A Little Wedding Frustration

So, today Keil and met with our travel agent to discuss our honeymoon.  I was so excited to finally have it all out of the way but she turned the tables on me.  We actually went in to confirm our travel arrangements and make a payment but she started planting seeds of "all-inclusive" packages in Keil's head.  From the start, our plan has been to go to Hawaii (it was actually the first thing we both agreed on without much discussion).  Neither of us have ever been and there is so much to do!  Hawaii doesn't offer any all-inclusive packages so once you get there you still have to spend money.  We had researched and knew what kind of budget we wanted to stay within and, I believe, we were going to do so.  Little Miss Travel Agent (no need to name her) starts asking Keil if he had ever thought of St. Lucia, the Virgin Islands or the Bahamas.  And yes, we had...we ruled them out early!  When we first contacted her she sent me quotes for both St. Lucia and the Virgin Islands, both were almost two times what we wanted to spend so we continued on our journey to Hawaii!  We told her we knew we couldn't afford those even with them being all inclusive and would rather just stick with our original plan.  She then counters with:  "let me just check the Bahamas for you and see what I can come up with"  When she finished she told us that for an totally inclusive trip to the Bahamas we would only spend about $500 more than airfare and hotel will cost in Hawaii.  She even mentioned being able to have access to jet ski's (she must have pegged Keil for a sportster).  He was basically sold...I was NOT!  We decided to leave and discuss it at home then let her know on Monday morning.  Although having all of our food included (as long as we eat at the resort) sounded good, I don't know how much we could eat at the same 3 places for a week and not get burnt out.  Food outside of the resort, not included!  After reading the materials she provided us, jet ski's are available for $125 per person...also, not included.  And, other than shopping and laying on the beach, the Bahamas doesn't really have that much to offer...when compared to Hawaii.  We'd also have to purchase passports (cost not included in our all inclusive trip...can you tell I was not too happy with her enthusiasm about "all inclusive"?)
We did the math and with what we would spend on passports, eating outside of the resorts and doing anything of adventure, we'd be spending close to $1000 more on the Bahamas.  I'm not the type of person who wants to go on vacation just to lay out, I can lay out in my pool in my backyard for FREE.  Keil would get bored too...we are "goers!"
After a little discussion and some research...we're sticking with our original plan!  I'm just so frustrated that she tried to change our minds!
On a brighter note, I met with the florist today about wedding flowers!  I just love flowers!  She is working on a few samples for me.  I'll take some pics and post them when she finishes :)

Funky Friday

I've decided that I'm in a funk! I'm not exactly sure why, things in my life are going pretty well. Wedding plans are coming together more and more every day (just over 4 months to go!), our house is actually starting to look like a home, minus the bathroom that we hate...contractor coming soon :) work is going great and I'm surrounded by amazing people. So what is wrong with me?!?

A little back story: Being a Fitness and Wellness major in college, I was always in the gym. I even made it a point to hop on the elliptical for 2 hours a day twice a week between classes (an hour in the am and an hour in the pm...no way could i do 2 solid hours). Since graduating and moving away from my million dollar student gym at EKU, my motivation, and the convenience has been very little. I've always walked, having dogs, it's a definite must but I've never really been interested in running or anything. So, last year, I decided to give our local Y a shot. I found a couple fitness classes that I really liked and even convinced my friend Kali to go with me. We were doing so well and going 3 times a week...then she went on vacation! Let's face it, working out is always more fun with someone. After her vacation, I went on vacation so missing two consecutive weeks was all the distraction I needed. I would say it has been August since I've been to a Body Pump class, which I really liked. I did test a few spinning classes at the advice of my soon to be sister-in-law (Kelsey) and I enjoyed it for the most part. So, here is my problem. I commute just over an hour to work, the latest class the Y offers is at 5:30 and I do not get to leave work until 5...do you see where I'm going with this?

Tonight, Keil and I went to dinner at Tumbleweed and then ventured around our little mall (mostly to wait out the rain) and I ran into Hibbetts. I a shoe freak...self proclaimed! You'd say it too if you saw my closet! For some reason I'm convinced that if I had cool new workout shoes, I'd workout. I think I'd really like to start running...crazy, I know. But, I know I will need good running shoes or I'll just be miserable. I found a pair of the new Reebok Run Tones, a new version of the Easy Tone, that were super comfortable. They aren't too cute but like the salesman said, you don't buy running shoes for style (obviously he's never seen my shoe collection either).

Now, I know you're wondering if I bought the shoes...NO (that's right, I said no). I did, however, make a deal with myself that if I workout everyday for 2 weeks, no excuses, I can get the new shoes. I mean really, there is no reason to buy new workout shoes in hopes that they will motivate me to workout. I figure, my reward for working out will be the shoes :) I know that not only will I get to sport some new shoes but I'll feel better and look better, which is the ultimate goal. I know that becoming more active again will make a huge difference in me...I've just got to get there! Keil thinks I'm crazy but I think he's willing to go along with it. Wish me luck...I really want those shoes

Happy 1st Birthday!

Davin has officially made it one whole year! In honor of his birthday I decided to show off some pics of his first year.

My Love(s)

On Saturday, we took Davin to have his 1st birthday pictures made. Gosh, can you believe it's already been year since that amazing little boy entered this world and stole my heart? I sure can't! While we were there, we had the photographer take a few shots of Aryanna too...she wasn't too happy about having her picture taken (she'll get over that). As Davin's birthday gets closer, I can't help but think about all of the extreme ups and downs that have taken place over the last year...boy, has it been a wild ride! Everyone says that when you become a mother for the first time, you experience "real love", I believe it has happened already for me! That little boy is the absolute light of my life. He is such an important part of my life and always will be, I just hope he knows how much he is loved by so many people. As you know, we were recently blessed with the birth of my niece. Less than one year after Davin's arrival, we had another special delivery, Aryanna! I cannot wait to get to know her and all of the little things that make her special...she has a tough act to follow but I'm sure she'll bring just as much joy and happiness to all of us as Davin does. Anyway, here are a few shots from their session on Saturday!The Birthday Boy!Goodnite y'all :)

Aryanna Lashay Marie

Yesterday morning at 11:09am the world became a little more beautiful! My niece FINALLY arrived. She weighed in at 7lbs 5oz and was 20.5 inches long, she has a very little bit of blonde hair and her eyes are blue! When my nephew, Davin, was born I was a bit of a chicken and didn't watch the birth, I waited in the waiting room down the hall once the pushing part started. But for some reason yesterday I was completely intrigued and wanted to watch the whole thing. Start to finish, I was there (and my eyes were open the whole time). My mom laughs because when the doctor and nurses would tell Shynika to push, I would push too! I guess I thought I was helping! Her delivery was grueling, Aryanna was "sunny side up" meaning her face was up instead of down and it made her entry into our lives a little more difficult. She also had some issues earlier in the morning, she had a bowel movement inside the uterus, which can be pretty serious. But, the nurses were prepared and as soon as she was out they were suctioning her lungs and airways to remove all of the meconium. They were very successful and she didn't even have to spend anytime in the NICU.

She is absolutely perfect and we couldn't be more excited that she is finally here! Mom and baby are both doing great and are expected to get to go home on Wednesday. Big Brother, Davin, just wants to give her kisses!

Q: Where Have I Been?

A: Drowning in this move!

We closed on the house last Tuesday, 8 days ago, and in that short amount of time I seem to have misplaced my life. Luckily, I have a super considerate supervisor and she allowed me to have 2 days off last week to work on house stuff. So, Tuesday and Wednesday I worked much harder than I would have if I had spent the day in the office. Tuesday I painted the kitchen, clean the dishwasher, refrigerator, oven and all of the kitchen cabinets (which I plan to paint soon). On Wednesday, our mothers came to the rescue! Instead of being there by myself for 12 hours I was blessed with the company of Keil's mom and mine. We worked nonstop and actually got a big chunk of stuff accomplished: painted the living room, stairways and hallway upstairs, primed our master bedroom (because Keil wanted to paint it red) and did a ton of cleaning. That evening, Keil and our dad's moved furniture in...that is where it got a little crazy!
In the beginning of this whole house buying process, we decided that we would work on the house and get the majority of the stuff accomplished before moving in a single thing! The original timeline went something like this: closing date, April 30, cleaning and painting until all rooms are ready for move-in (tentatively May 15) and THEN move-in, unpack and live happily ever after! Well, at least it was a good plan! Here is the way it has actually gone: closing date April 27, painting of 2 rooms and living room/dining room furniture moved in along with millions of boxes on April 28...continuous work and moving and unpacking to date! Me losing my mind April 30...I know we will make it but sometimes the craziness is more than I can handle. I just want to know where all of my stuff is and that it is accessible at all times. Is that too much to ask?
We actually spent our first night there on Friday (April 30)...on our mattress in the living room floor. Being a split level house, the stairway going down to our bedroom is not tall enough for our box spring to fit so we've had to special order a queen size, double box spring. They estimate delivery early next week. So for now, our mattress in on the floor in our bedroom (I could only take the mattress being in the living room for 2 days).
The puppies are adjusting well. Toby and Jenna were a little skeptical of the stairs for a day or so, they would just stand there and look at us like we were crazy! Levi never had that problem...he's been full blast since day 1. He even made a new friend, we call him Charlee. He's the cutest little dog and has been camped out on our deck since Saturday...maybe we'll keep him because he and Levi are like 2 peas in a pod!
Little by little it is starting to look like a home and I couldn't be more glad! We took the cover off of the pool on Sunday and have been cleaning leaves and whirly birds out of it ever since. Maybe we'll actually get to open it soon...that'll definitely help my sadness about the chaos! Last night I hung curtains in our bedroom and living room but I refuse to hang them elsewhere until those rooms are painted (only 4 more rooms to go!)
Tonight's task: Paint Master Bath and hopefully I can coax Keil into helping so it will not take as long!
Anyway...here is the new casa (well, the outside anway) More pics to come, I promise!

A FULL PLATE...

This week has been crazy, just absolutely crazy! I feel like every time I turn around someone has added 9 different things to my "to-do" lists.

Yes, I'm a list person: I have a list at work on my desk, one in my planner, and one at home. I seem to be neglecting all of them this week because there are very few check marks next to items on the list. Work is picking back up, all at once! And I'm totally not ready for the events that are upcoming. This week, I'm starting a new program, planning a Girl Scout Camp Clean up Day on Sunday, putting together an awards ceremony, working with Relay for Life and have a mega fundraiser tomorrow night Desserts First on top of my regular things! WHEW! On the bright side, there will be some pretty tasty desserts on display tomorrow night at our fundraiser. We invite local chefs to create a one of a kind dessert using a Girl Scout cookie of their choice as the main ingredient, they put them on display and individuals and businesses purchase tickets to come and see what talented chefs we have in our area. We also have a silent auction and this year some of the items are amazing (2 plane tickets from Southwest Airlines, UK Football tickets, a weekend getaway in the mountains). Here are a few pics from last years event:Don't they look good? I can't wait to see what's in store for us tomorrow night!

On top of all the things going on at work, we're planning a baby sprinkle for my nephew's mom. My niece will be here before we know it! The sprinkle is on April 25th, hopefully, Aryanna will stay in her momma's belly until at least after 4pm on that day! Her actual due dates is May 13 but we don't think we're gonna make it that far. I'm so excited for both the sprinkle and the arrival...but gosh, it's been a lot of work!

Wedding stuff has been put off and put off...because quiet frankly, I had other, more pressing things to get to! Now, we are less than 6 months away and I feel like there is so much left to do. I MUST meet with a florist, asap! But, I cannot seem to find the time...say a little prayer to help me find the time and get that taken care of. In addition to that, we have to select music and finalize about a bazillion other details!

Oh, and did I mention that we're moving?!?

I'm so thankful that we've found a house that we both agree on (which was like finding a needle in a haystack!) and we could actually afford it but, I'll just add it to my list of stuff to do! I've been trying to pack some of the things that we don't regularly use but evening finding the time to do that is hard and then finding a place to store all of these packed up boxes is a whole other story! My computer room looks like box cityWe are supposed to close on the 20th, and hopefully, we will. We'll get immediate possession, so that's a plus and we can start painting. We're hoping (and planning) to paint before moving things in...maybe it's just wishful thinking though!

Just pray for my sanity and that all of this craziness slows down and we can get a handle on things soon!