Snow Day Confessions

Ok, confession #1 - It's not actually snowing!  But it's sleeting/freezing raining and it was enough to get an early dismissal from school!!  Don't you love the south?!  Amen.

Confessions #2 - I was so hoping for an early dismissal!  Snow days are for the birds, because snow days = make up days & make up days suck!!  This way, we don't have to make up a day and I was home from a quick trip to target in my yoga pants before school even normally lets out.  Score!

Confession #3 - I am constantly wearing my hubs shoes to walk Berkley.  Weird?  Probably.  Convenient?  Very!  His shoes are bigger (obviously) & slip right on and off when I have to take Berktits outside.

Confession #4 - Yes, I just called my dog Berktits.  We have weird names for our animals!  Don't ask :)

Confession #5 - I need some new slippers, but I'm picky and can't find any I like.  This results in me wearing socks all the time because I - a) don't like to walk around barefoot because my feet get cold and b) then I can feel all the dirt on my hardwood/tile floors.  Gross!

Confessions #6 - Clearly I don't mop enough!  Whoops.

I'm all linked up with Leslie from A Blonde Ambition for her Friday Confessional!  So confess to me & tell me a little something I don't know :)

We're off to the gym before they close early tonight, then hanging out with cone head :)  Happy Friday y'all!!

Long Weekend Recap

Hello there friends!!  No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth!  Yes, I'm still alive!  Just back into a sporadic blog posting schedule due to this thing called LIFE!

I didn't get around to posting much last week...but if I did it would have consisted of wake up, teach all day, work some more, workout, play with dog, eat, paperwork, sleep.

Boring right!?  So, you're welcome.

Anyways....this past weekend was a LONG weekend & it was glorious!!  Sunday nights are totally different when you don't have to wake up and work the next day!  I could get used to that ;)

Friday night, Rachel & I organized a fun Surprise Diaper Dinner for my longest friend, Ashley!  She's expecting baby #2 in less than 6 weeks!!

Ashley's my longest friend, not because she's super tall or anything and not oldest friend because we're not old, but longest friend because we've been friends since about 18 months old and she's been my friend for pretty much as long as I can remember!  And I'm so thankful for her friendship!!

All of us after dinner!

We had dinner at Cantina 1511, one of Ashley's favorites {and mine!}.  Ashley thought she was just getting dinner with Rachel & I!  I wish I had taken a picture of her face as she walked in and noticed us all!  Priceless!  I'm so glad you were surprised Ash, it was such a fun night!!

Saturday morning we took the fur babies to the vet for their well visits.  Everyone's healthy, except our wallet, it is bleeding in vet bills!  Hah

We got a good workout in & ran a few errands, then relaxed for a bit before heading to our friends', Ryan & Kelly's, to grill out.  We bought beef tips from The Meat House {which is my favorite meat store ever!} and they were amazing!  Probably the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!!

We slept through watched a bootleg version of Django, which was very well done I must say.  It was a super long movie, though!

We slept in Sunday, went for a nice run outside and got a good workout in.  I did some cleaning while B washed & waxed my car, it's so sparkly now! :)  We did our normal Sunday things like the grocery store and laundry and I looked forward to a day off the next day!

Yesterday, I was way productive!  Amazing what I can do with a day off!  Did some more cleaning and food prep for the week, killed a workout, and did some school work.

Last night, Lisa & Andrea came over for Bachelor Paleo Monday Night!  We chatted and ate and watched and it was lovely ending to a good day!

This morning, I dropped off poor Berkley to lose his manhood :( He had no clue what was coming!  I came to get him this afternoon after my workout and found this pitiful thing looking back at me...

Look at those eyes!

I can't lie, I just kept laughing at him with I first picked him up!  That cone is hilarious and he was a drunk puppy!

My patient is doing well now, though.  He's eaten a bit, his meds are wearing off, and now he's snuggled up next to me!  Hopefully he heals right up & is back to himself in no time!

Almost time for Parenthood!  Happy almost hump day & here's to a 3 day work week!!

Lazy Bones Weekend

The weather was here, wish you were beautiful!

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?  The weather here has been amazing!!  75 degrees & gorgeous today!  B and I both went for a run outside.  Separate of course, because a) he runs way faster than me & b) we fight when we run together.  Sometimes I just need to walk for a second! Those hills!  Ughh!

Haha, we both got home and took little boy for a walk, then B waxed up Rachelle (yes, the truck has a name!) while I got all Paleofied in the kitchen :)

We had breakfast for dinner tonight, B had waffles & I attempted Paleo pancakes for the first time! Mine aren't super pretty, but they were really good!

And easy to make - 1 mashed up banana, 1 egg, a dash of cinnamon & I added blueberries!  I topped with a drizzle of maple syrup & of course some bacon, duh!

While in the kitchen, I made some egg breakfast sandwiches for the week.  They were supposed to look similar to this...

Alas, they do not!  Haha, but I think they'll still be good.  We shall see!

I have a new favorite Paleo site!  It's Cave Girl Dish.  I found it last weekend and I've made 3 recipes already!

Since discovering the site, I've made their Garlic Lime Chicken (I sub onion powder instead of onion cause I don't like it, sans cilantro because I didn't have any, and I left out the veggies - did different sides), SlowCooker Pork Chops, and tomorrow I'm trying out Skillet Taco Pie with Andrea for Bachelor Monday Night!  I also made the Cocoa-Nut Date Balls today!  Brandon has approved of all so far!

We've had a super lazy weekend!!

No real plans, lots of working out, lots of couch and Shameless Season 2!  This show is so twisted, but so good.  It's like a train wreck, you just can't look away!

I've loved this weather so, so much!  I'm so afraid for Tuesday and it's high of 49.  Yuck!  But I guess this is just a taste of spring and what's to look forward to :) 

I'm going to soak up these last minutes of laziness!  How was your weekend?

Midweek Randoms

Can I get an amen for Wednesday night!?  2 days left til the weekend!

So have I showed you this lovely new addition to our foyer?

This piece is from Brandon's mom and we brought it home with us after Christmas!

I mentioned liking this piece to my MIL, I believe, our first married Christmas.  She said she would put our name on it for one day.  When she was visiting in September, she said we needed this piece for this exact spot!  And was she ever right!?

I just love it!  I think it's gorgeous and adds so much character to our foyer!  Thank you Joan for parting with it for us :)

This gorgeous print on top of it was part of my gift from my SIL, Callie, from Naptime Diaries Print Shop.  She had my name in our family drawing this year.  I just love this verse.  What power it speaks!

Today I visited the dentist.  I really love our dentist, she's great, but I really hate how she tells me I have cavities every time I see her!  Ughh.  Maybe my New Year's Resolution needs to be more flossing and swishing?!

Personally, I blame my sweet tooth & that fat girl that lives inside of me that loves chocolate!

Good TV is back!  Sunday is Happy Endings, Monday is The Bachelor & The Biggest Loser, Tuesday is New Girl, Happy Endings (again! Love it!), Private Practice, & Parenthood, Wednesday is Modern Family & Nashville, and Thursday is Grey's Anatomy!

So much good TV and so little time!  Thank heavens for DVR.  See also, I should get a life ;)

Hope your week is stupendous so far!

2012 in Review & Looking Forward to 2013

2012 was a great year!!

Of course, it had it's ups and down, but thankfully more ups than downs and the ups were pretty great :)

I tried to keep my year in review shorter rather than longer.  But, let's be honest, we all know I'm long winded ;) I have noticed I have a few more followers, though, so hopefully this will be a better way to get to know me, and I'm looking forward to "getting to know" all of y'all through your pages!

In 2012....

I turned a quarter of a century in March!

In April, we went on a cruise...

And then came home & closed on our house!!

In June, I was one of the MOHs in my cousin Erin & Ryan's Wedding!

And July brought lots of beach trips...

July 4th Week in Virginia Beach!

And my family beach trip in Carolina Beach!

Then at the end of July, we brought this cutie home!

It's hard to believe he was ever this small!!

The fall brought fire pits, football, & B's 29th birthday!  My MIL came in town & we took a trip to Biltmore to celebrate that weekend!

October brought Baby Fever!

My nephews, baby Abel & Wells :)

Sweet Maggie, my friend Rachel's baby girl!

In November we toasted our 2nd Anniversary!

And I got my first tattoo!!

Looking back, I can't help but be thankful for a year of health and happiness!

Looking forward to 2013, I can only hope for the same!

I set a few goals last year.  We didn't achieve all of them to the level we may have hoped, but that's ok.  I'm not huge into resolutions because I think people don't stick to them.  But a goal, you have to work toward a goal.  So that's what I like to set!

In 2013, I hope to...

1 - Finish the Spartan Race.  My goal is finishing!  Haha, I'd like to finish around the 2 hour mark, but I'm not going to be hung up on the time.  (See B's Spartan Race Recaps here & here.)

2 - Complete the Cooper River Bridge Run around the 56 minute mark!  It's a 10K, 6.2 mi, so I think 56 minutes is totally doable, I just need to continue with my running and work on my speed a bit!

3 - Stick to Paleo as a lifestyle.  Of course, I can't do Paleo 100% all of the time.  I mean, I had to have a piece of cake at the gender reveal this past weekend.  But I do want to make sure I'm eating Paleo at least 85% of the time or more!

These are my main goals.  Brandon and I have a few house goals - furniture for the guest bedroom, maybe an outdoor patio this year?  A few spiritual goals - visiting the church that meets at the high school near our house, continuing our devotional.  Some financial goals including paying off my student loans!!  We have a few professional dreams on the horizon as well, so we'll just have to see where 2013 leads us!

I'm so looking forward to a new nephew & niece this year, hopefully a few vacations, a lots of great new memories!

Here's to 2013!!

Weekend Recap!

Welp, even though it was a 3 day week, I sure was happy to see 4pm on Friday roll around!  Love walking out of work on a Friday...feels good!!

Even though I spent a good portion of Friday night doing school work.  Yuck!!  But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  I'd much rather do work on my couch anyways!

That was only after a good workout & then some delish turkey burgers & sweet potato fries cooked by my favorite man.  Yum!  I left the bun off and topped mine with some bacon & avocado to stick to my Paleo ways :)

Saturday was a big day!  We got up early (for a Saturday) and headed to the gym, then it was time to celebrate this cutie's 3rd birthday!

Sadly, we were an hour late to the party because we were REAR ENDED in Brandon's BRAND NEW TRUCK!!!  Unbelievable right!?!?  We'd had it a total of 5 days.  5 days!!  But thankfully, there were only a few scratches on the truck bumper.  Can't say the same for the guy that rear ended us!

We finally made it to the party!  This little guy is always sleeping through the action.  It's tough work being a baby  :)

Roen was there to make sure he didn't need any help!

He got lots of fun new toys, even a remote control Ford Raptor, just like Uncle Brandon's!!  We didn't even get that for him, ha.

They had fun checking out the real thing, too!

We headed home to shower up & head off to the second party of the day - Rob & Gale were having their gender reveal party!!!

They found out the gender Wednesday at lunch after their anatomy scan & had known for 3 whole days!!

It's a....

Girl!!!!

This picture is awesome!!  Rob already knew what was coming out, but by the look on his face you would never know!  Haha, he has said all along he really didn't care, boy or girl, as long as the baby's healthy!  His face is saying "Oh, boy, what are we in for!?" hah!

We're so excited to welcome a new little niece!!  She'll be our 2nd niece out of 6 nieces and nephews, it was about time for another girl!  :)

We picked up some dinner and planted ourselves on the couch for the rest of the evening.  There was nothing on, so B indulged & let me watch Pretty Woman while dog slept in between us.  It was bliss!

We slept in today, boy did we need that!  Then barely finished out a long run.  It was hard today! We ran our normal Sunday errands, I did a little food prep & then more school work.  Womp womp. Now we're relaxing on the couch & watching The Biggest Loser!

via

We love Bob & Jillian (and Dolvett now, too)!  I want to be them!  My dream job :)

Happy Sunday evening friends & happy TV watching!

Holiday Photo Dump

So in an effort to recap all the holidays, a rather large, massive, yet still ladylike, photo dump is in order!  I realize I'm a little late, but I can't let our Christmas & New Years festivities go undocumented!

Christmas vacay started 2 weeks ago and this was my view that night.  Sweetest thing!

Our dining room table was finally delivered on Saturday the 22nd, just in time for all the festivities!!  I was so giddy & still am whenever I walk by!  A full post is coming on this room :)

Saturday after the table delivery, my cousin Erin & I finished up the last of her Christmas shopping and got a very necessary holiday beverage!

Saturday night we hosted the 2nd annual pre-Christmas Family Soup Night!  My mom made Veggie soup and I made Chicken Tortilla soup & cornbread.  Everyone just chatted & enjoyed each other.  It was a full house and it made my heart so full!

That night, Erin & Berkley took a little catnap on the couch :)

We kept with tradition (started last year, so it's tradition now!) and went to the Panther's Game the Sunday before Christmas!

This guy is single ladies!!  For real, snatch him up!  ;)

As you can tell, it was windy & COLD!!!  So naturally, we took turns sitting in the running car to warm up!

I freaking love them!

And all of them!!

We grilled out with a bunch of friends at our house after the game & the boys made a big fire!  Good times were had by all!

We slept in a bit on Christmas Eve, then a lot of fam came over to hang for the day while the women got to cooking in the kitchen!  We postponed a bit of the cooking long enough for a little mani/pedi action & all enjoyed hanging out!!

Christmas Eve night, my brothers & SILs are always with the SILs sides of the family and my aunt, uncle and cousins go see their other side as well.  That leaves B & I, my parents and my grandmother.  So the past 2 years we've gone out to eat and then turned in early.  We came home to finally watch Home Alone!  Turns out I took zero pictures Christmas Eve :(

This is what our tree looked like Christmas morning!  Lots & lots of gifts!!

Sweet Abel sleeping through the madness :)

We watched as the kiddos opened all their gifts first!

Roen was so surprised to get her American Girl Doll!!

Wells sure was proud of his new sword!

Rob, Gale, Brandon & I went in together and got the 3 big kids Razor scooters!  They had a big time riding them in the driveway!

And I couldn't leave out a pic of all the dogs!!  7 in all, what can I say, we're a dog loving family!

It was a really loud, fun filled day!  14 adults, 3 children, 1 baby, and 7 dogs all crammed into our house and I wouldn't want it any other way!  We ate a big dinner that afternoon!  We ate and ate and then ate dessert  :)

That evening, everyone was on their way which meant Brandon & I needed to pack since we were mitten bound the next morning!  We pulled out of our driveway for Michigan at 6 am in the pouring rain on the morning of the 26th!

It rained...

And Berkley slept...

And then it snowed...

And snowed some more...

And snowed some more...

B wasn't amused with my photo taking!  I blame the snow.

It took us 15 hours and 45 minutes, but we finally made it to Brandon's sister & BIL, Ashley & Casey's, house!  It's normally only about a 12 hour drive.  Yuck!!  Still better than our 24 hour trip in 2009.  But that's a story for another day!

Berkley finally met his terrier cousin, Charlie!  And Jameson, too.

He & Charlie were fast friends.  Jamo's ornery, haha.

Thursday night we celebrated with Ashley, Casey & B's mom!  I wore 2 of my favorite presents, a sweater from my parents and my monogram necklace from my SIL.

Of course, mama Joan got the doggies gifts, too!!

This pic cracks me up!!  Sad Santa Berkley!

The dogs & their toys!

Friday we mustered through a workout and enjoyed being lazy...

Played in the barn... 

 And then toasted to good friends and a fun movie night!

We met Brandon's best friend Jordan for dinner (where I had the best Chicken Parm of my life, omg!) and came home to watch Ted with Ash & Casey!!  Hilarious by the way!

Sadly, Saturday morning, we attended the funeral of Brandon's Grandma Shuck.  I never really got to know her when she was well, she suffered from severe dementia.  It was a nice service, though, and I got to learn a lot about the woman she was!  We got to see a lot of family as well!

Saturday night was our dinner out with Brandon's mom's side of the family and our gift exchange!  

We took one picture all night.  Fail!  But it was a fun evening seeing everyone and eating Grandma's fudge!  Yum!

Sunday morning we were QC bound again.  Our trips to Michigan always seem so short, I wish they could be longer!!  It was a really wonderful visit, though!  I'm blessed to have such a great second family!

Monday, Christmas 2012 came down and our house went back to normal!  Hallelujah!!  I was not sad to see it go.  I met Ashley & Rachel for breakfast, ran some errands and then worked out.  

We really wanted to just sit on our couch for New Years, but we'd made plans to head to our friend's house party, so we grabbed dinner beforehand & then had just the right amount of fun!

Sparkles are always necessary on NYE!

Cheers to 2013!!