Five: Appreciation

Wow, I'm not really sure how to convey my appreciation to Mica and Lisa. I have amazing friends and have no doubt that each one of my girls will play a special part in my upcoming wedding. But these two have started off strong! They have seriously spent every spare moment (well other than keeping up with their own blogs....more on time than me!) researching, calling, documenting every potential wedding venue they can find. They have googled, requested info on facebook from anyone listening and worked so hard to help me find a place to marry the love of my life! I am so thankful and so blessed to have such amazing friends to hold my hand throughout this process. I have been swamped with month-end close and digging my way out of emails and voicemails after my 8 day vacation to Cabo...but no fear these girls have waited for the day that I finally get to have my own wedding and they are wasting no time making sure it will be the wedding of my dreams! Love them both and big thanks from the bottom of my heart!!

Here's just a quick snapshot of their hard work in excel...you can't see the details but there are many columns going out to the right with all kinds of info, including costs, availability, capacity, items included (linens, chair covers, flatware), etc. They are the best besties ever!

Four: Summer

Playing in the sand in beautiful Cabo San Lucas...celebrating one of my bestie's getting married to the man of her dreams and first long vacation with the man of mine...is the PERFECT start to our summer!

Three: Ingredients

The ingredients to a successful proposal dinner...private dinner for 2 at sunset on the beach...multiple courses including champagne and dessert...and the most handsome and sweet boy I've ever met!! 

I don't usually like champagne, but this was fabulous!

Melon balls wrapped in prosciutto....sounds weird but actually very tasty!

Lobster bisque for soup.

Salmon cooked in white wine sauce with mashed potatoes and veggies...scrumptious!

Chocolate cake....delish! 

Two: Project

I haven't personally put together many 'projects' lately but Brandon completed a HUGE one right before our trip to Cabo. This was all part of his 'plan' to help hide the fact that he was going to propose in Cabo. He told me bits and pieces of his ring debacles along the way from the time we first started talking about rings in February to the very weekend before we left for Cabo. As you can imagine, it was soooo hard for me at times not to be overwhelmed with excitement. I had no idea when it was coming but I knew he was working very hard on the design of the ring. He told me that he knew it was hard to wait and he didn't want me to get frustrated so he was making me a surprise for Cabo...just a little something for me to look forward to for the end of the trip. He told me it involved a trip to Michaels, some weird looks and burning paper in his garage. Wait...what?! I had no idea...but I couldn't have been more impressed. My surprise was a photo album that he made which was a timeline of our relationship. He burned the edges of brown card-stock paper so that it had an 'old timey' look to it. He gathered various pics and put stickers on each page detailing specific dates and the event with a pic to go with it. He included everything from our first meeting (April 24th, 2011), our first date (August 14th, 2011), the World Series game we went to, our first weekend away to College Station (October), our first vacation in Telluride (December), our first trip to Indiana to meet his parents (Jan 2012), the day he asked my parents for permission to marry me and several others. He also left 2 blank pages at the end for the day we got engaged and the day we got married. So cool!! The album itself along with this thoughtfulness and creativity was very impressive! 


Plus, it was the perfect 'cover' story to celebrate the last night...and give me no suspicions that there may be an even bigger surprise coming that same night!! Here are just a few examples of some of the pages.

One: Discovery

I will slowly catch up on Amber's Wedding, our trip to Cabo and Brandon's proposal...prepare for me to turn many of these 'daily words' into something I can blog about regarding all of that! 

First, discovery. Apparently I'm not always very aware of my surroundings. I pay attention when it matters but I'm not much of a 'snoop doggy dog'. First example, a couple of years ago when Lisa first became pregnant (I think with Blake), she switched from regular to decaf coffee on our morning coffee breaks. She didn't tell me she was prego, but assumed I'd pick up on the fact that she all of a sudden started drinking decaf. Not sure how long she drank the fake coffee but I never noticed on my own!

About a month ago, Brandon got really nervous when I was at his house one evening. Apparently, the box below was open...on his desk...and I walked right past it multiple times. According to him, he was panicked that night thinking I was going to discover my own diamond. He hadn't gotten the ring designed and in the setting yet, but this box held my center stone. I had no idea!! This was just the first of many scares for him along the way to the proposal!

Photo A Day - June

So I didn't do so well keeping up in May but I'll be honest...I was busy but mostly just bored by the words given. While I was soaking up the sun in Mexico, the girls put together a new one in which they created. Let's see if I can make it happen this month...and yes I know that I'm already behind. :)

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.