Pre-Registration is Open!

I am so excited! And it's for something I never thought I would get excited about. Because this is something I've always hated and simply would NOT do before. But that was before I decided it was time to get myself healthy. And now, I'm excited about running. About running a 5K that is! Who is this girl I'm becoming?! I think some people might say I'm becoming a "runner...." And who thought that would ever happen? Not me, that's for sure.

Back on my 25 Before 25 list, I wanted to complete a Couch to 5K program. Well that didn't happen at all. I didn't actually even start one. I ran maybe four times, and then quit. Then I put Run a 5K on my 30 Before 30 list, and felt more serious about it this time. In February, I started running one Sunday, and quickly picked it up and was soon running multiple times a week, to lately I've been running about 5-6 days a week! And now comes the time where I start trying to "train" towards something, towards a goal.

My friend Sara asked me like a year ago to do a color run with her - and I almost immediately shot her down. It wasn't my thing. I wasn't a runner. I wasn't going to do it. And so we missed the ones that were all close to here, and I barely even noticed, because I didn't care about running. But she still really wanted to do one, and so she kept on asking me about it. And eventually she planted a bug in me, and made me want to do one now too! 

And so we started researching and trying to find one that we could do together. But the Florida ones have all happened already. Sad day. And the closest Georgia or Alabama ones are on dates that don't work for one or both of us. But then I started doing more research, and found another race called Run or Dye! And they have ones planned for Orlando & Atlanta (both about 4.5 hours from where we live), but the dates weren't announced for those yet. And it's not very smart to register for a race in another city if you don't know the date, especially when you're as busy as I am...

But then last night, I saw one of my old youth post a picture on her Instagram, saying that the Run or Dye race was coming to Tally!!! And I got so excited. And then this morning on Facebook, another friend posted  a link to pre-registration, and I immediately hopped over there to start checking stuff out. Technically, the dates of this one aren't announced yet either, but I scoured over hundreds of comments on their Facebook page to see that one girl mentioned when you pre-register, they give a tentative date of September 7th. And September 7th works for me!!

So it looks like I'll be running my very first 5K race on September 7, 2013, in the Run or Dye race, here in Tallahaseee!! Who can recommend the best training app or schedule? I need some suggestions!

Image via the Run or Dye Facebook page

Also, I definitely want to get a team together to do this. Really it just means you save $5 off of your registration, and that's about it. But I also need the support and camaraderie that comes from running with friends. So even though Pre-Registration is Open now, I'm waiting a bit until I can scrounge up a few friends to all register with me :) But no matter what, I WILL be running this race, and I'm strangely so excited for it!

Promises - My 30 Before 30 List!!

As of yesterday, I'm officially a quarter-of-a-century old. That's a big deal, right? Maybe, but also maybe not ;) Either way, I'm excited about it! Most of you should know, that for the past six months, I've been working on my list of goals for 25 Before 25, and I've had so much fun! Some were easy, some were hard, some were quick, some took longer, but all were enjoyed. (You can read my final recap in case you want to see how I did on those goals.) One of the things on my previous 25 Before 25 list, was to create a brand new list of 30 Before 30!!

Sent this to a few family members yesterday, just for some fun :)

And of course I've done just that. I haven't written it down and made it look pretty yet like I did with the last one, but I will definitely be doing that soon, so that I can display it as a constant reminder! So without further ado, here's my list of goals for the next five years!

  1. Buy a DSLR for myself, and really learn how to use it
  2. Bake homemade bread, all from scratch
  3. Visit Bridget, wherever she happens to be living at the time!  Attended her wedding December 2017 in Indianapolis!
  4. Read and watch "Gone with the Wind"
  5. Take a cooking class or a painting class - or maybe both!
  6. Get married! (October 5, 2013!!!)
  7. See another Broadway play, or go to any Cirque du Soleil performance
  8. Meet a blog friend IRL (in real life) (DONE 5.9.13 with Angie)
  9. Complete a 5K (Completed The Color Run on 9/7/13)
10. Be healthy! (Hesitant to set specifics, but I'm thinking I want to weigh 150...)
11. Host a dinner party at my own house, cooked all by myself
12. Watch at least 50 of AFI's top 100 films, from 2007 list. (At time of posting, I've already seen 21)
13. Fly on a plane again! (October 6, 2013 - to Cancun on the honeymoon! Indiana, December 2017.)
14. Read at least 50 books. (As of January 2018, I've read approximately 250 books!)
15. Visit a state I've never been to before. (Indiana, December 2017.)
16. Be in a job or career that I love
17. Eat something I've never had before - maybe something a little bit weird and different?! I've tried lots of different things since then, but my favorite has been trying Indian food! It's one of my faves so far!
18. Travel outside of the country (October 6, 2013 - to Cancun on the honeymoon!)
19. Triple my blog followers, blog posts & number of page views (Today: 298 followers, 262 posts & 19740 views)
20. Completely pay off my student loans. (DONE as of July 2017.)
21. Be a part of a flash mob
22. Learn how to drive a stick shift, flawlessly and without stalling (FAIL - tried learning from hubby in 2014, and I was terrible. He actually ended up selling his manual Jetta, to get an automatic Volvo, just so I could drive his car...)
23. Live in my own place (with my husband!) and decorate it just the way I want it (Turquoise House)
24. Attend a renaissance fair
25. Go back to New York City again
26. Go to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival to taste all the yummy foreign foods!
27. Have a pet of my own (adopted Primrose 11/9/13)
28. Figure out how to start putting away money for retirement, and do it (currently enrolled in FPU, so we're working on it...)
29. Go on a spontaneous weekend trip/vacation, without pre-planning anything!
30. Celebrate my 30th birthday in style!!

So, a few of these things are very similar or exact repeats of my 25 Before 25 list, and that's because I didn't do them before, but I would still really like to accomplish, i.e. complete a 5K. But for the most part, I tried to dream bigger and broader than I did with my first list, because now I have five full years to complete these, instead of only six short months.

I really believe that these are things that I will enjoy doing, as well as actually be able to accomplish. However, I will say this: I have no idea where in my life I'll be in two or three or four and half years - so if some of these need to be tweaked or re-worked or deleted with new add-ins, then I'm giving myself permission up front to do that. I mean hello? Five years is kind of a long way off to plan for. So I'm just going to be flexible on these if need be. Because honestly, I'm the only one truly worrying if these are all accomplished anyways!

And besides, the main purpose of this kind of list for me is simply to experience more, travel more, expose myself to more, love more, learn more, treat myself more... LIVE more. And that's exactly what I plan on doing. I plan on living a great life, and enjoying every day that God blesses me with! And while doing that, I plan on doing some awesome things over the next five years :)

Have y'all made any lists like this before? What kinds goals and dreams are on your lists? I'd love to hear more ideas!

Oh, and P.S. - Here's my super short Weigh In Wednesday -- I only lost a pound this last week, putting me at 204 today. I'm blaming that on the very untimely woman issues and some extra bloating because of that... ugh.

Popcorn Must be Eaten at the Theater

Today is my 25th birthday!!! Hooray! For some reason, I've always really loved my own birthday. I know some people tend to shy away to avoid the spotlight or extra attention, but I tend to bask in it. I don't know if that's "selfish" or not, but honestly, I don't really care - because celebrating my birthday is just always so much fun! And I mean, come on, it IS your special day after all! So why not take joy in it?! I know I always do! :)

Tonight my dear boyfriend will be taking me to try a semi-fancy, new restaurant here in town, The Front Porch, and I'm so dang excited! Chef Rego is apparently really famous for his multitude of restaurants in Atlanta and in the Northeast. But probably more notably, he has won two different episodes of "Chopped" on the Food Network! How awesome is that?! So yeah, I'm pumped :)

And so for today, in honor of my 25th birthday, I'm sharing 25 random facts that I'm guessing most of you don't know about me. Unless you're one of my real life besties, my boyfriend, my sister or my Mama, because they probably do know most of these things. I tried to keep it interesting and only add the "good ones" that probably wouldn't ever come up on my blog naturally. Hope you enjoy!

25 Random Facts about me!

  1. I can't be in the car and NOT sing along with whatever's playing
  2. Popcorn must be eaten when at the movie theater
  3. My bedroom is bright teal. I chose the color when I was 19, and I actually still love it!
  4. I was 18 years old before I ever rode on an airplane
  5. When I drive in the summer, I strategically position my armpits in front of my car vents
  6. I own tons of books that I haven't read yet, but still continue to buy more all the time
  7. I will cry at the drop of a hat, and I am not one of those girls who is a "cute crier." It's downright ugly folks
  8. I'm pretty obsessed with musicals and Broadways and movies about them
  9. Suspensful and scary movies are some of my favorites. Just not the gruesome, nasty ones...
10. When I was little, I wanted to be "a ballerina and a band." Apparently I wanted to be both, at the same time
11. I had 11 different roommates throughout my four years of college
12. I don't wear makeup everyday, and I'm OK without it. However, I don't like pictures of me without makeup
13. I own every season of "Friends" and "Gilmore Girls"
14. When my sheets and comforter and clean, freshly made and pulled tight, that makes me super happy
15. In my house/bedroom, I much prefer lamps or candles instead of overhead lighting
16. I have never lived outside of Florida - and only in two cities: Tallahassee and St. Augustine
17. I am a serial list-maker. I mean, for everything. I've even been known to make lists of lists
18. There are white twinkle lights up in my my room year-round
19. Yummy smelling candles are one of my favorite things
20. I like my own handwriting, a lot
21. I hate repeating myself, so listen up, because I'll usually be annoyed if I have to say it again...
22. I actually really like driving. And on long road trips and stuff, I'll always volunteer to take the wheel for a bit!
23. I tend to be pretty adventurous with food, and love trying new and different things!
24. I used to steal collect menus in high school. I've slowed down on that, but still grab one occasionally.
25. Watermelon is my favorite fruit. I could probably eat a whole one by myself out by the pool in July.

My "little" sister and I at lunch this past Sunday.

Yay for random facts, and yay for birthdays!! I'm lucky again this year, because I get to celebrate my birthday multiple times. Tonight is just Jeff and I; Thursday is my immediate family; Friday is my whole family at my Grandparent's house; and Saturday will be with a few friends! I am indeed a lucky girl :)

For those of you who are older than 25, what did you do to celebrate? For those of you who are younger than 25, do you have an plans or ideas already? Cheers to 25!

Oh, and tomorrow I will be sharing my 30 Before 30 list! And I'm so psyched about it!!

Post-Pledge: The Final Recap

As of this morning, I'm considering my 25 Before 25 Pledge list officially over. Tomorrow I will be 25 years old, and it's time to move on! I have created a new list of 30 Before 30, which is full of all sorts of things. Some are small, some are quite huge, but I'm excited about them all. (Those will be posted later this week.) But for this post, I want to do a recap of how things went for my 25 Before 25 goals!

OK first, I want to talk about the 14 goals that I did completely accomplish, and officially crossed off:

1. Explore 3 towns nearby. We explored Panama City Beach, Marianna and Thomasville, Georgia.

2. Try 6 new restaurants. The new ones we tried were: 101 Restaurant, Monk's, Georgio's, Taste Budz Cafe,  Backwoods Bistro, Up in Smoke, Jonah's and Tallahassee Smokehouse. So that's actually eight!

3. Read 6 books. I started off good, then got stuck on one that was too long and boring. "The Swan Thieves" is super long, and it took me like 2 months to read just half of it. I ended up moving on, and not finishing it. I did however read: Harry Potter 1, Daring to Dream, Room, Gone Girl, Out of Mormonism, Divergent, and Insurgent. So I ended up reading 7 books, and half of an extremely long one!

4. Maintain both bank accounts at $_,000. I don't want to divulge what that fill-in-the-blank is, but I will say I accomplished this amount around mid-December! Yay me for saving money!

5. Try 10 different nail art designs. Check, check, check! I probably did around 20 different manicures, not including just plain colors. Below are almost all the designs I tried, although I do know there are a few others missing, but I can't find pictures of those.

6. Have a Bible study with youth in the fall. Also a check! We ended up splitting the youth into high school/middle school and boys/girls, so there were four groups. I got to attend some of both of the girls study sessions, and I loved getting to be with them!

7. Reach 10,000 page views and 200 blog posts. I hit 10,000 page views sometime in October (I think), and my 200th post was in November, when I accepted the Liebster award! As of today, I'm at 19,329 page views and this is post number 259! And I'd say I'm still going strong :)

8. Start learning guitar. OK so maybe I didn't actually learn the guitar, but I did try, and ended up making a decision about it... My hands aren't big enough to fit around the neck, so I'm going to try the ukulele instead! 

9. Do something I've never done before. Well honestly, I have a really funny story for this one, but I'm just not sure it's "blog-appropriate." Let's just say it's about a time when I needed to relieve myself on a bike ride at an inconvenient time... if you email me about it, I might just let ya know ;)

10. Actually do things from my Pinterest pins. By mid-October, I had already made seven or eight new recipes that I got off of Pinterest! And I've definitely made more since then. You can check out some of them at these links: enchilada soup, twice-baked cauliflower and bacon-wrapped lil' smokies, creamy tortellini soup, pan-roasted chicken, pepperoni pizza casserole, and oven-baked chicken fajitas.

11. Update my resume. Check. Not much else to say about that, but it's done!

12. Blog my entire weight loss journey honestly. Did this just two weeks ago, and shared every single detail. And it was great. I loved actually writing the whole thing out, and getting so much amazing feedback back from everyone.

13. Plan one real date night every month. Most of those date nights can be read about in the same posts above about the new restaurants we tried. I'm so glad we made sure to have at least one real date night every month, and it was definitely a fun goal to accomplish :)

14. Make a list for 30 Before 30. Done! And I can't wait to get started on it! :) I'll be sharing it on Wednesday.

Now let's move on to the ones that were only partially finished or not at all finished...

We actually only made it to 4 of 10 State Parks - St. George Island, St. Andrews in Panama City, Maclay Gardens here in Tally, and the Marianna Caverns. I think we probably could have only fit in one more, had Jeff not broken his foot. But 4 of 10 isn't too bad... and we can still use our pass through the end of May.

I do not weigh 180, I did not complete a Couch to 5K, and I did not complete the 30-Day Shred. Unfortunately, I just  got lazy and these didn't happen. I did run a little bit but I quit, and I did the Shred DVD often, just not for 30 straight days. But now I'm working on everything again, and I'm losing weight! I currently weigh 205, and have lost 12 pounds since January 8th!

I didn't get to ride entire length of St. Mark's Trail (16 miles), and I didn't bike 200 miles total. I got nowhere close to 200, and only rode about 55 miles total. I did ride my furthest distance ever, but it wasn't on the trail like I wanted. My furthest was the 20-mile alley cat we did in October.

We didn't get a chance to try geocaching, and I missed the camping trip my Sunday school class took in the fall when I got too sick to go. I memorized three new Scripture verses, but then kind of got stuck there... Oh, and I didn't hang up the pictures in my room yet either.

So 14 of my 25 goals are completely crossed off. Not too shabby, although of course I would have liked that number to be higher! But it doesn't really matter, because I had fun doing them. And some of the ones that I didn't get to cross off, are making a reappearance on my next list of goals anyways.

I got to try new things, eat new food, make new recipes, spend time with my boyfriend, save some money, visit new places, read awesome books, and do so many other things as well. Even though I can't cross off every single thing, I'd still say that I was successful in really living my life over these last few months since I wrote my initial Pledge!

Up through now, I've had a pretty great 24 years. I'm looking forward to what 25 will bring though, and can't wait to see what my life looks like at 30!! Here's to at least FIVE more years of Food, Fun, Family, Fitness and Fabulousness!! Tomorrow, I'll be ready to welcome in The Big 2-5! :)

Productive Things, Fun Things & Exercise Things

Dear Weight Loss: It's still going great, and I'm feeling awesome. Today I'm down another 1.5 pounds, which means I'm weighing in at 208.5 pounds now! And I gotta still keep pushing. So I'm not going to take the weekend off like I did last week. The goal is to exercise twice over the three-day weekend. Which leads me to....

Dear Bicycle: I miss you! I haven't ridden you since our crazy epic Talloween alley cat back in mid-October! This weekend though, I think it's time to get you back in gear. Maybe a ride with Sarah sometime this weekend?

Dear New Followers: Holy stinkin' moly there are a lot of you guys! So glad you're here now! I'm assuming 95% of you probably came from the awesome FitBit One giveaway, and I know I got a few from the Weigh-in Wednesday link-up. No matter how you got here,  I'm really hoping you'll stick around and get to know me, so that I can get to know you!! And in case you want to read more about me, check out a few of these past blog posts you've missed: 

currently, hello 2013, inspiring, weight loss journey, 25 Before 25, about me and my beliefs.

Dear Florida Weather: You are seriously bi-polar. Earlier this week it was 81 degrees and quite lovely. Today however, it was 43 when I left my house, and the high is only 63. That's kind of a drastic change in just three short days, don't ya think, Florida?!

Dear Fellow Bookworms: If any of you liked "The Hunger Games," then you should probably read "Divergent" by Veronica Roth. I finished this nearly-500 page book in just four days! Yes, there are some similarities between the two series, but Divergent is still really good, and so entertaining. I am going to rush to Target immediately after work to get book number two, "Insurgent." Y'all have any book suggestions for me after that? I'm in need of some new ideas here peeps!

P.S. - This is book number six I've read since writing my 25 Before 25, so that's another thing I get to cross off my list! With just a week and a half to go, I gotta squeeze in all I can!

Dear Boyfriend: Since you're still on bed-rest, I'm trying to plan us some sort of fun/different/unique at-home date night for tonight, but haven't really come up with much yet... I'll figure something out though, don't you worry! Any ideas girls?!

This has been a pretty awesome week for me guys. And I'm still so glad I laid everything out there and shared my entire weight loss journey, because the response I've gotten from it has been incredible! I am of course looking forward to a fun three-day weekend, and will try to spend it doing productive things, as well as fun things, and also some exercise things. Maybe I should also try a craft or a new recipe? I haven't shared one of those kinds of posts in a while....so, yes! I think it's time I do a craft or cook something new! I'll jump on that :) 

I hope y'all have a great weekend too! What are some of your plans? Anything exciting? Anything I'll be jealous of?! Can't wait to hear all about it! Happy Friday, my friends!

Plunge into 2013

It's a new year my friends! January first, twenty-thirteen. Can you guys smell the the new calendars and planners and the change in the air? I think I can. (I think I can...) So without further ado, let's just go ahead and Plunge into 2013. Let's dive right in and see all that this glorious New Year has to offer us! Here's my Goodbye. Hello list for a brand new 2013... (borrowing the idea from a lovely lady I follow, at The Little Lovebirds.)

Source

Goodbye old. Hello new.

Goodbye being a staff member at BFBC. Hello to new opportunities and other open windows.

Goodbye Megan Trammell. Hello Megan Walker.
Goodbye to bitter. Hello to forgiveness.

Goodbye weight-loss laziness. Hello work out motivation.

Goodbye constants. Hello change.

Goodbye to an hourly, OPS State job. Hello (hopefully) to salary and benefits and something new.
Goodbye junk food, sweets & carbs. Hello fruits, veggies and healthier options.
Goodbye to 24. Hello to a quarter-of-a-century old.
Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013!!

And as far as New Year's Resolutions... I don't usually make them, and I'm going to try to stay away from that again this year. "Resolutions" are usually ambiguous like "be healthy" or "be happy," and how in the world do you determine if you've accomplished those things or not?! Instead, I've set 13 specific goals, that are easily quantifiable (big word there, right?!) that I want to accomplish this year. Some are similar to my 25 Before 25 goals, but set a little higher. Or some have been re-set if it wasn't accomplished. And now, here's my 13 goals for the year of 2013!

1. Visit a new state
2. Go to a new town somewhere in Florida (Visited Appalachicola on 3.3.13)
3. Fit into my bridesmaid dress for Meg's wedding (a few alterations, but it still fit! 5.18.13))
4. Weigh 180 pounds, or less if I'm ambitious/motivated enough
5. Throw Megan a beautiful wedding shower & a fun bachelorette party
6. Reach 300 blog followers, with 25,000 page views (now: 170 followers & 15,125 page views) 2.25.13
7. Ride 500 total miles this year on my bike
8. Go to zumba AND go for a run once every. single. week. (So far I'm doing great! as of 6.6.13)
9. Spend more time in The Word
10. Read 24 books (6 of 24 in May)
11. Visit a new restaurant/food truck in town at least once a month (3 of 12 in May)
12. Plan one real date night every month with Jeff (5 of 12 in May)
13.  Do more Pinterest crafts (I was real good at the recipes for my Pledge, but not many crafts...)

I have one month left on my Pledge of 25 Before 25, and I'm doing pretty well with those. And then after my birthday at the end of the month, I can focus more on these things and my new goals for the entire year!

So my friends, Cheers to a new year, and all the lovely things that come with it! If you've made goals and resolutions yourself, I wish you good luck with those, and hope you are successful! If you didn't, I still hope you have a marvelous new year as well.

For the life of us, we couldn't take a good, non-blurry picture last night... 

Happy 2013 y'all!!

Peppadews, Parties & Pippin

Guys, I'm not really feeling much like writing yet today. I think my brain isn't turned on quite yet this morning, due to the fact that I've had zero coffee. This is going to be an interesting day if I don't get some sort of caffeine pumping through these veins sometime soon. But now that I'm typing a little bit, my brain is waking up and you just might get a "real" blog post out of me. Well, a real weekend recap that is...

Friday
We started the night by picking up my Jeep from Costco, after getting new tires, only to find a piece that should have been attached, sitting in my front seat. Luckily my man is great at not only baking cookies but also working on my car! After it was all fixed, we headed up to Thomasville for the Victorian Christmas celebration. When we first walked up we saw these pretty gourds that had been carved out, and little nativity sets put inside them. So lovely! We grabbed a couple of cupcakes from Lucy & Leo's and then walked around but there wasn't too much to do, so we decided to head on back to town, and get dinner in Tallahassee.

When we got back, we decided to eat at Backwoods Bistro! It's relatively new, and only been open for a few months or so, but we know one of the owner's so we figured it was definitely time to check it out. And it was delicious! First we split an appetizer - Hurricane Battered Shrimp, that came on skewers with a remoulade dipping sauce, and these were so yummy. Then we split The Beast Burger - the burger patty is stuffed with onions, mushrooms, and peppadew peppers, with bacon and cheddar cheese on top, served on what is basically a super soft, giant dinner roll. Oh man this thing was delish! But I'm glad we split it, because it was quite a huge beast. I would definitely recommend this place, and I can't wait to go back and try something new, because their specialty pizzas sounded really yummy :)

Also, this was new restaurant #6 of my goal of 6 before my birthday! So that's one more thing I get to cross off my goal list of 25 Before 25! A quick recap of my 6 new restaurants were: 101 Restaurant, Taste Budz Cafe, Monk's, Up In Smoke, Georgio's and Backwoods Bistro. I liked this goal so much, I've decided it will be a yearly goal, to try one new one every month. So here's to 12 new restaurants in 2013!

Saturday
I got to sleep in a little bit, which was nice for a change! Then Jeff and I went to a graduation party for one of his friends who just graduated from UCF. Then we made a couple of stops at some cute stores, and headed to another graduation party for one of my friends who just graduated from FSU! We had some great food, played Pictionary  and just had some fun times at both of the parties. But, I was a huge slacker and have no pictures from either party... lame sauce.

Sunday
I woke up with a horrible headache, so I went back to sleep and had to miss church yesterday morning. I finally got up and took some Tylenol, and started feeling better after eating a bagel. Around 2 p.m., I finally convinced myself to shower and get dressed, and I headed over to Jeff's house. We split a Turkey Tom from Jimmy John's and then went to Walmart with his mama for some gift cards. Then it was their church's Christmas dinner party, so we enjoyed good food and some Christmas songs, and we wore matching hats :)

Not our greatest picture ever, but ya know.... oh well.

After the dinner, we went back to his house, and continued our personal LOTR viewing party and watched the second half of "The Fellowship of the Ring", and then the first half of "The Two Towers."  And I gotta admit, I was always really skeptical of these movies and never wanted to watch them because I thought they would be boring, but they're actually quite interesting, and I'm already looking forward to getting to watch more of them! (And my reference to Pippin in the title of this post, is for one of the tiny Hobbits in the film, for those of you who haven't seen the movies and therefore probably didn't get it) And during the movies, I took some time to do my nails, & I'm loving the way they turned out :)

Well look at that -- I did end up writing a decent weekend recap post! You're all welcome, since I'm sure this was really all you were hoping for on this dreary Monday morning... But, this Monday starts a regular 5-day work week, followed by a lovely couple of days off for Christmas! Thank the Lord for that! I'm of course looking forward to the time spent with family, but I'm not quite ready, gift-wise. I guess I better step to it this week, so I'm not rushing around like a mad woman this weekend trying to finish everything up. Are y'all done with all your Christmas shopping? Please tell me there are others who still have more to do!

P.S. - Linking up today with: Covered in Grace, Glitter & Gloss, Sami's Shananigans & Synfully Delicious.

Penguin Teapot & Friday's Letters

Dear Life: Why do you have to be so hard sometimes? I mean for real...I think I've dealt with enough in my life and I simply don't want it right now. Any of it. So back off, would ya? Because I could use a break right now.

Dear Family & Boyfriend: Thanks for being the bestest and for supporting me through all the craziness this week. You guys really have helped me feel better when I've needed it, and I thank you for your love and support.

Thank you again for this sweet card, boyfriend :)

Dear Bank Account: We're so happy right now! We reached our goal of $_,000 before my 25th birthday, in both my checking and my savings account! Woohoo! Now let's not get crazy and spend too much money around the holidays, OK? I like it where you're at now, so let's keep it that way for a while.

Dear Boyfriend: You looked so cute making homemade cookies the other night :) And they tasted delicious as well! Also, tonight we're going to the Victorian Christmas in Thomasville right after work, and I'm so excited. It should be lots of fun, and just the kind of activity I love doing with you! I can't wait to see what it's like this year!

Dear Readers: I just realized that in past two shorts months, you lovelies have tripled in size. Holy moly. In the beginning of October, I had 50 followers, and now I have almost 160. This is amazing to me, and I'm truly so glad you're here! If you're new around here, which most of you are, then welcome! Glad to have you! If you've been around for a while now, I'm still thankful to you peeps as well :)

Dear Dani-Pants: Thank you so much for sending my a little package in the mail. That was so sweet of you, and it was a great week to get it, since things haven't been so great this week. I had already painted my nails pink on Wednesday, so as soon as I got this on Thursday, I found some little pink flowers that went perfect! Thanks again so much for my random surprise :) You're the bestest!

Dear Sister: I had fun planning some wedding stuff with you last night! Things are coming along nicely, and I'm sure it's going to all be so pretty. Oh, and of course we're so excited about our bridesmaids dresses coming in early!!!

Dear Hallie: I'm so excited and looking forward to our upcoming link-up collaboration! It's going to be so much fun, and I hope we get a lot of participation from both of our readers. I am also looking forward to making some new friends too! So peeps, be on the lookout next week for a fun link-up with me and Hallie from Life: Oceanside! :)

Dear Mama: Thank you so much for my tiny, new penguin teapot! It is adorable and I love it, and I can't wait to use it more. It's just precious, and was such a cute surprise gift this week :)

Dear Instagram: I love you. I am obsessed with you. Thanks for all the entertainment you provide. And thanks for all the pictures in this post today. You can follow me here if you want, or my username is HalieRenee88

Friends, this week has indeed been a little rough. I can't yet say on this blog what all is going on, but I will say that if you're the praying type, I would definitely appreciate some prayers to be sent my way. There's some hoopla going on with one of my two jobs, and it's breaking my heart. We'll leave it at that for now, but just know that I'm OK, but could definitely use some extra prayers around here.

Oh a happier note though - I have a fun weekend ahead of me, and I'm really looking forward to that! Like I mentioned earlier, we're going up to Thomasville, GA, tonight, tomorrow we have two graduation parties, I'll get to spend some time with friends and hopefully get some rest as well. I hope y'all have a lovely Friday today, but an even lovelier weekend!

Piccata & Perks

All I really want to do today is just share a couple of photos from last night, and brag about my sweet boy :) Last night he took me out for date night to celebrate 1 year and 4 months together, and also it's kind of our Christmas date too. He picked me up at my house after work, and took me to Georgio's. And oh man that place is delicious! I hadn't been there before, so that's new restaurant #4 of my goal of 6 before my 25th birthday. Four down and two to go. I can totally finish this goal :)

But anyways, back to Georgio's -- I had Chicken Piccata, which was super nummy-nummy. It came first with a salad, then also yummy green beans, and some great angel hair alfredo  Ohhhh so good. Jeff got a steak that had been stuffed and grilled with garlic cloves, and sitting on top of caramelized red onions, and it was amazing! Easily the best steak I've ever tasted. We were both stuffed at the end of dinner, but we both agreed it was well worth it to go out for something fancy for a change!

But this is the best we could do, picture-wise, since there were literally no other people around we could have asked to take it for us. We rested my camera on a brick pillar to use the timer feature, but it's still lookin' a bit funky...

After dinner, we decided to go the economical route, and went to the cheap theater to see "Perks of Being A Wallflower." First though, we decided we needed to stop at the Dollar Tree in order to pick up some of those travel toothbrushes, a pack of gum, and a candy for each of us to sneak into the movie. I had heard good things about the movie beforehand, but I didn't realize that it was going to be so intense! It was a good movie, but man, it was also some serious stuff. Either way, we still enjoyed the movie, and I'm glad we saw it, but it is definitely not for everyone...

We had ourselves a great date night, and I always loving spending time with this sweet man of mine. Glad that he's a part of my life! Love you babes :)

Poinsettia, Sushi, Nail Art & More...

Hello there my lovely friends and readers! What's not so lovely is this stupid Monday morning. I'm super tired and I can't stop yawning, and I'm ready to bust out of this office, and it's only barely 11 a.m... Sooo, I've still got a quite a few more hours to make it through. I had an exhausting weekend being a part of the Singing Christmas Tree -- it was definitely good, but I'm glad it's over with since we've been working on it since the beginning of September! Now I just need to get some rest! My weekend was pretty much just jam-packed with that, but I did squeeze in a little bit of other stuff!

Also, last Thursday I decided that my Christmas-inspired mani needed a special touch for the Singing Christmas Tree this weekend, so I made a cute little music note on my accent nail! It's not perfect, but it's pretty dang cute, and I love it! And this is nail art #10 of my goal of 10 before my birthday! So that's another goal I get to cross off my list!

And now, here's what my weekend looked like...

Friday
Stopped by Kohl's really quick to pick up some stuff I had put on hold the other day so I could buy it with a coupon!
Had some Chick-fil-A with my parents
Sang in the Singing Christmas Tree!
Went over to my friend Lacey's house for a game or two of Pictionary

Saturday
Went with Mama & Megan to meet a friend & her cute daughter to pick out her flower girl dress for Meg's wedding
Went with Jeff to visit his Granny, cuz she's pretty sick right now :( Pray for her!
Got treated rudely by the tire department at Sam's so we peaced outta there...
Got treated great by the tire department at Costco, so I ordered some new tires for my Jeep
Enjoyed some delicious sushi for lunch!
Rested and watched a movie at Jeff's house (MIB 3)
Went home for some dinner and to pick up my Mama
Sang in the Singing Christmas Tree!
Hung out with Jeff afterwards

Sunday
Went to church as usual, and saw a pretty poinsettia, still covered in morning dew drops
Had lunch at Genghis Grill with my friends Sara and Kristen
Watched last week's episode of The Walking Dead with my parents
Hung out at Jeff's house for a little bit
Got some Taco Bell
Sang in the Singing Christmas Tree!
Went back to Jeff's house and watched re-runs of "Freaks & Geeks" on Netflix
Came home and passed out immediately...

Jeff's view from his seat on Saturday night...

During dress rehearsal last Wednesday night. Can you find me?! Haha :)

I'm hoping that later this week I can get some better pictures of the Singing Christmas Tree, but for now this is all I've got. So we'll just have to appreciate these! How were y'all's weekends? Were they busy like mine? Or slow and relaxing? Hopefully they were good either way!

Tonight is date night for me and the boy, and I'm looking forward to that. We're going fancy tonight and using this to celebrate our Christmas date, and it's also our 1 year and 4 months anniversary :) I'm planning to wear that outfit above I got from Kohl's the other day, so I hope I look cute! But I mean, why wouldn't I?! I'm sure we'll take some pictures tonight and so I'll share later this week!

Linking up today with all of the lovely ladies from: Covered in Grace, Glitter & Gloss, Pink of Perfection, Sami's Shenanigans, and Synfully Delicious.

Proper Place

Here is my next set of 25 random lists I'm writing before my 25th birthday. These two are my Favorite Albums & CD's and 5 Reasons to Stop NOT Cleaning My Room... And back HERE is the first two lists from a few weeks ago. I've had fun with this so far, and I'm looking forward to writing more of these lists in the next couple of months! Tomorrow marks exactly two months until my 25th birthday, by the way :)

Pen & Paper

Remember my cute little notebook from last week that I bought just for blog doodling? Well, here's my next project with it! I have a list of 25 lists (who makes a list of lists I ask you? This crazy girl does...) that I'm going to doodle and write and make pretty, and share them with y'all up until I turn 25, in just a little over two months!

So, here's the list of lists... I won't be doing these in the order they're written, rather just whenever I choose to write that specific one. And I have no posting schedule for these either, so who knows when they'll actually show up on the ol' bloggy-blog. My goal is simply to do them all before my birthday! I'm just using Pen & Paper, and making some cute lists :)

So that's that. Not really much else to this "series," but it's just something fun for me to do with a cute notebook and some Sharpe pens. Because who doesn't love Sharpie pens, am I right?! Also, I once again apologize for the blurry quality of my iPhone pictures. Looks like this is one of those projects I'll have to bust out the real camera for...

Potholing

This past Sunday, Jeff and I took a mini road trip over to Marianna, Florida, to check out another state park and do some exploring and have an adventure! We went to Florida Caverns State Park, and did the cave tour together! We didn't realize at first we were going to have to pay, but we ended up paying $8 a person, and it was totally worth it for the 45 minute underground tour of the cavern. It was so awesome down there! 

The pictures below really don't do it justice, but I tried my best. Hopefully you can at least get a little glimpse of what it's like down there! All of the formations are natural down there. The cave itself however was excavated in 1938-1942 in order for us to be able to actually walk around and go on tours. The men were paid only $1 a day to do some extremely strenuous work. So crazy. But I'm so glad they did that, so that we could explore it all now! Because it was so cool!!

Oh, and "Potholing" is the term used in the UK and Ireland apparently for what we would just call "caving" or maybe even "spelunking." But obviously I just had to use "Potholing!"

That super smooth, glassy-looking part is actually water! It is completely stagnant, therefore looks like glass.

This is in the "Castle Room," named for the way this formation looks!

This now marks state park number 4 out of my goal to visit 10 before my 25th birthday! There are still plenty other ones nearby, and we plan on visiting another again soon, because we enjoyed this one so much! If you get a chance to go under the earth into an air cave (meaning not the underwater kind), I highly recommend it. It is just so different, and so neat down there. Way cool.