The after-holiday lull

Now I won't go so far as to say that I have a lot of disposable time after the holidays, but I typically find myself will a bit extra time to accomplish things {you know, like cleaning up, decorating, going to the gym, cooking, oh, and blogging..}

Now that it's the day after Christmas, I felt the need to try to get back into the swing of things. I'm prepping for a New Year {yes, I know the holidays are technically "over" until after New Years, but you get what I mean..} My resolution for 2015 is to do things to create a better mind, body, and spirit. I know that's pretty vague, but what I mean is, I need to do things to enhance myself as a person. I am going to enhance my mind by accepting and overcoming challenges at work and in my personal life instead of maintaining the ordinary. I plan to enhance my body by fueling it with healthy foods and exercising. I'm also going to make sure that I take all of my makeup off before bed {I know, I'm horrible, but you can't say that you aren't guilty of falling asleep with your face on..it's a habit that I don't want to continue a minute longer..}

I'm very much looking forward to what 2015 will bring me. I know it's going to bring me two little nieces or nephews to go along with my PERFECT one year old nephew, my little squirmy wormy, Tommy Pickles. I'm thrilled to be Auntie M again. Although Charles and I aren't ready for children yet ourselves, we are getting ready by all of the love from these sweet babies in the family.

My holidays were perfect. This was actually one of the better Christmases I've had in awhile, despite missing my sweet nephew the whole time. Can you tell I'm obsessed? It's hard not to be.

Actually, our whole December was wonderful. It started off with my birthday {25, I can't even..I had a slight panic attack on the way to work on my birthday because I can't believe I'm 25..} and then wait for it, wait for it...

CHARLES GRADUATED COLLEGE WITH HIS DEGREE IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP!

Proud doesn't even begin to cover the feelings I'm having over his accomplishment. What a stud! I was overwhelmed with the fact that so much family came in to support him on his big day. He isn't one to make a big fuss over things like that, but I think he secretly enjoyed getting some attention :)

Let me leave you with a few pictures from lately...

"Let no man pull you low enough to hate him."

If there was ever a time for coffee..

I’m back, I’m back!

We need to stop meeting like this…and by this, I mean so few and far between.

I guess that would be my fault. Moving on.

The weeks have been going by so slow, yet so fast at the same time. With Charles starting his new job and me starting my new position, it’s been a whirlwind. We have both been going into work earlier, staying at work later, and sleeping less, but we still have managed to make time for each other, thankfully. Even if it’s just been taking the dogs for a quick walk around the block {which, I might add, the weather has been perfect for}or grilling out together, or even just sitting down when we can and talking about our days for ten minutes without getting on our phones or watching television. Pure uninterrupted bliss.

Our time is also being fought for because of things we have had to do around the house, finishing up projects, charity events, and weddings for friends. I promise you, fall brings on a whole new season when it comes to weddings. This coming weekend should be pretty calm, {I’m actually going to try to convince Charles that we need to  spend Friday night outside, carving pumpkins {or painting them!}, grilling out, and maybe building a fire if we are feeling really rowdy!} but Sunday we are helping my mom out with a party hunt for her junior high school classes. It’s always a blast to help out with the kids and see how much fun they are having together outside of class, and working together as a team.

Next weekend it’s a wedding shower and a housewarming…both around the same time, so I’m sure it’s going to be a mad dash of a Sunday for me. Then the next weekend is a wedding reception in another town..wow, this schedule keeps growing on me!

I would say I wish that my schedule would stop growing, but I know it won’t until after the holidays, and I really don’t mind it. This is a wonderful time of year! November is closing on in, and that means bountiful holiday happiness!

As mentioned last time, I’ve already started getting a little prep in for Christmas, since the end of November and all of December is hectic {my mom’s birthday, my birthday, our work holiday party, Charles’ graduation, Charles’ birthday, Christmas…} so I ordered my Christmas cards and holiday return address labels already and cannot wait to fill them out and send them to family right after Thanksgiving {I’ve got to secure a good place on everyone’s fridge!}

Now I need to start getting my Thanksgiving plan of attack together. It’s gotten a lot more hectic around Thanksgiving time now that we have two families to factor in. Charles and I are typically exhausted and full after Thanksgiving and all the running around we do. It will immensely help me if I can find out early what everyone expects me to cook, so that I can have everything planned and prepped beforehand. Then, I get to plan my Black Friday plan of attack, which let’s face it, is extremely important.

Ok, ok. As promised, let me get to the pictures..

Look at these CUTE mules I found? I cannot wait to have a few mojitos in these babies.

Have I mentioned how much I love fall and this AMAZING weather? Have I mentioned how much I love my patio and lights? Have I mentioned how much I love wine? Yes.

The husband and I at a charity fundraiser

Decorating my table for fall. LOVING this white pitcher as a vase for these fun fall flowers.

Taking grandma JB out to dinner!

My mister

Went to the fair with my mom and dad, and these two just had to have a Krispy Kreme cheeseburger. Sound like a lot of calories? Yeah. But it's pretty delish.

Blues Fest fundraiser with this handsome

I sleep with dogs. These two dogs, actually. If you look closely, Milli is sticking her tongue out at you.

I couldn't resist. What's better than snuggles and fall weather outdoors with this sweet baby?

 

Ok, friends, that's all she wrote. Until next time...

 

"I hereby arm myself today with coffee and the willingness to be wrong"

 

The Early Bird gets the..

Hello, blog land!

I know it’s only October 7^th, which means we have several upcoming holidays before the end of the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday {yeah, it’s a holiday in my book..}, my birthday AND Charles’ birthday {again, holidays..} and finally Christmas! I’m typically pretty gung ho on not rushing holidays – every holiday deserves it’s time in the limelight – yet every year, it seems like Christmas items come out faster and faster.

I’ve made it no secret that fall is my favorite season there is. There’s something about the crisp fall air perfect for grilling and having a bonfire and opening windows and the candles and football and I better stop now because I could ramble on for paragraphs. End rant. So don’t get me wrong with what I’m about to tell you. I love fall. I don’t want fall to be rushed. It is wonderful and perfect in its own right. BUT…

I was perusing Wal-Mart last week and the aisles by the garden center {and, well, the whole garden center} was starting to be filled up with Christmas items: ornaments, wreaths, wrapping paper, outdoor decorations, etc. At first I was mortified. “It’s the beginning of October, for goodness sake” I thought to myself as I passed by. I even shook my head in disgust for their lack of patience.

Then I started thinking, “well Christmas is coming up…I really should start planning so that my December isn’t the typical month of panic and holiday rush that it usually is.” With both of our birthdays and Charles’ graduation in December this year, along with Christmas parties, getting together with friends, work parties, family in town, and the like, I couldn’t help but think that I was already behind.

Then I quickly thought about how I can actually fully decorate our new house this year, and started thinking of how I wanted to decorate {insert three hours on Pinterest here}. Side not, the pinterest for three hours thing led to Youtube tutorials on how to make various Christmas crafts..it wasn’t pretty. Too much time was spent, and now I feel like this weekend I’m going to make a trip to Michael’s or Hobby Lobby or somewhere to get items to craft..for Christmas…over two months away.

I realize I took this too far, and I can slow down on the need to Christmas craft until at least next month, but there are a few things I feel that if I do now, it will save me time and sanity around December and the Christmas holiday so that I can enjoy time with my wonderful husband and our families. Of course, I am going to share this with you now!

Without delay, here are a few tasks that I feel would be beneficial to start doing now in Christmas preparation, and things I am already starting to do:

1.)    Start making a Christmas List!  This one is just too easy, I think everyone starts this pretty early. Start finding out what your loved ones want for Christmas! That way you’re not running around 20 stores trying to find something that your husband’s family would like {yes, this was me last year…} I have my family as well as Charles’ family to plan for, and sometimes I can find it a bit challenging to manage. I’ve already started an “idea list” for all of my family and friends, and some of them are a bit difficult to buy for. Thanks to google, I’ve found several idea pages with lists for presents for the photographer in your life, the nature lover, the cook, etc. Through these lists I’ve found more than one present idea for the difficult to buy for people in my life, and I still have time to order them online and have them here in plenty of time! Make. A. List. Early.

2.)    Decide how you want to decorate your house!   Yes, I am giving you permission to go pinterest crazy and figure out your Christmas theme! If you’re like my husband and I, you decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, and I’d like to have all of my decorations at the house and ready for me to put up, instead of running around last minute trying to decide what I want to do.

3.)    Craft for Christmas!  Why not have a crafting party early with some girlfriends {throw in some wine and some fondue and I might even show up!} This helps out with number 2 on my list. Get some cute items decorated while you still have some time. This works well if you’re not a big football fan. Spend the time your husband is watching the game crafting. It’s a win win situation!

4.)    Order your Christmas Cards!  I do this mid- October each year, that way they come in early, I can slowly address them and type up our Christmas letter, and I’m all set to stick them in the mail right after Thanksgiving. The early bird gets the worm..and the best spot on everyone’s fridge! Vistaprint has some great cards and amazing specials and prices. Take advantage before all Christmas Card companies start raising the rates, which they always do closer to Christmas.

5.)    Plan your calendar!  I know my work already has our Christmas party scheduled. I know I want to have a holiday exchange party with some girlfriends. I know various family members will be coming in town. I know Charles graduates in December. So. Much. Happens. Plan early so you don’t over-extend yourself, or overbook yourself.

 

Alright, I've shared enough wisdom with you for one morning. I will be back shortly! I'll try to do some fun things so I can share some pictures with you next time ;)

 

 

Sudden Changes

Times, they are changing, my friends!

I'm not exactly certain where I left off, so I'm just going to take a guess and see if I'm somewhat accurate {before you say anything, I know I could look at the last post and see, but I just don't feel up to that challenge.}

So first and foremost, Charles has left his over-seven-year-long journey with a local bank in town to work with a Property Management company and work towards getting his real estate license.

Big. Change. Scary change {albeit I didn't want to admit that to Charles at first..}

You know, you get in these comfort zones and getting out of them seems like the worst possible thing in the world. In reality, it's not the worst thing in the world, it could be some of the most positive changes that unless poked and prodded to do so, you might never make these changes. I think this is one of those times in our lives. We became so complacent with our routine  that we never thought that changing things up would benefit us.

Turns out, this job could end up being the best thing for us.

I also took a plunge into the deep end of the corporate job pool, and accepted a promotion with my workplace as the Training and Quality Specialist. I can hardly CONTAIN my excitement over that one. Funny thing is, I said the one thing that I never {I repeat, never wanted to do was teach, and here I am..doing basically just that.}

In other recent events, my sweetie pie nephew turned one and we got him a bubble mower. It's good to know that at least some of the classic toys are still around..even it was upgraded with full lawn mower sounds.

We also celebrated our ONE year wedding anniversary. I simply cannot, will not, believe that it has already been a year since I walked down the aisle.

I would have more pictures to share, but I broke down and got the new iPhone 6, and my pictures are still on my old iPhone. So I'll share you a bit of what I have on my new phone {not much, sadly}

 

Nothing like relaxing in beautiful fall{ish} weather on the patio with you snazzy new patio furniture.

 

Cutting into our wedding cake!

 

Such beautiful flowers from the husband of one year.

 

More cake shenanigans.

Alright everyone, that's all for now, I'll try and get more interesting for next time. Until then, WATCH OUT WORLD, the Alley's are coming through!




When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light. Give thanks for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. And if perchance you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in yourself. - Chief Tecumseh

In the middle of September..

I’m so thankful to live in a world in which there are Septembers. Happy {almost} FALL Y’ALL!

 

I am feeling like a horrible excuse for a blogger recently. I am letting life get in the way. I’m usually too busy to take a step back, and then when I am actually free for a weekend {or a weeknight}, I savor the moment and just don’t.do.anything!

Football season is here, which makes me a very happy camper. Sitting on the couch bundled under a blanket on a Saturday afternoon, blogging and perhaps perusing pinterest, food in the crockpot, watching a college game, and cuddling with two extra snuggly puppies is the epitome of perfection. Weekends are about to get a lot more relaxing and enjoyable.

Our weekends have been so taken over by weddings and showers and the lake and visiting family {the list could literally go on and on} that we haven’t really had a chance to just relax and enjoy our own company, so I will jump with joy to sit at home and enjoy the calm fall.

I say that fall will be calm, but September will be a bit hectic. With heading to Dallas again for our sweet nephew’s first birthday party, then our {…drumroll please, wait for it…} ANNIVERSARY! It does not feel like a year has come and gone, but it has! We plan on spending a nice relaxing long weekend together and taking some much needed time to ourselves. I couldn’t be more thrilled.

I honestly feel just about the happiest that I have ever been. Work is just fabulous, my home life is the most wonderful thing in the world, I’m getting to spend quality time with my friends, and it’s coming up on THE most wonderful time of the year.

I hope to sneak some more routine updates on here soon.

 

 

 

 

Officially time for some ARKANSAS tailgating! WPS!

Fall nights on the patio with beautiful sunsets..

So thrilled to get nominated to be featured in The Skill and the Will for my work!

Home improvements... ;)

Our beautiful table decorated for a wine tasting bridal shower we threw!

Enjoying Lake Ouachita from a hot tub on a houseboat!

Nothing screams fall like baking and a glass of wine!

My sister twin

Celebrating the COLLEGE GRADUATE!

"When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you"