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Monday, February 27, 2012

Places to go, people to see!

Initially, I was a bit worried about this weekend. It was one of those jam-packed with things-to-do, people-to-see, places-to-go - none that I was willing to give up! When i woke up feeling yuck on Sunday morning, I was even more worried, but it was all good! I felt a lot better after I got a long nap! I think we can assume that was just due to exhaustion!

So anyway... my weekend! It was a lot of fun!

{FRIDAY}

Friday night? Well, nothing. I came home, got in my PJ's & did the email/facebook/blogger/pinterest thing (it's my nightly routine, in that order). 

{SATURDAY}

Saturday was my mother-in-law's birthday! We went over there for breakfast. Jaimie cooked & everything was delicious! Fani was really excited to wear this hat to join the celebration. Ha!



Saturday afternoon I headed to Cheesecake Bistro for a daddy-daughter date! Okay, normally mom joins, but she had plans already! This was kinda last minute since my sister was in town. We had a good time together. (And no, i did NOT have cheesecake! Although I never do... I'm always way too full by then!)

This picture KILLS me... obviously Michelle & I should invest in some sunglasses - & my smile is a bit cheesy! I was laughing at something! Haha! But I still love it! :)

{SUNDAY}

Sunday I woke up feeling really bad. Got ready for church & at the last second decided not to go. I was just feeling terrible! I ended up napping from 11 to 1:30 - and maybe that's all I needed? I felt much better when I got up! I'm so glad, because I had some plans!

First, was Abby's gender reveal baby shower. So fun! 


So, Abby & Mac chose to do a gender reveal shower. Everything was decorated so cute! I voted boy & I was right! (I have realized that my guess is always right... the only times I've been wrong is when i changed my guess at the last minute - should have stuck with my gut! Haha! Obviously, it's a 50/50 chance, but it's still fun to take a guess!). Anyway, they already knew before the shower, they were just announcing to us. You can see in the bottom two small pictures that they're opening a box - i was a little late getting the shot of the balloons popping out, but you can see a stray blue balloon inside the box! :) There was lots of family there (they have a huge awesome family) finding out if they were having a grandson/nephew or a granddaughter/niece, so that was fun to watch too! 

The top pic of Abby & Mac is them holding a pic that says It's a Boy - perhaps i should have gotten a close up. Next to that is a pic of Abby & her oldest sister Aimie, who was my roommate for years & years & years until we finally both got husbands. Haha! I love her so much! And then the bottom left pic is of me & Abby. She is a doll! So happy for her & Mac. 

My weekend was amazing enough already, but I would have to say that the highlight of the whole thing was meeting Lindsey from A Dollop of my Life.


I was having a really hard time editing this one & finally just did black&white! We had almost NO lighting & it was with my cell phone! That's my story & I'm sticking to it! Haha!

So anyway... my next post may be about why it's so awesome to meet blog friends in real life, but I just have to tell you that i LOVED meeting Lindsey & I am wishing we lived a bit closer! She was so sweet & funny & easy to talk to. It was just comfortable hanging out with her & I can't wait to meet up with her again! We had a great time. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me, Lindsey!

Friday, February 24, 2012

TGIF, y'all!

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my last post. I am so excited to finally have reached that 25 pounds lost mark. It took me FOREVER (as you know if you read my weightloss blog), but it has been SO worth it. I still have about four more "25 pounds lost" to go, but I'll get there! I'm not in a rush! 

But seriously. I did that collage on the spur of the moment a couple days ago, and i was overwhelmed by the response i got here and on facebook. Y'all made my day! 

Can't wait to do another set of pictures. May it not take so long this time! Ha!

So, what else is new?

This weekend, I will - 
1.) Have breakfast at the in-laws
2.) Celebrate my MIL's birthday. I just love her. She is wonderful.
3.) Have lunch with my sister & our daddy! Yay!
4.) Work "Queen of Bingo" at the Manship Theatre. This show is HILARIOUS.
5.) Go to church. :)
6.) Attend a Gender Reveal Baby Shower. 
7.) Meet blogger Lindsey for the first time! Yay!

And... that pretty much sums up my weekend!

A week from today is my birthday. :) What shall I do?!

About Lent - I decided to give up sweets. (P.S. I've never participated in Lent before. But I decided to this year.) So far, so good. Also, my favorite speaker, Angela Thomas, was talking on her facebook about how Lent is not just a time of giving UP, but of GIVING. Giving to others. I was trying to think of something I could give, when my friend Laura shared this idea with me. She might have known it'd be right up my alley! What I am doing is writing a note of encouragement to a different person each day for 40 days. I am SO excited to do this & have done it faithfully each day so far. I have always been a card-writer, but it's been awhile. Thanks for the idea, Laura! Everyday I talk with another person who is hurting and i am so excited to be the person to speak some encouragement & love into their life!

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy weekend to you!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Can you see a difference?

I hope so... I can! :)

Next time I'll take better "before" pics, so you can really tell see it! I actually have some somewhere, but I can't find them. So I just took some pics from my heaviest weight & some from today. Also, please forgive the blurry-ness. I promise, better pics next time! 


 25 pounds down!

I still have a lot to go... but it's a good start! :) 

If you ever want to follow along, I blog all about this journey on my weightloss blog, Little Mrs. Married is Maintaining Victory. :)


My week in pictures - #7

I just realized I forgot to do this last week! Oops! 



Monday, February 13th
- A rose has bloomed by our trailer! Pretty! 
Tuesday, February 14th - Valentine's Day! Got these beautiful flowers from my man at work!
Wednesday, February 15th - Spontaneous dinner with my friend Tonya (& her sweet baby boy Ethan!)
Thursday, February 16th - How can you say no to a face like that?!
Friday, February 17th - My flowers are still looking good!
Saturday??? February 18th??? (I think!) - I got bored & made silly faces. :o) 

Saturday & Sunday, I did nothing but watch Downton Abbey! Such a good show! 

So there ya go! Just a bit behind. ;)

What I'm Lovin...

Just thought I'd share what I'm loving this week! :) 


{one} 
I'm loving that we were off yesterday for Mardi Gras! So today felt like Monday, but tomorrow is Thursday! How great is that?! Almost the weekend, again!


{two}
I'm loving that this weekend, I get to meet my blogger friend, Linds. :) 

{three} 
I'm loving that things have calmed down somewhat at my new job & i'm able to take the time to BREATHE & catch up on work that I should have gotten done when i was wayyyy too overwhelmed & stressed out! (I did get things done then. I just neglected other things due to not wanting to spend the night there! Ha!)

{four} 
I'm loving that a new gym has opened up in a good location for me that is ONLY 10 or 20 bucks a month! That is the greatest deal ever! Seriously. I say 10 or 20 b/c you can do 10/month to just workout or you can do 20/month to workout plus have a lot of other benefits (such as unlimited time in a massage chair, bring a friend for free everyday, or half off drinks). Both include unlimited personal training. Y'all. That is unheard of! This is Planet Fitness, in case you're wondering... do any of you have a Planet Fitness? Do you like it? I'm considering joining with that price that can't be beat! I mean, i spend $10 on lunch sometimes! I can save that & hit the gym each day after work! I've been missing Zumba & Bootcamp so much & it's always been good for me to workout on my way home. This would be a good alternative until we one day move in the same area as those classes i used to take! 

{five} 
I'm loving my husband. I mean, seriously. He is so funny & fun to be with & handsome & kind.
 
 (He looks so much like his cousin Chad in this picture, it's kind of freaking me out a little bit.)

{six}
I'm loving Aveda products! There are some definite perks to working there!
 I get the Smooth Infusion, because my hair has always been what I call "fluffy" & it's also always had little frizzies that annoy me... much better since using this product, I'm not even lying! And it smells sooo good!

{seven}
I'm loving that the "You Version" app on my phone has me reading the Bible daily. Sad that i needed a phone to help me with that, but hey, whatever works, right?

{eight}
I'm loving bloggers that are true to who they are & that don't have ads on their blogs! Like this one! (No offense if you have ads, it's just that it sometimes takes forever for your page to load & i also don't love ads popping up on the screen while I'm trying to start reading your blog! Just my preference! :))

{nine} 
I'm loving Laura's new series on Sugar. READ IT!

{ten}
I'm lovin this show. Downton Abbey. Except we're done watching now & Season 3 won't hit the US until this time next year. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? if you haven't seen Downton Abbey, you should start. Today. For real. 
 
John & Anna. {sigh!}

{eleven}
I'm loving everything you see on my Pinterest wish list board. And my birthday is next Friday. Just so ya know. ;) (I kid, i kid!)

Well, now. That was a very random list, wasn't it?! But there ya go. What I'm lovin today & everyday, lately! What are you lovin???

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Downton Abbey & televised funerals

So happy it's the weekend. We have been indoors all day as it has not stopped raining, not even for a minute! Lots of thunder and lightning, too. I'm sure our driveway is flooded. Who knows!? 

It's been such a nice lazy day, though. And I love my husband so much. We have so much fun together. We laugh & goof off & act silly & it's just FUN. I love life with him! 


We've had a great day. At some point, I talked him into watching some more Downton Abbey with me. Have you seen this show? I'm normally not a fan of historical pieces, but this show is just too good. The writing, the acting, the costumes, the plot... all of it... is just fantastic. Very well done. I love it! 

I started watching it awhile back without Brad, but on Valentine's night i got him to watch it with me, so we started over from the beginning. He watched the first two episodes with me. They're available on Netflix. So now he is hooked, too! On Valentine's we watched two episodes & then last night we watched two episodes! Today we watched the last three of season one (which i hadn't seen) & now are on season two. Yeah, we've pretty much been watching for hours. Just now taking a break. But it's so good, y'all! 


Everything else is fine. Hey, did anyone watch the funeral for Whitney Houston? I did not, personally. I think it is really strange that we televise funerals. Obviously her family was okay with it, or it wouldn't have been filmed, but still. To me, funerals are private. For the family & friends of the person who passed away. Those who actually really knew her! We don't know her. I love Whitney, I grew up on her music, too, but I didn't know her personally. I am sad she is gone,  but again... i didn't REALLY know her. I may like to think I knew her, but I didn't. And neither did any of her fans. I'm not trying to be cruel, and if you found comfort in watching her funeral, then great. It just weirds me out a bit to see someone's funeral on TV.

People were talking about this on Facebook & then some jumped in & said things like this, "I couldn't care less about Whitney Houston." and "A celebrity died? Who cares?! There are [insert a more important issue here] going on!" and the almighty, "She did it to herself. Let it be a lesson to all." These kind of comments always blow me away. It's like the other end of the spectrum. How can we judge her? She lived through some horrific things. Who cares if it was her own fault or not? 

Whitney wasn't my best friend, and though I was very sad to hear of her death, I didn't cry. I did cry, though, when i heard her daughter went to the hospital for anxiety (either the day or the day after Whitney's death, I can't remember). I mean that's her mother! It's sad to lose your mom, it doesn't matter WHY or HOW & it certainly doesn't matter if she's a celebrity or not! Y'all. Celebrity or not, they're REAL people with REAL emotions going through REAL things. Many of them are going through these things without Jesus. I guess all I'm trying to say is, have a little respect. And kindness. And a little less judgement & hypocrisy! Seriously!

Obviously this isn't to my readers! I can't imagine y'all saying these kinds of things! It just bugs me that people say such cruel things. I am quite sure that Whitney's pain & suffering were important to God. I'm quite sure that her depression & addiction issues were also important to Him.

So, that's my soapbox of the day. :)

Hope you're all having a good weekend! :)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Be mine.

I like Valentine's Day. 

I don't NEED Valentine's Day. Brad doesn't need it, either. He shows his love for me daily. And I do the same. We love each other & we are beyond thankful for each other. My marriage has only gotten stronger since it first began. And we love being together! 

Valentine's Day, for us, is just a day to do a little bit more to express our love & appreciation for each other. Or maybe just to have a little more quality time together on that day. Sure, we love each other all year long, but it's still fun to have a valentine. And after many years without a prospect in sight, you better believe I'm going to participate in Valentine's Day when I finally have a valentine! I mean, seriously! ;)

And I know flowers are cheesy, overrated, WHATEVER. Who cares? I LOVE flowers & i don't get them that often. Do i wish he had gotten them for me on February 15th just because it's NOT valentine's day & that means more? NOPE. It means just as much to me on February 14th as it would on the 15th. I love flowers. I don't care when i get them. 

ANYWAY. He got me flowers & they are GORGEOUS!


{iphone pics}

These beautiful flowers were delivered to me at work. And i love them!
1) He's never had flowers delivered to me at work.
2) It brightened my otherwise kinda crazy/stressful day!
3) It brightened up my office!
4) They smell SOOO GOOD! & They are GORGEOUS!

We both had work all day, and didn't feel like going to dinner. But we did order to-go food from one of our favorite restaurants. I got fish topped with crawfish etoufee. YUM! (Louisiana food that you need to try!) Brad got the fried shrimp platter. We ate it at home in our pj's after work while watching Downton Abbey. 

Speaking of that show, I am hooked. I'd heard people mention it & then randomly saw it on Netflix. I'm now about to start episode 7 of the first season. But last night we watched the first two episodes together, since Brad hadn't seen it before. He really liked it! Such a good show! 

So yeah. It was low key. But it was a good evening together. Are you wondering if I got him anything? Well, i made a stop at Baskin Robbins & got him his favorite: Mint Chocolate Chip. And a card. TRUST ME. There is nothing better I could have gotten him! Haha!

Also on Valentine's Day, our students did a Staff Appreciation thing. It was so sweet & SO MUCH WORK went into it, y'all! And money! Seriously... we do have some great students. 


First of all, i LOVE coffee mugs. I'm starting to want to collect cute/fun ones. And I love the big handle. I also love the hershey's hugs that it's full of - i may have to give those to my husband!! 

So, it was a good Valentine's Day! Yay! I hope you had one too! And i hope that you felt LOVED all day long! Because Valentine's Day isn't just about the men in our lives! It's about those that love us... parents, sisters, in-laws, girlfriends, whoever! We are so blessed to have people who love & care about us! 

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! 

XOXO

P.S. Dear singles, I really do understand why valentine's day sucks for some of you! If you don't believe me, read my love story as I touch on singleness there. Just hang in there. :) Also, this should make you feel better! :)


HA! A chic i work with posted this on her facebook & I laughed SO HARD! Even though I am guilty!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Saturday, Part 2: another party & a spontaneous double date!

So, Saturday was just a day of craziness! I go to the wrong baby shower & then I get the time wrong for a gender reveal party! 

My cousin(in-law)'s Gender Reveal party was scheduled for 2:00. Only, I had it in my head that it was at 4:00! Why? I have no idea. But i had some time to chill until time to go at 3:15. Just before getting off the internet, i checked the Facebook invite again. And i saw "2:00"! I was SO upset! I didn't want to miss the party!

I texted my sis-in-law to see if it was even worth us coming. I figured the gender had been revealed, but i just wanted to see everyone! However, I wasn't going to go if they were all leaving! I found out that they had not revealed anything yet, so we headed on over! About halfway there we found out that she wanted to wait for us! AHHH! I bet there were some unhappy people! Ha! Oops! 

When we got there, it was PACKED! Not a lot of room to move! But we were just in time! We put on a necklace to say what we thought baby would be. I have been going back & forth between boy & girl for Megan & Clay. It seems like when i guess "Girl", I'm right. Or when I'm certain it's a boy, I'm right. But when i go back & forth, it ends up being a boy! I have been going back & forth for Meg & finally decided on Girl. Same thing I did with my friend Amanda. Well, 



 It's a boy! 

 Jaimie (my sis-in-law) with the parents-to-be, Clay & Megan

We only stayed at the Gender Reveal for about 20 minutes! Remember, we were 2 hours late, so by the time we got there & they announced it, people were leaving! It felt like kind of a bummer to go out there for only 20 minutes! But as we were leaving, Brad said, "Hey, this is where Adam & Katie live. Want to see their house?" I said "sure", and as we were driving by, there was Adam outside mowing the lawn! I stopped & honked & he came to talk to us! Meanwhile, Katie drove up! They had just a few days before finished setting up their nursery for baby girl (due in May) & she was all giddy for me to come see! We went in & saw the sweet nursery & then decided spontaneously to have dinner with them! FUN TIMES! 

We let the pregnant woman choose & she wanted Casa Maria. :) We had a great time together! 

Adam & Katie :)

FUN TIMES!

Saturday, Part 1: Sarah's baby shower

Saturday was a great day! Had a really good time! 

I got up & dressed at my leisure (which I just love!), then headed to my friend Sarah's baby shower. Once I got to the right place (HAHA...read my last post to understand!), I had a great time mingling with my old bootcamp class. Y'all. I want to go back to bootcamp SO BAD! I pray we can move to Central this year so i can make it happen! It's just not feasible right now with my work schedule & location!


Anyway. The shower was great. I won the "name that baby food" game. I only got three right, though! Peas, Prunes & Squash! I missed Pears, Turkey & Mango!

They had great food there, and I thought it was so cute that someone made sausage biscuits! That has been Sarah's main craving!

Sarah got lots of great gifts, including an awesome stroller! Um, i would love this stroller when I have a bebe!



We had a great time!

 Sarah with her mom (in orange) & mother-in-law) (in blue!)

 2 girls from my bootcamp class, Mindy & Melissa

 Yum.

 This day I found that I'd hit the 25 pounds lost mark. I can see it in this picture. :) I will have to get out more to compare. :) Just some bootcamp ladies! 

Ashlie & Sarah! Ashlie is now another Body BaYou trainer. She's the one that got me to start going last year. Love both of these ladies! :)


FUN TIMES! Can't wait to meet Sarah's Baby Girl! One thing is for sure! She's going to be GORGEOUS!

P.S. I just want to say that all pics were done in manual, not auto. I see a lot of room for improvement but I also see a lot of improvement!! :) Yay, me!

Funny story, actually.

So, Saturday was pretty fantastic. Woke up in a great mood, had some time to get ready at my leisure (so much better than rushing around to get ready for work!) & then headed to a baby shower for my friend Sarah. Some of you may remember how I took bootcamp classes last year. Well, Sarah was our personal trainer. She is now due with a baby girl.


Funny story, though. Actually... REALLY funny story. I wish I could tell it to you all in person, because it's a lot funnier that way! But here we go.

I used my mapquest app on my phone to get to the house. I knew where the neighborhood was, just not the particular street. Once I got to her street, I put my phone away. I saw a whole lot of cars on the right side of the street & two or three on the left side. I saw two ladies get out of their car with gift bags & head to a house on my right. So, naturally, I parked myself in the same row of cars & headed to the same house.

Now, it was about 11:10 am & the shower was to start at 11. So nobody was outside. The ladies I'd seen were already in. At the last minute, I glanced up at the address on the house & thought "I'd better check to make sure I have the right place!" but then I realized I was only bringing my camera bag in & the address was on the invitation in the car. I shrugged, said "oh-well" & went on in. After all, there wouldn't be TWO baby showers at 11 o'clock in the morning on the same Saturday right across the street from each other would there???

Yeah... so i slipped in the house (here, you just go on in, it's fine because you're all welcome & the hostess is probably tied up. Besides, it was a glass door so i could see everyone anyway). I walk into a living room full of women about my age. I didn't see anyone I recognized but i didn't think anything of it. I thought maybe it was a bunch of new bootcampers that I hadn't met yet. A couple of them looked at me & smiled. Everyone is assuming I am just a friend of the pregnant woman!

Then, i head to the kitchen & I think at some point I start to realize subconsciously that this is not the house. I'm seeing blue streamers & balloons & a whole lot of faces I've never seen before. In the kitchen there were three older ladies (about my mom's age) & one of them came up to me & said,

"Hi, I'm Katie's mom! She's in the living room... I know it's crazy, lots of people in there, just look for the pregnant one!"

I nodded & smiled & turned towards the living room...then stopped in my tracks, turned back to the woman & said (very quietly!), "I'm sorry... what did you say her name was?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

She gave me a funny look & said, "Um, Katie?"

And then I said real fast, "I think I'm at the wrong shower, I gotta go!"


HAHAHAHAHHAHA!

Y'all! I laugh just THINKING about this! She kept cracking up laughing, too! I am sure once i was gone the whole house knew! HILARIOUS!

She burst out laughing & said, "Well, who are you?!" or I forget how she said it but she was joking with me & basically saying, "who is this stranger in my HOUSE?!"

I said, "I'm so sorry, I have a baby shower on this street & I saw all the cars & assumed..."

She said, "Well, who are you looking for, maybe i can help."

I told her Sarah's name. Blank look. I told her the girl's name who was hosting. Blank look. I finally said (as other women are catching on & coming closer!), "The address is in my car, I'll find it, I gotta go!!!!"

AHHHHHHH! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!

It was SO FUNNY!

I leave & pull out my phone (if only i'd checked that before i went in!) & see the address... it's right across the street! Right next door to the house DIRECTLY across the street! OH MY GOSH!

I went over there & had the best story!

SO there ya go. How i went to the wrong baby shower! Thankfully I found the right one!

Oh, yes. I did. I walked into the wrong baby shower. I straight up walked into someone else's HOUSE!

And, P.S. I wasn't that embarrassed. I just thought it was hysterical. I'm so glad it happened the way it did, though, if it HAD to happen! What would have made me just want to crawl in a hole & DIE is if i'd walked in when the girl was opening gifts or something b/c then the ENTIRE room would have looked at me! And the pregnant girl would have had NO IDEA who i was! HA!

My week in pictures - #6

Well, here is last week's pictures from Sunday - Saturday! Enjoy!


Picasa is not cooperating with me to make this collage! I have put the days on each picture twice now, I'm not doing it again! So. Here we go...


Sunday, Feb 5 (top left) - Photography Practice Downtown. Just a shot of the old governor's mansion.
Monday, Feb 6 (top right) - Some bracelets came in from Jillry. LOVE! You're missing out if you are not a fan of Jillry!
Tuesday, Feb 7 (2nd row, left) - House Managed for Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana at the Manship! Wish I'd gotten a better picture. AMAZING dancers!
Wednesday, Feb 8 (2nd row, right) - Photography practice on Fievel.
Thursday, Feb 9 (3rd row, left) - Dinner at old coworkers at Wendy's house! Monique, Wendy & Tonya!
Friday, Feb 10 (3rd row, right) - Fievel :)
Saturday, Feb 11 (bottom left & right) - Cake from Megan's Gender Reveal & a spontaneous dinner with Adam & Katie! :)

Friday, February 10, 2012

on gender reveal parties...

Last year was the year where everybody and their mama got pregnant. Okay, not their mama. Just most women I know. They are the majority right now, these mama-to-be ladies. Well, THIS year it seems, is the year of the baby shower. And the gender reveal party. Because it's getting closer to the due date for all of these mamas-to-be. My point, you're wondering?

This gender reveal party thing has really taken off. And I love it. So much so that I'm writing a whole post about them, when I'm not even pregnant.

I sort of attended my first one last Friday. I say "sort of" because it was via the wonderful world wide web & Google Plus. I am not a member of Google Plus (i was for about a day), but i became one again when i realized it'd allow me to be a part of the gender reveal party for my friends way out in Cali! Anyway, so they had their gender reveal & this picture was a result. I LOVE THIS PICTURE.


As you can see, it's a boy. :) They didn't know until this moment.

Now, if you're new to the whole gender reveal party idea, I will explain. I have seen this done two ways. One is where you (as the soon-to-be parents) find out at the ultrasound & announce to friends & family at the party. The other is where you do NOT find out at the ultrasound! Instead, you find out WITH your friends & family at the party. 

The first time I ever heard of them was (you guessed it) another blog. E from E, Myself & I did a gender reveal party & she had the cutest theme & decor! She got them all from Etsy & I just loved the whole idea when i read it! She & her husband found out what they were having at the ultrasound. They spent that day together with it being their little secret as they went around town getting stuff for their Gender Reveal party that evening. They invited a small group of close friends & family & it was "announced" by having the two grandmas-to-be cutting the cake together. Everyone wore pink if they thought it was a girl & blue for boy & it was just a really cute idea. Check out that post here.

After that, I googled about them & I think that is actually how I found my friend Callie at Through Clouded Glass. I still read her blog, I just like her so much! She, too, had a Gender Reveal party. Instead of cake/cupcakes/cake-pops, they used a pinata to do the big reveal! I thought that was pretty cool & original! My friend Ashlee at Blessed Chick also had a PRECIOUS gender reveal in May & she later had a girl. Her post is here.

It was later on that I realized many gender reveal parties are where the parents do NOT find out what they're having at the ultrasound. They have the tech write it down & put it in an envelope, they take the envelope to the bakery to do the cake. So when the party begins, the only two people who know what sex the baby is, are the ultrasound tech & the baker (& maybe other hospital/bakery staff, but you see my point!). That's how my friends in the above picture chose to do it, mainly because they're out in Cali with family here in Louisiana.

I used to think i would find out & it'd be just our way to announce to close friends & family, but after seeing Amanda's, I think I want to find out what we're having at the actual party with our friends & family. It was just so cool! I have had several friends do their gender reveals both ways, so i definitely think either way is a fun idea!

My husband knows all about the Gender Reveal party from me going on & on about them. See, i used to want to be one of those weirdo's who didn't want to find out what she was having until baby is actually born! :) BUT i know my family would hate me for it, and Brad is like, "NO WAY! I have to know!" HAHA! This, to me, is a happy compromise. A fun way to find out & announce to close family before you tell the whole facebook world. HA! So we'll definitely do this, when the time comes, whenever that may be!

Tomorrow, i have a baby shower to attend at 11 & then a Gender Reveal party for my husband's cousin Megan. And then at the end of February i am going to another Gender Reveal! Fun times!

Of course through Pinterest, I have seen a zillion cute gender reveal party ideas, so i will share a few here!


Source: thecakeblog.com via Melissa on Pinterest          Gender Reveal Cupcakes        




        Gender Reveal Cake





   Lots of different ideas to cast your vote.



  Lots of times, the food theme is the mama cravings! Cute idea!



     
And it doesn't have to be a pink/blue theme! This is a "What will it bee?" theme. :)

{ SO MUCH FUN!! }

Whew!

Well. Where do I begin? 

This week, I have been through hell. I guess it probably gets old to hear about someone's stress at work, but it's all that's on my mind these days, so hear it you must (Or not. You can always just skip over my blog for the day. I'll never know!). But no worries. I'm not going to go on too long about it! Well, maybe I will. Just this once? Okay, whatever. Skim if you must!

Can I just say what amazing friends I have though? 

Friday I worked 2 hours late, and didn't take a lunch break. I also took work home. Monday, same thing. A really bad day. Tuesday had its moments. I worked only about 45 minutes late, because I had to be at the Manship. I was EXHAUSTED but I made it. The stress, though, is going to kill me. I can't go on like this.

Wednesday. Wednesday was the worst. I made another giant mistake at work & it took me most of the day with students in my office to fix it. I think it was my 3rd day in a row to cry at work. Too much stress = tears for me, remember? Anyway. At one point on Wednesday... probably around 2:00... I sent an emergency HELP! text to a few girlfriends. Girlfriends that i knew would lift me up in prayer. My text said,

"Will somebody pray for me? I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown at work. I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never felt so incompetent or like such a failure in my life!"

And I received the following responses:

"You got it, girl! I am sorry you are having those feelings, but you are NOT a failure nor are you incompetent. In Jesus name I pray for peace, strength & joy over you right now! Love you, Mel!"

"Aw, Mel! No way! Whatever it is, you can't believe that lie! Lifting you up! Love you!" 

"I'm sorry. Praying right now!" 

"I just saw your message. Praying for you, girl. You are NOT a failure, you are more than a conqueror!! And you can do all things with Jesus! You are fully equipped to do this job, and you will do it with excellence!" 

"1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on HIM because he cares for you." I don't know what you are facing right now but I am praying for you at this exact moment! Stop what you are doing, take some deep breaths & regroup. You CAN DO whatever is on your plate right now at work right now! The Lord brought you to that job for a reason. I realize it might not feel like it right now, but He did! He knew you would have this day & those feelings! Lord, I pray for strength & confidence for Melissa right now! Guide her emotions and take away her frustrations! Encourage her & give her peace! Love you, Mel!"

I mean! How awesome to have such amazing friends who speak such truth into my life?! And i have MORE friends like this, such as my besties Sarah & Laura & so many others, but these are just my friends who text & I only had about 5 seconds to send a quick message to some friends! Haha! Anyway, i read those & kept working and at some point... quickly, like within 30 minutes... I realized I was in a MUCH better frame of mind & the stressful situations lightened up a little. Just a little, but i was definitely able to handle it better. Things changed so much so that I KNEW beyond the shadow of a doubt that they really were praying for me, and not just saying it! (LOVE Y'ALL, you know who you are!)

Some of them even sent another message the next morning to let me know they were still thinking about me & praying for me! 

And then on Thursday, a wonderful person from corporate came to train me on some things & to talk to me again about all this stress! I am sure my boss told her that i was on the brink of a breakdown! Haha. We met with some other people to explain some changes we will be making...not major ones but things that will make a huge difference anyway! And as long as i stick with the calendar, meeting deadlines, i will be FINE. And I believe again that i can actually do this!

So Monday I have a lot of work to do, but I know that I can do it. And if i get stuck, i have two people I can call to help me through it. The girl from corporate will come back to help out on Tuesday & the woman who has my position at our Lafayette location will come later in the week. I'm going to get through this! 

I'm really glad, because I do not want to go anywhere else. There is so much i love about this place already. I just want to be successful. In my last job, i was great at it, I was well respected & worked hard & was very organized. If someone asked me for something, I knew right where it was! It's been the complete opposite here & I can't help but think that these people have never seen someone so not organized & so incompetent before! My husband says "who cares what they think?" but i do not want them to think i'm incompetent because I'm NOT! It just seems like it right now for several reasons! But i will just continue to do my best & they will find over time that i am AWESOME! HAHA! 

So there ya go. And today? Today I'm off. I slept till 9, got some coffee, took a long hot bath with a magazine, & now I sit in comfy clothes, on the couch, with the perfect temp, Fievel curled up beside me, with the sound of rain in the background. NICE. I deserve it! And I need it! 

So that's the story & why I've been MIA. Thank you if you've been praying for me. Much love. xoxo


Saturday, February 4, 2012

My week in photos - # 5

Another week in photos for you!


Week 5 of 2012
{January 29-February 4}

(February 4th not actually included...oops!)


Sunday, January 29th - Soup, Salad & SAGs at Charlynn's house! Emily, Charlynn, Lauren & moi!

Monday, January 30th
- Monday was a tough day. Came home & had a glass of wine & a long hot bath.

Tuesday, January 31st - My pants were literally falling off me! Down 24 pounds now! Woohoo!

Wednesday, February 1st - The students at school surprised the staff with a little love! 

Thursday, February 2nd - Had to work at the Manship this night. Here are two coworkers, Logan & Erin. Love them!

Friday, February 3rd - Not exactly "my" picture, but it was definitely the highlight of my day! My friends, Amanda & Matt, had their Gender Reveal Party...this pic is just beautiful to me! I'll be posting it in full-size later, because it just makes me so happy! I attended via those hangout thingies in Google Plus... just so i could be there for the reveal! They live in Cali now, so they had other family watching that way, too. Anyway, as you can see by the cake, it's a BOY! So fun!!


HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

Soup, Salad & SAGs!

Last Sunday night we had Girl's Night at Charlynn's. LOVE her place. So cute! Anyway, it'd been far too long since our last little get together & we were anxious to see each other! We decided on Soup & Salad Night, and as you may have figured, we watched the SAG awards, too. Fun times!

Charlynn preparing her Sensation Salad. It was delish!


Emily & Lauren arrive...

 And later, Rachel, who is Charlynn's best friend & who i just recently met. I LOVE her! It's like having two Charlynns in the same room, which is pure goodness!

The soups were delish. I made the Tomato Basil Parmesan, and Char made a Sausage Lentil soup! We had the Sensation salad, plus a ramen noodle kind of salad that was amazing, a tomato & mozzerella salad (so good!) & an avocado-mango salad! YUM! All salads I hadn't had before & all were so good! We had tons of food & a wonderful time talking & laughing!

Some of us had mugs, so we could have a little of each soup!
At this point, we were stuffed. ;)

 Natalie, Emily & Rachel



 Cannot tell you how much i love this woman!

Emily was just snapping away. This one makes me smile. :) 

 Me & Emily! (She blogs now, by the way. Go give her some love!)

 Love these girls! 

They're silly, too!

I love this one! 

Good times. Hope to do it again soon! Gotta love girlfriends!