Some of My Very Favorite Things

life is funny. it has a funny way of sweeping you a way and getting you lost in the everyday.

but then there are certain things, moments that make you inexplicably happy.

it kind of makes the world stop for a minute and you can simply......enjoy.

and they're those kind of memories and moments that you want to savor - never forget.

and the same thing happens with marriage.

you get comfortable.

you get caught up in the busyness of life.

and then...then there are those special moments that bring back the butterflies in your stomach the giddiness in your life.

today i was thinking about this.

there are a few things that chris and i have that from the outside, sound so dumb, but they are absolutely some of my absolute favorite things about the marriage we have.

and so i thought i'd share them.

mainly for the simple fact that i'll have this in writing to look back on ;)...but to encourage you also to find your happiness in the small things.

every year on christmas eve, chris and i eat dinner at the waffle house and we always leave a big tip. it's literally part of our christmas budget. it started our first year of marriage - we lived about an hour from our family and with all the traveling we did on that day, it was super later before we actually got to eat and it was the only thing open. from then on, it was a tradition. i love it so much...so simple, yet so us.

this past christmas we were on our way home on christmas day to get ready to head to the next family gathering. we happened to drive by a starbucks and saw they were open so we stopped and got coffee. now it is very rare that we go to starbucks. and i don't know, there was seriously just something magical about going to starbucks christmas morning in our pjs. we decided right then and there we would add it to our christmas tradition.

now something that is super exciting is that it's almost college football season! goooooo dawgs!

we got really in to college football a few years ago and it is absolutely one of my favorite things that we do together. i love that our saturdays revolve around a football game. i can't explain it in the least, but it makes my heart so super happy.

you see, to the everyday person, this isn't anything to write home about.

but for me, for my heart, it's shear bliss!

Sunday Grace

A Little Healthy Inspiration

Thanks Pinterest!

I'm really not a couch potato, but....

I feel like I'm always blogging about a new tv show.

And y'all, I'm seriously not a couch potato. I just always have the tv on in the background while I work.

You know, multi-tasking.

So recently I've been "multi-tasking" with The Braxton Family Values.

Now, I was born in the 80s. Which means I am a fan of music from the 90s. Personally I think it was one of the greatest musical eras! But anyway, I loved me some Toni Braxton.

For realio.

And she lives in Atlanta.....holla!

But she and her family have a show on We right now and I'm totally sucked in!

I love it!

And I think you should check it out.

And that's all for a little random Friday post! ;)

30 Before 30....An Update

I finally decided to take a look at my 30 before 30 list and see if I had made any progress. I've completed 4 things off the list. 4!!! I'm pretty sure it's been almost a year since I created this and I've only managed to complete 4 things! I've got some work to do. And now I've only got 2 years to make it happen. I realize some of these won't make it, but honestly, I can do better than 4.

re-cap: Ok, so far, here's what has been completed:
1. Spend a weekend watching movies
2. I completely enjoy working out now
3. I have definitely expanded the music collection and it is still expanding
4. And I most certainly started a non-profit. Now, it needs A LOT of work, but it exists nonetheless.

So I think my goal for the next 6 months is to complete the following:

• Read 6 new books (I have a few in the Que: The Help, Happier, Made to Crave, Heaven Is For Real)


• Go hiking


• Plant an herb garden


• Go to a wine tasting (which technically I did in Oklahoma last December at Girls Gone Wine, but I'm thinking for this I need something more like Chateau Elan)


• And losing the 80 pounds. So far I'm down a little over 20, so that's really only 60 to go. And well, by August I have to be down another 30 for a challenge at work, so really from August to the end of the year lose another 30 and I've hit it!

What are your suggestions for actually achieving your goals?

Drop Dead Happy!

The last two weeks have been spent deep in the throws of photo editing! It is wedding season after all!

But I did have one great joy while spending endless days staring at the computer....Drop Dead Diva. Now I've told you about my love for this show before...and that was only season 1! Chris discovered all of Season 2 on demand with our cable, and it was only available until 6/20. So I watched all of Season 2 this past weekend and the best part? The Season 3 premier Sunday night!!! Wahooo!

Yes, the show is cheesy at times, but overall I'm completely addicted.
And you know what else?
It's filmed right her in the great state of GA! Holla!

Healing.

So just a warning...this post will talk about my monthly visitor.

You know, Aunt Flow.

If you don't want to hear about her, don't read.

But if you do, I promise it's not nasty.

Okie dokie.....

I'm pretty sure I've said before that I have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome).

This lovely ailment has caused me to never have a regular period and does not allow me to get pregnant on my own.

It is also the source of my weight gain.

I went on birth control at 15 to regulate my period. When I got married, I went off of it and gained 65 pounds in a year. Of course that alarmed the doc and with lots of testing, we found that PCOS was the culprit.

So pretty much for 7 years I've been off of the pill. I have two to four periods in a year on my own.

And it's also no secret that I want a baby....really really bad. I mean most couples have their first child within a couple years of being married. Not almost seven. And God has heard my cries and seen my tears in the most awful of ways.

But something has happened in the last six months.

You see, since January, I have had a regular cycle every month.

EVERY month. NEVER happened.

I've been joking with Chris that "maybe God decided to heal me".

But then something hit me tonight.

Why am I joking about that?

Do I not trust God's promises enough to believe that He could/has truly healed me?

Or am I just scared this is some fluke?

Why wouldn't I boldly declare that this is only the works of God?

And no, I'm not pregnant now, but the fact of having a regular cycle is something awesome in itself....something most girls take for granted and hate.

And then.....THEN....I ran across this tonight:

This is what the Lord says: "I have heard your prayers and seen your tears. I will heal you."

~2 Kings 20:5

And of course there's this song by Hillsong:

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Hmmmmmm.

The Weigh Things Are Going

I just realized that I haven't given a weight loss update lately!

Ok, well I've still been on track with working out and eating right. This past Saturday I hit the 20 pounds lost mark! Woot woot!

I've still got a ways to go, but I'm in it to win!

So this Monday we launched a Celebrity Fit Club at work. We all weigh in with one person...whose sworn to secrecy and being judgement free!

Ick! First time someone has seen my weight in years!!!

But we're all in this competition and I'm ready to win it.

I have a really good chance.

I want to lose 40 pounds in 12 weeks.

It's totally doable.

Completely.

I have to consistently lose 4 pounds a week for the first few tho.....stepping it up.

It's been really funny in the office because we're literally lunging through the halls!

I'm about to buy pedals that go under my desk so I can exercise and work all day!

I love it!

I'm still living the low carb lifestyle, and doing surprisingly well. I'm pretty proud of 20 pounds gone in 2 months.....I really feel like I've got this.

Praise Jesus!

I know this is an area He's going to give me victory in....I can feel it!

I have a serious, serious obsession...

....with the colors of teal and red. It seriously makes my heart pitter patter like nothing else. This is my inspiration:

Just a few things...

So this weekend (while editing photos) Chris and I had a Dexter marathon of season 4. OMG, we're seriously addicted. And I seriously feel like something is wrong with me for my love for this show. I mean come on.....it's about a guy that's a serial killer. And somehow, you find yourself on his side and insanely intense. I don't know what the appeal is, but I'm hooked.

I'm totally rocking out this CD right now - Mandisa's newest "What If We Were Real". Ummm....so so so super good. For realz!

I would just like to publicly declare that I think Need To Breathe is one of the greatest bands ever to grace the radio. I heart them mucho!

And that is all.

Love These

So I literally did not move this weekend. All day Saturday and Sunday was spent completely immersed in photo editing. I managed to narrow 3500 pics to about 1000. Craziness. Still a lot to go, but I love it. Here are a few of my faves from the bunch! Love these two!

Asian Beef Salad....Mmm Mmm Good!

Marinade and Dressing Base:
4 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, pushed through a press
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons no-sugar-added rice-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon granular sugar substitute
½ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon dried ginger

Salad:
1½ pounds beef sirloin, cut against the grain in 1/8-inch strips
2 tablespoons canola oil
6 cups mixed salad greens
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 can (8-ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained

Directions:

1. Mix green onions, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sugar substitute in a small bowl.
2. Pour half into a resealable plastic bag; add steak and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. To remaining soy sauce mixture, add curry powder and ginger.
3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Drain beef and discard marinade; quickly stir-fry beef 2 to 3 minutes in hot oil for medium doneness.
4. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add salad greens, bell pepper, water chestnuts and reserved soy dressing. Toss to coat.

Nutritional Information
Per Serving:

Net Carbs: 6.0 grams

Fiber: 4.6 grams

Protein: 40.7 grams

Fat: 15.3 grams

Calories: 361

Recipe Information:

Makes: 4 servings

Prep Time: 0:15:00

Marinate Time: 12:00:00

Cook Time: 0:05:00

Cool Time: 0:00:00

Patterson Family - Maternity Session {Atlanta Area Photographer}

you may recognize this family......

they are some of my favorite repeat customers!

holly and brannon are expecting their second child, so naturally we needed to document this!

we had a lot of fun with this one....balloons are my new obsession.

i mean seriously, doesn't a balloon instantly bring happiness?