It's a new year and a new you, er, ME.

It's that time again! And while everyone seems to dread it, I am OK with New Year's "Resolutions", "Goals", etc. Whatever you want to call it.

I mentioned previously some goals that I already have in the works. Or I guess, goals that I already have planned out.  But here is my full list:

1. Spend more time with God. This is so important to me. I know so many people that are involved, and I want to be more involved with Him as well. I asked for (and received) a new Bible for Christmas, so what I'd like to do is start doing daily devotionals. If anyone knows of any good daily devotional books for the newly married woman, well, I'd love to get my hands on it!

2. Stop drinking sodas. I rarely do as it is, but I'm curious more than anything to see if I can completely cut them out. I want to challenge myself to see how long I can go without having any. Because let's face it, some days a soda just sounds good. But I am going to attempt to cut them out.

3. Start running at least one 5k a month. My ultimate goal is to move on to 10k's and eventually half marathons. I've never really been interested in running a full marathon, but hey, you never know.

4. Have at least one girl's night a month. I love my husband dearly, but girl time is necessary. And I am terrible at having consistent girl's nights. It would be wonderful to get my girlfriends together semi-sort of regularly to catch up.

5. Get out of debt. Sean and I are very fortunate to not have a lot of debt, but we do have some. And I would like to have none. As for me personally, I usually have a running balance of about $600 between my Visa, Kohls, and Macy's cards. Then we have the motorcycle payment (eek!) and a few other random-y things here and there that I'd love to eliminate.

6. Stress LESS. I have a tendency to get consumed with people's emotions around me and let them negatively impact my own mood. I also have a tendency to worry about the small things, which I know isn't good but I have a nasty habit of it anyway... So I am really going to try to put my best foot forward and not stress out as much.

7. Take PICTURES. I love taking and having pictures, but I've gotten out of the habit of regularly taking pictures and I want to document more of Sean and I's marriage. We have so much fun and I'd like that to reflect in the pictures that we have.

8. Finish painting our house. When Sean and I first bought our house we thought it was perfect. Then, reality set it and we realized that we hated all of the colors in the house, so we have been slowly repainting the entire house, room by room. I would love if at this time next year, I could tell you that our house was done being painted! I'm not expecting it to be completely together, but I would like for it to be completely painted!

I think that about sums it up.

I hope everyone finishes this year with gusto and begins 2011 with lots of positive thoughts and actions!

xoxo

Rachael

Catching Up

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has an easy week ahead of them. This Christmas was busy for us, but went a little smoother than last year. I think we are finally figuring out what works for us and for everyone else.

I woke up early (6:30) on Friday morning and went and worked out and from there my day just flew by me. I feel like I blinked and suddenly it was time to make the drive to my parents. But let me back up a little. I worked out and then came home and started cleaning. Since Sean was still in bed I did all of the dusting and wiping down of counter tops, etc, while he slept. Then I gathered my list and went to HEB. I do not recommend that anyone brave HEB on Christmas Eve - it isn't pleasant.

After HEB I ran across the street to Randall's (much calmer there) and picked up a few things before braving Starbucks for a non-fat gingerbread latte for me and a caramel brulee (sp?) latte for Sean. As soon as I got home I turned up the Christmas music and started baking ginger crisps and oatmeal cranberry cookies. While each set of cookies was baking I vacuumed a different room and Sean painted our entryway (pictures to come, I just haven't had time yet!). It looks amazing, it really does. The paint looks perfect, it's better then I could have envisioned.

We showered, got dressed and then opened our stockings from each other. Sean got me a jupiter jack for my phone so that I can talk through my radio in my truck - I don't have bluetooth in my car, so he thought I needed some form of it... He also got me a Fossil watch that I adore but I can't find a picture of it online to show you, so that will have to wait until I take a picture of it :)

In his stocking he got new boxers and a new travel coffee mug (he needed on badly). Then I let him open his gift from the kitties early too, and "they" surprised him with these:

He was THRILLED to say the least. A few weeks ago I came home with these:

I really haven't taken them off since I bought them, they are so darn comfortable! And when Sean saw them he immediately wanted new slippers as well. So I immediately went out and bought them :)

Then we packed up and headed over to my parents house for Christmas Eve. Naturally, as soon as we headed out it started raining, so the drive went from a 30 minute drive to a 45 minute drive in no time. But we made it!

We went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service - which is always my favorite - and I had one of the coolest experiences I've ever felt in my life, and I just have to share it. As we were sitting there and the preacher was talking about really asking God for what it is you need in life - be it hope or light or whatever you need, I was thinking about what I need and praying as hard as I could about what I needed and I felt as though someone just wrapped their arms around me and hugged me r-e-a-l tight. I almost started crying and I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up, but it was the most comforting feeling in the world. I know that everything is going to work out the way its meant to, and I've never doubted that, but sometimes its nice to have a little extra reassurance.

After the service we went back to my parents to open gifts, load up, and make the drive back home. Once home, Sean and I had our own Christmas - which was so special to me. It was our first Christmas in our house (technically, we had the house last Christmas but we weren't really in it yet) and our first Christmas being married. We lit a fire, and unwrapped our gifts from each other. All in all - perfect.

The next morning, I woke up really early to go for a nice Christmas morning run :) and then came home and made coffee, showered, woke Sean up and we packed up again - this time to head to his parents house.

Once we got there it was mayhem - but the best kind. There was coffee and presents, laughter and pictures, and really everything you imagine Christmas morning should be like. It was warm. It was family. It was good.

We then headed over to his grandmothers house for Christmas with my MIL's side of the family. Going over there makes me sad that my whole family isn't here in Houston - her brother and sisters all live close by so everyone gets together and its loud and noisy and fantastic. We did a gift exchange, at lunch, and then Sean and I packed up one last time and headed home.

Once home we went into overdrive, cleaning and cooking, and soon it was 5pm and both of our parents were showing up for dinner. This was probably my second favorite part of Christmas (my first favorite was when Sean and I had our own personal Christmas :)). We drank wine and snacked on all the goodies I put out, and then sat down to a big family dinner.

As soon as everyone left, I washed and dried the dishes while Sean moved all of our gifts into our room and then some friends came over...

It was perfect, and everything I ever want out of Christmas. Lots of family and friends, there's not much more I could ask for!

I hope everyone had as blessed a Christmas as I did.

xoxo

Rache

It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the year...

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas time full of family and cheer! And I also hope that everyone takes a few minutes (at least!) to remember the reason for this season...

both photos courtesy of Google Images :)

Merry Christmas!

Friday, where are you!?

I am literally going crazy waiting for Friday to get here. I cannot wait to have another three day weekend, followed by another three day weekend for new years!!

This is hubs and I's first Christmas as a married couple! I can't wait. I went a lot little overboard... We set a limit as to how much we could spend on each other, but I kept finding things I wanted to give him... So now, the cats are giving Sean a gift, and Santa is making a debut with MONSTER JAM TICKETS! I can't wait! So maybe that's more of my gift to the both of us :)

I'm also craving some shopping, which is ridiculous considering how packed it is out there. But there is a blazer at Kohls that I am pining after...

So maybe I deserve a Christmas present to myself, riiiiight?? I thought so too.

I am trying to convince Sean that we need a fancy date night, because I bought a dress from Macy's that I will never be able to where unless we have one. But it was on sale from $150 to $17! Who could say no to that?? (exactly. that's what I'm sayin').

This weekend was OK. Actually, I'm just irritated with small parts of it. Nina (Sean's best friends' fiance) and I went out on Friday night to a local bar by her house while the boys played poker and had a great time! Then Saturday I went and had lunch with a few coworkers, and wasn't really feeling too hot so Sean and I stayed in. <3 He is the best. We watched Inception and State of Play - both of which were pretty good, though I'm going to have to watch Inception again.

Sunday was kind of bleh, except for meeting up for some deeeelicious mexican food with my parents and Sean's parents... I am SO grateful that everyone gets along, we had a great time! (and always do!!)

Traditionally Christmas Eve is a big deal in my house and Christmas Day is a big deal in Sean's house - so Christmas really times out perfectly. And this year, for Christmas Day Night (does that make sense??) both our parents are coming to our house! I am very excited about this!

Anyhow, since it's MNF and I don't really care about the teams playing, I may sneak out and do a little shopping ;) I think I need some presents for myself...

I also need some prayers. Since I'm not sure who all reads my blog, just please keep me in your prayers. If you want to know why, I will tell you outside the online world :)

THANK YOU!

xoxo

Rachael

I'm sitting here in the ever-fading light, listening to "Little Saint Nick" and every other Christmas song that jingles its way through Sunny 99.1's holiday tunes. Leo is curled up into my side with his head tucked under my arm purring softly, giving me discontented looks every time I move my arm too much. And in this moment of extreme solitude, for whatever bizarre reason, I'm just a little bit sad.

It's funny, every morning on the way to and from work, I've been waiting for "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to come on the radio so I can sing cheerily along. And right at the very moment that I'm feeling the teensiest bit melancholy, the radio breaks into this specific song. 

God works in mysterious ways, huh?

We had an unexpected day off work today. I should clarify - we had an unexpected day out of the office today. Our power was shut off in our building, so we are supposed to be working from home today. I've dabbled in and out of work-related items, with pauses to do the massive piles of laundry that have accumulated in our house, and a lot of baking. I found out today that I make excellent ginger crisp cookies, chili pecans that have no ounce of spice to them, and pumpkin spice cookies that taste more like pumpkin bread. ::sigh:: Baking is one of those house-wifey things I'm still working on perfecting.

I know so many people that aspire to be certain professions in life. And as unimpressive as it may sound, my one big aspiration has been to be a housewife, that stays home and takes care of the kids. Cooks dinner every night and forces everyone to sit at the table together for 45 short minutes to share a meal. Cleans the house, does the grocery shopping, and still manages to be a fabulous mom and wife. Is that weird? I work at a law firm where I get paid fairly well for being two years out of college (two years? already? that is sad in itself). My boss is constantly pushing me to go to law school. I love my coworkers. And yet, there are days that I'm still unsatisfied. I had big dreams at one point, dreams that I now don't think I'll ever accomplish. 

I read somewhere that if you really want something, you go for it. If you don't really want it, you just continually make excuses. I'm scared that I'm just making excuses all of the time. 

This post is depressing ME. 

Sorry guys, no cheery post today. HAPPY FRIDAY. 

I hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

xoxo

Rachael

my LEAST favorite thing about holidays in an office

I am probably about to go against what most people love about holidays in an office.

But my very least favorite thing about working in an office during the holidays:

All the treats that make their way into the door. You see, I have no will power. Zero. If there is something that I like a lot (like candied, chocolate, or salted pecans - and yes, we have a tin of all three sitting in our kitchen right now) then every time I walk into that stupid kitchen I have to have some. A few here, a few there, and before you know it I've eaten 27 pecans. And yes, I know the exact number, because I've walked in there on three separate occasions and each time I've grabbed three of each. Thus, 27.

GO AWAY FOOD. I'm going to have to skip dinner tonight in order to make up for this.

How many people are dying to see this movie:

photo courtesy of

Because I am dying to see this. And I've talked Allison into going with me ;)

Sean and I, courtesy of one of my clients, got to see a screening of:

photo courtesy of

Um, yes please. Let me tell you why. Better yet, let me show you:

photo courtesy of

I know a few people that are not Marky Mark fans, but let me tell you, I swoon for him. Maybe it's because him and my husband have a lot of the same characteristics. And Sean? Well, he may have a slight man crush on him. We both liked the movie. It comes out Friday, for anyone wondering.

I also decided that by taking Sean to see that movie, I was quite possibly the best date ever.

Wanna know why? :) I figured. Because I took Sean to dinner, bought him margaritas and dinner, took him to a movie - and not a chick flick, but the movie he wanted to see (yes, yes, I got the screening tickets for free, but that's beside the point, it's the best perk I've gotten so far for my job) - and after all that, I didn't even make him drive me home, I drove myself ;) (we met at the restaurant/theater after work). Ha ha ha. I am AWESOME.

Anyway, back to work I go.

xoxo

Rachael

I am full of Christmas cheer right now!

Yesterday was a wonderfully relaxing day - Sean went to play golf so I had some much appreciated alone time yesterday. There is something so relaxing about sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee, knowing that the house is already clean, the groceries are already bought, and the only thing you have ahead of you is a day filled with Christmas activities... :)

I spent the morning browsing the newspaper ads and cutting coupons before I bundled up and faced the (beautiful, might I add) day. I had to go to two different Academy's before I found the gift my brother and I are giving my dad for Christmas and then I stopped into Michael's for some more Christmas items, ran into Target to get tape and rounded off with a (non-fat) Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks. Delightful! I listened to Christmas music all day - both in the car and at home - and spent the afternoon wrapping presents. Now our stockings really are hung by the chimney with care, and there's a nice spread of gifts waiting for eager hands to unwrap them beneath our tree. When Sean got home we piled back into the car and went to Michael's again (had to get some more wrapping related items, hehe) and then to Ross to look for gifts for his family's Christmas exchange. (And yes, we listened to Christmas music the entire time).

Then it was home to decorate our tree, light a fire, cuddle up on the couch and watch football. Sounds pretty perfect to me. (Have I mentioned that I have the best husband in the entire world? Well, I do.)

To back track though, we had a girl's dinner on Friday night that was quite fun and always needed. I truly cherish being able to spend time with girlfriends away from the guys. Everyone needs that escape time, and there's something so comfortable about swapping stories and catching up.

Saturday was nothing too notable, I did a lot of Christmas shopping, house cleaning, and grocery shopping. My parents came over for dinner and we had homemade fajitas (they were so good!) and wine. I love catching up with family as much as I love catching up with girlfriends. We went out for a little bit on Saturday night and met up with some friends, but neither Sean nor I was really feeling like being out so we didn't stay for long.

I'm hoping for a quick week this week, because next week is Christmas week! I am really looking forward to all of the family time and every one's cheerful moods.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the holidays as much as I am!
xoxo

Rachael

iiiiiit's FRIDAY!

It's finally here! My favorite 'week'day!

And today is going to be a good one. I have a super cute new scarf, courtesy of my BFF Jen, that I am IN LOVE with and it's girl's night! WOOHOO!

A couple of us are getting together at our friend Amy's house for some dinner + wine, a little gossip, and a lot of fun - what could be better than that? Then tomorrow, Sean and I are putting up OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE EVER! I'm slightly excited ;) I am also going to try my hand at homemade guacamole tomorrow, let's all say a little prayer that it turns out well... my little brother makes some pretty darn good guac, so hopefully it's in the genes and I make it as well as he does (I'll settle for not as well, but still good too).

I finally finished off Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch today. I realize that I probably should have thrown the food out (it didn't taste bad at all though!) but the thought of tossing such delicious food literally made my heart hurt, so I ate it instead. Sean and I vastly differ on if food is still 'good' or not. He'll toss it after a day. I will still eat it a couple weeks later if it still smells fine and looks good... I haven't gotten sick yet, so I must be on to something. I think he is just wasteful! (haha, kidding hon...)

I am really pumped about tomorrow for no especially good reason. I have nothing terribly exciting on the agenda (OTHER THAN THE TREE!!!!!)... My day is pretty much looking like: run, grocery shopping, house cleaning, Target (<3), finish Christmas shopping, TREE, dinner with parents... Then Sunday, oh Sunday, I am going to be a Christmas wrapping fool. Let's pray I get it all out of the way, because the backseat of my truck can't handle me tossing anymore bags into it... I may have gone a bit overboard this year... :-/ Oops? I'm just full of good cheer this year, and I can actually afford to but my family lots of gifts... so I did... (my mom specifically told me not to do this, but I didn't follow instructions very well :-/...)

I hope you all have a spectacular Friday and weekend!

xoxo

Rachael

I Love Everybody

For those of you out there that are as obsessed with reading as I am, if you are looking for a quick, hilarious read, you should definitely pick this book up:

thanks, Google

Actually, you should look into picking up all of her books - they have had me rolling with laughter. And I mean that quite literally. Sean has walked into the room because I've been laughing so hard I'm crying going "what are you laughing at?!?!"... then as soon as he sees the book he just shakes his head. :) I love funny reads.

Anyhow, the point is that one of the chapters in the book is called "I Love Everybody". It's a riot. And as I was driving to work this morning in the traffic that would give someone a heart attack I was slowly chanting in my head I love everybody. I love everybody. I.Love.Everybody....

I've been repeating it all day long (I am well aware it's only 9:30).

My house is in full Christmas swing. Ohmygoodness I am in love with all of our decorations. It took me four different trips to Hobby Lobby and Michael's both, a trip to Big Lots, and several places in between, but now we successfully have sweet little stockings hanging above our fireplace, decorations galore, and the BEST wreath EVER hanging on our front door. It's made entirely of jingle bells and I am THRILLED with it! I fell in love the second I saw it and I can't wait to take and upload a picture of it here. This weekend!

We are having an impromptu girls night tomorrow night (yayyyy!!!) that I'm very excited about!

I'm going to work now though :)

Have a great Thursday!

xoxo

Rachael

It's the start of something...

I'm not even sure where to begin with this post, I feel like it's been quite some time since I've posted. I actually had a long post typed out on Friday, but by some freak accident I deleted it and I didn't have it in me to go back and retype everything, nor did I think I could capture what I was trying to say...

Last week wasn't the best for me. Nothing bad necessarily happened, but I started having eye infection problems again towards the middle of the week and by Friday I wasn't feeling well at all (being a girl is no fun sometimes!) I ended up having to skip going out to celebrate my dear friend Allison's birthday, which I was upset about, but sometimes sleep is what you need! And sleep I did, I was asleep by 9 on Friday night! That NEVER happens, but really, it was nice to catch up.

Needless to say, Saturday I woke up early (who would've thought? haha)... I worked out (easy work out though) and then went and did as much Christmas shopping as I could. I bought everything! I'm now done Christmas shopping for my brother, mom, and Sean. I bought cute little boxes to put cookies in for my coworkers ($1 at Walmart? Yes, please!) and started on some gifts for some close friends. I'm hoping to finish up this week, I hate waiting until the last minute to finish!

After, I did a little bit of house cleaning and then the hubs and I went to his family's house to celebrate his dad's birthday and take family photos. After that we went home and I was in bed early again... I don't know what is with me lately! I have just been craving sleep. But it's been wonderful :)

Then SUNDAY!!! I was so excited and nervous for Sunday because I ran my first 5k ever! I ran the Mistletoe 5k, which was only 3 or 4 exits away from our house, and let me tell you, I LOVED it! I left early and naturally it was freezing when I got there, but despite how cold it was when I finished I just wanted to be in shorts. My sweet, sweet friend Jenn tried to surprise me there, but couldn't reach Sean in time, but her words of encouragement pre-race kept me going throughout.

Saturday Sean had asked if I cared if he went golfing Sunday morning... I said I didn't mind, but deep down I was a little sad that he wasn't going to be at the finish line when I ran in. Well, let me tell you just how wonderful my husband is! I ran into the finish line and as I was walking off the high of running I looked up and there he was, standing there smiling, waiting to give me a hug! Have I mentioned how crazy I am about him?!? He is the BEST.

I had a pretty lazy Sunday after that. Came home and chatted with Jen on the phone for a while (it had been TOO long since we'd really talked!) then came in and chatted with my other JenN online for a while (also, way too long since we'd talked!)... Sean left to play golf and I went and bought some more Christmas decorations and decorated the house a little more, did some laundry and cleaned the house, watched football and made lasagna (which was delectable, I might add). Then we finished off the night watching the season finale of Boardwalk Empire and hubs finished watching football while I went to read.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend. First weekend in a while I haven't gone out at all, but I wasn't sad about that in the least. It was actually really nice to just stay in and off the radar for a while!

I'm thinking about running a 5k in Sugar Land this weekend. Haven't quite decided yet. We shall see!

Hope you all have a spectacular Monday!


xoxo

Rachael

Whoa, baby. Today has been one of those days.

You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones where your eyes are burning and your head is reeling and you're not sure if you can possibly do one more thing. Which is why I'm taking five precious minutes to escape to blog world.
Hello, world.

I have been nonstop since 5:30 this morning. And while I love days like today where everything is flying by, I am officially exhausted and running out of steam. I feel as though I've been more productive today then I have all week (and yes, I do realize that it's only Tuesday). But I still have so much left to accomplish.

I am in a desperate rush to finish going through all of Sean and I's 'apartment' junk stuff so that my mom and I can have a garage sale. We were so blessed during our wedding to receive so many brand new things, but now we have so many items that we no longer need. And naturally, (love you hubs), I am the only one going through everything. Which is OK, I'd much rather do it then have Sean do it, but it's so time consuming and not really all that fun.

My mom has been so kind (ha) as to continually brings bags and bags of stuff over to our house from her house that I have managed to collect over the years. And while I realize that she is just trying to get her own house in order, it sure does make it a heck of a lot harder for me to get mine in order! Soon enough, though. One of these days my house is going to be 100% a home. Take THAT extra junk.

I can't stand being unorganized. It stresses me out. If you saw my kitchen cabinets you would know I'm a little obsessive about things being in their place. And I will happily show them to you if you ask... hehe. Maybe I'm a smidgen proud of how organized they are looking these days.

I have come to realize that I am obsessed with Bed, Bath & Beyond and The Container Store. Those two stores have managed to steal more money from me then I even believed possible. Every time I see some new way to organize a drawer or cabinet, my mind immediately begins ticking with all the different ways I can utilize those new items. And before I know it, I'm wandering in on my lunch break filling my basket with all of said items.

Am I the only one with this extreme problem?

Hope you all are having a wonderful Tuesday and that it went by as quickly as mine did. Tomorrow is officially the halfway point of the week! And this is going to be quite a good one... Today is my sweet father's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!!!), Thursday is my father-in-law's birthday, and Sunday is my dear friend Allison's birthday. And Sunday, oh Sunday! I am running the Mistletoe 5k - my first 5k ever! I am extremely excited and nervous about this!!

xoxo

Rachael

fresh start

I've said it before, but Thanksgiving is hands down, my favorite holiday. There's something about Thanksgiving that beats Christmas for me (I know, I know, everyone is probably gasping in shock), but Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time. Christmas has become so overrun with the decorations (don't get me wrong - I love good Christmas decorations, and our house will be decked in festivities) and gifts that it seems that it's become a time of greed instead of what Christmas was truly intended for.

That said, Thanksgiving is such a blessed time of thanks. Everyone is so appreciative of the time being spent together. Love just overflows throughout Thanksgiving, and what is better than that?

So Thanksgiving, thanks for existing, you make my November every year!

I am starting my "New Year's Resolutions" early this year! As in, tomorrow. Want to know what they are?

1. No more sodas. I used to be really good about never drinking sodas, but lately, I have been having the "occasional" soda, which has become much more normal than occasional.

2. Be healthier. I mean this fairly broadly... Fine tuning workouts, tweaking diets, wearing sunscreen more often, etc.

3. Spend more time with God. I want to start doing daily devotionals again, which I haven't done in quite some time. I'm looking forward to furthering my personal relationship with Him.

Those are my three main ones. I also want to spend more time with the people that matter most to me and spend more time with family (though really, Sean and I are pretty good at spending time with both of our families. Love you guys!)

Tomorrow it's going to be time to take down the Thanksgiving decorations, because on Wednesday we move into December, my official starting point for Christmas decorations! I'm excited to have a house to decorate for this year, last year Sean and I had JUST closed on our house right before Thanksgiving and everything was far too chaotic to decorate. But this year is the year!


xoxo

Rachael

Thankful, thankful...

I'm really a very lucky girl.

I have so much in my life that I am thankful for and every day I feel so blessed.

*I am, of course, so thankful for my wonderful husband. I fall in love with him over and over again. There's nothing comparable to staring into his beautiful blue eyes and looking at his perfect little smile to remind me how lucky I am to have him!

*I am SO thankful for my family. My parents are aaa-mazing. My siblings are faaantastic. They are my best friends and I would be so lost without them. And my best friend sister Jen? LOVE.

*I'm thankful for how I was raised.

*I'm thankful for my in-laws. I could not possibly be more blessed. I hear all of these horror stories about in-laws and I just can't relate, because mine are nothing short of fabulous.

*I'm thankful for my closest friends... Jenn, Candice, Alisa, Sarah G, Erica E, Allison... I love you so! But you already know this.

*I'm thankful for Leo & Louie. They are bright spots in every day. I never thought I'd love cats, much less as much as I love them!

*I'm thankful for being able to live the life Sean and I are able to live and for having the friends that we have...

*I'm thankful for having a life outside of my husband, and that he has one outside of me. It makes our time together that much more precious.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week, Tuesday is really THURSDAY!!

Good morning!

Today is like Christmas came early, because today, even though the calendar says "Tuesday" it is our work-week THURSDAY. YES.

Now THAT is some exciting news! Because THAT means tomorrow is like FRIDAY and then... are you ready for it?? IT'S THANKSGIVING!!

I think that Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday of the year (minus my birthday...just kidding). What could possibly be better then celebrating everything that makes your life wonderful - while getting to eat all the best things in life?!

Hello, stuffing, I eat you once a year and yet you are my favorite side dish of all time. As far as I'm concerned, turkey is the side dish and stuffing is the main course - YUM.

Also, I have a whole lot to be thankful for this year. I'm going to give you my thankful list tomorrow, but I'll give you a couple today, just as a nice little sneak peek.

First and foremost, I'm thankful that I pulled myself out of the ebay bidding war for those lovely sneaks I showed you yesterday, because they sold for the same that they retailed at, which is not much of an ebay steal.

Secondly, I am so thankful for my job. There are days when I hate it. There are days when I don't. But when push comes to shove, this job has kept Sean and I able to do all of the extras we want to do. It's not my dream job, but in this economy, it's a job. It provides. And I get to work with someone that is now one of my best friends. So for that, I'm truly thankful.

That's all today! Time to scamper on back to work.

Happy Tuesday all!


xoxo

Rachael

brighten up!

Clearly, I am in a huge funk.

As I'm sitting here slurping down my Route 44 vanilla coke (which, if you know me, I don't even drink soda) after having literally eaten my way through the day I realized that I need something to be working towards. I feel as though I'm sliding off track right now, so it's time to get back on track, and feeling sorry for myself is obviously not working. (surprise, surprise!)

SO with that being said, I am going to have to set a goal. A few months ago, I set a goal to get down to a certain goal weight. I was right on track for a while and then I just derailed completely. Thanks a lot, football season, for forcing me to be at Bdubs every Sunday since I can only watch certain football games there. Oh and thanks for adding fried pickles to your menu, you know I have a huge weakness for them.




thank you, food spotting

 No more football at Bdubs for me. Well, let's be honest, I'm still going up there, but sans the fried pickles and beer. Ugh.

thank you, Google

So I think that a good way to get back into everything is to set a new goal. I am signed up to run my first 5k in January. However, I think I am going to sign up for a December one as well. Maybe I'll do a race once a month.

I think that I am going to train for a 10k though. I also think I need new shoes :) What better way to embark on a new mission then with a sweet new pair of kicks to do it?!

So I'm currently trying to get these bad boys:

thanks!!

We'll know in 15 hours if I'm the proud new owner of these!

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day. I'm about a third of the way done with my vanilla coke and I feel AWFUL. No more soda for me, ever. BLEH.

I am really struggling to get through this week. And since it is Monday, I am really struggling to get through TODAY.

I definitely did not accomplish as much as I wanted to this weekend (figures).

I definitely am not happy about certain things.

I definitely miss my friends.

And I need a NAP. Badly. I feel out of sync with my life right now.

On the up and up, Sean was nice enough to go buy me a Drew Brees jersey this weekend. (those suckers are not cheap!) Unfortunately, we didn't get the Saints game of course.

I have so many phone calls/emails/etc to return and I just haven't had the energy to get into conversations with anyone right now (so if you have not heard from me, I am sorry :( I will get there... I just am so out of it right now.)

::sigh::

I hope everyone has a spectacularly short week, Thanksgiving (which I think is my favorite holiday) is right around the corner!

xoxo

Rachael

ohhh man

If work is going as quickly for you as it is for me right now, then can you even believe it's already Friday?! Because I really can't.

Every single day this week has been long and stressful. And yet, when 6pm rolls around, I can't even believe the day is over. I go home exhausted and I wake up equally so.

Great post so far, right?? I thought you'd think so.

Which is why I'm here right now. I have to take a break from work for a minute. When I got into work this morning, I threw everything off my desk and onto the floor. Well, maybe not 'threw'... I put it all on the floor. 'Threw' sounds much more dramatic and purposeful though.

It was liberating, to say the least. I dusted my desk, took all the toys I've collected and put them on my bookcase, and have started tackling piles of things one by o n e.

On the flip side, I am wearing a verrrry cute coat today. I haven't had a good fall/winter coat, well, ever. So I went to Marshall's and bought a super cute charcoal grey sporty coat and I am now wearing it. Granted, it's a little warm in the office to be wearing a coat, but I don't care!! It makes me feel a little bit better. ;)

Anyhow. I have to go back to work now.

Hope you all have a spectacular Friday. And an even better weekend. I will be going through clothes and things from my old apartment and CLEANING OUT! :)

xoxo

Rachael

BRRRR

There is nothing I hate more than being cold. And cold is what I was this morning.

I've come to realize that the colder it gets, the less covers I seem to have each morning (thanks, hon). I'm fairly certain Sean doesn't realize it, but each morning when I wake up half of me is frozen due to the fact that I don't even have sheets! The only warm spot has been where my sweet kitty has been cuddled up next to me purring away. And let me tell you, with a cat purring against your throat (he sleeps right under my chin) it's very difficult to sleep.

Anyhow, there's two parts of my morning that I'm being to dread.

The first is the waking up freezing part. It makes me not want to get out of bed. Once I get out and get going it's not so bad because by the time I make it out the door to run I have significantly warmed up and then the running keeps me going. Not that I'm warm by any means.

The second is getting out of the shower. I relish hot showers - even in the summertime - and every morning its like 15 minutes of glory as I stand underneath the pelting hot water. But the second I turn off the water it gets perceptibly colder. And when I open the shower door it's like a little bit of death seeps in. I hate it!

Clearly I have nothing interesting to blog about this morning. Sorry for such a weird little post.

Thank goodness it's Wednesday. For the first time in WEEKS Sean and I have zero plans this weekend and I could not be happier.


xoxo

Rachael

Days 29 & 30

Day 29 - 3 Wishes

 

 

1. That my husband and I are able to provide for our family no matter what
2. That my little brother finds all the happiness in the world and meets the right girl
3. That I am able to live my life to the fullest and honor God through it
   

Day 30-a picture

 

I love you with my whole heart!

I guess that concludes the 30 day challenge! I definitely enjoyed doing it, though I think 30 days is a long time kind of, which is why I sped it up towards the end.

In other news...

I definitely was not feeling up to par yesterday at all. I'm not even really sure why, I think it's just defeat because I so badly want to make healthy decisions all the time but I am only human and I fail. I've been working so hard each week towards a specific goal and I get closer and closer and then the weekend comes and I just blow it. So I am resolving to make better choices this weekend. And next weekend I will make the same commitment. I am hoping that by looking at it one week at a time, it will be easier.

Anyhow, back to my very grey mood yesterday... I was feeling rather obsolete at work. I didn't wake up on time, in fact, I woke up really late and didn't have time to get in a workout before I left for work. I had pretty much decided that I would just start over today, but then my sweet husband intervened in all the right ways. As I pulled up to our house last night he was working in the garage. I got out and asked him how long he was going to be and he said a while, so I decided to go ahead and do my Monday workout. He told me to go and run and feel better. Thank you, baby, for your support.

Then as I walk into the house, cooing hello to my kitties and flipping on the kitchen light to drop off my lunch box, purse, etc, I was greeted with this:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, that is EXACTLY what I needed.

 

I know that everyone thinks that they have the best husband. What I think, is that I have the best husband for me. He would not be the best husband for someone else, because he fits me so completely.

 

I also am well aware that anyone who reads my blog thinks that I never have anything bad to say about Sean and I's relationship. Let's be real - Sean and I are human. We fight. We have our bad days. But he is my other half and I love him completely, even when we're arguing.

I love you!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday. Today is a brand new day!

xoxo

Rachael

Days 27 & 28

Day 27-Pets

 

:) I'm obsessed with my pets. I truly think I have the coolest cats ever known to man. They are way cooler than any cats I've ever met. They run around and play like crazy. Sean and I spend more time going "Leo did THE cutest thing..." or "You'd never believe what Louie did today..." It's a little ridiculous. I really think we're obsessed.

 

How cute are they?! Ah, I just love them.

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

 

 

Really my biggest stress lately has been my weight. This is my blog, so I can be honest right? I am really struggling with the desire to be in shape and the reality of eating more than I know I should. I'm just not feeling really good about myself right now, my self esteem is at an all-time low. And I'm not saying this so anyone feels sorry for me or thinks that I'm being ridiculous, I'm just being downright honest. I don't feel good about myself right now. And it's stressing me out!

*shrugs* That's really all I've got right now. We spent a lot of time with family this weekend, which was really nice. We had a party on Saturday night, which was a lot of fun. But I just don't have the energy to blog about it right now. I am all around feeling "eh".

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can't wait!

xoxo

Rachael

Days 25 & 26

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Lucky I have my iPod at work with me today!

1. Journey - Don't Stop Believin' who doesn't love this song?! Plus, this song holds a special place in my heart because it was ALWAYS the last song played at Nephews in San Marcos and was (as a tribute to all our fellow bobcats) the last song played at Sean and I's wedding :) EAT 'EM UP!
2. Phonography - Britney Spears well that's kind of embarrassing. I got the majority of the music on my iPod from one of my best friend (and co-worker/supervisor) Sarah's fiance. I blame him for any Britney or Christina on my iPod.
3. 30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie
4. Incubus - Drive I'm a little obsessed with Incubus. And Drive is one of my favorite Incubus songs. I saw them live my junior year of college and they were ah-mazing. I just wish I had been able to see them any other time they were in town but life has not permitted yet. SOON.
5. Me First and the Gimmie Gimmie's - Ain't No Sunshine if you've never heard Me First, they are a cover band that gives a rock edge to songs. I love them.
6. Phantom Planet - Knowitall I am a little obsessed with Phantom Planet, and if you don't know who Phantom Planet is, think "California" opening song for The O.C.
7. 30 Seconds to Mars - Oblivion this kind of makes me laugh because in reality I really don't listen to 30 Seconds to Mars that much. But that's ok, I do like them.
8. The Strokes - The Modern Age Sean hates the Strokes. But I LOVE them. I saw them in concert my senior year of high school and I fell more in love with them then I was before. And let me tell you, I already loved them a lot. They're very different, but I think they rock.
9. Phantom Planet - By the Bed like I already said, I love Phantom Planet. I think it's interesting that out of the thousands of songs on my iPod it's pulled two songs from the same band twice now. And no country. Even though my iPod is DOMINATED by country.
10. Evanessence - Zero (Smashing Pumpkins cover) I really like Evanessence and Smashing Pumpkins a lot.

There you have it! First 10 songs on shuffle on my iPod.

Day 26-Picture of your family

Here is my most of my immediate family... From right to left: Luke, Mom, Dad, ME, SEAN, David, Roxie, Casi (+unborn Zoee), Sonny, Asher. Who's missing from my immediate family in this picture? My sis Joelle, her son Max and husband Sean and my older brother and his son Mason.

And it's FRIDAY!!! :)

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

xoxo

Rachael

Days 23 & 24

Day 23-Favorite vacation

I have two. Most obviously, one of my favorite vacations was going to Puerta Vallarta with my sweet husband to celebrate our new marriage. There is something so tender and special about a honeymoon. No matter how long you've been together, knowing that you're in a special place, celebrating one of the greatest gifts of life - finding your soul mate - is overwhelming. It's thrilling knowing that you just committed your life to someone else. It's even more exhilarating knowing deep down that you didn't hesitate about it - not even once.

That being said, we also were VERY lucky with our honeymoon because one of Sean's dear friends lent us there villa for the entire week. How do you say no to that? Not only did we get to stay in one of the most beautiful places, but we got to stay in one of the most beautiful villas. I understand that giving us their villa for a week really wasn't anything to them, but the deep appreciation Sean and I felt and still feel is incredible. The selflessness of that move was so touching.

And did I mention we were in Puerta Vallarta?! And did I mention it was the first REAL vacation Sean and I took by ourselves?! AHH! :)

I would post pictures, but you can go a few posts down and see pictures from our outstanding honeymoon...

The second 'vacation' (and I have to put ' ' around vacation because it wasn't really a vacation) that I deem as one of my favorites was when Sean and I drove to Garner State Park and camped for a few days. I think we had more fun then most couples have when camping. For one, we really love camping. For two, we don't need more people to be with us to have a good time. We biked, we hiked, we played card games and drank beer and laughed for h o u r s. I really love that man!

Day 24-Something you've learned

I've learned that...

• There's so much truth to never going to bed mad. On Bored to Death (one of our favorite HBO shows) there's a small segment where the main character asks how this guy and his wife have made it work for so many years and his response is "Never go to bed mad" and the main character laughs and says how cliche that is and the guy looks at him and says ... "it's cliche because its true" and ever since then I've thought "he's right, it's so true!". There is nothing worse than going to bed sleeping on opposite sides of the bed. You don't sleep well. You wake up feeling awful. It's not fun.
• Saying goodnight and giving each other a kiss good night is so important. It makes me sad the nights that Sean falls asleep before he rolls over and kisses me good night. It's such a small gesture that speaks volumes.
• You really have to be thankful for what you're given. So often we think about what we want versus being thankful for what we have. Sean and I definitely get caught up in the things we want to do and the things we want to buy and sometimes we have to just take a step back and look at all of the wonderful things we have - we're both healthy, very happily married, with a house and furniture and the ability and means to go about daily life...
• Family is the best thing in the world. I love both of my families infinitely.
• Friends are one of God's greatest gifts. My friends keep me sane. I try to see them as often as possible while still making time for just Sean and I... but really, I love my friends.
• Oh and on a lighter note - my cats are the greatest!

:) It's Thursday! One more day til the weekend is upon us!

And in case anyone forgot - it's Veteran's Day. I am so thankful for all of the veterans who have served and continue to serve for our country, so that we can be free. It's such a huge sacrifice, and one that we often forget about in our every day lives. I know one person that never forgets what a sacrifice it is - my lovely best friend Jennifer - as her husband serves in the Navy and frequently has to be gone for days or weeks at a time. Having Kyle be in the Navy has made Jen one of the strongest women I know and I admire them so much for living the life they live so that we can live the life we live.

Happy Veteran's Day, everyone.

xoxo

Rache

Today is the PERFECT day

Today is the perfect day.

I love sunshine. When I think of sunshine I think of smiles and laughter. I think of sprinklers and freshly cut grass. I think of lounging by the pool in a bikini wearing a really awesome pair of sunglasses and sunscreen that faintly smells of coconut. I think of cutoff shorts and tank tops. I think of flip flops and bright pedicures. I think of sitting outside soaking up LIFE itself, reading a magazine and being lazy. I think of boats and water and swimming. I think of SUMMER and sunflowers and nights on the beach where all you need is a blanket to lay on so you can listen to the crash of waves against the shore and stare up at the vast infinite sky and see all those little dots of stars that are so very far away.

But sometimes, as much as I crave sunshine and summer days, sometimes you just need a little bit of grey.

Which brings me back to where I started. Today is the perfect day.

There is no sun today. There are only low-hanging rain clouds and soft sprinkles of water littering the ground. There is the joy in knowing that when I get home tonight, I'm going to change into my most comfortable pair of sweatpants and put on some warm slippers and relish the fact that its gloomy outside. Because sometimes you just need a gloomy day. There is the simple pleasure in knowing that curling up with a good book is the EXACT thing to pair with this day, and the hope that maybe it will storm and the thunder and lightning will compliment staying in as much as the soft clouds and sunshine compliment playing outside.

I would never want every day to be grey. I relish the sunshine too much. But today, with the cooler weather, today, I'm grateful that it's grey.