We meet again...

10.29.2010

Well my lovely friends, still no Nora. I feel like I've lost a child. Except I didn't notice how much I'd miss her till she was gone. Which I'm pretty sure in real life would be fairly poor parenting. Never the less....soon. She will return.


EXCITING things are happening in the Sprague household.

For starters, We have Rock band 3. and have instantly made new friends (Aha, so THAT'S how you get couples to your house....) Ben already rocks at the piano, which is a pity...since I still fail at it. I suppose that's how video games will always go. Sad Panda. (Ben is playing a Hispanic song as we speak. This makes me heart super happy...so no complaints. Juanez forever. )

I've decided we're moving to Italy/Greece tonight..not like TONIGHT, but this decision has been made this evening..... (Ofcourse, I decided tokyo like last month...but I'm pretty sure we really are going to live here.) In fact, living in Italy was one of the conditions I had when marrying my husband (Ben may deny it, but he agreed to one day live in italy with me for alteast 6 months.) So, start saving money, you can stay in our house. It just might not happen for another 25 years.

In other more recent news, Grace and I saw an albino squirrel on Sunday and she gave me the next idea we're having for a party here. Grace you really are the dream woman. PLUS I got not one but TWO orders of my wedding pictures because the mail fails, but snapfish ROCKS. Its cold outside, but we have great fall sweaters! and...we just found out that Papa Murphy makes an INSANE stuffed pizza...Really, we're beginning to question our entire lives after discovering this pizza...if this pizza exists..what else are we missing? The possibilities are endless.

In other news, we're on the hunt for 9 comic books that were written last year and I'm making an insane amount of paper cranes. Its the small crazy things that make life so ridiculously awesome...

So Friends, Hope your life is as exciting as ours...or even more so.

P.S. I saw a woman texting in the car next to me. Therefore I witnessed a crime in Minnesota.


P.S.S. We get to go to cheese land tomorrow to see my growing bellied sister and my sweet momma bear! yes. my life is really pure bliss.

I will leave you with an image of what young love looks like. This was taken the WEEK we decided to like each other (radical isn't it?)

Reasons why our life is awesome.

10.23.2010



1. Nora got a broken face, but we got to take her to the store and she will be fixed in 3 weeks for free. Yay for insurance. (sad day that I cant take a picture for practically a month)
2. We had a fire in our apartment building, some crazy arson set off our mailboxes...the whole area is chared, but when we checked our mail the next morning-it was still there. Hazzah.
3. We got our wedding pictures & they are the bomb.
4. My crazy dreams prove to be false. Which is always a good thing.
5. My sister is going to have a baby in any second, which is kickin.
6. Ben is hott.
7. No Mouse sighting since the fishbowl. I think we have a reputation now.
8. Its almost november and it hasn't snowed yet. This is a good thing. (knock on wood)
9. Ben's birthday is next week, and he's getting the coolest presents ever. Fact.
10. Its fall.

From a very special little blog I bring you this...

10.17.2010

I found these two little bits of goodness here.I thought i'd share...

Otherwise

"I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.

At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise."

Jane Kenyon

" The egoism from which I should like to protect you is not the constant tendency to be continually and exclusively absorbed in our own interests and to sacrifice to them the interests, rights and happiness of others. This egoism is incompatible with any form of virtue, and even with any honest feeling; it would be too much to bear if I felt it necessary to protect you from such a feeling.
I am discussing the egoism which, in everyday life, makes us see everything in terms of our own health, our convenience, our tastes and our well-being; an egoism which keeps us in some sense in the presence of ourselves, which feeds on the small sacrifices it imposes on others without feeling, and almost without knowing, their injustice; an egoism, which finds whatever suits it natural and just, and whatever harms it unjust and bizarre, and which complains loudly about caprice and tyranny if someone else, while humoring it, thinks also of himself.
This failing diminishes benevolence and harms and cools friendship. We become dissatisfied with others, because their self- denial can never be sufficient. We become dissatisfied with ourselves, because our vague, aimless mood develops into a constant, painful feeling which we no longer have the strength to escape.
If you want to avoid this misfortune, ensure that the feelings of equality and justice become second nature to you. Expect and demand from others only a little less than you would do for them. If you make sacrifices for them, appreciate them for what they really cost you and not according to the fact that they are sacrifices. Seek compensation for them in your reason, which will assure you that they would be reciprocated, and in your heart, which will tell you that they do not need to be. You will find that life in society is more pleasant and, dare I say, more convenient, if you live for others. Only then do you truly live for yourself. "
1794, Marquis de Condorcet

Splendid.

10.16.2010

Well cadets, my rockstar of a husband is kickin it out in the wild for this weekend with all the men of our church. So, I myself was in need of some adventure.That need, my beloved friends led to a very glorious weekend indeed.

Without further adieu; Reasons why the past 24 hours have been ridiculous and delightful:

1. I Spent some time with one of the most genuinely wonderful women of this century


2. Laughed a good deal at the ridiculousness and irony of our lives.
Thats a cork..with a screw and a broken cork-screw. She-hulk unveiled.


3. Had Chai tea (twice!), spaghetti and a large amount of deliciousness. Holy Bamoly


4. Went on a ridiculous 4.5 mile adventure through the woods, where I learned about more trees than I can remember, (thanks, grace) and I was explained why fall is the way it is (Double thanks, grace) and was told about several invasive species of MN. There's some knowledge to be learned out there folks.
 And some crazy pastures to tromp in.

5. Walked away feeling very, very happy to have such a wonderful life,
and singing Hooray for friends that remind me of how crazy awesome life is.

 P.S. Grace, You're the hot sauce to my tamale.


Hope all of your weekends are lovely as well!

Happy weekend!

10.15.2010

Dear beloved readers.

I have two very odd stories for you.

Story number one.
Husband and Wife (AKA Ben & Brittany) Had a mouse problem. As is proper, we attempted to block out all the holes and caught a few, put all edible things in indestructible containers and after much hard labor did not spot another mouse(6, yes 6 mousies later). Victory was assumed, and was celebrated accordingly.

A few weeks later, Wife is deep cleaning because her most dear friend Grace is coming over for a sleepover. and she notices a few little mouse bits (if you know what i mean) and thinks ("I think we may still have a mouse...") and tells her husband when he comes home "I think we may still have a mouse." Husband has a dream that night about a mouse infestation. True story.

The story is not over. In fact, its only begun....
the following morning, the wife wakes up and goes to the kitchen

Wife starts screaming out her husbands name in panic

Husband comes in bewildered and sees what she's screaming about

Can you guess?
no you certainly can. not.

Bruce, Our AMAZING beta fish (practically our child) was swimming at the top of his tank...with a DEAD MOUSE at the bottom of it. A mouse dead in our fish tank. Bruce was just hanging out at the top...and there was a dead mouse at the bottom. (yes i did just repeat that fact three times...) I'm still overwhelmed by the fact.

this is scientific proof of 3 things.
1. We did in fact still have a mouse (although now we can truly celebrate victory)
2. Bruce is a ninja
3. the 5 mouse traps? not effective. One fish bowl? affective indeed.

Any PETA that read this blog, I didn't intentionally drown the poor little creature.
Although I'm not very sad he is dead.

Story number two:
Professional Brittany is at her desk trying to act very professional on a this lovely Friday.Brittany then stumbles upon this hilarious video linked from rockstar diaries

Brittany tries to hold in laughter for the entire mini-video.
Brittany almost combusts.

ITS SO ADORABLE. Watch it and giggle.

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.


Story time is over. HAVE A HAPPY WEEKEND.

50 things...

10.14.2010

Once upon a time, even before married to mr. ben, I wrote this. I thought I would repost it. It makes me happy.

1. His name is John Benjamin, hers is Brittany Lynne.
2. He's graduated and she will be graduating in May from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
3. They both wear glasses.
4. He has the coolest dance moves any one has ever seen. ever.
5. He has a ridiculously handsome smile and laugh. and she falls in love with it every time she hears it.
6. they do little dances in the kitchen. and he helps me make food, but then every time thanks her, as if she did it all myself.
7. He has a freckle right in the middle of his eyebrows. she has a freckle everywhere.
8. We have all our children's names picked out, with the exception of one.
9. He tells her his secrets, and she tells him hers.
10. His prayers are always long, and he generally forgets what he was supposed to be praying for :) but she love them all the same.
11. He plays bass, both the cool band kind and the cool orchestra kind, and she plays violin, and piano and sings.
12. they sing reliant K songs in the car together
13. He's so ridiculous. shes goofy. We're the goofiest people to ever live.
14. if he had his way, our wedding would be medieval style.
15. He has a car named Otis. Which she loves with all her heart.
16. He is the most considerate man she have ever met.
17. We both want a puggle. (its a super cute dog)...well I want a puggle, and someday so will he, after much convincing. (which i don't understand why there needs to be any convincing :))
18. He likes mac n Cheese with hot dogs, she likes ramen.
19. We play video games together. Correction, he plays video games and she tries to play them too.
20. He's quick to make things right. We're quick to get over fights. Probably because he's so gracious
21. When she's grumpy he doesn't call her out on it. He's so loving. so gracious.
22. Ben has amazing stories of his college years, from t-shirt competitions to weird guys in his hallways, to long Saturdays playing certain card games.Its her favorite when he starts reminiscing. His face lights up.
23. She love the way he worships.
24. He's a software developer, she's going to be in the non-profit field (counseling/social work)
25. He goes on photo shoots with her and has these ridiculously awesome ideas. she loves it.
26. I fall more in love with everyday.
27.She's never met a more sincere man.
28. He's gentle and so fun to watch when around kids. He's going to be the best dad Ever.
29. He makes crazy plans with her. And stays up talking to her.
30. He's 6'2'' she's 5' 4''
31. He wants to go to Japan, she wants to go to Italy, and France, and Greece, and Africa, and Romania
32. We're concert junkies.
33. We have plans bigger than Texas.
34. He's so intelligent. The smartest in the galaxy
35. They talk theology in long car rides, and everyone always wins.
36. Chipotle.
37. He takes her to fancy places she's never ever been, Like 'spill the wine,' and rain-forest cafe. And he takes her on roller coasters. He's so rad.
38. They play dress up and get all fancy for dates.
39. He liked her freshman year, she told him no.
40. Two years later,she liked him, and he liked her back.
41. He proposed to her on her parents 25th wedding anniversary. at the prettiest park, with the shiniest ring she had ever seen.
42. Now she will never take it off. Ever. And she will be blinded by its brilliance in class and at work and everywhere she goes for all the days of her life.
43. She draws her future name on several notes and types up her assignments that way.
44. He tells her sweet things at night, and in the morning, and in the mid noon.
45. He's quite a romantic. And she loves it. very very much.
46. She sits next to him knitting and surfing craft websites, and he plays video games and 'oo's and 'aaa's all of her crafty ideas.
47. She gets giddy realizing how awesome of a man she has and is so excited to see him every. day of her life.
48. No man has ever come close to being as charming, as smart, as able, as strong, as courageous, as honest, or as sincere as he is. She realizes this every morning, and falls right back in love with him every second.
49. She likes photography and road trips, He likes spending time with her and chilling.
50. He is everything she has ever wanted. And God is so good.

Quick Weekend Note

10.08.2010

Hey Fam & Friends


The posts have been a little sparse lately.This weekend we plan on updating and revamping this pretty little blog and adding some posts on all the exciting things we've been doing. We've got a sweet Thai Date, a photoshoot,  and some much-needed down time planned in between the busy-ness! So, plan on seeing a sweet new header and new posts come Monday. In the meantime have a kickin weekend!

P.S. for all of you in the twin cities area, word on the street is the Fall 'art crawl' is this weekend in St. Paul. Definately check it out, a few of my besties will be there!

Much Love,
Ben & Brittany

Beta Approved

10.07.2010

Beautiful ones,
I've been finding a few exciting pockets of goodness on the world wide web and figured I'd share in the wealth. Here are 3 of the things I'm giddy about:

1.Freebies 4 Mom. A blog that offers a cornucopia of information regarding free stuff like magazines and other pretty special items (i even got a razor pack. SCORE!). Its pretty helpful for the amount of pictures Ben & I develop because she often will give hints about special free prints! Right now she's even talking about a free REDBOOK subscription which is one of my favorite magazines. If ya'll haven't checked her out. Definitely do. You'll be clappin and giggling with pure.joy. when you find out all the kickin stuff you've discovered. She even has a mail list that sends freebie notifcations to your e-mail box. Um. Pretty cool. If I do say so myself.



2. HOLY BAMOLY! An Owl Calender? Bre would definitely dig this. You can select all sorts of different owl prints and it creates a very special calender. Pretty AMAZING. Make one and you can send your thanks to me later.


3. CupCakes? Magazine? Cupcake magazine? double back flip for that one.
Heres a super cute online magazine that the pretty Rachel Denbow (A blog I've followed since I was just a wee high school student) was featured in. Its super cute. Beta Approved

Enjoy and happy Thursday!

Reasons why Ben is the bomb diggity

10.06.2010

First Date!

1. He lets me buy ridiculous amounts of pumpkins in honor of the fall
2. He exterminates mice with is bare hands (okay not really, but he does get rid of them)
3. He has karate moves that would terrify millions
4. he has smooth dance moves that would woo the masses (especially this freckle kid)
5. He helps  me make grub  and he adds a hunky bit of love to every dish
6. He reads comic books and is a genius
7. Speaking of Genius, He stimulates my brain till it fees like it will implode! ! "We are in 3 dimensions but our shadows are in the 2nd, so if God were to pass before us, its possible his shadow would be in the 3rd dimension..Maybe that's what Moses saw when God passed before him-it was only his shadow...."Who would have thought I'd be sitting here thinking about the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and even 5th dimensions....Holy Moly
8. He's really good looking. Like...Reeeeeeeeeeeealy gooooooood looking.
9. He got a haircut which makes number 8 squared. Yum-o
10. We discover kickin' music together and he makes my heart go pitter patter with his music abilities. I married a rock star, people.

Hey Mr., Comic book store tonight?
UNCLE SVENS! Pound it.

Tuesdays Letters

Dear Kickin Husband, Being sick? Not so cool, Being sick together and thus getting to eat icees and hot chocolate to make our throats feel better? A little more rad. Thanks for always sharing, even when it hurts.  Dear Tuesdays, If it wasn't for you, I may not blog on a consistent basis. You're good for me. Dear fall and October, you have transformed my little house into a pumpkin patch. I love you. Dear Mouses (aka mice) that are STILL ALIVE. We've killed a small portion of your family, we're sad about making your clan die, and would rather you just leave. Please a) start reading this blog so you can be aware of our intentions. b) pack up your little mouse bags and c) Leave forever. You can also just do C. Dear Man of my life, 4.5 hour car rides,  singing in crazy falsetto to Avril Lavigne while driving  (HOTT) and making out in parking lots? (Yum to the O) Makes you the coolest man ever. Please lets repeat these until we meet Jesus.

Over & Out.

P.S. Young Boys & Girls: Cooties are Real. They don't go away till your married.

* P.S. 'Tuesday's letters is originally an idea of Today's letters. Definitely check them out. They're incredible.