I don't like New Year's Resolutions.

Good Morning Dolls! I know I've been absent from the blog this week but it's because I've been eating cookies and sitting on my couch VERY busy, trying to adjust to reality and being back to work.



So, instead of taking a nap underneath my desk continuing to be a blog-lagger, I am going to tell you about some of my New Year’s resolutions additions. This year I am adopting a new attitude about these so called resolutions, and calling them my new additions instead. I don’t know about you, but I associate the word resolution with a lot of pressure and expectation.

And really, who wants that? It almost insinuates that there are things that we need to change, and I think we all do a pretty fabulous job already being ourselves. So the key is to set some really menial additions that you'll have no choice but to keep, and then in a few years work it up to the harder ones like "be a better person" and "cure world hunger". ;-)

It's all about baby steps.

So here are a few of my realistic goals. They are, in no particular order:

Read more. Laugh more. Write more. Travel more. Learn more. Love more. And most importantly– blog more!

What is on your list?

Oh and happy almost-weekend! Hope all of you have some amazing since plans, since it looks like we may be snowed in!

The verdict is in!

And this new camera is SO worth it. If you want a nice SLR but have second thoughts about gettting one, DON'T!

I have no freaking clue what I'm doing and these pictures are already light years better! Take a look at my two cute guinea pigs:

What do you think?

I cannot wait to play around more with our new addition to the family over the weekend. And I hope to actually be able to finish reading my owner's manual and understand the settings so I can finally take it off 'automatic'. And I am SO happy to say goodbye to the blurry/overexposed pictures I used to post :)

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

An Open Letter

Dear Immune System,

I miss you. You should have left a note before you decided to take a permanent leave of absence. Not only did I start not feeling well a few weeks ago, but this sore throat is the worst I've ever had in my life. And between the angry throat and the vengeful sinuses alone, this week has been not be so great, to put it mildly.

So, contrary to what you may have read in whatever magazines you subscribe to in there, human beings need air to breathe. I think it's okay for me to speak for the rest of my body when I say...

GET TO WORK. DO YOUR JOB. STEP IT UP. THIS ISN'T GOING TO CLEAR UP BY ITSELF!

Also, if you could please explain to everyone that has been forced to be around me this week, why 1) I have been unable to function and 2) Why I have wet hair, no makeup, and look like I have been run over by a train...that would be cool.

Kisses.

Your host,

Edited to Add- I thankfully don't have h1n1, it's a respiratory infection treatable by antibiotics.

Random Thoughts!

Since my brain is still in post-vacation mush right now, today's post will be a hodge podge of all of my loves & hates currently.. Enjoy and share with me some of yours! :)

Love: Went out with my girlfriends last night for drinks and dancin'. The reason why I heart bachelorette parties is that they are always a guaranteed good time. We had très fun!
Hate: Dare I out myself as a boring old lady and admit to my headache this morning after only a couple drinks...

Love: vacation!
Hate: that my vacation ended last week.

Love: eating ice cream for breakfast
Hate: feeling sick 30 minutes later

Love: The house and all the work we have done to it.
Hate: The thing that starts with an “mmmm” and ends with an “ortgage.”

Love: This glorious sunshine!
Hate: The beautiful weather comes on workdays, and the rain comes on the weekends.

Love: The new recipes I have been trying out.
Hate: That I haven’t posted any of my recipes! I suck!

Love: Reality T.V.
Hate: The new season of the Real World.

Love: Having friends of every phase of my life
Hate: friends being far away

Love: My husband for rubbing my feet every night without complaint. And I’m not even pregnant or anything! He is just nice like that.
Hate: That I have been putting off scheduling my pedi and it's already mid-July!

Love: My fabulous and thoughtful and nice and gorgeous blog readers. I know I don’t reply to all your comments these days but just know that you are way too nice to me and I totally plan on keeping you around :)
Hate: That it is already Sunday night... It simply can’t be, because my gigantic laundry pile is still teasing me from the other room: “Wash me…or go to work without underwear tomorrow!”

Now tell me your loves & hates, dolls!

Weekend Wrap-Up!

Good morning and Happy Monday lovelies!

Our weekend was perfect. Friday night we picked up Charlie from the vet. Here is a picture I took of him from my phone right after we came home. Have you ever seen such a sad, pathetic looking pup?

* My poor little Charlie had a rough day Friday. As soon as he came out from the examination room, the whole packed waiting room let out a collective “awww” and giggle and said how sad he looked. He couldn’t walk straight from the wearing anesthesia and was terrified we would leave him again. He also wouldn’t walk with the cone on. So he spent most of the weekend cuddled up in either mine or hub's arms sleeping. We've been told to keep him calm for 10 days. Calm means no running, jumping, playing, etc. Do they not know that is all little doggies are made of? It should be an interesting few weeks for us to say the least! And thank you all for the well wishes you have been sending our way. We hope that he heals up soon and puppyness is back in full effect. I have playdates to schedule!

* Saturday was a lazy day full of Lifetime movies, shopping and …naps. I took the best and most glorious, two hour, no-need-to-wake-up-and-do-anything nap that I haven’t had in ages. Later, my Mama and I bought the whole store did a little shopping and I actually even mangaged to find a bathing suit relatively painlessly within an hour. A big woooooot! :)

* Sunday I attempted to be productive. I killed planted some pretty flowers in my yard, and also did a little bit of grocery shopping and working out. Then last night hubs and I saw The Hangover. Hilarious. Go see it. Now.

___________

A big item on my agenda this week is planning my bff's bachelorette party that is taking place this Saturday! ohmygawd. Being the obsessive compulsive freak planner that I am, I already have a lot of it almost finished, but I swear, every morning I wake up with new ideas. I would love to spill all the details, but I simply can't just yet. However, what I *can* give you is the picture of the look that im going for! Lots of pink and black, feather boas and cute decor. Fun, right? I can't wait!

I

Weekend Recap!

So today I am having a much better day, thankfully! A good night's sleep and a season premier of the Bachelorette definitely put me in a great mood! :)

And here is our weekend recap. This weekend flew for us but it also feels like last week was lightyears away.

Friday, hubs and I decided to volunteer and babysit for our neighbors, while they went and furniture shopped. A while back I announced that they had their baby and was super excited to spend some time with the little guy! And let me tell you, he is adorable. It should be illegal to be this cute. He is only a month old, so he basically slept or just stared at us the whole time we had him, but we had a blast.


isn't he just so stinkin' precious! it took everything out of me to not run away with him. :)

Saturday was equally as exciting as I got a chance to hang out with one of my best friends that I haven't seen since the wedding. She currently lives in California, and so we see each other only once or twice a year. We went to a yummy Mexican place to catch up. We literally closed the place down and had to be kicked out. And after fours hours of non-stop chatting, I was so sad when we had to leave! She plans on possibly moving back one day, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later. I miss the days where we used to hang out every single day!

Sunday we decided to relax. Hubs cooked out and then we took Charlie on a walk. I found an amazing recipe for Sweet BBQ shishkabobs that I have to share with you all. They are delish!

What You Need!
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (1-1/2 inch)
1 each: red and green pepper, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
3 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Make It!
HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Using 8 long wooden skewers (placing 2, side-by-side, for each kabob), thread chicken alternately with pineapple and peppers onto skewers to make 4 kabobs.
MIX barbecue sauce and juice concentrate; brush some of the sauce mixture onto kabobs.
GRILL 8 to 10 min. or until chicken is done, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce mixture.






That, in short, was our weekend! Hope you all are having a fabby Tuesday!

Edited to Add: What did you think of last night’s Bachelorette season premiere? Any early favorites? Who sounds intriguing to you? And did you watch the previews? Apparently a few boys have current gf's, and one said to the other guys he went on the show to try and be the next Bachelor. Craziness!
p.s. who the heck spells their name Mathue?

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Ahhhhh. It's finally the weekend. I'm currently sitting on my porch (it's 87 degrees out!), drinking coffee, reading the paper, and snuggling with Mr. Charlie.

Hubby just left to go get beat up to a paintball tournament. When I asked him why he was so excited to go, he simply replied: "because i love war and there's nothin' better than running, jumping, crawling and diving around to destroy the opposing team and emerge victorious. Babe, i'm going to dominate this game. I will be that guy the enemy dreads, and the teammates cheer. It's going to be a crossfire showdown!" Am I married to a five-year-old?

Okay moving on.. In the meantime, while my toddler very adult husband is off playing war, I plan on finishing up a couple last things for my bff Nicole's bridal shower tomorrow. My bestest is tying the knot in two months, and I am her matron of honor, and so I'm hosting her shower and am so excited. It has been a lot of work, but I am looking forward to seeing it all come together. I can't wait! The theme we decided to go with is the cutest and I can't wait to see her reaction! I know she is going to love it ;) I would love to give you more details or at least a hint (because it has been eating me alive!) but I have to keep it a secret for another 24 hours. I will have plenty of pictures either Monday or Tuesday though, no worries! And before I forget here is the outfit I have put together.

Alright, darlings, I am off to run some errands and enjoy the sunshine! Hope you all have a beautiful weekend.

We're Back Ya'll!

Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Actually, on second thought, don’t answer that :)

We got home pretty late Sunday to a towering pile of junk mail and an even bigger one of laundry, so I am sorry I have been mia.

Anyway, we had a great, great time in Nashville! Our b&b was lovely, and much bigger and nicer than we were even expecting. Ahhh, I wish I was still there. Our room was fantastic and from our balcony, we could see the city skyline! Not to mention that our hostess made the most amazing breakfasts and we ate a LOT. We were also able to truly relax and rest while managing to squeeze in some sightseeing and bar hopping time! And the reason for this is because we had a PLAN. Yes, a PLAN. Normally we are totally plan-less - the blind leading the blind and wondering aimlessly - when we travel, so this was quite exciting for us!

I will post pictures from our adventures tonight, so make sure you check back. And I have some good ones! Including one incriminating photo of the hubs in a mullet wig. Thats by far, my fave.

But as wonderful as our mini vacay was, we were thrilled to reunite with our Charlieman, who was having the time of his life while the rents were away. In fact, I think that he pretty much ate his own bodyweight in treats while we were gone. Silly doggie.

But right now, I honestly don’t want to do anything because it’s so cold and rainy outside. Seriously, I had to turn on the heat as soon as we got home. I hate this state.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Weekend Recap

Hubby and I had an eventful and fun weekend. It was pretty action packed, which for us is kind of unusual :) Neither one of us has been in a going out mood for a while, but this warm weather definitely helps drag us out of the house. I cannot wait until summer time!

On Friday, I felt like death crap. That is until I came home from work and took the most amazing 3 hour nap. I woke up around 8 feeling much better. Hubby and I met up with some of our friends for drinks and decided to go to the Funny Bone comedy club to see Joe Rogan. The show was sold-out and fantastic. They guy is actually pretty funny. My cheeks hurt the whole night. And, at one point, I looked over at my husband and he was laughing so hard, he literally had tears streaming down his face. I totally wish I would have taken some pictures but my camera batteries were dead. I'm sorry to disappoint you all.

On Saturday, I went to my neighbor's baby shower and I will have to admit that I had a great time. Normally, something about baby showers creeps me out. Not sure if it's the fact that everyone there is either a.) pregnant or b.) has babies. And hence I feel as if I have nothing worthy to contribute to the baby talk, except for the random grin and nod. So, I usually feel out of place. But this was different. I actually found other baby-less, not-expecting women, which made me happy. And instead of babies, we talked about puppies. Which I am more than fine with :) Anyhow, the shower was a blast! And after spending 2 hours at Babies R Us, I was thrilled she loved our gift. I decided to buy her an adorable and trendy Amy Coe Changing Diaper Bag in Chocolate Swirl as well as a few other matching accessories. I also picked up a few cute onesies including two that say I'm a Big Deal and a I heart long hugs.

I cannot wait for baby A to arrive. I offered up hubby and I as a free babysitting service.

Saturday night, we went to a brand new dueling piano bar that just opened in downtown called the Big Bang. We went with a large group of friends and stayed out all night. Not to mention that it was 70 degrees out and so I was relieved to leave my winter coat at home and not have to carry it around all night. Anyways, here are some pics!

Just another manic lazy Monday

I’m home from work today b/c of MLK day, and I plan on doing nothing all day.

No cleaning. No laundry. No cooking. Just occupying the couch and catching up on my shows.

I love lazy days like this.

Hope all of you are having a happy Monday! :)