Easter = 2 celebrations!

Happy Easter! One year ago from Easter Sunday, a ‘new guy’ walked into my house and little did I know how much this guy would mean to me exactly one year later! Brandon and I met when I had an Easter potluck lunch at my house for all the singles in town with no family in 2011. Brandon had only lived in Dallas at that point for a few months and at church that morning, one of our mutual guy friends randomly invited him to my house for lunch. Brandon showed up not knowing anyone but that one guy (and the guy was about an hour late getting there). Brandon being the ‘never met a stranger’ type of personality walked in, introduced himself and got to know everyone. He claims to have been VERY interested in me from that day we met. He asked around about me later but was told I was dating someone else so he never pursued me. Jump ahead a few months and I see a pic of him tagged on facebook, I think, ‘hey, I know that guy and I haven’t seen him around in months!’. So I friended him on fb and we started chatting immediately that afternoon…and he asked me out for the next night (August 14)…and things have been AMAZING since the first date.

So, last weekend, Easter Sunday we celebrated our 1 year of ‘meeting each other’ anniversary! We had a wonderful day just hanging out, cooking and being productive around the house. We went to early service at church, grocery store and then we made all kinds of food for the day and for my lunches the following week. I did laundry while he ‘mowed’ and we both watched the grill. That grill is our favorite!! We made steak and potatoes for lunch and then chicken/veggies for dinner and my lunch. Plus we tried out a new recipe for homemade guacamole which was fantastic!! We ate the entire thing that day….we love us some food!! What a perfect day…celebrating our Savior and the blessing of each other all in the same day. I can’t wait for many more Easters together…hopefully with a few Easter eggs involved in the future!

Getting it all prepared!

 

Let the grilling begin!

Brandon mowing his itty bitty lawn!

One Tough Mudder!

A couple of weeks ago, Brandon and his roommate signed up for and completed a race called the Tough Mudder...absolute insanity! It is a hardcore 12 miles of obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to "test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie". It's craziness. Brandon loves to challenge himself like this and this was the ultimate test for his endurance...and he surpassed and LOVED it. You should google it and watch the videos but the obstacles include stuff like electrical wires hanging down that you have to run through not knowing which ones are live and which aren't (Brandon hit one and before he knew what had happend, he was lying face first in the mud)...run through huge dumpster type things full of ice up to your waist that you have to wade through and then dive down to get under large obstruction in your way to get to the other side to climb out (Brandon said he was completely numb and it took him a few minutes to be able to breathe normally again)...run through fire pits, over hay bales...15-20 obstacles of this type of pain. Uhm, no thanks. Proud of my boy...but I'll watch from the sidelines!!

I didn't get to go to this one because I had to work the day he did it...but we did get one pic emailed to us from the race photographers. Crazy kid!!

Grill Master

A couple of months ago, Brandon and I were running errands and he said, ‘Hey, let’s go look at grills…just for fun’. ha! Brandon doesn’t like to shop unless he’s going to ‘buy’ so I knew what I was walking into but I decided to just go with it. Brandon and I are very different from this perspective. I am very indecisive, especially when it comes to big purchases so I tend to shop around, take pics, compare prices and stress a little (or a lot!) over it until I drive myself crazy and then make Lisa go with me at lunch to make the final decision! Brandon…not so much. This idea comes to Brandon, we walk into Home Depot, we look at the grills in stock for about 15 minutes and we make a purchase and roll our new grill out to the truck. Done. I was hesitant and wanted to protest but I didn’t and I haven’t regretted that purchase for one minute! Technically, he bought it but I ‘let’ him! ;)

Brandon loves to cook (and grill even more) and I love to let him. We have used that grill on average about 5 days a week at least. We love it. All food just tastes so much better on the grill…we grill everything! Plus, it was a nice little ‘team building’ experience as we opened the box of about 10,000 pieces and spent Saturday night putting it together! It's a win-win all around!

Brandon is proud of that grill...he is the grill master for sure!!

Not only does food taste amazing on the grill...but it's also helping us to eat a lot healthier which is great for my weight-loss competition right now!!

Grilled chicken, bell peppers and carrots with a salad on the side...yum!!

Grilled salmon and asparagus...so pretty and tasty!!

Day Thirty One: You, Again

Today's post is Me, Again...this time in dedication to my 'future'. You all know my mom...and you all know how nice, thoughtful, caring, sweet...and a little 'nutty' this Nonie can be! Besides the fact that I occasionally have too much of my daddy's hard-headed, stubborn, "I'm always right" ways...I am sometimes a lot like all the things I make fun of my mom. Let's face it, I don't like to admit it, but we all have our 'nutty' moments and I only hope that I can be exactly like my momma in the future!!

Day Thirty: Nature

While Brandon's family was in town this week from Indiana, we took them horseback riding (because that's what everyone does in Texas right!?!) This is about as 'nature-rific' as it gets around the big city! They were all a tad nervous but ended up having a great time...the weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful!

Day Twenty Nine: Inside Your Fridge

Typically, my fridge is very bare...I have the few bare essentials needed to be somewhat healthy. I usually always have greek yogurt, apples, carb free tortillas, and typically a bag of salad. My freezer is full of frozen dinners and different kinds of fish. But that's about it. Right now, it is STOCKED with all kinds of healthy goodness. Amy would be proud!

Prepared bowls of grilled chicken, salad, eggs, hummus, tons of veggies and fruit...I'm impressed with myself!



Day Twenty Eight: Light

Weight loss is a constant battle with me...I do love girl scout cookies and I'd prefer to never work out! But I can see the 'light' at the end of the tunnel!

I love to travel. Last year, in about a 12 month span, I took quite a few trip...and yes, I enjoyed every single minute. I spoiled myself and it was worth every dollar I spent (or didn't spend on some of them) and every calorie I consumed! Costa Rica, NYC, Hawaii, Carribean Cruise...all phenomenal vacations. And even more so, phenomenal food. This girl can eat...and I did...A LOT. I also gained quite a few LB's in the process. I grew out of most of my pants last year at various times and have struggled to get the 15lbs off that I gained 'first' in Costa Rica. I may go down 5-7 and then back up 5-7 and then back down and then back up...you get the painful and frustrating picture. Anyway, my last post was about the 10 day cleanse, but in addition to that, Mica challenged several of us to start an 8 week challenge. And I'm in...all in. Monday, 4/2...game on. I may not be able to 'win' the competition, but I can certainly give the other girls a run for their money. It's such a cool competition that awards you points for all of these 'good' activities during the day, every day...working out, not eating after 9pm, no sweets 6 days/week, drinking water, eating fruits and veggies, etc. You also get points for pounds lost (from your lowest weight...so there's  no up and down points awarded). It's a way to develop great 'habits'...most of which I'm already doing, but hopefully will hold me accountable now that I have to report every week the number of points I've earned and lbs lost. And it just so happens that Bama's wedding in Cabo is exactly 8 weeks away...so perfect timing!

Here's the link to the competition and a printable form if you want to start your own challenge with someone!

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/8-week-printable-weight-loss-get.html

Day Twenty Seven: Lunch

Mom and I decided to tackle a 10 day cleanse (products through Advocare) that has a very specific diet. Mike and Mica just finished it and had really great results. The diet is actually really healthy and the best part is we can still EAT. I do not know how Mica people do the diets that are all liquid or very little food intake at all..cray cray! I mentally couldn't do it. But, with this, we can eat fruit, lean protein, veggies and complex carbs. We basically have to give up sweets (eeek!), alcohol, dairy, soda, sugar and  'white' flour. We.Got.This. I basically eat healthy overall anyway...except for the occasional ONE.BIG.SPLURGE. which just so happens to occur more frequently lately than it should.

So basically my lunch for the next 10 days consists of salad and grilled chicken, cucumbers or carrots and hummus. My dinner will consist of fish and steamed veggies. My snacks will consist of almonds, fruit and raw veggies. I am determined to lose weight before the Cabo trip in May!!

Day Twenty Six: Colour

Brandon's parents have been in town the past several days (part of my excuse for not blogging...thanks for the free pass Mica!) so I've been busy! I suggested to his mom that we go take pics in the blue bonnets....part of a good ol' Texas tradition and she loved the idea! So for this post...here is my 'color'. I tried to focus in on one blue bonnet (very center) with the surrounding flowers blurry...and I love the splash of red in the background!

Day Twenty Five: Something You Made

I'm not very creative so rarely do I 'make' anything...especially the past few months. Holy Busy! So for this post, I'm going with...Something I made myself 'do'. Clean out my closet! Yay me! We all know I love to shop and I have more clothes than one girl needs...a lot of them that haven't seen daylight in YEARS. So I've commited to start regularly cleaning the crap out that I know I'll never wear. It's hard...but these two bags prove I've at least started. Baby Steps. Now I need to get them out of my hallway!

Day Twenty Four: Guilty Pleasure

I have many guilty pleasures but will only tattle on myself with one today...Peanut Butter filled Pretzels. OMG. I love them. Fortunately, I found these small bags at Kroger instead of buying them in bulk like I used to have to do. I typically can't stop eating them once I start...so this helps me stay a bit more in control!

Day Twenty Three: Something Old

When my grandmother passed away earlier this year, it became very apparent to all of us as we sorted through all of the stuff in her home, that nobody knew what was 'really old and valuable' vs the junk she bought on QVC. She had a huge china cabinet full of dishes...some old and some she bought on sale at Dillards. None of us did a very good job of getting those details before she died so we'd know what had sentimental value (her great grandmother's biscuit jar vs the biscuit jar her crazy friend from Clifton gave her). We did find some things that we were certain were old or had some sentimental value to them...one being something that I wanted badly...not sure why, but it reminds me of my Papa so much. He died 24 years ago...but the memories I have of him growing up will last forever.

My 'something old' is a picture is of his lighter...it's obviously old and has no fluid left, but it still smells a bit like it used to when my Papa used it. He retired from Owens-Illinios, as well as my dad and my dad's mom...so it has a lot of 'value' to me.

Day Twenty Two: Shoes

Most people wear many 'hats' in life...these days, I have a few but not as many as I will one day when I get married and have children...my 'hats' will multiply (wife, mom, teacher, coach, confidant, disciplinarian, fun ruiner...among many others I'm sure!) Today, I just wear a lot of 'shoes' each and every day. Here's one day of the shoes in the life of Kellie...whew, busy day!

5AM-ish...NB Minimus...I'm working up to the number of miles I can go in them.

Normal Asics Running Shoes...I switch after a couple of miles in the Minimus

7AM-ish...Work Shoes

6PM-ish...Run home, change clothes/shoes, go to grocery store, Brandon's for dinner and out to vball courts in cold weather shoes

9PM-ish...Switch to Sandals that are worn only at Sand Vball courts

Day Twenty One: Reflection

March 21st reminds me of Lisa…it’s her birthday. So this post is dedicated to Lisa and a reflection of our friendship.

Lisa and I quickly became friends in college and I can’t imagine life without her now. We have so much in common, it’s sometimes scary…we’ve even been asked if we were twins…twice…and the people were serious! (if you know us, you know this is absolutely bizarre...we have nothing in common from an appearance standpoint) Lisa and Jeff were already married when I met them. In college, I practically spent my last year hanging out at their house, we worked out together every day, we ate dinner together most evenings (shout out to Body For Life!)…poor Jeff had no idea that he’d never get rid of me! Ha! During college we met Mica on our Anderson internship, the 3 of us bonded and have more inside jokes and crazy funny memories than you can imagine…to this day, most of our times spent together involve lots of laughter and Mica taking mental notes to ‘surprise’ us with later! (Just FYI, if you are at my future wedding and don’t ‘get’ something in the MOH toast, don’t feel bad, most likely (and hopefully) 99% of the other people won’t either!) After college, Lisa hooked me up with a job at jcp…as much as we tried to hide our friendship; it quickly became clear to everyone that we were fairly inseparable! We established a daily ‘coffee chat’ (which may not have always involved coffee…just a chat), ‘private meetings’ on each others calendars to have time to catch up if the coffee chat wasn’t enough (priorities!), loooong shopping lunches especially during the holidays and an occasional sporadic period of working out through the years (which never lasted). As Jeff and Lisa began having their own family…now a beautiful family of 6 with 4 boys (holy busy!)…I have been involved as much as possible and love those boys like they were my own nephews! Lisa is a role model of an amazing mother, wife and friend…to everyone that knows her! Here are a few moments captured on camera from the reflection of our friendship!

Lis and I in college, back in the BFL days...oh how we WISH we could get into those jeans today!

Lisa flipping pancakes at one of our UW fundraisers at JCP...fun times at work!

My 30th birthday in Waco at my parents...a little apple pie and hot tubb'n!

One of our girls trips to NYC...with our moms!

Lisa, always willing to be the 'fun' mom to entertain her boys!

 

And of course...our girls trips are never without many laughs...she was NOT going to pay to check that bag!

Just being silly girls...

So many great memories...thank you for being such an amazing BFF, Lis!! Love ya tons!



Day Twenty: Someone You Love

I love Brandon Woods. I have waited a long time to know what the feeling of finding ‘the one’ truly feels like. I have dated on and off quite a bit throughout the past 15+ years…some only one date, some a few months and some a few years…but I have never felt about any of them like I feel about Brandon. The best word to describe our relationship is EASY. Things are just so easy between us and have been from the first date. There have been no games, no question as to “will he call again?”… “is it too early to text him or call him? is it my turn or his turn?”… “when will our next date be?” Throughout the years, I’ve watched all of my close friends find their guy, get married and start having a family of their own. At times, I struggled with that, thinking, “when is it my turn?” I’ve shed many tears and I’ve had many long talks with my girls being assured that my time would come. Patience is not my strong suit. As a single girl in her 30’s, some days were rougher than others but overall, I can honestly say, I was happy. I had an amazing life. More friends than I could keep up with. My life included tons of fun single activities sports, church, hometeams, girls nights, birthday parties galore, vacations, dinners, shopping for myself…amazing bonds with my friend’s kids….a supportive family…I bought my own house…I have an awesome career…no credit card debt…a nice savings…I am proud of my independence. And I wouldn’t trade any of that for anything. Don’t get me wrong, I want a family and my own kids BADLY, but I had a life and experiences that many people long for. I had…have an amazing life. And it just keeps getting better.

One of my favorite quotes from the pastor at my church is, “Worry is a faithless waste of time”. I won’t pretend that I never worry. Unfortunately I have inherited the quality of making worry an art from my mom! But, deep down I knew God has perfect timing. God would provide me exactly what I needed when it was the right time. And I feel like he did EXACTLY that. I feel like everything happens for a reason and as each of those past relationships ended; I tried to learn something from them. I tried to put into perspective precisely what God was trying to teach me in those periods of my life and how I was to apply it to my future. I feel like I am a better friend, a better girlfriend and will be a better wife because of my past learnings.

Brandon and I have been dating for 7 months and I knew after a very short time that I would marry this guy. He is amazing. We have so much fun together. He’s exactly what I was waiting for. He treats me like I am his biggest priority. He puts my feelings first. He goes above and beyond to always make me feel special. He is a leader and exactly what I want in a Godly man. We are both on the go and love to stay active. We run together, we play volleyball together, we go to church together, we have intimate conversations about the future together…and most importantly we laugh together. We’ve had tense moments but always come out stronger. I am one very blessed girl and I couldn’t be happier. The best thing about it all is that I had NO IDEA a relationship with a guy could be this amazing. I LOVE Brandon Woods and can’t wait for the day that I carry his last name and show the world exactly how different ‘this guy’ is from all the others.

and he is perfect...perfect for me.