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.

Days 21 & 22

Before I start our scheduled blog posts, I have to preface it by saying I LOVE having girl time! I had the pleasure of going to a cute little Italian restaurant called Collina's last name with some of my favorite ladies - Jenn, Tracy & Kristen to celebrate Kristen's recent ENGAGEMENT! I could not be more thrilled for Kristen, she is such a cute girl and her and her FIANCE!! are adorable together.

And time spent with J, T & K? Always awesome. We always laugh so much. It's a shame it always takes us so long to get together, but we always have SUCH a good time when we do! It kinda makes me smile because we all are SO very different from one another, which is why I think we all click so well - not one of us is the same :) I love you girls!

OK on to blog challenge...

Day 21-Picture of yourself

 

I typically don't really like pictures of just me but let me peruse facebook for a second to see if I can find one. If not you'll have to settle for one of me and someone else...

 

Actually you're in luck - I love this picture because it describes me perfectly:

 

I love laughing more than anything and to give you some background on the picture this was at Sean and I's first couple's shower for our wedding and I had just been handed a Victoria's Secret box and my dad, silly as he is, was hounding me to show everyone what was inside... Are you ready for it? It was a... drum roll... GIFT CARD. Jokes on you, Dad! :)

Day 22-Favorite city

EASY. I love Houston, I was born and raised here and quickly made my way back after graduation. I love San Marcos, I spent four (and a half) spectacular years there. But the city that has, and has had since my senior year of high school, my heart?

San Francisco.

I love everything about that city. I love the trolley cars, the fog that rolls in each morning, the smell of the ocean, the brisk crispness of the air... I love the wineries, I love the hills and scenery... I love PacBell Stadium, walking into coffee shops, the Golden Gate bridge, heck I love just walking up and down the streets... I love it all.

I took this while we were driving through the Golden Gate. Oh San Fran, I love you!

And I'll leave you all with the lovely knowledge that it's WEDNESDAY! And the week has reached it's halfway point!

xoxo

Rachael



Day 19 & 20

I think I'm going to start combining days, I feel like 30 days is a long time to have 'scheduled' posts and as uninteresting as my life is, I would like to post about other things.

SO

Day 19-Something you miss

I miss my best friend. She's in Virginia and I hate that. I already have a house reserved for her in my neighborhood, right down the street. (*ahem* it's still for sale jen).

I miss being a kid sometimes and being able to play all day.

I miss swimming. I was an avid swimmer growing up, and swam competitively until I was about 16. Now I really wish I had kept up with it (though getting a car - which meant getting a job - was way more important than swimming when I was 16 obviously)

I miss my husband. I know that's stupid sounding, but really, some days I get to work and I just wish more than anything that I was at home spending time with him.

I miss certain friends and the bonds that we had that have since diminished. Some of them I'm not even sure what happened, but I wish to God that it hadn't happened and that we were still as close.

I miss my sister and her family. I hate that they live in California and I never get to see them. I wish we were closer so that we could be closer. Love you sis!

Day 20 - Nicknames

 

I don't really have a whole lot of nicknames... I have always been called 'Rache' by my closest friends, though I don't know if that counts because it's a shortened version of my name. For a long time I got referenced as "Lizard" by one of my ex's and his group of friends. If you're wondering where "Lizard" came from it's because my middle name is Elizabeth. And from Elizabeth, Lizard was born. My best friend called me Arby (RB... Rachael Blanton) in college and Penguin. :) Don't ask.

 

And that's that. Last night we were super lazy, though we did hang out with Matt & April for a while, and little Asher (nephew) and Roxie (MIL) came over to play for a bit. It's fun seeing Sean interact with his nephew because it just reminds me how wonderful of a dad he is going to be whenever we decide to have kids. I love that man.

 

 

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday and just remember - tomorrow is WEDNESDAY which marks the middle of the week! WOO!

 

xoxo

 

Rachael

Combining Days Again..

I obviously am a bad weekend blogger. In my defense though, I was gone all weekend.

I took off early Friday and the hubby and I took a road trip to New Braunfels to go spend the weekend with some dear friends of ours. They were SUPPOSED to be getting married this past weekend, but due to some medical complications with the bride's mom it has been delayed until next year. The good news is, her mom is A-OK now :) Thank GOD for that!

I am officially the worst car companion ever. I feel so bad for my sweet husband, who always drives the entire trip, because within 20 minutes of being in the car I am usually asleep... oops. I just can't help it! I could be wired and by the the 20 minute mark I am passed out. But I digress. On our way to New Braunfels we made a quick stop in Wimberely to pick up some wine at the winery we got engaged at. Wanna see a picture? I thought so.

Oh wait, that's Sean and I. My bad. How freaking cute are we though?! Ok onward with my story. Sean put the winery into his GPS and didn't factor in that he was taking the route driving through Austin at 5pm on a Friday. Biggest. Mistake. EVER. It took us ages to get through and by the time we were through Sean looked somewhat like this:

Yeah he doesn't deal well with traffic. But we made it in one piece. And the winery was just as beautiful as we remembered and the wine was just as delicious! And now we have six more bottles.

We made it to our friends house afterwards relatively quickly and then we packed up and went to Wurstfest which is one of my favorrrrrite things to do! Who doesn't love overpriced beer, delicious German food and festivities?! I SO miss living in the hill country.

Tosha, Dylan (cutest baby ever) and I spent the morning hiking while the boys golfed, lounged around and talked for hours (sometimes thats JUST what you need!) and then had dinner and played Cranium. Somehow the boys beat us. I think that was a major fluke.

Then we came home Sunday (prettiest day ever, made for a wonderful drive home... and yes, I slept through most of it) and then our good friend Matt came  over and we finally got to meet his (fantastic) girlfriend. She is so cool! And now here we are. On to day 16...

Day 16-Dream house

Oh... wait... that's our house... But really, I do love our house. But if I had to pick a dream house I have a few requirements... It must be a one story. It must have a front (and back) porch. It must have a lot of windows to let in the sunlight. I'd love for it to be on the water.  Let's see if I can find a good example...

Well, I can't right now. Bummer. But once I do, I will post a picture!

Day 17-Something you're looking forward to

I'm looking forward to seeing where life takes the hubby and I. I'm looking forward to having kids and being a mom. More immediately, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving (I love Thanksgiving!!)... I'm looking forward to fires and cuddling up with a mug of steaming hot cocoa and a good book. I'm looking forward to scarves and boots and coats. I'm looking forward to celebraing my first wedding anniversary with my husband... I could go on and on :)

Day 18-Something you regret

I honestly can't think of anything for this one. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and every move we make, be it a 'mistake' or not defines our lives. I think that ever experience we have helps to shape us into who we are, and really, I'm quite happy with who I am. I am married to the man of my dreams and I have a wonderful family and outstanding friends. *shrugs* So I'll pass on this one I suppose!

Too bad it's already Monday... Hopefully this week will pass by quickly!!

xoxo

Rachael

Day 15 - Bible verse

I'm not sure that I have a favorite, but I have many that I love. Here is one:

Psalm 55:22 - Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

I think that's so important and yet we so often forget to give all of our cares and burdens to God and let him handle everything. Instead we in end up turning our backs on Him and try to fix everything on our own, more often than not. When in reality, it would be so much easier to trust that He will fix what needs to be fixed in the way that it needs to be fixed (which may not be the way we want, but ultimately will be for the best).

Short post today :) HAPPY FRIDAY!

Oh, and I know that everyone is loving this cold weather, but I am a Houston girl through and through and I hate it. I love the boots, the scarves, the jackets, but being cold is like dying a little bit inside to me. There is nothing worse to me than being cold and I SUFFER in these months!

But this is cute!:

Look how happy we are! Granted, one of the worst nights of my life followed this picture (Sean got into a fight with someone MUCH bigger than him and I spent the remainder of the night sitting in the hospital freaking out) but whoever captured this moment captured a moment of pure perfection. We started seriously dating shortly after this :)

xoxo

Rachael

Day 14 - A picture you love

Before I go on with the blog challenge I have to point out that my sister-in-law is one TOUGH woman!

Today we are welcoming little baby Zoee into the world!! She made her debut this morning around 8am at a WHOPPING 10lbs! GO CASI! And for those of you that know Casi, you know she is one thin woman. So how she keeps producing these healthy-sized children is beyond me! (Asher, her first son, was around 9+lbs... And then Zoee came ha!)

I love Casi and Sonny both - I couldn't ask for a better sister/brother-in-law. I was blessed to have Casi as one of my bridesmaids in our wedding and Sonny married Sean and I - it really doesn't get more special or personal than that.

Here is a picture of Casi, Sonny and Asher from our wedding. You can't tell, but little Zoee is present in this picture too. Casi's just so darn cute and tiny that even though she was a couple months pregnant you couldn't tell. Love them.

Back to blog challenge... A picture I love...

I've always loved this picture of Sean and I. It's from one day at the lake and Casi snapped it at the perfect moment. Ahhh :)

Since I don't feel like posting any additional pictures today, you're saved from my tyrade of pictures :)

Have a GREAT Thursday!

xoxo

Rachael

Day 13 - Goals

Well, my goals are pretty straightforward...

• I want to be a stay at home mom at some point. My mom was a stay at home mom for us and it was the best possible thing ever. I do want to work part time somewhere though.
• I want to get in better shape. It's getting cold and that makes it harder for me to get out of bed and go run. So my goal is to get better about keeping my body in tip top shape.
• I want to be the best possible wife I can be to Sean. I have my faults, but I work on them all the time so I can be a better wife.
• I want to go to church more. I want God to be more of a part of my life.
• I want to be more involved in something. Anything. I want to make a difference.

That's pretty much it for now. The biggest goal I had I've accomplished - I married my best friend. Eventually, I want to have kids with him. For now, I want to enjoy being married to him and I want for us to grow together.

xoxo

Rachael

Combining Day 11 - Favorite TV Shows & Day 12 - What I Believe

Well I'm a little behind it seems. And while posting twice in one day is just lovely, I'm going to go ahead and combine Days 11 & 12 to save on time.

 

HOWEVER before I go on with my posting, I just want to remind everyone that it's TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd and you should all get out there and VOTE. It's not my business if you're voting Republican, Democrat, or anything inbetween, but we have the right to vote in this lovely country and everyone should exercise that! :)

 

Day 11 - Favorite TV Shows

 

To be honest, I don't have a lot of TV shows that I watch REGULARLY, though I do have a couple that I try not to miss.

 

On Thursdays you can usually catch me watching this lovely face:

 

Oh Patrick Jane, you are SO good looking! (And luckily, hubs likes the show too!)

And on Sundays I will be glued to my couch for these two shows:

I'm a huge fan of the period shows and this one has been great so far. At times it's a little slow, but the character development is amazing. So if you have HBO, WATCH IT!

After watching the seriousness of Boardwalk Empire, Bored to Death is just what I need. This show CRACKS me up. Again, if you have HBO, you must watch this!! I spend most of the episodes crying because I'm laughing so hard. It's just that funny. They have a lot of over the top slapstick comedy in each episode, and I love that something so stupid still can bring a smile to my face.

 

 

Day 12 - What I Believe

 

• I believe in the power of prayer
• I believe in God and His awesomeness
• I believe that sunrises and sunsets are the perfect ways to begin and end days
• I believe that friends are one of God's little gifts to help get us through each day
• I believe that laughter is the best medicine
• I believe that your family is everything

xoxo

Rachael

Day 10 - Something you're afraid of

I like to think of myself as a pretty confident person. And I don't mean pretty (like beautiful) and confident as two adjectives to describe myself, because that would be conceited. I just mean self-assured.

However, I really have a lot of little fears in life. In fact, I'm a huge wuss when I have to be home by myself at night. When Sean was travelling for work and was gone Monday through Thursday night and I had to stay in our house by myself I pretty much had a panic attack every night before I tried to go to sleep.

I have really irrational fears about being home alone at night. I tried several different things to try and fix this problem, but none of them really worked.

1. Getting kittens: This failed on all levels. When you have two kittens that are 6 and 8 weeks old, they do not sleep at night. They pounce on your face. They tumble around on top of each other. They meow. They bite. They had to go. Solution? I put them outside of my room and slept with the door closed. Which was awful because then I wouldn't be able to hear people breaking in. I'm telling you - irrational.

2. Sleeping on the couch: I figured this was an acceptable solution because then I wasn't backed into a room with only one way out if someone intruded into my house. Then I could run in multiple directions. However, our couches are great for sitting on, great for napping on, and horrible for spending the entire night sleeping on. So that was out.

3. Getting really drunk: This actually did help quell my fear of there being someone in my house, and I could fall asleep relatively quickly, but on every other level its not OK. You wake up hungover, you eat crappy breakfast because you need to feel better, you don't work out... Yes, not conducive to my life.

4. Staying at my parents: I feel pathetic even typing that. But I'd be lying if I didn't say that I've done that. In an effort to not be home alone (am I 5??) I definitely have gone over to my parents under the pretense of "having dinner" and then "its gotten too late, I'll just stay with my conveniently packed over night bag that just happens to be in my car and has all the essentials for working out and going to work the next day..."

I guess I may have watched one too many scary movies growing up. That's really the only explanation I can think of. Because if Sean leaves a light on in the back of the house and then is gone (say, at softball) when I get home and its dark outside, then I minorly freak out about why the light is on. And it pretty much goes something like this:

walks through front door into dark, empty house

sees a light around the corner in the part of the house no one ever goes in

walks quickly to the kitchen, keys still in hand, ready to stab someone if need be

pours a glass of wine

stands in kitchen

pours another glass of wine

grabs a cat so that if someone is in the back of the house i can throw the cat onto them and run

walks with keys cat and wine to back of house very slowly, looking into each room and doing a mental assessment, then closing the door

goes back to the kitchen, still not convinced

pours to-go wine and drives aimlessly around cypress until Sean is coming home

So I guess you could say my biggest fear is someone breaking into my house and killing me.

There you have it.

xoxo

Rachael

Day 9

My friends are such amazing people. I could not be more blessed.

My aaaaahhhh-mazing best friend. There's really no words to express how much I care about this lovely lady!

This always has been and will be one of my all-time favorite pictures from college. We had so much fun together (and still do, thankfully). These boys were like family to Alisa and I.

Some of my favorite ladies at Sean and I's 'stock the bar' shower before our wedding :) Love them.

Those are just some of my favorites :) I'm kinda in a funk today. Hopefully THAT will disappear soon!

xoxo

Rachael