Catching Up

So - Wednesday I went to Zumba!! You may remember I went to a class in Winfield for a while last year but now, there's a class in AC too AND it's offered several times a week and you can just go whenever you can. Perfect for me. I loved it and plan to continue going at least a couple times a week.

After Zumba, I made cupcakes for Wii Night and then Kayla came over to watch Criminal Minds. It was a good one. Before she left, I finally remembered to give her her and Journey's Christmas presents. The next morning I got this picture of J wearing the outfit we got her. I wanted to get stuff that could easily be mix-matched with other things and that wasn't too wintery. I think it fits the bill and Journey looks super cute in it. =)

Wii Night was the next day and it was my turn to cook. I made Cajun Chicken Pasta, a salad, bread, and vanilla cupcakes with strawberry-vanilla cupcakes. The next night Dac and I had leftovers. =) It was pretty good. When I first made it, it was too runny... then I scrambled to thicken it up and got it too thick... live and learn... I think it'd be really good if I made it again.

Friday night was "date night" but it wasn't a typical date. We sat down and discussed our budget... or lack of one at the time. Sigh. Anyway, we made lots of headway and have implemented Dave Ramsey's envelope system for several of our expenses (including food which is a huge variable for us each month that we often over spend on). I'm excited to see how we do this month! After the chat, we watched the second episode of Lifechurch's "Better". It too was good and the topic fit our evening perfectly.

Saturday, we slept in a bit, got some stuff done around the house, and then I went up to my parents' house while Dac stayed home and worked on photos (and the house). My Aunt Diana was visiting so in addition to my parents I got to visit with her, as well as my Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue (actually 2nd cousins but I grew up knowing them as aunt and uncle!) It was a perfect, relaxing day! =) Oh how I've missed Saturdays.

I also got to see this ol' girl. =) My mom rescued Heidi during my freshman year of college... she was around a year and half old and was pregnant with puppies. Needless to say, she's getting on up there in years and I just LOVE her. Look at that white face. She still gets real excited to see me when I come to visit. =) You'd be hard pressed to find a sweeter dog.


Saturday night, we went to Heather and Daniel's house to eat LOTS of italian food, homemade chocolate chip cheesecake, and celebrate Daniel's birthday. We chatted, ate, played games... it was fun but I totally forgot to take any pictures. Fail.

Sunday, we woke up and headed to Derby to do some shopping. Dac got a cool jacket, I got a pair of jeans (our of our clothing budget...lol), some new bowls for Peety, stocked up on some household stuff at Target and got Aldrik a couple of super stylin' shirts for his birthday. We ate lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, then headed to Aldrik's party. It as a cute sock monkey party and again, no pictures.

When we got home, I did lots of laundry and watched Rescue Me.

Oh, and I watched Peety chew on his new bone... new bone AND new bowls all in one day. =)

Ooh - I forgot to mention we also got a new blender with a Christmas gift card. We've made a few healthy smoothies in it already and it's awesome!! Totally makes the spinach disappear! =) That's a winner winner chicken dinner in my book!

Now, it's back to the usual work week. Ready or not!

Midweek Randoms

• Back on myfitnesspal.com for REALZ now. Falling in love with it all over again!

• On that same note, the girls in my office implemented a bit of a wellness policy this week. We’re each supposed to take turns walking around our circle drive (takes about 8 minutes or so)) once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Granted that’s not a ton of walking but it gets the blood flowing and when you sit at a desk all day, you take whatever you can get. It feels good to get at least a little exercise in each day and I feel like it’s making me more productive. Day 1 was in the 60’s... amazing. Day 2... in the lower 20’s... miserable. C’mon willpower.

• To counteract this though, we’ve had donuts one day, homemade to-die-for German chocolate cake the next... sigh. Baby steps people. Baby steps.

• I have been eating better otherwise though... I’ve even got to cook some this week already! WOO! I made this hearty little chicken and black bean casserole Monday night. Chili and black bean chili Tuesday night, I also plan on making omelets, cajun chicken pasta, and beef stroganoff this week. I’ve even had some healthy smoothies made of a different mix of fruit, almond milk, protein powder, and even spinach one time! I don’t like vegetables so I have to hide them in things...look closely and you can see spinach in the casserole too.

• I love my boys.

• I’m becoming more and more addicted to Rescue Me on Netflix. I’m not really watching 20 episodes in a row like with Grey’s, but I’m loving watching a couple on the nights I have time. It’s so funny.

• I cleaned house this weekend and I swear it already looks like it hasn’t been touched in a month. Maybe not that bad. But not great either. Why does that always happen? You clean something then it gets dirty again. No fair!

• I love love love Reeces Peanut Butter Eggs. Love them. Cadbury Cream Eggs too. Had one of each the other night and now I want MORE. Happy early Easter to me!

• I’ve been waking up grumpy in the mornings. I don’t know why exactly... but I sure have.

• The good news is I’ve been feeling better in general since surgery. I’ll probably do a more extensive update on that later on... once I know more about how I’m doing post-surgery. But for now, I feel like I can move like a fairly normal person again and the surgical-pain is basically completely gone. Every now and then I notice a little bit but it’s few and far between and totally tolerable. Hooray!! =)

• I also got my heart monitor results back... normal. I knew they would be because I didn’t notice any of the weird/hard beats while I was wearing. It comes and goes and is definitely not every day. Earlier this week, for example, it was fluttering and being ridiculous and I found myself feeling more tired and slightly dizzy (not bad... just a little). The nurse mentioned the possibility of a medication to slow my heart a bit because it definitely runs a bit fast... but that it wasn’t a pressing issue. I decided to hold out and see if it gets worse. If so, I’ll call them back... if not... I won’t! =) Apparently racy hearts run on my mom’s side of the family so it may be something I just deal with. At least both I and the doctors are aware of it now and can catch it if things get out of hand.

Weekend Recap

Dac and I had a busy but fun, weddingless weekend. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy weddings. We've just been a little worn out is all. This past weekend was a very welcomed one!

Friday night we went out for ribs. They. Were. Delicious. Oh. MY word. Afterward, we took a family trip to the Wal-Mark/Wal-Marts/Wally-World. We always do this after eating ribs. It's kind of a tradition I guess. I'm not sure we could stop even if we wanted to. ha. Ok, I'm not sure it's that set in stone but anyway, I digress. I picked up some groceries and some handy hem-snap things for my pants. Good times. Then, we went to Cherry Berry.

Here's a dandy picture of Dac and Val looking like chipmunks with their mouths full of delicious yogurt!

Here's my loaded-with-goodies treat.

And here's my paybacks... mid chewing.

The next day, I picked up Sky and we made cake balls with my new baby cakes maker. We had fun listening to music and baking (and sampling) away. Sky got new glasses - cute, huh?

That afternoon we met a potential bride and groom (and the bride's family) at Biederman's in Winfield for cokes and to talk about their wedding day. They are all super nice and we seem to have the same style and philosophy so I'm hoping that works out.

Later, Dac and I had DATE NIGHT. We were really good about doing something together every week for a few months and then with the crazy wedding/holiday season, we got off track. It's fun though and I'm glad we're making time for it again! Anyway, we went to see Contraband. This wasn't the original plan. I just assumed Girl With A Dragon Tattoo would still be playing here BUT it wasn't. SO - we saw this instead... I wanted to see it anyway so it was fine. We left a little stressed about money, haha, and went to Braum's. The line was forever long but we saw several people we know and chatted for a bit. I came away with a rocky road cone and all-n-all, it was a fun time.

We had planned to go to church Sunday morning but were both pretty tired and decided to stay home and watch Lifechurch instead. I made us each a big bowl of cereal, Dac a coffee, and me a Chai tea with the Keurig.

Lifechurch was really good and it was just what we needed. The one we watched was the first in a series called "Better". The series focus' on verses about being better and how to achieve it. This particular verse was Psalm 84:10 -

"Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked."

It's kind of funny because SO many times in the past several months I have read/heard that sometimes you have to give/pass up something good in order to get something great. Of course, this message said the same thing again! Now, you may not believe in God but I do, and I'm certain it's not a coincidence that I've heard this over and over and over again in such a fairly short period of time. Now, the problem is figuring out what the "good" thing I should be giving up is. =) I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the episodes.

Ok guys... we can call this keeping it real Tuesday if you want. I did something stupid Sunday. Really stupid. I poured my Scentsy wax down the garbage disposal. I don't even know why I did it... normally I put it in the trash... but I did it. Well surprise-surprise, the drain got totally clogged and we (Dac) had to fix it.

At least the pipes smell like cinnamon vanilla now. =)

Sunday afternoon, we took pictures of Mister Aldrik. It was fun and I think we got some cute ones. He's adorable!

After pictures we went out to Dac's parents to join the entire family for supper. We had fajitas and they were fantastic. I hadn't ate lunch so I was starved. YUM!! Here's the birthday girl in the hat Charli made for her. =) We had so much fun.

THEN... Dac, Val, and I went to Steve and Cori's to help them move and clean. Good times! =)

Hooray for a weekend off!!! LOVE. IT.

Midweek Randoms

• Let's start at the beginning I guess... last Thursday. Last Thursday I went to Wichita with Val and Cori. We got donuts. Yum. Went to my post-op appt. where I learned that all the cysts, tumors, and my appendix came back benign. Holla! The endo was considered stage 3 - with over 75% of each ovary covered in it as well as parts of my bladder, bowel, tubes, etc... I also had some adhesions tying one tube down and they were hanging out some other places too. One of my tubes looked funny but she didn't seem too particularly concerned about that. All-n-all, the surgery was a success. She got all the bad stuff out, (Rockstar doctor! YEAH!) appendix included, and hopefully things will get a little better for me in the pain department.

• After my appt. we went maternity shopping with Cori, ate Noodles at the mall, Val got a haircut, we went to Babies-R-Us, got heaping piles of frozen yogurt, went to Cori's appt. and I got to hear two little baby's heartbeats!! Eeeek! Then, we grabbed some pizzas from Papa Murphy's to take home and eat with the guys and Charli. Fabulous day.

• After work on Friday, Dac and I headed to Kansas City. Saturday, we spent the day photographing Lenny and Emily's fantastic wedding. It was beautiful. A long day with lots of work - but beautiful - and fun! I also got to see several old friends, so that was cool. =) More on that later over on the photo blog. Sunday, we woke up when we wanted to, ate a continental breakfast (waffle for me - yum), made a pit stop at Bed, Bath, and Beyond then headed home. We stopped in Emporia for some tasty Pizza Ranch! =) A special thanks to Dallas and Aubrey for introducing us to this quirky little gem. Then, when we got home, unpacked, etc... I started watching Rescue Me on Netflix. =) Like I need another show to become addicted to.

• Monday, I had a Dr's appt. with my normal family doc. Remember how I said the post-op nurses were real concerned about my speedy heart rate? Well, I'd also been having some funny palpitations off and on for a while. While at my post-op appt., the doctor suggested I get my heart checked out just to make sure I'm A-OK. So, I went Monday expecting him to listen to my heart, maybe take some blood... easy peasy. Well, no blood work - yet (What!?! I skipped breakfast for nothing!) He said it appears my heart rate always runs high. SO - he sent me on to the hospital to get a heart monitor put on. Joy. I'm glad they're being proactive and all... but this thing was annoying. Annoying and itchy. Ouch. Plus - no real palpitations while it was on. Go figure huh? Isn't that how it goes? Your car makes a funny sound several times but when you take it to the mechanic they can't hear a thing and look at you like you're crazy. Uh-huh... Crazy... party of one. =)

• Don't ya wish your girlfriend was HOTT like me?!?

Don't cha?!

Don't Cha?!

• As is all this medical fun isn't enough (and the ridiculous costs associated with all of it) my car is need of some pretty expensive repair. And really... as Dac picked me up after dropping off my car it became uber obvious once again that his car really needs totally replaced. We need a new vehicle period. Have I mentioned two rooms in our house are completely wall-less? Oy. Probably going to have to really tighten the budget (you know, the budget we haven't really been following anymore...) but we can do this! Oh - and I've been called for jury duty this month. (I wonder if stress is causing my heart issues?) My friend Heather said if she was a doctor she'd prescribe a spa day followed by a girl's night with adult beverages. Who needs med school?! =)

• Got in an order from Sephora yesterday. New BareMinerals makeup and primer (I've been out for a while) and some new brushes. Yippee!! My face feels like a dream today. =) A soft fluffy dream... like one in the clouds. ha!

• Dac and I had a little working dinner date last night. We had lots of photography stuff to discuss. It was actually pretty productive and I'm thinking we should really do that more often.

• Tonight I have a church meeting and a friend date w/ Kayla. Holla!

2012

Finally - I'm getting around to listing my New Year's Resolutions.

Last year I said I'd blog personal stuff... CHECK!

Get to my goal weight... womp womp.

Work less... check-womp. This one's a toughie because while I was more aware of our schedule this year... and valued it more... we still took on too much. And some of the things we did drop the ball on... we probably shouldn't have.

Play more... I'll go ahead and call this a CHECK! It wasn't quite enough but we definitely did do more... fun things like girls weekends, trips to Denver, date nights, spent the holidays away, etc... Hooray!

House stuff... we did get a few new windows... so CHECK! No new doors... womp womp. Floors haven't been re-finished, bathroom and spare room aren't done, no fence... so... womp womp to those. =(

Photography stuff... we began saving back ideas for our new brand and actually booked a designer! CHECK! =)

So this year... it's a lot of the same... but hopefully some of them will be a little more manageable.

------

1) Use the professional camera for more personal stuff. Now that I'm in the habit of blogging personal stuff... which I love even if the photos are crappy... I'd like to at least try to use the 5D more. Spruce the blog up a bit.

2) Speaking of sprucing things up around here... I'd like to get a new design for my personal blog.

3) I'd like to get a facial this year. I've never had a professional one. While I'm at it, I'd also like more pedicures and massages!

4) I'd like to have the spare bathroom and bedroom DONE. Completely. This is NON-negotiable!

5) I'd like to paint the family room, hallway, and upstairs. (I have the paint... just need to do it!

6) I'd still like to have the floors re-finished too!! Pretty please!?

7) Lose at least 15 more lbs. Hey, it's better than 30... and I can do this!

8) Make a batch of freezer meals... and share with someone else.

9) Reveal a new brand for the photography business.

10) Take a vacation... just the two of us... just for the sake of vacation (not to visit friends, family, work, etc... just be away and enjoy each other).

11) Talk to and spend more time with my grandparents. I'm so fortunate to have still have some living!

What about you?? What are you resolving to do this year!? Maybe I'll steal some of your ideas too. =)

A Year

Here's just a quick look back at our 2011 - month by month. You can check out 2010 here, in case you're interested.

January - I started this blog. Can't believe it's been a year already... and yet... can't believe it's only been a year! I met my goal of blogging something personal an average of once a week or more. So Hooray for that!! We photographed a wedding, I took a Zumba class, started the HCG diet, went to Bingo down at the Casino for Val's birthday and WON! Made dinner for a friend who recently had a baby.

February - Dac turned 29. Celebrated Dac's birthday with a trip to Stillwater. Finished the HCG diet and swore to never do it again! Ugh! Continued Zumba, Wii Night, Criminal Minds watching, and time with Sky.

March - Finished the Zumba class, went cruise shopping, went to OKC to visit the ol' rommies. Got sick with a hardcore 24-hour stomach bug. Got better just in time to get on a cruise ship and enjoy a fabulous vacation in the Bahamas. Went bowling to celebrate some friends' birthdays.

April - Went to a different (and crazy) work conference for the first time. Stayed busy with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Attended a Bible Study for a few weeks. Spent a fun day shopping with two great friends.

May - Started another busy and crazy photography season. Had tons of stuff going on at work. We took our first weekend-long babysitting job for two kids! Got our pictures taken! =)

June - Got a massage. Started date days with the husband. =) Went on a girls day for a pedicure, shopping, and lots of eating. Turned 27. Went out for one of our boss' last day. Ate birthday donuts.

July - Went to Denver for the 4th and threw my mom a fun 50th birthday party. Took tons of pictures. Did lots of walking with great friends.

August - More pictures. Went to a high school football game. Continued date nights and Wii nights and time with Sky.

September - Went to Branson for a mother-daughter trip with my aunt and cousin. Ate birthday pancakes. Celebrated 5 married years. Spent some time in OKC. Started Criminal Minds nights back up again. Had a Dr's appt. that sparked lots of other Dr's appt's. Went to a Redneck Fest. =)

October - More dr's appt's, ultrasounds, etc... more weddings... went to a work conference, participated in a "Fall Swap", had tons of sessions, celebrated Arkalalah.

November - Even more weddings and dr's appt's. Went to a wedding shower for a close friend, celebrated Thanksgiving.

December - Cheered OSU on in a Bedlam victory. More dr's appt's, surgery, celebrated lots of Christmas' with lots of family, took a trip to Louisiana, got the band back together, and more weddings!

This is just a basic recap of some things I blogged about over the past year. Can't wait for year two!!! =) Thanks for reading!

Heather's Wedding

One of my besties, Heather (Heather Feather for short... haha) got married on New Year's Eve. I'm so happy Heather's turn for love has come along. She is an amazing person and I'm glad she's found someone that realizes that. He loves her... he shows it... she's happy... you know it!!! GO HEATHER AND DANIEL! =) Seriously though, I'm happy for them!

Our friend Erika did Heather's makeup. She always does a good job. I lurked over her shoulder the whole time, which I knoooow she loved.

After I hung out for a bit, I went home and changed, practiced my song a couple more times then headed back to the church for the beautiful evening wedding.

Heather, of course, was beautiful and so was everything else. Here's a look at one of the reception centerpieces... that's Journey in the background playing with one of those New Years blower things.

Kayla and I. Do you notice I actually fixed my hair? I should have taken a picture of the back... there's where the magic happened. It looked half fabulous half mullet. =) I also put on real makeup (as in I used actual eye shadow - multiple colors even - on my eyes instead of blush. haha. Ooh - I even donned some mascara. Whoa.)

The bridesmaids. That's Daniel's sister on the left... Heather's youngest sister Katy in the middle and her other younger sister Brittany on the right. =) I barely met Daniel's sister but I'm sure she's nice and I just love Heather's sisters.

I didn't get Mr. Jonathon in this picture (I did get one of him in the church but it's from a different camera that I didn't upload on here yet) but here's the girls. Jessi and Jazzy on the left belong to Erika and that's Kayla's Journey on the right.

Kayla and I with the bride.

Wedding photographers can clean up nice when they're not photographing the wedding.


The happy couple!

Mark, Journey, and Kayla - our table buddies. Also, one of Heather's good friends from grad school and her family sat with us too, so that was fun.

Tyler and Tabitha... also getting married this year!

Joby and Jana. We don't get to see these guys all that often... they're always fun! Usually, we just see Jana on girls' nights but we always talk about Joby so I guess that kind of counts. =)

First dance.

Oh these two... Jana and Erika.

Heather and Papa Vern. =) I'm so glad I got to visit with him at the wedding. Such a sweet man. Her whole family is.

Journey getting ready to bring in the New Year.

Dac and Mark talking about house stuff or mac stuff or something else nerdy. =)

The girls! From left to right: Tabitha, Jana, Erika, Heather, Ginger (her mom), Kayla, and I.

Dereck and Erika

The whole gang!

10, 9, 8, 7...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Congrats you two!!!

Midweek Randoms

• As you’ve probably noticed... things have been a little crazy around here. Good crazy but crazy none-the-less. I love that we’ve gotten to see and spend time with so many friends and family members this holiday season. It’s been fabulous!! =) Makes it worth all the “busy”.

• I feel tired. I look tired. I am tired. But not as tired as I expected to be after this past week.

• We put in lots of time photographing a wedding for a family friend last Friday. Then, the next day, I attended and sang at my wonderful friend Heather’s wedding. Both weddings were beautiful and I’m glad we got to be a part of them.

• I somewhat procrastinated learning and practicing my song for Heather’s wedding but God was so good to me and I didn’t screw it up. Whew! When she asked me to sing I told her I’d be happy to if she was sure she wanted to hear my rusty old pipes. They’re not what they used to be. =) I made it through, got some super nice compliments, and the bride and groom seemed genuinely pleased, so I call it a success.

• We spent New Years Day sleeping in a bit and eating a late lunch at Dac’s parents’ house. Terese always makes strongly encourages us to eat a spoonful or two of black-eyed peas for good luck. This year, she made a dip out of them so that was a plus. =) We were going to go see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo but it just didn’t end up working out so we’ll have to try and go see it sometime soon. I think it looks good!

• I spent Monday sleeping in a bit and watching the rest of my Grey’s Anatomy episodes on Netflix. =) I did run and get us lunch and I did some laundry/cleaning but fell short come bedtime when the fresh sheets weren’t put back on the bed again. Oops... we slept on the couches instead. How lazy can I be? Yesterday? LAY-ZEE.

• How 'bout them OSU Cowboys winning that Fiesta Bowl. That's right... thaaaaaaaat's right!!!! Proud as always. Great season!

• I’m having quite a bit of internal pain... not sure if I overdid it this weekend or if maybe this is just my temporary normal. Hoping either way... it’s very temporary. I’m kinda over it. Not to be a whiner...

• I considered starting back on a somewhat healthy eating plan this week. BUT - I haven’t really grocery shopped in weeks, plus I have my post-op appointment tomorrow and I plan to get donuts before I leave and a delicious lunch and… who am I kidding... probably a snack and dinner too =) none of which I plan to be salads, mind you. Then, we have another wedding extravaganza this weekend. SO - I’ve decided next week is the week. I plan to be back on myfitnesspal.com and really working hard again.

• Let’s see. I’m still rocking sweat pants (no jeans yet) when I’m not in my one pair of work pants that fit. I did sport a dress to Heather's wedding. HOLLA! The dress was nice and comfy but the spanx and tights I donned underneath weren’t so much. =) Kind of defeats...no?

• We paid our final payment for some re-branding work we’re having done for our photo business. We should be revealing it in the next month or two. I’m very excited about it... and can’t wait to make some very needed changes in our business world which will hopefully allow for some very needed changes in our personal world too!

• I’m super excited to create and order our 2011 blog book. I wish I would have started doing this years ago instead of ensuring myself I’d get around to those scrapbooks. sigh. Oh well... at least from here on out we’ll have some good documentation!

• Oh - I still need to paint my toenails. =) I know you’re all dying to know that.

• I think it's worth noting that I have good taste. Real good taste. Good, expensive taste. You wouldn't know it by looking at me. But trust me. It's there. =)

• In other irrelevant news... it's becoming more and more obvious to me (so probably totally obvious years ago to others... ha!) that I have some obsessive compulsive tendencies... especially in regards to cleaning. I almost annoy myself. Ok, I DO annoy myself. There. The first step toward a solution is admitting you have a problem. Right? Of course right.

• Now that I'm done with Grey's... I have the urge to start another season of 24 again. Surely you remember that when we watch 24 it practically consumes our life. We SO do not have time for that right now. But it sounds like fun to just veg out on the couch and watch tv together for the next few weeks. =)

The Band: Back Together.

So we have these friends... good friends. A whole group of weird, crazy, out of control great friends. The guys started out as Dac's friends but now I've taken them all (awesome, cool, not afraid to sport t-shirt and comfy pants wives included... duh) as my own too.

Anyway, we try to get together a time or two (or hopefully more) a year. This was one of those times. Dac bought another surprise box of beers so John and Kelly dove right in!

Then we ate lots of pizza and cookies.

Anna and the newest member, Ruby!


Matt and Kelly

Tarl, Joy, Anna, Kelly, and Ruby.

I hate to even admit what we're doing here... ok... I'll do it. We were watching Birdemic. This awful, bad movie (everything about it is bad) on Netflix. Seriously, it's awful. But... kinda funny and it does seem to pull you in.... NO... it's awful I tell you!! Thank you Tarl for broadening our culture horizons.



Then we watched some You Tube videos. Everyone was pretty tired and/or sickly so the night ended fairly early compared to previous years but still... it was so good to see everyone.

The next day a few of us went to Breakfast at Brick's... a few of us girls went to a couple shops around town... then a few of us went to El Maguey and even met Bear... another of the guys' good friends from high school. Good food and good times.


After lunch the guys went and played disc golf and that night, Matt's parents had us over for a delicious meal and we played a game of Balderdash (winner, winner, chicken dinner right here folks... haha!).

Yay friends!!! Can't wait 'til next time.