Hitting the Pavement

Happy Thursday!! And last day of January!!!

Sooo I haven't been running really since the half marathon I ran in December. I miss it but I knew I needed some time off because I have had a lot of pressure in my knee. I took the time off i thought I needed and tried going for a run. I can get a mile into the run before feeling the pressure.
I started doing other things to work out but they just don't satisfy me like a nice long run. PLUS - and this is a big huge PLUS - I was running with my Dad and I loved the father-daughter time I got out of it.

I took more time off and tried running again. Same issue. So my dad has continued running and I have been pouting. I FINALLY got to see the doctor today.  She pulled and pushed on my knee. I am happy to announce that there isn't anything major happening.  She said what I need to do is get fit for shoes. And that my xrays show that I have been very active for a long time.  The pressure sensation I feel is internal inflammation in my knee - nothing to be overly concerned with, just take an anti-inflammatory before running and make sure to get enough down time in between long runs.

Soooo it isn't surgery or some weird thing where I can't run again ever! Hip hip hurray! I am bummed that I am going to have to for real get shoes.  You see I was one of those people who could just hit up a Kohl's sale and pick my favorite shoe. Those days are finally over and I'm going to be getting fit for my very own 'grownup' running shoe.

That is my satursday morning plan and training resumes Monday!!!!  Yay!!! I'm very excited to get back out on the pavement.

Do you enjoy running?
How do you pick your running shoes?

Two Things

If you love accessories and cutesy little boutique-y type stuff, you MUST check out Groop Dealz.  It is sort of like an auction style sale except the prices are fixed and once the item is sold.out, that's it.  The deals can last any where from 1 day to 7 days. I ordered this necklace last week:

I will definitely be posting pictures when I receive it!

Second item on the docket, I am in love with The Container Store. I just really started browsing it today though I should have known I would love it after a post by a fellow blogger - I'm sorry I don't remember who did it!!! I LOVE this place AND I learned that they are opening one here in April! Eeeee!!! So excited!  I found the first item I will be ordering for an upcoming organization project.

I'm so excited I may ship it faster than ground!!!! Yea, I am THAT excited! I will most certainly be ordering the light blue/aqua hanging folders also.  Can't wait to share!

Well sweets, that's all I have for ya today. Just a wee bit of my excitement on this lovely (read hot - not winter weather at all) Tuesday! Make it a great one y'all!

*The opinions in this post are solely my own; i was not approached by either company for a review

I May or May Not Be a Hot Mess

No - this is serious....OK it isn't serious at all.

I'm such a disaster sometimes! It is frustrating but funny and it makes me ramble to the server who had the unfortunate luck of bringing me my drink at Sonic. 

First, I pushed the button to place my order...this magical button is the link to the people inside the talking box who make your food come out to your car.  So I push the button and then don't know what to order! UM! HELLLOOOO! Silly girl - the ONLY reason this person is speaking to you is because you signaled you were ready...ugh! so I apologize and hastily order my drink. 

'My Jam' comes on the radio, so I turn up the music a little...and out walks the wonderful dude bringing me the aforementioned order. He stops at the window, smiles, and just stands there.  Look I know I am having a good hair day but GEEZ...but hey I still got it ;) HAHA! then I realize dude is NOT standing here to look at my cute self. He needs me to pay. I'm so flustered because I was so not ready to fork over the payment. As I fumble through my wallet I practically start telling this kid my life story - and my life story I mean the events of the afternoon that have me frazzled anyway. As I am getting my cash out, I apologize because why in the world am I rambling?! 

Here's the thing though, I constantly find myself placing orders and then pulling up to the window and not have money ready.  anyone else have this problem?! 

This is only ONE tiny moment that I think 'girl needs to get it together'.  I'm pretty sure I think that to myself on a daily basis - at the VERY least it happens every other day.  Am I the only one? I refuse to believe that out of all the blogs I come across, that I am the only one that is a hot mess on more than one occasion! =) 

OK so ONE more illustration of my hot mess-dom for today...

When I order something online, I immediately check my order status and make sure the email confirmation shows up in my inbox.  This is a completely normal habit, right?  

The not so normal piece, is I immediately start looking for tracking numbers.  If that isn't bad enough, as soon as I receive tracking information, I check the tracking multiple times a day.  Somewhere deep down in my subconscious, I must believe that by checking it repeatedly, the package will somehow be moved sooner. But I can't make it stop. I have to keep checking. I need the update.  Maybe I need to have FedEx and UPS text me updates...but I still like seeing that little progress bar fill up when the page loads =) 

It really is the little things, Peeps!

So what are your examples of hot mess-dom??

Friday Happies!

Yay Yay! it's Friday!!!! Wooooo!!!!

I'm so excited to get this weekend going!  The Husband and I are going to be building an end table for our living room and I get to do most of the work! I am really looking forward to figuring out how to make a piece of furniture instead of letting The Husband do it all.  We officially designed the piece last night and figured out what materials we needed to buy. When I get off of work today, we are going to meet at the home improvement store for wood and stain! So excited! AND if time permits, I am going to finish my closet re-organization! So far it is going well, I just need a new nail polish rack...which we will DIY.  It will be very similar to this but will go on the wall...my collection DOUBLED over the holidays!

This morning officially start Operation:Work Out again.  I have taken some time off after my half marathon at the beginning of December because I have been having knee issues.  BOOO!! I go to the doctor on Tuesday and will have it checked out but in the meantime I HAD to start doing something again.  I feel so good after this mornings workout.  Let's keep it up!

I found this really neat website/app for books - it is called goodreads.com.  you can look up authors,books, genres, and create a 'shelf' of books you want to read.  then when the time comes to read them, you can compare prices online and in stores...the site will tell you where the cheapest copy can be found! I have set a goal for 2013 - I want to read at least 30 books this year.  I have book #1 picked out...now I just have to open it haha!

I want to add a custom clock to our gallery wall - I think it would add a lot! These are the two options I am tossing around:

 

For All Time Clocks

Rosy Red Buttons Blog

The second example was the first I fell in love with but the problem is that The Husband and I don't have a picture together off set enough OR far enough from the camera...MAYBE I can talk him into a photo this weekend?! Just one before my seeester's birthday!

Tomorrow is this pretty lady's birthday! LOVE love LOVE my baby seester!! she makes my heart happy and puts a smile on my face..don't mess with her or I'll come for ya! =)

More on that Monday!

Have a wonderful weekend y'all!

Do you have big plans??

Saw It. Pinned It. Did It. {DIY Key Holder}

We've all seen it.  That cute little key rack with the toy cube letters spelling out 'keys'.  Yep - that is what I used as my inspiration. Let's face it; this was so easy especially compared to the other projects we have been tackling! Here is our version:

The best part about it was cost - THe only purchase for this project was the block letters that I got at hobby lobby with a 40% off coupon. soooo total for this one was probably close to $2.50.

Here's the pin-spiration:

Source: glanerie-moderne.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I made a sign for the finance department when we shared an office. 

Then the department outgrew said office and we split up so the sign came down.

Step 1: I had to pull off all the bling and sand that puppy down to the point that most of the paint and all the lettering was gone.

Step 2: I sprayed it brown and each of the letter blocks an off white.  This took a lot of coats because the spray paint wasn't real thick.  In hindsight, I probably should have used an acrylic paint and paint brush.

 Step 3: I screwed in the hooks to the bottom of the blocks.

Step 4: Put it together!
The tricky part came when it was time to screw the blocks to the board...I had every intention of doing this myself, but I came home and The Husband had done it for me while I was at work.  Apparently it is a good thing he did! He said the wood was so hard that the drill bit had trouble grabbing on and getting through the wood.  Thankfully The Husband is a big strong man =)

I LOVE it so much and I always know where our keys are!

Except when this photo was taken haha - where are The Husband's truck keys?! =)

Where do you store your keys?
Do you often lose track of them?

Trying to Get More Organized

Soooo we are no longer able to get onto various sites at work which means I can't do anything on my lunch break any more on my computer. This is highly inconvenient!

What this means for me is I have to get a mail station together at the house. I pay bills on my breaks. It is very convenient since I'm at a computer all day anyway.  I need to get a system together at the house.  Google and pinterest to the rescue?? We shall see!

The other major thing this all means is I am going to have to be more diligent in scheduling/planning my posts.  I have been waiting for things to inspire me between one post and another. That can happen I will just have to write down my thought or create a post on the spot.  My problem is that I have to finish when I start because if I don't I lose momentum. Booo!

There are a couple projects I will be sharing coming up soon.  The husband and I are on a DIY kick right now so we spend a good portion of our weekends working on various house projects. This coming weekend won't be any different than the last several. Except this time I will be handling most of the diying! I'm very excited to be at point on the next project :)

Do you and your partner work well together in projects?

P. S. Sorry there aren't any happy pictures and that this is short, sweet, and to the point...you try blogging from your phone haha!!!

Mid-week Happies and Finding the Next Big One

EEEE!!! This girl is SO excited that tomorrow is Friday already! As I mentioned earlier this week, it is my first full week back at work since the holidays and I have been dreading it.  only because I have been worried that the week was going to creepy-crawl by and take FOREVER.  Thankfully that has NOT been the case so far!!

A happy mid-week treat for me was getting my hairs cut! I LOVE that feeling! I always feel so refreshed after getting my hair washed, cut, and styled! I absolutely adore my stylist - I have been going to her for about 5 years.  I send everyone to her because she is awesome and so affordable.  So I went and had my hair done at lunch yesterday...did I mention she is pretty quick too??  Oh and I know it is just a hair cut and trust me I would really like to highlight my hair again but that would require me to go more often AND it would cost more money! So I'll just stick with what I have and since The Husband loves it and I don't dislike it =) picture from RIGHT after the cut yesterday

So I am constantly looking for new books to read.  I get a lot of recommendations from my mom.  We have always always swapped books with one another.  Someone on a blog yesterday was posting about a book - I'm sorry I can't remember who - and it got me thinking about all the reading I have done since elementary.  In Elementary, I read the Babysitters Club and then Goosebumps when I was in 5th grade.  I upgraded in Jr. high to R.L. Stine's Fear Street series.  I  am sure they were pretty corny but I LOVED them.  One of my favorites was probably The Perfect Date, The Fear Street Saga, and The Catalina Chronicles. Did anyone else read these???

I have graduated to other scarier/thrilling books.  I read romances here and there and was sucked into Harry Potter and Twilight. I even read Fifty Shades of Grey but mostly I stick to thrillers. Right now, my imagination is in full force, which means thrillers are kind of out of the lineup for now.  

I'm looking for new reads and something that isn't boring.  I am the type of reader that if I'm not interested in the first 30 pages, I put it down. I read for pure enjoyment so, obviously, if I am not enjoying the book, why use that time on something I'm not enjoying?  My point exactly! soooo this is where you lovelies come into the story! =) 

Where do you find your next book?!

 I know there are websites out there that are suggestion sites; you type in a title or author and the site pulls up similar content.  I don't like doing that.  I want suggestions from real people!! Truth be told, the way I use to pick out new books at the book store was based on the spine or cover catching my eye.  Then I would read the summary on the back or inside the jacket....if I am thinking I'm pretty interested, I will read the first couple pages.  I know I know you are probably shaking my head at this method but books can get expensive! I should probably start going to the library but that place can be SO overwhelming! And in this digital age of E-Readers, I don't know how to find books to read any more, because the old method doesn't really work!! Someone help me =) 

Happy almost Weekend pretty people!!!

Peaks, Pits, Praises, & Prayers

I'm linking up with Katie today over at Married...with a pup!

 

Peaks

-Helping my mom shop for my sister's birthday present! I LOVE shopping for people, even when the gift is not for me.  I swear I must have been a personal shopper in a former life. 

-I was having a TERRIBLE day a couple months ago and my parents surprised me with a groupon gift to get a paneled canvas print!!!! EEEE!!! You may have remembered this post from a while ago.  I was finally going to get the paneled canvas I wanted.  We ended up going with the hands image:

from our Rock the Dress shoot. I can't wait for it to arrive... especially since it was ordered December 7th!!! That is well over a month people! I can't wait to get it! Any day now.... 

-Taking the Christmas decorations down...I know I'm a looney! But for real, I feel like our house is not as cluttered now that the decor has been put away.  AND we kept our beautiful nativity displayed so "Christmas" will be displayed all year =) That and our tree was getting PITIFUL!!!! it was really saggy and not happy looking so it was time to come down.

Pits

-no more short work weeks for a while! boo!! This week will mark the first week in a month since I have had to work a FULL 5 day work week.  so I guess 'pits' in my case should read 'pitiful' since I am whining about this.  But hey, if this is the low point right now, I'm doing great! =) 

Praises

-My father-in-law had a partial knee replacement at the beginning of December.  The incision became infected and he was taken to the hospital where he has been all weekend.  He had surgery yesterday and everything looks great and he is in recovery.

-All our family who traveled this holiday season, did so safely

-The Husband has been working hard to build me all the things my heart desires.I can't wait to share the projects with you in the coming weeks!

Prayers

-continued recovery for my father-in-law

-I'm thankful for my amazing family

-for my sister and dad (teachers) who mold the minds of our future 

-for my marriage, that it may grow stronger every day

-I'm thankful to have such strong, amazing role models (that's you Mom and Dad!) who help guide me as a friend, adult, and spouse 

I have to tell ya, I'm totally loving this link up!!! go link up with Katie, or make your own private list, you will feel so uplifted after! 

Sangria Stain

Happy Monday Everyone!!! 

So I am sharing a project today that was ACTUALLY completed in 2012 but I just didn't get a chance to share.  we had this BIG wall in our living room that has a really big painting on it but there is a LOT of empty space in the room. I decided that I wanted a pretty table to go on the wall.  

We found the biggest problem was going to be finding a table for a price we were willing to pay.  Enter the Internet.  Thank goodness for it too! I found the PERFECT table to put in our living room for this wide open space.  Now the task of convincing The Husband that it is, in fact, that perfect. 

Shanty 2 Chic had the CUTEST farmhouse style desk that she built for their bedroom. I instantly fell in love and THEN I saw how much it cost her to build it.  I knew this was it and it was going to be amazing! and people it IS amazing! I love the table! 

We went to the home improvement store and picked out all the wood for the table.  then it was time for the dreaded color decision...do we paint it? do we stain it? We should just go with a wood color...but wouldn't it be fun to have an actual color?! So we decided to stain the table a color...Sangria. 

  

Don't you just LOVE it?! 

The table is 5' X 2' X 3'.  I love everything about it from design to color to cost! PLUS I helped The Husband build it and that in itself is highly rewarding!!!  Our next couple projects include a coffee table and a possible buffet for the gallery wall - and we are considering making one or both sangria as well!! I'm so excited! I can't wait to get started!

Have you built any furniture by yourself with someone?

Its Tradition...

"... he always waves at the gate."
I will be SO impressed if anyone other than my mother knows what movie 

this quote is from mainly because it is a bit obscure lol

I don't know why it became a tradition...

I can't remember if it was me or my sister who started it.

All I know is that it is a silly thing but we always laugh a lot when it happens.

The tradition is that my sister and I always stick the bows from presents on ourselves...

Its just what we do. Its silly and it ALWAYS provides tons of laughter and fun. 

I swear one day my parents are just going to buy us each a bag of stick on bows!!! =) 

      

After looking at just these handful of pictures I would venture to say my sister started this tradition =) 

I have limited access to my photos here on my lunch break but I think you get the idea.  I hope it made you smile on a Friday!

I don't know why we do what we do but I hope it is something we always do together.

Happy Weekend!

Do you have silly traditions with your family?

Top 12 of 2012!

Hey y'all!!! I can honestly say I am shocked at how quickly 2012 came and went! I am so thankful for this past year and everything it brought.  The Husband and I are ecstatic to see what 2013 brings!

Before we bid adieu to 2012, I present the Top 12 of 2012!

twelve

Volbeat at The House of Blues for the second time

eleven

My dad taking a jello shot at Howl at the Moon at my sister's birthday

ten

The Husband and I building our first piece of furniture together

nine

Celebrating the Strawberry Festival DIY style this year

eight

 

Catching my first amber jack and the insane trip to The Keys on a whim with The Husband, my dad, and a couple friends.

seven

training and running my second half marathon.  This training was particularly special to me because I trained and raced with my dad.  We had some awesome talks and even some laughs during our training. And even though sometimes I dreaded putting on those running shoes or getting up while it was still dark, I am so thankful for them.

six

TIED: celebrating my mom and dad's 50th birthdays this year.  We threw a surprise party for my dad at our house.  For my mom, we were going to also set up a surprise party, however, she managed to find out so we  went through with the plans but she had input on the guest list =) we had so much fun!

five

    

Taking pictures with my sister for a Christmas present for our parents.  We had an absolute blast and I am so fortunate to have such a strong and happy relationship with my sister. 

four

Going with my mom to a book signing of a favorite author - Iris Johannsen

three

random drink at Margaritaville on a Friday night with my parents, sister/brother-in-law, The Husband, and some of my dad's friends from North Carolina

two

 

celebrating my birthday and setting up a photobooth - hours of entertainment and amazing memories.  Not to mention the hilarious pictures!

one

celebrating our second wedding anniversary

There are so many memories from this year and moments that I cherish.  And 2013 shows to be ultra promising with fun times and good friends.  I can't wait to see what happens next!!

Do you have a Top 12 of 2012?