a song about my skinnies

Sweater: Target  Tank: Target  Pants: Target  Shoes: Forever Young Shoes

Caution: I'm breaking out into song mode.... I bought GREEN pants and I can not lie, a truth that my husband wants to deny!  Ha ha, seriously though! I am so happy that I finally got a pair of colored skinnies! Unfortunately Eric is having a hard time getting used to it. Each time he refers to me, he HAS to mention the pants. For example, he called me the other day and asked, "Where are you in your green pants?" Or, "Green means go, your pants would know." Ha ha, he's a charmer ;)

So I met up with Gentri to do some window shopping at Target... which ended with a bag full of clothes and Easter m&m's. Definitely a good combination, m&m's + the tightest pants on earth. Awesome. Anyway... Gentri whizzed through the store and picked out this amazing outfit in 2 seconds flat. I never would've put this together, ever! But I am so glad that she convinced me to get out of my comfort zone! I've decided that she needs to loan me her magical shopping powers, or become my personal shopper :) Next on the list? PINK skinnies. Who's surprised?

P.S. I told Gentri the other day... I've never been more motivated to do lunges than when I wear these pants :) Ha.

P.P.S. Is it just me or do colored skinnies run smaller? My pants are 2-4 sizes larger than I normally wear... so don't be afraid to try on a bigger size!

it's a story about poop

Yep. I'm totally talking about poop today, ha ha! Remember when I babysat 5 boys a couple months ago? I mentioned in this post that the 4 year old pooped his pants and you all said you wanted to hear the story. I've really debated whether I should post this or not because I'm going to be judged on some of my actions, big time. But oh well! It's a funny story so just keep in mind that I am NOT a mother so my mind just kind of shut down and went into panic mode. I wasn't thinking clearly :)

E (4 years old) and I met up with Gentri and spent the day at this gorgeous lake. E was walking up and down the dock eating his pb&j sandwich when I noticed he was walking funny. I asked him if he needed to go potty and he told me no, he'd just pooped his pants. Um, WHAT? We were 30 minutes outside of town and I definitely didn't bring a change of clothes. I didn't even have wipes because the boy was past this stage! I figured I could just take his pants off and throw his underwear away but nope. It ran all down his legs and got on his socks and shoes! Nasty!
Poor E stood there naked from the waist down for a few minutes until I remembered that I had napkins in my car! I started wiping him down, gagging and laughing the whole time (thank goodness Gentri was amazzzzing through this!), and realized there were no trash cans around. So I turned on my thinking cap, not, and decided to toss the poopy napkins in the lake. They would totally dissolve eventually, right? Right.
I was down to my last napkin when I heard E say, "Oh no! Those people are going to see me!" I looked up and saw a couple getting out of a car, and they started pulling out fishing poles and chairs. I knew they were coming to fish off the dock. I look around and there are poopy napkins floating around BOTH sides of the dock. Oh my lanta. I got down on my stomach and started scooping the poopy napkins out of the water, sick! I was trying to hurry and grab them before the couple got down to the dock but they were everywhere! Ha ha, I was dying! While I was scooping up napkins Gentri took E's jacket and tied him some makeshift underwear for the car ride :)

She is a genius. Genius, I tell ya! E was such a good sport the whole time. I knew he was so embarrassed but he didn't cry once! He'd just chuckle every once in awhile :) And he thought his new "underwear" was pretty funny!
The best part was walking past the couple with poopy pants in one hand, sopping wet poopy napkins in another, and E with his new outfit, ha ha! It is safe to say that that was the best birth control I've had in awhile :) And when I have kids... I'll always have a change of clothes in the car, no matter what their age is! Oh and gloves. I'll definitely have some emergency gloves as well!

weekend review {St. George}

Well with Eric's new fun crappy work schedule our weekend is now Monday and Tuesday! Luckily I don't work these days so we can be together, but I can't wait until his work schedule goes back to normal! Anyway, Monday we got the heck out of town and saw the HUNGER GAMES! Finallllly :) We loved it!

 Can you see the excitement? YAY Hunger Games :) And I snuck in some candy. Such a rebel!

What is this tree? I want one in my yard someday. The blossoms are gorgeous.

First pair of colored skinnies! But these get a whole post of their own... and I may have worn these 2 days in a row :)

Enjoying this gorgeous weather!

Eric's favorite aisle in Target :)

Monday was a perfect day full of sunshine, food, visits with friends and my parents, beautiful scenery, shopping, and most importantly... my husband! Today we have no plans but it is SO nice to just be together :)

P.S. You know how the cute pictures always get put on the blog? Well this is what life is like with  me and Eric...

 Seriously. HA HA!

he said/she said

Today I'm joining in with this fun newlywed game link up! Eric and I aren't really "newly weds" anymore... we're almost to our 4 year anniversary! But I still thought this would be fun to document our thoughts.

 Don't ask me what I had to bribe Eric with to answer these questions for the blog...

HE SAYS...

1. What do you think my best quality is? This isn't your only good quality but I love how you are with kids. I think you're going to be a great mom to our kids!

2. What would your ideal date be with  me? We'd dress up all nice and go hangout in Vegas, or go to a fancy restaurant. Maybe catch a show after we're done eating? Then go home and rip each others clothes off! (Oh my.... such a MAN.)

3. What was your first impression of me? That you were very attractive and had really nice, long blond hair. That's why I married you, ha!

4. What is your favorite memory of me? I have lots of them.... they all involve you smiling and laughing. But I guess some of my favorite memories of you are when we go to the lake and you're being pulled behind the boat on a tube. Your facial expressions are amazing and hilarious! (I don't doubt him there. Look here for proof... me and my sis in law!)

5. What do you see for us in the future? Living in our dream house with a shop full of toys and old piece of crap cars waiting to be fixed up. (He means hot rods and muscle cars.) Kids running a muck around the house. That's why we'll have to have a lot of property, Courtney. So they can destroy things outside. I want our family to go on lots of vacations. And eventually I'd like to retire and go on a LDS mission with you.

SHE SAYS...

1. What do you think my best quality is? You are an incredibly hard worker in every aspect of your life. Our marriage, your career, school, hobbies, etc. You always give your best effort!

2. What would your ideal date be with me? In my head the "perfect" date would just sitting on the beach under the warm sun with some cold drinks in our hands! Seriously... a beach + my man = a happy girl! I can't wait for May :)

3. What was your first impression of me? The first time I saw you I remember thinking... Is he seriously dating that girl? Ha ha! Then my first impression after the first time we talked was... This guy is such a dork! There is no way on earth we'd ever make it past one date, if he even dares ask me out. HA HA! I've never been so grateful to say that I was WRONG!

4. What is your favorite memory of me? The first time you told me you loved me! I knew you'd been dying to tell me for days but I wasn't ready to hear it, so you tried to be patient. But one night you couldn't help yourself... you just blurted it out in a rush and then ducked your head because you were so embarrassed :) Falling in love with me was a scary thing to do... but it makes me go weak in the knees to think that YOU love ME!

5. What do you see for us in the future? Our dream home, toys, vacations, money, etc. Basically, a lot of worldly things :) But more importantly... I see you and me more in love than we could have ever imagined. The ups and downs that life has and will continue to bring us, will help build the strongest foundation of love EVER. And we can't forget about babies! We'll definitely have kids, and hopefully we'll adopt 1 or 2. When I envision our future... I see us living life to the fullest and being surrounded by loved ones along the way!

P.S. The winner of My Memories digital scrapbook software is Julie! Congratulations!

why I choose to own/carry a gun

As you all know from this post my husband signed us up for a concealed weapons course. A few of you were shocked and asked me if we live in a dangerous area. The answer is no. We probably live in one of the safest, po-dunk towns in Utah :) But that doesn't mean there aren't evil people in the world who like to take advantage of our safety. You never know when you might run into one of these evil men/women, but I intend to be prepared.

My dad is not a hunter so growing up we didn't have guns in the house. And you hear about accidental deaths involving guns from time to time, so I swore I would never have guns in my house either. And then I met him... a small town boy who LOVES guns! He has a gun safe the size of a panic room, I swear! (Which is a good thing... our guns will be locked up tight when we have toddlers running around our home.) Eric has taught me so much about guns. How to use them, how to take care of them, gun safety, etc. The more I learn the more comfortable I feel with them (and trust me, I still have so much more to learn). Please note: there's a difference in being comfortable with handling a gun, and being stupid while handling the gun.

A few people teased me when they heard we have a gun and I actually shoot it. I got the "don't accidentally shoot your husband" line, or "Courtney Brinkerhoff?? With a gun?" ha ha. I admit it... I am the ultimate girly girl and if you knew me before I met my hubs? You'd never guess I'd even touch a gun, let alone own one. But one of the first things you learn with a gun is that you only put your finger on the trigger when you're ready to shoot. There is a little "memory" patch etched in the gun above the trigger that you keep your finger on until you move it to the trigger. Safety people. You NEVER put your finger on the trigger except when you're ready to shoot the target. And for those of you who have a shot a gun, you know how powerful they are. Our gun has quite the punch to it and for me? It's a very violent feeling to shoot the gun. I've never felt that way with a .22  (or smaller guns) because there's nothing to it really. But there will be no accident's when I pull this trigger.

When we first moved here, I heard a door slam and I immediately went into a panic. I didn't realize that the slam wasn't loud enough to be coming from inside my house because I didn't know the new sounds of our home. My heart rate shot up and I just kind froze in a panic. Then I remembered our gun... what a relief to know that I could protect myself if someone did break in. It would definitely do me some good to take a few self defense classes, but honestly... If a man is trying to over take me he is probably going to succeed. I just don't have the strength to beat anyone bigger/heavier than me. If I have a gun in my hands I'm going to look more threatening and people probably won't want to mess with me, right? Right. I hope and pray that I never have to use a gun on anything living... but I would much rather be caught prepared than unprepared. I value my life and my body! I don't want some evil stranger to have control of me because I can't defend myself. So from here on out... I be packin' heat. ;)

i smile

I'm joining my sweet friend in her weekly I Smile posts! I just can't say it enough... I adore Jessica! 

I am feeling pretty down again with a change up in Eric's work schedule. I've been pretty spoiled with his work schedule and got used to his 6:30am-4pm days. I loved having him around all the time! But this new job has tested me like none other. And I'm about to see him even less. Hello grave shifts... I want to kick you where it counts! 

Oops! There I go with the negativity... this is why I need a happy post today!

I Smile...

...because we found this ridiculously large amount of popcorn at Cal Ranch of all places! I had to buy it. Crappy, buttery popcorn is just the best!

Do you know what else is the best? When the cashier asks how many movie nights we're planning on having....? Awkward. Who walks out of Cal Ranch with just a huge box of popcorn? I do!

...while watching Jack and Jill with Eric. In my opinion the movie sucked, but Eric played with my hair and that makes everything better! Plus I loved listening to Eric laugh at the lame humor. His laugh is the best sound in the world!

...because I'm finally decorating our home. I'm not sure why, but I haven't been motivated at all to decorate. Will someone just come over and tell me where to hang/put things so that my house can feel like home? :)

...because Eric loves his job. We are so bummed that we will rarely see each other now, but it's a relief that he likes going to work!

 ...at awkward pictures of me and Eric while trying to show off the food, ha ha. This is a pretty bad picture, and not flattering to either of us! :) But the whole point of this picture is that I didn't have to cook on a week night, woo hoo! That always makes me smile :)

our upgrade and needed advice

We have always loved our queen size bed, it is the most comfortable bed we've ever laid on. But we have been wishing ever since we bought the bed (when we got married) that we had got the king size instead. You see, for some odd reason Eric doesn't like my knees in his back each night?? I know, weird. So we've been saving and saving and we finally upgraded!

no need to tell me how good I am at making up the sheets ;)

This bed is HUGE! Besides the fact that it needs to be broken in a little... we love it! But there is one big problem. I don't have a comforter for our bed, obviously. So I need YOUR help! I wish I was talented in the interior decorating department... but it's not my strong suit. Please tell me your favorite sites/stores for comforters! If I'm in love with it I can shell out the money, but until then? I'm not paying hundreds of $$ for a comforter to get me by until I do find the one I love. You know?

I'm planning on decorating the room based off of this:

KISS is a mint-ish green color

If you have any ideas of the color scheme I should go with as far as the comforter goes, I'd love to hear them! I'm planning on hanging this sign right above our bed. And then I have no clue what to put on the wall to surround it... so again. I'd love ideas if you have 'em :)

P.S. Who wants to visit?? Our guest room is equipped with the comfiest bed ever. Promise! The hubs just might have to put up with some knees in his back all night ;) It's a hard life they live!

weekend review

Friday was the best day I've had since moving here! I painted my nails, deep conditioned my hair, and had my first EVER massage! Heaven, I tell ya. I don't know why I waited so long to get one of those... Anyway, I made the day all about me :) But sometimes we need to do that! And Friday night we made some new friends! That's right people, we went on a date with 2 other couples (woo hoo)! I enjoyed myself so much that I didn't even think to pull out the camera.

We finally got a gym membership and we got 1 free session with a personal trainer. Saturday we took advantage of that session and basically, I almost died. And my body hates me now. I'm questioning if it's worth it to get back into shape ha ha! We spent the rest of Saturday exploring this little town and picking out our dream homes. Let me tell you what... we dream big. And this little town has some pretty exciting shops ;)

candy shop with old fashioned candies

haha- we'd make a good match even if we were dinosaurs!

welcome to my new life

 blurry pictures are the best... not!

It is safe to say that I will be doing all of my shopping out of town. But it was fun to spend the day with Eric and explore the town. I can't wait until it warms up enough for us to spend our days in the mountains... that is one good thing about this town. The gorgeous mountains and landscaping!

P.S. We didn't wear one spec of green on Saturday... oops!

these are a few...

... of my favorite things!
+ Snuggling up to Eric after he's been asleep for a half hour or so. He holds me so good and tight! I think he loves me more when he's unconscious?

+ Hot chocolate... YUM!

+ BONES! Oh how I love that show!

+ Food. Need I say more?

+ Vacations. But isn't that every one's favorite? :)

+ Playing 'draw something' with Eric. I laugh so hard each time! He draws a complete picture, writes hints, erases it all and starts over. For some reason I think it's the cutest thing :) (Want to play with me? UN: Court Brink)

+ Friends. I have the BEST friends. (Including my bloggy friends!)

.... of my not so favorite things!
-  When I wash my face over the sink and the water runs down my arms... HATE that!

- Waxing my stache. It has to be done, but I cry every time :)

- Cleaning toilets.... one day we will make enough money to hire someone to clean the bathrooms! (Eric says we won't ever pay anyone to clean for us... but what does he know? I'm only asking for the bathrooms, haha!)

-  Unpacking boxes. I'm thinking about leaving half our boxes packed since we'll be out of this rental in a year, ha ha!

- Being away from my husband! I love that man SO much and miss him like crazy while he's at work, or while I'm working out of town. I wish we could get paid to just hangout together, ha ha! 

Since every post needs a picture...

P.S. Last chance to enter the giveaway... it really is a cool program! Plus, if you all entered you'd just make me feel so much better about myself ;)

spring is on my mind

Is it just me, or does March have everyone thinking spring?? I am craving the warm, sunny, playful days that always seem to accompany this season. But the weather hasn't been cooperating like I was hoping it would... the wind just won't. stop. blowing. I have a feeling it's because this town sucks. Ha ha, ok I admit it! That was a horrible pun... but seriously. I've decided to brighten up my days with some shopping until the weather warms up. Eric is loving that...  ;)

I look forward to this candy SO much each March. In fact, I'm eating the jelly beans as I type! They are that good.

It's sandal season! Fresh polish is a must for me!

Imagine this as a swim suit cover up on a tan body in Hawaii... not over that bright shirt and white girl, ha ha. Do we love it? I know I do!

Is the weather cooperating in your neck of the woods? What are you loving this spring? I really want to know!

giveaway {MyMemories scrapbook software}

I am so excited to host my first ever giveaway today! Let me be the first to tell you that I am not a scrapbooker. I want to be... but I feel like I'm not creative enough. Or that it is an incredibly expensive hobby. Or I'm just too lazy to go out and buy all of my supplies, then sit down and actually put it all together. The point is that I don't have one picture of me and my good lookin' husband in a photo album. Oops!
Well not anymore, friends! I've had the opportunity to try out My Memories digital scrapbooking software and I am loving it. I have so much to learn but they make it so easy! I have been creating scrapbook pages from their designer templates until I feel confident enough to create my own pages.

The best part (besides being so easy) is that this scrapbook software is so affordable! In fact, MyMemories.com has offered you all a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store! Just use this promo code: STMMMS50166

One lucky reader will get your own My Memories Suite Scrapbook software! 

How to enter: 

(leave a separate comment for each)

1. Follow my blog(mandatory)

2. Go HERE and tell me what you would love to buy

3. Tweet or blog about giveaway and mention @Court_Brink

4. Follow MyMemories blog, facebook, twitter.

Giveaway ends Friday at midnight.

weekend review

Friday: Eric worked late and even though I was planning on that... I was bummed! I was sooo excited for dinner! I love food WAY too much :) I made honey lime chicken enchiladas (minus the cream) and bought salsa and chips from my favorite restaurant. YUM! And we finally watched Footloose. Loved it! Am I the only one that gets the intense desire to sign up for dance classes after watching something like that?

Saturday: We got the heck out of this town and spent the WHOLE day together. It was amazing and sooo needed!

We went to the Temple first thing when we got into town. (We went back later to walk around and snap some pictures, haha.)

If the grease on that bag doesn't make you want to go eat Five Guys right now? I don't know what will!

How did I get so lucky to have a husband who LIKES shopping with me?

I loved having Eric to myself all day!

Obviously we didn't get our fill of crap from Five Guys... we ended the night with meeting my parents at Cold Stone ice cream!

Side note. I've decided I am in love with floppy hats and I am dying to get one for our Hawaii vacation. But I want one that is cuter and floppier than the one in that picture :) What do you guys think? Would I be able to pull it off? And where can I find some cute floppy hats?

Sunday: We finally met some people our age at church! I hope we will be making some new friends soon! Eric and I took a nice long nap together (heaven). The man grilled steaks for dinner and brownies are baking in the oven as I type. Life is good!

a quick trip and a cute butt

Auntie Courtney styled her hair like a little diva. And did she ever live up to the title!! ;)

My favorite waffles and frites hole in the wall restaurant. I daydream about this food. If you live in SLC you MUST try it!

Gateway shopping! I didn't even buy one thing... Promise!

Why am I the only one holding my head weird? Oh dear.

With Eric working so dang much lately I decided I needed to take a quick trip and get out of here.

I am so blessed to have a husband who sends me out the door with a kiss while he works his cute butt (trust me... it's CUTE!) off to make a good life for our tiny family.

I realize how blessed I am to have experienced living in EM up north. I made the most amazing friends that I know will be in my life forever. And in just a short year and a half. I honestly love them!

I was blessed to live just outside of the city for that year and a half. I miss it everyday. Small towns just aren't for me... but I'm getting used to it. Slowly :)

One of the best parts of my quick trip was hearing how much all of my friends kids missed me! It was the sweetest thing. Since we don't have babies of our own, I get my share of lovin' from them. Blessed!

If you aren't getting the gist of this post.... even though this change has been extremely hard for me, I DO realize how blessed I am. I am just thankful I have a husband (with a cute butt) to lean on and love me while I get adjusted. And thank goodness for those quick trips! Even though I cried when I got there and when I left (haha) I was SO happy to go back and see everyone!

P.S. I realize the title doesn't have much to do with this post. I just really think Eric has a cute butt.... tmi??

weekend review

This weekend was almost a wash. Eric didn't get home from work Friday night until 9ish. We both had to work Saturday, so we basically ate dinner then went to bed. I was SO glad to work Saturday because I got to see some of my favorite clients, and then I got a few visits from friends I hadn't seen in months! When I drove home I was sooo excited to finally spend time with Eric.... but he didn't get home until 8:30. The man has been working 20-40 hours over time a week and it is killlling me. (Do you like how selfish that is? It's definitely killing him more than me!) Spoiled wife alert! When he got home I was kind of bummed and kind of being brat (which I felt bad for pulling the needy wifey card on him, but I just couldn't stop myself.) Eric rushed through his shower then took me to Panda Express- anyone else out there love that fried goodness?? Then he took me to see The Vow when I'm positive that he would've much rather gone to bed. Best. Husband. Ever.
I definitely got sentimental while watching the movie. Of course I wanted to take away my bratty attitude I gave him earlier that night. I want to take away a lot of my actions that haven't been the best through our marriage. But I am the luckiest girl to be married to Eric. I get to try my best every day to be a better wifey. I get to love Eric for the rest of forever!

P.S. Eric totally teared up during the movie! How sweet is that? (I am definitely dead meat for sharing that on the blog....)

our dream pet

Seriously?!?

WE WANT ONE!

*adorable little nuggets are our nephews