- Now what? -

After we claimed the keys and stood in the front yard to take our first picture as new homeowners, we looked at each other blankly and blurted out, "Now what?!" [Actually, *I* said that; Brian has had the plan of action ready for weeks!]

But seriously, what do we do and where do we go from here??!  With lots of brainstorming from my awesome hubby and lots of help from our awesome families, we are planning to flip and fix up the entire inside of the house.  

Oh em geeee.

#biggestprojectever

#atruetestofmarriage

#holyshizaherewego


Check out the raw footage! 


-LIVING ROOM-

-KITCHEN-

-MASTER BEDROOM-

-MASTER BATHROOM-

-MASTER CLOSET-

-LAUNDRY ROOM- 
[Seriously SO STOKED about this room! I am counting down to the day when I will never have to tote 5 loads of laundry down 3 flights of stairs to a bunch of junky coin-operated machines. Dear apartment living: I am so over you! Now to hurry and fix up this utility room...] 

-GUEST BEDROOM #1- 

-GUEST BEDROOM #2-

-GUEST BATHROOM- 

-STAIRS-

-BASEMENT-

This house better get ready for the biggest makeover it's ever seen! ;) 

Here we go! 

Goodbye house, hello home! 

- HOMEOWNERS! -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

We signed the papers, grabbed the keys, and proclaimed ourselves as NEW HOMEOWNERS!!!

And the remodeling work begins TODAY! Lots and lots of renovation and before/after pictures to come! :D


Other week highlights: 

-- Happy birthday Grandma Penny, Mindi, and Kevin!  Happy birthday, Abe Lincoln! 

-- After price shopping for appliances and realizing that our new fridge probably shouldn't have an 8-inch scratch and .5-inch dent across the front door, we bought all new appliances at Best Buy! Refrigerator, microwave, range, dishwasher, washer, and dryer are all being delivered to the house in a few weeks.  [I am MOSTLY excited about never again having to carry loads of laundry up and down three flights of stairs to a coin-operated machine. And for an oven that doesn't have a 10-inch flame shoot up every time you turn the knob.] Exciting times! 

-- The house is making progress! Toilets are torn out, staples pulled up from the floor, and popcorn crap scraped from the ceilings. My hubby and our sweet families have been hard at work. Almost time to paint!

-- LASTLY, we caught the SLU 9pm Mass this week and headed to Humps afterwards! It was so fun to share drinks with the Mass Choir friends and ALSO to celebrate Sean's birthday! Sean-o: Happy 21st anniversary of your 21st birthday, and we hope you are still just as crazy in 21 more years!

- Happy Hearts -

Flowers and chocolates and mushy gushy cards were so last year; my husband bought me a HOUSE for Valentine's Day! Hehe.

Ok ok, so ACTUALLY he also bought flowers and chocolates and mushy gushy cards, too. :) We also enjoyed a turtle cheesecake delivered fresh from Resa's kitchen!

Besides celebrating our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, we also celebrated our unity in Love "with a capital L" and being made perfect in His image and likeness! For our many blessings over the past year and for the gift of being eternally made for Love, we are forever grateful.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love." ~1 John 4:8

Happy heart day, everyone. <3 

- Ash Wednesday -

There's that awkward moment when you realize binge eating carries you through night shift...

...BUT the clock ticks midnight and it's Ash Wednesday...

...and it's STILL going to be Ash Wednesday for half of the next night's shift!

Dang, I really didn't luck out with this one. 

Work was busy, busy, busy, so the hours flew by quickly. Phew!

In closing, I am excited to say that we will forever remember Ash Wednesday 2013 by its black remnants on my pink handtowel:

"Baby, I think I might've ruined your towel while you were at work!" *sigh* #men

[As Fr. Meconi said, B is just laying his life down for his wife in good, Paschal fashion!]

Happy Lent, everyone! May your season be filled with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving [oh, and also a little humor to get you through it!].

- Working and more working... -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Is it possible that NOTHING more exciting happened this week than both of us working?!

In fact, it is possible...

...And it happened!

With the new labor and delivery unit being so busy and our [non-floating] labor and delivery staff being so short, the management is begging us to work extra shifts. Instead of hiring traveling nurses, our staff has agreed to work extra shifts for the travel nurse pay! Overtime + travel nurse pay = $$$$$! Woooo! While the incentive is awesome and the paychecks are even awesome-er, working 50-60 hours per week is getting a little a lot strenuous. And stressful. And kinda stupid. I'm not too thrilled about working, eating, sleeping, working, eating, working, repeat, repeat, repeat. I miss my normal life outside work! :(

Anyway, on a brighter note...

...Speculum exam, anyone??? ;) 

In between Brian's working hours this week, he kept busy with tearing up the floor at the house and patching holes in the drywall. More renovation posts to come!  


Other week highlights: 

-- I met my mom in Edwardsville for lunch on my one day off! We played catch up and shopped for a few things for the new house.

-- Did I mention that I had to work this weekend and missed the huge Mardi Gras celebration in Soulard?! So sad. :( Missin' those sweet college days! 

- Congrats to the Mr. and Mrs.! -

Eileen...is...MARRIED!! Ahhhh! 

We had an amazing time at her picture-perfect winter wedding! :) 

Happy wedding day, pretty girl! I love this picture -- a group of my favorite labor and delivery ladies! 

Congrats to to the Mr. and Mrs.! 

- Priscilla at the Fox -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

My sweet, charming, wonderful husband took both of our moms and me to the Fox this week! [Thanks, Purina, for the awesome box seat tickets! And Brian: you got lots of brownie points from the ladies!] The show was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; none of us were sure how it would be considering the show isn't very famous AND the 3 main characters are drag queens.....

...but, we LOVED it! Great music and wild costumes and hilarious jokes! Lesson learned to take advantage of some Fox Theatre action any time we can get it! ;) 

Other week highlights: 

-- B and I shopped for appliances this weekend at the Mills! The stuff for sale at the "scratch and dent Sears" was, well, [for lack of a better explanation] very scratched and dented! In the end: we like discounted appliances, but we also don't want our nice, new, remodeled house to be immediately scratched and dented. We took some notes of what was there and plan to keep looking around and comparing prices with other stores.

-- My parents celebrated their anniversary on February 2! Claps for 27 years of wedded bliss and 27+ more years to come! :) 

- Workflows -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

For the past two years, Mercy Labor and Delivery has been designing and building a new, improved, HUGE, awesome, state-of-the-art unit in the hospital's new tower! It has always seemed like a far off dream, but this week the all dreams and hard work are realities.  THE NEW UNIT IS HERE!  

On top of our regular scheduled shifts, all nurses have been required to come in extra for "workflows" on the new unit.  [You know, because we want to have our sh*t figured out before all the patients come.]  We spent an entire day navigating through our three new floors and learning how to use new equipment, monitors, and pieces of technology we had no clue even existed. Holy moly, this new unit comes with a huge learning curve! 

In the last hour of the workflow, we were running mock codes from the triage center to the OR's. Our group of 8 is a litttttle [ok, a lot] proud of setting the code white record at 1 minute and 32 seconds. Holla! Bring on the laboring mommas and crashing babies! ;) 

Nurse Anna: at your cervix! [I'd take that smiling face at my cervix...I mean SERVICE...any day!]

Here are a few more pictures of our beautiful new unit! [I stole these from Mercy's FB page...] 

Maternity Welcome Center -- All patients will come here first to be triaged before coming to L&D!

New rooms -- love them!! 

So spacious and new and clean and gorgeous -- this must be a pregnant momma's dream!

 Bathrooms -- each complete with shower and tub!

All this new unit hype is kiiiiiinda stirring up my baby fever. Eek!! ;) Stay tuned for more posts and pictures from the new L&D!


Other week highlights: 

-- Work, work, work..... Extra shifts and workflows and no time for anything except sleep and WORK! :( Brian is remembering what it feels like to be a single man! 

- Goodbye, L&D! -

Tonight we celebrated our very last shift in the old 2nd floor labor and delivery! In this place, we spent hours in thousands of births and laughed countless times with friends who became family.  For sweet closure, we spent the 6-7am hour running around the floor like mad women snapping ridiculous pictures...

Hasta luego, recovery room...

Sayonara, operating rooms...

Arrivederci, team 3...

Namaste, team 4...

[Even signed the walls! "Thanks for the memories. Bad back, bad knees, wt loss from no lunches, and the urine incontinence - WORE OUT!" Hahaha!]

Au revoir, WEU...

Goodbye, goodbye, GOODBYE Labor & Birth!!!

#abandoned

- MICFQ 2013 -

There's nothing I love more than getting all dolled up to reunite with some fabulous fair queen friends! Small groups of us manage to get together here and there throughout the year, but the big homecoming comes at the annual Miss Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant every January! I love these 2010 beauties so much; I love catching up with them and staying in tune with their ever-exciting lives even more! 

Forever fabulous! Clinton, Marion, Montgomery, Edgar, Effingham, Iroquois, Champaign, Rock Island, Marion, Macon, Vermillion, and Union: the best of the best! [Lots of people missing... We know you were there in love and spirit!]

Love these two to pieces! 

More important than catching up with past fair queens is cheering on our CURRENT fair queen. Sunny, you rocked that stage and made all of us so proud! Montgomery County grows some pretty great chicks! ;) This picture is of our director Missy with Mont. Co. fair queens from '08, '10, '09, '12, '11, and '??. [Brandi was the fair queen the same year Sunny was the Little Miss!]

Is it sad that I'm already counting down for next year's state pageant?! :( See you in a year, glamour girls!! 

- Goodbye, Nikki! -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

I have the BEST co-workers in the entire universe! "Work" is lots of work, but "work" is also incredibly fun because I'm constantly surrounded by crazy people!  Friday night, a few of us met at Culpeppers in Creve Coeur to celebrate Nurse Nikki's culminating and crashing L&D career. :(  It doesn't seem real that she's leaving us for a new job in the OR, but it's a great opportunity for her and she will only be a few floors away! ;) Love ya, woman. Missin' you already! 

Other week highlights: 

-- Brian and I headed to Springfield for the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen state pageant! Another post with more pictures to follow...

- The Bachelor -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

A new season of the Bachelor has premiered...FINALLY! There's nothing like being completely mesmerized by the trashiest reality TV show there ever was... But still, we love it! And we love it even more with the lights out and a bottle of pink champagne! Cheers to us being enthralled by ridiculousness and again to Bachelor Sean "finding love!" 

Other week highlights: 

-- Marko and Jon turned 31! We had a yummy dinner in Carrollton with a huge group of friends. 

-- From the couch, we cheered for Megan Ervin on the Miss America stage! This beautiful Miss Illinois is AWESOME and even made the Top 10! My mom and I love watching Miss America every year, but the pageant gets a million times more exciting when you know someone competing.  Congrats, Megan and all of the Ervin family! We are proud of you! :)

- Eileen's Bachelorette Party -

We love Bride-to-Be Eileen!! Her bachelorette party this weekend started out with a surprise welcome from her "tacky bridal party" + a similarly tacky bridal gown that her mom purchased at the Goodwill! ;) ...And the best part? It fit her PERFECTLY! [So sad that you can't see the poofy long sleeves in this picture...]

First stop: The Painted Zebra. Just call us artistas. 

After heading back to her mom's house to open gifts and have a few snacks, we had dinner at Katie's Pizza. Mercy L&D girls huddled up for a quick pic!

And the rest of the night? Well, that goes undocumented. ;) 

Happy bachelorette party, Eileen! And the countdown to your wedding begins! 

- New Year's Day -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Cheers to 2013!!! We hopped between a few parties in Mt. Olive on New Year's Eve; thanks to Matt & Steph and Brandon & Val for hosting! On New Year's Day, we rode along on Marko and Jon's 2nd annual bus bar crawl through Clinton County. It was a fun day with the Dragovich family! 

Other week highlights: 

-- The Mercy L&D girls rocked the town for Eileen's bachelorette party! Stay tuned for a longer post! 

- Christmas Day -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Santa found this married man at his momma's house! ;) We had a great Christmas with the Flemings, Stierens, and Beelers. (...And I spent Christmas night delivering little Baby Jesuses at Mercy!)

Other week highlights: 

-- We had a wayyyy overdue visit with the Zieglers and Wagahoffs! So much fun to catch up with them + we got to see all Anna's new toys from Santa! :)

- Merry Christmas -

The gifts are wrapped and waiting under our baby tree! 

All that's left now is to send peace, [married] love, and joy...

...and wish you a very Merry Christmas! 

- Sam's Steakhouse -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

My baby is 32! We celebrated his [real] birthday night at his parents' house in Mt. Olive. Seriously, what beats a home-cooked meal by your momma!?  The weekend dinner date was at his favorite restaurant, Sam's Steakhouse. Of course, our waiter was the wonderful Piero. :) Thanks to all who made B's birthday so special! 

Other week highlights: 

-- We finished our [very LAST minute] Christmas shopping! Hoorah! 

-- Brian headed to the Illini/Mizzou Braggin' Rights game in St. Louie. Illini lost, but who's keeping score? ;) 

- Tilles Park -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

There's nothing like a drive through Tilles Park to get someone in the Christmas spirit! You'd think that I'd have been here before [especially considering the fact that I've spent 6 Decembers in St. Louis], but this was the first time for both of us.  We loved it! 1,000,000+ lights draped over trees, bushes, and archways...yes, please! 

Other week highlights: 

-- We had dinner and drinks with great friends! Neither of us had been to Tony's in Alton before, but we will definitely be returning.  Thanks for a great night Matt & Steph and Marko & Emma! 

-- Brian's Uncle Ted and Aunt Amy had an open house holiday party. We had a great time there, too! This was a week filled with great family and friends and LOTS of Christmas spirit! 

- Christmas Cheer Is Here -

We may be [literally] living on top of each other in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, but there is still plenty of room in our home for Christmas cheer!  We decorated our small space this year with lots of wedding gifts from lots of very generous people! :)

We love our 4-foot tree from Tommy and Chelsea + the red and silver glittery ornaments from Steve and Margy!  One of the most thoughtful gifts, and it fits our apartment's color scheme perfectly! 

The tree is filled with ornaments we adore.  Three favorites: 

"This day calls for big girl shoes!"  A sweet reminder of the best day of our lives + my fair queen friends. Thanks, Alicia! 

Oh Maui, how we miss you! :(

A crazy wonderful wedding gift from Brian's siblings: a helicopter ride over Hawaii!  We will never forget it. Thanks Laura, Sarah, Lisa, Brant, and Garett!

My parents bought this nativity set in Rome when they came to visit at the end of my semester abroad. I can't look at it without missing the Eternal City dearly and also remembering how that semester pushed me forward in the faith.  Isn't it mind-boggling that the hope for eternal life and the savior of the world came as a sweet baby?  Hand-picked with love and blessed by the Pope; I love it.

We believe in the season! Thanks, Bill and Julie.

We are spending Christmas Eve and Day this year with both of our families.  Christmas cheer and blessings to you and yours! 

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."  -- Calvin Coolidge

- Mannheim Steamroller -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

I've been waiting to spoil this secret since I bought the tickets September 7!  Mannheim Steamroller is one of my dad's favorite bands, not to mention they know how to make some PHENOMENAL Christmas music. As soon as I caught wind of their tour stopping at the Fox, I was counting down until "opening day" at the box office.  We gave the tickets to my parents as their Christmas gift. Add a nice dinner at Vito's Italian restaurant down the road, and wah-lah. 

Oh, did I mention we were in the FRONT ROW behind the orchestra section?! Magical night! 

Other week highlights: 

-- Our professional wedding photos are finished! We picked up the CD of images + a proof book from our photographer. CLICK HERE to see the sneak peek on her website!

-- Grandma turned 82!! My mom had a dinner party for her at our house. Fun times with the family! 

- Blue Man Group -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Welcome to the very first "Sum-It-Up Sunday!"  In an effort to keep my blogging habitual + keep you updated on our ever-changing lives, I will be [shortly] summarizing our week on Sundays! 

This past Wednesday, we saw Blue Man Group with Marko and Emma.  We had dinner at Seamus McDaniel's and then headed for the Fox.  The show was bright, loud, and [of course] entertaining!  I won't be forgetting the blue man anytime soon, as there is a blue smudge of him always traveling on my white coat's right shoulder! ;) 

Other week highlights: 

-- I got my new Social Security card and am officially "Bridget Renee Fleming!"

-- Brian traveled to Chicago for 2 days on a business trip.

-- We were honored guests of the Bed Bath & Beyond buy-out.  The store was opened after-hours for newly married couples, and we purchased everything left on our registry with a 20% discount!  We love BB&B! They are so accommodating and organized and wonderful.  Cheers to having a complete set of new dishes! 

- Thank You! -

As I sit here today with a [bottomless] cup of coffee and an [endless] stack of thank you cards, it is hard to find great enough words.  Brian and I are taken back by all of your love!  We are so thankful for all of our family and friends who helped celebrate the best day of our lives; meager sentences on a thank you card cannot express how appreciative we truly are. Thank you for being our teachers, comrades, and support systems.  You are our very best friends and the people we adore the most.  Sweet family and friends: know how very much you are loved!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone!!

- Move In? -

Hey, we're married!...

...Wanna move in? ;) 

- Share Your Pics! -

Have any pictures from our wedding weekend? We would love to see them! 

bridget.stieren@gmail.com
brian_d_fleming@yahoo.com

Thanks, friends! :)