When did that happen?

I've mentioned on several occasions how terrible I am about blogging regularly. Some times I get these great ideas and I'm like "man I should blog about that...", but then I don't and the cycle continues. I think part of the reason is because I think that all the Facebooking, instagraming, and blogging is vain. Like hey look at the 900th selfie I've taken today. I just don't think that many people actually care what goes on in my life and I don't always like to share what goes on in my life so again with the cycle of blogging and not blogging.

But I digress...I was going back through old blog posts I wrote in the past and came across this one Getting Older and I was like OMG I'm there! Reid turns 16 in two months, Andy just turned 30, and I will be 29 in July. When the crap did that happen? Aside from the fact that my husband is now 30, my baby bro is about to let go on the streets of Lubbock and I'm 28 and just barely starting my grown up job its pretty cool thinking about all the things that brought us to where we are now. 

In the past five years I've watched both of my brothers grow into wonderful young men. They are both smart, funny, and kind. Not to mention the best brothers EVER! They have both been strong for me when I needed it most. We've been through a lot in the past two years starting with Christmas of 2011, when our Meme passed away. She was this bright light in all of our lives and it was such a shock to lose her. If you had asked my brothers and I which grandparent we would be saying goodbye to first it would NOT have been our Meme. One of the things I remember the most about her funeral is standing with my brothers hand and hand because we needed each other in a way we never had before. Then again last March when we lost our Grandma and again this January when we lost our Granddad. Each time they hugged me and held my hand and were strong not only for me but for out parents. 

The past two years have been marked by trying times and periods of grief, but there has been a lot to celebrate and be joyous in! Reid started high school and loves being in the marching band. He is having the time of his life and about to go to Ireland to march in the St. Patricks Day parade in Dublin. He qualified to go to state solo and ensemble two years in a row now and is really a very good driver so don't worry Lubbock. Ryne finished his undergrad at Tech and received his degree in Political Science in May of 2013. He now works for a bank and is really enjoying his job. Both of the boys have started living a healthy life and work out and take care of themselves. I couldn't be a prouder big sister. I pray every day that we stay close as we continue down the road of adulthood. 

3lbs...

So I set some goals for myself after licensure to get healthy and hopefully lose some weight along the way. I set a few goals to help me have a visual representation of what I was going to be working towards and I finally met my first goal last week! I have been working out at least five days a week sometimes six and changing my diet. I get that losing weight is not an overnight thing. You can't just eat healthy for one day and see changes the next. But why do a few bad food decisions make your weight flux up if a few good food choices don't make your weight go down?!?

 

Last weekend I went to the first Friday art trail with a friend and we shared a pitcher of yummy sangria. Then on Saturday I went to the Tech game and since it is probably the only game I will go to in person this year and I didn't want to deprive myself and feel miserable so I had some nachos and some cotton candy, but I drank water and I worked out that day. Then on Sunday I worked out again, but my husband and I went out for pizza which we haven't done in forever and I ate the pizza too. I super love pizza crust and my husband doesn't so I usually eat some of his crust too. Then on Monday morning I weighed myself and that jerk of a scale said I had gained three pounds in three days! WTF man?!?

 

It took me forever (okay I'm being overdramatic but it felt like forever) to lose those stinking three pounds and in one weekend they came back! So now I'm working on getting rid of those stinking three pounds again. My husband said that maybe its muscle weight since I have been working out but I think he was just trying to be nice. He's super supportive and keeps telling me that I look great and he didn't marry me for my weight. How sweet is that? But I'm not doing this for him. I'm doing it for me. Also in my crazy head the logic that makes sense to me is that if I lose weight now then when I get preggers I will start at a smaller weight so hopefully I won't look like a beached whale. Plus my body will be use to me working out.

 

I have been thinking about how I will handle all this someday when/if I have a daughter. I read an article talking about how daughters see how their moms handle weight loss and how it can create a negative image like you're not good enough the way you are and thats definitely not how I want my future hypothetical daughter to feel. So thats why I'm focusing on making healthy choices with food and being active instead of a couch potato, but thats also why I don't deprive myself. If I want a bean burrito from Taco Villa I'm going to have that burrito. But I probably won't have soda with it and will only eat the one burrito. Moderation is key.

 

So basically the moral of the story is I'm going to hide my scale for a while so I can't weigh myself daily and I'm going to stay the hell away from stadium food at all future football games! Y'all would be proud I totes did NOT eat the free donuts that somebody brought into the office today and instead ate my cutie (which is a small orange in case you've been living in a cave).

Licensure: Steals your social life and leaves you fat!

I recently graduated from a Physical Therapist Assistant program making it the third time I have graduated from college. Third times a charm right?!? But I still had to sit for a our state licensure in July. Graduation was in May but so was a bunch of other stuff like my bro graduating from Tech, my mom having surgery and my husband and I traveling to the midwest for a week. So basically my procrastination kicked in and studying didn't happen in May. Like at all. Oh procrastination you sneaky devil you!

So here is what the month of June looked and felt like while I prepared for my exam...

First I started out all studious and prepared with my study guide, note cards, high lighters and post-its galore. You know if you have colorful highlighters and post-its you're like half-way there right? Wrong!

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After my week long initial surge of motivation I settled into a dule routine of waking up around 7, eating breakfast, clearing breakfast from table and sitting at said table for the next three hours reading and re-reading through my study guide. 

 

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There were the MULTIPLE times I took practice exams and felt like this afterwards...

 

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And then my poor husband would come home to this...

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He didn't really know what to do...poor guy.

And this explains why I gained wait studying for my exam.

 

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I had to bribe my dog with treats to get her to let me study because other wise she would be like this... 

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Then about 3 days before my exam I took the most wonderful study break EVER in the history of man kind and went to see Grease in sing-along form with my friend. I sure did sing my little heart out!

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I'm glad I took that break because otherwise I might have had a breakdown much like this.

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On the day of the exam I am pretty sure I looked like this.

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And after the exam I went home and only felt like doing this for days.

 

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I had to wait a week for my results and of course they came the day before my birthday. I was determined not to look until after my birthday because I feared the worst, but my classmates were posting on Facebook about their results and every body was sending texts so I really couldn't avoid it like I wanted to. Luckily it was good news for me because I passed! Then I felt like this...

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Have you met Bella?

 This is Bella. She is a Boston Terrier (probably pure blood but we don't have proof) and she is approximately 5.5 years old. We have had her for about 4.5 years now. She came to us in January 2009 by way of some sort of miracle. Maybe not the kind of miracle that you think of that includes angels singing and light shining down, but still a beautiful miracle for us. She literally walked in off the street to a house owned by a lady that at the time worked for my mother-in-law. This lady tried calling the vet that was listed on the tag and they tried contacting the owner to come pick her up...the owner never called back. After waiting several days the lady decided to find her a new home and knew that my in-laws had a Boston Terrier in the past so she contacted my mother-in-law and my MIL said no thanks. They had just lost their Boston Terrier to old age about a year prior to this and they were enjoying that stage in their life when both their kids were out of the house and they didn't have pets anymore so they could just pick up and go when and where they wanted to. Here is where the awesome part comes in though, my MIL called my husband and told him the deal with the dog and he talked to me about it and said we could go look at her to see if we wanted her. We went to that ladies house armed with only a blanket and came home with the newest member of our family.

 The first few weeks with Bella were a challenge for me. I had always had dogs growing up but they were family dogs and I didn't do a lot with them. Bella was essentially still a puppy when we got her and our house had carpet EVERY WHERE! So I basically stalked my dog around the house to make sure she wasn't doing outside business inside the house. She still did and I cleaned it up. She also ate a Bible, destroyed several rolls of paper towels and tore up a pair of my shoes during those first six months. But in time this dog became my baby and I no longer had to follow her every where.

Bella enjoys sleeping in her favorite chair. She likes to go on walks. Her goal in life is to completely destroy and remove all the squeakers from every single toy we buy her. She likes to go on car rides and especially enjoys visiting her grandparents houses. She likes to sleep in the bed with us and likes to cuddle with whoever keeps her warm.

If you haven't met a Boston Terrier you are missing out big time. They are full of personality and a joy to be around. Some of the things about Bella that are funny and some that are gross are that she snores like a stinking freight train. She farts and they could literally peel paint off the wall. She sticks her ears straight up and tilts her head when you say her name or are talking to her. She has one best dog friend and his name is Marty and he just so happens to belong to my best friend so it totally works out! They only get to see each other once or twice a year but its always exciting when they do!

 She does not like me dressing her up in funny Santa hats for the sake of a picture! She does not like the rain or having to go outside to use the restroom when its raining...she would rather hold it and whine.

She gets cold very easily so we have to put a makeshift scarf/hoodie on her in the winter and then we like to say she looks like Aunt Jemimah. Some of her nicknames include: B, Bella Boo, Boo Boo Bear, Nugget, Miss Wiggles, and most recently I decided she need a stage name so I gave her the nickname B Wiggles. Needless to say Andy and Bella don't like it. She glares at me anytime I say it. Oh and if you are wondering about her real name yes she is named after Bella in Twilight. I had just gotten through reading all the books and was slightly obsessed at the time. Plus its sort of a thing of mine to name my pets after TV/movie/book characters. So far I have had a Lucy named after the girl from 7th Heaven, a Chandler named after the Friends character, a Hillary Faye named after a character from the movie Saved!, a Jasper also named after Twilight, and of course Bella.

So now you have met and probably fallen in love with Bella. Shes my baby and my best friend and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

Christmas wrap up

I know I'm three months late, but better late than never.

This year at Christmas my brother-in-law and new sister-in-law came to Lubbock for Christmas and they brought one of Kate's sisters with them. It was fun to have the whole family together for our first Christmas.

Right after Thanksgiving my dear friend, Jamee, took Christmas card pictures for us and I think they turned out fabulous.

 

 

Every year I love to decorate for Christmas and each year I add a little bit more to my decorations. This year I started to decorate before Thanksgiving because hubby was having gallbladder surgery and I wanted to get a head start on getting things put out.

 

 

Bailey did not enjoy meeting Mr. Grinch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My snowman tree

We spend Christmas eve at hubby's Granny's house and exchange white elephant gifts. It is always fun to see what people bring and end up with. Hubby's Granny brought the best gift which is the monkey beanie that my father-in-law ended up going home with.

Modeling the gifts that they got in the exchange

 Hubby and I exchange gifts on Christmas eve because our Christmas day is always too busy and we aren't at home much.

Hubby thought he was getting a pencil sharpener, but he really got an Apple TV.

Hubby knows that I love cows so I got all cow stuff!

 We really enjoyed having Joel, Kate, and Mint here for Christmas. Mint had never been to the states before or participated in Christmas. It was perfect for her because we had a white Christmas this year.

The girls!

I got the girls Tech shirts because its the best school in Texas!

 My sweet Poppa was in an in-patient rehab during Christmas for a bad infection, but luckily he got to come spend the day with us. We are so blessed to have him with us.

Two of the best guys I know!

A few of my favorite things

Have I mentioned I love Christmas? Well I do, and I have been thinking a lot lately about why I love Christmas so much. I think it is because my parents love Christmas and my grandparents love Christmas. When I was growing up my Dad would always play his favorite Christmas music starting the day we were driving home from which ever grandparents house we spent Thanksgiving at. My Mom would always buy new little Christmas trinkets for the house, and we would all spend an evening decorating the tree and the living room. My Meme and Poppa always liked to have all the grandkids together for Christmas so sometimes we would do Christmas a few days after or before Christmas due to crazy work schedules and other family commitments. When all us kids were little the adults would take the only three bedrooms in the house, and all the kids would sleep on couches or in recliners in the living room. After we opened gifts we would all watch a movie together or sit around the dining room table and play games like Spinners, Trivial Pursuit, or in most recent years Apples to Apples. So basically I was taught to love Christmas and maybe even go a little Christmas crazy. But for me its not just the decorations and the gifts, its the family time and love that is shared that makes me love Christmas so much. So in the Christmas spirit here is my Top 11 Christmas songs...yup I said top 11. Top 10 is lame, top 11 is so much cooler. 

11) Christmas in Dixie by Alabama from The Time Life Treasury Christmas Albums. This song reminds me of my Dad and driving home from Sweetwater after Thanksgiving. The song is about what Christmas is like in different parts of the country, but the only place you want to be during Christmas is home.

10) The Christmas Song by Glen Campbell from Christmas Country Style. The name of this song is perfect! This song is everything you think about when you think about Christmas: chestnuts, open fires, toys, Santa, sleighs...what is not to love about this song?

9) Silver Bells by Dean Martin from Christmas with the Rat Pack. I love Dean Martin's voice and when he sings Silver Bells I just picture myself walking down a snow street in a small town with little shops all along the way.

*On a side note, a lot of the songs I have chosen are classic Christmas songs and have therefore been sung by dozens of different artists. I picked my favorite singer of the songs as well as my favorite songs. It was really hard to choose favorite artist/version, but these are the ones that I grew up loving.

8) Winter Wonderland by Roger Whittaker from Christmas Country Style. This song reminds me of waking up on Christmas morning at a ridiculously early time and my Dad always had Christmas music playing when we came into the living room. Growing up in West Texas means that we are hit and miss on snow, so all the songs that describe these majestic snowy scenes makes me feel like I have a little piece of that right here with me. A very close runner up version of this was the medley of Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride by Dolly Parton! Its a more upbeat version of the song and Dolly's voice was made to sing this song.

7) Silent Night Medley: Silent Night, O Holy Night, & O Come All Ye Faithful by Hanson from the album Snowed In. When I was 12-13 years old Hanson was the boy band and I was in love with them! I had their regular album with Mmm Bop on it so when I heard they had a Christmas album coming out I knew I had to get it. I remember making my Dad take me to Target the day it came out because I was truly afraid they would sell out and I wouldn't get it. Remember people this was back before things like Amazon and online shopping. Needless to say I had no reason to worry and I went home with my very own Christmas album! Up until this point in my life all the Christmas music I listened to was my parents, but this was my very own and to this day it is still one of my favorite Christmas albums ever! Seriously if I could only pick three Christmas albums to have I would pick the two discs of the Time Life Treasury Christmas and Snowed In by Hanson! The reason I picked this medley is one: I love all three of these songs especially O Holy Night, and two: I played piano a lot back then so I taught myself out to do the transitions in between each of the songs just like Hanson did and I would play my own version of this medley for my Mom. My Mom loved it when we would play the piano for her. Which reminds me that I want to start playing again but first I need to get my piano tuned!

6) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee from The Time Life Treasury albums. Seriously who can resist the urge to start dancing and singing along to this song? My Mom would always grab us and start dancing with us in the living room to this song while we were decorating for Christmas. My family didn't take big special trips at Christmas or live in a big fancy house, but it never mattered because we were all together at Christmas and we made our own fun!

5) Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms from the Time Life Treasury Christmas albums. Again who can resist singing along to this song? Not to mention it reminds me of many a band Christmas concert. This is always a Christmas concert favorite. Oh and who can forget the scene from Mean Girls where they sing this song? You can't have Christmas without Jingle Bell Rock!

4) I'll Be Home for Christmas by Frank Sinatra from Christmas with the Rat Pack. Its Frank Sinatra people! I was totally born in the wrong era. I love Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and Perry Como. Now that I'm married and juggling two families during the holidays each year becomes a little bit more stressful in trying to be fair and maintain family traditions, but the bottom line is Andy and I always want to be home with our families for Christmas so we find ways to make it work each and every year. PS- there are several amazing versions of this song others include the Perry Como version and Michael Buble has one as well.

3) White Christmas by Bing Crosby from the Time Life Treasury Christmas albums. Like I said before growing up in West Texas means snow at Christmas is hit and miss. So of course on years when we don't have snow we just have to dream about it. But its just the idea of waking up on Christmas morning to the ground being covered in snow, going out and playing in it, and then coming in to drink hot chocolate and warm up by the fire. 

2) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland. She was born to play Dorothy and sing this song. That is just a fact so don't try to deny it. This song just gives me hope that no matter what has happened in the past year Christmas is going to always be there like a bright light at the end of the tunnel and then you get to start over the next year. How wonderful that each year ends with something so wonderful like Christmas! Thank you Judy Garland for reminding me of this each and every year.

and finally drum roll please....

1) All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey from her album Merry Christmas. I debated putting this as number one but then I thought heck yeah its number one. This song makes me smile, sing, dance, and cry! I mean its an emotional roller coaster of a song. My two favorite memories of this song are probably what makes it my favorite. The first was I was hanging out at my best friend's, Sarah,  house during college and were having a girls night. It was in early December I think and we were all getting ready for finals. She put this song on and we had a full out dance party in the living room. She had mentioned that her friend, Russell, was coming over and most of us girls heard her say this, but one girl did not so she was full out dancing in front of the open front door when Russell walked up the sidewalk. Now Russell was wearing one of those puffy vests like Marty from Back to the Future and he had a ball cap on and a beard so he looked kind of intimidating walking up and Kathryn, the girl dancing, freaked out and jumped behind a wall! I have never laughed so hard in my whole life! It was just one of those moment you will never forget. The other reason I love this song is because husband and I like to watch "Love Actually" every year at Christmas and one of the final scenes of the movie is little girl singing this song and every time I watch her sing it I almost bust out into tears.

There are a lot of Christmas songs that I love and it was truly hard to narrow it down, but I tried my best. What is your favorite Christmas song?

A Magical Transformation

Once a year a magical thing happens at our house. Twinkle and tinsel adorn the mantle and doorways. Snowman smile happily at you. Christmas music plays in the background. Cinnamon scented candles burn throughout the house. And a sense of joy and merriment begins to spread throughout every facet of our days. That's right people, IT IS CHRISTMAS TIME! This is the point where if you could see me you would see me doing my "Christmas dance and song".  Hubby says the Christmas dance and song are ridiculous, but I think he secretly likes it and waits for it all year long. Get ready for a lot of pictures!

I know what you are thinking, "But Thanksgiving comes before Christmas," and you would be right! Don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving! The food, the parades, family time, and the official beginning of the holiday season. But I don't host any Thanksgiving related parties or meals at my home right now so I like to go ahead and get started on enjoying my Christmas holidays. Plus hubby had his gallbladder taken out today so I wanted it done before he had his surgery. Lets get started shall we?

Our Christmas Mantle

Christmas Wreath

The mantle is decorated with a pre-lit garland bought at Hob Lob for 50% the first year we were married. I then draped the poinsettia lights from Walmart over it and added the silver and pearl garland. The Christmas tree's were bought at Kirklands last year and the nativity set was Hubby's grandmothers. The wreath was also pre-lit from Hob Lob and I simply added pics and some gold ribbon also bought from Hob Lob. The "Merry Christmas" ornament was a gift from my mother-in-law.

Fireplace ledge

Fireplace ledge

The lighted Christmas presents are from TJ Max, the gold scrolly reindeer from Ross, and then I just added some $1 Walmart ornaments and fake snow to my lantern. Lurve!

Entry way table

Other side of entry way table

You know how some people collect Nutcrackers? Well I like snowmen and you will see them pop up around all around my house. The Lennox wedding cake ornament was from our first Christmas as a married couple, and the "Little Brown Bag" was a gift from my mother-in-law  from when she went to New York.

When we bought our house

When we got engaged

One of Bella's ornaments

Another NYC ornament

Snowman Tree

Kitchen window

I finally have a tree devoted to my love of snowmen. Now I don't really like theme trees for the main tree in the living room, but this is my kitchen tree and I decided to have my snowman tree! Andy says I should have made a cow tree because I love cows too, but I thought that might be taking my love of cows too far. Over the kitchen window I hung candy cane striped ornaments and then put my dollar store tree and clearance snowmen on the ledge.

Our tree

I purposefully did not take a picture of the top of the tree because we currently have no tree topper as our angel is no longer functioning. Hubby had the nerve to suggest we replace her with a *gulp* star. Ahhh I know, I couldn't believe he dared suggest it. Moving on... I love our little tree and it has a history. This is the tree that my parents had for their first Christmas so that means it is older than me by a couple of years. Through the years it has made reappearances at my parents house when whatever current tree they were using came to the end of its life. When we moved into our new house a few years ago they said we could start using it. Before this tree we were using Hubby's grandmothers tree that is probably as old our parents!

That is not all of my Christmas decoration, but you get the idea. I hope that you remember to keep Christ in you heart this holiday season and remember everything that you have to be thankful for.