A girl can dream!

If you don't personally know me, you should know one thing about me.

I am a dreamer. 

I think it is one of my greatest and worst qualities all at once. 

With that said, you should know that I am a woman who has ALWAYS struggled with her weight. I can't say I am fat, but I can say that I am overweight. I know how to carry myself pretty well, but I have gotten to a breaking point. 

I got married a month or so ago to an extremely good looking man. Yall, He's HOT! He is tall, lean and has a friggin 8 pack. I mean, husband is not hard to look at. He's perfect with His 2% body fat. (jerk!)

So, after being naked married with Him for said month, I am finally at a point where I have got to get going on the work out/eat right train or our physical relationship is going to suffer. So, I am gettin back on the band wagon. 

This is NOT a New Years Resolution. This is a life resolution. This is the breaking point. My goodness! Im so uncomfortable and sick of being the big girl. My tummy has gotta go. 

Im not going to be all brave and post a half naked picture of myself on here like some other bloggers, but I will post the most unflattering picture of myself and tell yall I am at my too high weight of 185.

Im this girl, closest to ya, with the belly. Shudder. 

 I've been this heavy for a few years now and it just cant be any more. Ryan loves me regardless, but yall He deserves a wife who cares about her body and wants to honor the Lord with it. I have dreams to have a flat tummy, a thiner face, fit arms. This can happen, right? 

Here is my inspiration:

We are going to the beach this summer and I am DETERMINED to put on an itty bitty bikini for the first time in my life. I know I will never be a tiny size 0 or 2 even, but I know that if I work hard, I can have the best body possible. 

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful, but for those who are trained by it, yeild the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11

Please pray for me, for my discipline and determination. I get down really easily on myself and give up really fast. Sometimes I just dont know how to keep going. 

If you have any suggestions, or words of wisdom, please share. 

Thanks for letting me be open and honest. 

B

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was one of those spectacular weekends that go by way to stinkin fast!
I guess its because we were so busy, but I hate that the 2 days where you are so happy and have fun and time to relax, you are bombarded with time flying by your head.
This past Sunday, the 15th, was my 24th birthday. It was one of those birthdays where you know that you are older but it doesn't feel like you are older or that its your birthday. It was just another day, which is so sad because I love birthdays, but this one was just an ordinary day. I should go ahead and stop myself and let you know that my amazing husband did a great job helping me celebrate on Saturday night though.
I'll start with Friday.
Friday night Ryan met me at work, since we live an hour away from anyone else in my family and I work on the side of town where they all live, and we headed to Katy to The Red Oak Grill to meet up with all the familia.
My grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, and 2nd cousins all gathered at the grill and laughed and oodled over some cute kids while enjoying a rather yummy spread of burgers, potatoes and salads. It was great to have the family together and enjoy a good meal.
We got home around 9:30 and of course I was pooped, because I am a grandma and I went to bed at about 10pm. Yes, I am lame.
Saturday was a great day!
I woke up around 9am and watched some Greys Anatomy, had some breakfast and waited on my man to wake up. He is always a late sleeper, and I am always NOT. He finally woke up around 10am and we hung up with the parentals for a little bit, then headed to Channelview.
Ryan had a job interview last week that we were praying to go our way, so we decided to go and look for an apartment in that area.
We looked at 2 different units and fell in love with one of them, but wanted to wait to see what happened with Ryans job. I guess the Lord has a different plan for us, because Ryan did not get the job. We are praying for the Lord to provide him with a great job so that He can provide for our family. (Side note, Ryan is amazing and is working so hard to find a job, Im so proud of Him.)
After apartment hunting, we stopped by the Marshall over in Channelview, since its a newer one, and found a TON of baby stuff. (No! I am NOT pregnant! One of my good friends is having a baby shower this weekend.)
Then we headed home and I took a little nap and Ryan started to scheme.
About an hour later, I woke up and was instructed that I was not allowed to come down stairs. I had to stay upstairs until He was ready for me. So, I cleaned the bathroom and bedroom really well and then took a nice long shower so that I would be somewhat presentable for our date night.
Ryan came upstairs and got me around 6pm.
I walked down the stairs to a very dark room and some beautiful music playing in the back. I walked into the kitchen and this is what I saw. :)

The lovely dinner Ryan prepared for me.

Isn't my man amazing?!?!?

His parents were so sweet to leave us alone for the evening, they had made plans to hang out with some old friends. 

We ate dinner, had amazing conversation, great dessert and watched the Miss America pageant. (Yes, my man is awesome enough that He put up with Miss America for the evening with me.) 

Around 11pm we were so tired so we headed to bed. The days of staying out until 3am are long gone. 

Sunday, we got up and tried out a new church, that we didn't love so much, headed home and watched the Texans game, took a nap, and went out to dinner with all of Ryan's extended family for His grandmas birthday. It was a sweet evening with people we love. 

Thats it for my weekend recap. Hope you enjoyed it!

Im fixing to take my lunch break and go take a nap in my car. Im EXHAUSTED! 

Much love to you peeps!

B

Mondays.

I think Monday's are made for the over achiever's in life.
I feel like the Lord made certain days of the week for certain people.
Some people love Wednesdays, being the light at the end of the tunnel and all.
Some people love Fridays, being the actual end of the tunnel.
I, on the other hand, love Saturdays.
I adore "sleeping in" (usually only until about 8:30, sometimes 9am if I'm lucky.)
I especially love waking up with my husband and spending all day with him.
I also love to clean on Saturdays and get all my laundry done.
I know that this sounds wierd that I would love such a thing on my chill days, but I do love to clean and organize. Im a strange one.

Today I was supposed to do a weekend recap. Since I failed at taking very many pictures, I am going to wait until tomorrow to write that post.

Instead, Im going to leave you with this:

I love my husband.
He went and got me all 4 new tires.
I love having a man like him in my life.

I've never experienced so much love in my heart for one person. He makes my heart pitter patter. :)

Enjoy this Monday night. Any Bachelor fans?
Woot woot for getting another Monday under our belts!

Much love peeps,
B

Friday Favorites

Hey y'all!
Today, I am pretty much at my lowest of lows for the week of sickness. I guess I haven't given my body enough time to heal and recoop from our trip to Colorado, so I am hacking up a LOT of junk and sniffing a whole bunch. I know, awesome, right? Im sure you were all just dying to hear that. 
Today I am trying to be somewhat productive on the blog and I started a weekly calender of what I should write about, so that I will give myself a little more direction. 
Friday's are deemed Friday Favorites. For no reason other than it works and its two F's. 
So, here ya go:

Top 5 favorite things to do in the "winter"

Im from Alabama, the lower part of the great state, and growing up there and now living in Texas, "winter" isn't exactly the same here as it is in the north. So, I have never gone sledding, made a snow man, or gotten to ice skate on a regular basis. 

Our winter activities are a little different. 

Here are my favorites. 

1. Snuggling up with a good book by the fire. 

(This doesn't happen often enough because of our 70 degree winters, and my father-in-law doesn't exactly like to use the gas fireplace.)

2.Taking a good hike on the trails in the grey sky. 

(I keep saying this is going to happen this weekend, or next, but we keep losing track of time.)

3. Doing NOTHING. 

(Litterally laying in bed all morning, noon and night watching movies and talking because it's too cold and grey outside to even bother putting on clothes.)

4. Looking at Christmas lights.

(One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is to take a drive the week/night before Christmas and look at all the tacky beautiful lights. This year was a little disappointing, could the recession possibly of hit Christmas light season as well?!?!?! Say it aint so!)

5. Beachin' it. 

( I grew up on the shores of Alabama, a mere 30 minutes from some incredibly beautiful beaches. We would be so lucky some winters to hit 85 degrees in DECEMBER! So, we would hit up the sands of the gulf, never getting in the water, but at least enjoying the salty air. 

I know those aren't the most exciting things in the world, but they are fun for me.

What are your favorite things to do in the winter time? I'm not a huge fan of cold weather or grey skys, unless Im watching Pride and Predjudice, so I would love to know what you love to make these dreary days go from lazy to....not lazy. hahah. (I was looking for a word that ryhmed...and I couldn't find it...HAHAHA!)

Well, that about wraps it up.

This weekend I am celebrating my birthday. I cant believe I am going to be 24!

Tonight we are going to celebrate with my side of the family, in Katy. Tomorrow and Sunday are all on my sweet husband. He has something up his sleeve, but of course won't tell me so I am super excited to see whats going on. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Do something fun and tell me about it on Monday! 

Much love peeps!

B

Colorado and some other junk

Whew! It has been such a crazy couple months, I'm so glad I have a chance to breath now. We have been so beyond busy these past few months, that I must go ahead and confess I am relieved they are over! 

We got engaged last May 23rd, and since then these things have happened.

-Ryan started fire school. 

-I quit my job. 

-I got a GREAT new job!

-Ryan kind of finished fire school.

-Thanksgiving with both families

-Several awesome bridal showers

-We got MARRIED!!!! (12.10.11)

-Honeymooned to San Antonio for a few days

-First Christmas married

-First New Years married

-Trip to Colorado

See....its been a little much for us lately. I'm thankful that we are done spending lots of money, even though I really enjoyed our big day, it was a lot to handle. 

Now that we are back from Colorado, which our great friend, Zach, gave to us as a wedding gift, there isn't much to plan for any more.

My birthday is this Sunday, (1.15.), and my hubby has something up his sleeve that I am so excited about. I have NO CLUE what we are going to do, so Saturday can't come soon enough. 

After this weekend all we have left for holidays is Valentines Day and then we get a whole 9 months to:

1. Pay off my credit card (almost done, hallelujah!) 

2. Start paying off my student loans (I hate these things)

3. Save lots of money!

Anyways, with all that rambling, I'm sure you just want to know what our trip to Colorado was like. 

First off, you should all know that I have never been out of the south, EVER. I've been as far north as Dallas, TX. and as far south as Orlando, FL. So, as you can see, Ive been a little sheltered in my life. 

Since I have never been very far north, I have never truly experienced real snowfall (like TONS of it) and have NEVER been that cold before. So, Colorado was a stretch for this southern beach girl. 

The husband LOVES Colorado.That man breaths cold air and mountains. It surprised me how much he likes them because He is such a beach guy too, I mean He's a surfer, y'all. 

Anyways, I didn't have a camera with me, of course. I really want need to go get a new one, but its not exactly in the budget. So, I took my trusty iPhone along for the ride and took a few pictures...here ya go. 

Waiting in the airport. Vibrams sure are comfy but trust me when I say you shouldn't wear them in CO. It was 78 degrees when we left Houston and 27 degrees when we landed in CO. I'm not always a thinker. 

Y'all, isn't He a hottie? I adore this man more than anything. What a stud!

This is pretty much the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my whole life. 

Zach and Kait. Brother and Sister. They are the greatest. 

We were so exhausted after our first day on the mountain. 

Amazing! Right?

This is my "excited" face. haaha!

I could drive all day looking at this view. It was incredible. 

How can you not believe in God after this?

God was so great to reveal Himself to me on this trip. I was so caught up in me that the day before we left the Lord got a hold of me and smacked me across the face as if to remind me that He is in control of me. It was a beautiful trip with some great friends and I pray that we get to do this again.




Well, there you have it. 
My ramblings for the day. 
Hope you all have a great rest of your week. 
Much love, 
B

A-Photo-A-Day Challenge

About a month ago, I started following the FABULOUS Shelley over at  House of Smiths. Yall, this lady is incredible! I absolutely adore her style of decor in her home, the way she writes, and how she loves her family. Its so encouraging to see!
Right now she is doing this challenge called, A-Photo-A-Day. Chantelle from Fat Mum Slim actually put this together and here is the challenge I am using:

Here's what I've got so far:

Day one-A picture of me. :)

Day two-What I ate for breakfast. (Don't hate on the pop-tarts)

Day 3- Something I adore. Yall, my husband has me wrapped around His finger. He hung the moon. I love and adore him. 

Day 4 is going to be very interesting. Im gonna have to get real creative. I mean, what is a letterbox anyways?

Thanks for following me and keeping up with my craziness. 

I truly am thankful for all 24 of you followers. 

Wanna know what my goals for this year is on the blog are?

1. Write at least 4 days a week. 

2. Get at least 12 more followers. (Thats only 1 more a month, people!)

3. Do my first giveaway. :)

Love you peeps and hope your week is fabulous! I am heading to Colorado tomorrow for 5 days with my lover and some friends, so I'll be a little MIA until next Wednesday. Ill try and take LOTS of pictures and share them with you all next week. 

Much love, 

B

Why are we open?

    After being off for a lot in the past 2-3 months with changing jobs, getting married, honeymooning, and holidaying, it was VERY hard to come back to work this week. There are only 5 of us in the office this week, which is so crazy quiet. The phone has rang once since I walked through the door at 8am. 

So, you ask, What am I going to do today then? 

I shall sit at my desk with my coat and scarf still on, my warm fuzzy socks over my tights, my space heater going, a big glass of warm tea and 'The Hunger Games" in my arms. 

I almost feel like I am sitting by a fire with a good book. 

Except Im not cuddle up all comfy. 

Oh well. 

This shall have to do.

Tonight, Ryan and I are going over to our dear friends, the Butterfras', house to enjoy dinner and games. We are so glad to have these two in our lives and look forward to spending time with them tonight. 

Well, now that I can barely keep my eyes open, I shall retire to my book. 

I hope yall have a great rest of the year...

Can you believe we only have 3 more days of  2011 left?

Its crazy how fast time flies. 

Tomorrow I think I will post about my past year. 

Yep. 

Much love people!

Britt