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

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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!

Blog fail and an update

Okay, I really thought I had posted a weekend recap last week.... I was certain I had made another post since writing about Thanksgiving, but it doesn't look like it.  Must have thought about posting it, does that count?  I guess since I haven't blogged in forever it's time for an update!

 

So what have we been doing since Thanksgiving? 

 

The first week of December my younger sister and her squad had their regional cheer competition.  After work I headed straight to the Expo center to watch.  The girls did great and got 1st place in their division, sending them to state!  Also during the first week of December, my younger brother and sister turned 15 years old. 15. How in the world did that happen?  The morning of their birthday we had church directory pictures to take at church and then afterwards, Brinley came to our house for a little while, we watched The Grinch if I'm remembering correctly.  Brice had an away basketball game.  Later that afternoon, two of Brinley's friends came to our house and we headed to get some necessities for the evening at Wal-Mart.... and by necessities, I mean biscuits and gravy, ice cream, and a gingerbread house kit.  We had breakfast for dinner, at the birthday girl's request after we got back to the house.  Shortly after, Brice and my parents got back from his game and brought a cookie cake to celebrate their birthdays.  They stayed a little while and then after they went home, the girls made their gingerbread house  a mess. It turned out....okay. Cupcakes were also baked and decorated that evening. 

 

The second week of December, we had church and then went out for lunch to celebrate Brinley and Brice's birthday since we didn't get to have a "birthday dinner" on Saturday.  After lunch we headed to my parents' house for Brinley's ice cream cake (remember, Brice had a cookie cake the day before). Also in the second week of December, Preston and I finished up making some props for our youth Christmas program.  We also attended a concert and finished Christmas shopping.. but that's for another post. 

 

This week, we're wrapping and getting everything for Christmas. I'm also working extra hard at work (part of why I have been MIA lately) to be ahead since I will be taking off the whole week of Christmas and will have 9 glorious days away from my office that will be filled with family time, friend time, and sleep.

 

Anything new with you all?

Thanksgiving 2014

How has Thanksgiving already came and gone?  Is it me, or is the end of this year flying by?  Thanksgiving was wonderful and I certainly enjoyed 6 days off of work, what a treat! Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but sometimes you just need a break!  I worked extra Monday and Tuesday so that I didn't have to work the half day scheduled for Wednesday.  So we'll start this recap there on my first day off.

 

Wednesday, the first thing I did was sleep in (of course). I didn't even set a clock Tuesday night which was awesome. This girl loves her sleep.  After sleeping in and then having breakfast, I got ready and went to my parents house to make a few things with my mom and then brought my sister back to my house.  After making a few errands and dropping Brinley off at cheer practice, I spend most of the afternoon/evening at home.  Later we had a Thanksgiving service at church, which was also really good.  After church we went to my grandparents house and visited with my family for a while.

 

Thursday morning we were up and on the road.  We headed to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with Preston's side of the family. We really enjoyed family time and the meal was delicious (thanks again, Nana!).  After eating and visiting, we rested a little while and then Preston and I got ready to do some shopping.  Our first stop was Kohls, getting there right when they opened.  Surprisingly, lines weren't bad at all and it went so much smoother than previous years.  We continued our shopping through the night and got home around 1am. 

 

Friday (my birthday!) we were back up and at Lowes for a few things around 8:00am.  We went to a few other stores, got breakfast, and then headed back for a quick nap.  After napping we got ready and went to the Barter Theatre and saw a Christmas play with Nana and Pawpaw. The show was really good and definitely a great birthday treat.  After the play we were back on the road again and Asheville bound.  One of my best friends had her baby girl this week so we went to visit.  We got to their house and had lots of baby snuggles.  Baby Zoe is absolutely precious and so so tiny! We headed to our hotel for the rest of the night.

 

Saturday most of the day was spent continuing baby snuggles and visiting with friends before it was time to head back home to KY.  We stopped for a birthday dinner at Bonefish grill and then were on the road again.  Once back in KY, we went to my parent's house to get Chloe girl who had been staying there while we were away.  Brinley and Brice decided to stay with us Saturday evening.

 

Sunday we went to church, had lunch at my parents' house and then had a pretty easy afternoon.  These few days off of work was just what I needed and I'm looking forward to an even longer break for Christmas in just a few weeks!

 

What did you spend your Thanksgiving weekend doing?

 

Hope all of you are having a good week- only 22 days until Christmas!

Thankful Thursday

Thursday is here again and I only have 2 more Thursdays this month to finish out my goal of writing about things I am thankful for every week in November.  Even the little things are important, so here's what I'm thankful for this week:

 

1. My awesome husband that warms my car up in the mornings that it's not in the garage.

 

2. Friends that are encouraging and comforting in tough times.

 

3. Neosporin

 

4. Friendly co-workers

 

5. Manicures.

 

6. Heated mattress pad.

 

7. Evenings with no plans.... relax!

 

8. Apple cider k-cups

 

9. Getting my license plate and tags changed, thankful it's over!

 

10. Random lunch dates with friends.

 

What are you thankful for?

Wonderful Weekends: Newsboys concert

Rainy, cold, possibly going to snow.... this Monday is definitely one that I'd be okay if I were staying at home...in my bed.  This past weekend was a good one- it just ended too quickly, as usual.  Here's a brief recap:

 

Friday I wasn't feeling well at work- it's hard to be productive when you are sneezing, blowing your nose, and then getting hand sanitizer repeatedly.  I ended up leaving about 1:30 and went home to try to get some rest.  Friday was cold.... very cold. However, we spent the evening bundled up under layers of clothing (4 for me) at a football game. Normally I wouldn't have gone feeling the way I did, but it was my younger brother's last high school game and I didn't want to miss it.  After the game we went home and I went straight to sleep. 

 

Saturday morning we slept in a little while and then did some things around the house.  I gave Chloe dog a haircut and a bath. We got some laundry done and "tidied" up the house.  Then we headed to the store from some much needed grocery shopping.  The rest of the day was pretty low key until we got ready to go to a Newsboys concert with our youth group.  The 2 opening bands, 1 in particular were.... interesting.  However, we enjoyed the concert much more when the Newsboys started.  It is so great to be reminded that God is NOT dead. After the concert we loaded the buses and got back home around midnight.  Brinley and a couple of her friends spent the night at our house- started a movie and they were out.

Source

Sunday morning we got ready and went to church.  After church we had a dinner honoring the senior citizens at church.  After serving, we enjoyed lunch with them and then went home for a much needed Sunday nap. Sunday evening we went back to church and then had to run to Walmart for a hair dryer- mine was sparking and smoking when getting ready for church so I realized it was time for a new one.  Getting a new one was more difficult than I thought, I had my hair dryer, that I loved, for 7 years.  Oh well, the new one works and dried my hair so I suppose that's what matters.

 

Anyways, we had a good weekend, already looking forward to the next one! What did you do with your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

 

Part of me feels like last Thursday was yesterday and the other part of me feels like it's been forever.  Anyways, we all have things to be thankful for, here are some of mine for this week:

 

1. A reliable vehicle- transportation to and from work would be much more difficult if I didn't have a reliable car.

 

2. The extra day off I had on Tuesday. It was so nice to sleep in, get my hair cut, get the oil changed in my car, embroider with my mom, and visit my grandparents- all things I usually don't have a lot of extra time for on a weekday that I'm working.

 

3. Good family visits- this happened this past weekend and it was wonderful!

 

4. Coats, gloves, scarves- temps are really dropping this week and I'm thankful for my warm clothes.

 

5. Warm showers- even though I'd probably rather be asleep, at least when I get up to get ready for work I have a warm shower waiting on me... silver lining of the morning!

 

6. Hulu- So I can get caught up on Parenthood, any Braverman fans out there?

 

7. My siblings.

 

8. Frozen yogurt- no explanation needed.

 

9.  A fun weekend coming up- we are going to a concert with our youth group.

 

10. Thanksgiving break from work coming up very soon!

 

What are you thankful for this week?