Seventeen: Snack

I am a definite fan of snacks, especially when I work out in the mornings and on a healthy kick. I try to eat smaller meals more often...it's supposed to keep your metabolism up throughout the day but it's also a 'trick' to my mind that I get to eat more! I love to eat...so keeping my mouth full more often seems to work well for me. These are two of my favorite things lately...edamame (yes, kind of random but it's so low fat and high in protein...and  yummy!) and fruit smoothies. Brandon has started making us smoothies at night so that we can grab them quickly out of the fridge in the mornings and it's a perfect mid-morning snack (plus, it helps me get my fruit points for the contest!)

Sixteen: What you are reading

I haven't started reading these just yet, but I ordered them last week from Amazon to take on our trip next week. Lib told me about them and her and I usually have the same taste in books. She said they were both true stories and definite 'must reads'. I'm very excited about the thought of reading several books as I relax and soak up the sun in Cabo next week...woohoo!!

The Hunger Games Series is also on my list...I'm hoping to borrow those from Bama to read next week as well!

Fifteen: Love

I love this verse. And I believe it whole-heartedly. Brandon is the one my soul loves.

I love our love story, how we met, how we reconnected and how we immediately hit it off.

I love building a relationship with him; allowing him to be the leader.

I love experiencing new things together.

I love how patient he is with me while playing tennis.

I love listening to him sing beside me in church.

I love his sweet texts during the day for no real reason at all.

I love that he is not afraid to tell anyone he knows or meets about us and our story.

I love that he holds my hand in public.

I love that he is a leader, a hardworker and a conversationalist.

I love that he's ready and willing to address any point of contention between us and help us to resolve it before it ever turns into a 'fight'.

I love that he's open with everything on his mind, that he's willing to talk about the 'yucky love stuff' whenever I want to.

I love that he likes to meet me or pick me up for lunch.

I love that he will let me take a picture of him at any time.

I love that he always has a smile on his face.

I love that he makes me want to be a better person.

I love that he loves to cook for me.

I love his unprompted "I love you's"

I love that he will watch my girlie TV shows with me.

This list could go on and on. I feel more blessed than I ever have. Even though it's been a relatively short time, I feel like I've known Brandon for years. He fulfills my life more than I ever thought possible. I love to love him.

Fourteen: Grass

I've been struggling with what to post for this blog word of the day. How could I make 'grass' interesting...and it hit me! I had completely forgotten about this picture that I took while Megan was in town for Spring Break. One afternoon, I had to go to the church where I volunteer with 1st and 2nd grade girls called 5:30 Rocks...it's basically Sunday school for the kiddos during the Sunday night church service. Megan usually goes with me but this particular evening, she convinced me to let her stay with Brandon. They were going to go to the grocery store to get us some steaks to grill for dinner. When I come back around 7ish, this is the 'entertainment' Brandon has provided. I was in shock. Megan is lazy and definitely has zero interest in yard work...what the heck?! I was cracking up...but truth be known, I think she has a little crush on sweet Brandon. I'm pretty sure she'd do anything he suggested...even pulling weeds in his grass! She had a blast with him!

Thirteen: Mum

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful 'moms' in my life!! Happy day to my momma, all my besties and girlfriends that are moms, and those that will be moms in the future. What a fabulous day to represent all of the happiness that comes with being a mom. You all inspire me and my future as a mom!

I love my momma...she is the best friend and most amazing, patient, kind, thoughtful person I know. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing role model in my life. I only hope that one day I am given the chance to be a mom and be half of what my mom represents as a mother. From my earliest memories as a child, she is a super mom in every sense of the word. Thank you mom for being such an inspiring woman in my life. I love you!!

My momma in the middle and me on the left...so many fabulous childhood memories!

The first Mother's Day without my Granny...but she definitely wasn't forgotten. It was a tough day for everyone but the memories created with her are the kind that we carry with us daily. We miss you and love you Granny...Happy Mother's Day to you in the best place you could possibly be...watching over all of us from above.

Twelve: Kitchen

So, I'm not very artistic in the kitchen...nor is my kitchen all that exciting. So, I will use a pic of one of my favorite 'kitchens' in the city...Friday night's dinner spot! Yum!!

I'll let the chef at Blue Fish 'cook' for me!!

Eleven: something that makes you happy

Planning makes me happy...even more than that, I love to plan parties for friends...and even more than that, I love to plan parties with my super creative friends (they make me look good!). This weekend Kathy (aka Martha Stewart) and I hosted Amber's bachelorette party/lingerie shower. I don't mean to brag, but this party was fabulous...we had all kinds of fun, pretty, girly decor! We started the day with an afternoon at the pool...it wasn't all that sunny but Kathy heated the pool/hot tub so it made for the perfect temperature! We had tons of yummy treats, wine and pina colada frozen drinks. For dinner, we made fish tacos, roasted veggies and a mexican salad. Dessert was a tasty frozen yogurt bar with all kinds of topping options.

Everything turned out so pretty!!

Personalized water bottles and fun koozies for all the girls!

Pinterest rocks for fun ideas! Our wine bottles each had their own 'corset'.

Bama's special wine glass!

Every bride needs a wedding day emergency kit!

Kathy's amazing backyard! If you look in the back corner, there is a dining room table and chairs that was absolutely perfect for our evening dinner!

The happy and beautiful bride-to-be...Bama!

The yummy fish tacos, veggies and salad for dinner!

The yogurt bar was a hit!

Once again, Kathy and I made a great team and pulled off another successful party! It makes me happy to see our favorite Bama so happy...I can't wait for the wedding in Cabo...less than 2 weeks away! Yay!

Ten: a favourite word

This was tough for me, hence my delay in posting. I almost just skipped it...ahh, the pressure in only ONE word! For the sake of not being lame, my chosen word is patience.

Patience, not because I'm any good at it, but because it is a constant thought/struggle/goal of mine. Patience is required on a daily basis in some manner. I strive for patience in many ways:

-Patience with the dumb people that work in our accounting center and make my job a nightmare at times...lately more often than it should.

-Patience with my life and where I think it should be versus where God has planned for it to be. He constantly proves to me why His way is better, so I'm in constant acknowledgement that I should trust and wait for His 'perfect timing'.

-Patience with my family when they may not 'get' something that I explain through a text or phone conversation. Sometimes, just maybe, I am not as clear in my explanation of things as I think I am.

-Patience with my friends when they help guide or direct me in a way that is only through the best of intentions. It may not always be the way I had initially planned, but more times than not, their way may be a better way or an unbiased interpretation that I should listen to.

-Patience with Brandon as we develop an amazing relationship more and more every day. God made men and women very different for a reason, sometimes I need to take a step back and keep my patience as we work through those differences.

-Patience with my constant attempt at weight loss. I know I'm healthy and in decent shape. I need to understand that I'm no longer in my 'younger' years and have teenage hips...and never will I again. I need to believe Brandon when he constantly reminds me that he thinks I'm beautiful and he loves me for me.

Patience is a daily goal of mine. My life is absolutely amazing. I am blessed beyond imagination with a multitude of things to be grateful for...a good job, friends and family that I wouldn't trade for anything, a boyfriend that treats me like the #1 priority, and a healthy lifestyle.

Nine: something you do everyday

Is this really too much to ask?!

I know that I shouldn't weigh myself every day but it's sort of become an addiction. It can either start me off in the right mood to keep me motivated throughout the day but it can also frustrate me and make me want to say 'Screw it. Excerise and Healthy eating do me NO GOOD!' Ha! I also know how badly my weight can fluctuate from day to day so it's not smart to let the dumb scale determine my mood, but I can't help it. I need to know! Here's my picture for the day...cracks me up. I should take the warning seriously.

Eight: A Smell You Adore

Wow, I love good smelling things...babies, perfume, candles, clean laundry, freshly baked cookies but one smell I adore is Brandon's cologne...Armani Code. I melt over a yummy smelling boy...this particular boy!

Seven: Someone that Inspires You

Wow, this one is tough for me. I have a lot of very inspirational people in my life...both friends and family. Right now, the first that comes to mind is Mica. We all know how hard it is to lose weight and stay on a diet and work out regularly. Take all that and balance it with a family, a full-time job, being room mom, planning a destination wedding and continuously being a supportive friend...Mica is kicking butt in all areas of her life. Over the last several weeks she has been on a hard-core change of lifestyle by eating healthier and starting a running program. She got us all involved in a healthy competition and even though she is winning it by a landslide, it has kept us all motivated and accountable for everything we eat or drink and each time we want to skip our daily workout. I may not win a pot of money but I have lost a few lbs that I've been trying over a year to lose...that is worth more to me right now than anything. Mica inspires me to want to maintain this weight loss (slowly but surely) and keep working out. She also just inspired me (by her immediate 'let's do this' attitude) to run our first mud run together in June. Lord help us!

We may double the 'average time' but I can guarantee that we will walk (or be carried) away with many laughs and amazing memories! Let's do this!

Six: You

Here is a pic of me and MY NEW PURSE! Woohoo...my mom is the greatest! She went all out and surprised me with my very own Louis Vuitton. Wow. I was sick to my stomach when I opened it...holy expensive! She knows I love these bags but would never (well maybe not 'never'...but definitely not any time soon...maybe when I have 4 kids and can still afford to eat) purchase one of these for myself. On the last couple of girls trips to NYC, we've looked for fake ones that satisfy our 'high fake designer' standards and so far, no such luck! Anyway, I have been waiting to post this blog for a few days until I could get a good pic of me and my new ONE.BIG.SPLURGE. I taught my momma how to manage these splurges well...she just forgot that you are supposed to splurge on yourself and not someone else!! :)

Thank you Mom for my amazing surprise...I love it and I love you!!

Five: Bird

What? Bird? I've got nothing...

I tried to capture a pic of a hummingbird sitting on my dad's feeder but never saw one. I don't have much patience for it...but it's kinda cool when they do come up. So here's the feeder...use your imagination for the bird. :)

Four: Fun

I went to Waco this weekend for a quick trip but some GREAT girl time with my mom and Megan. We had so much fun shopping and hanging out...very relaxing trip. Megan cracks me up though. I'm not sure if it's well past the time she should be 'over' this baby doll thing but she's not. And we have now become VERY serious about how this 'real' baby needs to be treated. Even so much as needing to be strapped up in her 'carseat' in the car as we go anywhere. It's almost kinda annoying but being the fun aunt kellie that I am...I make 'fun' with it.

K: Megan, I hired a babysitter to stay at home with Lauren today. She doesn't need to go with us this time.
M: No you didn't, I don't see her.
K: Well duh, we are already in the car now. She was on the back porch waiting for you to bring the baby out. That's kinda rude. I mean I already paid for her, and now you've wasted my money.
M: Well, where was her car?
K: It was in the front of the house, you just missed it.
M: Was it a black tahoe?
K: No, that is my car, duh.
M: Does she drive a red smart car?
K: Uhm no...that's PaPa's car.
M: Well what does she drive?
K: She drives a navy blue mustang. She's cool. You missed out.

20 minutes later:

K: Leave her in the car, we are just running in for a minute.
M: Fine.
K: You know it's child abuse to leave your baby in the hot car like that.
M: What is child abuse?
K: It's when you are mean to your children and do things to hurt them. Like leaving them in the car when it's 90 degrees out. You could go to jail for that.

Haha, I could go on all day...and I did. :)

Three: Something I wore

Brandon always jokes about being 1 inch away from not being given a chance with me. He is 5'11 and I am 5'10 and I prefer guys 'taller' than me...I definitely wouldn't date a guy shorter than me...so he barely made the cut. ;)

But, with us being so close in height, I won't really wear my heels when we are together...which is just making me lazy to never want to wear them to work anymore either. The pic of the shoes below have become one of my faves. They go with just about anything. The color is pewter and can pretty much look brown, bronze, gray...which makes them AWESOME. I am on the lookout in these type of shoes in any color...cute, flat sandals...so let me know if you see any I need to check out. I'm afraid I'm going to wear these out!

Two: Skyline

Last weekend, was a busy weekend for me. April is a quarter close month which means I have to work most of the weekend (1/2 day Saturday and all day Sunday). Saturday morning started about 6:30am so that I could get online and get my stuff done in order to make it to Drew's 2nd birthday bash at the zoo at 10:30 (shout out to the Anderson's for a great party as always!!). I love the zoo. I've never been to the Dallas zoo so I was very excited to go...although I did not make it to my favorite section (the African safari area...I love giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants...and I have no idea why but they fascinate me) but I got to spend plenty of time in the Reptile area (shout out to the Lyle boys and their fascinations!) which happens to be Brandon's favorite as well. Who knew?! 

We decided to leave around 2ish, grab some lunch and head to Kathy's house. Matt and Kathy were out of town most of the week and weekend so I 'offered' to pool sit for them! :) This white girl needs a tan. We head to Cabo in 3 weeks (#notswimsuitready) so we decided to lay out in the pool and soak up some rays. Yes, I used sunscreen and no Mica, no oil...for now. It was AWESOME. Kathy's backyard is absolutely perfect. We spent the afternoon floating in the pool, enjoying life and each other and working on our tan. It was so relaxing. The evening was beautiful so we decided stay and make dinner on the grill. We hit up Central Market and an hour later we were making all kinds of yummy goodness...red snapper topped with fresh crabmeat, grilled veggies, spinach dip and one of our favorite bottles of red wine. It was amazing. I took this picture of our meal and our view as we sat outside, enjoying our 'skyline' for the evening. Big thanks to Matt and Kathy for letting us enjoy some pool time and have a perfect Saturday night during a crazy busy week.

One: Peace

I loved this when I saw it. It really does put me at peace to know and believe that by God's grace everything in our lives will turn out just as they should. We may go through ups and downs, happiness and heartaches, good times and tough times...but knowing that God is with us every step of the way and always has a bigger, better plan for us...that gives me peace.

Here we go....

Because May isn't busy enough for me already...I've been 'challenged' to another Photo A Day...and of course, I can't say no and be 'upstaged' by my blogging besties so here we go...AGAIN!!