Telling Our Families ...

Before I tell you how we told our parents, I'm going to start this Friday with a little Favorite Fridays.

And THIS week's favorite Friday topic IS ...

Favorite TV Competition Show:

Me and the TV have been good, well maybe even best, friends lately as I go home and don't move until I can pry my tired naseous ever-growing pregnant rear from the couch and take it upstairs to bed I have not been feeling so hot these first few weeks of pregnancy.  This year (although I'm KINDA embarassed to admit the first one) it's been the following two shows ...

Yes, the one show I ALWAYS vowed I'd never watch.  I have no idea why I was so against it, I guess I just couldn't see the appeal of watching people rumba, tango and cha-cha week after week, until I saw the stars line-up this year.  And then I had to watch.  One thing this show did do was confirm my suspicion that Jake the Bachelor was in fact, a HUGEMONGOUS douche (am I allowed to say douche now that I'm going to be a mom?  cause I just did ...) and also that I hate Kate-not-great even MORE than I did when she just annoyed me from the being in Us Weekly, well, weekly.  I'm going to go ahead and throw out that I LOVE Niecey and am pulling for her and her tiny little partner who I'm not sure HOW he doesn't come off his feet and TIP over when he picks her up.  Like she says, she's a thick girl (one of the reasons I love her) and he's a TEEN-NINE-SY little man!!!  And seriously, someone kick Nicole Zesheneywanasamazinger OFF.  It's so not fair.  Her JOB is to sexy dance, and to do it WELL.  Of COURSE she keeps winning everything.  Duh.  Anyways, moving right along, next ...

Yes, I know Paula's no longer there.  I'm just being nostalgic.  Because I CAN'T.STAND.KARA.  Like I literally fast forward (thank you DVR) through her comments because it will inevitably be "Waaaaa, I just didn't feel like you CONNECTED with the song, waaaa, I mean I know we asked you to sing an Elvis song and you're an 18 year old girl, but I just didn't feel like you CONNECTED with it, waaaaaa."  UGH.  BRING BACK PAULA IN ALL HER DRUNKEN STUPOR.  At least she was FUN most of the time and didn't think her you-know-what don't stink.  Kara, you are your biggest fan, no one thinks you're as cool as you think you are.  And seriously, if Simon leaves next season, I MAY be done with this show.  I have loved it for seasons, and it PAINS me to say that, but it just.may.happen.

And that's my Favorite Friday folks.  Click the button above to take you to Jen's little blogster and play along!!!

Alright SO, here we go.  How we told our parents/families.  After I told the Mister the best news EVER I, naturally, couldn't WAIT to tell my bestest friend in the whole world (my momma) who I KNEW would be so thrilled.  And of course the rest of our family, but I talk to my mom on a (bi sometimes tri) daily basis and it was KILLING me to have to skip over this little bit of GIANT news!  Well, unfortunately she'd been out of town with my step-dad and the twins and had just gotten back into town and now had HER in-laws staying with her.  My mom has the busiest schedule of anyone I know.  That's what happens when you have 10 year olds, of the opposite sex that play every sport under the sun and each have places to be Monday through Sunday.  So, in preparation, the day after I told the Mister I went and bought the following shirt ...

And our plan was to show up at my mom's house wearing the shirt and tell everyone (mom, Rich, twins, etc.) at once.  Well I couldn't get my mom to stay still for more than 5 minutes, so finally I decided I was going to go to her.  I told her that I was meeting her at my Mama's house where she was watching American Idol (apparently this is a family addiction) while waiting for my sister to finish soccer practice.  I didn't, however, tell her that I was bringing the Mister with me.  So we showed up and she answered the door and was surprised to see us both but I just said he'd gotten off work early and wanted to hang out with us.  So, as I walk into the house I open my sweatshirt, in a non-flasher way, and say "Mom, I wanted to show you my new shirt" and of COURSE she can't find her glasses so I stand there with my sweatshirt open for what FELT like an eternity until she finally found them and got it.  And then, as her face scrunched up about to cry, she said "NO!  REALLY?  NO!  AHHHH" and then she lost it.  I'm not sure the rest was actual english.  Just a lot of crying.  And then we went in and did the same to my Mama who was just as cute and sobby (not a word I don't think?).  We didn't think we had time, but afterwords the Mister and I decided this was so much fun that we were going to tell EVERYONE that night.  So we spent the rest of the night driving to my dad's house, my brother and Silly's and lastly, my MIL and FIL's house flashing them all in a similar fashion.  By the time we got to the Mister's parent's house it was 10:30 pm and they were both half asleep.  I think we took them a BIT by surprise.  It was a REALLY fun night, one I will never forget.

Happy weekend loves!!!  See you in a couple of days!!!

Zoya Aria Review - Oldie but Goodie

When I was buying the color lock system at my local Trade Secrets, I fished out a bottle of Zoya Aria out of the back of the display.  It was looking rather sad, with a layer of dust on it.  But the color and shimmer had potential, so I bought it.  It's a purply pink, with a foil-like glitter in it.  It's glittery and bright and fun, but yet different from the glitter bombs that are so popular these days.  Call me boring, but I don't want my nails look like I glued crystals all over them, or like I bedazzled them.  This is a much more understated glitter.

It applied really smoothly.  Two coats gave me good non-streaky opaque coverage.

This is the 4th day of this manicure, and there is absolutely no tip wear or chipping.  Hail to the color lock system!

You can see that the shimmer is clear with just a bit of a pinky/purply tone in the right light - like foil.  Here is a closeup of the shimmer.

So if you're digging through some oldie but goodie Zoya polishes in the corner of your beauty supply, and you run across a dusty bottle of Zoya Aria, get it.  It's a really nice color.  Totally underrated.

Thoughtless Thursday: Baby Style

First off, in the words of Dido, I want to THANK YOU for making yesterday so special!  My face lit up with smiles every time I heard the little "you've got mail" indicator on my iPhone notifying me of one of my LOVERLY readers wishing me congrats and well wishes.  So thank you ALL, you sure do know how to make one naseous pregnant girl's day!

Next, for this ...

It's going to be a LITTLE less Thoughtless, but still with a few pictures as I tell you how the first couple days of my pregnancy went.  So to answer many people's questions, yes we were trying.  SO of course I was jazzed to take a pregnancy test our 2nd month of trying (2 days before my "monthly gift" was to arrive) and I did so without the Mister knowing.  I snuck into the bathroom, assumed the "tinkle on a stick" stance and waited.  Pretty quickly there LOOKED to be a slight second line making the result, what I THOUGHT was a plus.

{Pardon the iPhone quality, I thought getting the big fancy camera out MIGHT draw some attention.}

I wasn't quite sure and didn't want to get the Mister all excited about something if there wasn't real cause to.  So I went to work thinking the whole way "No.  There's no way.  You've always thought you're going to have a hard time.  There's no way on month 2 that you're pregnant.  Surely that's a fluke."  Once I got to work I told my boss (who just had a baby, tried for 3 years to get pregnant and knows a thing or 2 about pregnancy tests) what happened and showed her a picture of the test.  She said it LOOKED positive but if I wanted to be SURE I needed to go get a digital test that said flat out, Pregnant or Not Pregnant.  So, at 9am, an hour after I got to work, I excused myself to run to CVS and get one of these "fool proof" tests.  I then had a little more one-on-one time with said pregnancy test in my office bathroom and waited.  And waited.  How on EARTH can 3 minutes take so long?  Meanwhile there is a little hour glass that just keeps flipping itself upside down, kinda like when you mouse pointer is "thinking" about something.  UGH, hurry UP already!  And finally ... 

I'm pretty sure my heart leapt into my chest at that very moment.  Really?  REALLY?  ME?  I'M pregnant?  Is this a joke?  Where's the hidden camera?  So then I proceeded to have the smallest, quietest happy dance in the bathroom all the while my eyes tearing up.  And then I realized I had to wait.  All day.  I couldn't tell the Mister on the phone or through email or text.  It had to be special.  My original plan was to find a cute t-shirt for Koda (the Mister HATES clothes on dogs so I knew this would catch his attention) that said "Big Brother".  But the one I had found before was no where to be found.  So, on my lunch break, I went to Target and got the frame below.

And had it sitting on our bar area that faces the door so it would be the first thing he'd see when he came home.  Now if waiting ALL DAY wasn't bad enough, this was during the time the Mister was very busy with a client and having to work until 9 or 10 every night.  I emailed him and said "Hey do you think you could get home a little earlier tonight?  I got you a suprise on our drive home from San Antonio." and he said sure.  So I get home, with all the excitement of a 6 month old Lab puppy and wait.   And wait ... and wait ... this was apparently the theme for the day (and of the first trimester of pregnancy I might add) and FINALLY 9:30 rolls around and I get a call saying he's coming home.  I hear the garage open and I literally thought I might wet my pants (hey, it happens when you're pregnant).  As soon as he opened the door I pointed (like he couldn't see it right in front of his face) and said "there's your surprise!" and he lit up and he got the cutest goofy smile on his face.  All he kept saying was "No way.  Really?  That's so cool!  No WAY.  REALLY?  That's SO COOL!"  and then he got a little teary eyed (sorry sugar, not trying to take your man card) and we had our little "we're going to be parents" moment, which was promptly followed by our little "HOLY COW we're going to be PARENTS" moment of partial freak out.  Which still sometimes pops in my head.  I'm going to be responsible for nourishing this baby for the next 7 months!  I'm going to be in charge of raising a human BEING.  A puppy I can do.  You just pet him, feed him, let him out to potty and he's good to go.  A CHILD is a different story.  It will depend on us, US, for everything.  For a LONG TIME.  EEEEK!  But I know the Lord will take care of all that.  If He trusted us enough with a child, surely He'll tell us what to do with it, right?  Plus, I've had a LITTLE bit of practice with the twins (my brother and sister that my mom had when I was 18 for you new readers), which eases my fears a bit.

So that's it for today.  Tomorrow I'll tell you how we told our parents.  I can't TELL you how happy I am the cat's out of the diaper bag because this was NOT easy to keep to myself!  Just a few things, remember (if you've read for awhile) the Temptation Tuesday where I went nursery crazy?  That was the day I found out.  Sneaky eh?  And our anniversary?  Didn't hear much about our "fancy dinner" did you?  That's because we ate pizza (per my request), in my Mister's truck on our way to meet our friends to go out because I am/was so naseous that I can't stomach anything other than bread, i.e. I eat like a 4 year old.  I didn't feel like paying $35 for a steak I was going to either eat 3 bites of or upchuck 10 minutes later made a whole lotta sense. 

Yes, this Thoughtless Thursday wasn't so "Thoughtless" but like I've said before, no 'spalin or lots of 'splain with your picture choices.  Your choice.  Today I chose lots of.  So grab the button and play along, then come back here and link up!  Have a great day sweets!!!

Random From A to Z - Armani to Zoya

I got an awesome call yesterday - from the Chanel counter.  I was there about 2 weeks ago, and happened to ask the girl about Particuliere nail polish.  She told me that they've been sold out for ages and people have even been stealing their testers, so she couldn't even show me what it looked like.  The counter did have a waiting list for it, because apparently they still get some shipped to them once in a while.  So she put me on the waiting list and I waited...and waited...and waited...and then got the call!!  Woo hoo!!!

I love the color!  It's about the color of dirt - but in a good way.  I'm super excited!  I will be swatching this one as soon as I put it on my nails.  Right now I'm sporting a sparkly Zoya color.  More on that tomorrow.

Of course the Chanel counter just happened to be next to the Armani counter, so I HAD to play with the new Armani Blushing Fabric.  It's a blush in a tube.  I tested the hot pink one (shimmering apricot pink) on my hand, and I wasn't impressed.  It was a silicone-y feeling gel - the pigmentation was allright, but nothing great.  The color was actually really nice and I can see it being very glowy, without making you look like a clown, when applied to the cheek.  BUT this thing had GLITTER in it.  Not shimmer like Benefit Moon Beam, but chunkier glitter.  That's lovely for a day at the beach, but forget wearing this one to the office.  I always associated Armani with classy and timeless, and the glitter found in this does not qualify.  This was definitely a FAIL.

I have been test driving the Zoya color lock system since I told you about it last week, and I'm not just impressed by this product, I'm THRILLED!  My manicure lasted a whole week - 7 full days!  For test purposes,  did not reapply top coat a couple of days into the manicure, which I think would have made it last longer. I could have left it on my nails longer as well, but once I see any chipping, I start picking on my polish.  But 7 full days of playing with dogs, cooking, baking, cleaning, typing, etc -that's amazing!

Here are the pictures.  The polish I had on was Zoya Maya, a summery bright color.

This is what my polish looked like after 6 days.  Please excuse the cuticles - they're in desperate need of manicure attention at this point.  Though you can see some tip wear, there is absolutely no chipping.  Sweet!  The index finger has a strange reflection on the tip that's making it look like a chip, but there is no chip there, just some minimal tip wear.  This is a more accurate picture of the color than the one below.








Here is a picture of the polish just before I took it off. This is day 7.  First, you can see the bed sheet marks on my ring finger - this is the slow drying time I was talking about in my last post.  Also you can really see the tip wear on the middle finger and the ring finger. There is some chipping at the tip of the middle finger (top of the picture). 

Now, in all fairness to Zoya, this finger is always the problem child - a heavy door slammed on it when I was younger, and now it has a ridge on the side with the chip.  That area is more flexible weaker, and my polish always chips there (usually after 1-2 days).

Again, pardon the 'pre manicure' cuticles. 

I'm really excited about the Zoya color lock system.  It was not cheap, but if my manicures are to last at least a week, then it was well worth the price.  I'm on my second manicure with 'the system' and so far so good!  I'll take pics of this one tomorrow, when the light is better.

I'm also looking for some more summery colors of polish.  I have been wearing a lot of dark colors on my nails all Fall and Winter.  Now it's time for a bit of a fresher change.  What are your favorite summer shades?

Notice Anything Different?

Maybe that my blog has gotten a super sweet makeover by my eversodarling friend and wonderful blog designer miss Kelly of Fabulous K and Fabulous K Creative!  But why you ask?  Since she already had done a darling job on the first blog design?  Well look a little closer, there JUST might be a life-changing reason for it.  Still corn-fused?

How about this ...

Well that's different to you, but not to ME!  Because I've been keeping a big FAT secret from y'all for 6, VERY LONG, weeks!  Now I know that patience is a virtue n' all but not one when you have the most bestest excitingest wonderfulest news EVER that you just want to shout from the rooftops and you have to do WHAT?!?!  Be QUIET for 8 (or in my case 6, I could only handle 10 weeks) more weeks!!! 

RU-DE. 

Yes my sweet friends of the blogosphere, I'm preggers!  And me and the Mister couldn't be MORE thrilled!  We are expecting our little one on November 24th, the DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving, and we can't wait to meet our little turkey!!!  I will update more tomorrow because there's lots of funny details, stories of my lovely ever constant need to up-chuck and some cute details (like how I told the Mister, how we told our families, etc.) that deserve their very own post.  But for now, I'm gonna be a mommy!!!

What We Did This Weekend

I challenged you all to get outside with your furry ones, or just to go outside. Here's what we did.

We spent most of Saturday in the forest.  It was a lovely sunny day, and we had a great time chasing squirrels.

On Sunday morning I went to the book store.  I scored a bunch of beach read potentials on mega sale.  I can't wait to read them and will be reviewing them just in time for flip flop season.

And I discovered Modern Dog magazine!!!

Then I scored some new goodies at the drug store.  I will test drive these and let you know what I think in separate reviews, so stay tuned.

And also got the NYX Catwalk palette in Champagne and Caviar.  Love.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the dog park with the creek.  The water is pretty low right now, and it was a bit chilly and overcast.

So instead of swimming and playing in the water, we ran around on the grass and wrestled.

Good times!

What did you do this weekend?

Temptation Tuesday!

You know the drill.  It's Tuesday.  And Tuesday means temptation at my darling soulmatey's blog.  Not temptation in the "get you in trouble" kinda way, more in the "I really like that handbag" kinda way.  SO, on this ...

The following little spring diddies have been tickling my temptation fancy ...

(all can be found @ Lucky Magazine bytheway)

Let's start with shoes, shall we?

{LOVING the fringe}

{Dar-ling.}

{And of course I had to give a shout-out to the teal pair!}

Now, let's move onto hugemoungous totes, shall we?

{Just love this.  I'm a sucker for the leather handles on a fabric bag.}

For some reason some of these are not friends with the bigger-sized pictures.  Sorry for the size variation.

{This one I would get in a different color.  Red just ain't my thang.  But I HAD to list it because it's a Joe's Jeans bag called "Katie".  Loves it.}

Jewelry anyone?

 {I'll take two of every color.  Thankyouverymuch.}

{Who DOESN'T love a little Marc Jacobs?}

{Teal.  How do I love thee?  Let me count the bracelets ...}

{Two, three ...}

And last but not least, how about we get a little jumpy in some jumpers?

{Darling.  Love it all.  Right down to the shoes.}

{Oh so feminine and flowy.}

{A little denim never hurt nobody.}

{Does the perfect body come with this too?  I'd like to order one of those online please.}

Now granted being a midget from my belly button section to my "girls" "short torsoed" the whole jumper idea isn't ideally flattering for me.  But that doesn't mean I can't like them right?  Even if they DO make me look Urkel-esque.

Alrighty then, anything tickling your temptation fancy?  Well grab my soulmatey's button, play along and head on over to tell her about it!  Happy Temptation Tuesday loves!!!

P dittle S - Get excited, tomorrow's post is gonna be LOADS o' fun!!!  I'm excited, are you?

My First Blog Award!!!

I had a good but busy weekend.  I spent some time shopping, reading, watching movies, and of course, playing outside with the puppies.  I will share a bunch of photos and details with you tomorrow.

I also received my first ever blog award from Sara at C'est la Vie. I love her and her blog, so check her out, become a follower, and give her some comment love!

The Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated me
2. Copy the award and place it on my blog
3. Link to the person who nominated me
4. Nominate 10 bloggers
5. Post links to the 10 blogs I nominate

Sara - you are the sweetest.  I love your blog, and swapping comments with you!  I can't wait to hear about all of your travel adventures!  Thank you!

I pass this award to the following lovely peeps.  I love your blogs, and read them regularly.  So keep on keepin' on!

Beth at Just Me and My Life

Chef Snowhite at Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Daisy at Cupcakes and Cherries

Emily at Beauty Broadcast

Jennifer at Crazy Shenanigans

Juliana at A Blonde Walks into a Blog...

Kelly at Jelliminx Thinks

Kelly at Pinksealight

Lauren at Life with a Lab

Lollipop at Lollipop Loves...

Trcia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical

Check these blogs out - they're awesome.  You won't be disappointed!

It's Been Too Long...

Where do I start? Well, I can start at apologizing for not posting these past 2 weeks. My job blocked blogger so I will be posting via cell phone again for a while. So that being said, let me update you:


My hair: I dyed it an espresso brown colour and I like it so far. My beautician is talking about highlights but I keep avoiding the subject.

Work: Same thing, different day. I am grateful that I have a job and God has continued to make a way for me.

-Dance: I'm so busy looking into programs for dance and listening to songs and praying to find out what direction the Lord wants me to move with this Ministry. I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous; I want to touch people and move them when we minister in dance not just do some pretty movements to music. I don't know, maybe its just me. I feel like I'm in a stage where God is showing me where I am and where I need to be to do great works in His name; and I am seriously coming up short.

School: I am interested in attending Parsons for a Certificate in Fashion Design and then go to F.I.T. for Merchandising. I love fashion, and love to design. I feel its time to work on my craft.

Relationships: Still the same. I managed to keep up with my guidelines I told you about earlier. So you can imagine how rarely my phone rings or when I receive text messages. I know its not in vain so I won't stress it. It's for a purpose....also update about waiting: I will be honest about that; It sucks! It boils down to this I rather be waiting and miserable than in a relationship that I have no business in and have to deal with the consequences.

Other things: Right now I'm getting (slowly) use to the idea of it being all girls in the house (my mother, sister and I). The reason why: I do all the dirty work (killing bugs, throwing out the trash, draining the sink, etc). I don't like it one bit, lol. Saturday night we had our College Fund Concert and Singspiration. I can truly say it was a blessing as well as a success. We had a packed house and the children sang their hearts out. I have also made a resolution to start dressing my age. I have realized that my closet resembles the closets of middle age mothers. I am no where near middle age and I have no children so that's not a good look. I have filled out into a size 6 ( I love the hourglass pin-up look) and I have been hiding my curves. But no more! I will embrace my curves, love my figure and dress like a 25 year old woman.


....That's just a little update, be bless.

Anniversary Weekend Wrap-Up ...

Good MORNING loverlies!  I hope everyone is as well rested as I am as I sat my pajama-wearin' lazy hiney on the couch ALL day yesterday and didn't move had a very relaxing day yesterday and a wondermous weekend!  First off, I want to brag on my darling husband and show y'all what I came home to on Friday ...

{I LOVE me some roses and star-gazer lillies.  Mainly because they smell so good, but HELLO how pretty are they!??!}

And then my momma got us this little number that I had my eye on at a Christmas home party she had at her house during the holidays ...

{I'm not sure if it's going over the fireplace or on the wall yet, but one thing I AM sure of, I LURVE it!!!}

And last but not least, we had ourselves a FANTASTIC time with some of our favorites, the Milams, whose anniversary is the day after ours.  We met them at Fox Sports after our seperate anniversary meals and had a blast (per usual) celebrating our 5 years and their 6 years.  And YES, I took pictures!!!  Aren't you proud!?!?  AND I laid out on Saturday and got myself a LITTLE sun-kissed ... well sun-PUNCHED may be more like it.  I MAY or MAY NOT have not worn any sunscreen ...

{My Mister agreed to take a few pictures, Happy Anniversary to me!}

{Me and Mrs. Milam.  Yes we were aware we were both wearing teal.  The color of greatness.}

{ANNNDDDDD group shot!  Amazing we got the boys to put up with us this many times ...}

And that's about it for my anny-weekend-wrap-up!  Stay tuned this week, there are some fun goings ons coming your way!!!

Get Outside with your Furry Friends

It's spring out there.  The weather is perfect for being outdoors.  I love taking my dogs to the forest or to the dog park.  It's such a nice time to relax and focus my energy on them.  They love it and I love watching them play and frolic outside.  Nothing de-stresses and relaxes me more. We go everyday, rain or shine. Our time outside keeps me sane.  It keeps my girls sane too.

Sadly, not all the dogs we know get daily walks or excercise. 

So Amelia, Kitty and I challenge you to get out with your dog this weekend. 

And if you don't have a dog, that's ok.  Take your friend's dog.  Or take your kids or your significant other (we hear they need regular excercise too).

Take them to the dog park...

Or on a stroll in the city...

Or let them frolic on a beach and catch some waves...

(Aren't my girls AH-DORABLE???)

Or take them with you on your next run...

Or on a play date in the park...

And while you're out there, leave everything else behind.  No cell phones, no computers, no planning work meetings or house cleaning schedules.  This is YOUR time.  Take the time to enjoy it.  Live in the moment like your dogs do.

And remember...

 

We hear the above applies to kids and husbands too!

Also, Millie, Kitty and I would love to hear what you did!  We might get some good ideas, and we LUUUVE new adventures!