Midweek Ramblings

Happy Wednesday, we're half way through the work week, people! I don't have really anything specific to write about, but have different things bouncing around in my head, thus the need for a random rambling post.

This week I worked late (7:00pm) Monday and Tuesday. I normally work late Tuesdays and due to just needing to get things done on Monday, it called for a late night, too. I came in early yesterday, so I am exicted that I get to leave on time today. I've been tired from working this week.

Also, I am thankful to have a husband that helps me with house work, dinner, etc. Since I've been working extra this week, Preston has the laundry caught up and made a delicious dinner that was ready at just the perfect time last night, thank you!

This weekend we are going to WV for a funeral... I hate the circumstances, but I am glad we can see people we haven't seen in a while as we honor the life of Craig. Please pray for the McGlothlin family in their time of loss.

It's snowing again today. Since we had weather in the high 60s this past weekend, I thought we might be over the cold... I'm ready for flip flops, grilling, and spending time outside!

I'm looking forward to the time changing so that daylight is longer and there is more time for evening walks!

This week I have a hair appointment, I'm getting colors I haven't gotten before, so I'm hoping it turns out well! I get bored with my hair, so time for a change. Anyone else like that? I thought about getting it cut, but I'm just going to have a trim.

I was looking at the calendar yesterday and realized that in just 3 months, Preston and I will have been married 3 years! 3 years?! How has it already went that fast? It sure doesn't seem like it.

Today is my mom's birthday, Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Bath and Body Works fresh picked hard working hand and body cream is amazing. I keep it by my desk at work and it works wonders, no dry hands for this girl!

I hope everyone is having a great week, any exciting weekend plans coming up?

Positives on Monday

Last week I had an unplanned blogging break, simply due to being so busy.... but I'm back! How was everyone's weekend? Wonderful I hope. Ours was pretty much planned around church events. Girls from the youth group came over to our house for a girls night on Friday, it was fun! We cleaned the house Saturday morning, spent some time outside, and then had other company over Saturday evening. Sunday we had youth night at church and it went very well, very proud of our youth. I'm back linking up for Positives on a Monday...now for my 4 positives things!

[ONE.] It's almost the end of the month, which is crazy, how did March come so quickly? I think it's a positive thing though because I love Spring and Summer and it's that much closer!

[TWO.] I'm not quite sure why, but it was pretty easy to get up this morning (if you know me you know I like every second of sleep I can get), I'm thankful for a good start to my day, and my week... seeing the sunshine helped with that!

[THREE.] I've been trying to eat better and make sure that I'm getting exercise. While it is hard to pass up on some foods, I have been making progress. I'm not perfect, but I'm beginning to see a small difference, down 3 pounds, woohoo!

[FOUR.] Sometimes we can't have what we want, when we want it. God has bigger and better plans and his timing is perfect. Right now I am being positive and enjoying what I have right now, in this moment. I am working towards not just looking towards what is to come, but realizing the blessings I have right now.

Have you thought about the positives in your life right now? What do you have to be thankful for?

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Wonderful Weekends: Valentine's Day

Happy Monday, everybody! I'm actually out of my office because we are off for President's Day, so technically I could say my weekend is still going, but I wanted to go ahead and post a recap of our previous weekend.

Friday I cleaned our house, did laundry, etc. while Preston shoveled snow outside. That afternoon, I was treated to getting my nails done. I was hoping to get acrylic with pink paint, but unfortunately the paint kept smudging (even after allowing them to dry 30 minutes). I wasn't happy with them but didn't have any more time, so the nail tech said I could come back the next morning to have them fixed. I went home and Preston and I made stuffed shells for dinner. It was a new recipe for us, it was so easy and so delicious, win! You can get the recipe here. Give it a try, I'm glad we did... it's a new fav for us now.  We enjoyed our salad and shells for dinner and exchanged Valentine gifts.  Preston got me an origami owl bracelet I have been wanting and I love it so much!  Due to my office being closed for snow, Preston had to spoil a surprise and told me about flowers I was supposed to get that had to be rescheduled since the office wasn't open.  I can't wait to get them and I love the thought he put into it! 

Saturday morning started out rough because we had plans to go to Johnson City and it snowed again over night.  Due to snow and ice we couldn't get off our hill and I was pretty disappointed we were going to get to enjoy our plans.  However, around noon the driveway melted off and then we headed to J. City, just a little later than planned.  We enjoyed dinner at Bonefish grill and then stopped in a couple stores before heading to Bristol.  Oh, I should mention I went in Michael's and scored some awesome deals... I love a good deal! Anyways, in Bristol we went to a few more stores, frozen yogurt for dessert at Sweet Frog, and ended our trip getting some fish for our aquarium at Petsmart.  Our day ended up being a great day together, despite the morning starting off rough.  

Sunday we went to church as usual and then had a quick lunch at home.  Our afternoon Sunday was spent at home and then Sunday evening we went back to church and then I went to the grocery store.  It wasn't a very busy day and I enjoyed it.  

Now for some pictures from our weekend... if you follow me on instagram, you've probably already seen these pictures, and if you don't follow me, you should! Brooke_Riffe

Stuffed shells, yum!

poor girl was worn out Friday night

Snow Days: Meet Goliath & Valentine's Day

Yesterday after taking some morning pictures, we spent a good part of the afternoon inside. After lunch we decided it was time to get out and play in the snow. We didn't have sleds and I was bummed about not getting to sled, but Preston and I wanted to make a huge snowman, and that we did! I didn't have a hat or buttons, but part of the fun in a snowman is improvising and using what you have to decorate it. Our snowman was not name Frosty, or Jack, but Goliath because he was so huge! We had so much fun in the snow and even had a mini snowball fight. I'm glad I have a husband who will still play in the snow! Today I am off with another snow day, I plan on doing some house work, laundry, mopping, etc. while Preston is at work. We originally planned to celebrate Valentine's day on Saturday so we are continuing with that plan. For dinner, I'm making stuffed shells with a side salad, at Preston's request. Looking forward to trying a new recipe this evening and spending the evening with my love!

Happy Valentine's Day, Preston!  

And now... some pictures of our fun day yesterday! 

Snow Day Birthday!!

Happy Thursday, folks! Today I am home from work on a snow day! It started snowing yesterday about 3:00 pm and hasn't stopped yet. This morning we woke up and got ready to take the dogs (we are dog sitting for friends) out and to see all of the snow! After we were all ready, we went out and Preston measured 9.5 inches of snow so far, that's a ton of snow for us! It is so pretty, but Chloe girl hated it! She doesn't usually like rain, snow, or anything other than completely dry grass for that matter, so it wasn't a big surprise. It was Cujo's first big snow, so we snapped some pictures for Scott and Machele (his owners). Before I post pictures of our snow day, I must say that IT'S CHLOE'S 7TH BIRTHDAY TODAY! We will have our party later complete with vanilla ice cream, her favorite. Of course, she also has a couple of presents. So, in honor of our birthday girl, here is a picture of her from a couple weeks ago:

And now for snow pictures,and for the record, I used manual on these shots... making progress with figuring out my camera!

Meet Cujo!

Hope everyone has a safe and warm day, I'm off to make hot chocolate and finish our minion puzzle!

Urban Decay Naked 2

As many of us ladies, I had been eyeballing the Urban Decay Naked 2 eye shadow palette. For Christmas, Preston, ahem... Santa brought it to me and I have loved it every day since. There are so many different shades and multiple ways to use the palette, how can a girl figure out them all? I've played around with it, my most used colors are snake bite, chopper, ydk, half baked, and foxy. Recently I've been using an application method I found on a Pinterest tutorial. It is a peachy/chocolate look, you can see it here.

This is what it looked like on me this morning.

So here's my thoughts, since many of us use this palette, I figured we would all benefit if others shared how they apply it, I know I would. So, if you use this eye shadow, I'm asking a favor of you. Please comment with the steps of your eye shadow application and which shades you use, what end of the brush, etc. Maybe share what works better and what doesn't? Attempting to make a way to share ideas and hopefully when everyone reads the responses, the "oh, I've gotta try that!" feeling happens.. so please share!!

Always, Sometimes, Never

I've seen always, sometimes, never posts floating around blogs lately and decided I would join in on the fun.

I always wear earrings.
I always have a car jar/ air freshener in my car.
I always change clothes right after I get home from work.
I always treat Chloe girl when she comes inside.
I always remove makeup/wash face, brush teeth before bed.

I sometimes wear shoes other than flats, but its rare.
I sometimes paint my nails weekly.
I sometimes get bored with my hair/hair style.
I sometimes take my vitamins, working on making it always.
I sometimes intentionally leave my purse at home.

I never go to work without my planner.
I never leave my car running while I pump gas.
I never separate laundry. Weird, I know.
I never don't have chapstick.
I never eat mushrooms... or olives..or avocado

And there you have it, 15 random facts about me... soo, your turn, always, sometimes never?!

Positives on a Monday

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Ours was a good one pretty much planned around church activities and a Sunday nap. We also enjoyed a BBQ lunch to celebrate our friend, Machele's birthday. Anywho, today didn't start off so great and when I saw a positive link up, I decided to join in to remind myself that even in the middle of a bad morning, there are far too many positives to let a few negatives get in my way. So, now for the link up and my 4 positives things!

[ONE.] It's Jillian Michaels work out day at Curves this evening, it's a positive thing because I can tell I'm getting better with each work out. I'm really pushing myself and I hope it begins to show.

[TWO.] Getting out of bed means it was time to get ready for work and I am being positive for simply having a job... and a job that is in my career field at that! Sometimes it absolutely drains me, but I love it and I have a purpose. Also I am positive this is the job for me.

[THREE.] Monday started a new week of meals, while doing our planning and shopping, we tried extra hard to choose healthier options. I enjoyed snacking on my grapes this morning and I'm seeing the good side of healthier eating, now let's hope I can stick to it! I'm thankful there are so many healthy things that are actually quite yummy, looking forward to our grilled chicken salads for dinner this evening.

[FOUR.] This cold weather totally stinks, and I'm over it... BUT, with each day, that's another day we're closer to Spring (and flowers) so woohoo for another day closer to warmer weather, even if it isn't here just yet.

And there you have it, I am glad I found 4 positives in the middle of this not so great morning, we have much to be thankful for everyday.

The Power of a Post-it

Post-it notes... nothing special, right? Wrong. Post-its are a part of my every day life, I use them constantly at work and actually have a nice little system for Post-its. Why am I writing about it though? Because this morning, a Post-it was pretty powerful.

I got ready, got in my car, and found a Post-it note from Preston on my speedomter. Just a simple note, but at the perfect time it meant so much more than a few words on paper stuck to my car. That little Post-it was a reminder, and a reminder I'm holding onto for a while. I decided to write a Post-it in exchange. Sure, it's a 3x3 sticky paper for notes, but when giving it to someone who matters, it goes a long way. To me, it means Preston was thinking about me and my day, so much show that showed effort and wanted me to know... it was encouraging.

So here's the challenge, leave a Post-it note for someone you care about... those few words on that sticky could mean more than you'll even know, and if you have something to say to someone, why not Post-it?

Wonderful Weekends

Happy Monday! Well, for me it's a tired Monday, I am in need of sweet tea for my "go-go juice" as I call it.
Let's recap the weekend, shall we?

Friday After work Friday I had a super low key evening. Preston was spending time out with a couple guys in the youth group so I decided to stay home. It was nice, Friday at work was absolutely crazy and I was so happy to see the weekend come. I spent Friday evening at home watching an excessive ammount Parenthood. Have any of you watched that show? I saw it on our Amazon prime account and decided to give it a try, I'm really liking it so far! I didn't leave the house Friday after I got home from work and it was great.

Saturday Saturday started slowly and then since the weather was nice in the afternoon, Preston and I cleaned and washed our vehicles inside and out, there was SO much salt and gunk on them from the snow. Yes, my car was just washed the previous weekend, but it was already bad again. While we washed cars, Chloe girl chilled and laid in the grass, she was so cute. I took pictures and worked on attempting to get some shots manually. I got a few good ones, but I definitely need to read more. Saturday evening we went to our local Mexican place for dinner, which was yummy as usual, followed by our weekly grocery shopping trip. I've been trying to meal plan better and shop smarter and we've saved a good amount on our grocery budget, which Preston and I have both been happy about. After we got back home, I crocheted a scarf and then we called it a night.

Sunday On Sunday we went to church, like usual. We had lunch at home and then I went to search for a trifle dish. I always see them and never bought one, and then when I needed one, I couldn't find one to buy. Thankfully I found one and then I went home. Preston and I made a s'mores trifle that I found on Pinterest (of course). I must say, it was pretty and turned out delicious, you can get the recipe here.

We went to evening services at church and then headed to our friend Jon's house where he was hosting a super bowl party. We had fun with our friends there and then went home for the night.

Here's to hoping for a good work week!