Razorback Britt

Tag!

2012-02-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

Tag! Kristen (my fellow Hanson lover friend) tagged me!

Here is how it goes:
-List the rules
-Post 11 fun facts about yourself
-answer the 11 questions the person who tagged you wrote
-create 11 questions for those you tagged
-tag 11 people in your post
-let them know they are tagged!

I think it is fun to get to know random things about people....so here goes:

1. I am a chiropractic fan. I was in a wreck in high school and started having back pain. The chiro is the only thing that makes me pain and headache free!

2. I used to be a habitual teeth flosser. I would carry floss with me and use it all the time. My dentist actually told me I was flossing too much and to cut back!

3. My favorite fast food is a Taco Bell/KFC combo. It is strange, but I love to have a Mexican Pizza and a corn on the cob. I was sooo happy when I realized the small town we moved to had a TB/KFC

4. I didn't try guacamole until I was in grad school. I went to eat with a professor and a friend, and they ordered guac...and I felt rude if I didn't try it. And I LOVED it! Now I make some mean homemade guac.

5. I took clogging for 12 years. I can do a mean double step.

6. I used to perform at Silver Dollar City. For two summers, I spent 6 days a week there. It was so fun. I was in Jr. High (and performed with other kids) so after our shows, we would go ride rides. I also performed in the show that opened the park, so I got to be in the park before it opened. SDC is magical early in the mornings. And I have been there very late at night for rehearsals. Nothing is creepier than all those old buildings in the pitch black dark. And there are TONS of animals roaming around.

7. I didn't ride a roller coaster until I was 13. And that was because I was working at Silver Dollar City. My castmates literally carried me onto Wildfire for a ride. I cried through the whole thing then begged to go again.

8. Contrary to every jewelry commercial, I don't want a charm bracelet. They are nice and very pretty....just not my style. I told Tyler that and he bummed out. Apparently, he was going to buy me one for our anniversary. Ooops! At least I said something! :/

9. In college, I got so many scholarships, I got extra money (which is basically unheard of at OBU). I spent the extra money on a DSLR camera, two nice lenses and Photoshop Elements. I also got to use scholarship money to take a trip to NY with my mom. The scholarship paid for 75% of my trip!

10. I graduated college and grad school with a 4.0. You can call me smarty pants if you want, but basically I just retain information really well. So once I hear it, I can recall it very easy. I'm a great test taker.

11. Tulips are my favorite flower.

And the questions Kristin asked....

1. If you could tell your forty year old future self something, what would it be? Keep exercising. Even if you get busy, you LOVE the way it makes you feel now....and it will only help you stay healthy. Don't stop being active.

2. What is your favorite restaurant (local or franchise)? My favorite local place is Rolando's. We don't eat there often (its out of the way and $$$) but MAN are their shrimp quesadillas and guacamole good!

3. What are your favorite colors to decorate with? I am really drawn to turquoise. There are lots of turquoise accents in our house.

4. If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be? That Jesus loves them just as they are...and He wants to save them from Hell. And that all they have to do is accept him freely and follow Him. His grace and His love are powerful.

5. What is your profession? I work in Digital Marketing for a car dealership.

6. If you could drop everything and go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? I would probably go back to Hawaii (as long as my dear hubby could go too!). It was the most fun, most beautiful, most relaxing place on Earth for me. I loved our honeymoon there.

7. What is your favorite guilty pleasure TV show? I love to watch The Millionaire Matchmaker.

8. What are three positive things about yourself? I love my eyes, I think I sing well, and I think I am really confident.

9. What is your favorite book and why? THE HUNGER GAMES! The first books in a loooong time that really captivated me. They have action, love, suspense, and imagination. BEST BOOKS EVER!!!!

10. If you could have dinner with any person from history (dead or alive), who would it be? Probably my Grandpa Dick. I loved him so much. He died when I was in the 4th grade and I would love to hear his advice to me as an adult.

11. If you could be a character from a book, which character would you be and from what book? I would like to be Allie from the Notebook. I love that book and that love story.

I will tag....

Ashley from Pumpkin Butter

Kati from Kati's Get Away

Molly from Fiddle-Dee-Dee

Emily at Cason Crew

Jessica at the Little Ponderosa

Amy at All Things Girl

Holly at the Morrisons

Becky at Adventures with the Ames

Kacee at Life in My Ark

Jenna at You and Me Plus Hudson is Three

Jessica at the LandLady Diaries

The questions I would like to ask are:

1. What is your nickname?

2. What color polish is currently on your toes?

3. What is your go-to dinner to cook?

4. What is your favorite quote or Bible verse?

5. Which would you choose? Doctor's office for shots or dentist for a teeth cleaning?

6. Tell us about your morning routine.

7. What song is most played on your ipod/iphone/itunes?

8. What snack do you eat at the movies?

9. If your house was on fire and you had time to grab any three things, what would you grab?

10. The craziest thing you have ever eaten?

11. Favorite weekend getaway locale?

On Plan for February

2012-02-15T19:34:00.001-08:00

Ok, this blog is about to turn into a diet blog. I haven't been 100% committed to my healthy lifestyle changes, so I am publicly commuting to be on plan for the rest of February. A couple weeks of dedication should get me back on track. Stick with me. I feel like I need the public accountability of blogging myself through this. I will keep blogging about life, but I will also write in detail about my healthy lifestyle. Feel free to blog about your lifestyle and commit to these last 2 weeks with me.

Here goes...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My Thoughtful Valentine

2012-02-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

First off, I finally caught a picture of Mikey doing his Elvis lip. Silly dog..

My thoughtful Valentine proved once again that he is too precious! While I was at the gym (I had to teach Zumba last night and didn't get home until around 8), he made these little notes and stuck them all over the house! We were only exchanging cards, but once again, he found a way to one-up me by making his "card" super sweet and thoughtful! (side note: my sweet hubby deals with dyslexia...so please excuse the spelling errors and such. I could care less about those). Here are a sampling of notes...

This was the first note I saw taped to the door when I got home...

This was with the Fiesta plates... ha! He teases me about buying more plates all the time!

On my blowdryer.

In the lunch meat drawer of the fridge...

We store our paper towels in a high cabinet and he always has to get them down. This was on the paper towel roll on the counter (and it got splashed with water when I washed my hands...oops!)

The funniest! This was on the lid of the crockpot!

On my spot on the couch...

In my chair at the dinner table.


And I am famous for making messes when I eat....so these were in the napkin holder on the table!

I LOVE that sweet husband of mine! Thank you honey for making me feel super loved yesterday. A FB friend of mine posted this and its so true: I love my husband today more than yesterday. But it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day and everything to do with God's grace.

Hope you had a happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Date

2012-02-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Self-timer pic in the kitchen before we left....because we haven't taught Mikey to take our picture yet! I curled my hair last night....what do you think?

Last night, we went out for our Valentine date! We had a gift certificate to this nice Italian place in town, Taliano's. Tyler had taken me there once before, but it was years ago, and that night I thought he might propose, so I was too antsy and don't remember much about the meal.

But last night totally left a great memory in my book!

The restaurant is in an old historic home downtown. It is neat to sit in one of the many dining rooms and imagine what the house was like many years ago.

We split a spinach dip appetizer (which they served with YUMMY garlic cheesy bread). We got soup instead of salad (you get salad everywhere....but they had chicken tortellini soup). The soup was AMAZING. I don't usually love brothy soups, but I could have drank the broth straight. So good. Tyler got a big Italian sampler plate (with a little bit of everything: spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, etc.). I got a delicious pasta that was their namesake. Spaghetti Taliano. It had ham, mushrooms, peas, in a garlicky alfredo sauce. Delish. And we got their homemade bread too.

I was carb-ed out, for sure.

While I am back to the diet today, that mean was delicious. But the sweet company of my hubby made the meal even better!

The funniest thing happened while we were eating. An older couple came in and sat in a table behind us. They looked at the menu, then they picked up books. They sat in silence each reading their own book, reading until the waitress came to take their order. They kept reading until their salads came. They small-talked over their salads...then read until their food came out! So funny! But I guess they enjoy reading and each other's company, so that is what they do! ha!

And lastly, Rue La La asked members to write love notes a while back. Mine made their homepage today! ha!

Weekend Recap: Food, Road Runner, and Snow!

2012-02-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

Friday:

I got my hair cut (just a trim...no fun pictures to share), and then Tyler wanted to go out to eat with his Uncle. We went to sushi and ate soooo much! We haven't tried very many rolls here in town (we used to eat sushi a lot in Fayeteville, but have only been here a time or two) so we ended up getting 3 different rolls....and then when I was all full, Tyler ordered ANOTHER roll! ha!

Our favorite was this one which came flaming to your table!

Then we headed home where my mom was waiting for us! She helped me put my kitchen back in order (they replaced our kitchen flooring last week....so we had to move all the furniture back in).

Saturday:

I made breakfast for mom and Ty and then mom and I got ready and headed to Fayetteville. We had 2 hours before our play and we got soo much done! We went to Mason's (they had just gotten their new Yellow Box flip flops in! I got some new leopard ones!)...went to Kohl's, had lunch at Zaxby's (yummmmmy tater chips!), and stopped at Rick's bakery to pick up some cupcakes for Gram's birthday! And we made it 20 minutes early to the musical!

We saw Bring it On: The Musical. I was skeptical, but it was really good. Lots of great dancing and gymnastics. The singing was ok, but the dancing made up for it! Good show!

Then we headed all the way to Hot Springs! (Tyler got impatient and headed down there about an hour before we did).

We had pizza with the family, and crashed.

Sunday:

We celebrated Gram's birthday! It was kinda funny because she took her night pills on accident Sunday morning, so she was kinda groggy....but she insisted we go to the Arlington for brunch. I ate my weight in homemade donuts, omelets, and yummy food. We came home and opened presents and then Tyler and I went for a little joy ride in Dad's toy!

Then Tyler and I headed out. We took the interstate route home (its about 1.5 hours longer...but he picked up a motorcycle in Little Rock). We stopped and had Subway on the way home. Once we got home, we snuggled in bed, watched the Grammy's and slept....and woke up to snow!

I worked today, but Tyler didn't (lucky dog!).

GREAT weekend...but I am still feeling full from all the good food! And tonight we are doing our Valentine's day...so a nice dinner out to top it all off! :)

Friday Randoms

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

1. We have been eating potatoes like crazy this week. See, I made some baked potatoes for the Superbowl for a potato bar...but with all the other yummy food, not many were eaten. So I hate to throw them out..so we've been going Bubba Gump on the potatoes....you know....potato hash, twice baked potatoes, fried potatoes, hashbrowns...any way I can cook them! I think tonight we will FINALLY use up the last of the potatoes!

2. I have been really busy at work this week filming and making videos. We have done walk-arounds, meet the salesman videos, videos of various departments....but I like being busy.

3. I am getting a free haircut this afternoon. Yes, FREE! See, I shop at Ulta. A lot. I get lots of makeup there. I buy expensive and cheap stuff there (the cheap stuff because I have an Ulta rewards card and I earn points on the stuff I could buy at Walmart or Walgreens). Well, when we moved back in June, I forgot to transfer my Ulta rewards address. So I haven't gotten any rewards in months! They were AWESOME and gave me all the rewards I hadn't redeemed....so I qualified for the highest level of reward...one option of which was a FREE haircut! So I'm getting trimmed up tonight!

4. Mom is coming in tonight and tomorrow we are going to see Bring It On: The Musical. I can't wait for the cheer/musical/tumbling excitment.

5. I am wanting this tunic. Bad.

6. I got to hear Steve Forbes (of Forbes Magazine) speak at a Chamber luncheon on Wednesday. He is a very smart (very rich) man. He had interesting things to say...but his speech was like a political campaign speech (all the things he would do to correct the economy)....but none of it are things he has any power to do. I know the man ran for president years ago...maybe he is still hung up on that. It was a pretty good talk, just didn't seem appropriate for the occasion (the annual Chamber luncheon).

7. I am already looking up excursions for our cruise. The cruise is in JANUARY. 10+ months away. Oh well, let the anticipation build.

8. Things I wanna do on said cruise: snorkel, swim with dolphins (I've already done this...but I REALLY want Tyler to experience it), get a tan, eat my weight in fine food.

9. I ordered a dress from Rue La La. It was a final sale item. They only had it in a size too small for my current body. The deal was amazing. I ordered it. I haven't dared try it on yet. I know I'll have to lose 10+ more pounds to wear it. I'm ok with that. I had to have it (it was leopard print!).

10. I REALLY want to see The Vow this weekend. Maybe Saturday night?

11. Our church is having a marriage/dating/seminar/simulcast thingy Sunday night. I really want to go...but that means I won't really get to nap on Sunday! ha! Gotta prioritize, I suppose. My marriage over my nap.

12. I am slightly obsessed with playing Temple Run. I'm not the best at it...but my best run was over 4,700 meters and over 336,000 points.

Do you play Temple Run? What is your longest run? I have seen friends post that they scored over 1,000,000 points in one run! I'm not there yet!

WILW: Anticipation

2012-02-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

I'm loving that....

We booked our cruise for next January! Yes, I know its a long way away. And yes, I was a bit bummed that the deal was AWESOME online...but then once we added taxes and trip insurance...it wasn't quite as great...but we are going on a 7 day cruise for $700 a person with all the taxes, fees, tips, and insurance. So all in all, a GREAT deal...just not the $399 rate quoted online. (and I DID splurge extra for the room with a window. I just don't think I can go 7 days without having a window to look out of!) So...in January of 2013 we are headed to Key West, and Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas! Our cruise leaves out of New Orleans...so we are hoping to play there for a day or two as well!

Nassau, Bahamas from here. Can't wait to play there!

I'm loving that....Monday we are going out for a Valentine's day date! I teach Zumba on Tuesday on actual V-Day....but the restaurants are so packed then anyway. We have reservations to a great Italian place in town, Taliano's! Yum!! (and we have a gift certificate to use!)

I'm loving that.....in just over a month we will celebrate our 2nd anniversary in Eureka Springs! A MUCH needed little getaway!

So I'm in anticipation about some great things to come with my sweetheart! So only fitting that I'm loving him too today! :)

Be blessed!

Friend-Filled Weekend!

2012-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Friday evening, Tyler decided to head to Arkadelphia for some time with his fraternity brothers during pledge week. I had planned to go to a birthday party at a friend's house...so his leaving only meant I could stay later and guilt-free (except once I was at the party....I saw it wasn't girls only, and if he was in town, he could have come! ha!)

It was a brunch party at Kacee's house! So fun! We all wore our PJS and ate breakfast for dinner! The guys wore chef hats as they made the pancakes and bacon and gravy!

Chef Jamie and Chef Tedd

Emily made the BEST maple bacon cupcakes that sounded weird but were so yummy!

We watched a movie, ate dinner, and celebrated the sweet birthday girl, Whitney. I also got to play with their sweet kiddos! Emily cracked us up! We were doing a birthday Mad Lib and she sprawled out in the kiddo picnic table!

She is a petite lady...but that is one tiny table!

Saturday, I got up and went to the gym, did some grocery shopping, and then came home to party prep.

Around 3, I headed to Tyler's shop. He was rearranging, so we did that for a little bit and then went to dinner with his mom, uncle, his cousin and her bf, and some of their friends. A fun dinner with everyone at one of our fave Mexican places, Joe's!

Sunday, we did church. Brother Ronnie preached about overcoming through faith. We are actually starting a series about overcomers from the Bible and I'm so excited about it! After church, Tyler and I had Chinese and came home to finish party prepping.

Friends starting arriving around 4. We ate, talked, laughed, ate some more. I got to play with two sweet kiddos and rub on two pregnant bellies (yes, we are basically the only friends without kids! I am content playing with others' kiddos!). The boys watched the game, but for the most part, us ladies talked. We really shared our hearts and talked about what God is doing in our lives. It is so great to have friends to share and talk with! I thank the Lord that I have made friends here!

For the game, I was going for the Patriots, but they lost. However, my mom and I had a little bet going, and I had 7 points...so I technically won the bet even though I lost! ;)

I thought the halftime show was pretty good. Yes, she was doing some lip-syncing...but you can't hear yourself in such a huge area to sing...so they pre-record it. We used to do that in Branson (and at Tiger Tunes!). I thought she looked great, moved great, and had a great set! (And I would totally be in church choir if we wore sequined robes like CeeLo's!)

The friends all left around 10:30ish. We cleaned up a bit (and by cleaned up...I mean we threw away trash and packed up the leftovers. There is a pile of dishes in my sink. But the fun was TOTALLY worth it!)

The mound of dishes I must do tonight because our kitchen is being worked on tomorrow!

I LOVED our friend-packed weekend!

Prayer

2012-02-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

OK ya'll. If you are reading this, please stop and say a prayer for me.

Nothing bad is happening...in fact, some good things might be coming my way. But I am wanting the Lord's guidance and discernment and I could use others praying for that too.

When I can share more, I will. :)

Thanks so much!

Friday Randoms

2012-02-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

This week has FLOWN by!

This is a good thing because I am excited about my weekend!

Tonight I'm hanging out with some ladies! Several girls Tyler went to high school with have been SO welcoming to me! Now I just consider them MY friends instead of Tyler's friends! They are having a birthday party at one of the girl's houses tonight. I have never met the guest of honor, but Tyler tells me that she is super sweet and I know it will be fun! It is a brunch party so we are wearing our PJs!

Tomorrow I am prepping for our Super Bowl party. That means I will stay in my PJS, watch whatever marathon is on TV (hopefully Top Chef or ANTM) and clean and cook. A pretty good day! We might go do something fun tomorrow night. Maybe a movie? I really want to see The Vow. Would it be awful of me to drag my husband to see that? :)

And we have our party Sunday! Woohoo!

This week I decided to eat a few more carbs. I'm still calorie counting...but before I tried to avoid carbs at dinner. This made me sad. I like carbs. I really do. So I have been making more carbs at night and just making sure to measure out a portion and eat only that. We had rice, pasta and crescent rolls this week...guess when Saturday rolls around we will see if it affected my weight loss or not!

Mikey was groomed Wednesday! He looks so scrawny with all his hair gone! He was in an extra snuggly mood and wanted to snuggle with me when he got home. I like that.

I ordered this dress from Mod Cloth (that I had posted before) and it was SUPER CUTE!

But...it was too small. Like felt like it was 3 sizes smaller than the tag said. So I sent it back.

We are in serious discussion about going on a cruise next January. My bestie really wants to go on one this summer...but summer is Tyler's peak season. And he asked that if I did vacay with Alden that it not be a cruise or somewhere super exciting (he doesn't want to miss out...and I don't blame him!). So we looked at January cruises. The beginning of January is his slow time, so he could be gone for a week. Well...

We found a GREAT cruise then for SUPER cheap! We have cruised twice to Progresso/Cozumel...so we didn't want to do that. But there is a cruise out of New Orleans to Key West, Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas (I've been to Nassau and Freeport but I was much younger)...a 7 day cruise for $399!! That is like $60 a day! Pretty certain we are going to jump on that opportunity!

I will catch ya on the flipside of the weekend!

Who are you cheering for in the Super Bowl? I have the Patriots in a bet against my mom! We always bet (tradition started with my grandpa). We don't know what the stakes are yet...but I have the Pats! So...go Pats! :)

Recipes! Creamed Corn and Sweet and Spicy Pork

2012-02-01T06:57:00.000-08:00

When I was home last weekend, I got to cooking for the family!

I made two delicious dishes! An easy creamed corn (could easily be a mexican corn if you add chilis) and some sweet and spicy pork chops.

Photo from here...I always forget to take pics of what I cook...so I find google images of similar looking food! :)

Creamed Corn:

-3 oz. cream cheese (can use low-fat....but not the fat free kind...it doesn't melt well)

-1 onion chopped

-2 cans corn (drained) or 2.5 cups frozen corn

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1 tablespoon butter

Melt butter in the pan and add onions. Saute on medium until translucent and starting to brown. Add corn and turn to medium high. Saute the corn and let it get sweeter, and start to brown (DON'T burn it! Keep stirring!). Add the seasonings and cream cheese and take off the heat and stir to melt. Would be REALLY YUMMY Mexican corn if you added some drained rotel or a can of chopped green chilis.

Photo from here...mine looked very similar to this!

Sweet and Spicy Pork:

-There are two ways to cook this. Pork chops on the stove top....or a pork roast in the slow cooker. I made it on the stove this past weekend.

-Pork (chops or roast).

-1 medium can peaches, not drained

-1 cup salsa

-1/2 cup raisins

-1 cup juice (orange-y juice...I actually used orange peach mango juice)

-1 tablespoon rosemary

-1 tsp garlic powder

-1 tsp black pepper

If using crock pot....season pork with rosemary, garlic and pepper and place in slow cooker and top with other ingredients and cook on high 3-5 hours or low 5-7 hours until roast is tender. Slice and serve.

If using stove top....place seasoned pork chops (season with rosemary, garlic and pepper) in a pan on medium high heat. Let each side brown (1-3 minutes each side). Meanwhile in a sauce pan, add salsa, peaches and raisins and let thicken a little. After pork chops brown, add juice to pan and cover and let simmer. After several minutes (I think it was 6-8 for me as my pork chops were sorta thick), top with salsa mixture and let simmer for a couple more minutes. Serve when pork is no longer pink.

New Fiesta and V-Day Decor!

2012-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

I got lots of fun new Fiestaware! Some were Christmas gifts...

Lilac pitcher

Two cappuccino mugs- juniper and new chartreuse

A fun little yellow display piece in pastel yellow

The bottom bowl is the new piece.....its Original red (or radioactive red!)

And my bestie got me this bread plate with the Fiesta Christmas tree in ivory!

Some I got from ebay or antique stores....

Original yellow cream soup bowl

Original green and old chartreuse -Two sugar bowls (missing lids...its ok...they are old) found at an antique store

Original yellow celery tray

And some I got at the Dillard's New Year's Day sale...

5 Christmas tree plates...to give me 6 total...and then I found 4 more on ebay for a collection of 10 Christmas plates!

Christmas cutlery! Originally $99 a set....got them for $30 a set!

Close up of the Fiesta Christmas tree!

My current collection!

And I am all decorated for Valentine's day!

I change the plates on this plate holder for each holiday...

And I also change the decor in my apothocary jar...

And the decor on my dining room table!

And for fun....these are some new things in my kitchen!

A fun little plaque I got at a local kitchen store!

And a fun chicken I fell in love with at Hobby Lobby! I just had to have him! He sits on my baker's rack!

And this was our guest book at our wedding...and I finally got it from mom's house to hang in our kitchen...

Weekend Review

2012-01-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Friday night, we had a little River Valley Zumba meetup! Some local instructors (and a few tag-along students) met for dinner and we had the BEST time! So much laughter and fun! We all had Zumba in common...but I enjoyed getting to know their life "outside Zumba" Such a fun night!

Saturday morning, I was up early to head to Lake Fort Smith (about 45 minutes away) to teach Zumba at a women's retreat. It was for a local church. They blessed me soooo much! I got there and some women were still waking up...so we sang worship songs to draw them out of their rooms! The lady in charge is a music therapist...so she brought all her instruments...and I got to play a drum! I was quite excited!

We did Zumba (outside in the cold!) for about 30-40 minutes and then I hit the road to Hot Springs.

I spent Saturday cheering on my cousin Gavin at his basketball game, having lunch with the family, getting manicures with mom and Gram, and then I made them all a yummy dinner (recipe to come...this one was GOOD!).

Sunday, we slept in a bit and I made breakfast (french toast!) and we started cooking. We made a Thanksgiving-style dinner. Gram was in the hospital at Thanksgiving...and it was dad's birthday....so for his birthday dinner we re-did Thanksgiving! We made turkey, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, and yummy creamed corn (also recipe to come!). And mom made a delicious cinnamon cake. We all went for a walk around the neighborhood and then I headed back home.

Last night, Tyler didn't get home until 8 (he went dirt bike riding) so we crashed in bed early to watch some TV...and we were out around 10:30!

Now to take on the week! We are looking forward to this weekend as we are hosting a superbowl party at our house! Lots of cleaning and cooking in preparation!!

Anxiety

2012-01-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

I had a terrible bout of anxiety yesterday.

Sunday night, I had a bad dream. Not the kind of bad dream that is crazy, scary stuff going on...but the kind of bad dream that seems real.

I dreamt that my hours were cut back at work (and I'm already a little worried about work because of money....I feel like I need a better paying job), and we had somehow racked up a bunch of debt and were at risk for losing our house. And also in my dream, one of us was really sick (don't remember details...but I remember being at the doctor's office in my dream and crying). All that gave me TERRIBLE anxiety yesterday.

I tried to work out yesterday morning, but my heart was racing from my dream...so I couldn't do anything but pet Mikey and sit on the couch and try to calm down.

I cried talking to mom on the way to work (about something silly...) Something about mommas just make all the emotions come out, am I right?

I just felt wound up so tight while at work...so yesterday during my lunch I went for a little walk/job at a nearby park. That helped some. Some music, fresh air (even if it was a little cold without a jacket), and some exercise.

I think I really just needed to relax. So I spent the evening cooking, crafting and a bubble bath. Also some prayer in there.

Not sure what is weighing so heavily on my heart (I mean, its obvious worry over money...and while our budget is kinda tight, we aren't in major debt or anything....so not sure where its coming from). Anyway, I kept thinking of this verse:

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you"

So wonderful to know I serve a God who cares about the little things (like my anxiety stirred up from a bad dream). He has my heart and my worries....and I couldn't think of anyone better to be in control of that. Thank you Lord for your watchful eye, your caring heart, and your saving grace.

Weekend Recap: Day at Home and Grandpa's Farm

2012-01-23T12:39:00.000-08:00

Our weekend wasn't too special, but it was one I want to recap.

Friday evening we had a great dinner out at Red Lobster. We had a giftcard to use, so it was nice to eat a bit more "expensive" (crab legs anyone?) than we normally would. While we waited on our dinner, we sat by the MOST PRECIOUS little girl. She was talking to us and telling us all about her life, her kitty, her dance class (and showing us videos on her mom's iphone). She was so sweet. She was only 3-4...and it was fun to get a little taste of "toddler fever." I doubt I'll ever really have baby fever because they scare me so bad...but I love me some toddlers and that little girl almost made me want one of my own! :)

Saturday, Tyler got up early to go on a trail ride with some friends. I could have gone, but it would have meant riding several hours on the 4 wheeler and I'm not comfortable doing that....so I stayed home. I did some things around the house and then did some Sam's shopping. Saturday evening, Tyler and I just stayed home and watched some DVR'd shows on TV. We went to bed early because Tyler was so tired from riding 30+ miles of riding trails up a mountain on a dirt bike.

Sunday, we slept in (because poor Tyler was walking like a zombie from being so sore!). I made breakfast pizza (but low fat with turkey sausage, egg beaters and low fat crescents).

We were settling in on the couch for some Netflix and Tyler's mom called. She was headed to Grandpa's in Oklahoma (About 40 minutes from our house...and she has to pass our road to get there) and was just checking in on us. Well, Tyler decided he wanted to go too....so I put on clothes and we headed out with Nancy.

We got to Grandpa's and played around a bit. We watched his cousin Heather on her new horse, they rode 4 wheelers around the yard, jumped on the trampoline and we watched both football games sprawled out on the couches and the floor.

We also ate a great lunch cooked by Ty's uncle, Dwight. And then we had leftovers for dinner!

We didn't get home until 10:30 last night and we pretty much crashed.

But it was a great weekend, even if nothing major happened. Fun with the family...that's all we need.

Nothing Notable

2012-01-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have had a pretty boring week. I'll give you the Friday randoms.

Just the norms this week: work, Zumba (although we are having some AWESOME Zumba classes!!), and hanging out at home. I have been a bad housekeeper (we have a sink full of dishes and a full laundry basket).

I have taken several bubble baths. That was a good thing in my life. I love nothing more than steaming hot bubbly good-smelling water to immerse myself in. And I'm thankful we splurged in bulding the house and got the jacuzzi tub. Those jets blow magic into the water.

We are going on a dinner date this evening. We got a Red Lobster gift card (for Halloween maybe?) from Tyler's mom....and its been sitting on the half wall ledge since then. We saw a commercial for Red Lobster last night and decided to go tonight. I have budgeted my calories accordingly and have a 95% plan for what I will eat there tonight. (Tyler thinks this is a bit extreme. But I ate some "off plan" things last weekend and had a big dinner on Wednesday....so I am just trying to be good and am determined to get this weight off!)

I am still in love with Aldi grocery store. I buy groceries there often, but the last time I went I got two things that were AWESOME: buffalo popcorn shrimp and some frozen grilled chicken nuggets. They are both so delicious. The shrimp (after about 15 minutes in the oven) turned out crispy, spicy and wonderful. And the grilled chicken nuggets are in a big bag frozen. You take out what you want and cook them for 2 minutes in the micro and they turn out so moist and delicious. The BEST grilled flavor. And they are just chicken and spices. They are really low calorie and GREAT for my lunches at work....to put in wraps at dinner....for lots of things. Well, the problem with Aldi is that because its a smaller store, they rotate items. You might buy something one week and not see it again for MONTHS. I had originally bought one bag of chicken bites and one box of shrimp...and that was NOT going to work. So yesterday at lunch, I ran over there and bought 5 more bags of chicken and 4 boxes of shrimp (SO thankful for our big freezer that I got for Christmas!). I didn't have time to take them home, so they are in the freezer here at work! I won't get to take them until Monday...but hopefully the service guys won't help themselves to my groceries!

I am working at the shop with Tyler's mom tomorrow. Tyler is going on a trail ride with some guys from church. I am SO happy to give up my Saturday so he can have some fun. The boy works so hard...so if me and his mom can take his place at work on Saturday for him to go have some fun...I am honored to do so. I hope it isn't too cold for them! And I hope they have the best time!

My Grandma (who fell and hit her head a while back) is home from the nursing home. She is doing GREAT! She came home this week and is staying with my mom. She still technically has her feeding tube in, but she is eating all solid food. They have an appointment scheduled to have the tube removed. She is still getting a bit of therapy at mom's, but she is walking, talking and doing well. The only main thing we have noticed as a result of the brain injury is that her "filter" is gone. She says what is on her mind....and sometimes it is ugly. She never would have said anything hurtful before. But we have heard this is fairly common in brain injuries...and it may go away...or it might be the "new" Gram. Either way, we can put up with a little bit of her verbal vomit happily. We are so glad she is still with us!

Welp...that's it for today. I did decorate for Valentine's Day already...so I will try to take some pics to share that with you. Also, we are having a Superbowl party at our house....so there will be some fun prep for that as well (gotta clean the house before then....eek!)

Have a wonderful Friday!

WILW

2012-01-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

I am loving......My Ugg sweater boots! It has been coooold here for a couple days and I am living in them! At work (with some jeggings and a cute top), at home as slippers...I LOVE them!

...This red pepper aoli recipe (except I don't use as much mayo). I made it about a week ago and put it over chicken, but tonight we are celebrating my MIL's bday....so we are having it with pasta and some italian sausage. It is so easy, so versatile, and SO YUMMY!

...My custom Zumba warmup! My Zumba class participated in a video contest hosted by a fitness DJ- DJ Baddmixx. We won! And we won a custom warm-up mix! I wanted it to follow a theme...so I did "Don't Stop" songs..."Don't Stop the Party" (Black Eyed Peas), "Don't Stop Believing" (Glee version), "Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna), and "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" (Micheal Jackson). It is an 8 minute mix! And you can download it for free from his Soundcloud account (along with several other mixes) They are great for working out too....(running, walking, biking....even if you don't Zumba!)

...Some new Zumbawear! They are coming out with new stuff on Monday...but yesterday they released some new fundraiser shirts. Zumba is partnering with MDA and Auggie's Quest to benefit ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). A great partnership! It is focused on dancing for those who can't. ALS takes away your ability to move...so Zumba is selling "United We Dance" clothes with the proceeds going to Auggie's Quest! I got these two new shirts! You can buy them too at zumba.com!

...These cute dresses I found online.

Might buy this one for our anniversary trip! So sexy!

LOVE the color!

Good work dress

Love the hemline!

...My wonderful husband! This was an iphone pic from our trip to see the Blue Man Group this weekend. We were killing time in the lobby. :) LOVE him!

Hold on to your hat, Toto...

2012-01-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

It has been so windy here. Not just wind...but gale force winds. They said yesterday some of the gusts were tropical storm force.

It was so windy it has blown the metal deck furniture we have on the front and back porches all around. One of my wrough-iron chairs was blown over....our loungers on the front porch are all pushed to one side....my rug has flown to the other side of the porch. It has been crazy!

We even had to take the wreath off our door because the wind was hitting it and making it "knock" on our door all day and night.

And last night, somehow, a door at Tyler's shop was left unlocked (a rare occurance...but it does happen occasionally in their hurry to leave work)...and at 5:20 this morning, we got a call that the alarm system was going off. Tyler didn't know a door was unlocked...but figured it was. He told them to send the police. Well, it wasn't an intruder....the WIND had blown the door open and closed! Everything was fine (except for my poor sleep-loving husband who had to drive to town and back at 5:30 this morning!).

They say this wind is a result of a front blowing in...but whatever is causing it,

my hair and I don't like it!

Weekend Recap

2012-01-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

What an eventful weekend we had!

Friday evening, we did dinner at home (tacos!) and watched "Moneyball" Moneyball was a little bit slow, but towards the end it was interesting. We are not baseball nuts, but it was interesting to see how the teams get put together.

Saturday, mom was here. We did some shopping (Kohl's, Lowe's, Hobby Lobby, Incriptions, Creative Kitchen and an antique store)...and lunch at Chick-fil-a (who knew their tortilla soup was sooo good and low calorie!?). I got a few new things (some clothes, tennis shoes, a kitchen gadget, and two Fiesta bowls at the antique store). After Tyler got off work at 4, mom, Ty, me and my MIL Nancy, all headed to Fayetteville.

We ate dinner at Kobe, our favorite Hibachi/sushi spot. I tried to do good on my diet by ordering a California roll (instead of the fried, cream cheese filled rolls we normally get). It was good. Tyler and the moms split some decadent sushi (I did have one piece!). Then we did a little shopping stop to kill time...then we headed to the Walton Arts Center for the BLUE MAN GROUP!

I honestly had no expectations for this other than it being great. I had never seen a video or anything of the Blue Men. First of all, they passed out earplugs as you went it, so I knew it was going to be loud and crazy!

(I did wear one earplug in my right ear. That ear drum was torn years ago in an accident, and sometimes drumming bothers it. I took it out about half way through and was fine.)

The show was AMAZING. It was full of creative, interesting, entertaining things. They do percussion, music, comedy, and it was great. They played a xylophone-type instrument made of PVC pipe. They played a song from the crunching of Captain Crunch cereal. They did gross stuff (like play a strange version of chubby bunny, stuffing 20+ marsmallow things in their mouth...then making a sculpture out of them. ew...but funny). They did some really neat stuff. They also got the audience involved, which was fun. We all had a GREAT time.

After the show, we walked up the hill on Dickson Street for some Orange Leaf yogurt. Now, I am ALWAYS a Pineapple girl...but I'll tell you, their holiday flavors were out.of.this.world. Gingerbread and snickerdoodle won my heart. I got a small bowl and tried not to blow my diet and weight loss!

Sunday, mom was going to go to church with us, but got a call that my Uncle Neil was being taken to the hospital, so she headed home. (He has an absess in his colon....again. They aren't sure what to do with it...but he should be ok).

We had a GREAT sermon at church about reaching the people in our world (your family, relatives, coworkers, and even the random people you come in contact with...like the girl at Sonic or the checker at the grocery store). Very encouraging and challenging.

After church, we had lunch at Beef O'Brady's with our friends Brooke and Warren. They just found out they are expecting...so we wanted to catch up and hear the great news! Their last name is Seals...and he wants to give it the middle name Navy. Navy Seals! ha!

Then we came home, chilled a bit, hooked up our new Blu-Ray player....and watched The Hangover 2 and then the DVR'd Miss America. My sorority sister Kristen was Miss Arkansas...and while she didn't make the top 15, she did a great job representing our state! I wasn't too impressed with many of the finalists....I liked Miss SC and Miss OK....but I like Miss Michigan who won after watching her press conference online. She has a great heart. I will enjoy following her travels all year.

That was our weekend! Some fun things for sure! Hope you had a great weekend!

Hip hip hooray!

2012-01-14T06:22:00.001-08:00

Weighed in this morning and lost another 2.1 pounds for an overall loss of 5.1! To God be the glory, great things He has done!! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

2012-01-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

I am loving lots of things today!

I am loving...that we booked the Bed and Breakfast for our anniversary trip!

Last year, we didn't do anything too extravagant for our anniversary...but this year we are spending a three day weekend in Eureka Springs! I am thinking lots of wandering through the shops, eating yummy food, a ghost tour, museums, and lots of fun with my honey! We LOVE Bed and Breakfasts (but they are usually soooo expensive) but we found a great one that is just a bit more than a regular hotel. And the fact that you get amazing hospitality and a wonderful gourmet breakfast makes it worth it! So excited to go in March!

I'm loving...that we are going to see the Blue Man Group this weekend!

They are regulars to the Fayetteville area, and me, Tyler, my mom and MIL are all going Saturday night! Can't wait!

I'm loving...that I donated blood yesterday. I did have a slight mishap donating on a Zumba teaching day (I was soooo worn out and had to teach with half energy)...but I found out my iron levels are great (thank you leafy greens!) and my resting heart rate is low. The low heart rate is GREAT news! A low resting heart rate is the sign of an "athletic" heart (according to the lady yesterday). She said my heart is in great shape and can do its work with half the effort now because my heart is so strong. Great news! And I got to help save some lives by donating blood!

I'm loving... that the Razorbacks ended up ranked #5 after all the football games ended! Woo pig sooie!

I'm loving... the dress I wore to the wedding last weekend. (I'm on the L)

It is from Rue La La and was a $200+ dress that I got for $39! Funny story about that dress. I had originally ordered it in yellow and gray in an XL for $59. Got it in and it was HUGE. I sent it back. Because of the nature of Rue La La, there are no exchanges, just returns. So I lost all hope for the dress. But they had a sample sale, and they had a pink and gray one for $39! But they only had it in a small. I really though I needed a Medium...but I couldn't pass it up. I'm losing weight, so I figured if it didn't fit, it could be a goal dress. But I got it in Friday, and it fit perfect! Woohoo! Yay for that!

I'm loving...some fitness inspiration I found on Pinterest.

Source: facebook.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: noskinnybitcheshere.tumblr.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I am loving life right now! Hope you are too!

2012-01-10T09:39:00.001-08:00

Tyler and I have done lots of talking about things lately. Jobs, work, family, life plans, goals....

There are some changes coming our way and we have been praying and seeking clarity and guidance.

I am stepping out in faith in one area of my life...and I'm praying I am following God's will.

I will explain more later (its not baby related!)...but I would covet your prayers as we seek God's will for us.

Thanks so much friends!

Weekend Recap

2012-01-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

First off, let me start by recapping something that happened LAST weekend (i.e. New Year's Eve.)

We ate dinner out at Maravella's and had GREAT Mexican food (and looked hott doing it). We were gonna stay for their NYE party, but we were so full feeling that we went home and crashed on the couch. :) Happy New Years to us!

This weekend, Friday evening we hung out at home watching the Cotton Bowl! So excited that my Razorbacks won! I also made some yummy sloppy joe soup that I'll be blogging about soon!

Saturday I ran some errands, sold some clothes to Plato's Closet (hello $50!), and then went to the wedding of one of my Tri Chi lil sisses, Jenna!

Alden (my BFF/Tri Chi lil sis) went together and it was so great to catch up with friends and celebrate with Jenna and Chris!

Me, Alden and Jessie being silly before the Tri Chi wedding song!

This was just part of our TC family that was present at the wedding! Me (PC 06), Alden (my little), Jessie (Alden's Little), Jenna (Jessie's little), then we have Hayley and Ashley (not sure where they fit in because I was gone...but they are sweet little sisses!)

Saturday evening we had dinner at Maria's (the BEST Mexican food with the WORST service ever...but we go back b/c the food is so good!) and then came home and hung out.

Sunday, mom and dad drove up to go to church, have lunch, and look at property. Mom and Dad eventually want to move up here to Fort Smith, and they were looking at some land on Sebastian Lake. The selfish side of me says "Buy it Mom and Dad!" so I can have the lake access this summer (its a private lake open only to those who live on it). They really liked the lot and the area, so chances are they will make that little slice of lake property their to build on someday.

Isn't it pretty?

We cleaned and did some things around the house and had dinner last night...and we finished out our night watching Lie to Me on Netflix. We live a riveting life, I know. :)

Last night at dinner, I made a version of twice-baked cauliflower (Thanks Pinterest!) and it was AMAZING. Make it soon. You won't regret it.

Have a great Monday!

Confessional Friday Link Up

2012-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

I read Leslie's blog, A Blond Ambition, regularly and she has these confessional days. So I wanted to link up today and share my confessions.

1. I was a big bia to some people on the phone this week. I am normally not a rude person, but sometimes being pushy and demanding is the only way to get what you want. Sorry I'm not sorry.

2. I have been eating healthier (like I said) and sometimes it makes me so gassy. I know that might be TMI, but this is my confessional and you can deal with it. At work, I try to get to the restroom to "excuse myself" but our restroom is the same as the public one in the waiting area at the dealership. Problem. My office is just me and its a little closet-type room...so if I pass gas in here and then someone walks in...they will know! Once I walked outside only to toot! ha! Anyone else have these issues at work?

3. My favorite time of day is when I get home and take my bra off. I KNOW I can't be the only one out there that feels this way. But I don't think I've ever told anyone this.

4. I desperately wanted a glass of wine while cooking dinner a few nights ago, but all I could think about was how much water it would retain and what else I could eat for those 200 calories....so I passed it up. But that bottle of Riesling we bought in Branson over the summer has to be opened sometime. Maybe this weekend I'll arrange my eating plan to allow for a bit of a drink. :)

5. I am wearing sparkly glitter shoes today. With my Razorback Cotton Bowl shirt. I felt like I needed to show my team pride with a bit of feminine flair. :)

6. I'm going to a wedding tomorrow and have NO IDEA what I will wear. I usually have outfits for events where I will see lots of people picked out far in advance. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

7. Without really paying attention to the trailers or the reviews, we have been making fun of some out-there movie names at our house. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy? Really? Or "We Bought a Zoo" They couldn't have called it something better? "We bought a zoo" is like that other new movie they are advertsing "Man on a Ledge" Wonder what those movies will be about, huh?

8. Next weekend we are going to see the Blue Man Group. I really want to take home a blue fingerprint on something. Instead of autographs, they just leave blue prints on stuff. I think its neat.

9. I have organized our office/craft room (correction: I have organized MY stuff in that room. Tyler's stuff is still strewn about). I really have no excuse why I can't get back to crafting and sewing in my free time. Wait, free time? What's that?

I'm stopping here. I'm feeling unpredictable today and 10 is too predictable. Ha!

Hope you all have a good Friday! Woo Pig Sooie!

Mexican Chicken Pasta Casserole

2012-01-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

I am trying to use up our pantry stock. Combine that with wanting to make a casserole to heat up for dinner tomorrow night and watching a Food Network show about a Mexican restaurant...and I created this mash up last night.

Its a mix of mexican flavors-sorta 7-layer-dip-ish.

And it looked so purdy in my Fiestaware casserole (Cobalt Blue, ya'll).

Mexican Chicken Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup dry macaroni (or any tube pasta), cooked
-1 12 oz can of chicken breast, drained (you could use any cooked chicken. Like I said, I was cleaning out pantry ingredients and we had canned chicken)
-1 can rotel, undrained (I used Mexican rotel. It is the Lime and Cilantro kind...but any kind will work)
-1 can fat free refried beans
-3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used Fiesta blend because that's what we had...cheddar or any blend would work)
-1 onion chopped
-1 bell pepper chopped (I had green on hand, so I used that)
-chopped mushrooms. I probably used 1.5 cups worth...but anything over one cup would work
-1 tablespoon taco seasoning, divided in two
-1 tsp garlic powder

-Saute onion, bell pepper and mushrooms with the garlic powder and half the taco seasoning until soft. Don't let them get too brown. We just want them cooked through til the onion is translucent and the pepper isn't crunchy.
- Combine the cooked pasta, rotel, chicken and other 1/2 tablespoon seasoning in pot until warmed through (I just used the pot I cooked the pasta in after I drained the pasta)
-Once veggies are cooked, mix veggies and bean mixture together. Taste test. Add more seasoning if needed, or some hot sauce if you like it hot.
-Grease a rectangular casserole and spread it out. Top with cheese and bake until bubbly. Top each portion with a dollop of sour cream and black olive slices (not pictured)

Would easily make 4-6 servings. I put this recipe in MyFitnessPal, and without the sour cream, for 4 servings, it comes in at 366 calories per serving. I think that's quite a generous serving for not so many calories! Lots of veggies and protein and a little dairy too! Healthy can feel indulgent! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Weight Loss Wednesday

2012-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

I got my rear in gear several weeks ago. It wasn't so much of a new year's resolution, but it was the combination of being challenged by Beth Moore's Breaking Free, starting Made to Crave, and just finally feeling like it was time for a change. However, I would LOVE for this to be the last New Year's Day that I said I would focus on losing weight this year. No matter how difficult or challenging, I'm gonna keep working at it, because these are changes I'm making for life. So I have lost a few pounds, but I'm trying not to focus solely on weight loss....as the scale can be a dangerous enemy.

I am focusing on 3 things:

1) eating healthier. Not just lower calorie, but trying to eat more veggies, fruit, and unprocessed foods.

2) adding in some strength training. I do lots of Zumba...but my body needs to be challenged with weights in order to grow and build muscle.

3) making these into life changes. This means, learning how to make these changes that I am willing to make forever. So no more crazy diets. No more "I'll eat 400 calories today so I can pig out at dinner" (because that is not only unhealthy, but not a way to live your life). I am not going to do anything this time around that I'm unwilling to do FOREVER. Yes, forever.

So all in all, these are my tangible changes.

-Tracking my food with MyFitnessPal. I use both the app and the website. Its free and it is great. This also means that I am willing to track my food forever...not for calorie counts, but to make myself be conscious and accountable of what goes into my body. Fuel in equals performance out. I'm really seeing that when I eat better, I feel better all around.

-Making an effort to workout more. This might mean getting up 15 minutes early to lift some weights. This might mean an hour at the gym before I head home some nights. This might mean a workout on a Sunday afternoon instead of a nap. But ya know what? This is for me. For my body. For my health. And I'm happy to do it.

-Cutting out processed crap. Instead of buying my normal applesauce, I bought apples. Instead of canned peas, I bought frozen peas and fresh green beans. Instead of buying 100 calorie packs for snacking, I bought carrot sticks and hummus. Also, cutting back on fast food. Yes a Taco Bell taco without cheese is low calorie. But what am I really eating? I'd rather make it at home with a lean ground beef and skim milk cheese and fresh veggies.

-REALLY cutting back on sugar. One day over Christmas, I ate dessert. I only had about 1.5 servings of dessert (when I would have had 3+). But a strange thing happened. My head started to hurt. I felt like I had to sleep. In fact, I curled up in the recliner and tried to nap for a bit. I was sooooo tired. I also got kinda cranky for a few hours. I believe this to be directly related to the sugar I bombarded my system with. Will I have dessert sometimes, yes. But in terms of most things, I'm avoiding sugar. I have bought sugar-free ketchup. Buying the canned corn without added sugar. Honey in my yogurt instead of some brown sugar.

-Trying to limit artificial sweeteners to a point. I know I will have them. They are everywhere (including said sugar-free ketchup). However, I'm trying to limit adding them...so that means limiting the stuff they are in. The Crystal Light. The diet drinks. The coffee (that I add a sweet-n-low to). Limiting the "sugar free" crap I used to buy because I know the sweeteners aren't good for me.

These are what I'm working towards now.

Yes, I still want to lose 30+ pounds. However, I would also love to be able to use 10 pound weights to do my arm exercises (currently using 5-8 pounds). I would like to have more energy. I would like to feed my body what it NEEDS, not just what my taste buds want (and so far, healthy has tasted GREAT!).

I have lost about 3-5 pounds so far. But I'm feeling much better. And I'm excited to make these lifelong goals, because I know I'll be better for it!

Resolute

2011-12-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

Last year, I posted about my goals for the new year for 2011, so here is an update on those:

-Reach my goal weight with MRC.(lost 40 pounds..currently 30 pounds from goal.)

-Be diligent in working on and finishing my thesis (finished that sucker!)

-Work out more (done. Because I think teaching 7 Zumba classes a week counts for something :) haha)

-Declutter my life a bit. Get rid of stuff we don't need.(did some of this...can always do more)

-Work on being a better housekeeper. I know the mess adds to my stress, but I can't seem to keep up with it. (a bit better...still working on this)

-Reach out to my friends more.(honestly, I didn't do great.)

-Build our dream home...but don't insist on things we don't need in the house. Remember we are building a functional home, not anything else. (done. So proud of our home and that we were sensible in building it)

-Work on budgeting better. Realize where all my money goes. (lots better)

For 2012, I have some goals:

-Lose these last 30 pounds in a sensible manner that I can continue for life. I think that's why MRC didn't work for me last year...it was a "diet" not a lifestyle change. I'm in it to win it now baby.

-Challenge myself at work

-Continue working on making housekeeping a habit, not a chore

-Reach out to one friend each week

-Save money to go to Vegas!

-Be intentional about friendships and relationships here

I think those goals will really make 2012 a great, fulfilling year!

I hope you set some goals for yourself...not necessarily "resolutions" that you will forget about in a month, but some things to really work towards. A new year is a new start.

Happy New Year to You!!

Reflection on 2011

2011-12-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

I started this last year, and I want to continue to do reflect on the last year by summing up our whole year in one post.

In 2011...

In January, Tyler brought Mikey home. We weren't supposed to have dogs in our apartment, but with a little white lie to our landlord, we kept him. And Mikey made our family complete!

We got SOOO much snow! The first several weeks of classes were canceled for all the snow we got!

We closed on our land on January 23rd!

And we started building the next week!

In January, my first publication came out!

In February, we recreated our honeymoon meal on Valentine's day! Macadamia crusted Mahi Mahi!

In March, we celebrated one year of marriage with a fun night out! Tyler took me shopping and to eat at PF Chang's- where we first had dinner the night we "noticed each other" for the first time!

In March, I got my Zumba licensure!

In April, we took a trip to Dallas for Tyler's business. This was also a little bit of our anniversary trip- we ate a place we had before in Dallas and did some fun stuff!

In April, we celebrated Easter at my mom's.

In April, I drove to Alabama to be a bridesmaid in my friend Amanda's wedding!

In May, I graduated with my Master's!

The last weekend in May, we moved into our house!

Somewhere in there, I celebrated my 24th birthday (can't seem to find any pictures...) and then we went to Texarkana for a friend's wedding. This is one of my favorite pictures of us of all time.

In June, I also went to Dallas with mom to obtain my license to teach Zumbatomic- Zumba for kids.

In June, we went to Miss Arkansas- where our friend Kristen won!

In July, we celebrated the 4th at Greenwood's FreedomFest on the square.

In July, we went to Springfield for a friend's wedding and made a pit stop by Branson for some wine tasting and lunch.

In July, I went to Tulsa with mom to do Zumba at the Tulsa Shock halftime show!

In August, we had a housewarming party.

In September, I made my first quilt for our friends Aaron and Jacque's baby Myles.

In September, I went to Memphis to see Hanson with these lovely ladies!

Hanson concert #4!

Tyler celebrated his 25th birthday in September with a GIANT hamburger!

In October, I went to my first Greenwood football home game. Go Bulldogs! (They ended up winning state for the bajillionth time. Greenwood lives football).

In October, we went back to OBU for Homecoming. Go Tigers!

In October, I hosted my first Zumbathon.

I rode in a hot air balloon at BalloonFest.

I helped with a Zumbathon at BallonFest.

We carved a pumpkin.

In November, Gram gave us all a scare when she fell and hit her head and got brain damage. (She is doing SO much better now!)

We went Black Friday shopping (late Thursday evening) to buy our chest freezer.

In December, our home was full of friends for our first annual cookie swap!

We attended by work Christmas party decked out in our tacky sweaters!

We had our first full size Christmas tree!

2011 was a great year! It was full of fun, Zumba, and good times with the people we loved. Looking forward to 2012!

What I'm Loving Wednesday...Free Stuff Edition!

2011-12-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I've never blogged about this...because its the easiest way ever to earn free stuff!

Its MyPoints.com! MyPoints.com is an easy way to earn free stuff by doing the things you already do online....reading emails, searching, and shopping!

With MyPoints, you sign up (for free), fill out a little questionnaire about yourself, and then the fun begins! They will send you emails (mostly advertising...but some coupons and special offers). When you open and read the email, they will usually give you 5 points. If you do something on the site (like buy a product or print a coupon) they will give you additional points. You can download a search bar for your browser and when you do your searches on the MyPoints search bar, you get points. Also, you can shop through MyPoints. If I'm wanting to do online shopping from Old Navy, I go to MyPoints first, then click through to Old Navy, and then I earn points for every dollar spent. These points add up and when you get about 1500 points, you can redeem the points for gift cards!

I LOVE getting restaurant gift cards to sort of nicer places that we wouldn't go because the meal is a bit pricier than our normal meals out (like Outback). Or, I get gift cards to places like Chilis so we can eat a meal out for cheap. Or...my FAVORITE use of these gift cards, is cards for Barnes and Noble.com so I can buy books for my Nook for free!

Mypoints has gift cards for just about every retailer you could think of - everything from restaurants, gas stations, clothing, to hotels and travel. You can even donate your points to charitable organizations like the Red Cross! And it really doesn't take much time to rack up the 7,000 or so points needed for a $50 card (only 1500-1600 points for a $10 card).

I have been a member of MyPoints since November 2009 (so 2 years), and I have earned a lifetime of 17,975 points and have redeemed them for over $90 of gift cards! That's $90 of free money that I didn't have to go out of my way to earn...I just did stuff that I usually do online!

Another perk is you can print coupons for stuff through MyPoints. Coupons for everyday items at the grocery store or Walmart. Like $.50 off Pillsbury, or $1 off cereal and so on. When you redeem these coupons in store, you also earn points! Points for everything! So if you are a couponer, you win here too!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for MyPoints today! You can always opt-out if you don't like it...but I promise once you realize all you have to do is read some emails, do some searches, and shop online to earn free money...you will LOVE it!

You can sign up through this link.

Christmas Recap

2011-12-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

We had a busy, but wonderful Christmas weekend.

It was busy because we were traveling around, but it was so great to spend time with family.

(I was so lazy and never even got my camera out...so this is just a word recap).

It all started Friday with Christmas with Tyler's mom and dad. We had a taco bar for dinner and then opened gifts. Tyler got tons of RC car parts he asked for, and I got an awesome double crockpot (with 1.5 quart pots...perfect for side dishes or dips at a party), and I also got a beautiful U of A alumni sign to hang on our porch or garage. I just love it.

Saturday morning, we got up and had breakfast and did Christmas with just the two of us. I gave Tyler a t-shirt, a really cool custom glass set, and a new Smith and Wesson pocket knife (which he really liked!). I got my chest freezer (which I knew about), a cute Razorback Cotton Bowl shirt, a new Razorback nalgene, and a few other goodies.

Saturday afternoon, I headed to church to sing at the Christmas Eve candlelight services. I sang at the 4 and 7 services (there was a service at 5:30, but I didn't sing at it). My family came up for the 4 p.m. service. I was dressed as Mary. My mom took this video (the start of the song is cut off).

The candlelight service is so great. Lots of worship songs, a message about Jesus and his salvation, communion, and it ends with everyone lighting their candles and singing Silent Night. Love it!

After the service, my family headed back to Hot Springs and I headed to my MIL's for dinner with Tyler's family. We had soup, chili, homemade salsa (that is sooooo good), and we made sugar cookies.

Then we headed to church for the 7 p.m. service, I sang at worshiped with the family, then it was back to Nancy's to open gifts.

Tyler's family is so generous. I got some new Fiestaware, a cute new dress, lots of fun goodies like jewelry, a Razorback muffin pan, new pjs, and much more! We stayed there until 11 and then we headed to Hot Springs.

We got to Hot Springs at 1 and stayed up until 2 talking with mom. We got up and had breakfast Sunday and Tyler and I opened our gifts. Tyler got a Blu-Ray player and the Fast and Furious DVDs, and I got a new Hobo bag, and LOTS of Fiestaware! We picked up my grandma and uncle from the rehab home and brought them to our house...where the whole family gathered to open gifts. All the kiddos got tons of fun stuff. It is so fun to give to others and see their excitement in opening your gifts. After gifts, we ate a BBQ lunch and played with the kiddos. Eventually, everyone went home and we watched "A Christmas Story" then went to bed.

Monday, we had to leave Hot Springs by 9 for me to be at work. So just over 24 hours at home.

Even though it was a bit hurried, it was a great time with our families. I am so thankful we have lots of people to share the season with.

Season's Greetings!

2011-12-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years from our family!

Here is our Christmas card this year. It is from Tiny Prints (tinyprints.com) They are usually a bit pricey for my taste, but I won a $50 gift card from there earlier in the year,
so we got to send these precious cards for basically nothing but shipping!

The card recaps our year (in case you can't read it). From L corner clockwise: Celebrated 1 year of marriage, 2011 was a year full of blessings, Mikey joined our family, We built our home on 20 acres, Tyler's business is going strong, and Brittney got her Master's. The middle says:
"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow"
"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! -Tyler, Brittney & Mikey"

I didn't have your mailing address to send you a real card, so this is your virtual Christmas blessing from our family to yours! Season's greetings!

Expensive

2011-12-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ya'll I feel soo expensive today!

Let me explain...

Ya'll know I love Rue La La (to read my post about it go here)...(to sign up to shop go here).

Well today I wearing two pieces I got from Rue La La that were VERY expensive originally, but I got for a steal!

I got these Betsey Johnson earrings (normally like $60 earrings) for less than $20! They are a flower at the top, and then the little drop leopard pendant is actually attached to the earring back! So unique!

But the best part of today's outfit is my Leifsdottir sweater. I had never heard of this brand, but apparently its really high end. I saw some of it for sale on Anthro and other upscale-ish places online.

This was the tag that came on the sweater. (in case you can't read it... the suggested retail is $248.00!!!!)

I got it for $39. Amazing.

Here is my ensemble today (taken on self-timer in my office this morning because I'm classy like that!). The sweater is assymetrical and so unique (and its a medium...Hey Medium Hey! Goodbye Larges!)

So in sum, you should sign up for Rue La La. Its free to sign up and browse. You don't give them a credit card or anything until you want to buy something. (and shipping is $10 once...but then you get free shipping for 30 days. So if you buy 10 things in 30 days...which I might have done before...you get it all for $10 shipping). Its so great! Check out Rue La La. My closet (and wallet) are much happier for it.

WILW

2011-12-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

I am loving....That Christmas is this weekend! I am a bit bummed its on a Sunday because that means I don't get any real time off work. I do get to go late on Monday, but I must work on Monday. But I am excited to spend special time with family!

I'm loving...Shakeology! I am doing a 5 day Shakeology challenge where you drink Shakeology for one meal for 5 days...and I'm loving the yummy shakes and the way they taste and the way they make me feel! They are the healthiest meal of the day!

I'm loving... this Vaseline Cocoa Butter lotion. My dry winter skin is soaking it up!

I'm loving... that since last week when I really buckled down on this weight loss thing (and started the Shakeology challenge) that I've lost a pound! I know one pound may not seem like much, but after weeks of the scale going up and then not moving, going down is GREAT!

I'm loving our Christmas tree! I know I already showed you this picture, but I just love the twinkly tree! I wish it could stay up all the time!

I'm loving ...what my sweet Tyler told me last night. We were talking and he said he loves how I put others first. It was a simple compliment (that I don't think much applies to me...I often feel so selfish) but I love that we take time to tell each other specific reasons why we love each other. It always fills my heart to hear him say those things!

Christmas Dates!

2011-12-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

We had a fun little weekend with some Christmas dates!

Friday after work, I headed to one of my favorite little shops downtown, Creative Kitchen, to do a little shopping. I found some fun stuff for myself and a few gifts! Then Tyler and I went to dinner at a place that was new to us! We tried out Pizza Warehouse. It is a pizza-buffet-game-room type place, but I had heard they had really great pizza. And they did! Their normal pizzas were great...and our favorite was their chicken alfredo pizza! Yum! Then we went next door to Big Lots and did some Christmas shopping for our Mikey! After that, we saw Sherlock Holmes with Tony and Nancy (my in-laws). The movie was soooooo good.

Saturday, I ran some errands, wrapped presents, watched Christmas movies, napped, and then we had my work Christmas party. It was a big party in town and they had a tacky sweater contest. This was my get-up. (along with some co-workers and other folks)

Here is our picture from the photo booth! (please note Tyler's "vest." It was a women's sweatshirt that we cut up to be a vest. And Tyler said "You wear ties with vests" so he put on a tie with his t-shirt and cut up vest!)

They gave all the employees $50 Walmart gift cards too! I'm so glad to work at a place that is so great to their employees.

Sunday we did church and lunch (Chinese, if you were curious), then we came home and watched several episodes of Lie to Me on Netflix. Then we headed out for dinner at Beef O'Bradys. It is a neat sports bar with big TVs everywhere along with little TVs at the booths.

We watched the Broncos (Go Tebow) play (and unfortunately lose). We had a yummy dinner and then we drove up to Fianna Hills to look at Christmas lights!

The (incredibly huge, expensive) houses there were decorated beautifully! Lots of lights and some fun stuff....like this house had Pooh bear and Tigger!

This whole street had houses decorated, and each yard had a Disney character sign with a line from The Night Before Christmas. This one was Goofy and "The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care"

This house was my favorite! You can't really see it all...but that is a light up choo-choo with spinning wheels...and in front was a penguin that was throwing a snowball.

On the way home, we saw a bunch of lights and followed the lights to this great little house that had its yard covered in lights, blow ups and big Christmas signs!

I am so thankful for the fun that comes with this time of year. So glad to be able to share it all with Tyler and our family.

A Day Late to the Party- The House Party!

2011-12-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my Christmas decoration house tour!

This is a little shelf on the wall next to the couch...with a little metal tree and tiny Santa on the bottom shelf.

Our beautiful tree! I love having a full size tree! (first full tree since I moved out from home)

This is our entryway table...with a little tree that says "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and our card holder.

Our sofa table on the back wall is covered in trees!

Under the table, I filled the bowl with Christmas balls that I found at the antique store!

This is the bookshelf and ledge inbetween the kitchen and living room. Some black sparkly trees, "Joy" and a baby nativity on the shelf.

Our stockings are hanging on the ledge. I embroidered them.

This little table by the hallway has snowmen on it (even a Razorback snowman!)

The TV has some ornament garland and little trees!

The baker's rack in my kitchen has a Santa cookie jar, a little dip tray, a peppermint candy tray, and a "L" Christmas plate.

My plate holder has snowmen plates...

I have some lanterns and ribbon hanging from the lights in the kitchen... (I bought them for party decor but have had them up all season long!)

On my stove, I have a Christmas spoon rest and snowglobe salt and pepper shakers.

I have this glass jar full of ornaments. It usually sits on my island, but for now is on the table.

The view from the front door....my Santa flag, metal Santa by the door, and a little sign on the door with two little snowmen that says "The Lees"

My dining room....

My little cookie plate and milk mug for Santa!

I LOVE my place settings! I got the placemats at A to Z (a little overstock store in the next town) and the cutest napkin rings that look like ornaments!

That is just about all the big stuff (I've got random other little things...but didn't want to do 40 pictures! ha!) I wish I could have you all over for a cup of pumpkin spice coffee, but take this little home tour as my substitute! Merry Christmas!

CRAY-ZY

2011-12-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

Ok, I decided to check the stats on my blog. Look at my list of searches that led people to my blog....

Ok, girls on pit bikes I understand...Tyler rides pit bikes and I've blogged about it.... Foundation trench and colors that pop next to white trim, ceiling cut out and kitchen light I get because we built our house and I blogged about it...

I even get caliderma cleanser because once I won some and blogged about it.

I don't get red lobster bread...."christmas stuffed dancing squealing reindeer" (really?) and "crotch pants"???

I might need to reevaluate what I write about if folks are finding my blog through these terms! ha!

*upon further racking of my brain as to why crotch pants would take people here...I remembered this post about Shakira on DWTS and some low-crotch pants. Ah ha! And yes, I realize that everytime I type "crotch pants" here that it only makes it more likely for people to come here for that search term. So crotch pants, crotch pants, crotch pants. And welcome to all those who are searching for crotch pants. You have come to the wrong place.*

What I'm Loving Wednesday

2011-12-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday!

I'm loving a mish-mash of things this week.

I'm loving...grapefruits! I bought a big bag at Walmart and they have been so yummy for breakfast! I put a little honey on them and they are sooo good!

I'm loving...this dress from Forever 21. If anyone that loves me is reading this, I would LOVE this dress for Christmas (size L, please)

I'm loving...that Kacee became my Nook friend! I got a Nook for graduation in May...and I had no idea you could add friends...but Kacee just got one for Christmas and you can be friends and loan books to one another. Anyone reading have a Nook? Want to be friends? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I'm loving...the leftover cookies from our cookie party! I'm letting myself have one a day and they are delish! My favorite ones were (luckily) super easy to make. Kara, Kacee's sister, brought some thin mints that are just Ritz crackers dipped in mint flavored chocolate almond bark and they are sooo good. And lucky for me, Tyler doesn't like mint, so all the leftovers are mine! :) I found you a recipe here.

I'm loving... some Pinterest finds.

To "frame" your mirror. I want to do this in our bathrooms with the giant mirrors.

This crockpot hot chocolate was a HUGE hit at our party. I hope to make some for Christmas at my mom's and maybe for me and Ty on a snow day. Its like drinking a chocolate bar!

Source: mrshappyhomemaker.com via Brittney on Pinterest

And this bit of weight-loss inspiration!

Source: healthylivingforyou.tumblr.com via Brittney on Pinterest

The Great Christmas Cookie Swap

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we hosted a cookie swap for a bunch of friends after church.

The friends were mostly people Tyler went to high school with...and a few other church friends. It was SO FUN!

I didn't get a picture of everyone there...but so many fun friends came out! We really enjoyed talking (the women talked about pregnancy- there were 2 preggo ladies there- babies, work, faith, and funny stories...and the guys played with Tyler's RC car and watched football after eating and eating and eating). Such a great time. We have already decided to have a superbowl party at our house so everyone can get together again!

Tyler put up the "Party's Here" sign as we came home from church.

I had the whole kitchen set up for food! The wine table held the plates, napkins and forks.

The first part of our counter had the sandwhiches....ham rolls, tortilla rolls ups, and club sandwhich puffs. Pretty much everything was eaten!

The next section had BBQ meatballs, chips with bean dip and salsa...

The past the stove was pita chips and hummus, crackers and pepper jelly, bagel chips and cheddar dip...

Chips and french onion dip, veggies and fruit trays...

And for drinks we had crock pot hot chocolate (which was DELISH and such a hit!) and tea and water.

Nancy spent some time holding baby Myles. Mikey was HILARIOUS with the babies. He didn't bark, he didn't whine, he didn't bother you while you held them. He just kept his eyes on you. Here he is craning his neck to see the baby.

Jessica also got to love on Myles.

The whole kitchen was full of friends. It is such a blessing to have friends to fill our home with laughter!

These were all the cookies. Everything from chocolate chip, mint cookies, white choc caramel, oreo bark, oreo balls, thin mints, and more deliciousness.

I got to love on baby Myles a bit too!

But Myles wasn't the only adorable baby to visit! Ian was asleep during the first part of the party, but when he woke up he got passed around too! Ian is 9 months and so fun! He was playing with some of my tupperware containers and some balls around our house! Precious!

We stuffed ourselves from the food and cookies and then laughed off all the calories (I wish!)

God has really blessed us with some great friends here. I am so thankful that these people who grew up with Tyler have embraced me and loved on me too! They are a fun bunch! Can't wait to get together again soon!

Spitfire

2011-12-09T09:23:00.001-08:00

Man oh man.

I was told on the phone today I'm a spitfire. Guess I am. I'll take it.

I got a letter in the mail that lit my fire.

Around here, when you move to a new spot of land, you get your address from the Western Arkansas Planning and Development. They give you an address. Its simple.

Well, our road's addresses are a bit wonky. They go down...7000,6900, 6800, 6700, 6600...then back up...6500, 6600, 6700.....and our address is on the wonky end.

I knew it was strange, but its the address they gave us.

We have lived with that address for 6 months+. And today I get a letter in the mail that our address is wrong, our mail service could be stopped, and we must change our address.

What?

I called to talk to someone.

First, I wanted to know when our mail service would stop.

Second, I wanted to know why it was messed up in the first place.

Third, I want to know why the new address still doesn't seem right. It correctly should be 6500something....but the new one is just 20 numbers away from our current. Like from 6840 to 6820. Not correct.

Fourth, I want to know if they are doing this to all the 5-10 houses incorrectly numbered.

Fifth, I want to know who is going to pay me for the time off work its going to take to call and go change my address everywhere (for instance, our electric company, you have to make those requests in person...and the office is 30 minutes away). I will have to miss work to correct THEIR mistake.

I was explaining this on the phone to a man who basically told me "Dear, you are a spitfire. Our office ladies are out today for remodeling in the office. You'll have to call back Monday to talk to one of them."

Great. I promise they haven't heard the last of me. Don't get me wrong. I am nice, I am polite, but I get to the bottom of the issue and I get what I want (or get them to come to a good conclusion). And I'm not stopping till they answer all my questions.

So spitfire it is.

Spontaneous

2011-12-06T09:05:00.001-08:00

That word up there- I'm not very good at it. I like plans. I like knowing ahead of time what I'll be doing so I'll be prepared. I sort of hate surprises. While I appreciate the care that goes into surprising me, and I usually like the surprise, something deep inside me gets upset that I didn't know and couldn't be fully prepared. I know, I'm crazy.

Monday are good days around here. Both Tyler and I get off work at 4 and we make plans. One week we went to eat with the blue hairs. One week, I made lasagna. This week, we were going to cook a good dinner and finish our pre-party cleaning. So I came home at 4:40ish and Tyler calls. He is 15 minutes away and is going to Bentonville (1.5 hours away) to buy a bike. Ok, great. Have fun. Well, he REALLY wants me to go too. That means all the evening plans are out the window and we won't be home until 11ish. I gave in.

We drove the 1.5 hours to Bentonville, met a guy at his house, Tyler bought the bike, we ate dinner and drove home.

And wouldn't you know, it turned out pretty great?! Good times in the car talking and laughing.

And while I would have loved to have eaten somewhere special, we didn't get to eat until 8:30 at night, and we didn't want to wait for a meal and didn't want to go out of our way since we were going to be home so late.

So I took Tyler to one of my favorite NWA fast-ish spots to eat: The Pinnacle Station Local Market!

It is right behind the Promenade outdoor mall...and everytime I went to the mall I would eat there! Its inside a gas station, but you would never know once you got inside!

Would you ever think you were inside a gas station? Didn't think so!

Inside is a wonderful gourmet market, and they make artisan pizzas, have a FABULOUS salad bar, gelato, and more! We both had salad and pizza. And it was yummy.


Amazing Pizza! This is their pizza picture from their website!

I am so glad I'm trying to be more spontaneous...it paid off last night with a strange sort of date night with Tyler.

Do you like plans or being spontaneous? Please tell me I'm not entirely crazy...

Weekend Recap!

2011-12-05T06:16:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful weekend that was a mix of busy and low key! I'll recap our riveting weekend for you (I know you are dying to know.)

Friday after work I headed home to cook a delicious dinner. Tyler came home and ate said dinner and won Best Husband of the Year. He said to me "This is better than anything we could get at a restaurant." I made bison bacon balsamic burgers (quadruple b's), homemade baked ranch sweet potato chips, and some green bean fries. Then we watched a movie (Wall Street- Money Never Sleeps. I give it a B+. It was good, but the financial talk was a bit over my head. My stock-market loving hubby loved it.)

Saturday, I got up and went and got my hair did. It was a weird experience. I went to Ulta. I like the salon at Ulta. It is reasonably priced, they use top of the line product, and appointments are not hard to come by. The stylist gave me a great haircut, but her conversation was straight up weird. She talked about her ex-boyfriend in Atlanta and how moving in with him made her the "cash cow" and how she moved back here with her family. How her dad used to make meth when she was young and she is glad he didn't blow their house up. (What?!) How she grew up in Vegas and met said ex-boyfriend "on the strip, doing what we do in Vegas, you know" (No, I don't know. I've never been to Vegas. And if I had, I don't think I would be picking up random guys on the strip.).

That lovely experience was followed by a bit of Target and Kirkland's shopping (where I bought an awesome double beverage dispenser (like this one)

and bought an Elf on the Shelf. Yes, I know we don't have kids yet. But I wanted an elf of my very own. I think this Christmas he will stay in his box...but I'm excited to own our very own elf.)

Then I stopped by Sonic on the way home. Its a Sonic I never go to. I spotted an antique store next door and went in to browse. I didn't find any Fiestaware that I HAD to have...but I got a couple things. I bought a holiday Barbie ornament, a big Christmas punch bowl, and a snowmen advent calendar. (Again, no major use for the advent calendar now, but it was a steal for such a cute homemade piece and we'll use it someday!) I was SUPER excited about the holiday Barbie ornament. I collect holiday Barbies (I have every one ever made...still in the box in mint condition...all from 1986)...and this ornament was my favorite Barbie. She was the first brunette holiday Barbie and I remember LOVING her as a little girl. Now she is hanging on my tree!

Saturday afternoon, I cleaned and watched football. And we ate a yummy dinner (some roasted veggie lobster pasta with lemon parmesean sauce)....and we watched some Lie To Me. We LOVE that show and seasons 1-3 are on Netflix streaming.

Sunday was our busy day. We got up, went to church, ate lunch with Nancy, went grocery shopping, stopped by to FINALLY meet baby Myles

(and while I felt more comfortable holding a baby...which is a miracle...they freak me out!...I didn't catch baby fever), we came home to do some more housework, got ready, saw the Christmas play at church, ate dinner, and came home and crashed. I am so thankful for our church. They put on A Christmas Carol Revisited. It is a more Christ-focused spin on A Christmas Carol. It took MANY people MANY long hours to put this production together and it was great!! Such a wonderful reminder about the true holiday spirit!

I'm so thankful for Tyler. He did some of the housework I couldn't do...like dust the ceiling fans (I'm too short even on the ladder), helped me change the sheets, and went into the attic to change the air filter. Warning to home owners: be sure to change your air filters! We didn't have a problem with them...but I know many people whose air conditioners/heaters quit working or broke because of clogged filters!

This morning, I drove to work in the falling snow!

I just kept laughing at the joy of falling snow! I don't look forward to bad, icy roads...but it sure is pretty coming down! They aren't expecting any real accumulation, but the snow and winter weather season is here!

Menu- Week of Dec. 5

2011-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have this week's menu all planned out...so (I know its been a while) but I'm doing a menu planning post.

Monday: Chili rellanos. My recipe. I use bison (or ground beef) and cook that with some taco seasoning, add in some cheddar cheese and stuff into roasted poblano peppers. I top with canned enchilada sauce that I "fix" with some seasonings.

Tuesday: Chicken and stuffing in the crock pot We love this recipe and its so easy!

Wednesday: Chicken breasts with a version of quinoa salad (similar to this one)

Thursday: Modifying this recipe for tomato basil soup. I hate recipes for the crock pot that are more work than "dump it in" This recipe calls for making a roux and blah blah blah...so I'm gonna try it my way! :) I'll let you know how it goes!

Friday: Rice a roni casserole. Never made this before, but I have a box of rice-a-roni ready to be used!

My Christmas Gift to You!!!

2011-12-02T13:47:00.001-08:00

So you know how much I LOVE Rue La La. If you don't know what Rue La La is...here is the post I wrote about it. But I'll give you the quick version.

Its an exclusive, invitation only shopping site that has many different brands of stores, or "boutiques" as they call them. The boutiques have limited merchandise and are open for 1-2 days only. You can get designer stuff for MAJORLY cheap deals! Like Lucky Brand Jeans ($100/pair) for $45! Or a $150 Spanx swimsuit for $39. They have women's men's, kids, home, kitchen, even wine and food and vacations!

Just for signing up (its free to join) you will get a $10 credit from me!! This credit giveaway is good today until Dec. 8! Your credit will appear in your Rue La La account about 72 hours after you sign up. Then you can spend that $10 on whatever you want!

Just click this link to sign up!

What are you waiting for? $10 bucks free to you just for signing up for Rue La La! And you might even find some great deals in the process!

Merry Christmas!!

Jump Start

2011-12-01T06:33:00.001-08:00

Last night at Zumba, one lady said "I wish January 1 was here...I'm ready to start my New Year's Resolution."

I laughed and said, "Why do you have to wait?"

We kept talking and she has quite a bit of weight to lose, but was just waiting for the unofficial start of January 1. Well I challenged her and my other ladies (and myself) to let today, December 1, be the start. Let's start 2012 5-10 pounds lighter than we are now!

We talked about how we might do this with the holidays upon us. Pot lucks, cookie parties (one of which I'm throwing), family gatherings, Christmas parties, and much more will tempt us and make it easy to say "I'll start after the holidays!"

But we devised a plan. See at those parties, gatherings and temptations, we are going "Just Two It" This means that when we see a spread of unhealthy foods, we will allow ourselves two things. Two cookies. Or maybe two glasses of wine. Or maybe a serving of chips and dip and a cookie. But only two things. We aren't depriving ourselves at these gatherings. We are simply selecting two things we very much want, and stopping at two. Two HAS to be better than eating 2 of EACH thing! I think by eating healthy (I will personally be calorie counting and aiming for 1300-1800 calories a day and cycling through that range) and then doing a small splurge when faced with the challenge, we can all make it through this month better off than when we started.

I'm in. Some of my Zumba ladies are in. Are you in?

Recipe: Creamy Mexican Chicken in the Crockpot

2011-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

Before I give you the recipe, please help a sista out! Click on this link to go toYoutube and "like" this video by giving it a thumbs up! I am in a video contest and need your votes! (If you don't have a youtube account, you can create one easily for free! Thank you!!!!!

http://youtu.be/8lw6V5Kj2n4

Ok, another crockpot recipe for ya'll because I know that everyone wants to use theirs more. I promise I have TONS of crockpot recipes...and I'll post more as I cook them.

This one isn't exactly totally healthy (it does contain cream cheese) but its good.

I said its yummy, not pretty. :)

Ingredients:
-1 can (drained) black beans (I use low sodium)
-1 can (drained) or 1 cup frozen corn
-1 can rotel...undrained
-1 can cream of mushroom (could use cream of chicken soup) (I use the 98% fat free kind)
-1 block cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat...I wouldn't use fat free as it doesn't melt as well.)
-2-3 frozen chicken breasts (you could use fresh..but I always have frozen on hand).
-1/2 package or 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (I buy the shaker jar of taco seasoning...or buy several packets and put it in a jar so I can measure it out. One package is always too much seasoning for me).
-2 tablespoons ranch seasoning
-1 few dashes each of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and chipotle seasoning. Don't go buy anything special for this...just use whatever mexican seasonings you have.

-Rice or chips to serve over.

In the crock pot, mix the soup, rotel, corn, and seasonings. Cut the cream cheese into about 4 sections and place around the crock pot (it will melt as it cooks). Add the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and serve over rice or over chips. Tyler tops his with cheese, but I can do without the extra calories as its plenty rich and creamy.

Recipe: Italian Meatball Veggie Soup (in the Crockpot!)

2011-11-29T09:18:00.001-08:00

Ya'll know how much I depend on my crockpot. I cook 2-3 nights a week in the crockpot out of necessity of me not getting home until 8 at night from Zumba. There is NO WAY I would get home at 8, THEN cook dinner. I come in the door and get a plate or bowl of food. And also that way, Tyler can eat when he gets home and not have to wait on me.

This is a recipe I found and modified. I really don't remember where it came from (my apologies) but here is my version. SUPER easy. The hardest part is chopping the veggies. I get it ready in like 10 minutes before work.

I use the great value meatballs. They are pretty cheap and I use some in this soup and then can make BBQ meatballs for football snacks on Sundays.

Ingredients:
-1 box chicken broth (I use low-sodium)
-3-4 stalks celery
-1 onion
-1/2 bag baby carrots- chopped into pieces...I cut mine into thirds
-1/2 container cherry tomatoes cut in half
-1/2 cup frozen peas
-1 sweet potato
-15-20 frozen italian meatballs
-1/4 cup marinara sauce or 1 can italian diced tomatoes (I've made it both ways...using the tomatoes gives more tomato flavor)
-1 tablespoon italian seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all ingredients (EXCEPT PEAS) in the crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. The longer it cooks, the more flavorful the veggies get from the seasoning in the meatballs. At the very end, stir in the peas and let them get hot (takes about 5 minutes in the crockpot). I take this time to toast some garlic bread or make a salad. You could really put any veggie in there. I serve with some parmesean cheese on top, and my husband adds a little hot sauce to his bowl. For leftovers, I think I'll add some pasta to it to change it up a little bit.

Really easy, fairly healthy, veggie soup. The meatballs get tender and you just scoop a bit of meatball up with the veggies. So good!

Thanksgiving Recap

2011-11-28T09:23:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Wednesday evening, we gathered with Tyler's family for a pre-Thanksgiving/birthday feast! It was his uncle's birthday, so we enjoyed soups, dips, and desserts together! (My MIL made some AMAZING taco soup and potato soup! sooo good!!) We played some games and tons of fun before heading to Hot Springs to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

They got my grandma transferred to the rehab wing of a local nursing home and she is doing GREAT! I LOVED getting to see her and visit with her. She is awake, alert, responsive (talking some...but still struggling with her words), and she even ate some mashed potatoes! Such an answered prayer!

I did several things over Thanksgiving.

I ate. This (blurry) turkey,

dressing, sweet potato casserole, salads, rolls, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and many desserts. (Being on your period and ravenously hungry is quite acceptable over Thanksgiving.) We also made some game food for Friday's game and ate sandwhiches and dips and snacks. So much food.

We chilled. A lot. Watched TV, and I read Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games series. I'm officially obsessed with these book and can not wait until the movies come out in March. I'm now onto the third book, Mockingjay. (this photo is mom's dog Gracie sitting on her while she naps. Gracie is always up in mom's personal space.)

As painful as it was, we watched football. This was Mikey on the back of the couch and me during the first quarter of the Razorback game. We didn't play pretty, but it showed us why LSU is ranked #1.

We did do a little shopping. We decided to go to WalMart's 10 PM doorbuster sale. But we didn't want the crazy crowds, so we drove 30 minutes to the next small town over (which is also a retirement community...it was pretty mild for Black Friday doorbusters). Mom got kinda overwhelmed in the video game section, but we got my Christmas gift....a chest freezer! I was soooo excited!

They had all the items spread around the store and at 10 (or just minutes before) salespeople came by and unwrapped them...then it was a free for all! Things like video games went fast. Mom says people were just pulling them off the display without even paying attention to what they were grabbing. But things like my chest freezer didn't have anyone else waiting for them. We also bought a storage ottoman (for $29!) and some rubbermaids. Then on Friday we made a couple stops. We also hit up the craft fair on Saturday to support some local merchants for Small Business Saturday!

I helped mom put up the tree Saturday night and after Sunday lunch, we headed home.We had a great time at home and it was so nice to relax. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Thankful

2011-11-23T09:11:00.001-08:00

I know there were lots of things on Facebook and blogs to express the things which you are thankful for, but I haven't participated.

But I am super thankful for many things in my life, so I am going to make a little list. This will be a great reminder to me when I'm having pity parties, but also a shout of gratitude to the Lord who all blessings flow from! (Started in particular order....I would say 1-3 are in order, but then its just random).

1. I am thankful for Jesus and my salvation. I am so thankful for his sacrifice.

2.I am thankful for my amazing family and that they always love me and are there for me.

3.I am thankful for my Tyler. He constantly shows his love for me and makes me feel special.

4. I am thankful for our home. Not only is it our dream home, but its a safe, warm, dry, beautiful, comfortable place to live.

5. I am thankful for my job. God really blessed me in bringing me to this job (even though I fought Him a bit to stay!). It was such a blessing to graduate WITH a job!

6. I am thankful for Zumba. I'm thankful for it being a second job, stress reliever, and a way to stay healthy.

7. I'm thankful for health. We have had no major health issues and I am so thankful for that.

8.I'm thankful for doctors and nurses who care for my family members when they need it. Lately my grandma and uncle have needed extra care, and I'm so thankful for people in those caring jobs.

9. I'm thankful for music. It is amazing how hearing a favorite song can change my day. I'm thankful that God created these beautiful different tones and that we can make music.

10. I'm thankful for food. Not only does it nourish my body, but it is fun to cook and delicious to eat! (I'll be extra thankful for food in these next few days!)

11. I am so thankful for my in-law family. My mother-in-law, Tyler's extended family (Uncle, Grandpa, cousins) are just so wonderful to me and such a blessing. They are a pretty tight knit family and I am so blessed to be a part of it.

12. I am SO thankful for our Mikey. He really made us feel like a family instead of a couple, and just brightens our day (except when on occasion, like this morning, he poops in my closet. Why Mikey? WHY?!)

13. I am thankful for a reliable vehicle to drive.

14. I am thankful for our church, First Baptist Greenwood. I am thankful for their many ministries. I am thankful (SO THANKFUL) for the hearts of those who are leading that flock. Our pastor, Brother Ronnie, is so deliberate and wonderful with his words and actions to the church. I am thankful for people who care and are so loving and giving of themselves.

15. I am thankful for the little things that make me happy: like nailpolish and animal print. And how little reminders of silly things that bring me joy make me smile.

16. I am thankful for my wonderful friends. I have great friends (and I know I'm not the best at keeping in touch) but they are always there for me when I need them. And it is a blessing to be there for them.

17. I am thankful to have belonged to Tri Chi. Such a wonderful group of women who are still impacting my life.

18. I am thankful for my education. I am especially thankful to have gotten such a strong Christian education at OBU (along with SO many great memories).

19. I am thankful I got to experience U of A and be a "real" Razorback.

20. I am thankful for technology and the way it (most the time) makes my life easier.

I'll stop for now...but I have so much to be thankful for. What are you most thankful for?

Workout Tips and Tricks

2011-11-22T08:39:00.001-08:00

Because I'm doing three hours of Zumba twice a week, I often get asked about my workout tips.

I am by no means an expert, but I do have some tips and tricks for working out.

First off, and this is the most important thing, is find something you enjoy.

See how happy Zumba makes me? :D

I am motivated to get my butt to the gym because I LOVE my workout. Do you love the solace of running? Run. Do you love the challenge of weight lifting? Lift. Do you love swimming? Swim. Do you love community? Take a class. Find something you enjoy. If you hate it, you will never go.

Next, eat a small protein filled snack before you go. I think this is key. Make room is your daily calories for about a 100-150 calorie pre-workout snack. I like to make mine protein filled because I have found that protein makes me feel energized. For you, it might be carbs, but carbs make me feel tired. Find what works for you.

Some of my pre-workout snacks might be:

-a light yogurt

-a bowl of oatmeal with a bit of PB added

-string cheese and an orange

-an Atkins bar (these are usually low carb and high protein)

-a couple PB crackers

-when I don't plan ahead, I keep a jar of PB at work to take a spoonful as I'm out the door for the gym.

Be sure you are hydrated. I try to get my daily intake of water BEFORE I get to the gym. That way, as I work, I'm not dehydrating myself. If I work out in the morning (which some weekends I Zumba on Saturday mornings) I drink a BIG glass of water on my way to the gym and then drink, drink, drink during my workout. Nothing makes you feel sluggish like being low on water.

Make friends at the gym. Even if you just go run on the treadmill, smile and talk to those around you. Make the gym feel more comfortable and friendly. I LOVE the small talk I engage in at the gym. Classes make this easy, but even if you just make small talk with people at the water fountain or in the dressing rooms, it will make it more fun to go if you feel like you can be friendly there.

Always stretch. I find a lot of people telling me they hate to work out because they hurt for days. That is because they don't fully cool down and stretch after. Your muscles have worked hard during a work out. They have built up lactic acid and if you don't cause that lactic acid to recycle through your body, the soreness comes. Even if you take a class, take time to walk a lap around the track or on the treadmill after class to continue cooling down. Stretch at the gym before you leave, but then also stretch at home before bed. You have to stretch that soreness out.

Those are a few of my workout tips! Whatever you do to stay active, get out there and do it! We are about to be lazy bums for a few days over the holiday, so get some activity in now before the turkey coma sets in. Even if its just a walk or a few push ups and sit ups on your living room floor....do something today that will make your body better. Not necessarily thinner or smaller, but better. Aim for the goal of feeling and performing better and the rest will fall into place.

And here is the handy dandy graphic I made while I was bored... :)

Enjoy my Common Sense workout tips!

Catch Up

2011-11-21T06:18:00.001-08:00

Between being busy and being tired, I haven't much wanted to post. But I had a full weekend, so I'll get you all caught up.

I decorated for Christmas! (and I made a MESS of my house doing so. All the rubbermaids, boxes and things are still strewn about the living room). This is the new shower curtain in the guest bath. Too cute!

Friday evening was pretty low-key. I cooked us dinner (steak, homemade mac and cheese, and fried squash) and we hung out watching TV. I also started reading The Hunger Games. Good, good, good book so far.

Saturday morning, I got up and sang for a fundraiser at a beautiful barn in town. It sits on this pond. The storm was rolling in, but you can see the gorgeous view.

Inside is so homey! Lots of cedar, antiques, and beautiful quilts! LOVED theses quilts hanging in the great room.

The fundraiser was for the Arkansas Baptist Children's Home and was so fun. It was just a relaxed Christmas gathering with snacks and music. I sang, Jessica sang, Billie sang and Lou played piano, and a wonderful saxaphone player played. So fun to hang out with such godly women!

Then I ran to the mall to do a little shopping. I found a Christmas gift or two, and a few things for myself! Got a new robe and pjs for cheap at JC Penny, got some new bras and some clothes. Fun fun. I just love shopping alone.

Then I headed to Panache to get a facial. So relaxing and felt so good. I hate a love/hate with facials. I love them because about a week after my face looks and feels great. But immediately after, it always seems I break out. I know they extract blackheads and other gunk from your face, so it makes sense...but I wish I didn't have to wait for my skin to look all pretty and clear! :)

Then I came home to watch the Razorbacks play. GREAT game by my boys! And a crazy night of football! With Oregon and OU losing, we ended up ranked #3 in the BCS! Now we just have to beat LSU! (and please keep the Razorback team in your prayers....one of their players died of cardiac arrest yesterday. It has to be so tough to lose a friend unexpectedly).

Sunday we went to church. I just love our church. Bro. Ronnie makes us so intentional. He gave us direction and time to move around and talk with others about their needs. It is such an honor to pray for others, and it is so wonderful to belong to a church that encourages you to be open about your needs so that others can meet those needs.

Then we ate lunch with the Stovalls and I went grocery shopping.

I came home and did a bit more decorating and a tiny bit of cleaning, then napped while Tyler went to the RC track. We ate dinner at home and then had a relaxing night watching tv, talking and laughing. I love my husband so much! :)

Gram is up and down. Prayers for her continued healing are appreciated. She has days where she is so alert and understanding and energetic. Then there are days when she is so lethargic and won't respond at all. We are trying to get answers from the doctors. Please keep praying.

I'm ready for Thanksgiving. Ready for a few days off work, food, family, and fun! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday Randoms

2011-11-16T06:56:00.001-08:00

Please pray for my Gram today. She is having surgery to put a feeding tube in her stomach. They said its temporary (will be in for 3-6 weeks) so we hope that in that time she will have a desire to eat. She can swallow now, but its just getting her to want to eat and not refuse food.

Last night's Zumba classes were AMAZING. Such great energy from my people and I'm learning every class how to be a better instructor. I am trying to really involve everyone in class by moving around the room. We are now doing some songs to the front of the room...then I have everyone turn around to the back and do some songs (to get the back of the room involved), and we did some songs in a circle and more last night. It was so fun! But man I must have worked hard because I am sore today! My arms, back, legs and abs are sore! Zumba works!

We haven't thrown out our pumpkin yet. Its still sitting on the back patio table. And it has rained on it twice. Its falling into itself and is moldy. I keep asking Tyler to do it, but I know he is avoiding it because its gross. I'm going to have to suck it up and take care of that soon.

I am having a hard time staying motivated to do housework and work at work. I am feeling really slow at accomplishing things. I just need a swift kick to the booty.

I think I will begin decorating for Christmas this weekend. I won't get too much done because I am singing at a fundraiser Saturday morning, seeing a play in Fayetteville Saturday afternoon, and then going to LR Sunday for my friend Rachael's return from the mission field. But in between I think I'll start decorating! Hopefully I'll have it all done before we leave for Thanksgiving.

I keep forgetting to weigh myself...so no weight update. Though it wouldn't be too great. I might have eaten a bit too much while at home last weekend. :/

Hope you have a great humpday!

Rollercoaster Ride

2011-11-14T04:30:00.001-08:00

I have had a hard time getting a good night's sleep. My dreams vary from weird to scary to lifelike...but until last night I hadn't had a good night's sleep since I saw Gram last weekend.

I went home Friday morning to spend time with my family, and I am so glad I did.

Gram took us on a rollercoaster ride.

Friday morning, she was doing ok. She was a bit alert, she was nodding and answering with one word answers. Her color was a bit better. We were there for a few hours and we knew were were wearing her out, so we left for lunch so she could sleep. When we returned, we came back to a different Gram.

Friday afternoon and evening, she was so lethargic. She would barely even open her eyes, much less respond with a smile or one word answer. She wouldn't even wake up when they were rolling her around the bed. The only time she woke up was when they were pumping some painful medicine into her IV. She woke up looking angry and saying "ow, ow." Also, for some strange reason, Friday evening, they took out her catheter. This was a bad idea. She hasn't gotten out of the bed yet, so taking that out meant she was just going to the bathroom on herself and sitting in her mess until someone noticed and cleaned her up. Not good.

Saturday morning, she was the same....so lethargic. I'll be really honest- it felt like we were losing her or something. She was moving backwards so fast. She was starting a really yucky chest cough, her veins were collapsing so the IV wouldn't stay in, she had a fever.

They messed with her all Saturday afternoon. They were cleaning her up, they tried twice to use the ultrasound to insert an IV (which was so painful for her...we had to hold her down so she didn't hit the ultrasound tech), they put the catheter BACK in (Thank goodness!), they cut into an artery to check her blood gasses, and then they put in a central line for her IV. They also had to put oxygen on her as her blood gasses were low.

It turns out, they hadn't been giving her any fluids since she was in the hospital. She was severely dehydrated. So getting the central line in meant she could finally get some antibiotics and fluids. When we came in Saturday evening, she was a bit more alert. We could tell the medicines were working. We talked to her for about 5 minutes with her smiling and nodding to respond, but then she immediately got really lethargic. Then she started twitching. Her head started moving to the side and we knew something wasn't right. Mom hit the nurses button, but I couldn't wait. I went to get the nurses because she was shaking and twitching. It wasn't violent, but it was uncontrollable. They started checking her sugar, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and more. It was all normal. But we thought she had a seizure or a stroke. Turns out, the level of the anti-seizure medicine should have been at a 10, and hers was below a 1! She most definitely had a seizure Saturday evening. And we just hope that was the only one.

They upped her seizure meds and continued fluids and medicine all night. And Sunday morning was a new Gram.

She was responsive. She was alert. For the first time, I really think she understood when mom was telling her what had happened. She smiled. She knew who were were. She felt pain for the first time (which is a good thing. Pain is a normal brain function). She ate a few bites of applesauce, but that was all she wanted. She finally seemed like we were getting Gram back, praise the Lord.

However, this progress is two steps forward, one step back. She has the beginnings of pneumonia, and she has a bit of infection in her blood as well as a UTI. They have her on lots of antibiotics. Finally, she is making strides on the brain front, so we just hope these infections go away quickly. Please keep praying.

Pray these infections subside quickly. Pray that she has a desire to eat so they can take out the feeding tube. Pray for no more seizures. Pray for my Gram. We appreciate all the prayers, because we really feel like all we can do is pray for her. Thanks ya'll.

Gram Update and WILW

2011-11-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

Update on Gram: They did a second CT scan yesterday and found no change. While this sounds like bad news, it is good news. We have passed the initial 72 hours where we were at danger for her condition to get worse. It didn't. So the doctor is fairly certain that we have seen the worse with Gram. Now we just wait. And waiting is so hard. We wait for the bleeding and swelling to go down. Just like an external bruise (which Gram is covered in), brain injuries take time to heal. We could be looking at improvement over days or over months....but the doctor is confident that (with the help of rehab...speech, occupational, physical) that Gram will be just fine. But waiting for this bruising, bleeding and swelling to go down is kind of excruciating. It is difficult for the doctors to tell how much brain damage is done and how much therapy she will need until the swelling goes down. So we wait. Please continue praying for Gram. Pray for a speedy healing of her brain, and that she would return to us fully (both physically and mentally) without the help of too much therapy. Pray that when her mental state comes back that she is ready to fight and work hard to be 100%. Pray for my mom as she stands by Gram's side in all this.

Now WILW!

I'm loving my hubby. He was exceptional this past weekend when we made a trip home to see Gram. His hugs, hand holds, and prayers with me mean more than I can explain. I'm a blessed girl.

Us at Easter. LOVE this man!

I'm loving medicine and Google. Let me explain. Yesterday I was feeling (oversharing alert!!) a UTI or bladder infection coming on. Lots of pain in my tummy. So I got some over the counter medicine (Azo store brand for those who are wondering) and took some pills and drank some cranberry juice. Well, last night ya'll, my (oversharing alert again) urine was bright orange. Like neon orange. I was freaking out. I told Tyler I had to go to the hospital, that this was much more than an UTI. He told me to calm down and drink some water, that maybe the cranberry juice had done this. So I Googled. And turns out, that Azo medicine can turn your pee funny colors. And the box doesn't say a darn thing about that. Scary turned funny. Thanks Google.

I'm loving Apple support. Yesterday, I was having iPod/iTunes trouble...so I called customer support and they were AMAZING. They were calm, funny, reassuring and helpful. It took a while to solve our problem, but they were thorough and great.

I'm loving Shutterfly! When we bought our TVS back in February/March, we got a free Shutterfly photo book and I'm about to put one together. Problem is....do I make a "year in review" book, do I make one of Mikey for his pup grandma? What do I fill this free book with? (I'm leaning towards a year in review.)

I'm loving my friends this week. With everything going on with Gram, more people have reached out with their texts, messages, emails, calls, and more to say they are praying for us and thinking of us. It is so nice to know that you have people who are there for you. Thanks ya'll!

The Little Lady

2011-11-07T04:56:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE: They did put a feeding tube in last night and she took to the first feeding. She is hurting from the anti-seizure meds they are giving her and saying "ow, ow" as it goes into her IV because of the stinging. Pray pray pray.**

Yesterday Tyler, Nancy and me traveled a few hours to Hot Springs and back to visit my Gram in ICU.

Ya'll, honestly, it was one of the saddest, most hearbreaking things I've ever seen.

Gram is in rough shape. To more clearly explain what happened, she fell coming down the stairs outside her house and hit her head on a rock and the concrete. She literally busted her head open in a few spots and now is bleeding on her brain and has swelling. Because of all of this, there are so many things wrong with her.

They can't find any broken bones (praise the Lord) but there is lots of bruising on her little body. Her hand is completely purple, she has a black eye, and her neck is bruised badly. She looks like she got into a bad fight.

The swelling on her brain is causing her to not be able to understand and respond well. The first time we went in to see her yesterday, mom said, "Do you know who this is?" And she shook her head no and looked very confused. It broke my heart. She also sometimes responds to commands like "Raise your right hand" but it seems like she is going backwards in her response. Words come out all jumbled and make no sense. While we were visiting her, it sounded like she said "Who uncle snow Oklahoma?" and I hated that whatever she was trying to say to us we couldn't understand.

She also isn't understanding well. My parents were in there visiting her and they said "Do you want us to leave so you can rest?" And she said "Yes" Then my mom said "Are you in pain?" and she said "Yes." Then mom said "Do you want us to stay with you" and she said "Yes" It was like she knew we were asking a question, but all she could answer was "Yes"

It has been over 48 hours since the accident. They really aren't doing too much for her at this time, just waiting and watching. The only medicine she is on is anti-seizure meds and pain pills.

Tyler's dad had some bad neurological trauma years ago, and they are assuring us that Gram is doing great...that it will take several days to see any improvement. But man, is this "no change" waiting game horrible.

I know God has a plan. God was with her when she fell. God was with the neighbor that found her, the neighbor that came and got my mom to come help. God was with them in the ambulance, with Gram in the CT scan, He is with her every step of the way. I know He has a plan. I am trusting in His plan and praising Him in this storm.

But even in that calm confience, it hurts. It hurts to see Gram like that. It hurts for my sweet little Hero lady to not know who I am. It hurts to see her bruises and stiches. It hurts to wonder if she will ever come back to us the way she was. It hurts to know that the holiday season is right around the corner. We lost my Grandpa years ago just between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He went into the hospital the weeks before Thanksgiving and died on December 23. It is a terrifying thought to me to have the possibility of such a happy family time being marred once again by medical tradegy.

My Gram is a wonderful lady. She is so tiny, standing at less than 5 feet tall. She is so petite and small. But her spirit is 10 feet tall. She is full of laughter, full of life, full of wisdom, and full of encouragement. She loves people. One of her sweet friends posted this on Facebook:

Please pray for the little lady that covers a big part of my heart.

That is my plea, please pray for my Gram, my grandma Gloria. She has so far to come. I know the Lord has a plan, but I beg you to plead with Him to bring her through this quickly.

Today, they will do one last swallow test on her. She was having trouble with this. Either she isn't understanding their commands, is unable to respond, or is just not cooperating. I am praying that she can pass the last swallow test. If not, they will have to give her a feeding tube today to get some real nutrients to her. Please pray that she will pass this test and that she will begin to show improvement.

I will keep you all updated...and thank you for your prayers and concern.

Please Pray

2011-11-05T10:52:00.001-07:00

Please pray for my grandma, Gram. She fell and hit her head and is in ICU with bleeding on the brain, a clot, and bruising. She is thankfully not getting worse but she is not really
Improving. Her speech is rough and she is having trouble talking and finding the right words.

Please pray. Thank you.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Breakthrough

2011-11-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

If you are dropping in from Kelly's Korner- WELCOME! This is my little space of virtual property in the bloggy world and there are a few things you need to know about me.

-I LOVE to blog. I blog about everything: my work, my life, my dog (Mikey,our furbaby),

Zumba (my second job and REAL passion),

weight loss, fashion, cooking (which is why I also must blog about Zumba and weight loss!), and just everything in my random little life.

- I am a newlywed. That's me and my stud, Tyler, so happy on our wedding day. (Thanks for the retainer in middle school mom! My teeth are so straight!)

We've been married for about 1.5 years. In that time, we have moved twice, I graduated grad school, started a new job, got a dog, bought 20 acres of land, and built our dream home.

We are blessed.

-I'm a Christ follower. Jesus is my Savior and without Him I would be completely lost.

-Animal print is my favorite color.

-I'm so glad you are visiting! Leave me a comment if you are just dropping in. :) I likey new friends.

You can read my backstory through the pages at the top of the blog through About Britt, Our Wedding, Our Love Story, and Our Home.

Now for those of you who know me already, let's get to today's big news.

Ok, three EXCITING breakthroughs last night!

#1- My 5:30 Zumba class was AMAZING. Like 45 people crammed into that little room, everyone seemed to pick up the steps, a ballin playlist, so much energy that I felt like a superstar, amazing. I always LOVE Zumba, but last night, I was over the moon.

#2- The scale moved! Praise the Lord! I am down 2 pounds this week (and almost 5 from the last time I weighed before that!) Hello weight loss. I'm excited to see you again my friend. Welcome back!

#3- I had a "new outlook on food" breakthrough last night. (I'm not meaning to sound negative toward my family here....but this was a HUGE breakthrough in my mindset...so I'm celebrating it). I was baking cookies and making chocolate covered potato chips for the bachelor party Tyler is hosting tonight. As I made the cookies, I had a couple bites of dough. Normally, that would be like half a log of cookie dough. I was proud that I didn't feel the need to keep grabbing bites. Second, as I was dipping the potato chips, I only had like 2 plain chips (where before I would have had handfuls as I worked. Lastly, my husband, mom, and MIL were there and they were taking full advantage of the melted chocolate. They were dipping fresh cookies, their own chips, and just their fingers in the chocolate. I was almost disgusted at the ravenous nature going on around that bowl of chocolate. I had like 2 dipped chips and was done. I didn't eat a single cookie hot out of the oven. NOT A SINGLE COOKIE! Its a miracle (for reals...its the Lord changing my outlook and my attitude). They were even eating some of the burnt-ish cookies. I was pleading with them to back away from the bowl. Its the first time I have EVER felt that way about food. No need to snack, sneak bites, and gorge myself.

Progress ya'll. Progress. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

A Special Surprise

2011-11-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was expecting a letter from my former adviser from grad school at U of A. But when the letter came in a padded envelope, I was a bit confused. Even more confused when I opened it and saw a box from Underwood's, a local jeweler.

Inside the box was a graduation gift from my professor- a beautiful U of A charm bracelet!

It has such beautiful charms! This is a diamond charm (Arkansas is the Diamond State) and says "Diamond State" on one side and "Underwoods" on the other.

Then we have the big A. It says "Razorbacks" in the middle.

And what would a U of A charm bracelet be without a Razorback?

This is the state of Arkansas (says so in the middle!) with a little diamond in the center.

And this is Old Main, an iconic building on campus.

I was so surprised and thankful to get such a special gift. This is a wearable memento of my hard work during grad school...and a great way to show my Razorback pride!

- Posted using from my iPhone using BlogPress

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Weight Loss Edition

2011-11-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello loves! I am feeling GREAT this Wednesday! I am loving so many things, but I'm going to focus on some of the things I'm loving in terms of my weight loss.

First off, the scale hasn't really moved. But, I'm not bummed at all. I am currently teaching 7 Zumba classes a week (plus some extra on the weekends), so I KNOW my body is holding water because of all that exercise. I feel like if I took a diuretic pill (which I'm not doing...who wants to take a pill to dehydrate them?) I would lose about 5 pounds. It is what it is. I'm working out hard and my body needs to hold that water to function properly.

However, I'm noticing changes in my body. Who cares what the scale says when my waist is trimming up? When my arms are getting thinner? I want the number on the scale to go down, and it will. But I'm also loving the physical changes.

Today, with my weight loss, I'm loving...

Breaking Free by Beth Moore. This book is really showing me that my overeating and occasional binge (like eating a whole bag of chips, or a whole container of ice cream, or going through the drive thru on my way home from work before heading home to cook dinner) are sins. Yes, sins. See, I have been called to take care of my body. I have been warned against gluttony. However, as I'm learning in this book, I have been told lies by Satan that I am not capable of losing the rest of this weight. Lies that a pint of ice cream won't hurt. Lies that it feels good to stuff myself to the point of almost feeling sick. Lies, lies, lies. The truth is I AM pretty incapable of controlling those things without Christ. But when I fill my life with His truth, I am able to overcome those strongholds. I really think my obsession with food, dieting, calorie counting and such has been a sin in my life as I've been OBSESSED with it. Or I've been obsessed with beating myself up about it. However, I am switching from Satan's lies to Christ's truths. I found this verse and am clinging to it as I re-learn how to look at and deal with food and overcome this stronghold in my life:

Proverbs 3:7-8

Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Ok, enough about that. I would just say that this Bible Study is AMAZING and will help you break whatever stronghold you are dealing with. Mine just happens to be food. I also found a book I will start in a week or so after I finish Breaking Free called "Made to Crave" and its a Christian book about weight loss, food obsession, and filling our void with Christ instead of food. I'm excited to start that.

I'm loving chickpeas! Yes, chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, as they are also called). I HATED them before. They would be on salad bars or in dishes and I would pick them out. But while doing Metabolic Research Center, I learned that roasted chick peas were so yummy! And now I'm taking a can and roasting them, and they are an AMAZING snack. About 1/2 cup for only 100 protein and fiber packed calories! I am going to try to dust some cinnamon and splenda brown sugar on the next batch to satisfy my sweet tooth!

I'm loving Zumba! I always love Zumba, but teaching these 7 classes a week is kicking my butt, but it is also bringing me so much joy! I just love the fun that comes from it! I am also loving feeling so powerful and strong doing 3 hours of classes in a row!

I'm loving buying smaller clothes! I am able to shop at Forever 21 (something that has never really happened) and I'm rocking this cute tunic from there today (it has a big bow over the shoulder! I die!)!

I'm loving pinterest. I gave in and signed up...mostly to have somewhere to keep Zumba videos and recipes without emailing them to myself. It is SO great for finding healthy recipes (as well as some extremely unhealthy ones...but I'm trying to stay away from those), great workouts, and some good fitness inspiration. When I'm at work and I'm tempted to go to the vending machine, I just scroll through the Pinterest Fitness boards and am empowered to stay away! Here are some of my favorite inspirational pins.

Source: meringuediary.blogspot.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com via Brittney on Pinterest

Source: healthyfitandtoned.tumblr.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I still have about 20 pounds to lose. I have some size 8 pants that are still 1-2 sizes too small. But I'm getting there. God is leading me. I'm strong, I'm empowered, and I'm capable. I have a new attitude that I've NEVER had before and I'm so gonna do this, finally, for real, for good.

A Spooktacular (and quiet) Night!

2011-11-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

In honor of Halloween, I gave myself a crazy manicure! They are the Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickers...so easy to use! I'm in love!

I bought some candy for Halloween (one bag was almost gone before the big day...thanks honey!) not knowing if we would have trick or treaters. Well, we had none.

I had our little light up pumpkin and porch light on, some ghost/pumpkins all lit up in the yard...pumpkin lights on our garage...and no trick or treaters came. Sad day.

But we did have a nice little quiet night at home.

I made some Halloween food (mummy dogs via pinterest), guacamole, squash, and some chocolate caramel apple slices and me, Tyler and Nancy (my MIL) ate dinner and carved a pumpkin.

Tyler carved LEE in the side! It looked so good!

We decided against using a stencil because we knew no one but us would see it (and why go to all the trouble of intricate carving when a silly face is just as fun?)....we just gave this little guy a silly face (including two different kinds of eyes!).

He was supposed to have fangs, but when I tried to remove the mouth, the fangs came along with it! Ooops!

We enjoyed a low-key evening. We topped it off by watching Wall Street from Netflix (I want to see the new one...so we watched the old one first). However, my HUGE problem: no DVD player in the living room...so when we get to the bed to watch, I fall asleep! I probably saw a total of 45 random minutes of the movie last night and couldn't tell you much of what happened! Oops again! :)

We are going to HAVE to move the DVD player from the guest bedroom to the living room so I can watch movies and not fall asleep. I just have my body so trained to lay in bed and sleep....I just can't stay awake once I lay down and get all cozy.

Happy November!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Busy Weekend and Weekend

2011-10-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

Last week was pretty busy. I never got around to blogging it as-it-happened...but here is the run down.

I have been teaching 3 Zumba classes each on Tuesday and Thursday while the gym finds someone else to take over one of the classes. It makes for a fun night full of Zumba, but I come home exhausted.

The week at work was just really full as well. Nothing of note to report, just busy stuff that keeps my mind swirling.

The weekend was GREAT! We were on the go big time.

Friday evening, after work, I ran all kinds of errands. Wal-mart, post office, to Gadget Grave to have my ipod fixed (I cracked the screen. I'm a clumsy idiot. :/ but now its fixed), then I made dinner (crock pot tacos) and my mom arrived. We all ate and watched some of the World Series final game. We didn't particularly care who won, just wanted to watch so we could be up on what happened.

Saturday, we got up, I made cinnamon roll pancakes (YUM!), and then mom and I headed to Fayetteville. We shopped around a bit. We got some GREAT deals and some neat stuff. I LOVE shopping with my mom! It is always so fun! We always laugh because most places don't want you to share a dressing room, but it takes so much longer to try on in separate rooms. There is the waiting on the other person to get dressed and come out...and it just takes longer. We like to go in the same room. But most places don't like it. So we get two rooms sometimes and wait until the dressing room attendant goes away then sneak into the same room! ha! New York and Company is the worst about this. One time, they realized we were in the same room and asked us to separate, so we told them mom was disabled and needed help dressing! It was too funny!

Then we had lunch at HuHot and headed to the Walton Arts Center to see West Side Story. It was a modern version of it...and I wasn't sure I was liking it...but I ended up loving it. So good! Fantastic dancing!

We ate some frozen yogurt, made a quick trip to our favorite bakery- Rick's. Yes, we went from FroYo to a bakery. Like a progressive dinner, only this was progressive dessert! We had to stop and get some Rick's goodies to take home (and I had a lemon square and mom had a donut on the spot!) After that, we headed about an hour away to a women's retreat where I was teaching Zumba.

I can't really go into too much detail, but it was THE FUNNIEST and most weird experience ever! ha! But it was fun.

Mom and I loaded up the sound system and headed back home. Because we were an hour north of Fayetteville, it took us a good 2-2.5 hours to get home. We got home around midnight and went to bed right away because I had to be at church at 7:40 to sing.

I sang at all three services yesterday, so we went to the first service (at 8:00) then I sang at the opening of the 9:15 service, then we jetted out to get some breakfast at McDonald's. Because of the multiple services at our church, its totally the norm for people involved in the services to come and go. We came back for the 10:45 service (the one we usually attend) and enjoyed church with the whole family (Tyler, Nancy, Mom). After church, we had salad bar at Geno's and then came home. Tyler went to drive his RC car....so I helped mom load up and she hit the road. Then I took a glorious 2.5 hour nap.

Tyler and I ate dinner (courtesy of some pinterest recipes. Yes, I joined pinterest. I gave in. And so far its not too big of a time-suck. Its actually kind of handy) and we watched some TV. We love competition shows- so we watched the new Next Iron Chef and caught up on the finale of Top Shot. With the exception of doing lots of laundry (like 4 loads...washed and dried and folded...but some is laying on the couch because I didn't want to put it away!), we were pretty lazy all yesterday afternoon and evening.

I am happy to report that I started reading Redeeming Love for the very first time. I'm only one chapter in, but I like it so far. I know I'm crazy that I never read it, but it always seemed like such a big book to read for fun! ha! Silly, I know. I'm looking forward to reading it over the next few weeks at night. I finally bought a book light for my Nook, but you can also attach it to regular books...so its easier to read in bed with it.

So that was my busy weekend. I'm ready for this evening. Tyler is starting winter hours today, so on Mondays he will close the shop at 4. And I get off work at 4! I have two more weeks of Monday Bible Study (but not tonight because of Halloween), so pretty soon we will have one long evening together on Mondays! We also have tonight together! I'm making a fun Halloween dinner and hoping we get trick or treaters! If I can find a pumpkin, we will carve one tonight. I had previously bought one, but it was soft yesterday when I went to get it for us to carve, so I had to throw it out.

I'm feeling a bit random today, so sorry for the disjointed recap. Have a great day!

Weekend Recap: Part 4

2011-10-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

For 3 hours on Saturday, I snuck inside the exhibit hall to help and participate in a Zumbathon benefiting the Poteau Humane Society!

I got to lead a few songs and danced for 2 hours! It was REALLY hot inside (hardly any venitilation) so I had to take a couple breaks, but it was really fun to meet new instructors and learn new dances.

Tyler came in and took some pictures of me teaching! (Thanks babe!)

This is the "Tina Turner" move during Proud Mary. They loved this song! So fun!

Weekend Recap: Part 3

2011-10-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

After the balloon ride Saturday I sat for a bit at Tyler's booth. I also got to eat some yummy fair food! Its a wonder we didn't all gain 5 pounds!

I ate an Indian Taco. I LOVE them! They are like a regular taco with the meat and all the toppings, but they are on Indian fry bread instead of a tortilla. The fry bread is like a fried pita-type thing...a little crunchy, a little thick bread...and all good. I also REALLY wanted a roasted ear of corn after my afternoon activity (that you'll read about tomorrow) but they ran out. I was so sad. But a little corn shortage didn't ruin my day!

We saw some fun things like...

A frisbee dog show!

And old fashioned pistolier show!

And possibly the most redneck thing I've ever done...watch (and cheer for) mud races! All these jacked up trucks and jeeps trying to cross this giant mud pit. Some made it across and some got so stuck that their engines caught fire from overheating as they tried to get out. I got into it and cheered for them! "Go Intimidator Go!" haha!

Weekend Recap: Part 2

2011-10-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

So Smith Auto World (where I work) had a booth as a sponsor at Balloon Fest. Happy (a local girl who does travel and exploring....that Smith sponsors) was working our booth. As a sponsor, you get to take two people on a balloon ride Saturday morning. Well, Happy's riding partner backed out, so I got to go!!! Yup, I got to go in a real untethered hot air ballon ride!

I got there very early in the morning and we took off around 8-8:30 a.m. We rode for almost 2 hours and went several miles. It was the neatest experience and I'll never forget it!

I got to help inflate the balloon. This was inside as it inflated. So neat to do this! First they cold inflate it with a fan, then they blow hot air in it and you have to fight to keep it on the ground until it stablizes.

Up Up and Away! I was so nervous until about right now. It was so cool to just be floating! You really have little control over the balloon as far as steering. Just making it go up and down, then you are at the mercy of the wind. There was so little wind Saturday that at times we were just hovering waiting on a gust.

There were ballons up all over town.

The most beautiful views!

We wanted to travel over more ground, but without much wind, our pilot took us down in a field just miles from where we started. This was our shadow upon our desent.

Me in the air! The landing was surprisingly easy. The basket hit the ground and you braced yourself with knees bent. It did a couple little "hops" on the ground as the balloon balanced out the lift. Then we just climbed out and helped pack the ballon back up. There was a "chase crew" that followed us on the ground with the truck so we could get back.

This was our balloon- The Flast. HUGE thank you to Pilot Jim and Crew Chief Jeanie for taking us up! It was a once in a lifetime (hopefully I'll do it again) experience!

Weekend Review: Part 1

2011-10-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

We had such an eventful weekend, I'm going to break it into 4 different parts! So many pictures to share!

This weekend was BalloonFest in Poteau, OK. We went last year to have a booth for Tyler's motorcycle shop, and it was fun....but it was too windy for the balloons. Thankfully this year, the weather was picture perfect!

I headed to Poteau after work. Its about 30-40 minutes from town. I was there in time to eat yummy fair food for dinner (had a delicious gyro) and sit at Tyler's booth.

That evening, Nancy and I walked over to the Balloon Glow. It was beautiful to see the balloons all lit up at night.

Saturday was so eventful, I'm breaking it into three parts! To come...

Hit a New {Hanson} Low

2011-10-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

So I know I have shared before about my love for Hanson. And I know a few of my bloggy friends have the same ~~obsession~~ love for Hanson...I wanted to share this funny thing from today.I have XM radio in my car and I often like to listen to talk radio, one of my favorite stations is Cosmo radio. Lots of funny stories, celeb gossip and fashion advice (like the mag).

Well, I follow one of the hosts on Twitter, and I'm at work and my Twitter feed tells me that Hanson is on their show today while I was at work!Well, I got online and immediately subscribed to XM online so I could listen to it at work! ha!

And they even talked about Arkansas and how the only time they have played here was for a Walmart Shareholders Meeting (if you are from NWA, you know what that is...if you aren't....its a big meeting every year for people who are Walmart share holders...and there are always concerts and stuff).

I loved getting to hear my faves live talking on the radio. They didn't sing (or if they did I missed it).

Hopefully I will hear it replayed at some point over the weekend so I can hear the whole interview.

PS. The more interviews I hear with Zac, the more at peace I am that we didn't end up married. (yes, this is a true statement. I used to honestly believe he was my soulmate). He talks about playing video games all.the.time. I don't think I could handle that. I would love to kiss those pouty lips.....and have him sing to me whenev...but the video games are just the deal breaker. And yes, I'm totally out of control.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

2011-10-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Yay for Wednesdays! I have added two more Zumba classes for the week, so I'm giving my body a week to adjust before weighing. Sometimes more working out means holding water weight and I don't want to be discouraged by a false gain. So weight loss Wednesday will be back soon!

This week....I'm loving my new work hours. Because of the added Zumba classes (at 4:45) we moved my work hours from 9-5 to 8-4. It is SO NICE to be off work at 4. I look at the clock at 2:30 and think "only and hour and a half left!" I have time to go home, relax, cook and clean a bit before Bible Study or my Wednesday class. Leaving at 4 means beating the busy crowd at the grocery store and the traffic on the way home. Its perfect.

I'm loving the added Zumba classes! I know I talk about it a lot, but I love Zumba. I love how it makes me feel. I love the added workouts. I have added two more classes a week at 4:45, and for the interim while they find someone else, I'm also teaching at 5:30. I'm feeling like a hoss with 7 classes each week. The activity gives me energy and I'm feeling good.

I'm loving Zappos customer service! Years ago I found Zappos and order many pairs of shoes (and clothes and home appliances...like my ice cream maker came from them) from them each year. They might not always have the cheapest price online, but I always order from them...and they really came through yesterday. I called to complain about the quality of some boots I ordered last November (yes almost a year ago). They haven't quite held up the way I would have expected. Here is their amazing customer service. They told me that those boots were no longer in stock in black, but they were in brown. Would I like a new brown pair? No sending the black ones back...I could continue wearing them, donate them or trash them. But they were sending me a new brown pair. Or they could just refund my money (on boots I have worn for a year!). I chose the new brown boots. Then they told me that the boots are now $10 cheaper than when I first bought them, so I would get a $10 credit! (What? a new pair of shoes AND a refund?) And...they were going to give me free overnight shipping so I could have the new boots tomorrow. CRAZY customer service. Love it!

I'm loving this song! "Slumber" by Needtobreathe. Really, I'm loving the whole album...but this song gets stuck in my head and it has a great message to wake up from our laziness and open our eyes to the glory around us.

I'm loving that we finished Dexter season 5. We have been watching all the seasons on Netflix and just finished season 5 Monday night. This show is gory and contains cussing and nudity (so its not your family show) but we LOVE the plot and the story lines. We are just mad that season 6 is happening now, so we have to wait like a whole year to see it!

I'm loving the flower I got at work! A local florist brought flowers for all the office ladies (to get us to buy from them during the holidays) but it was still such a nice gesture! Especially since my husband is anti-flowers....so it was fun to get flowers I didn't buy for myself!

What are you loving today? Join the link up!

Weekend Recap: Part 3

2011-10-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

After the balloon ride, I sat at Tyler's booth for a good part of the day (excluding a few hours spent doing something you'll see tomorrow). I ate more fair food including an Indian Taco (my favorite!). It is like a normal taco with meat, beans, toppings and such...but instead of a tortilla, it uses Indian fry bread, which is like a fried pita kind of thing. Soooo yummy. After my afternoon activity, I REALLY wanted a roasted ear of corn, but they were out. I was soooo sad that they ran out of corn! But its ok. I had fun despite the corn shortage.

During the day, we saw...

A frisbee dog show. They did fun tricks and then he let all the dogs (5 or 6 of them) all out at once and they played a doggie football for the frisbee! Really fun.

An old-fashion pitolier show. They were shooting blanks, but it was funny to see them all dressed up funny and acting.

And the most redneck thing I've ever done. Not only did I trek across the fairgrounds to watch jacked up trucks and jeeps trek across a giant mud pit, I actually cheered for them. Go Intimidator Go!

Tomorrow, the last fun thing from my weekend!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

2011-10-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

It wasn't pretty...but it was sure yummy!

And it was the easiest thing ever to make! I had it ready in less than 30 minutes last night! If you like buffalo chicken, you will LOVE this! Me and the hubs sure did.

Buffalo Chicken Bake:
-2 cans chicken- drained well
-1/2 cup wing sauce or hot sauce (I mixed mine)
-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-several strips of pre-cooked bacon or one bag of bacon bits
-1/2 a container of blue cheese crumbles
-1 can crescent rolls
-1 tsp garlic powder and ranch seasoning

-Mix chicken, sauce, cheddar, bacon, and seasonings.
-Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
Roll the cresent rolls all together to make one big slab of dough. Stretch it out as much as you can to make a big rectangle.
-Mound the chicken mixture up in the middle and wrap the extra crescent rolls around the "loaf" (I really hate calling it a loaf...but you know)
-Top with the blue cheese and bake 10-12 minutes at recommended temp until the crescent rolls are done. Slice and serve!

SOO delish! Gooey cheese, spicy chicken, crunchy bacon, and yummy browned crescent rolls. What's not to love?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Zumbathon!

2011-10-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday, I hosted a Zumbathon charity event for Relay for Life! We worked for a little over a month at work to organize and promote it. I was so worried that we wouldn't have anyone show up...but I had prayed for at least 20 people...and we had about 25 participants! God is faithful (once again!) We had 5 local instructors (including myself) and it was so fun! Here are some pictures from the event!

Me leading the warm up

Everyone dancing

My turn teaching

Shake it!

Another local instructor, Tatiana, lead some songs too

Next it was Sunny's turn to lead!

Tracie did some great songs...she is great at bellydancing!

Cece got everybody going with lots of fun pop songs

I led a booty battle! So fun!

The crowd dancing! We had a great turnout!

All the instructors!

God is Faithful!

2011-10-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Ok ya'll. Let's get real.

I started that new Zumba class in Greenwood a few weeks ago. It has been a bit of a struggle. Its on Wednesday nights- the slowest night at the gym because of church. For two weeks, I only had one person come to Zumba. ONE. That made me feel a bit discouraged.

It might sound silly to you, but I took it to the Lord. I had prayed for more people. People to become friends with. People to love on. Women to make feel good by showing them they are sexy and powerful. Women to share with. I have some Christian songs in my playlist and I was looking forward to subtly sharing my faith through this unusual outlet.

Well last night, praise the Lord, there were 6 people in my class! SIX PEOPLE! And get this....3 of them came from my OTHER Zumba class in Fort Smith! Yup! So 3 ladies that are regulars at the gym, and 3 friends who came to support me here! What a blessing!

And to top all that off, God came through even more! I had been praying for ways to use Zumba as not only a work out and source of fun, but as a supplemental income. Well, the lady who teaches at 4:45 TTH is quitting, and I'm taking her classes! That means I will now teach 5 classes a week, essentially doubling my Zumba income!

AND yesterday, a lady was at work talking to me. She is the ad rep for a local online newspaper. As we talked, Zumba came up...and she also plans women's retreats...and wants me to do a "dance party" with the ladies at a retreat at the end of the month!

Isn't God faithful!?! I brought Him something that seemed sort of silly to pray about. Zumba? Really? I'm going to pray about my workout, shimmy, shake time? God can't care about that....WRONG! He does. He cares about all the details of my life. He knows how happy Zumba makes me. He knows how good it is for me. He knows what is best for me and if I trust Him to lead me, He will take me there! Thank you Lord for being faithful...in the big and small things!

Weight Loss Wednesday

2011-10-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Saw this on another blog and thought it was good, sound advice to those trying to be healthier through weight loss. Didn't weigh today (oops!). Probably a good thing....ate out all weekend with friends at OBU, so I'm detoxing from all that this week! :) Enjoy these tips!

Coming Home- Weekend Recap

2011-10-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we went "home" to OBU for Homecoming. I am so glad we made the trip and went. Tyler had to take the day off to go, but he was so glad he did. The weekend was such a blessing.

We started off at OctTigerFest. It is the big alumni event outside where each club and academic division has a table and area set up for the alumni to mingle. I got to catch up with my pledge sister Kolby. Didn't realize how much I missed this girl until I got to talk and laugh with her!

Also got to see my great friend Sarajane, or SJ, as I call her. She was a best friend, bridesmaid, and my DDS (inside joke...sorry!) I LOVED getting to see her and hug her neck!

Another highlight was seeing my name engraved in the sidewalk. They just finished the class of 2009, so we got to see it. I'm Brittney Deanne above! yay!

After OctTigerFest, we went to an alumni event for Tyler's fraternity. It is the 30th anniversary of Kappa Chi, so they had a special lunch event for everyone. They even sang their little sis song to all the little sisters who were there. It was sweet.

The funniest thing is that they had these boards with all the members from each year. They got Tyler's name backwards...Lee Tyler. ha!

Next I met some friends for lunch (forgot to get a pic!). Shoutout to my awesome friends Liz, Walley and Kim for the great catch-up time. So thankful for friends!

After, we met up at the football game. The Tigers didn't win, but it was fun to cheer on the OBU Tigers again!

After the game, we met some friends and headed to Hot Springs for dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was perfect. We got there before the game traffic...and all 16 of us got to sit together. This group was a bunch of Tyler's pledge brothers, some of their wives and other friends. So much fun! I was good friends with many of those guys during our time at OBU, so I LOVED getting to catch up with them too. And we got to have wings and watch some Razorback football! Woo pig for beating Auburn!

After dinner, we headed to Tiger Tunes! Ran into my old roomie Karlee! LOVE her! Wish we would have had more time to catch up!

The show was GREAT! Every club's show was great! I was so proud of my little Tri Chis! They were Housewives for their show and it was great! They looked and sounded great! In fact, at the early show on Saturday they won choreography! So proud!

Some of my pledge class was there for the late show. There were 40 girls in my pledge class...so there are about 1/4 of us here. Missed seeing the other 3/4! LOVE you girls!

And this was super fun! This is my Tri Chi family! My big sis Hannah is on the left, then me, then Emily (a great-great grand lil), and Haley (Emily's big), Jenna (Haley's big), Ashley (Emily's twin) and Alden (my little). We were missing a few girls...and one whole generation is missing...but it was fun to have everyone together!

What a blessed weekend at our second home- OBU. Ouachita will always have a special place in our hearts. Its more than a place. Its the people, the traditions, the memories. So fun to relive it!