2012: A Lott to Remember

The year is winding down and I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the fun things that I've done this year. This year has been full of ups and downs, but isn't every year? You take the good and you take the bad, you take them both and then you have, the facts of life (you can thank Survivor: Philippines for that flashback). Now, let's get started! 

January

In January, our babygirl Kimber turned one! She was a whopping 75 pounds and a ball of energy. Some things never change! Also in January, George and I attended the first concert that we have BOTH enjoyed together. Thank you Corey Smith! It was bound to happen! We claimed a spot right adjacent to the stage and immediately next to the bar and had a great time! Corey Smith's best shows are acoustic for sure!

Also in January, George and I bought road bikes: an adventure that never really made it anywhere. It's tough to get into cycling! Hopefully when George gets a better schedule going for him, we can get into like we really need to. It has the potential of being really fun! 

February

February was a pretty exciting month for me. I did something in February that I never thought I would ever be able to do in my whole life. Literally. I put my mind to it, in the process I completely ruined my feet, but I did it. I ran a half marathon! I couldn't be more proud of myself than I was when I crossed that finish line. So many emotions run through your head. 1) OMG I actually did it! 2) Okay, I can stop running now, but I think I'm going to fall over 3) Really legs, you can stop 4) Alright I guess I'll keep walking 5) TEARS. So many tears. Shaking. Disbelief. It's so surreal. 

My support system for this half marathon was incredibly important. I couldn't have done it without them. Hopefully one day I will be able to run again. Also in February was the Miranda Lambert concert with one of my best friends in the whole world and I went to Canada for the first time ever! 

March

In March, I ran a 10k with work. I don't think I was ready for it coming off of that half marathon, but I was an overzealous rookie runner. Oh well. Had fun! 

Also in March, I got pretty freaking good at shooting my .22 at the range. Check it out! These are 9 round groupings: 

Yeah, you don't want to mess with me! :) 

April

In April, baseball season started so my life consisted of going to work, coming home, watching baseball and doing it all over again the next day. I love baseball season! This year we went to the home opener and this  happened: 

Yeah, just the whole roster standing about 30 feet away from me! Also in April I did something else that I've never done before. I went to a Paint Your Pet day at a paint studio in Tallahassee. It was so much fun and I LOVE my painting of my pretty Kimber girl. See? 

May

May was Talledega! My favorite weekend of the year. Nothing but NASCAR and the best friends/family that you could ever have from only seeing each other once a year! I especially love it when it falls on Cinco de Mayo! Things like this tend to happen:

And this too: 

Really, nothing gets better than that. In May, the Mr and I celebrated 2 years of marriage together. That's a pretty big milestone now-a-days, as sad as that is. Don't worry though, we love each other more than ever. :)

June

June was the month my ovary tried to kill me. At least that's what it felt like. Apparently when a cyst in your ovary bursts, it feels like someone has reached through your stomach, grabbed a hold of your ovary and is twisting it as hard as they can and will not let go for anything. It's the most painful thing I can ever remember going through. Thankfully George was there to help get me to a doctor and get it taken care of, as much as they could. They informed me that I have another in my other ovary. It may burst, it may not. It's like a ticking timebomb. I'm overjoyed about it. Really. I do not envy anyone with PCOS. I can't even imagine. 

On a lighter note, in June my daddy got to come home for a little bit! Here we are hanging out back home: 

I was having a fantastic hair day. Like father like daughter, am I right? 

July

July was filled with baseball, babies and cowboy parties (it bothers me that I couldn't think of another 'b' word to finish that out). I think we went to 2 Braves games in July. Have I mentioned how much I love the Braves? No? Well, I do. In addition to the Braves games, one of my sweetest, dearest friends, Maggie (who can be found over at Maggie the Mrs.) had a beautiful baby shower for her handsome (not-quite-born-yet) baby boy Will. We had a tremendous time. 

We're adorable, we know. :) Oh, and here's a picture from our cowboy party:

Any excuse to wear my cowboy hat is a good excuse! Just sayin'.

August

In August, my mom's house was broken into and she walked in on it. I can't believe how incredibly blessed my momma is. The guy had my dad's loaded revolver and decided to just run out the back door when she walked in. I don't even know what I would have done. Life is too short everyone! Love on each other as much as you can, as often as you can for as long as you can. That was too close! 

September

Okay, so I'm not gonna lie - I'm using Facebook to figure out what has happened over the course of this year. If you are my friend on FB you should really check out my September updates. It starts with this: "The greatest 2 months of my life is upon us: NASCAR, Baseball and College Football all at once! I can't even begin to describe how happy I am!" Then it proceeds to be updated on the following, in the following order: 

Braves, Braves, Braves, Braves, throat hurts, Braves, throat hurts, feet hurt, Braves, UGA, UGA, UGA, Falcons, Braves, Braves, long week, Braves, I WON A LAPTOP!, Braves, Braves, UGA, UGA, UGA/Braves (same status), Braves, Braves/Falcons (same status), Motors on Main car show, "LOL TECH", UGA, Falcons, Braves, Braves, Braves, Braves, UGA, Falcons, Braves. 

This was not an exaggeration. I think I might have a problem. Okay, not really. I love it. 

October

Basically the same statuses were happening in October. But, there were a few highlights that should be noted. I got to hear Laura Bush speak thanks to the best bosses in the entire universe. 

She was beautiful and so elegant and classy. Everything you think she would be. She was not a disappointment, that's for sure! I loved every minute of her speech. Also in October was my fantastic Mario outfit for Halloween and my very first blog post. I really didn't realize that was in October! 

November

In November I made a cosmetic change for myself. I dyed my hair dark again. My hair is naturally dark, and it's been SO long since it's been dark, so I decided it was time. 

I freaked out about it for about a full 24 hours before I actually went in to get it done. I called my hair stylist twice to make sure that I wasn't going to hate it after I got it done. She's so good about calming me down before drastic changes. Thank goodness. I never knew how nice it was to have a good hair stylist before her. Priceless. 

Also in November was the 30th anniversary party for my company which I've already blogged about a little bit and some really stressful Falcons games - but I'm sure none of you want to hear any more about that. 

December

And that brings us to December. We have 3 days left, but I feel like we've gone through 9/10ths of the month so we're good to sum it up now. This was a pretty exciting month for my family. Not only was it full of Christmas gatherings and birthdays, but this year we had a wedding! My little brother got married to his gorgeous fiance right before Christmas. It was beautiful! Here are a few pictures, courtesy of The Photography of Haley Sheffield (She's AMAZING).

I cried like a baby. Like. A. Baby. I was crying before anything even started. I told myself that I wouldn't cry and believed it so much that I didn't even bring tissues. Big mistake. I should have known better. It was my brother. My baby brother is all grown up. It was beautiful. I really couldn't be more happy for them. I can't wait to see everything that they are going to do with their lives together. It's going to be just as beautiful as their wedding. 

With all the ups and downs of this year, I really can't remember it being anything but good to me. Every year is. Here's to next year being even better! 

Internet Secret Santa

This year I did a Secret Santa exchange with an online community called Reddit (you can find out more about the exchange here). The jest of it is that someone gifts me something, I gift someone else something and so on. No one "exchanges" it's just gifting all around the world. Last year, my Santa was a sweet girl from Boston who sent me these: 

I really loved them. She also got me a little purple mini-tree and a lobster ornament that says "Boston". I had a blast! 

Today the Mr. and I went out to town to try and find a hutch to go onto our desk that I moved into the living room yesterday (that is another story in itself). When we got back home, there was a package on our door step with my name on it! I love getting packages. I got a package last week with my VoxBox in it, but I will update you guys on that later, after I've tested all the stuff out. It's gonna be good! Now, back to my package! I busted open the door and went straight for the scissors to open my gift. 

Upon opening my gift, I saw the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on (not really, but that pretty much sums up how pumped I was to see it). For those of you who don't know, I freaking love baseball and more specifically the Braves. I try to go to as many games as I can. Living 4 hrs away makes that a little difficult sometimes. To stay involved I help out with various Braves communities around the internet and I feel like I'm supporting my Braves even though I can't physically be there for every game (I WISH!). Now, since I've peaked your curiosity, here's what was in the package: 

I don't think I could have picked out a better gift for myself! It's beautiful. My name, my favorite number (which also happens to be the same number of one of the greatest managers of all time, sorry Bobby!), home jersey, it's PERFECT! I can't wait to go to my first game for the season and sport it so hard! Thank you, random internet friend! I absolutely love it! 

It's the Season for Parties!

There are numerous reasons that I love the holiday season, but one of the most exciting reasons is that the party-to-weekend ratio is pretty much quadrupled from the rest of the year. This year has held some less-than-customary parties and I've been having a blast! I have a couple pictures from each that I would like to share. You'll notice that the Mr. and I match in all of these. What can I say? We're adorable. 

Because I started blogging after Halloween, I want to post a photo of my Halloween outfit. It has nothing to do with the party season, but whatevs. :)

I was Mario! Ha! Look at that mustache! 

Okay, back to parties: The first party I attended was my work's 30th anniversary party. It was so much fun. 30 years doesn't come around but every so often, you know.

He was super excited about his vest. 

Next up was the company Christmas party! This one could have been my favorite because it was at a hunting club, skeet shooting was a few hours before the party and the food for the night was some delicious home cooking. Quail, potatoes, roast, you get the idea. It was delicious. 

Go Dawgs! :)

The final party (that wasn't George's company Christmas party because that was 2 nights ago and I don't have pictures from that one) was a MURDER MYSTERY! I love these parties! I took quite a few pictures from this party, but sadly none of them were of us. Too bad! There were a LOT of awesome things about this party, so I must share!

These were waiting for us when we got to the house. They were out invitations. The setting was 1912 and we were at a "seance" party at a gentleman's club AKA smoke bar. 

This was my character. I was Baroness Sophia du' Lac. I was an heiress from France. My character was also in love with George's character. George's character wanted me for my connections. I wanted him for a trip out of Europe and to America because I was trying to escape money troubles. Ha! George was an American cattle herder and tobacco farmer... or something like that. 

The invitations were even waxed sealed, just like they would be in the old days! We got a total of 4 character cards throughout the night. 

There was also a crystal ball that lit up a bunch of different colors and flickered! It was pretty snazzy. Not gonna lie. Zoltan (the seance leader-guy) was the one who was murdered. 

This was a crucial part of the story. At the very end of the night, we all gathered around the table to try an conjure Zoltan so that he could tell us who murdered him. While doing this, the freaking pointer thing moved and stopped when it was pointing at the person who did it. It was great! These guys put a lot of work into this, and let me tell you, it paid off! Most fun I've had in a while!  

What kinds of parties have you been to this holiday season?

Honorary Elf, Checking In

It's no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday. Last year I got to decorate my house for the very first time and I loved every minute of it. I also have a habit of shopping not only on Black Friday, but the Day After Christmas too! So many good deals are happening on Christmas stuff the day after. Everyone needs to check them out! That being said, Last year I purchased A BUNCH of stuff for my house after Christmas and it has all finally made it's way into the spotlight! Also, please bear with my pictures, I've asked for a camera for Christmas, I know how bad this is. :)

These are my pillows. Santa, Frosty and a pair of Let It Snow Pillows. All purchased after Christmas. These were at Kohls, which probably means they were 60-75% off. I had to get 2 Santa's because someone decided that they liked Santa's left hand so much that they would eat it. 

This is sitting on my small table by the kennel. I got the little snowman and all of the things sticking out at Michaels. I love that store. Seriously. They are stuck in 3 mini-vases that I found at Pier 1 for like $5. Perfect.

Here are my stockings. We don't have a fireplace in the living room, so I hang the stockings from the window ledges. It works since we don't actually use the stockings. I got the stocking hangers from Target after Christmas for about $6. They came in a 4-pack. I felt like that was a steal!

I have a shelf that I decorate for every holiday. It's above our coat rack, since there is no room for a hall tree. I love letters. Especially 'L's for obvious reasons. You can't really tell from this picture, but it's a tree that I got from Big Lots ($3) and a bunch of decorative presents that I got from various stores. One is literally a gift bag with tissue paper in it, leftover from Christmas' past. 

This is sitting in my "entryway". I made that ornament hanger last year from an old frame I found at Hobby Lobby and some command hooks I stuck to the back. All of the little figurines are from Pier 1, after Christmas. See a pattern yet? PS, that was our Christmas card from last year. It says "Santa? We know him!"

We have a Georgia room, so of course we had to have Georgia themed decor. My mom bought these. She's so sweet. :) I believe they came from Belk clearance. 

My tree. This is the first year I did the ribbon thing. I also had to make a new bow because the one from last year was looking a little sad. All of our presents match because I'm THAT kind of crazy. 

My wreath I made for the new house. Last year I didn't really have time to make a new Christmas wreath and it made me very sad. This year I made the time and I love it! All-in-all about $15 to make it yourself. 

This is where all of my money went this year. I didn't mean for it to happen that way, but I got really excited when I realized that I could do place settings for my dining room table! I bought all of the stuff in pieces, so it didn't really seem like all that much until I tallied the receipts. The placemats were $8 for 4 at Ross. I got the 4 chargers and 4 snowflake placemats at WalMart for $12 total. The red plates I got at Target for $2.50/ea (but I needed some new plates anyways, so these will be used all year), and the Santa plates are where I strayed. The MINUTE I saw these plates on Pier1.com I had to have them. They were $7/ea. But, they were so stinkin' cute that I just couldn't resist. I feel like they make the whole table, though! So, all in all it was $15 per place setting. I guess it's not that bad, but I don't think I would have bought it all had it been bundled together. Know what I mean? 

What are your decorations like? Link-Up with me and Thrifty Decor Chick for the Holiday Home Link Party!

Bowl Picks!

It's about time I let the sports fanatic out of me. It's BOWL SEASON, people! The only time of the year when I care about teams that I haven't watched play all season long. And why, you may ask? Because of Pick 'Ems! This year I joined a Pick 'Em group with one of my co-workers. It was a $25 buy-in, but the pot is BIG. Who wouldn't want to join in? So, because of how excited I am about my picks (some of which were complete and utter guesses), I will share them with the world! 

In case of a tie-breaker, my guesses (straight out of the thin air around my booty) for the combined scores of: 

1. The Capitol One Bowl - 57
2. BCS Title Game - 78

Is anyone else doing a Bowl Pick 'Em? I'd love to hear about it! Games start Saturday! 

Tell Me About It Tuesday

Today I'm linking up with Tell Me About It Tuesday. Today we are talking about things that we are OVER. This is the perfect time for this. I have a lot on my mind (PUN INTENDED, HA!). Can we talk about coffee flavors for a moment? Can someone please tell me why Pumpkin Spice is only available during certain points of the year. Am I the only person on the planet who LOVES pumpkin spice coffee? I'm OVER not being able to have pumpkin spice all year round. Let's just say that today I stockpiled some of this: 

I'm not ashamed.

Speaking of seasons. If you live anywhere near me, then you can probably feel my next pain. I am OVER this weather! It's DECEMBER. It's supposed to be chilly. It's not supposed to be chilly one day, rainy one day, then 70+ degrees the next. It's literally making me miserable. My nose will NOT stop running. Now, I'm the president of the I-Hate-Cold-Weather club, but good grief. There are some things that should just be understood and chilly weather in December is one of them. My health is on the line, Mother Nature. Here's our 5 day forecast: 

One last thing: I'm OVER not being able to eat dinner with my Mr. He works until midnight most nights and I don't like it. I know that it's something that he has to do, so I can deal for now. BUTTTTTT, tonight he's coming home at 9 so I'm gonna cook dinner! I really can't wait. I've never been so excited about cooking dinner during the week than when I get to enjoy my slaving with my hard working man. Tonight, I'm making this: 

I'm cheating though. I'm terrible at cooking so I'm using fried chicken from the grocery store. I also don't like broccoli so I'm gonna put the nix on that too. Sounds delicious, huh?!