Five on Friday

We've made it to another Friday!  Woohoo!!  Linking up with once again with April & Christina for Five on Friday :)

1 - The ol' blog got a little {almost} spring maker over!!  If you're reading this in Blog Lovin' you can't really tell, so click on over to my site to admire it :)  I purchased it from Designer Blogs {super affordable!} & it was very easy to install!  I had a little trouble with my blog title being too long, so I emailed their help center & they fixed it for me asap!  I'm loving it!  It's clean, simple & pretty - just what I wanted!

2 - I gave myself a little at home mani/pedi today! I'm going to will spring's arrival with my nail color :) Come on warmer temps!

3 - The CrossFit Open 2014 is here!!  The 1st workout was released last night & we streamed the announcement & 2 competitors trying the workout live at the gym!

The CrossFit Open is how you get to the CrossFit Games.  Anyone in the world can sign up, the top 48 from each region will go to regionals in May & the top 3 from each region go to the games in July! Brandon will do the WOD for the 1st time tonight, I'll be filming him, and probably again on Sunday! This will be my birthday WOD on Sunday!! :)

4 - Sunday is my birthday!  I'll be 27.  What an uneventful birthday 27 seems like, ha!  But don't worry, I love birthdays & fully plan on celebrating!

I'm actually not concerned in the least about getting older or approaching 30!  Brandon said he won't trade me in ;) and life just keeps getting better!  What's to freak out about!?

5 - We're down to 6 weeks!  41 days & counting until Puerto Rico!!

Lovely Little Weekend

We had a great weekend!  Brandon was actually home for 5 nights in a row last week, Wednesday night through last night!  Crazy!!

The weather was so nice here over the weekend!  We even took the rowers outside…

Friday night we brought home our favorite salads from Dean & Deluca, indulged in some House of Cards {we're addicted by the way!!} & I painted my nails.  Pretty good Friday night :)

Saturday I finally got to wear my new lulu shorts I bought with Christmas money…

It was a little chilly that morning, but I was trying to will spring's arrival with my warm weather clothes! Ha!  B & I had a fun little workout together…

His & Hers :)  Mine's clearly the one with all the weights on it!

My favorite!

We got home & washed my car, took Berkley for a little walk & then enjoyed a nap before dinner :) We went out to Red Rocks with 2 other couple friends!  I meant to take pics, but never got that far. It's so nice to have friends in our same life stage!

Sunday I went to FlyWheel with a girlfriend then headed to the gym for a little weightlifting…

I got those big quads ;)  I've worked hard for those!!

I took today as a rest day & it was really nice, Mondays aren't a normal rest day for me.  I love being home in the middle of the day.  I did some work on the couch while the sun streamed in & Berkley napped, then I even closed my eyes for about 30 minutes…

I've never really thought of myself as an introvert, but the older I get, the more I realize how much I crave & enjoy time to myself.  Don't get me wrong, I still thrive from being around others, helping others & hosting others.  But I so enjoy quiet moments at home, quiet moments at the gym, me time.

In those moments I remember how incredibly blessed I am.  To be where we are so far in life, to own our own business, to truly enjoy this stage of life.  I'm so thankful for that view in the picture above…a beautiful home I share with my husband, a little fur baby who brings us more joy than we thought possible, the sun shining.

I don't even know if all of that made sense, haha.  But it did in my head :)

Life is good, y'all, even when it's hard!  I hope your weekend was spectacular!!

Five on Friday

Happy Friday friends!!  Time for my favorite link up :)

Let's go….

1 - I came out of the shower the other night to this scene!  Haha, cracked me up!  He must have had some important emails to send with a quick little bone break in between!

2 - We've been using our old comforter for a few weeks now, as you can see above, since our sweet little cat decided to barf all over our white comforter!!  Lovely, right!?  Thankfully, we have an awesome member at out gym who happens to own a dry cleaner in Pineville.  He had me bring it by to work his magic & we've yet to put it back on yet since the white dog pictured above needs a serious bath!  B just doesn't understand my need for a white comforter, but I love the way it looks!

Clean, open, airy.  It just has to be white!

3 - Have you heard of Fabletics??  A friend just recently turned me onto them…they're an athletic wear company developed in part by Kate Hudson & you can get 2 & 3 piece outfits starting at $49.99!  That alone sounds like a steal, but the real kicker is your 1st purchase is 50% off!!  So a 3 piece outfit - bottoms, sports bra & a top is - just $25!  That's pretty much a steal!  Oh so much cheaper than my beloved lulu lemon! 

 

I think this might be my birthday present to myself!  Cute right?  If you want to sign up, go here.  {FYI I'm not getting paid or sponsored for this, that would be sweet, though!  I just live in athletic wear & am always looking for a deal!}

4 - The weather here this weekend is looking glorious!!!  I'm so excited for these warmer temps, I can't wait to be outside some - throwing the ball with Berkley, cleaning the cars with B, enjoying a drink on the patio - yes, please!

5 - I saved the very best for last….Brandon & I are terrible at gift giving!  I mean, we give pretty great gifts, we just have a hard time waiting for the occasion to give the gift!  My birthday is next Sunday & B decided he needed to show me my gift last night!  This is what he showed me…

We're going to Puerto Rico!!!!  Talk about best birthday present ever!!  He needed to make sure we didn't have anything going on the weekend he picked out for us to go, so he needed to go ahead & tell me so we could book our flights!  We fly out April 10th & come back the 13th and I'm already counting down the days - 48 days!!

We have been longing for a tropical vacation so this couldn't come at a more perfect time!  We'll only be gone 3 nights, but I think it's just what we need.  And Puerto Rico has a special place in our hearts, it's where we got engaged almost 4 years ago!  I'm so, so excited!!!!  Happy Birthday to me, right!?

Happy weekend, y'all!

Valentine's Weekend

Happy belated Valentine's Day blogland!!  I hope you got to spend the weekend with the ones you love the most!!

Thanks to all the snow last week…

I had lots of rest & relaxation, which was a nice change of pace!!  We knew Friday evening classes would be light at the gym so I stayed home & made one of my fav meals as my pre-competition dinner!

Saturday I was off to Squad Gauntlet with some friends from our gym…

Team Purple Haze!

Me & Jackie ready to go!

We had 3 WODs to complete that day, a weightlifting WOD, a chipper (you chip away at the task) & then a relay to end!  We all PR'd on our weight lifts so we were happy about that!  We were just a few reps short of finishing the chipper in the 20 min time cap & finished the relay with seconds to spare in the 30 min time cap!

Team Purple Haze, sadly, did not come in 1st place {not that we were expecting to} but we weren't last either!  Overall it was a very fun day!!  Here are some highlights…

PR'ing my Clean & Jerk at 125lbs!  That's just over my body weight, I was pretty pumped!!!

B wore the right shirt ;)

Haha, I didn't even buy him that!

A few kettlebell swings...

Some goblet squats...

Good ol' rowing...

Pushups...

Oh, and my friend, Fran!!!  {If you don't know about Fran, just google her!}  

Thrusters...

and Pullups….

Some fun deadlifts…

And a final sprint to the finish...

That night, B & I went to McCormik & Schmichk's to celebrate Valentine's!!  We had never been before & we were thoroughly impressed!  So, so good!

I totally cheated on our Paleo challenge & ended my meal with some creme brûlée!  So worth it ;)

I squeezed in a mini workout Sunday morning, then attended a friend's baby shower, but sadly, didn't take a single pic!  It was such a great shower though, we can't wait to meet Baby Girl Sly!  We made banana pancakes for dinner (another favorite!) and watched House of Cards.  It was lovely!

The weather is warmer this week, hallelujah, amen!  This girl is so ready for spring!!  Happy day y'all!

Lately

Here's what's been going on as of late…

1 - February is off to a great start!  We had family in town last weekend for my niece's 8th birthday! 8!!  Seriously, where does the time go!?

Wasn't she just this little baby?

Throw back - 2006!

2 - This past weekend we randomly stumbled upon this beauty at Home Goods & brought her home! The TV stand, not the cute cat statue ;)

A "grown up" TV stand had been on my wish list for the house since we moved in, but it wasn't a big priority.  We happened to randomly stop by Home Goods Saturday & couldn't leave without this piece!  It was a steal!  Getting the new TV stand meant we "needed" a new sound system.  So we swung by Best Buy & got a sound bar as well.  Happy Valentine's Day to us!!  :)

3 - I just love this song, don't you?  The video is really sweet, too!

4 - I printed this printable from Rachel at Kincaid Parade to frame in our bathroom!  It's a great reminder for us right now.  The weeks can seem very long at moments when Brandon's away & hours are long at the gym.  Don't get me wrong, it's so rewarding!!  But 5+ years of B traveling every week have gotten very old, for him more than me even, and it takes a lot of work owning your own business. But it is all a Great Work and we cannot come down right now.

5 - In case you hadn't heard, it's Snowpocalypse 2014 here in the south!!  It started yesterday & is supposed to continue through tomorrow!

It's pretty, that's for sure!  Be of course the whole world here shuts down.  We cancelled our 7pm classes last night, early classes this morning, & all our PM classes tonight.  Doesn't look favorable for tomorrow either!

6 - I guess the snow couldn't have come at a better time, though.  I seemed to have come down with some sort of head cold!  Yuck.  And honestly, I'm not home that often, so I'm soaking up this snowed in time & making the best of it!  Although, I wish B was here to be snowed in with me!

My cold wasn't that bad Monday, but yesterday I was really feeling blehh.  Typically I'm of the mindset to sweat it out, but I decided to nap it out yesterday & stayed home from the night classes. I slept so well last night & am feeling much better today!  Still super stuffy, but well enough to do an at home WOD!

I started with Man Makers!  Woo buddy, they're good!!  Jump out to plank, pushup, row on each side, jump up, squat clean thruster = 1!  I did 5x10 with my 10lb dumbbells & I was sweatin'!!

Then I did this WOD I found on Pinterest (by the way, CrossFit Pineville now has a Pinterest Page!) so I don't end up Fat Michelle while stuck at home!!  Did it in 17:23, care to try & beat me?  :)

This is what I looked like after, haha!  Just keeping it real for y'all... crazy hair, sweat, I love it!

7 - I need to be better asap, I'm in a local team CrossFit competition this weekend called Squad Gauntlet!  It's a 4 person team & I'm doing it with some friends from the box!  Should be really fun :)

8 - B & I have a fun little date night afterwards to celebrate Valentine's!  We're not super into the holiday, but love a reason for a date!

9 - I will not be eating lots of chocolate this Valentine's since we're doing a 6 week Paleo Challenge at the gym.  It started this past Monday & it's been great so far!  It's nice to exercise a little self discipline!  I'm sure I won't miss the chocolate that bad!  Mind over matter, my friends.

10 - I have nothing else for you, but I couldn't end on 9 :)

The Great Sickness of Christmas 2013

I have a rare night off from the box tonight, so currently I'm sitting on the couch, white dog is snuggled beside me chewing on his half dead squeak toy Santa from Christmas & Miss Congeniality is on TV.  It's quite lovely!  And my computer is open to blog…so here we go!  :)

I wanted to be sure to recap Christmas for the pure sake of having it documented here.  It's seriously the longest post every, so feel free to skip over this post or just scroll through all the pics!

Our pretty tree!!

Christmas started the weekend before Christmas for us!  My extended family was down from Virginia & this year we did a white elephant gift/gift card exchange at my brother & SIL's house & it was really fun!

Scarlett & Daddy :)

Chatty baby girl!

Jude's new crown!

Roen & her new baby carrier :)

Loves her wub-a-nub!!  Haha

Wells sporting his new crown! 

Abel on his bike!

I think he's a fan :)

Memaw got an iPad!!!  (Not from the white elephant, haha, that wouldn't
fit the $25 budget!)  She was so surprised!!

Erin & Ryan - miss them so!

The great sickness of 2014 began that weekend, also!  My nephew had a low grade fever & runny nose, but was a trooper for weekend fun!  My parents were staying with us while in town, it was fun to have them over!  My mom started feeling under the weather Monday.  DayQuil became her best friend & she helped me prep for Christmas Eve Brunch the next day!  I was feeling slightly under the weather, just some drainage & a little sore throat, but not as bad!

We made Cinnamon Bun Muffins, Uncle Warren Pancakes & Chocolate Pecan Pie (not for brunch, obvi!)!  All were a big hit by the way, if you need any gluten free ideas or a good Paleo pie recipe!

Monday night, B & Warren coached at the gym, so I stayed home & made dinner!  I introduced my parents to one of our favorite Spaghetti Squash dishes & it was a hit  :)

Tuesday was Christmas Eve, no one showed up at the gym for the 6am class (shocking right!?) so B & I got our own workout in & then came home to host brunch!  We did our sibling gift exchange, also!

The kids got to pick one gift to open that day!

Mama & baby girl - twins!!

Such a good gift opener :)

Sweet Wells wasn't feeling good Christmas Eve, he seemed to have caught what was going around!  My mom was still living on DayQuil - fevers & runny noses all around :(

Poor snotty baby - still smiley, though!

Dakota's favorite spot :)

We had soup night at my bro & SIL's & were planning to go to the Christmas Eve service at Josh & Callie's church, but had to skip it due to all the sickness going around.  Poor Wells & Mimi were fever twins & hung together that night!

Wednesday was Christmas morning!  We woke up, just B & I and my parents at our house & opened from one another!  My mom & I whipped up our own version of this breakfast casserole (cooked in the oven, not the crockpot) while we all showered up.

We managed to take a sweet family photo before heading back over to J & C's for breakfast & presents with the kids!  The breakfast casserole was a big hit, btw!  And everyone was finally feeling a bit better!

Michelangelo is his favorite!!

Legos with Uncle Brandon :)

We left their house & headed up to Concord to see the rest of the family.  We thought the great sickness was leaving us, but Brandon talked to his sister up in Michigan & she had come down with the flu!!  She was missing most of sweet Weston's first Christmas & was so sad :(  We were keeping our fingers crossed she would magically be better by the time we got there the next night, ha.

The poodles love B!

Scarlett loves to open gifts :)

Scarlett with her little squeak baby (that's what I always called mine, haha, aka a Madame Alexander Doll)!

Duncan likes BearGran pets :)

B & I snuck away for a Christmas Day workout since we'd be stuck in a car the entire next day!

We came home & cooked a yummy steak dinner for the 4 of us, relaxed a bit & packed for Michigan.  Berkley was sad to be leaving his Mimi & BearGran!

The day after Christmas we left super early for Michigan!  This is how Berkley prefers to ride...

Spoiled much?

Thankfully, we didn't really encounter any snow until we got to West Michigan!

I did such a great job of taking pics on our new camera while in Charlotte, then we got to Michigan & didn't bring it out one time!  Major fail!

B's sister was feeling a little better by the time we got there, not 100%, but a little better.  We all hung out a little while that night, the pups played & then we went to bed!  Traveling will wear you out!

That night, Weston came down with croup & after a short trip to the ER (see - it really was the great sickness of Christmas 2013!), everyone was home to recover.  He wasn't feeling the best, but he hung out most of the day.

Berk loves the snow!

We went to work out at our friend Paul's CrossFit again, then grocery shopped to cook for family Christmas that Friday night!  We made a Paleo dinner for everyone, including the Paleo pie & opened all our gifts!

Weston was a little unsure about opening gifts at first!

Cute big boy!

Saturday turned out to be worse for Weston than Friday :(  Croup gets worse before it gets better apparently!  He's such a busy boy, but just laid in his mama & daddy's bed all day!  Ashley & Weston had to miss Christmas number 2 with B's grandparents, but we were sure to bring home plenty of food for them, haha.

We laid low that night & talked CrossFit, a spring sibling vacation & life in general.  We sure wish we lived closer to them!  We snuggled these boys & gave them faux hawks...

Sunday was more of the same, hanging out, working out & then we got dinner with some of B's best friends!

It was a great visit, despite all the sickness!  That definitely put a little damper on things, but great to be able to stay for a few days & enjoy our time there!

We drove home the 30th, another looong trip in the car!  Once we got home we put all of Christmas away!  

Another Christmas in the books!  And finally recapped on the blog!  Thanks goodness, feels good to be caught up :)