What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Good Afternoon loves! I hope all of you are having a fantastic week so far!! We are half way through this week which only means the weekend is right around the corner! Here is what I'm currently excited about and loving this week!

1. The hubby’s baseball team reached the TCIS baseball semis with a 13 – 5 win over Bishop Sullivan {BS} last night!!! This was a huge win for us! BS has a pretty substantial baseball program and their players and fans know it. They aren’t the best at showing good sportsmanship so this was almost like a slap in the face to them! So extremely proud of our coaching staff and players for a job well done!! Not to mention, I’m pretty stoked I was finally able to attend a game!! Maybe I’m the teams good luck charm?! Hehe totally kidding!

Source: etsy.com via Tammy on Pinterest

2. Mother’s Day Brunch crafts. I’ve been working hard this week trying to get things together for this weekend’s mommy celebrations!! I can’t wait to share pictures of how all my crafts and ideas come together!!! I HAVE to remember to keep my camera close by!

3. Keeping anniversary gifts a surprise! If you know me you know I hate surprises! I’m a snooper! Always have been since I can remember. I snoop for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, Valentine’s Day gifts. If there is an occasion approaching where I know a gift is accompanying it, I will snoop. Yes, I know this is TERRIBLE! Anticipation kills me and I’m not the most patient person on the planet! Needless to say, the hubby has become a pro at keeping things hidden where I can’t find them. He knows me all too well! We both have NO idea what the other person has in store and I am actually kind of liking the suspense! I’ve tried getting it out of him, but he won’t budge! I am definitely looking forward to this sweet surprise! Only 32 days to go!

Source: fridaywereinlove.blogspot.com via Mary on Pinterest

4. Sleeping without a sleep aid. I know I shared with y'all that I was prescribed Ambian to help me sleep at night. Well, I took my last pill on Sunday night and since then I have been sleeping like a baby! I am feeling well rested this week too! Hopefully this restful sleeping continues and I won’t need any kind of aid to help in the future!!

5. Town Point Virginia Wine Festival 2012! We are attending the wine fest this weekend and could not be more excited! We will be headed there with our close pals the Soon-to-be-Hills and look forward to a really great time! Wine tastings galore?! What’s not to enjoy about that?!

What are y'all loving today?! I'd love to hear!! Have an awesome rest of the day and evening!!!

Xoxo,

Today's Playlist

I’m quite positive I’ve told y'all before how I am able to listen to my headphones while at work! The type of position I hold requires very little human interaction therefore I’m able to jam out while I’m flipping through files! Sometimes it’s a Pandora kind of day and other days, like today, I listen to my playlist on http://www.playlist.com/. Either way, I wanted to share what I am listening to today!

Trojans – Atlas Genius

They – Jem

Soft Shock – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Big Jet Plane – Angus & Julia Stone

Sleepy Head – Passion Pit

Glad You Came – The Wanted

The Funeral – Band of Horses

Drop the World – Lil’ Wayne ft. Eminem

Lights – Ellie Goulding

Foundation – Kate Nash

Hang Me Up to Dry – Cold War Kids

Float On – Modest Mouse

Moth’s Wings – Passion Pit

Heaven – OAR

Never Let Me Go – Florence + The Machine

Such Great Heights – The Postal Service

Swallowed in the Sea – Coldplay

Disintegration – Jimmy Eat World

Tongue Tied – Grouplove

Young Folks – Peter, Bjorn, & John

Beautiful World – Coldplay

Let Go – Frou Frou

Midnight City – M83

Closer – Kings of Leon

Brand New Colony – The Postal Service

I Don’t Know – Lily Allen

Hearing Damage – Thom Yorke

Daylight – Matt and Kim

3 Libras – Perfect Circle

Aqueous Transmission – Incubus

Title and Registration – Death Cab for Cutie

Sparkle – Rubyhorse

Kissing the Lipless – The Shins

Unconditional – The Bravery

A Little’s Enough – Angles and Airwaves

District Sleeps Alone Tonight – Death Cab for Cutie

Scream – Chris Cornell

I know it’s not a huge post today but I’m running on “E”!!! Check out some of these songs and add them to your playlist!! They all are pretty rad! Be sure to let me know if you dig them or not!!!

Hope you all are having a fabulous Tuesday and week so far!! See y'all tomorrow for What I’m Loving Wednesday!

XoXo,

Weekend Recap

Once again my only complaint about the weekend is that it NEVER lasts long enough! It really is not fair {insert temper tantrum here}. I look so forward to our weekends and hate that they are gone in a blink of an eye!

Friday evening we spent feeding our faces and doing absolutely nothing! While we should have made a grocery shopping trip we decided to just be lazy instead! We were lounging on the couch when we saw a Dairy Queen advertisement for their new Confetti Cake Blizzard! Now if you know me, you know I LOVE ice cream and ANYTHING cake flavored, right down to cake flavored vodka {which is scrumptious}. Needless to say, we jumped in the car and headed to our local DQ! My gosh was it super super yummy! I’ve got to stop myself from going to pick one up on my lunch break today! After our DQ stop, the hubby wanted Sonic, so we stopped there to pick up dinner. Needless to say, my blizzard was gone before we put in our order for “real” food. I definitely recommend dessert before dinner! What a treat! {And yes, I realize I am a true blue fatty}.

Saturday the hubby had to coach a game in Richmond so I was home with just the pupster! I ended up cleaning the entire patio, including the siding, scrubbing the furniture, and wiping down the pillows and cushions. It took a decent amount of time but I was so thrilled with my productivity level! I even cleaned out our pots {which contained dried up dead flowers from I don’t even know how long ago} and took a trip to the Garden Center at Wally World to pick out some flowers and potting soil mix! I’ve never seriously planted anything in my life, so here is to hoping I can take care of these and not kill them in a week! Here is a picture of two of the 3 pots {I also bought a pretty pink flowered plant to put in the hanging pot on our front porch}:

Once the hubby got home from his game we went to grab sushi and drinks for dinner! Ohh yummy! We tried a new sushi place this time and while I felt we were cheating on our go-to-fav-sushi place, this may be our new favorite! It’s closer, less expensive, FAST, and ridiculously good! I mean look at this plate! The presentation, with all the plants, is a bit overkill for my tastes, but the actual sushi?! DELICIOUS! After dinner we headed home, hung out on the clean patio while the pup played around in the yard and then headed to bed! In bed by 11:30pm! Who are we?!

Sunday we slept in late and when I say late I mean, 11:30!! We haven’t slept in like that since before we brought Baby Reef home! It was glorious! The hubby lounged around for the day and I took off to go visit with my momma! She so graciously taught me how to work my way around my new sewing machine and I even got to practice at it for a bit! She gave me some spare fabric, showed me her techniques and tricks, and let me have a go at it! She even showed me how to sew on a lace border on the little pillow I was making!! As you can see below I was thoroughly impressed with my work! Momma was super proud too and I think she was pretty excited about teaching me something new! You really are never too old to learn something from your momma!

Once I got home I snuggled with my love bugs and ordered Italian for dinner! YUMMO! Then we headed to bed where Baby Reef enjoyed sleeping with his new pillow and I caught up on the Real Housewives of NJ! I tell you this much, I was extremely exhausted after watching that argument between Melissa and Teresa! Teresa is just draining and literally sucks the brain cells out of my head! Not to mention if she said “Are you kidding me?” one more time, I was going to just turn the dern television off! She really sounds so ridiculous and can’t admit to ANYTHING when she is wrong! It’s incredibly sad how vain and naïve the woman is. I really used to like her in the beginning but her actions have been inexcusable these last two seasons. I am definitely over her!

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and were as lazy AND productive as I was!!

Have a Happy Monday and I’ll see y'all tomorrow!!

Xoxo,

A Coach's Wife

My hubby is a baseball coach, a retired college baseball player, a retired high school baseball player, a retired little league, pony league, and whatever-other-leagues-he-played-on-as-a-child baseball player. He LOVES baseball! Matter of fact I love it too! However, being a Coach's Wife isn't always home runs, triple plays, and stolen bases.

The hubs is second from the left in the second row {the one who looks like a student and who forgot his baseball pants on picture day, so they stuck him in the back!}

High school baseball starts in February {not counting fall ball or any "outside of the season" practices} and ends, for my husband's school, in mid May. If they make the championship and keep advancing, it can go well into June. It takes up at least three months of his life as well as mine and while I like it, it has it's drawbacks. 

His junior year of college ball!

I tend to spend a lot of evenings at home with just the pup and I. On practice nights, the hubby is usually home by 6:30 which works out perfectly, because I'm home by 6:00. I usually try my hardest to cook dinner on those evenings since we are home together, sometimes I fail at that. On game nights, he does not get home until 8:00, and I either fix something quick like a frozen pizza, or just eat a bowl of cereal and leave him on his own {8:00 is just too late for me to eat ha}! Then there are the weekends where he has games and practices on Saturday. The majority of the games are local and practices are only about 2 hours but it still cuts into our "spend together, get stuff done" time.  Some games are further away, for instance, this past weekend it was 3 hours away, and tomorrow's game is 2 hours away. Luckily tomorrow's game is the last distant one! I find myself doing a lot of things on my own, which is totally okay and in no way am I complaining! I'm just sharing what I go through from February till May every year. 

Cheering him on at one of the MANY games I froze my behind off at.

I am extremely independent. It was how I was raised. If something is broke I examine it to see if I can determine what the issue is. If it's fixable I fix it, if not, that's what the yellow pages are for! My mom taught me to never have to rely on anyone if it's something I can handle myself. I take great pride in that and I like the fact that I don't need someone to take care of me. I'm fully capable to do so on my own. That being said, I am absolutely okay with the hubby being on the road a lot during the first several months of the year. Yes, I do miss him and spending time together but we seem to survive it just fine. Baseball is his passion and I'd be selfish to expect him to give that up. Coaching is the last string he has attached to it now that he no longer plays. We still try to have date nights and we usually always have Sundays to spend together and take care of errands or projects. This season I've been lucky enough to have Baby Reef for company! It makes the time go by faster when I have him to focus on and pay attention to and I don't ever feel lonely. 

Senior Day 2008 for the Hampden Sydney baseball team! So proud of him!

I know several of my readers are married to, engaged to, or dating men in med-school, on the police/fire/EMT force, in the military, and various other time demanding positions. I can't tell you enough how much respect I have for you ladies! It takes a lot of devotion, love, trust, and understanding to be with a man who you hardly get to see. I can't imagine what it's like going to bed alone for weeks and even months at a time or spending a Friday night in alone, or raising a family by yourself. You have my utmost respect and I hope that you know how amazing you all are for being the rock in your companion's life! 

I really can't wait for the next few weeks to be over with, but it still breaks my heart when he has to say goodbye to another season. He has known baseball his whole life {I like to say it's his mistress} and I know he misses playing the game! If coaching is what gives him the outlet he needs, than I say, coach away! Coach till you can't coach anymore! At least I'll still get to call myself the coach's wife! 

Hope you all are having a fabulous Friday!!! Have an even more wonderful weekend and I'll see y'all back here on Monday!!!

Xoxo, 

Khaki Short Change Up!

Now that it is getting incredibly warm and we are all starting to break out our tank tops, short sleeves, and sandals, I figured I'd do a little post on several different ways to wear khaki shorts. I'm not a huge fan of jean shorts. This could be due to my age and that I associate them with teenagers OR that I can't ever seem to find a modest length that doesn't make me look like I walked out of the Dukes of Hazard. I do, however, love khaki shorts and I'm hoping to venture into the colored world of khaki this summer! That is brave for me considering I hate shopping and feel I can't pull stylish looks off. Below are some good ole khaki looks, classic with a twist of trendy, polished with a twist of sass!

Source: polyvore.com via Lauran on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Lauran on Pinterest

I love the option to dress them up with wedges and/or shiny gold jewelry and mix pearls with a bit of casualness! I hoping to recreate  these looks and have something fun to wear to bbqs, date nights, and ball games this summer!! There is just something so classic about a khaki short! I looove them!

Hope you beauties are having a marvelous day! Only one more day til the weekend!! In the words of Vicki Gunvalson ~ Wooooohooooo! See y'all tomorrow!!

Xoxo, 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Here we are saying Aloha to yet another Wednesday! I really need time to slow down! I remember being a teenager and all the adults saying, "the older you get, the faster time flies". How true is this?! I sure did not believe it back then, but boy do I now!! Hope you precious peeps are having a fantastic week and Wednesday so far! Here is what I'm loving today!!

1. 31 Followers! I really have 31 followers?! I feel so honored that people actually want to follow my blog! To some this may not seem like a WHOLE lot, but after only been blogging regularly for two months, I feel like this number is the equivalent of 310! Thank you to all of my fans who read my silly life ramblings and who leave their sweet encouraging comments! Y'all are so uplifting and I swear if we all met in person, we'd be the bestest of friends!

2. This quote: "When God laid out the plan for your life, he laid out the right people, breaks, opportunities, and open doors. But on the way to these marked moments are "no's" - closed doors, setbacks and disappointments. It's easy to grow discouraged and give up when we face these times; but it is after the "no's" in life that a "yes" will eventually come. God is in divine control of everything happening in your life. The no's we face are not a surprise to HIm, they are simply a test of our faith. To pass the test, stay focused and press through the no's when they come. If you do, you are going to come into the abundance of what God has in store." ~ {Joel Osteen} How awesome is this quote?! A sweet co-worker shared this with me yesterday and it seriously was exactly what I needed to read and hear! Whenever you're down, PLEASE revert to this! I swear it will pick your spirits up and make you eager to work through whatever difficulty you may be experiencing! I need to print this out on pretty paper, frame it, and hang it some place in my home where I will see it every day! 

3. Our Wedding Day feature on Heart Love Weddings! I know, I know, I've already shared it, but I still think it's the coolest thing ever! Some of our photos have even made their way to Pinterest and people are pinning and liking them! It is beyond wild to me! Of course I thought everything about our day was beautiful and gorgeous, but it's really neat thinking other people thought so too! Not to mention they like it enough to pin to their own wedding idea boards! I can't thank Heart Love Weddings and Style by Design enough for making the feature possible! 

4.  Paying off another credit card! We've only had a total of 4 credit cards ever, as a couple, never all at the same time. The most we've had at one time was three. We applied for three of them when we were making a substantial purchase and we usually put half of the amount down in cash and then put the other half on the card! I personally hate cc's and I never had my own until 2 years ago! Because of my sheer hatred for them, I make sure, {especially if we are paying off an item} that when we can, we pay the whole card completely off! Well I'm happy to report that now we have added one more paid off card to the list, which leaves us with one! The one left is actually the "emergency" cc, which we use for random things that we may need or vet visits for the dog, you get the point. This one, we will keep open, but I'm hoping to get this one paid off if not extremely low within the next few months! I love being able to cross this kind of stuff of my "to do" list. I hate debt and I don't want to be one of those people who get so caught up in debt that they can't get out! 

5.  Visiting my dad, step-mom, brother and sister this past Sunday! We ventured out to my hometown this past Sunday to have dinner at my Dad's house. Now, you have to understand my hometown, Suffolk. It's the largest city {land wise} in VA. There is Downtown Suffolk, North Suffolk and then Holland, Whalleyville, and Chuckatuck {which are burroughs/communities on the Western, Southern, and Northwest part of the city}. From Downtown Suffolk it takes 25 minutes to get to Whalleyville {which is about 5 miles from the NC state line} and from Downtown Suffolk to North Suffolk is another 25 minutes. My dad lives about 10 to 15 minutes past Whalleyville, and we live about 10 minutes east of North Suffolk, so calculate it all together and it literally takes us about an hour to get to their house! It's crazy! But I love visiting them. They live out in the deep country and basically have no neighbors! It is incredibly peaceful out there and they have all kinds of sports equipment and a pool to keep us entertained! Bikes, golf clubs, soccer balls, baseballs, softballs, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. They also have one of Baby Reef's brothers!! His name is Cash and he is a country lab! Our little city lab gets so worn out when he goes to see his brother because they play NON-STOP for hours! I am talking 5 hours straight this past Sunday! Baby Reef is still pooped today from all the fun! It may take a while to get out there, but the visits are always well worth the drive! I love family time and treasure the moments dearly. It is why I wish we had more time in our days and weeks so we would be able to spend it with our loved ones! 

I hope all of you are having the most lovely Wednesday! Can't believe we are half way through another week!!! See you beauties tomorrow!!! 

Xoxo, 

May 2012 Mini Goals

Here I am back again to post a new month of Mini Goals! Helllllo May!! I can't believe how quickly this year is already flying by or that the hubby and I are one month away from celebrating the survival (hehe) of our first year married!! April came and went as did some of the goals I had set for myself! This month brings a few previous goals and some new ones as well! Check them out!

1. Write 1 handwritten note to someone once a week. This is being carried over from April since I did not write anyone a single letter! I think if I set it to a precise number it may be easier for me to accomplish! I have a few special people in mind so that is a good start!

2. Run at least 1 of the 5 mornings that I take Reef for a walk. I somewhat did this last month and ran twice in the four week time period. I carried this over since I did not fully accomplish it in hopes that I can keep up with the promise I have made to myself! I'm going to eventually enjoy running, even if I've hated it for the whole 27 years of my existence!

3. Take after dinner walks at least twice a week with Reef and Hubby. Since we did not even TRY this last month I am making this a priority! I need the exercise and so does Baby Reef! The hubby could honestly sit around on his behind all day and eat Mickey D's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not gain a pound. Dear Lord, I hope our future children have his genes!

4. Purchase bed frame, bed skirt, and king size pillows for the new bed, as well as, decide on a new headboard. We found out this weekend that our current bed frame doesn't extend to a king, so currently our box springs and mattress are on the floor! I find this extremely trashy and our bedroom has NO appeal what-so-ever right now because of it! We have to find a bed frame ASAP! Not to mention, it annoys me when I can see box springs peeking out from under a duvet so a bed skirt is a must as well! In all reality this goal is a HUGE MUST period. I can't take looking at an unfinished bed!

5. Replace blinds in 2nd guest room. I showed y'all here where I finally changed the blinds in the first guest room. Now that I've cleaned out the second room I can get around to changing those blinds as well! Luckily I already have the window treatments for those windows, so at least I don't have to worry about looking for those!

6. Begin teaching myself how to sew on the sewing machine. I REALLY want to learn how to sew and now that my momma is giving me a sewing machine, I finally have the chance. I'm seriously contemplating making the curtains and duvet cover for the first guest room once I learn how! Not to mention lots of fun other things for around the house! Who knows I may even become good at it and try my hand at clothes! haha!

7. Throw a fabulous Mother's Day Brunch! Todd and I are hosting a Mother's Day Brunch at our home for all of our Mom's and Grandmas! And when I say all I mean, our mommas, our step-mommas and our beautiful grandmothers who all had a huge part in raising us! I'm really excited and have so many ideas! I can't wait to execute them all! Just pray for good weather because I'm hoping to be able to set it up on our patio and have tables decorated outside!

8. Clean and organize the Dining Room and Office. These rooms need some SERIOUS organization and for the sake of embarrassing myself, I will refrain from posting photos (for now)! My dinning room table is covered with all sorts of junk and don't even get me started on our desk in the office! No matter how much I try to clean and straighten it up, it always appears to be a disaster!

9. Apply to at least 5 new career positions for the month of May. As you read here, you know how I feel about my J-O-B. I have been actively searching and applying since the New Year for a position in the field I want to be in, however, I'm not having a whole lot of luck. I look at it as, the more positions I apply to, the more chances I have. Plus, what is there to lose? Just another month in my current job which gives me another month of work experience. I know there is something out there waiting for me and as long as I keep working hard at trying to find it and get it, it will happen. It's just going to happen on the Lord's time, not mine.

10. {I added this one after I wrote out my list!} Take my wedding set to be redipped and soldered together. It hasn't been dipped since this time last year so it is definitely over due! Now if I could just part with it for a week!

I hope those of you who make monthly goals are achieving them and feeling positive about yourselves! Even if some of those goals are not accomplished you can always carry them over! Don't beat yourself up over it, just focus on the ones that you have checked off the list and try hard this month to check off the others!

Have a terrific Tuesday and I will see you lovelies tomorrow for WILW!

Xoxo,