An Epic Vacation

With over 2,000 miles added to the odometer and five states crossed along the way, our Christmas vacation was full of adventure as we spent two weeks as far away from the cold weather as possible. Leading up to the trip, we had planned on making a two day journey to Florida. I told Scott I would absolutely not put up with another 18 drive like we did from Dallas to Warsaw. We had planned out the drive so we could get most of the way to Florida, but stop and get some sleep along the way so we weren't crazy tired when we arrived. Well, about two before we leave my sweet and loving husband carefully suggested that perhaps we should just wake up early and drive all 18 hours in one day so we can just get there and be done with it. My response was a big fat no way, no how, not gonna happen, END OF STORY. Or so I thought... I've learned my husband can be very persistent when he wants something. So he kept at it and kept at it, and then he finally got me, "But just think of how great it will be to have all day Friday to spend with your Grandma..." Well crap. He's right. So grandma wins and our journey began. Bright and early at 4 AM...

The drive down was pretty good. Unlike our trip from Dallas to Warsaw which occurred at night, this trip was during the day and I could actually see parts of the country that I have never been to before. I think my favorite was Tennessee. It is just so beautiful down there! 

As we made our way farther south, I watched the outside temperature gauge creep higher and higher. Now I realize why people in the North laugh at people in the South when they were big bulky coats when it's 50 degrees outside. By the time we got to Georgia I had shed every layer I was wearing only to see people with puffy down coats on pumping gas at the gas station. 

We finally made it to Florida and spent our first day spending time with Grandma, going shopping, relaxing and waiting for my sister and brother-in-law to arrive. We left bright and early to drive to Miami on Saturday, which is where our cruise on the Norwegian Epic was departing from. The next seven days were spent relaxing in the sun as we traveled to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau. Here are a few pictures of our trip below:

St. Maarten, US Virgin Islands

 St. Johns, Virgin Islands

 Jennifer, Mom, and I in Nassau, Bahamas

 Atlantis, Bahamas

Aquarium in Atlantis

After the cruise returned to port in Miami, Scott and I spent the next couple of days in Florida hanging with with Grandma and some of Scott's family that I had yet to meet. And then we were off to Atlanta, where we had decided to spend New Years Eve on our way back to Warsaw. We booked our hotel in October, so it was by complete chance that the Aggies ended up playing in the Chick-fil-A bowl, but as soon as we found out they were playing, we bought tickets and ended up having one of the best new year's ever! It was probably one of the best sporting events I've ever witnessed.

 The closest I'll ever be to Johnny Football

Gig 'Em Aggies! 

Best husband ever!

Just like we watching the temperatures increase on our way down, we sadly watched them decrease on our way back, only to finally get home to the same 20 degree weather we left and lots and lots of snow. Little did we know that a full blown blizzard would be headed our way just days later! It's only fitting that the polar vortex would blow through during my first official winter in Indiana. I'll be spending the next few days planted by the fireplace sipping coffee while I try to ignore the sub zero temperatures outside. Can't think of a better way to start the new year! Ok, that's a lie, but at least it's a new year worth remembering!

A White Thanksgiving

Holy moly! Is it really December already?! This year has flown by. This time last year I was a newlywed living in Dallas and the idea of living in Warsaw, Indiana was not even on the radar. Even more crazy is to think that two years today exactly, Scott had just officially asked me to be his girlfriend and the thought of marriage wasn't even on the radar (ok, ok, maybe it was just a little bit). In fact, if someone had asked me two years ago where Warsaw was I would have told them Poland! Now we're married, living in Indiana and trying to get used to all kinds of crazy weather that includes snow before it's even Thanksgiving!

This fall has been so much fun and  filled with lots of family time and a little demolition. Scott and I attended our first Jeep Jam and had a blast. Ok, I think Scott was having a blast while I was freaking out in the passenger seat, but I managed to get over it and we both made it home in one piece. A little mud never hurt anyone, right? The video below is from the rock crawling portion of the event.

We also got to spend several weekends down in Bloomington, Indiana for some IU football. I think its hysterical that you can pretty much drive through the ENTIRE state of Indiana in a little over 3 hours! But at least I've now been properly introduced to several IU staples including Mother Bears, Nick's, and breakfast at the Village Deli. I think I've come to terms with the fact that my children could very likely be Hoosiers instead of Aggies, but the good news is the more time I spend down there the more I like it.  Turns out I happen to come from a long line of Hoosiers myself, so maybe it's just supposed to be this way!

Thanksgiving included a lot of food, wine, puzzles, football, pumpkin pie, and of course lots of family to top it all off. It snowed a couple of days before so I can now say I've had my first white Thanksgiving (is it sad that it came before my first white Christmas?). I must admit, the Texan in me really does love it when it snows! (Although I think I'm starting to annoy Scott with my excitement every time snow falls from the sky... but he loves me so he puts up with it.)

On a more fun note, for some reason, Scott and I decided to go all HGTV on our basement to make the space more usable. So after knocking down some walls, our basement now looks like this:

Unfortunately, since we did this on a whim, it will probably be like this for a while until we get a professional to help us decide where to go from here. But we have some pretty awesome ideas so we will post more photos as we get things done.

Lastly, since Christmas is the season of giving, I want to share the Rodan + Fields love by offering a discount on business kits for all new consultants! As many of you know, Rodan + Fields has been such a blessing to our family and now I want to share this incredible opportunity with others. For the entire rest of the month I will personally put $100 towards either of the top two business kits for anyone who signs up as a consultant!

Honestly, with new products launching in January and international expansion around the corner, now is literally the BEST time to get started in this business! And what could be better than saving $100 while you're at it? This little side business has been so much fun and I am grateful for the extra income it has provided our family. Seriously... Best. Decision. Ever. If you're curious and would like to know more, let me know (sarah.stouder@gmail.com)!

As for the rest of the year, Scott and I are literally counting down the days till our Christmas cruise. I think I'm beginning to forget what warm weather feels like. Stay tuned for a post-Christmas update that includes a cross-country drive to Florida, a Caribbean cruise, and  New Years Eve stop in Atlanta on our way back home!

Fall, football, and the first anniversary

Wow... I'm not very consistent with updating this blog! There has been a lot going on, I think we had something going on EVERY weekend in September.  No wonder it went by so quickly! 

As a Texan and an Aggie, I always love the fall because that means it's finally time for college football. This year was no exception, even if I am too far away to personally witness the wonders of Johnny Football in person. So for now I guess IU and Notre Dame football will have to do, which is how we spent our first two weekends of September. It was so fun getting to explore IU and see for myself a place that is so significant in Scott's life. If for some reason our kids don't end up being Aggies, I guess being Hoosiers is the next best thing:

Go IU!

A night out in Bloomington

Notre Dame football from the very top of the stadium! 

On Notre Dame's Campus

I can say one of the best parts of fall is the Indiana weather! It's been just amazing lately (I can't remember the last time I turned on the AC) and I think my parents enjoyed it while they stopped in for a brief visit during the third weekend in September. It was their last trip to Warsaw for a quite a while, seeing as they are pretty anti- cold weather/snow (and I have a feeling we have a lot of that coming our way SOON). So we enjoyed the lake while we still can, along with some pretty awesome sunsets:

And of course, one of the best parts of fall is the end of September... the 29th to be exact as Scott and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary! I really cannot believe it's been a year already. God has truly blessed me with the person he gave me as a husband and I have loved every single second of our first year of marriage. It's been quite the adventure and I know this is just the beginning! We celebrated the first year with lots of golf, quality time, and a trip to Indianapolis that included some very dry wedding cake, but it was fun sticking with tradition and eating it anyway. It was a much needed mini vacation and we had so much fun, as we always do! 

One year down, forever more to go! 

Howdy, Y'all!

We are finally back from our Texas adventure! While Scott was only gone for a couple of days, I got to spend almost a week and a half in my home state and loved every second of it (except the moments caught out in the 104 degree weather). I have to say I was quite surprised at how quickly my body de-aclimated to the heat. Upon our arrival at DFW airport, I stepped out of the air conditioning and the heat hit me like a brick wall. I almost immediately started sweating in places I forgot I could sweat in! Yesterday (in Indiana) it was 48 degrees when I went to work... FORTY-EIGHT DEGREES IN AUGUST. I'm sure my coworkers just think I'm that crazy Texan that has to bust out her Northface fleece in August because it was too cold for her when she went to work. (Any one who reads this blog can prepare themselves for lots of complaining come December and January.)

But back to our trip to Texas. We had so much fun seeing all of our friends on Thursday night!!  I think Scott would agree that we wish we had a whole day to catch up with all of our friends instead of just a couple of hours one evening. It was definitely some much needed fellowship so I hope everyone knows how much we appreciate you coming out to say hi and spend time with us!!

Friday was filled with family time and doing anything we possibly could to avoid the heat, so we found ourself at the George Bush Presidential Library and of course the mall... I dare you to guess which one was my idea...And if you guessed the mall then you guessed wrong! I wanted to go see President Bush's library before we left Texas place but we didn't make it. It was the perfect afternoon activity and it was awesome. Definitely recommend it to anyone who has a chance to go!

We picked my sister up from the airport that evening and headed to get some Mexican food (finally!)... turns out my Dad was a little thirsty and decided he needed to help my sister with her drink:

Saturday was filled with more shopping with my sister and mom and of course a pedicure (it's kinda our thing... probably because mom always pays, ha!).  We spend most of Saturday afternoon at the hotel pool at the Joule, which was pretty fun but made me realize that the one thing I don't miss about Dallas is the vanity from all the wanna-be socialites taking selfies in the pool all afternoon! But we got to hangout with some good friends and family and had a lot of fun catching up with everyone. Saturday evening we attended the wedding of some very good friends of ours. It was beautiful (I have never seen so many flowers!) and I even managed to get Scott to dance with me! The things he does to make his wife happy :)

On Sunday Scott and I went our separate ways as he went home and I headed to San Antonio. I forgot how long that drive is... it probably didn't help that we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way as we were trying out the new toll road around Austin (but I think road trips are just more fun when I have Scott around to entertain me). We got to see a lot of family while we were there which was awesome. I even managed to find time to have lunch with one of my best friends before we headed back to Dallas:

Of course all good things must come to an end... so we drove back to Dallas where I got to eat with a few of my favorites one last time before heading back to Indiana:

While I was sad to leave Texas, I was definitely happy to get back home to Scott! It was quite the trip but as they say, home is where the heart is and life is just not the same when Scott's not around. And while he kept talking about his "few days as a bachelor," I'm pretty sure he missed me too :)

4th of July & Fireflies

Wow! This summer is flying by. Can it possibly be the end of July already?!? We have been incredibly busy working on the house, enjoying the lake, and perfecting our golf game. This time last year we were two short months away from being married, and now we're on the verge of our 1 year anniversary. I cannot believe how much has happened in the course of a year.

The never ending to-do list known as our house is continuing to get shorter, slowly but surely. Although Scott's already started talking "winter projects" which I haven't quite wrapped my mind around yet. Apparently the winter is so dreary up here that we'll need a whole host of projects just to get us through... lucky me!

So a couple of days ago we finished the pond. Yes, behind all of those weeds there is a pond down there somewhere!

Before 

 After

If there's one thing Indiana does better than Texas, it's their 4th of July celebrations. We spent 3 days on 3 different lakes watching fireworks and enjoying time with friends and family.  Between neigborhood parades, punch parties, wiffleball, boats, and lots and lots of fireworks, we had a blast celebrating our first Indiana Independence Day! 

Oh, and I now have a new found obsession with fireflies. They are everywhere up here and there are SO MANY of them. One of my new favorite things is to go for walks in the evening with Scott and Duke and see all of the fireflies flying everywhere! I think Scott think's I'm crazy, but I love it. 

Side note, I also think it's hysterical when it's 90 degrees out and I get heat advisory warnings on my phone! Like most of the country, Indiana has been pretty warm this past week, but it still makes me laugh. 

Despite an unusually rainy summer, we've managed to get out on the golf course a little bit more. I'm slowly getting better (golf is not an easy game for someone like myself that is seriously lacking in the patience department). As my husband pointed out this weekend, I finally hit few enough balls to get "something with a name" in the game of golf. Unlike most golfers, I was very excited to get a bogey! 

We are so excited to be going back to Texas in a week and a half! We look forward to seeing as many people as possible while we're there, but between a wedding and spending time with my family, we will be limited in when we will have time to hangout. For any of our friend that haven't gotten the memo, we'll be hanging out at Goodfriends Burger and Beer Garden on Thursday evening from 6-9. Please come say hi, we would love to catch up with you!!! Needless to say, we are literally counting down the days because we miss our Texas friends and family like crazy! 

I guess I'll end this post with a little plug for my side business with Rodan + Fields. This "job" has been such a blessing for Scott and I! It was great seeing my paycheck double from one month to the next. On top of that, Rodan + Fields was recently awarded the 2013 American Business Award for Consumer Products-Company of the Year, which is the exact same award that Apple won in 2011. It's great being connected to a business that is getting the same recognition as several other big time companies. And we're just getting started! If you have even the slighted interest in starting your own business with Rodan + Fields, email me (sarah.stouder@gmail.com)! Sometimes I think it's crazy that I get paid to do something that is so fun. But the results speak for themselves. Check out my website for more info!   

After using the REDEFINE Regimen:

A Crazy Spring

Hi friends! Well this certainly has been a crazy spring! With snow falling as late as April 26 and then a very, very wet May, we are ready for what we hope to be a great summer!

I forgot to post on Facebook our Cinco de Mayo pictures so here you go. I don't remember why Scott wanted to take a frowny-face picture but we did...

Memorial Day weekend was a lot of fun (with exception of the cold... first time I've worn a fleece jacket at the end of May!). Scott finally busted out the wakeboard and managed to wakeboard once before busting up his foot (the last picture captured the final moment before his wipeout):

Crazy to think that last Memorial Day we were celebrating our engagement and I was meeting Scott's family for the first time! Of course last year the highs were around 100 and this year I think we maybe got to 65 degrees (hence the wetsuit)? I think God is just trying to convince me that I'm really going to have to get used to this cold weather thing...

We finally made it to Columbus, OH to visit Scott's brother and his family (although we had just seen them for Memorial Day Weekend). My sister-in-law is awesome and threw me a party to help launch my Rodan + Fields business (which was a huge success... THANK YOU, Jeannie!). We had a blast hanging out with them and their cute kiddos for the weekend:

Wind farm on the drive through Ohio

Scott was making sure all the neighbors knew the party had started

Shades on ready to go shopping!

Dinner in downtown Columbus

Oh yes... and new developments on the yard... which now looks like this:

So in Indiana when you grow grass they cover it with hay until it starts growing. Which I'm totally fine with except I'm wondering what happens to all of the hay after the grass starts growing? Surely Scott knows better than to think I'm going to go out there and pick it all up! :)

I can say the first 8 months of marriage has been quite the adventure. We have loved every minute of it and know that God has some great things in store for us! 

Rodan + Fields

As you might be aware, my husband and I moved from Dallas to Warsaw, IN in March of this year.  In order to do so I had to walk away from my job in the Dallas corporate world.  Not one to "rest on my laurels" (as my husband would say) I have decided to go into business with the creators of Proactiv. Having a sister who is a dermatologist in NYC and having family members whom struggle with skin issues, skincare was definitely a business I have a passion for and support.

The company I chose to partner with is called Rodan + Fields, and it was first launched into high end retail stores, like Nordstroms, where it became a top selling clinical skincare brand. In an effort to reach more people, they decided to successfully leave retail and go into direct sales.  I have joined them as an independent consultant.

Instead of working long hours in an office doing tasks that benefit someone else's business, I decided to go into business for myself. Now I get to set my own schedule, sell a great product, all while making my own skin beautiful in the process! To be honest, I can't believe it took me 6 years and over 13,500 hours of working for someone else to figure out that life is so much better working for yourself. 

I first heard of Rodan + Fields on Facebook when one of my friends signed up as a consultant. It sounded great but not something I felt was right for me at the time. And then two more of my friends became consultants and after seeing all the success they were having, I began to wonder if I was missing out on a great opportunity. 

So now I've launched my own website: sbstouder.myrandf.com where I get to offer some really awesome products. Check out the video below:

And if you are interested in becoming a Rodan + Fields consultant, you can check out my business page at sbstouder.myrandf.biz. I'd love to have you join my team! 

That is all for now... We are still missing our Texas friends like crazy!  The weather here has finally warmed up so we can spend more time on the golf course or out on the lake. Scott and I are looking forward to a great summer!