Rewind button.

This morning, I forgot my cell phone at home. I didn't grab my jump drive with the bridal shower photos so I could blog about them today. I spilled coffee on my ivory pants ... but I can't show you because I don't have my phone or camera to take a photo.

I have a million things on my to-do list, but when little things like that happen, it makes me want to curl up in bed and watch LMN. If you don't know what that is ... well, that's too bad.

Another stupid thing I did: I ordered a few thank you cards to hold me over until the "real" ones come in for the wedding. This would be great--except I ordered postcard type cards and not folded thank you cards. I suppose they will work, but it made me feel dumb.

Wouldn't it be great if every once in a while, we could just hit the rewind button?

Just because I think this is beautiful. From Stylemepretty.com.

Hug like there's no tomorrow.

Happy Friday, friends!

I've talked about my love of Peanut Butter Fingers before. On a recent blog post, she discussed four women who inspire her. One of them is a blogger named Jennie who recently lost her husband to a sudden heart attack.

While reading this post from Jennie, I found myself in tears. Her post was simple and honest. She writes about how those around her simply making a peanut butter pie her husband loved (and she kept putting off making until tomorrow) will help with her grieving process. She writes, "For those asking what they can do to help my healing process, make a peanut butter pie this Friday and share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on."

Jennie's words are true, but easy to forget in the business of life. I know I'm going to take today to tell those around me how much I love them--and hug them like there's no tomorrow.

Engagement hug photos (by Angela Martin): 

Stye-day Friday.

I think had a stye one time when I was younger. I think a lot of things become less dramatic as you get older--but styes are not one of them for me. Friday, I suddenly felt a pain inside my eyelid. Yep, I have a stye. Inside my eye. Thank goodness this isn't happening three months from now. Because if it happens now, surely it won't happen right before the wedding. Right?

I chose not to take a photo and show you.

It's much better now, which is good because this weekend is our big Junior League New Member retreat. And remember--that's my committee! This means I'm ridiculously busy this week. As if that's something new ...

Three other things that happened this weekend:

• The sun chose to burn me. That's what happens when it's 104 degrees. 
• I REALLY beat Adam in bowling. I scored 175! 
• Adam modeled his new swimsuit. OK, so he was just walking and I obnoxiously took a photo. Same thing. 

Hair boredom.

I love having long hair. But today, as I struggled with it being in my way during my work out, I briefly wished for a drastic change.

Last summer, I decided to get some highlights.

Perhaps it's time to dye my hair! It's gotten a little reddish from the sun, so I'm thinking darker.

And I found this a long time ago, and I love it. Happy Friday!

Time flies (featuring a cute chair).

Lately, I found myself wishing time would stop. Just for a few days. This is the total opposite of my normal outlook. I'm definitely a person who lives her life as a countdown to the next exciting thing. I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy everyday life.

But right now, there's just TOO much!

Things I've done lately that aren't the "usual" Allison:

• I had a great time with friends at Kitchen Queens, but I forgot to take photos. 
• I slept through all FIVE of my alarms last week. I often set a ton when I stay up too late, which I've been doing more often than not. 
• I only made time to work out a couple times last week. This could explain my abnormal grouchiness. 
• Briefly considered buying a cookie again from Great American Cookies. 

One thing I did accomplish last week was finding this chair! Should I have been doing something else on my lunch break besides visiting Kirkland's? Probably so. 

Happy Tuesday! 

99 days.

Have you noticed that when you get behind on something it becomes increasingly harder to get back on track? This is normally the case with healthy eating/working out habits. In my current case, it's blogging.

I'm taking this weekend to organize ... my life. I have so much going on right now, which I love. But I hate feeling guilty because I'm not doing everything I want to do.

After Mr. A left Tuesday (remember, he travels for work constantly), I was feeling a bit down when I walked in the door Tuesday night. When I walked into my bedroom, these flowers on my nightstand stopped me from crying (I was seriously about to break down ... it's hard every.single.time).

I can't comprehend what it is like for military families. Sure, the boy will only be home about six days this month, but I know those six days would mean the world to so many people. So I try to remember how lucky we are ... but it's still hard.

Here are some topics I plan to cover next week:

• How close the wedding is! 99 days, to be exact. 
• Pre-marital counseling. We started Monday. 
• Kitchen Queens
• A giveaway! 

Have a fabulous weekend, friends! 

Clicky heels.

Growing up, the sound of my mom’s “pumps” was the epitome of adulthood. I couldn’t wait to be able to wear shoes that clicked when I walked across the concrete.

What can I say, I’ve always loved shoes (and clothes and purses and jewelry …). I see myself when I look at the latest Suri Cruise photos in People. OK, so maybe my heels were more the plastic kind that came with the $5.99 dress-up pack from Wal-Mart, but I LOVED them. I’m sure each pair of Suri’s shoes costs approximately four times the amount of the shoes I wear today. And she’s five.

Anyways, yesterday, I wore a pair of shoes that I had the tips replaced. I recently did this to about 12 pairs of shoes. And they DON”T CLICK ANYMORE. They are rubber and silent. I was devastated. I totally meant to take a photo of them, but I forgot. So how about a photo of my shoes today? They don’t click, either. I couldn’t handle wearing another pair of my former clicky shoes. It was too much today. So, I opted for wedges.

I wonder if I can request the tips that click next time. Is that crazy?

Natalie and Steve.

Things in my neck of the woods haven't been so rosy.

My sinus infection is still hanging on, and I'm afraid I will never hear normally again.

This means while everyone was having a blast at the lake this weekend, I was stuck at home assembling save the dates. Mr. A actually helped me a bit Friday night, but the whole process just takes a while.

In fact, I'm still putting together the address list. Who knew this would take so long? And who knew when you asked people for their address, they might not respond? Does this mean they don't want to come? Yes, I admit I'm overly sensitive. Unfortunately, this is never going to change.

When I came home Friday to the love package from magnetStreet, I got very excited! And I was impressed with the packaging. Everything was placed in a cute, blue box. They also sent some wedding invitation samples, which I thought was nice. Who knows ... maybe we will use them for everything!

In the midst of placing the magnets on the carrier cards, Adam and I ran across one that was a little out of place. Good thing we noticed so Natalie and Steve didn't get an uninvited guest at their wedding!

Seriously. This was in the middle of our stack of magnets. How did this happen?

Yes, those are our hands. :)

Isn't the box cute?

Adam even remembered to get "weddings stamps."

Yes, that's my address. Please don't stalk me.

Can some please remind me to get my camera fixed? The iphone photos just aren't cutting it.

And for your viewing pleasure, here is the gross food photo of the day:

I convinced Adam to go to a new yogurt place Friday.
My toppings: berry captain crunch, strawberries and mini Reese's Pieces. Yum!

That's a weird shirt.

It’s not that I haven’t had anything to say. In fact, I’ve had so much to say (I just haven't had much time to say it all).

• I coordinated my first wedding last weekend (success!).
• I got my first sinus infection this week (not fun). I even had to call in sick to work, which I’ve never done in more than one year. I’ve gone home sick before, but never all day. That’s when you know it’s bad.
• I had dinner with my Junior League VP and committee chair at Bonefish. I’m so excited about this coming League year. In fact, we have our leadership retreat tomorrow.
• I downloaded the best app, Toodledo, to organize my crazy life.
• My sister celebrated her 23rd birthday. That means I’m SUPER old.
• I won $50 in a weight loss challenge at work. Don’t get too excited, I only lost six pounds. I don’t think anyone was incredibly motivated, myself included.
• Our save the dates will arrive today! Guess what we’re doing Sunday?

Weird shirt

Today, I wore a Vera Wang shirt from Kohl’s. I bought it for $9 last fall, and I’ve never worn it, until today. Adam’s comment: “That’s a weird shirt.” You know what’s funny? I’ve gotten more compliments on this shirt at work than any other shirt I’ve worn before. That’s why I save my weird clothes for work, Mr. A.

Is this weird?

Hello! I know I'm weird, but is my shirt weird?

Do you save your "weird" clothes for work?

Happy Friday, folks!

Save the dates and tornado devastation.

We finally ordered our save the dates this morning. I know I'm about a month behind, but it's our wedding--we can do what we want, right???

If you go to our site, please note it is under construction (AKA there's not much there yet). I will finish it before I send out save the dates, obviously.
 
Devastation
Please keep the people of Joplin, Mo., in your thoughts and prayers. It's pretty devastating. That's where the boy grew up, and much of his family still lives there. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it's going to take a while for the town to recover--and things will never be the same. I'm sure you've seen it on the news, so you know just how bad it is.


 

This is one of Joplin's two hospitals.

This is the high school.



The Flying J.

Outside Academy Sports.



Walmart in Joplin ... there are no words.

Lean Cuisines and mud wrestling.

How do you feel about frozen dinners that claim to be healthy? I definitely think they're a better option than a burger, but I know I feel 10 times better when I eat food that's not processed for lunch.

But, my tortilla crusted fish Lean Cuisine at lunch sure was tasty. The big problem with these meals used to be the sodium. It was ridiculous. But with today's options, there's less sodium, more fiber, and 100 percent whole grains.

I like to keep them in my freezer for days that I don't have time to make a salad or pack something else for lunch. It sure beats eating a hot dog from the food vendor right after I burned 500 calories in Body Attack. If you didn't know, I work out at lunch almost every day. I'm lucky to work at a company that offers lunch time fitness classes with certified instructors. Actually, it's pretty awesome.

Although you might think frozen meals will save money, I still think buying fresh produce and using it throughout the week is a better option. But I'm the first to admit this isn't always easy.

So, I try to minimize the frozen meals to one every couple weeks. And I tell myself that's 100 percent OK!

Engagement photo news
Our pictures were supposed to be tomorrow, but we've had to reschedule due to Mother Nature. One of our photo locations is a field, and I'm thinking mud wrestling isn't on our shot list. Side note: Don't Google "mud wrestling." The images are not something you want to see. The new date is May 4. Hooray!

Happy, happy Friday! It's a GOOD day.

Rain boots and engagement shoots.

Have I mentioned that choosing what to wear in our engagement photos is HARD?

Well, it is.

Last night, we continued our search. Yes, I dragged the boy along with me. We had great intentions of looking for him, too, but we ran out of time.

I got a pair of rain boots and work shoes because everything on sale at a Banana Republic was an additional 40 percent off. Will I wear either of these in our photos? Nope. But these shoes were ridiculously cheap. Like I have zero extra funds to spend on things I don't NEED, and it was OK to buy these. That's how cheap they were.

A basic shoe everyone needs.

I sure wish I had these on right now since it's pouring!

I will more than likely end up wearing something I already own. And that’s OK.

Today’s lunch consisted of fruit and pasta. While not the most well-rounded meal, it was delicious!

And now it’s hailing outside!

Adam happened to be playing golf while it started hailing on him. The golf cart just isn't fast enough.

Hooray for Friday Eve!

Whatcha say.

• I say I love Chick-fil-a Southwest Chargrilled Salads. Delish. In fact, I had to run errands at lunch today, so I just had to pick one up.

• I say running errands at lunch instead of working out makes me tired.
• I say having a candy dish full of candy on the counter is a terrible idea, but I'm not sure I can remove the cute little bunny. And he can't be empty.
• I say thank goodness tomorrow is Friday and I get to see this smiling face.

Oh wait ...

What? You don't like photos?

There's the face I love!

I hope you're used to the photos. :)

Weekending.

Two weekends ago
Last weekend (as in the one more than a week ago), two of my college friends came to visit--Katie and Nikki. Audrey also came. She's Katie's friend from nursing school, and she was a bridesmaid in Katie's wedding last June.

Girl weekends are so much fun. Something about having friends stay the whole weekend with you brings you back to the good old days of sleepovers--when your biggest worry was about the 9th grade boy you had a crush one.

One of our goals was to look at bridesmaid dresses, which we sort of did. By the time we got around to it Saturday, the dress store was closed. So, we did the next best thing and went to David's Bridal. There were a couple of dresses I liked, but they don't have the color I want, so it was pointless. But fun!

We also missed Body Attack Saturday morning. I think I'm to blame since I stayed up until 3 a.m. Thursday night cleaning (moving my junk into the garage).

Sarah joined us for dinner Saturday night at Wasabi.

I ran into Amanda, a friend and former co-worker, at 21st Amendment.

Nikki, Katie, Sarah, Allison, Audrey. Where's Colleen? She met us for dinner, too!

Scarlet and Katie met us at 21st Amendment. Beautiful girls!

Most recent weekend
This weekend was a different kind of fun. Mr. A's sister turned 30 Friday, so we went to the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa to celebrate. A northwest Arkansas band (Boom Kinetic) was playing at the Casino's "club," Friction. It was a great night. Too bad all my photos are 100 percent blurry. 

Why so blurry super fab camera?

After eating two buffets at two different casinos Saturday (I make it sound worse than it really was because I don't love buffets; therefore I don't much), the boy and I decided we needed to get some exercise. So, we spent Saturday night throwing a football and took a long walk around the 'hood.

Sunday, Mr. A had to leave for El Paso. It's his last week there! Then he will be home for a week before he heads to Iowa (or is it Ohio?) ... his job is pretty glamorous.

As my life seems to be, this week is insanely busy. My Junior League placement for next year is vice chair of New Member committee, and tonight is our meeting for prospective members. I'm so excited about next year.

Also, with two weeks until our engagement pictures, I'm kicking my booty into high (a higher) gear and trying to magically make myself look like a Victoria's Secret model by next Saturday. OK, that's not possible, but you know what I mean. Good thing we're not doing a swimsuit shoot.

Vending machine coffee.

I've worked at my company for 1 year and and almost three months. Today is the second day I've ever bought "coffee" from a vending machine. 

My face is scary because I did RPM (spin) at lunch, took a shower, and didn't reapply makeup.
Deal with it.

I'm not sure it's actually coffee since I chose the "French Vanilla." It was 65 cents. Is it a latte? Maybe. Could it be a cappuccino? Perhaps.

I'm not complaining at 65 cents, but this cup is definitely not thick enough to contain the hotness.
I nearly made the walk back to my desk a hazard zone.

Will I need to brush my teeth after I drink due to the amount of sugar? Definitely.

I hope you're making it through the afternoon better than me! I really bought the coffee because I'm freezing.

What do you do in the afternoon when you're tired (and cold)?