Christmas Updating!

Oops! I've been gone for awhile again! Things always get crazy around the holidays.

Important December happenings (besides getting ENGAGED!)....

THIS guy turned 27! His birthday present and I now have to compete for attention...

We did pretty well with our Christmas shopping this year, although we didn't actually get to spend Christmas together. We vowed that this would be the first and only year that we spend Christmas apart. I went to my grandma's house in San Angelo for three days and Kyle had to work. Sad face. 

I diddddd get to see these lovely faces though...

My cousins can make me belly laugh like nobody else... You might see these faces again as they will be part of my wedding party. Sarah will be playing volleyball for Tulane in the fall so we might just be carrying a card board cut out of her down the aisle.....

 

It freaks me out in a good way that next year we will be married! Speaking of getting married (again!)..... I found my venue and we set a date!

This is a shot of where the ceremony will take place...The reception will be at the same location, but inside. It's a big open industrial loft space just south of downtown. We didn't want something too traditional and wanted freedom to do what we wanted with the space. I think we found the perfect spot! The pictures online don't do the space justice, but they have open houses every Wednesday, where you can bring people or your vendors to check out the place.

This weekend Kyle and I have spent some time getting ready for the new year with some new decorating and some winter cleaning. Yes, I do feel so old. We spent a Christmas gift card and got some things for the bedroom. My awful pictures don't do it justice.

 

We got a new bed side table for my side,a new picture (not pictured), new lamps, and new pillows. We've had the picture above the bed and the shelves for awhile but we didn't put them up because the room still felt so empty and incomplete. It's definitely not a finished room but the new additions did a lot to warm it up. Decorating a house is really a long work-in-progress.

I'm very excited about another short week. Happy New Year!

Being HappiER

I was going to wait until I had finished this book before I talked about it but I have found so much of it interesting, helpful and relatable, I decided to go ahead and mention it.

 

In this book, the author sets about embarking on a year long project to improve her happiness. Not because she is not happy or depressed, but just because she wondered if she could be happier. I think that's an interesting theory all in itself but I'll save it for later (there's probably a lot of areas where I could add an -er)

There are so many parts of this book so far (I'm only about halfway through) that have really resonated with me. The first is when the author mentions her love "for receiving gold stars." I, too, enjoy my gold stars. I always have. I always loved to learn and loved school but I would be lying if I said I wasn't driven at points by being teacher's pet. I seek other people's approval and expect a pat on the back or gold star for a job well done. This was a timely topic for me because in recent months, for various reasons, I have had to re-evaluate that characteristic in myself. I had to realize that if I based my opinion on myself on what other people think and how many "gold stars" I get, it could be a rough road. I have had the realization that I'm not always going to get the gold stars that I think I deserve (whether I deserve them or not) and I have to be motivated internally. I have to do things for me and not let a lack of gold stars affect my feelings about myself. I realize this is vague, but because of the public nature of this blog, there are some things that I don't want to talk about just yet. I have noticed a change in my day to day life when I am driven by myself and not gold stars, I feel better. There's no let down. 

The author also makes a goal to "accept the reality of other people's feelings." I have seen many examples of this in my own life. This particular goal is mentioned in the parenting section of the book but I have found it to be true about all people.The author, Gretchen, gives an example of a specific instance where her daughter comes in to her bedroom upset because she feels like her little sister gets more attention and love than she does. Gretchen realizes that her normal response of "of course we love you just as much" or "that's silly and not true" won't help. Instead she acknowledges that her daughter feels that way and moves on, making an effort to show her daughter that she is loved and special.

  I'll throw Kyle under the bus first. :) There have been several times when Kyle has gotten upset about something and I try to "fix the problem." In my mind, if I can find a solution to the problem, the problem will go away and he won't be upset anymore. I think this way because that's how I work most of the time. I have a problem, I need a solution. However, there have been several times when I have realized that my attempt to solve Kyle's problem has actually made him feel like I was downplaying the issue or that I was saying that what he was feeling was not legitimate. That, of course, was never my intention. Sometimes you just need to accept the reality of other people's feelings.

I then thought about this in terms of my feelings. Like I mentioned before, when I am upset about something, I am usually comforted by solution.  One situation comes to mind though, where this was/is not the case. My parents divorce. I realized that I stayed angry for so long and sometimes still have angry days because I didn't feel like my feelings were acknowledged. People say things like "Don't you want them to be happy?" Or "You should be happy because they're happy." It's not that I don't want those things, but I want my sadness, grief and general discomfort to simply be acknowledged. Their happiness doesn't make me less happy for them but it doesn't decrease my sadness or grief. I don't always want someone to counter my feelings and "fix" them for me, I just want someone to acknowledge that my feelings are real and legitimate.

So there you have part one of my reflections on my current read. One of Gretchen's commandments is to "Be Gretchen." I have also taken that point to heart and so have written this wordy post in an effort to "Be Allison". Allison writes.

The Story

I was all ready to go with my WIAW post last week but then Kyle decided to throw me off (in the best way possible)

 

I knew a proposal was coming soon because we had talked about it and Kyle and I are very bad at keeping secrets (especially ones that we are excited about) I wasn't sure exactly when it was going to be but I was going to be very suspicious over the next couple of weekends. I was definitely not expecting it at home on Wednesday night. 

I hadn't been feeling very good that day so I was particularly whiny when I got home that night. I had just put on my pajamas (always one of the first things I do when I get home) and laid down on the couch to  lament about my headache and what to eat for dinner. I shut my eyes for a second (for dramatic effect of my headache) and when I opened them again, Kyle was down on both knees. I talked through the first half of his speech asking "Are you sure?!?! Right now?!?!"

Turns out that Kyle had planned to propose this weekend in Fort Worth, but I guess the ring was burning a hole in his pocket :) I was actually glad that he jumped the gun because at home with just the two of us was perfect. I know it was important to Kyle to catch me off guard and he definitely did. I would have been waiting for it this weekend!

With the proposal complete, we were able to fully enjoy ourselves this weekend at the Omni in Fort Worth. 

 Kyle and I are both big fans of down town areas and we are both relatively unfamiliar with Fort Worth so it was a fun adventure!

Kyle told me that this is where he would've proposed, had he been able to wait until Saturday ;)

Thank you to our families for your support, love and wishes! We are very excited to begin this next phase!

 

All I want for Christmas is YOU..and....

Christmas presents (for myself) don't really top the list of things that I am really focused on this month, but let's pretend that I could buy myself whatever I wanted. 

New Warby Parker glasses would make the list.

Also, this mustard scarf from kikilarue.com. I have to admit, I was very tempted to buy this goodness this week for myself but I remained strong.

Pretty much this whole store.... but especially:

 

A cute button up top.

Oh and  also this whole store....

And this whole store...

 

Yep, I like to think big and buy whole stores...It'd be lots of fun if I could post what I'd like to buy other people this year but that'd probably ruin the Christmas surprise.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Anybody there?

Whew, I have been a terrible blogger lately. In all honesty, I have just either been busy or exhausted. You can probably just try to come to terms with fewer blogs between now and Christmas. Please take a tissue to wipe your tears. I'll try to do better than I have been lately though.

We have been busier at work lately and it wears me out! Working one on one with kids for the majority of work day hours is completely exhausting. There is no "Here kid, do this worksheet" in my job. I take my hat off for those of you with children. I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do all that I need to do already and I am only a mother of two needy cats.

 

I've also been trying to find my sanity by reading. Here's a couple of my favorites lately...

 Super short, super fast read but I really enjoyed it. I felt like I really related to the main character and that most girls would. Even though I couldn't relate to every experience discussed in the book, I found myself nodding along and giggling to her inner monologue.

 This is the second book in the Mara Dyer series...I think I read this one in about two days. There were definitely times in this book where you can tell it is a YA book..."Hello characters! You can't put 1+1 together yet?!?" But overall the series is really addicting. Super great for a quick, mindless, fun read. I hate when you finish a book and know you have another year to wait until the next one comes out.  I put book release dates on my iphone calendar. No joke.

Second tip in keeping your sanity:

 

 Exercise. For the most part it really helps me zone out and de-stress. Although there are some days when I wake up and mentally debate about which I need more..Sleep or exercise. Sleep won this morning. If I work until 5 or later, I know I have to do it first thing or there is no way it'll get done after work.

And lastly, but not least, while trying to maintain your sanity.. I recommend...

 Pie. The above is what my Thanksgiving pie should've looked like. It actually looked nothing like that but it tasted delicious! Turns out it's hard to make pie without a mixer. If you are looking for an amazing pecan crust though..let me know!

 

Long Time No See!

Hi there! Sorry for the long absence. I don't really have a good excuse. I just felt kind of off last week. My work outs were lacking, I got way behind in house chores and just overall had a blah week. This past weekend was pretty relaxing though and helped me get back in the groove somewhat. We got caught up on our chores and had some time for fun.

 

I'm still lacking in motivation this week for whatever reason so I was really proud of myself for completing my work out today.

 

 

 

I really just wanted to nap.

 

I am super pumped about having a short week this week! No huge Thanksgiving plans but I'm excited to eat some food and hang out! I'm hoping to get the Christmas decorations up this weekend.

 

Some of my favorite things lately.....

 

1.Last week I tried out this new "fast" food place on Greenville called Start. I put fast in quotations because while they do have a drive through and are set up like a fast food place...they serve fresh, organic fare. Think salads, wraps, burgers with grass fed beef, sweet potato tots/fries, fruit, hummus + veggies etc.  They also offer gluten free options for the wraps and burgers! I had the spinach and strawberry salad though because it happens to be one of my favorite meals. So good!

 

 

 2. We did get out last Saturday night and went to see The Perks of Being A Wallflower (it was my turn to pick). It was excellent! Even Kyle loved it.

 

 

 

 3. I finally got a new phone! Having sound is not overrated.

 

 

From My Heart to Yours

I am ashamed. I am embarrassed. I am scared.

No, not because Obama  was elected President, but because of people's reactions to this outcome. I went into this whole thing thinking that I wasn't going to react, write a post, or be involved in any banter. I am still trying my very best to do that. However, I feel the desire to pour out what is in my heart right now. It is your choice to read this or not. This post is for me.

 There is negativity on both sides but I will be really honest right now about why I cast the vote that I did. 

I fully respect your right to believe what you believe, to pray to who you pray to, to pray for what you pray for. I wish that you felt the same. My hopes and dreams for this country is that we can be a shining example for unity in diversity. That we can create laws that protect people and embrace people's rights as humans. That you will be free to follow your own morals and guidance and I can follow mine. This is what makes America what it is. If we can embrace our differences, learn to respect each other and work together, we will have the opportunity to build such great strength.

I cast the vote that I did because I don't believe in going backwards. I don't believe that anything in the Constitution should be added or changed to take things away from people. I don't believe this would be what our founders had in mind. 

Some scream "Jesus" while simultaneously screaming words of selfishness, hate, stereotypes and falsehoods. Please ask yourself if this is really what Jesus would have done. You don't believe in abortions or easy access to contraception but you also don't want to contribute to helping people raise kids they can't afford. You want people to pass a drug test to get welfare and foodstamps. Who feeds those kids? You want to restrict people's rights based on who they choose to love...what makes this different than restricting rights based on the color of someone's skin or the sexual organs in their bodies? 

I want to live in a country where you are free to practice your religion, teach your children what you believe and practice what you preach. I want to be able to do the same. I want to live my life the way I believe that Jesus, Gandhi, Mother Teresa and St. Francis as well as many others have and will. I want my children to grow up with respect for people who feel differently than them, who never feel the fear and sadness of persecution, who will give their shirt off their back instead of clinging to their own wallets, who will love beyond the boundaries of race, gender, religion and sexual preference.

I believe in hope, kindness, perseverance, equality, and strength in diversity. The hope of our country lies not with the president. It lies here on the streets among us and how we treat each other.

I am a  daughter, friend, girlfriend, teacher, reader, thinker, student and dreamer. I am a Christian. I am an American. I am a Texan. Most of all, I am a human.

Halloweenie

Happy Halloween! Kyle colored/crafted that lovely pumpkin picture at work today. They work hard :) Okay, they really do.

We were all pumped up to have trick-or-treaters this year but alas, we only had two groups. Major bummer. So instead, we ate snacks and watched the Rob Zombie version of Halloween on tv. Thanks Lesley and Brian for coming to hang out with us!

 

Getting older kind of stinks. I wish I was out trick-or-treating. It seems like a lot of people didn't have many visitors this evening. Is the concept dying it out? Is it just not safe anymore so everyone  goes to churches or something? It's really sad. If I was braver, we could've gone to a haunted house or something but I am a halloweenie.

It's funny because I remember being little and playing house or school or whatever pretend game...and everyone fought over who got to be the sixteen year old (Like we couldn't have more than one!) That was the THE age to be. Then when you are sixteen, everyone can't wait to be eighteen...and then twenty-one...and then so on and so forth. Then one day you wake up and you're twenty-five. Your friends are married with children and you are like wait...where did the time go? I know that feeling must only get worse as you get older. It's still really bizarre. It feels strange to be an adult, to live on my own, to be at an acceptable age to get married, etc (officially out of the "we got married young" category). In my head I'm still sixteen (and according to strangers on the street)!

Super

Tuesday. Tuesday. Tuesday. I am particularly happy this Tuesday because I have tomorrow off. Usually I feel meh about days off in the middle of the week but for some reason a day off to break up my work  week sounds perfect today.

My eats haven't been too extraordinary this week so no WIAW this week. I have been majorly lacking in the meal planning/grocery shopping department lately. I swear Kyle and I go to the grocery store almost every day. I just haven't been very inspired or energetic :)

I am actually super excited that the election is next week. I am slightly terrified at how close it is in all honesty. I have my own super strong opinions but I am so super tired of how amped up people get. Facebook, you have created a monster where everyone thinks whatever they're saying is the most important thing ever (says the blogger).  Honestly, people just believe the most ridiculous things. I read it on the internet, it is definitely true. 

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

 

That pretty much sums up who I'm voting for and why. People get hateful and downright mean. I think it's great that you believe strongly in something but we are all people and we need to learn how to coexist peacefully. In elections, wedding dress sample sales, in check out lines in December, in Twilight midnight release lines and  on half-price coffee days at Starbucks (okay, that one's not real).

 

"Super" seems to be my word of the day. I super hope you have a super day and are all super snuggly in your super safe house.  And let's all calm down, okay? Super.

The Real Story

I am so exciting that I blog on Saturday night! That's how I know I'm getting old. Okay, so I really wasn't ever the party all weekend type. I'm a homebody by nature and so is Kyle. Both of us together doesn't really help things. I will admit to you, blog land, that this is not where I saw my life when I was in high school though.

Kyle and I knew each other in high school because we had mutual friends (and he briefly went to my church), but we weren't really close friends or anything until my senior year-ish (Kyle was a grade ahead of me in school. We  went to different schools though.) I will readily admit that I didn't have  the best impression of him. I knew that a lot of girls liked him and he was hot so I figured he must be a jerk (Don't judge people like this! People thought that I was a B* because I was quiet. My mom used to tell me that you can be pretty or quiet. You can't be pretty and quiet. You're welcome for sharing that, Mom!). Honestly, I can't even remember how we became better friends... I think the usual emo ways of the early 2000's : myspace,xanga, aim. I know it wasn't until the summer after my senior year of high school when he was home from school. I was still hesitant to have much to do with him because he was in his wild phase (my high school perception) and I've always been as boring as I am now. I always thought he was way cooler than me so he must be crazy and exciting, haha. Some people are naturally "cool". Kyle is, I am not. He will deny this to this day but that doesn't change it. It's why all of my friends asked about him back then. That summer was my only attempt at being more wild ( I felt like I should try it, like a rite of passage or something.."Those were my crazy years." Only mine is "Those were my crazy 4.5 weeks") All of that to say, I decided to give the whole "go after a bad boy" thing a shot.

We almost dated or something. There used to be stages of dating..like talking-->going out-->exclusively dating. Or something like that. Is it still like that now? "Oh did you hear? So and so are talking" I think you probably would've classified us as "talking."

Either way, we were pretty close friends for a bit. I was still hesitant. I could see parts of him that I really liked but I could tell that there were other things going on with him that were beyond me. A sort of distance. I didn't really know much about it at the time. There were a couple of incidences that I didn't know much about until we started dating again a year and a half ago. Things that meant a lot to him that I didn't even know I did. I was just myself. My attempts to be "wild" failed miserably. After one particular bad judgement call that sealed the deal on the end of my wild and crazy days, we went our separate ways. I thought that my previous impressions of Kyle being just an overall bad person were right on target and thought that he really never cared much about me at all.

Fast forward six years. He randomly posted something on Facebook about Brand New and I commented on it. We chatted from there and he invited me to hang out. Honestly, I am not sure why I agreed. I DID want to know what he had been up to and thought "Why not."

Best decision ever. I realized pretty quickly that he wasn't the same guy from so many years ago. Are any of us? Not that he was exactly a different person but we had both conquered some demons and did some growing up (as hopefully everyone does in 5ish years). All of the things that attracted me to him then were still there. We have been pretty much inseparable ever since. We are incredibly similar and no one knows me quite like Kyle. 

It wasn't until about a month after we started dating (for real this time) that we shared our different perceptions of our beginning and demise the first time. I thought I was a blip on his radar when actually I had made quite the impression (thats the correct boyfriend answer right?). The first  go around wasn't meant to be timing-wise, but it had to happen exactly how it did for us to end up in the place we are now. I will never forget how I felt when we finally put our different pieces of the puzzle together. It's the first time I have really ever felt like there are powers at be and things that happen that you don't have control over. Things will be how they are meant to. If we didn't have the deep feelings for each other (that neither of us knew about from back then) than I don't think we would have let each other in so quickly. He was recently out of a long-term relationship and I was not in a looking-for-a-boyfriend spot.

But alas, here we are. With two cats no less! You would think the cats were my idea but both were actually Kyle's. He turned himself into quite the cat guy! Although I think it's really that we both just really love animals in general. Cats worked for the apartment situation he was in when we got them. I can't imagine being anywhere else with anyone else. I get to hang out with my super hot very best friend every day who means a lot to me (and has for a really long time)

Disclaimer: I asked Kyle recently about how much about him he was okay with me sharing on this blog and he gave me a lot of freedom. I thought I would test those boundaries tonight with this entry. I hope I didn't embarrass you too much!

A Few of My Favorite Things (And Mayhem's)

I apologize for my blogging break lately. Over the weekend people commented on my blog (in real life) and it made me feel weird about it for some reason. Yes, the whole point of blogging is for people to read it but in an effort to be really honest and myself, I try not to think about it while I'm sitting on my couch typing it (like I am now). It's kind of like watching Social Network and then immediately checking your Facebook. Weirds you out right?

 Anyways, it's Wednesday so you know what that means! I know that talking about your food is kind of weird but its actually a really good accountability check for myself and I love seeing food blogs on the ones that I read. I'm a foodie! And a stalker blog reader.

I was talking to Kyle earlier about how I always feel like I eat 5,000 times more often than him but then he pointed out that he eats a couple of huge ( calorie dense) meals and I eat lots of lighter meals. So I only feel like I'm eating a lot more than him. Unless I'm out to eat, I rarely have meals are over 400 calories. My eating actually looks like breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner,and one more snack (Bob Harper *I think that's his name* says you should go to bed hungry but who seriously wants to do that?!?! It's miserable. Please don't do that). I also make sure to eat back the calories I lose when exercising to make sure that I never eat less than 1,200 a day. I've tried not to weigh myself too often since I've started working out more lately because my weight fluctuates a lot and as I  gain muscle, I gain pounds on the scale. I  don't want to freak out about these little fluctuations so I just check myself in the mirror and see how my pants fit. If you're a guy reading this you are thinking "blah blah blah. where are pictures? blah blah blah." If you're a girl, I know you can relate.

I decided just to post a bunch of some of my eats this week so far:

 Typical breakfast of coffee/gluten free oatmeal + chia seeds+peanut butter. Kyle also fixed me some eggs on Monday. Love him. Monday night's dinner was pork roast + potatoes.I LOVE sweet potatoes. I usually eat the whole potato, skin and all. I baked a sweet potato for me and a regular potato for Kyle. Last night we had chicken/green beans/carrots. It looks like I have tiny portions in the pictures above but I really just have really big plates. 

Today's lunch was some leftover chicken/ apple/greek yogurt. My snack was a protein shake with light soymilk. My lunches pretty much always include and apple and greek yogurt. You like what you like!

So there you have it! I promise I will write a serious non-food related post really soon. Probably tomorrow!

But for now, Mayhem is enjoying his favorite things....

  

   A piece of trash, a string toy that Kyle made and a green bean.

And I'm off to relax and watch a few of my favorite and Halloweenie shows... 

Weekly Work Outs:
Monday- Jillan Michaels dvd
Tuesday- 3 mile run
Wednesday- 2 mile run + elliptical ( I only did 2 miles because I sped up my pace and my knees needed a break) I'm not going to tell you how fast I went because I am SLOW! But I'm getting there.
Thursday- either off or Jillian DVD in the PM
Friday- Long run + weights of some kind

WIAW

I love how fast Wednesday's have been coming lately!

Breakfast + Lunch

 

Okay, so that's actually my breakfast from Monday. Today I had apple cinnamon gluten free oatmeal with chia seeds, dry peanut butter ( a knock off PB2) and some stevia. I INHALE oatmeal. I also had some coffee with sugar free pumpkin spice creamer. So good!  I wasn't super hungry for lunch but knew I would be soon. I had a Think Thin protein bar, an apple and some yogurt. Think Thin is my favorite protein bar because it has 20g of protein and no sugar. It keeps me full for a LONG time. I recommend! I especially like the chocolate fudge, dark chocolate and brownie crunch varieties. (I might like chocolate just a little!)

 For my work snack I had a piece of toast with sugar free grape jam. It was so delicious that I didn't take a picture.

We decided to dig for dinner tonight. Kyle stopped by the store on his way home and picked up some sushi and some chicken for me. My ugly thrown together plate looked like this. This is why you didn't see any of my food last week...I am a bad food photographer and I eat a bunch of random snacks at just about every meal.

 

 Rotisserie chicken, apple and veggie rolls. Don't worry guys, I only had TWO apples today. I like to cut them up in to a million pieces because then I can enjoy it longer.

  

 I just finished off a glass of hot chocolate (sweetened with stevia) for dessert. I've been having a cup just about every night lately and it's so satisfying for my sweet tooth! Some people are salty people and some are sweet. I ,unfortunately, am both. 

 Now we are settling in to watch the return of a favorite from last year....

 

 My legs were really crampy last night and I didn't sleep very well so I took it easy today and just did thirty minutes on the elliptical plus some strength training in my living room  :) I'm all for listening to your body and doing what you feel like!

What's So Pinteresting?

Happy Tuesday ya'll! Just a little check in before WIAW this week. It's a gorgeous day out today....cool and cloudy...my favorite! For some reason I am kicking butt on getting stuff done today so I thought I would go ahead and get a little blogging done before work.

Workouts so far this week:

 Monday- 3 miles on treadmill

Tuesday- 3.25 miles on treadmill + 10 min cool down on elliptical

I decided to go ahead and get some running done back to back because of my work schedule this week. I still suck in the mornings but coffee + The Kardashians help. Some mindnumbing relaxation. Thursday and Friday will most likely be shorter work outs.

 Yesterday I came home a little stressed for really no reason and was just a mess when I walked in the door. It's hard being a girl because there is so much pressure on you all the time. Sometimes it just gets to you. That's when it's really nice to have an amazing boyfriend like I do to sit you down and tell you that you are awesome and too hard on yourself. Thank you!

Things I'm loving/lusting this week:

  Blend Retreat

 

For more information you can check out Janetha at Meals and Moves. She's one of the organizers. Or you can visit the website at Blend Retreat. Basically it's a fun retreat for bloggers + friends that includes yummy food, fitness and hanging out. A dream for me! The girls who are behind this are inspirations for me and I read their blogs every day! Unfortunately, a $400 plane ticket will probably be out of my budget range for at least 5 years. Sad face. I don't forsee any outdoorsy retreats happening here in Dallas either, haha. Double sadface. A girl can dream though!

I have been toying with the idea of doing an accent wall in our living room for a little bit so I finally asked Kyle about it and he's down. Thanks to pinterest, I'm thinking wide horizontal stripes for the big wall you see when you walk in our front door. 

Something like this:

 

 Or this...

 

 We already have some paint and supplies. Now we just need to actually DO it this time. My budget for house decorations is a little low this month but my desire to continue improving is as high as ever. Solution found!

Above images clearly stolen from Pinterest....so check them out there for original links!

 

 

Weekend Round Up

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Nothing too exciting here but that is exactly how I like it.

On Friday night, Kyle and I had first planned to finally go check out the food truck park at Heritage Village. However, after Kyle made it home from work we reconsidered. The crowds for  TX/OU weekend were already really bad and we didn't feel like messing with it. So instead we went to Alligator Cafe for dinner, had some frozen yogurt for dessert ( I had pumpkin spice and it was soooo good) and then went to the movies. A perfect, quiet, low key date night. 

 

Overall this movie was not too scary. It had the right amount of things popping out at you to make you jump but not so dark that you leave feeling disturbed. Much better than Insidious too which we thought was the most ridiculous waste of money ever. No scary movie is going to win film of the year but predictable with a few good jumps is just what I like. 

Saturday was another low key day. I think the only major outing we had was a trip to Farmer's Market specifically for apples. I love going up there for anything.

Today we went out to Kyle's moms house at Cedar Creek Lake to watch the Cowboy's game. It is so incredibly pretty out there. Today was a beautiful day so I hope you got to get out and enjoy it a little!

This week I work in the afternoons so I have to do my workouts in the morning. I love being able to take a shower afterwards to get ready for the day instead of two showers but like I mentioned in the last post, I suck at life in the mornings so we'll see how that goes. I don't have my week planned out but I'm planning a run at the gym in the morning. My mom is giving me her treadmill so I'm pretty excited about that. Even though the only place I have to put it is in the smelly cat room. Oh well. 

I wish I had a deep post to share or at least some excitement but honestly, these are my favorite kind of weekends.  We are just relaxing and anxiously awaiting the series premiere of this awesomeness......

If you are not watching this show, turn your computer off and go get started. You have a lot to catch up on before tonight.

Thursday Thoughts

How do you like the new look? I'm really happy with it. As my blog grows, I hope to add some more pages that newcomers can check out. I personally like reading more details about the writer on blogs that I frequent, but that will come later. I will also at some point add a blogroll so if you get sucked into this blogging world, you can check out some of the ones that I love and frequent.

This week has flown by! I've had a lighter work schedule so I'm sure that is part of it but I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday! No huge plans for this weekend yet, but I'm sure we will think of something.

Yesterday I got my haircut by the fabulous Kirsten who is now at L.A.R.C. salon. It's brand spanking new and conveniently located next to Kozy Kitchen! I love the new place, very relaxed! I get a lot of inquiries about my hair so there you have it! If you are looking for a new stylist, she's your girl! I used to be a crazy change your hair all the time girl but ever since I got this cut, I just can't let it go! Someday I'm sure my long hair will return. Maybe. Lately, I've been contemplating growing my bangs out a bit (not all the way, I have a fivehead). We'll see!

  In honor of breast cancer awareness month, I got a mammogram today! I know, that's super exciting news for all of my creepers (that's you). You might say "You're only twenty-five!" Yep, and that caused quite the ruckus today too. But I actually had a lumpectomy a few years ago to remove a akfjddshfmngoiuergyha ( I have never been able to remember the diagnosis but it was not cancer don't worry) Alas, that means I now get mammograms yearly. I'm high maintenance. It takes a lot of work apparently to keep me up and running, as evidenced by the million and one surgeries and doctor visits I've had ( You've been warned Kyle).  For all of you that are under 35, let me assure you it is the easiest thing I have ever done. So do it! P.S. Men can get breast cancer too!

And now on to the most exciting part of my week....I got a new toy in the mail yesterday.

 

I decided to get serious about my workouts (and experiment with different routines) so I got myself a heart monitor. I don't have a whole lot of change to spend on such a thing but I didn't want to get a totally crappy one either. So I got a middle of the road version and tried it out today! It was pretty easy to set up and pretty easy to use on my treadmill run today. I also finally decided that I am definitely an afternoon worker outer. I work out in the morning when I have to ( when I know I definitely won't do it in the evening or just don't have time) but my cardio totally sucks in the morning. I've tried giving myself more wake up time, eating a bigger breakfast, all that jazz. Nope, I suck in the morning. On Tuesday morning, I did a three mile run and was pretty sure I was going to die. This afternoon I ran at least 4 miles ( I was running a little faster than the treadmill speed and fell forward, turning the machine off and wasn't paying super close attention to what mile I was on. Oops. That's the second time I've fallen on the treadmill.) So now I do the opposite of what most people do I think. More strength based in the morning and cardio in the afternoons as my schedule allows.

My week so far has looked like this:

Monday- 30 Day Shred

Tuesday- 3 miles on treadmill

Wednesday- 30 Day Shred

Thursday- 4/4.5 miles on the treadmill

Friday- Decide when I wake up

Hope you're all having a great week so far! Happy almost Friday!