Friday, September 28, 2012

Honeymoon Countdown

Our Honeymoon countdown has officially begun! We leave for our Honeymoon in 2 WEEKS!!!! Agh!! I can barely contain the excitement.

Some of you probably don't even know where we are going. I mean, I haven't talked about it very much but probably because it kind of crept up on us. Well, we are going to Orlando Florida for a week. While we are there, we are going to be at Disney World for four days and then we are spending two days at Universal Studios. Harry Potter World, here I come!!!!!

I have never been to any of the Disney parks or to Universal, so my excitement is that of a little kids. I can't wait to see Cinderella's castle. She is only my favorite Disney Princess. And that is one of my favorite Disney movies of all time! With that being said though, we have a TON to do. And when I say "we", I actually mean me, because let's face it, my Husband will probably not do any of the to-do list. I have accepted it though and I am moving forward.

I really need some new luggage. Mine is falling apart. But who knows if I will actually get around to this. I may just end up borrowing some from the In-Laws. I also need to make some packing lists for us too and then actually pack everything.

So here is where I need your help. First, I need to come up with a packing list. So if any of you have ever been there, please let me know what some of those must have items should be. Or if you can think of anything in general that should go on my list, send it my way. Any and all suggestions will be mucho appreciated.

That's all I've got for you guys today. I hope that you all have a great Friday(I will be in training for most of the day, boo) and that you have a great weekend!


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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Damn You Hunger Games Books

Okay, I finally decided to read the Hunger Games series. I decided to drink the Hunger Games Kool-Aid. I finished the first book pretty quickly. It was definitely hard to put down. I am almost all the way through the second one right now and I have to say that I am a little pissed off!

Why? Because you can't change the rules like that! And how could you seriously kill one of my fave characters? Ugh!!! I was so mad last night when I was reading that I almost threw the book across the room. I don't even know how it ends yet, but I am so mad that I don't want to finish. I know that I will, but I am still so mad!

I'm not surprised by this at all though. I felt the exact same way when I read New Moon(the second book in the Twilight series for those that don't know what I am talking about) but I kept reading and ended up loving the third and fourth book. So, I am hoping the same will go for this series.

Have any of you read these books? Were you mad about some of the events that happen in the second book, "Catching Fire"?

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Weekend Recap

Hello lovelies. Once again it's Monday and I am disappointed that my weekend has disappeared. Again! But, it was a great weekend so I can't complain too much.

Friday night, my two older nieces came over and we had a sleep over. We ate dinner and watched "Matilda" and then they proceeded to pass out. Which was good because we had to be up really early the next morning for a 5K that was being put on by my old High School. It was essentially just like the color run, so we were all really excited to participate.

I planned on getting up around 6:30 to get us all up and ready for the day. Around 5:45 am, I got up and went to the bathroom, when I came back my youngest Niece, Kelsi, was sitting on the couch(where we all slept) and  was looking at me and smiling. She apparently was ready to be up for the day. Oh joy! So at 5:45 am, I was up for the day and started getting everything ready.



Once I had everyone else awake and ready to go, we headed out to my old High School. We got there a little before 9 so that we could get signed in and get our shirts. Once we were registered, it was time to start the 5K.

It was a lot of fun and at every kilometer, we got a new color essentially thrown at us. So by the time that we finished the 5K we were covered in all kinds of color. It was a lot of fun and my Nieces really enjoyed the color part.



After the 5K we took my Nieces home and then headed to our house to meet the people that were going to plant our new tree! We had really been looking forward to this, so we were very excited. They arrived around 1 and were done super quick. I couldn't believe how fast they dug the hole in our yard. They were there for maybe 30 minutes.



After the tree was planted, we had planned on doing nothing, but I got a message from my friend Victoria, asking if I wanted to do dinner and a movie for a girls night out. I couldn't refuse. So after showering(which took forever because of all of the colored dust on my skin) we headed out for a fun night. We had dinner at Red Robin and then went to the dollar theater and watched "The Watch", which was pretty funny.

Sunday, was a little bit more laid back. I didn't pry myself out of bed until 10. We ran to Lowe's to get the stones and mulch to finish the landscaping on our tree(see the pictures above) and then did some grocery shopping. After all of the errands, we came home and made some chili, watched football and finished the landscaping on the tree. And for some reason, my Fantasy Football team decided to self destruct this weekend. Thanks guys, really appreciate that! Grrrr!!!!

And probably one of the coolest things to happen this weekend, one of our neighbors stopped by to introduce herself and to bring us some cookies to say "Welcome to the Neighborhood". I thought this was incredibly sweet and she was so nice and her cookies were the best effing cookies I have had in a long time.



Just another busy, but fun weekend. Only five more days til the next one. And yes, I'm counting.

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Friday, September 21, 2012

Farewell Summer, Hello Fall Swap Goodies

Happy Friday lovelies! I am so glad that Friday is finally here. Now, I just have to get through the rest of work day and then the fun can ensue for the weekend!

A while back I told you guys about a blog swap that Stephanie from The Vintage Modern Wife and Kristina from Pretty Rambles were hosting. Well, the swapping has happened and now it is time to share with all of you guys what my amazing swap partner sent me.



My swap partner was Shannon from Sassy Lemonade. I really enjoyed getting to know a little bit about her and I hope that we can continue to stay in touch! And you guys should seriously go check out her Etsy shop. She makes some amazing jewelry. I already have a list of a few things that I want to buy.

Something we realized during the swap process, is that we have very similar tastes. Shannon received my package and sent me an email commenting on how similar we are in our tastes, and as soon as I got my package, I was laughing because she was right!



1-The package the day it arrived. I was so excited to open it.
2- I loved the tape that she used!
3- The cute card that was in the box
4- The message on the inside of the card


1- The post it note she put on one little package
2- The earrings that she made for me. Love these
3- A close up of me wearing the earrings
4- The earrings again. I love these things. I have worn them almost every day since they arrived.
5- Bracelets/Hair ties that she also made for me. They could be great as both!
6- Nail Polish! And I love the colors!
7- Bright neon layered gloves. I literally squealed when I pulled these out!
8- The very colorful scarf. Love scarves so I was really excited about this
9- Me showing off the gloves and the scarf. Can't wait til it gets colder so that I can wear these!


1-A decorate it yourself mug! I thought this was very cool. So did my Husband. He tried to steal it.
2- A really cute journal with colored pens and a really cute paper clip.
3- Tazo Earl Grey tea! Yum!
4- Patterned tape! I love stuff like this!
5- Werthers Caramel Apple Filled candy. I had no idea these even existed. I have stashed these in my desk at work so that no one else will eat them. Selfish, I know!
6- A marker board bottle stop. How freaking cool is this?! I can't wait to use this for my wine, haha!
7- Numi Organic Holiday Chai tea. Yum!
8- Paul Frank post it notes. These are currently being used at work as well!
9- Another picture of my mug. I love that it looks like a ransom note, haha!

To say that my swap partner did a good job is an understatement! She did an AMAZING job. It's like she knew me when she was picking out these items. And I can't pick just one thing as my favorite thing, because they were all my favorite. Thank you so much Shannon for all of my goodies. I absolutely love them. 

Thanks again to Stephanie and Kristina for hosting this. It was definitely a lot of fun!

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Our House is Becoming a Home

After two whole months of living in our new house, it is finally starting to feel like a home. It has taken us a while, but our walls are slowly starting to fill with pictures and memories that make it feel like it is really ours.

Last night was the first night that it actually felt like this. Why? Well, we finally got some of our wedding pictures up. It has only been 8 months since our wedding, but hey, they are finally up. The first ones that went up were our wallverbs that we got as a gift for our wedding. I finally got around to picking out pictures for it and getting them printed. So when they arrived yesterday in the mail, I made Aran put them up. He wasn't real pleased because I was making him do work, but he did it and didn't really complain too much.

We started by hanging up the template on the wall. Once we had that in place, we hammered the nails into the wall where the template indicated they should go.


I was supervising!

Once we had the nails in their places, we pulled the template down and started hanging the letters and pictures.






And that was it. We had to do a little adjusting to make sure that everything was sitting straight and lining up, but other than that, this was a pretty simple project. 

We also put up some other pictures too. I had a collage frame that had 6 openings, so I arranged the pictures in those and hung that up. I also had some 8X10 frames that we had nothing in that I put some pictures in and placed around the living room. 

These are all of my Bridal Portrait shoot.



And just like that, our house started feeling more like a home. It's amazing what a few pictures can do to the feel of your home. I can't wait to get more pictures up around the house. It may take me another 8 months, but it will eventually be done. 

How long did it take you to get your wedding pictures put up? Or how long did it take you to get anything on the walls in your place?

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Be The Match

Today's blog post is kind of a serious one. I wanted to tell you guys about a decision that I have recently made. It's nothing too crazy, but something that I wanted to share with you guys.

I have decided to become a bone marrow donor. Why? I can't really give you a long thought out answer. The only answer that I can really give you is that it just seems like I am being called to do it. Now, I am not trying to get all spiritual and religious on you, but I don't know how else to describe it.

For the past couple of months, every time I turned around, I was hearing another story about someone who needed a bone marrow transplant to save their lives. And every time that I heard another story, I couldn't help but think, what if I am someones match? What if that person is out there, just waiting on me? What if I could be the person that donates and saves someones life?

There were so many what if's just running through my head that I decided that I needed to do some research. I wanted to find out more about how to become a donor and what that would entail if I was a match for someone. So I Googled "Bone Marrow Donation" and a website called Be The Match popped up. According to their website, "Be The Match Foundation® raises funds to help patients who need a bone marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant find a donor and receive treatment." 


www.marrow.org

After finding their website and reading through all of the information that they provided on how you could become a donor and what that would imply, I decided that it was something that I wanted to do. So I signed up for my free registry kit and about a week later, it arrived. 

My registry kit

All that I had to do with my kit once I received it was to take four cheek swab samples; one on each side on the top and bottom. Once I took the cheek swabs, I attached the little bar codes to each swab stick and then put it back in the envelope to send it back. And that was it. Now, I just have to wait to see if I am a match for someone.

My kit after I completed the cheek swabs

I can't tell you how excited I am to find out if I am someones match. Knowing that I could potentially save someones life just gives me this amazing feeling of selflessness. 

It really is an easy process to become a donor. The actual donation part on the other hand will not be as easy, but I honestly could care less. If me having a little discomfort for a few days means that someone gets to have a second chance at life, how can I deny them that? I just can't!

Now I understand that this is not for everyone and this type of decision should not be taken lightly. I can't even begin to tell you how much thought I have put into my decision. But, I encourage you to think about it and to find out more information about it. You never know, you could be someones match. You could potentially save their life. 

For more information on how to become a bone marrow donor and the donation process, please visit Be The Match Foundation's website, www.marrow.org. 


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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Awesomeness and a Guest Post

Happy Tuesday lovelies! Today has already started out pretty crazy here at work, so I only have a few seconds to stop in for the day. So let's get down to business.

First, something awesome...

I know, it's hard to see, but just try squinting really hard, jk!

That's right, yours truly is in first place after week 2 of Blogger Fantasy Football! Whoop Whoop!!! I may or may not have been a little excited this morning over this! And not to mention that Erin at Love, Fun and Football called me a Football genius! But I'm not bragging. Okay maybe just a little!

And speaking of Fantasy Football and awesomeness, look who is 2-0 in my family's league...


Whoop Whoop! Fantasy Football has definitely started off pretty great for me this season, which probably means I am getting ready to go downhill very, very quickly, haha! Let's hope that's not the case, but I am waiting for my impending doom!

And lastly, I am guest posting over at Down at Fraggle Rock today for the awesome K. She is away on her Honeymoon with her new Hubby so stop in over at her blog to see what I have to say today.

All right, I'm out lovelies. I have loads of work to do. Have a great day!

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Monday, September 17, 2012

Weekend Recap

Well, it is once again Monday. I hate this day. Every week it rolls around and it's like a bitch slap to the face. Ugh! Getting out of bed this morning was especially difficult. Oh well, time for another week full of who knows what. And time for another Weekend Recap.

This weekend was once again busy and expensive. Friday night the hubs decided to eat out. We had a hard time to deciding where to go, but we eventually agreed on Chick-Fil-A. After dinner we went to Dick's Sporting goods to look at some new workout clothes. I have been trying to find this pair of Nike Dri-FIT Capri's but everywhere that we have looked has not had my size. This place finally did! So I tried them on and loved them! I also found a new Dri-FIT shirt on the clearance rack that I loved as well. I walked out of there with a whole new outfit for working out.

Source

This is what the shirt looks like except that it is a baby blue.
Source

After we spent too much money at Dick's Sporting Goods, we decided to go over to Target. We wanted to look at some shorts for Aran for our Honeymoon and possibly some shorts for me. This was a very bad idea. Their clearance section was ridiculous. I walked out of there with two pairs of regular shorts, two pairs of bermuda shorts and a cute dress for $30!! I was pretty dang proud of that. And of course, Aran couldn't find anything that he liked that was on sale so we paid full price for two pairs of shorts for him. I like to tease him about stuff like this and tell him that he is expensive. It's an ongoing joke that we have :)

The new dress that I bought! I paid a whopping $5.98 for it!
Via my Instagram Account

Saturday I woke up kind of early, around 7ish so that I could get ready for the day. I started off by painting my nails because they looked like ish. And then I got ready and headed out East of town to spend some time with my friends who might as well be part of my family. 

Bright!!! Love it!

I drove all the way out to my old Junior High School to meet up with my amazing friend Victoria and her family. Her little brother, Sebastian, was playing in his High School Homecoming football game. It was a lot of fun to watch and we had a blast just sitting there and talking and playing with her two little girls. Sebastian was even crowned Sophomore Duke for Homecoming. 

Me & Victoria 
Victoria's little brother, Sebastian #10, waiting  for the game to start
Sebastian being crowned Sophomore Duke for Homecoming

After the game we went back to her parents house(who are like my adopted parents) and we all had dinner. Her Dad made some delicious ribs and this amazing spicy mac n cheese. Oh my gosh it was so good! After dinner and some amazing desert, I headed back home to spend some time with the hubby. 

Sunday was awesome. Well, kind of. It was awesome in the respect that I pretty much did absolutely nothing but sit around and watch football. I did clean up around the house a little and I did so some laundry, but aside from that, I did nothing but watch football. And it felt amazing. 

I watched the Jets game for the sole purpose of watching Tim Tebow(he is so freaking gorgeous!) Unfortunately they did not play very well and he only played for like 3 plays and that was it. It was a very frustrating game to watch. I also watched the Lions game. And they played like crap too. I am just hoping that the Broncos play better tonight than both of the other teams that I like to watch did. 

Me in my Tebow shirt! 

That was my weekend. Just realized that there was a lot of football in there. Oh well, I love football, so that is okay in my book. I hope that you guys had a great weekend too!

What did you do this weekend?


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Friday, September 14, 2012

Post Secret Find

Hey everyone! Just a short post today, but I had to share something with you that I came across today.

Most of you probably know what PostSecret is. For those of you who don't, it is a website that displays anonymous secrets that people send in on post cards. It has been around for a while now. And they post new secrets every Sunday.

Well this week, the very last secret was one of the best I have seen. Check it out below.

Postsecret.com

So freaking cute right? Well, the best part was that the guy that sent in this secret sent in a video too. The video is of his girlfriend reading the PostSecret's for the week and seeing this particular secret and then turning around to see her boyfriend video taping her. And then he proposes to her. It is so cute and sweet!

Unfortunately I can't get the video onto my page because they don't have an html code to embed it. If you head on over to the PostSecret page you can see the video, but I am pretty sure it will only be there for a few days until they put up the new secrets on Sunday. So hurry on over and check out this amazingly unique proposal!

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Rascal Flatts Concert

This past Saturday night my friend Megan and I went to Denver to see one of our favorite country music artists, Rascal Flatts!!!!

We arrived at the venue about an hour prior to the show and then had to stand in line for about half an hour just to get into the venue. That was not fun, but we made the best of it. Once inside the venue we found our seats and were ready for the show!


First up was a group called Eden's Edge. I don't think that a lot of people know who they are, but I absolutely love them, so I was really excited to see them live. They were really good! They sounded just as good live as they do on their album.



The next opening act was the Eli Young Band! I was super super super excited to see them as well. They are one of those groups that have been around for years, but have just recently made it big on the charts. They were absolutely amazing too. I can't wait for them to come back and do their own show!




The lead singer! He is such a cutie!
Took this one and the one below because
 of how gorgeous the sky looked

After Eli Young Band was done, we decided to hit the bathrooms and the merchandise table while they were doing the set change for the last opening act. Good thing because the line at the bathroom and the merchandise table were ridiculous and we ended up missing the first couple songs of Little Big Town's set. We weren't super bummed about this because they weren't songs we knew, but we did get in our seats in time to see a few of their songs that we did know. Little Big Town was definitely fun to watch. And we really enjoyed them.


It was finally time for Rascal Flatts!! We were super excited and ready to see what their show would be like.  They came out and the place erupted! Unfortunately we were in the fuddy duddy section and the people around us didn't want to stand up. Who comes to a concert to sit down? Really? So we were polite and we stayed in our seats, but, I wasn't happy about it.















 They played a lot of their hit songs and a few from their new album. They did a really good job of keeping the crowd involved. It was an amazing show and I am so glad that we decided to go!  I think the coolest part of the whole show was that during every song, you could hear the entire crowd singing along. I have never been to a show like that before and it was really cool to be a part of that. I am actually really disappointed that the show has come and gone, because I enjoyed it so much that I wish that I could just see them again! Oh my gosh, they were so freaking amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!















We had a great night and it was nice to be able to spend some time out with my friend Megan. I can't wait till we get to do this again!

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