All Things Loved - December Edition

I cannot believe December has come and gone, and 2010 for that matter. This year seemed to go by faster then any other year, it seems. As we close out this month and year, here is a look at some of the things I loved this month:

FRAME:
My parents got us this frame as a Christmas present and we love it! It's so unique, different and personal, and it didn't hurt they used one of our favorite wedding pictures either.

LOTION:
I found this lotion from another blog I follow. I had to stop at a few stores before I could find it, but let me tell you, it was totally worth it! This lotion smells amazing, is creamy and rich without being greasy and is a great lotion for dry skin / winter time. (Johnson & Johnson's baby creamy oil - aloe and vitamin E)

MAKEUP:

I used to be a huge fan of NARS blush. However, the last time I bought some, it had a lot more "illuminating specs" (aka glitter) that got everywhere (all over my face, hands and on other people who came in contact with my face or hands). So I went back to Mirror Mirror, a local makeup store, and asked for a blush that was similar, but without the "illuminating specs" and they had me try one by Trish McEvoy and I love it. It's the perfect color, stays on all day and doesn't have the dreaded glitter! And it comes in this cute case which makes it super easy to stash anywhere (purse, clutch, makeup bag ect).



NECKLACE:

I had debated for the last few weeks on whether I wanted a Pandora bracelet. I finally settled on the fact that I probably wouldn't wear it as much as other bracelets I already have, and they can get pretty expensive. I had also been looking for some sort of bracelet or necklace to represent the two major cancers in our families right now, pink and orange. When I was browsing the Pandora charm website, I found two pretty glass beads, one in pink and one in orange. I bought the two charms and put them on a plain gold chain and wear them to represent my Nana, Derek's Aunt J and Derek's Mom M.



MOTIVATION:

This one isn't entirely tangible or something you can see. At the end of November my sister-in-law R and I were talking about working out, finding the motivation to do it, staying consistent among other aspects. Through out the month of December I have found motivation. With the exception of this past week, because of a stomach bug, I've worked out 4 - 5 times a week all month and don't dread it as much. Last night I was reading some running magazines, Runners World and Running Times as well as reading the blog Skinny Runner, and found ways to keep my motivation going. It's got me looking forward to running again, how to improve my running and how to keep it fun and not make it a chore. I'm entering the half marathon lottery for the Burlington City Marathon tomorrow and up until last night I was on the fence about how I felt. I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to get picked, but I wasn't 100% sure I didn't want to NOT get picked. Now I know, I 100% WANT to get picked. (I'll be sure to update on this after I find out.)

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family and love. Here are a few pictures from our first Christmas as husband and wife.

Books

THIS AINT YO MAMA’S BOOK #54 – Start a book exchange with my sister-in-laws.

My sister-in-law’s (SIL) and I all love to read and we each have quite an impressive personal library. We were talking over the summer and came up with the idea to start a book exchange between the three of us. But then G had little P early and B started school so we put it on hold until they each had a little more free time to read.

I have been talking to my SIL B about a quartet of books by Nora Roberts and she was excited to read them. I got the 4^th book in and finished it so I’m sending the whole series to her now that she’s graduated and will have some free time!

The Bride Quartet Nora Roberts
Set in the fun, fabulous and sometimes hectic world of wedding planning, follow the story of four friends and their struggles with life, love and family as they build their wedding planning company, VOWS.

Vision In White
Wedding photographer Mackensie "Mac" Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be's brother...an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

Bed of Roses
As little girls MacKensie, Emma, Laurel, and Parker spent hours acting out their perfect make believe "I do" moments. Years later their fantasies become reality when they start their own wedding planning company to make every woman's dream day come true. With perfect flowers, delicious desserts, and joyful moments captured on film, Nora Roberts's Bride Quartet shares each woman's emotionally magical journey to romance.

Savor the Moment
Wedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at VOWS wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood.

Happy Ever After
As the public face of Vows wedding planning company, Parker Brown has an uncanny knack for fulfilling every bride's vision. She just can't see where her own life is headed. Mechanic Malcomb Kavanaugh loves figuring out how things work, and Parker is no exception. Both know that moving from minor flirtation to major hook-up is a serious step. Parker's business risks have always paid off, but now she'll have to take the chance of a lifetime with her heart.

Music and Dust

SUCH RANDOMNESS THERE IS NO CATEGORY – #95 & #96

#95 Transfer itunes from desktop to the laptop

When my brother came home for Thanksgiving he helped me with my computer! He has an external hard drive and was able to transfer the songs I had in itunes on the desktop and transfer them to the itunes on the laptop. He also transferred all his music, some of which is from my dad’s awesome collection, and I now have over 3,000 songs in itunes!!!

# 96 Do something with desktop computer.

He also helped me clean it (it got pretty dusty in there from sitting so close to the floor for so long. So now I can give the desktop to my sister and brother-in-law. Apparently they can now get internet at their house and their desktop is old, slow and doesn’t work all that well; or fast. So when I go home for Christmas, I’ll bring my desktop and give it to them.

Food

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD #94 - Make something from scratch

The past weekend I made a co-workers corn chowder recipe and after a little fumbling at first, it ended up coming out pretty good! And it was relatively easy to make (I took major short cuts and used canned carrots and potatoes) and took about 15 minutes to prep.

Here's the recipe:

**Disclaimer - following this recipe exactly will make enough to fill an entire crock pot so if you don't want that much, I'd adjust the recipe.**

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cutter
4 small onions (chopped)
6 cups cream style corn
2 cups boiling water
4 cups potatoes (chopped)
2 cups celery (chopped)
4 tps parsley
4 cups half n half
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Cook butter, onion and carrots on medium - high heat until onions are tender. (This is a good time to get 2 the 2 cups of water going.)
2. Add potatoes, boiling water (to cook potatoes) and celery. Cook until potatoes are tender.
3. Add corn, half n half, parsley, salt and pepper.
4. Heat everything until its boiling, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

The longer you let everything simmer, the thicker the chowder will get. Its also a good idea to continue stirring everything so it doesn't burn/stick to the bottom of the pan.

Toys for Tots - Or something close

FOR GOODNESS SAKE: #87 Participate in Toys for Tots

This year my work ‘adopted’ two families from the Lund Family Center (www.lundfamilycenter.org) for Christmas. The women provided a list of things they needed and wanted for themselves and their child(ren). One of the things on one of the women’s list was toys and crafts for her 3 month old daughter.

I pulled that tag and went to Toys R Us and had a lot of fun picking out toys. I could have bought so many, but tried to keep myself in check. I went to the store thinking about the toys I remember my brother playing with or the toys my niece enjoyed or the toys my nephews are playing with. I knew just what I wanted to get, but once I got to the store, I was kind of disappointed by the selection and wasn’t able to get a few of the things I really wanted. But I was able to find a few toys that were similar to what I wanted to get and some other great toys that I didn’t think of or that she can grow into.

(I know this isn’t technically Toys for Tots, but since I bought toys for a baby, I figured I could count it.)

 

Charity Update

Number 66 on my list is to donate to charity at least once a year. However, since I am a sucker for a good cause and especially one I truly believe in, I raised almost $500 for the Breast Cancer walk in October, purchased the "I love boobies" bracelets from http://www.zummies.com,i/ where part of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer research as well as donated to the American Cancer Society in honor my Mother-in-law. And if I amselected as a runner for the marathon in May 2011, I plan to ask for donations for the American Cancer Society.

All Things Loved - November

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have always loved it and look forward to spending the day with family and eating the entire day! This year was no exception. D and I headed north to Derby on Wednesday night to celebrate our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife. There were 18 of us together this year, my parents, my sister, her husband and their two kids, my brother, my dad’s two brothers, their wives and the kids (five in total). My dad put together a special table that sat on top of the dining room table making it larger so  we could fit more people around it, and we still needed another table to seat five people!

Milestones

On the 14th my nephew H was 6 months old and on the 23rd my nephew P was 4 months old. They both celebrated their first Thanksgivings this year, too!

Exercise

So this past month I’ve really gotten into my Shape workout DVD. It had four parts, abs, butt and hips, legs and upper body. Each segment is about 15 minutes long. You can do just one segment or any combination of the four. (You could do the abs four times, just do the legs or do all four once.) I like to do all four sections and it’s quite the work out! After the first segment I’m usually starting to breathe hard, I’m sweating and whatever section I’m working is burning! It’s been a nice addition to my workout routine and I’m starting to notice some results!

Now that it’s getting dark so early (and getting colder) I’ve started running on the treadmill again. But there is only so much Food Network you can watching while running before it gets a little boring. So I’ve started watching episodes of The Hills while I run. I can usually get in at least 1.5 miles, even at a ‘slow jog’ pace, which isn’t bad. It’s been fun to watch the series from the beginning again. I just completed the first season and I’m starting on the second season this week!

Smells

My mother-in-law got us the Yankee Candle “Christmas Wreath” and a cute ‘holder’ to put it in. We’ve been burning it since last weekend when she gave it to us. It smells just like a Christmas tree! We had the candle burning when it started to snow (and actually stick for a little while) this weekend and it made me realize how close Christmas is.

Being Healthy

ROCKSTAR MENTALITY # 9 - Take multi-vitamin & calcium supplement every day for a month

And another one bites the dust :) 

I knew this one wouldn't be hard for me to complete once I got in the routine of taking them. I'd been very good about it earlier this year, and then for whatever reason, fell out of the habit. This is something I'll continue to do even though I won't keep count or track on here.

In the month I've been taking a multi-vitamin (Women's One A Day) and a calcium supplement (Os-Cal), my nails are stronger and grow better! I'm sure there are benefits going on that I can't see or feel, but I know its good for me to keep taking them. I'm glad I put this on here to get me back in the routine.

Football

BE A MAN -  # 52 Watch 2 football games (per season) of Derek’s choosing

I don't mind watching sports, in fact I actually enjoy watching baseball, basketball and hockey. One of the sports I am not a fan of is football. And its not because I don't know anything about it, I know the basics and then some, but for whatever reason this is just one sport I can't get into. So this entry was for Derek and not myself.

When I realized that today was the last regular season game for Michigan, I knew I needed to make myself comfortable on the couch and get ready to spend 3 hours watching college football. To say Derek gets into his sports is an understatement. In my opinion he gets overly dramatic about the game. They cannot hear him coaching, yelling and swearing or commentary from his spot on the couch; but that doesn't stop him.

With only a few minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Derek started talking about the new coach that would come in (because he's convinced the head coach is going to get fired). I politely suggested we take things one step at a time. He asked me what that meant and while I don't remember exactly what I said, I know I suggested waiting until after the Bowl Game (in December) and see what happens to the coach before he started predicting the future and added something about him being a bit dramatic about everything. His response "Well maybe its because I actually know what I'm talking about. You telling me to take things one step at a time and not be so "dramatic" is like me telling you how to Facebook or something".

Needless to say, feelings were a bit hurt, neither was impressed with what the other had said and we didn't talk for the rest of the game. This may end up being one of the items that doesn't get completed. I would MUCH rather donate to a charity then have to waste another 3.5 hours of my life watching a sport I don't like and getting into a "discussion" with Derek about it.

Pictures

GOD BLESSED THIS BROKEN ROAD - # 9 -Take an “us” picture every month

This month's picture is a self portrait from Thanksgiving.



Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. This year Derek and I traveled to Derby to spend the holiday with my family. This year that included 18 people, my mom and dad, my sister and her family, my brother, my dad's two brothers and their families and Derek and I.  Here are some pictures from the day.

 Derek & I

 S, J & Hunter

Aunt Mandi & Sienna



Food

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD # 93 - Try three different kinds of seafood

Tonight D and I had a date night. (We went to Outback for dinner and to see Unstoppable.) D got surf and turf for dinner, lobster tails and steak. Feeling brave, or seeing an opportunity to get one step closer to accomplishing another item on my list, I asked to try a small bite of lobster.

At first it didn't seem to bad, but what would when its DRENCHED in melted butter?! Once the butter went away I got an overwhelming 'fishy' taste in my mouth. I chewed a few more bites and then put a bit of potatoes in my mouth to try and get rid of it.

I'm thinking I'm not a lobster fan, which D said is ok as its one of the most expensive kinds of sea food. I heard once you have to try something 7 times before you know if you like it or not. So here's to one taste test down, one item clicked off my list, and to 6 more possible attempts to aquire a fondness for lobster.

Blog Tagging

My other sister-in-law R tagged me with a Blog Award (The Versatile Blogger). As part of this award I am supposed to write seven things about myself, so here goes:

Seven Things About Me:
1. I love to read. (Books, gossip magazines -I'm not picky!)
2. I love to shop.
3. My favorite soda is Dr. Pepper.
4. I am a VERY picky eater.
5. I love photo's and want to be better at taking pictures.
6. I have run a half marathon.
7. I am the oldest of 3 (My sister O is 18 months younger and my brother M is 7 years younger) But in the last year and a half I've 4 BIL's and two SIL's and we have one niece and two nephews! I love our growing families :)

Coming up with seven things about myself is a lot harder then I thought!

New Neighbors

Last week D and I took a trip to Charlotte to pick out the lot we want to build on. While we were there, we stopped by the farm. Here are some pictures of our soon-to-be "neighbors".

Some of the cows.

The Sheep



Pictures

GOD BLESSED THIS BROKEN ROAD #9 - Take an 'us' picture every month

Here is our 'us' picture for October. We were at our friend P's Halloween Party. (Yes, I was a lamo and didn't dress up. Derek had a costume but only wore it for about 20 minutes, and unfortunately I don't have a picture of it.)



All Things Loved - October

ALL THINGS LOVED - OCTOBER

BIRTHDAYS

10/6 - The beautiful H



10/8 - My cousin's son Parker celebrated his 1st birthday

10/10 - My cousin J turned 10 (10/10/10)

10/11 - S, my niece turned 3

10/22 - My brother-in-law Z

10/29 - My sister-in-law G celebrated her 1st birthday as a Mom

FALL FOLIAGE



 

MY HUSBAND - We celebrated our 4 month wedding anniversary on 10/26

One of our 1st pictures together

 Our 3 year dating anniversary

Florida March 18, 2009 - Right after D proposed <3

Engagement Picture

June 26, 2010

NIGHT YOGA

As I mentioned in a previous post about my 101 things, I purchased yoga DVD's. One of the DVD's has morning and night routines. The night routines range from 10 - 40 minutes in length and usually involve light stretching and breathing exercises to help you relax. I've been doing the 10 or 20 minute routine every night for about 10 days and I have to say, I have seen a difference. I fall asleep so much faster / easier and I sleep so much better (little to no tossing or turning or waking up during the night).



Blog Tagging

My sister-in-law G was tagged with this little Q&A and tagged me, so I thought I'd join in a little blast from the past fun!

{1}: If you could be in any TV show when you were a kid what would it be? 

This was hard to answer, I was a weird kid and loved Rescue 911.



However, since I would never want to be on that show, I would pick 7th Heaven and I'd want to be Mary - Jessica Biel's character.

{2}: What has been your favorite Christmas gift as a child?

As far back as I can remember, my parents have always given us an ornament. The ornament usually depicted something that happened between last Christmas and the one we were celebrating. For example, the year I turned 16, my ornament was a girl with a drivers license and car keys. The years I graduated high school and college the ornament was a girl in a cap and gown (school colors of course) with a diploma. Or the year we learned how to snowboard, we all got a snowboarder ornament. I look forward to those ornaments every year!

{3}: What actress would you want to play you if your life was a movie?

Jennifer Garner, maybe. I like that she seems down to earth and like a normal person.

{4}: What decade fad do you wish would come back?

I agree with Genevieve, I loved snap bracelets. But I also loved me some scrunchy socks! Especially when you had different colors and would layer them. Yeah, I was that cool.



{5}:What song describes your life?

God Bless The Broken Road by Rascal Flatts <3

{6}: What was your favorite subject in school?

Elementary School - Reading.
Junior High - Language Arts with Mrs. Woolsey
High School - Junior Humanities with Mrs. Rhodes
College - Marketing & Nutrition and Fitness

{7}: If you could have a dream job for a day what would it be?

Its a tie between Wedding Planner and Interior Decorator.

{8}: If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

Giraffe! They are my favorite zoo animal.