Finally Friday!

Finally, we've made it to Friday! This week has taken forever to get through... but finally the weekend is almost here.  I'm ready to dump some random thoughts:

1. We have  a new member of our family- meet Niko (pronounced nee-ko).  Niko was a surprise this past weekend. Niko is a Maine Coon cat (who will grow to be very large).  My aunt breeds cats and we thought we would be able to get one this summer, but it happened a little sooner.  This is the friendliest cat I've ever seen.  He has done very well adjusting and surprisingly Chloe dog hasn't seemed to mind too much.

2. Of course I can't mention the cat without mentioning the dog... our dog Chloe has cataracts causing her to be mostly blind.  She still has some vision, however from our walk this past Sunday, it was evident that her sight has gotten worse. 

3. I'm ready for Spring... who's with me?  Flip flops, flower beds, and warmer weather- I'm ready to see you again!

4. We already have our vacation rental for this Summer booked and I cannot wait to be back in the Outerbanks!  When I'm on vacation, I like for things to be low key and not a rush. Since the OBX isn't very commercial, it gives us just what we need for vacation- relaxation.

5. I'm excited to say that I have met my January goal for weight loss- trying to lose at least 5 pounds a month... that'd be 30 pounds before our beach trip!

6. I have been going to Zumba a few times a week.  When I am exercising, the most annoying thing is my pants sliding down and having to keep pulling them up.  Well, last night I wore a new pair that I had ordered from Kohls and they were fantastic! I didn't pull at them one time, making it a better hour of exercise because I wasn't worried about my pants.  Only problem is now I want a pair in every color! You can find these capris here.  They do run a little big so I ordered a size down and they were perfect. 

Okay, that's all I've got today.... time to finish out the work week before heading to Brinley's cheer competition this weekend!



(I did not receive any compensation from Kohls or Fila for mentioning the workout capris, all thoughts and opinions are my own, just wanted to share!)

What's new with me...

Woohoo for Thursday, it's my Friday this week! It seems like the last couple have flown by.  With the beginning of the year, I didn't make any resolutions, however there are some things I am doing differently now days.  Nothing over the top, possibly not even worth blogging about, but I want to use it for my own memory.

1. Different foundation and powder
I knew I needed to get different make up because 1) what I had was almost gone, and 2) it wasn't really doing what I wanted it to do.  I have a combination/oily skin type and by mid day my "T-zone" is often oily- which I hate.... Clinique to the rescue. I have been using the stay-matte oil-free foundation and it has been great. Next time I will get a shade darker, though. You can find it here.


source

I have also tried new powder.  I have been using loose powder for years, and it's actually what I prefer, but I tried this compact powder, also stay-matte.  I have liked it so far, but will get a shade darker in it as well.



2. Food Choices
I have really been trying to do better with food choices and thinking about calories and food intake instead of just eating what I want.  Watching portions, as well.  I've been logging my food daily with My Fitness Pal and I feel like I have been doing better than I have started trying to do this in the past. I've started prepacking and preparing meals ahead of time and it makes eating healthier SO much easier.  My daily lunch for the last 2 weeks has been raw veggies and fresh fruit. Of course I slip at times, but I feel like it's a step in the right direction. 

3. Exercising
I've always exercised on and off, but what's new this time is that when I don't get to work out because of working late or other evening commitments, I actually miss it.  I've never missed working out before.  I have started doing Zumba again at a place I hadn't been to before and the environment and peers is fantastic!

4. Organization
With my job, there are multiple due dates, clients, etc.  I have created a new organization method for myself to keep everything on track and it is working wonderfully- here's to being on top of things!

5. Current Netflix Obsession
We all have those shows that we binge watch at times, don't we? Just me? Recently we started watching "Once Upon A Time". It is different than something I would usually watch, but it's been pretty good. I feel like it's a really long movie broken up over episodes.  I've also been watching "Gossip Girl", also not something that I would normally watch... it took a while to get into it, but now I'm hooked.

6. New Book
This is where you come in! I've been wanting to start a new book but not sure of what I want to read.  I loved "The Fault In Our Stars" and like stuff such as "Heaven Is For Real"... any and all book suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Calling all My Fitness Pal Users....

Hello friends!

I'm not sure about you, but connecting with others and having encouragement makes just about anything easier for me. With that being said, if you use My Fitness Pal, I'd love for us to become friends! 

My user name:

BrookeRiffe

Add me and comment with your username below so that other users can start connecting!

And....Go!

Year in Review: 2014

So yeah... this was supposed to be finished and posted last week, when it was actually the end of the year and not the beginning of the next, but that didn't happen.  I decided to look back on 2014 because honestly, we had a lot going on throughout the year! Some good, some stressful, and some in between.

January
In January, I had to go on a work trip to Memphis, TN for a training. The drive there felt as if it lasted forever (12 hours) but the trip itself was pretty good. On that trip, I got to visit the civil rights museum, as well as Graceland. More about that here.  Also in January, I had a few snow days from work, which made me a pretty happy person. In my job field, I didn't think I would have snow days, but I did (possibly due to the ridiculous amount of snow we had this year).

February
Februrary was pretty low key for us, but the snow continued.  This month worse than the past, we got over a foot in one night.  It had been quite a while since I had seen snow like this and Preston and I took advantage of if by making a ginormous snowman and drinking multiple cups of hot chocolate. Check out all this snow in this post. Also in February, we enjoyed Valentine's day and made stuffed shells for the first time. 

March
The beginning of March brought grief to our family.  Our sweet MawMaw went home to be with the Lord.  Although we miss Mawmaw, she is remembered often and there are frequent simple reminders of her.  Celebrating her life with our family was as good as it good be, given the circumstances. On a different note, being a basketball loving family (go cats), March madness was exciting. We had friends over for a few games and enjoyed dinner and games with them.  Also in March, I was able to see our bulbs we planted in the fall start to come up, for the first time ever. This was so exciting to me!

April
April didn't have too much packed into it, it was actually a pretty low key month.  We did venture to KY for Hillbilly days. Also, I was thrilled to see our spring flowers in full bloom, check that out here.  Of course in April, we also celebrated Easter.

May
This month was definitely an exciting, accomplishing month.  My wonderful husband graduated with his master's degree from KCU and we went camping while we were in Grayson for the weekend.  We also celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary complete with a night away and massages.  Also in May, my siblings had prom so we went to spend the day with my family.  On Memorial day this year, Preston's grandparents made a visits to our house for lunch, which was also a good visit.

June
This month was a surprise, well to Preston anyways.  I, with the help of family and friends, threw Preston a surprise birthday cookout/party and it was a great success! Lots of friends and family came to celebrate and Preston was definitely surprised, see pictures from that day here.  Also in June we spent a lot of the time at the church camp we work at (which happens to be where Preston and I met). 

July
In July, we also spent a lot of time at camp and we also worked a lot.  It was around this time that we decided that Preston would accept the job offer he had and we would be moving to Kentucky.... we had to find a place to live, though.  We met with our Realtor multiple weekends and house hunted. Our current house was the last house we looked at and he knew it was the one for us.

August
We moved  to KY and had all of our stuff put into storage while we lived with my parents.  We spent a lot of August at Lowe's, selecting finishings for the house. I also started traveling the 1 hour commute to work.  Also in August, as Preston ended one ministry, he started the next and we started attended church at our current church.  It has been really nice to be close to my family again, as well.

September 
This month was pretty much filled with football games, the house buying process, and work.  We were able to go to a campground with my family on Labor day, which was nice.  When I remember September, I think of stress.... all thanks to the mortgage loan process, it's ridiculous!

October 
October rolled around and we were finally able to close on our house on October 9th.  We were so excited to be done with the buying process  own our first home.  We didn't waste any time.... the evening after we closed on the house, we went to the storage unit and got the first bed we could get to, brought it back to the house and we were able to have our first night in it the same night we bought it.  Something about a new house and knowing that nobody else has ever owned it is just great!  Also in October, we participated in trunk or treat at church for Halloween.

November

I always enjoy November- Thanksgiving, black Friday, and my birthday month... how could you go wrong? Not to mention the fact that baby Zoe was born and we got to go meet her and visit with friends.  This Thanksgiving holiday was spent in Abingdon with Preston's family. On my birthday (Black Friday) we went to the Barter Theatre for a Christmas play before heading to NC to visit.  November was much less stressful than October, and I am grateful!  

December

As the year came to a close, we really enjoyed the last month. We decorated our new house for Christmas for the first time, had fun Christmas shopping/wrapping, watched Christmas movies, enjoyed extra time off from work, and rang in the new year in our favorite way- at home. 

One thing I definitely learned in 2014, is that even when you think timing is the best it could possibly be, God may have something different in time.... you simply have to wait. We were richly blessed in 2014 and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!