wants her kids to be students too!

Dear Mom & Dad: For real.  Thanks for paying for my college tuition.

Dear Heather my bestie: I am so grateful for you, our long on the way to work chats, your words of wisdom, and ability to always make me laugh. I hope you have an AMAZING birthday weekend and beach trip and get all the Tory in the world one could handle. :) I hope your birthday card came and it wasn't too warped and wacky from the rainstorm. {Reminder: check the weather before mailing cards} I cannot wait to see your pretty face 2 times in July.  xoxo happy birthday - enjoy the back slide into 30!

Dear Face: Why are you covered in big ugly unattractive zits?  Sure I may have gotten married, but I still need to be pretty. sheesh!

Dear Mulligan and Kennesaw: No more paw issues please.  No more issues at all please.  If we could stick to our 1 vet visit per year schedule that would fabulous.  Think about it for 2013.  K.  Thanks.

Dear Spa at Evergreen: I cannot wait to be spoiled and pampered  this Saturday morning.  I am in total need of a good massage and I hope your excellent facial ladies can fix my gross face.  See above.  It needs help.  Signed, hopeful zitty girl!

Dear Pinterest: Weee I am gonna do so much baking and cooking this weekend!  Thanks for all the ideas!! :)

Dear Runners and Walkers:  My buddy Elizabeth is hosting a giveaway for a free entry for the Atlanta 13.1 race.  You can enter HERE ... but don't enter too many times because I want to win!

* Random Rambles *

Tangets of life. Tangents of life!

• Ok. So get this. In Georgia {at one busy part} it is now legal to drive on the wrong side of the road. I at first thought that we were all going to die and it was going to be mass confusion, but so far it has been okay. The first time I did it, I could not help but think that I was doing something wrong. But I was not. Therefore, I have embraced Atlanta's Diverging Diamond Intersection.  I have not agreed that it has fixed said busy road's congestion issue but it has made the commute more interesting.  And {Granted it has only been like 2 weeks} there are still so many morons who have no idea what lane they're supposed to be in and I know they do this like every day.  For the love, follow the signs and do just what you did yesterday {as long as it was right}.
• I am so so so ready for football season.  79 days and counting. 79 days till we beat Michigan. And the Twitter war {that I did not follow other than cliff notes versions in articles} between McCarron and the Honeybadger have me so so so ready.  And it was recently announced that we play LSU at 7 PM and CBS will be airing it.  That just may be a Bama Bar game {and I will make Heather come into town} ... and maybe they will cross the 50 yard line.  ROLL. TIDE.
• 
  

  

  We put a sock on her paw to protect it!

  Oh our dogs. Our Dogs. Mulligan went to the vet on Saturday morning because we noticed for 2 weeks he was just licking and licking his paw. It turns out he must have gotten bit by a bug or something, making him lick and lick, and that created some weird skin condition that was brought on by the licking - making him lick more. And that all turned into a yeast infection between his toes. And Kennesaw. She had her first vet visit on Monday since getting her off the streets because she was limping something horrible and couldn't put pressure on her paw. We looked at it and she somehow sliced her pad and part of her paw in between her toes and they ended up actually removing part of the paw since every time she would walk it would rip more. yikes. painful. Two vet visits in like 4 days. oi vey. But don't get me wrong. We love love love our pups and we cannot recommend our vet {The Village Vets in Decatur} more than we already do.
• The Peachtree - I got my race number today and my corral BLOWS.  I am in corral U - I was in H last time.  Granted, I know that I have not been running, but I don't want to be lumped with the really slow people and I know that I will be walking/weaving for most of the race being in this corral {heck, I walked a weaved most of the race when I was way near the front because people line up in the wrong corrals}.  I am just wondering if it will be worth it.  And I could totally sell my race number - which is totally illegal in the Peachtree running world, but nothing about running this race gets me excited especially since I am so far back with a 8:51 start.  Anyone want to buy a race number?! :)
• The current great debate in my house is: do we file our taxes as married -1 or married - 0 .. I would like all the opinions in the world.
• Kyle and I merged our bank accounts this past weekend. And it was pretty uneventful. My panic attack 2 weekend ago about it was 100% because we had not talked about anything. I needed to get my accounts in order. talk about allowances and how we were going to save our money. and work on a budget. Since we hashed it all out and I made a pretty impressive Excel Spreadsheet to track our spending I was sane and okay and ready to merge.

• We have 8 savings accounts :: The moving fund, the buying a house fund, the just because fund, the oh we over budgeted this month fund, the baby fund, the college education fund, the future vacations fund, and the new car fund {which obviously won't be touched for 5+ years}!
• And.  We have decided we're quite the pair.  All this money management talk has made us communicate WAY more and we're totally on the same page.  Who needs premarital counseling?  Just merge bank accounts!!
• People drive me crazy. Crazy mad. I need a vacation or a mental health day. Or a mini moment of hibernation.
• I am FINALLY cashing in one of my Groupons and spending the morning at the spa on Saturday. Never have I ever needed a day of pampering as much as I do now. Massage and facial. Le Sigh.
• I AM SO SO SO EXCITED FOR THIS WEEKEND!  So excited there will be a super awesome blog post to follow.  Kyle and I are having a Netflix movie and TV show marathon {all after my spa day of course}.  And I mean ALL weekend starting Friday night.  We are gonna make mini pizzas on english muffins and then try all sorts of Pinterst finger foods - like hamburger croissants and home made mozzarella sticks.  Be prepared.  It will be a foodtastic post! :o)
• And... this weekend was dreamed up by my wonderful husband man ... only because he sat around and watched Ramona and Beezus and tons of 90210 episodes with me this weekend.  Love.  True Love.
• I need fun, sassy, funky blogs to follow.  Send me recommendations please!

A Very Tory Burch Birthday & Bieber Fever!

Yesterday I got one year closer to the grave AKA I had a birthday and turned the big 2-8.  And let me tell you, it was a pretty good birthday.  Of course I had to work, but I had a birthday lunch with my office girls and was surprised by my friend and her baby at the office.  Of course her son is so presh and I cannot believe how small and tiny he is, but he is so cute. But other that it was fairly low key.  I was passed out at 10:00 PM.  I am such a party animal.

But, I am calling this birthday "A Very Tory Burch Birthday" {you know like a very merry Christmas - only this is a birthday and Tory Burch filled ... ok ok i know, i am reaching}, since if you know me in real life you know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tory Burch.  Kyle got me the earrings that I have been wanting for months and I absolutely love them.  They're bigger than I thought so I really wonder how people can wear the large ones.  And my friend from work got me a Tory Burch mouse pad/notepad combo and I broke it out of the wrapping real quick.  But... I am probably never going to actually write anything on it because it it Tory and well, I wouldn't want to use it all up.

And then today was filled with name changing activities - I was up at 5:30 AM to get pretty and ready for the DMV to become Barbara Shanahan on my license. Then I had to call USAA to change my name on my car insurance.  We were going to go and merge our bank account together but I had a minor panic attack/freak out about my accounts "not being in order" -- I am not really sure what that means or where it came from.  But I feel like I need to ensure all our bills go through that are linked to my checking account before we do anything crazy.  Kyle was not "thrilled" with my minor panic attack, but I promised him next week.  I am sorry ya'll but merging bank accounts is HUGE and I am being put on an allowance and I feel like him and I have not sat down and budgeted out our lives enough to be at the bank merging and combining.  It is all just a lot to take in. 

:: deep breaths. it will all be okay. deep breaths. what's mine is his and what's his is mine ::

But that was not the excitement of the day.  My work friend Afton and I are Bieber fans.  Yes, we know we are not 14 year old girls - but we still REALLY wanted to go to his concert in January.  So we game planned. Afton was going to stay home and try Ticketmaster from her house and I headed to the office for the super fast Internet.  We plotted our actions and everything.  We said go for 6 and if we cannot get 6 we will get 4.  We then decided that I would try for 4 and she would try for 6.  We even knew that we only wanted section 100 or 200 - sections 300 and 400 would not be worth the money. We figured with both of us trying we were sure to get tickets.  Oh we were so wrong!  Despite being logged into Ticketmaster at 9:45 AM {AT THE OFFICE ON A SATURDAY} with my Ticketmaster account pulled up, the map of Phillips Arena out so we could compare who had better seats {dictating who would buy the tickets}, credit card information updated and ready for quick  easy check out we still ended up ticket-less.  And... when we looked on StubHub a $100 ticket was already marked up to like $200+.  Life just is not fair.  Our plan of seeing the Biebs was dashed!  ...With that said, her and I will continue to watch Ticketmaster and try for tickets up until the concert date.  If Afton and I are anything... we are persistent.

And tonight we're doing my birthday dinner at Brio which I am excited about and then tomorrow I figure I will try and no more name changing activities - like get a new passport picture so I can get a new passport and then work on my tax forms and hope I file correctly.