Take that China!

I guess I can tell yall now that UF is back, that UF is back from China!! Woohoo

I know I can trust yall, but UF had a point about not plastering that he was in China for 17 days and I wasn't all over the interweb. It sounded like good safe advice, so I took. The good news is, he's back!! 17 days is a long time. I miss him a lot in the beginning, start to adjust to him being gone, then have to readjust when he gets back... which, I'm more than happy to do of course! Normally he goes for 14 day spans, but this time he went for 17, one of the longer trips. Seventeen days probably doesn't sound like much of a difference from fourteen, but take my word, it's a huge difference. It could be a whole extra weekend!! The added bonus to me keeping this little safety secret... you didn't have to hear me whine about missing him!

I guess a weekend re-cap is in order. Saturday I cleaned ALL day long and washed every dirty linen and piece of clothing or rug I could find. Then I went to pick UF up at the airport Sunday morning at FIVE AM! I told him I was just going to let him wait for me and pick him up at 7 AM or something, but he wasn't a big fan of that idea. We spent the rest of our Sunday pigging out (cheat day) and snuggling on the couch. I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday. 

Monday we had some errands to run. We had to pick up his vehicle from a friend, ran to IKEA to get some wedding decor, and stopped at the pool for a couple hours. It is fair to say my top half is pretty burnt to a crisp. I put on tanning lotion rather than sunscreen... probably not the brightest thing to do considering it was my first venture into the sun ALL year. Lesson learned. 

I had to pop the "perfect" bubble and go to work today, but it was a great 3 day weekend... who ever wants to go back to work after a 3 day weekend though?! 

I can't believe tomorrow is June, where does it go?!?!

I Feel Good. duna na na na na na!

I hope you guys hear the song in your head when you read that. How in the world do you spell duna na na na na? I did my best. 

I am feeling good though. I kicked Boot Camps butt! I am sore already, an hour after workout, which is always a GREAT sign. All that means, is I did something gooood or that I will think is gooood when I'm looking goooood in my wedding dress! :) 

I actually read an article in Shape magazine about how when you workout really hard you have lots of lactic acid build up, that's why you look better after a few weeks off. Strange huh? I don't have the guts to test the theory though. Although, when I did take a 4 week break, I think I may have found that true. Hmm, something to think about huh?

Guess what else?! It's Friday! Where did this week go so fast? I guess that is a good thing? 


I'm actually not looking forward to Saturday because I have to clean alll day long. Bleh. I am looking forward the finished product, a sparkling house though. Give and take, right? 


Have I mentioned that I'm going to attempt to make funnel cake on Sunday (cheat day)?! I would buy it, if I could find somewhere too, but other than Six Flags and the Fair... you can't get Funnel Cake. That may not be a bad business opportunity, but I wonder how lucrative that would turn out! haha 

Pure, mouth-watering, deliciousness!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Monopoly Themed Wedding

Ha! Not! Maybe I should go with some crazy and wacky wedding ideas so that David Tutera will jump in at the last minute and plan my wedding for me!! 

Sorry, that wouldn't work for me though. I am NOT a last minute person. I am a planner, actually, I love planning. 

David Tutera saved the above bride from herself and her awefull monopoly theme. I hope no one thinks something like that at my wedding, but at the same time, I don't care. 

I hope that doesn't sound really crazy or mean. The day isn't about what's on the table or the cake, it's about a promise that UF and I are making to each other, and that is bottom line, all I care about. Not to mention, I don't think most people will remember what was on the table! haha I've yet to turn "bridezilla" on anyone and I honestly don't think I will. I think my mentality is perfect and I am pretty sure it will stay that way. Do I want perfect flowers? Sure, things happen and I'm not working about controlling every detail of the flowers. That's not what the day is about. 


We are about 2 months away and it seems fast approaching. When people tell you it goes by fast, believe them. I never doubted, I feel prepared, but I'm still getting a little anxious. I'm a "to-do" list kinda gal, and I'm crossing off those "to-do's" like nobodies business... I don't want to be fooling with that stuff a week before the wedding. 


We are going to NH a week before the wedding to prepare and prep, but mostly just enjoy ourselves. So I'd rather not be doing DIY's! haha I'll let you know if that happens!! :)

Can you tell I'm ready?!

What a night!

Sorry about having to miss out on What I'm Loving Wednesday today, but I was preoccupied with 8 tornadoes and counting last night! Just when I was heading into the bedroom to get comfy and go to sleep... the tornado siren went off. What int he world!! 

The weather man just told me all was clear and should be fine... liar. So now, I'm hiding in the guest bathroom with the dog again. Glamorous, I know. I guess I'm pretty fortunate thus far, seeing as Oklahoma and Missouri head a death toll. Don't get me wrong, I don't actually want to see a tornado, but if there isn't going to be one... I'd like to go lay in bed. It's warm and comfy there.

I'm pretty sure that tornado siren was a false alarm. They really over use the thing, it's turning into the boy who cried wolf. However, eventually a wolf did show up and that little boy was eaten. So better safe than sorry, right?

Jake is much more comfortable taking shelter in the bathroom.

 Hope everyone is safe and nothing is too ruined!

My t.v. trash.

With UF gone, I've been watching lots and lots of trash t.v. that he wont watch with me (therefore I usually skip it). I can't believe how crazy this stuff gets! 


First, Quints by Surprise

 What by surprise?! These people are crazy, I had no idea Quints could be a surprise. They have a six year old five 2 year olds and then they get a puppy?! All their children do are cry and scream at the same time. Schools should use this show as a "birth control" method. Oh mah goodness.

The Bachelorette:

I'm not excited they picked this Ashley to be the next bachelorette. She's sooo boring, the should have picked the other Ashley, she was better! Not sure I'll watch this season. 


The Real Housewives - Orange County:

I really ALMOST can't stand this show. These women are absurd. Who acts like they do?? I thought people didn't act like that anymore. They are so petty, but it makes me so happy that I have real people and friends in my life. They can't really consider each other "friends" right?

 Tamra is my least favorite. She is too annoying for my taste, she should just stop talking. :)

The Real Housewives of New York:

Still crazy and I don't get their "social" rules and status' at all. I'm just glad I don't ever have to do that weird "society" tango. It doesn't seem like they can actually enjoy that, maybe they are martyrs? 

I can't handle Ramona, she has got to be certifiably crazy. I can't believe anyone puts up with her. 

I used to enjoy these shows, but I don't know how much longer I will be able to hang in there and continue to watch these shows, they are starting to drive me crazy! :)

My words to the wise.

I guess a quick weekend recap is in order. 

Saturday I woke up at 9:00 AM and got started cleaning up the house right away. Then I went to the gym at about 11:30 for a Zumba class. Afterwards, I stopped at Target to pick up a present for a 2 year old... the cutest 2 year old ever (or that I know, don't want to offend!). Then I came home and cleaned out my closet for EIGHT hours. I'm talking about putting Winter clothes up and pulling the Summer clothes! WOohoo! 

Sunday I got up about the same time, had some cheat day breakfast and continued to clean. Then I showered and went to a friend's house. Saw said friends and had a blast, stopped at Houston's on the way home for some dinner and ate it while watching "Monster In Law". Great weekend, just miss UF!

This would be the adorable 2 year old, with no face, for her privacy! 

Now on to my words of wisdom, which are related to the weekend. So before heading over to said friend's house on Sunday, I decided to wax my own eyebrows. I am tired of paying for it and I have the kit stuff you microwave, so I decided to save $15 and do it myself. Bad idea. My words of wisdom? Just pay someone to do it for you, otherwise... 

This may happen.

See that big nasty red blotch in the middle of my forehead... yeah, still there... a day later. I have no idea what happened to cause it. I even put ice on my forehead for 30 minutes to avoid this disaster... Did I mention I did it an hour before going to friends house? The smartER thing would be to have done it on Saturday when all I did was clean. The smartEST thing would have been to pay someone to do it. Lesson learned! 

In closing, a picture of my most favorite baby, my Jake. 

Thank all that is good... it's Friday.

Thank goodness that it is Friday, because I am feeling overwhelmed. 

Way overwhelmed. I feel like I've got so much on my plate and the best way to take care of things is to cross things off my list. That means I need to make a to-do list and prioritize my time this weekend and get things done. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I will feel caught up, accomplished, and relaxed. 



Have you guys seen the Sundrop commercials?! Oh my goodness, hilarious. I want to be that girl in the commercials "pop lock and droppin it" all over the place. Especially with shorts, tights, sweat band... oh yeah, awesome.

I am guilty of watching all of the drama shows... you know, The Real Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and the Real World... yes I still watch that show, at my age! haha I can't handle all the drama anymore that. This stuff really happens in the real world??? What appears to be adults really go around acting like children?? It's started to frustrate me, because who really acts like that?! I still watch it though... :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!! 

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

It's awkward and awesome Thursday! Woohoo!!

Let's start with 

Awkward:

- Having a male customer compliment me on my engagement ring and then imply I would be "bedding" my fiance that night because of it... do what?! Wierdo. 
- Leaving work in gym clothes, while passing customers... yes, I do work here... 
- My 75 lb yellow lab thinking he's a lap dog.
- Video chatting... woah... yep, that's me. 
- Hearing your voice played back in a video. So uncomfortable!! 
- Spilling "Smart Water" all over yourself. 

Awesome:

- Only one more day until Friday... 
- A weekend of checking off "to do"s
- Getting Netflix back up and running.
- Having a good hair day, just when you need it.
- Missing your work-out and taking the dog for a walk instead. 
- Chick Flicks


Ok, so let's be honest, I had way more awkwards then awesomes this week. Lame. I will try again next week though, have no fear! :) 


Hope yall had better awesomes than I did!!

What I'm lovin'!

I am super excited to share my What I'm Loving Wednesday with yall this week!! 

 Let's take a look!

I love this this romper. I mean, I'm a sucker for rompers as it is BUT it's also Coral... swoon. 

 

 

 

 

Green linen Toms, yes please!

A little odd right? I love the floral print, I think they are so Summer!

I'm moving away from clothes, I know, but I've been on such a Milk Dud kick.

It's ok to laugh, but I do own a thigh master, and I happen to think it's awesome!! hahaha

This one counts as two. I love my Essie nail polish. Plus I have finally figured out how to apply it! And I love my ring, I still just stare at it all the time.. 

 

If you were wondering, those are in fact rhinestones on my car A/C vent. Yep, that's me. I also rhinestoned the shifter knob. I did it myself, since none of the "pre-made" one's fit my car... it was pretty awesome until the rhinestones started to fall of. :)

Hope you enjoyed my "What I'm Loving Wednesday"!

Run Forrest!

I am soooo exhausted. I have started running, which is weird for me, cause I swore I'd only ever run if I were running FROM something! haha 

I have to say, now that I have started it, it's not as bad as I thought... BUT, I still don't love it. My legs have been so sore, which is great, because that means something’s working right? I'm pretty sure I had plateaued with my normal hour of cardio routine (Zumba mostly), so I decided to mix it up some more. I have added a lot more weights and then running. My body is still trying to figure out what the heck I'm attempting to do!! I may also mention that I have NO idea how to run, so I'm sure I look like a flat footed nut! Is there a class that teaches you how to run or something?? I just have to focus on running for a complete son, and then a certain distance, or for a certain amount of time and that helps me run for a longer continuous period. 

Moving right along, this week is dragging, isn't it? I am pretty sure it's not just me either. I'm quite sure it relates to how I'm looking forward to this weekend. Oh well, no rush, gotta live in the moment... remember?! 

I know I have mentioned this before, but I seriously want to find a charity or something of that nature to volunteer at. With this wedding coming up I don't really have money to donate, but I would really love to donate my time. I want to help other people. I think it would be such an incredible and positive addition to my life. If yall have any suggestions, I would love them!!

Consider me accomplished.

I'm not going to complain about Monday today, rather I'm going to tell you about my oh so productive Sunday! 

I got so many things crossed off of my to-do list yesterday! It always feels so good to get things done, doesn't it?! 

For starters, I woke up at 9 freakin' AM. Boo! I'm always complaining when I get up in the morning and day dreaming out that one day a week (sometimes 2) that I get to sleep in on. I guess I'm officially and adult though, because 9 AM is still "technically" sleeping in. So I got up, fed the dog, went to the grocery, came home made some breakfast and watched a couple episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress". 

Then I decided to make myself a checklist of things that really need to get done in the next 2 weeks. Since we are only 2 1/2 months from the wedding, I figured I'd start getting that stuff crossed off. I really do NOT want to be one of those "last minute" brides. I'm such a planner, that I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. The only thing I think I will end up stressing about is packing, because I'll have to pack for 2 weeks! Ahh! Anyways, I ordered some items that we still needed, you know odd items, and figured out some other things. 

Then I moved on to picking up the house a little bit and started my tiny two loads of laundry. I love not having a lot of laundry to do. 

Lastly, I moved on to the biggest item on my list... THE CLOSET. It's started to warm up and pretty soon it's going to STAY warm, so it's about time to swap out my Winter clothes for my Summer clothes. This is such a production. I really have too much stuff. I am 100% aware of the fact that I don't need all this stuff or all these clothes too. So I'm trying to get rid of stuff. I got about 1/2 way done and realized that I was going to have to save the rest for next weekend. I would have been up all night and been exhausted. I still feel accomplished though. 

I also did some trial hair and makeup, which I washed off and put my hair up in a ponytail as soon as I was done. I'm so weird; I just enjoy playing around and then being done with it! haha I did a green tea mask too, which I left on too long and am still trying to decide if I did permanent damage! haha

I have to say it was a great day, relaxing, and accomplished! Hope yall had a good day too!! 

I'm a sucker.

It seems like a trend that is catching on, and you may have heard of it before, but I have been signed up for Birchbox boxes for about 3 months now and thought I'd share with yall!! 

I LOVE Birchboxes. Simply because I love getting beauty surprises in the mail every month, and I get to test all the beauty items with no pressure to purchase anything. 

So I rip open the box as soon as I find it in the mail... and since it ships on the 10th of every month, I generally know when to start looking. 

This is my box after I rip it open! 

 

 

 

Everything unwrapped and out of the box! 

 

 

Contents close up! Or most of them! 

 

 

The other half of the box. 

Here is what was in May's box:

1. Stila Eyeshadow full size. 

2. Bulgari - Mon Jasmin Noir perfume sample


3. Erno Laszlo - Night Serum sample


4. Archipelago - Pomegranate Soup


5. Tiny Prints - Card


6. Oribe - Shampoo & Conditioner - 2 of each


I'm really excited about the eye shadow, and I always love cards. Who can't use Shampoo and Conditioner samples with as much as we travel and camp. 


I'm a sucker for samples, surprises, and beauty products... consider me a sucker!

7-11 Life Lesson

I'm baaack and apparently so is Blogger! Holla! Today I thought I'd share the life lesson I learned at 7-11 yesterday. Yes you heard correctly, a life lesson... at 7-11. Pretty awesome huh?

I will start from, mostly, the beginning. I have this new habit of stopping at 7-11 for a coffee in the mornings (I am down to 8 ounces of diet coke a day... and need to get some caffeine from somewhere). So on my way to work, or soon after, I stop at the 7-11 that is literally a block from the store. It's so close that I have considered walking before. The point is, they see me a lot, and we the clerk and I are pretty much bff's. He is an older foreign gentlemen and is absolutely the happiest person I have EVER met.

Now to the good part. I walk up to the cash register and am ready to pay and he says I can swipe my card. I mention that I'm paying cash (I'm literally only holding two 1.00 bills in my hand) and he says, "Oh you are rich!" At which point I laugh and say, "No, but I wish I was!". This is where I got the moral of the story lesson. He simply replies, "You don't have to have money to be rich in life". I was floored. Really, not the reaction I was expecting. He is absolutely so right though. How could I argue with the self-proclaimed "happiest man on the earth" telling me I "don't have to have money to be rich". Lesson learned.

Which got me thinking about other things. I've kinda been in a funk lately trying to figure out some of my own life lessons. I think the best conclusion I've come to is to live for today. I don't want to "just get by" or "just get today over with". What if the next day doesn't come?! I don't want to have things to "look forward" too to help me get through the week. If I were to do that, it only means that I'm not living my life. I'm not living day to day, and I'm not enjoying the little things, the every day things, the things that I will one day realize I took for granted.

I think the end result is a more positive, appreciate, happy Rachel. That's my goal. I have nothing stopping me and no reason not to be. That's my inspiration for the week/month?! :)

It's alive!

I have been awful, I know. It's just been kinda crazy. I turned 23 on Friday and all of my friends got together and we danced all night long. 

Saturday was devoted mainly to recovering...and doing nothing... which is my favorite thing ever! UF also made me my favorite meal ever! He has the best pasta dish, since it's my favorite, it was a great way to help celebrate "Rachel weekend"! :)

Sunday we ran around and took care of some wedding details. We picked out our wedding "wear" at Men's Warehouse and finalized that. We ran a bunch of other errands, but I don't recall anything specifically special. That night I ended up watching some of our besties kiddos. They are adorable and so easy to watch. Actually, they pretty much watch themselves. It was a lot of fun. 

I've had a rough week at work. It's been stress on top of stress. As soon as I walk in the door and read the e-mails, I melt down for about an hour to hour and a half, and then I resume work as normal. I've been pretty down about work. I almost feel like I'm at my limit... you know... that sand in the line. I have to hang in there though, I mean... everyone does, right? One day, I will figure this out.

Thanks for hanging in there with me though! I'm so sorry I've been such a bad friend!!