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.