So I have been terrible about updating our blog, so this is just kind of a random compilation of the pics from the last couple months. The picture of just Dane Is just cause I thought he looked extra handsome that day. He is wearing what he calls his "pretty pants" in this pic. He thinks these pants are too fashiony but I love them on him! Alot of these pics. are of us at Thanksgiving (the ones with Claire in them). Which by the way Claire and I got married like 4 times over the break... we had alot of weddings...and alot of cake cutting. Thank you by the way to everyone who attended...it was lovely. :) There are pictures from a random night Dane and I went to dinner, took a pic. by a pretty tree and decided to go bowling...all in all just a really random night. The top pictures are from cookie decorating with the kids, which is a Christmas tradition at my sisters house. That's all for now! If I keep following the pattern, I will be doing my blog three or more posts at a time. I get so behind!

Haircut

I got my haircut in November and I have told my sister I would post pictures. Here are some pics I took the night of. Kaz... these are for you :)

PS I do the "Kissy" face alot, I can't help it, i hate my chub cheeks when i smile!

Goodbye to Nordstrom!

Two weeks ago I put in my two weeks at Nordstrom, and last night I sold my last piece of jewelry (hopefully for a lifetime). I could not of been more excited to quit for a lot of reasons. I am tired of working six days a week. I am over never having the same schedule. Meaning I would work from 1-10 on Tuesday and then nanny from 530-530 on Wednesday. I am a little bored of saying, "Oh my gosh, that necklace looks so fabulous on you! You have to have it! And lucky for you it's only $200"! I am excited to quit because this means that I get to actually have a Christmas break, some with my family and some with the wonderful Yanceys! But the main reason I am excited to quit is because I get to start school again! FINALLY! I am so excited to go back! OK, so I have listed all the reasons I am ready to be done, but surprisingly I have alot of reasons that I will really miss my Nordstrom days. This is a little bit cheesy but Nordstrom was at the beginning of my crazy and amazing "Journey" in the last year, and I think i will always have a place for Nordy's in my heart. When I moved to Seattle I had lost alot of confidence, and Nordstrom was a big part of me gaining some of that confidence back. Nordstrom is how I have supported my self for the last year, and have been able to live in the beautiful Seattle! Nordstrom provided me with clothing when i had none :) (Literally I moved to Seattle with 1 pair of jeans and 5 shirts)... I will miss the discount! Nordstrom helped me learn that accessories do matter, and a scarf can be worn any time of year. Nordstrom showed me that jewelry can be an addiction for too many woman and at some point you should just cut yourself off! Nordstrom taught me to be more considerate of putting my hands all over the glass at any store because maybe, some girl spent 30 minutes getting that glass cleaned and maybe, just maybe she can't leave for the day until her boss inspects the glass, and maybe my grubby little paws on someone elses glass will add 30 more minutes to that poor girls shift. Nordstrom taught me that $50 for a pair of earrings really is quite reasonable... OK maybe not but I really do think that way now! Nordstrom showed me that the security guys have way too much fun doing there job. Nordstrom showed me Escalators are death traps! If you are under 10 or over 60 do not ride them! I saw a kid almost fall overboard, and two old ladies tumble down the death trap while I was on it! Nordstrom showed me that if you get a haircut apparently your name has to change, (I am now JB). Most of all Nordstrom proved to me that customer service really sucks at most every other clothing store!

When I first started at Nordstrom, no one in my department liked me, for alot of reasons like, I didn't take their crap, They thought I stole sales (I did not), they would steal my sales, talk behind my back, and just be plain rude to me. This was very strange for me cause I had never been in a work situation where people didn't like me. I came to realize later that the girls are just like that with every new person. Over time my department has really come to like me, and we all have our own unique little bond. Samri and I have dance parties when things get a little boring, Judi and I jabber on about nothing for hours, Christina tells me about all the crazies she should not be dating, and Alex and I had a blast playing "1, 2, 3...pick"! A new girl has just started in my place and I was talking to her the other day about how she feels like everyone hates her, is stealing her sales, and feels like she is never doing a good enough job. She told me she feels like I am her only Aly and she is so sad I'm leaving. Then she says, "Gosh, everybody here just loves you, I wish it were like that for me". I told her to not worry, and that it was the exact same thing for me a year ago. I almost laughed seeing myself in that new girl, and now leaving Nordstrom with nothing but love. :) So here's a big thanks to everyone who contributed to my ups downs and very memorable experience at Nordstrom!

- JB

These pictures are from the girls taking me out to dinner to say goodbye!

My sweet Jilly Vanilly, the Tissue Fairy

Ok so this is my first post and I am dedicating it to Jill. She has been doing most the work on the blog since we started and she has made me sound totally awesome. It's about time I do the same for her. You all should see how fun she is. I'm sure you have already gotten bits of it, but last night was a night that she wasn't my girlfriend or anything close. She was my buddy/ best friend. We normally are a pretty calm couple that doesn't tease each other or anything. We are cheesy romantics and blah blah blah, but occasionally we just get hyper and do our own thing. Jill's craziness was probably highly influenced by her supercharge Jamba juice, resulting in my own acquired energy. We were singing crazy, dancing, weird voices.... ok now we sound crazy. But don't even act like you don't do it with your friends. It felt so good to not even worry what she thought of me last night. I could do or say pretty much anything and it was ok. Jill is my best friend. She makes me so happy and I am one lucky fella for having her in my life.

Jill does so many little funny things that only I get to see. One thing I tease her a lot about is her habit, which could be consider over preparation, of leaving wadded up tissue everywhere she goes. I find it in my car, in my pockets, wedged in cracks and crannies of the couch, etc. We refer to it as the tissue fairy. The Good part about it is, when we are sitting somewhere, and she needs a tissue, I don't have to get up and get her one, she can just search through the multiple locations and find one.

We both agreed in the beginning of time that we would stay away from cheesy lovey names. We remain faithful to that agreement, but that doesn't keep us from referring to each other with other names. I try to call her something different everyday. McGyver, scuba diver, Sloth..... I know so romantic. Well a few weeks ago, she made and adaption of a potentially threatening name of sugar, and called me shug night. For those of you who don't know, Shug Night is a thug rapper producer who has jacked people up.... bad stuff (he produced Vanilla Ice, we owe him a lot for that at least and you know it!). That has become her favorite title for, with accessorising adjectives as Shug Night killer. I sure love Jill and am glad I have her. We just made it to our 9 month anniversary, cute huh. So as a tribute to her I write this blog. I love Jill, she is beautiful, and my best friend. Sorry to my homies whom she has replaced you still have a place in my heart.

HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween is my second favorite holiday (Christmas is the first) and much anticipated every year, no matter how old i get. I do have to say, being around little kids makes the holiday so much more fun! My family that lives here in Seattle has a tradition of going trick or treating together with the kids, and then coming back to the Bradbury's to eat Jodi's famous, "Dinner in a Pumpkin". This year Jodi made us each our own individual pumpkins with a rice and beef stew inside. I had a blast last Halloween and I could not wait for Dane to spend this Halloween with me and my family. Dane and I got the 31st off months in advance. We started the day by going to out to a REALLY yummy breakfast with my friend Alex (it was supposed to be a double date, but her boyfriend didn't show up). Then when we were driving home Dane and I saw piles and piles of leaves covering the sidewalks by my house. I think Jan (Dane's mom) has influenced me a bit with her passion for leaves, because I just could not pass the leaves up. Dane humored me (as he always does) and pulled the car over. We grabbed my camera and jumped out in the pouring rain. We took a bunch of pictures with the leaves beneath us, but it still wasn't enough. I looked at Dane and said, "Dane, can we please lay down in the leaves to get some really fun pictures"? I think Dane thought I was kidding at first.... I was not. We counted to three and laid down on the FREEZING sidewalk. Rain was pouring down on us (which is why we look like we are sweating). My teeth were chattering like crazy and I kept putting my freezing hands on Danes neck to keep warm. Cars passing by must have thought we were crazy. As we headed back to my house I saw another really enticing pile of leaves that we just had to take pictures in. So, Dane pulled over again and we took more pictures in the leaves. We could not stop laughing. Then Dane and I went back to my house, dried our clothes, watched movies, carved our pumpkin, baked pumpkin seeds, and then spent the rest of the evening with my family and the kids! Halloween was my favorite day with Dane yet!