A Bit Distraught!

Bare It All Friday is on hold for today as I am suffering some minor emotional issues! Okay so I'm joking, kind of! If you are a Facebook friend of my personal page or you follow me on Instagram, well than you may know why I'm horrifically scared for life now. If you don't follow me on either, allow me to explain.

Please understand that I am a HUGE dog lover! I am not biased towards dogs, except for my own, but seriously, I love ALL dogs! Teacups and Minis to Huge and Heavy! ALLL dogs! I have never had a bad experience with a pooch. I'm not a fan of barkers and yappers buuut I've never encountered an actual mean vicious pup.... until last night!

I decided that I would take a nice run yesterday evening and forgo the gym since the weather was so nice and I knew today would be rainy. I got my gear on, put my head phones in, start my Nike Running app and got to stepping! Mind you I don't run in my neighborhood. Since we live in a townhouse development it takes close to 3 laps to complete a mile. I HATE running past the same things more than once, so I've been running in the neighborhood behind my own. Lots of streets and different directions to go but they all lead back to the same place. Needless to say I've enjoyed running it A LOT!

I have to cross an elementary school football field and some baseball fields on the way to the neighborhood! Tons of kids and parents out playing on the swing sets, basketball court, and even some baseball games going on at the fields. Once I got to the neighborhood I noticed lots of folks doing yard work, loads of children bike riding, folks walking, I even saw another runner! It was a typical suburban neighborhood on a gorgeous Spring evening! Side Note: I love seeing kids out riding bikes and playing considering it seems so many of them are stuck indoors playing video games on their own iPads!

I decided early on I was only going to run one mile for the evening and at my half way point things took a turn for the worst. I was running, minding my own business, jamming out to Matt & Kim when I noticed up a head a young kid on a bike.... being chased and barked at by a small yippy dog! The kid looked a bit scared, threw his baseball cap at the dog and called out to his dad who was walking up ahead of him. The dog ran off into a yard. I ran by during all of this still minding my own business! All of a sudden I see this little black furry thing dart at me from the corner of my eye. I don't balk at dogs and figured with his size he was harmless and if I just kept running he'd leave me be. Oh how I was wrong. I couldn't hear his yapping as I still had my headphones blaring, but I did see him circle me {and almost trip me} and then I felt it, a sting on my ankle. I thought he was jumping on my leg as I ran and scratched me, so I just kept running. Then I felt it again, a longer drawn out sting, and it hit me, THIS DOG JUST BIT ME! I dropped an f-bomb and stopped to look at it. Blood. Really?! This little pipsqueak dog just bit me and drew blood! I looked up to see a grown man standing in the yard looking at me with this dumbest expression I had ever seen. Seriously it was a "duh da duh" face. Not even trying to retrieve the dog, he proceeds to yell at me "Are you Okay?" in the most unsympathetic way. I responded with "I assume so, hope he's up to date on his shots"! His answer "Oh yea, he is" to which I replied "You better be glad I like dogs"! I continued running and about 30 seconds into it, I started to cry! Not from pain but from utter disbelief! I have NEVER been bitten by a dog or felt threatened by one and here this little 10 pound rat just bit me for no good reason! I cried as I ran and then I cried when I hit my mile mark and began my walk back home!

I really had no idea what to do. After posting about it on Facebook and Twitter people were telling me to report it, but I felt it was silly. The dog was tiny and I felt like I was being a baby about the whole incident, but then I kept thinking about that boy on the bike the dog was chasing after. What if he had been walking?! The dog most certainly would have bit him! I headed to my neighbors house to see what she thought. She suggested just going back to the house and asking to review the dog's rabies records! She then proceeded to clean up my wound and her youngest son, who I like to refer to as my boyfriend, bandaged me up with a little bandaid! Best neighbor award goes to them, no doubt!

After getting my neighbor's advice Todd and I went to the house where this dog lives! I kindly but sternly asked to see the dogs rabies information. From there I learned that the man, who I assumed was the owner,  is not the owner! The man and his wife are staying at the home and caring for his wife's parents who are elderly. The dog apparently belongs to his brother in law who was conveniently not there. The wife went inside to ask her elderly mother where the paper work was, but her parents were apparently asleep. She did say several times that she knows the dog is up-to-date on his shots but that she just doesn't know where her mother keeps the paperwork. She then offered to have the information for me sometime today. I reaffirmed that I would be back later today for the information and that I needed to see it for my own well being! I took down their name, address, and phone number to call later today. After I took their information the husband then chimed in that the dog likes to escape from the house and backyard and that this isn't the first incident this week! Yes, the dog has bit other folks this week!! I don't want to be the reason someone has their dog taken away, but jeeze! To know I'm not the only one he has attacked this week and they aren't watching him more carefully, pisses me off!

By the time it was all said and done I felt it was too late to call the police about it, however, if these people can't supply the shot records to me today, I will be filing a report. Thank goodness I know to take photos and such, as I did after it happened and once it was cleaned up! Regardless of the size of the dog I'm still in shock over it! Part of me really thinks I am "over reacting" that it's just a small peasize dog who has Napoleon syndrome  and whose bite marks look and feel like scratches. The other part of me is like "holy crap I just got attacked by a dog! A freaking dog bit me, while I was running". I think because of this incident I am going to be really apprehensive around dogs for some time. Not around Baby Reef of course, but definitely around strange dogs I don't know. And I won't lie, if he comes at me again while I'm running, I may possibly punt him down the street! I love animals and don't condone cruel behavior towards them but mean dogs like that need a lesson and some home training.

I will of course keep you updated on the outcome of this situation. Meanwhile, check out the mark that little punk left!

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend! XoXo!

Bare It All Friday!

I'm still debating whether I want to start this series or not. It's been in the works for some time now and I'm hoping, that if I stick with it, it will turn into a link up for the rest of you to participate. I'm keeping it solo right now to see how I feel after opening up to all of you on some of my insecurities, fears, doubts, hopes, and dreams. There is a lot I always want to say or explain about myself, but it comes at a cost. The cost of baring it all to the public. Everyone knowing the inner battles I struggle with is not what frightens me, it's more of the judgmental attitudes and scrutinization some will give.

My hope for this series is that it will allow you all to be inspired to always be honest with yourselves! I find, here in blog land, that many writers portray their lives in a certain light, a very positive light, which I think is great! However, for me every now and then, I'd love to see some raw emotion and honesty. That is what I hope to bring to you who come, read, and support my daily rambles. Life isn't always rainbows and butterflies but what is life without storms and rough seas? It's pretty damn boring would you not agree? 

As you all know, if you frequent here a lot, I have really been "working on my fitness" since January! The age of thirty is right around the corner for me. A little over a year and a half if you want the actual countdown! It's scaring the bejibbas out of me and I am noticing changes everywhere in my body! More cellulite, drooping breasts, flabby underarms, and a slew of other things I find disheartening. It's enough to make me want to go get some nips and tucks that's for sure! {side note: Nip/Tuck? Best show there ever was!}

Ever since I was young {as in early elementary school} I was ALWAYS "chunkier" than my peers! I wouldn't say I was fat, but I had a pooch that would put a beer gut to shame. All my peers?! Yea, they had flat little tummies without an ounce of chub! Just call me a cherub! I'm pretty sure my insecurities started at the age! 

Then there was middle school, where I had to change out for gym, in front of other girls, who were all thinner than me. Granted non of us had boobs or anything of the like to which, I'm pretty sure a rumor was started that I stuffed my bra with scrunchies in the 6th grade! Talk about scared for life?! If I still remember it, obviously it did a number on me way back when. 

Next was high school and of course I was still chubbier than all my friends! I was a base on the cheerleading squad for crying out loud. If that doesn't scream, I'm a "bigger" girl, I don't know what does. Although it did mean I was a "strong bigger girl" so that was a tad bit of a confidence booster! It still didn't help however, when I was called a "fat bitch" by certain mean girls. By the way, bullying has been around for years.. it's nothing new! There should have been anti bullying campaigns 10 years ago! As in middle school, if I can remember it, I still have scars from it! The other worse part about high school? I gained the college freshman 15 my senior year, before I ever went to college! 

My original college experience was a great one. Original as in, I did the whole go off to college for a few years thing, but then I transferred to a college closer to my hometown later and no longer lived on campus or close to campus for that matter. More on that in a different post. My first two years were great and bullies didn't exist, BUT the opinions of young men did! It would sting when a potential date would chose the skinny friend over me! I'm pretty sure that during the Spring of my Sophomore year, after going on a low carb diet and losing 20 pounds, one guy in a drunken stupor told me I was not skinny enough for him. This of course  also being after he lead me on for a few weeks! Luckily as a confidence booster I had other guys who were interested, but of course I ruined all of those because, let's be real...what girl wants to date the nice guy who thinks she's beautiful?! None! At that age, we want the douchebag jerk who tells us we aren't good enough! Oh my, if I could have known what I know now! 

I wish I could say since I started dating my now husband and have gotten married that I am comfortable with my body. Honest truth, I'm not! My hubby tells me I'm beautiful and perfect and wonderful and, well I'll spare you the rest of the mushiness. While I would like to believe it all 100%, I don't! My weight has continuously fluctuated since we've been together! Skinny and confident one year, chubby and down the next. This last year is a chubby down year for me as I just can't make myself feel good about my body or appearance! The last time I felt absolutely flawless was my wedding and honeymoon. Why?! Because I was the skinniest I'd been in a very long time! I had a jawline, neck bones, and my stomach was the flattest I think I had EVER seen it. How'd I get to that point?! I took over seas diet pills that you could only order online and that were probably really dangerous for my health. Why not take them again?! 1. I did, you can now get them in the states but the formula has changed to make them legal in the US, and they didn't work. 2. I know that's not the solution for long term healthy living! 

Long term healthy living is my ultimate goal but I do want to lose weight! I know exercise isn't the only way and that diet plays a HUGE role as well! While I haven't turned every meal into rabbit food, I am slowly making some changes! My love for food is a constant battle. I just want to get to where I was 2 years ago! I was happy with my body and how I felt in a swim suit! Now I'm embarrassed to even think about putting one on! I've lost my sexy and I need to bring it back! Even when I did have my sexy back I knew I wasn't as small as my friends and always held on tight to those insecurities when they were around. I still do! I don't know if I will ever truly rid myself of my weight insecurities, if I will ever truly think my body is attractive. Maybe if I went from Carrie Underwood American Idol days to Carrie Underwood now I would love my body, but let's be real, the girl works out like six hours every day! That's unrealistic for my schedule! 

I wanted to share this with you all because it is a very large insecurity that I posses and to let you know that if you feel this way too, you are not alone! I very much feel a lone as many people I know either, lose weight very easily or just don't talk about their insecurities of it! One reason I don't speak much of it is because I don't want to hurt other peoples feelings! There are bigger gals than me who suffer these same insecurities and may look at me like I'm crazy for feeling this way! I know when thinner girls than me talk about themselves being "fat" it makes me want to slap them across the face! HOWEVER, I have to remind myself that we are our own worst critics! I can't judge a thinner girl for having the same insecurity about her body as I have. Just as a larger girl shouldn't judge me for my insecruity. Either way, I wanted you all to know that I am here to listen or offer advice or to be an accountability partner for your workout routine! Support is one of the best ways to reach a mighty goal! 

I really do appreciate y'all reading my blog! It is my goal to help make women feel empowered and stronger as females, individuals, and spouses {married or not} one honest bare boned post at a time!! Thank you for reading today and have a glorious weekend!!! XOXO! 

We Pulled a Switch-a-roo and Love Sam Steele Ponder Too!

I've come to the conclusion, that upon first glance, my Thursday posts titles will NEVER make sense and I'm okay with that! With that being said, I'm ridiculously stoked about my guest today!!! I know I've shared that I've made many blogging buddies through Instagram, but this gal and I share a unique IG friendship! We met through Samantha {then Steele} now Ponder. Don't know who she is?! Well, she has my dream job and is an ESPN broadcaster! She also married Christian Ponder, the Minnesota Vikings QB on my birthday this past year! If you want to know the rest of the story, you'll have to wait till the end of the post because I'm dying to introduce Taylor to you!!!! Enjoy this girly girl! She's a fashionista who shares my love for classic pieces, her furrbaby, Princess Kate and a cute pair of Hunter Wellies too! 

*********************

Hi friends!

I’m Taylor from The Taylor Diary! I am a non-profit fundraiser during the day and am fashion and beauty obsessed by night…well, during the day too! I am a newlywed and a dog mom….a really obnoxious dog mom. I was a Fashion major in college and after graduation I worked as a shoe buyer in St. Louis, Missouri for a large online shoe retailer called shoes.com. It was a wonderful job but being from Kansas City originally, I decided to head home and be a little adventurous. Okay, A LOT adventurous. I opened my own boutique in downtown Kansas City and worked…and worked…and worked for three years straight. Overworked. Needless to say, that is why I am doing what I do now. (non-profit fundraising and event planning)

I decided to start my own blog after I got married (who doesn’t these days?!?) just to keep my creative juices flowing. My job is so much business during the day that I needed a little bit of fun and flirty on the side. When you visit my blog, you will see my ramblings, your typical outfit of the day posts, and lots and lots of beauty reviews. I’m serious. I love trying new beauty products and am always dying to share the latest and greatest with my readers.

However, now that spring is here and the days are longer (and much warmer) there will be a lot more fashion and a little less gabbing. Kansas City had one of the worst winters in a long time and it is really hard taking outfit photos in 24 inches of snow. You wouldn’t have been able to see the shoes! And those are sometimes the most important! Right?!?

I love new Instagram friends. (Just ask Lauran. It is how we met!) So stop by and follow me @THETAYLORDIARY.

I decided to put together a fun, spring outfit for y’all today. I love a girlie lace top, printed pants and statement extras because they make for a totally unique mix of pattern and texture, coincidentally one of spring’s hottest trends.

What I’m wearing:

Lace top: Karlie

Printed pants: asos.com (Vila Clothes)

Shoes: Emilio Pucci

Clutch: Sondra Roberts

necklace: Anthropologie

Lipstick: MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Sunny Seoul 

I want to give a huge thanks to Lauran for letting me take over her blog. It has been a blast being an honorary Real Young Housewife correspondent today! Head on over to my blog and see what Lauran has to say. We swapped! 

Xoxo,

**********************************

Is she not super adorable?! I know without a doubt if we lived closer we would be the bestest of friends!! I definitely could use her help in the fashion department, that's for sure! I've even used some of her IG posts as inspiration for my own outfits {I'm still working on finding my inner fashionista}! You really have to pay her blog a visit now, especially, to find out more about our initial meeting!!! It'll give you a chance to check out some cheaper cosmetic alternatives that I've come across recently too!!! Head on over and pay me a visit! 

Hope you darlings are having a bright and happy Thursday! Almost to the weekend! 

XoXo,

March 2013 Mini Goals Roundup and a WINNER!

Via

First off,  I have to admit this because I find it sad and hilarious! For my January and February Goal Roundup posts, I labeled them 2012 instead of 2013!!! Apparently I was trapped in last year! Oppps!

I would like to think that my March goals went well but that is really yet to be decided! I'm updating y'all on them today as the last day of the month is Sunday, and well.... I don't blog on the weekend! I do still have a few days to get some more wins in! Nonetheless, how did I do?! Let's review!

1. Continue to purge and organize the house, one room at a time and donate all to Goodwill! WIN/FAIL! This is forever ongoing, but I was able to donate a huge load of stuff to Goodwill a few weekends ago! I didn't get much organizing done, but really hope to tackle our guest rooms in the coming weeks!

2. Finish reconstructing my resume. WIN! I'm saying win because there are only a few things that need to be finished and the end of the month isn't technically here yet! The goal is to finish it this evening! So far I think the presentation of it looks great and highlights my assets a heck of a lot better than my dated resume ever did.

3. Arrive on time to work, every morning. FAIL! I made it to work on time ONCE this month! I know, I know, I know, it's terrible! I just can't seem to get up out of bed and out of the door on time! Not being a morning person is becoming an issue for me! How do I become a morning person?!?!?!

4. Stay off of the phone and computer on evenings we are both home! FAIL! With March Madness happening this month, several surf competitions occurring, and my addiction to Instagram, neither myself nor the hubby did really well at this! I think we just need to make more of an effort to put the electronics away when we get home!

5. Update our iPhones. FAIL! However, the month isn't over yet. While I'm finishing my resume this evening there will be some updating of iPhones too!

6. Keep a better track of our expenses! WIN! I joined mint.com and we have saved all of our receipts from everything we purchased this month. This weekend I hope to tackle them all, organize them into a spread sheet and find out where we can cut some corners! I also want to be able to start using the checkbook register and balance it every night! Hopefully once the expenses from this month are organized it should be simple to do so!

7. Work on my reactions when others are rude to me. WIN! Basically, how I look at this, is that I need to act like I don't even notice it! Though this week, because of PMS, most rude people just made me cry! I guess crying is better than being ugly! This is an ongoing goal of mine. I'm a firm believer in killing people with kindness when they are ugly to you! As easy as it is for us to say something snarky in return, saying something nice says a lot about the person you are! I definitely want to have more self control and continue to work on my reactions and expressions when I've been offended!

8. Find a cobbler/shoe repair shop to spruce up some of my damaged heels and to put life back into my Tory Burch's! WIN! The heels I took were too far gone to save but they polished my TB's and made them look like new!!! All for $8 bucks! Read about my experience at the shop here! I'll definitely be going to a different cobbler in our area next time!

9. Keep writing true honest posts for my readers! WIN! At least I think it's a win! I've even created a theme/link up that focuses on honest posts and I plan to start it next Friday!!! I think it will really give me a chance to share more about me as a person to all of you!

10. Try to arrange at least one family lunch/dinner! WIN/FAIL! While I didn't arrange any family lunches or dinners this month, we have had and are having {this weekend} many family gatherings! I didn't think about Easter and all the family birthday's that were part of this month when I made this goal but technically it worked out nicely!

That's 5 Wins, 2 Win/Fails, and 3 Fails! That's actually the same count as last month's roundup! At least  I kept it consistent!! The motivation was lacking this month but I am really thrilled I was able to keep the Wins going! Some of these will, for sure, roll over to April!!!

**************

Now for what ya'll have been waiting for... The Winner of A Few of My Favorite Thing's Give Away!

And the Winner Is........

Chris Williams from Chubbette Tales... Life after Spanx!

I'll e-mail you for needed information so I can ship this too ya as soon as possible!!! Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who participated!!!

I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend and a beyond blessed Easter! It's a great time as ever to reflect on our Lord and Savior's resurrection and all the blessings he has bestowed upon us!! Pretty powerful if you ask me! XoXo!

Whoopie! There's the Faith, Whoopie! There's Maddie!

I have no idea how this sweet gal and I became blogging buddies but I am beyond glad we did!!! She reigns from VA but currently lives in NC {and not that far so we really need work out a blate}! My favorite quality about her is her openness and honesty! This girl doesnt hide a thing! After I wrote about a very debilitating fear I have she sent me the sweetest most heart wrenching e-mail! I cried when I read it, I cried after I read it, and I cry now just thinking about it, but it made me love this girl so much more as a new friend! She shared a part of her with me that people rarely ever see in others and I appreciated it more than she may every truly know! Her raw honesty is why I'm one of her biggest fans, well that, and of course because she hails from VA! Two up, Two down, baby! Enjoy Mrs. Maddie!!! 

Hey, Y'all! I am Maddie from A Tinge of Whimsy

 I am really excited to be visiting over here with Lauran today. We are both Virginia girls and so I always get extra giddy for my "local" ladies...

Although...for the last 10 years I have called North Carolina 'home'. I live with the hubs, Wiki, in the Raleigh area. I work part time in sports and he is an engineer for a construction management firm.. And yes, that is his nickname b/c he is entirely too smart for his own good. He knows just a little bit more than even wikipedia about everything. Which for the most part is awesome...unless you're playing trivia and he happens to be on the opposite team. and then you think it's the antithesis of cool. 

This is what 5'3 looks like next to 6'5, even wearing heels;)

This June we will be celebrating 10 years of being hitched. I am a country girl from the boondocks and he is a city boy from Boston...but somehow we are perfectly matched.(other than our baseball teams, I am all pinstripes and he loves his dirty water) We love to try new foods and meander our way through small towns off the beaten path...especially if there is a winery off of said paths. Hoping we get to explore some new jaunts this year, perhaps finding food to devour along the way via Diners Drive Ins and Dives or Man VS Food.

For the most part, I blog about a smorgasbord of topics; traveling, fashion, sports, tasty cocktails and simple, but tasty food. I do a weekly post on varying whoopie pies. They are my favorite, basically an inside out cupcake...less mess. I have made the 'from scratch' variety...but mainly I enjoy the taste of mixing up cake mix flavors.

Here is my pineapple and malibu

and my favorite, maple spice.

Since Easter is coming up...these would be really easy to swap out the spice cake for carrot cake mix. yum!

and lately, I have forayed into discussing some more personal issues and am in the process of doing "the infertility prayer project" as a way to pray for women who are or have struggled with infertility/miscarriages/adoption process.

You can read more about that here in this post

I will be having my first success guest post in 2 weeks and please, if you would like to be added to the prayer list or know anyone who would need and appreciate prayers as well, feel free to contact me!

 Please stop by and visit, would love to make new friends...bloggy style.

Thanks for having me over here today, Lauran! 

See, I told you she was honest! I adore what Maddie is doing in working to bring other bloggers together and offer support and strength to one another! Healing from your issues {whatever they may be} comes from being honest and facing it dead on annnnd relying on your faith! Maddie is a prime example of that! She is also the prime reason of why I now have a severe craving for something sweet! I'm going to have to give these whoopie pies a shot! Make sure you pay Maddie a visit over on her side of the blogging world! I have no doubt she'd love to have you! And Please Please Please make sure you add yourself to her prayer list if you are struggling from some of the issues near and dear to her heart! There really is something amazing in the Power of Prayer! 


If you are interested in Sponsoring The Real Young Housewife of Southern VA for FREE. Please e-mail me at Lauran.Huffman@gmail.com or comment below! I am now booking for April and May!! 

Friday's Letters!

Whoop Whoop it's Friday!!! I may be just a little excited! Heck, I'm always a little excited when Friday is here! It welcomes two days that I don't have to go to work! That's worth being excited over!

Via

Dear Google Reader, Apparently, according to all the Bloggers I follow and the person I know who works for Google, himself and announced this on his FB status before the rest of the world, you are disappearing in July! I don't really care as I didn't use you to begin with. Yea, sue me folks, I'm not a Google Reader user! However, since everyone is posting about an event that happens in 3.5 months I guess I'll familiarize myself with BlogLovin'. I never said I was good at being a blogger or educated in blogging 101. I guess it's time I take the crash course and get with the program! This techy stuff is for the birds! Dear Low Tire Pressure, Let's hope you aren't more of a problem than need be! Last time your notification came on in the car, the dealership had to patch a hole in the tire. If there is another hole, I will be 100% ticked off! Now it was common in my old car to run over nails, where they came from I have no clue, but I'm pretty sure those tires were patched a few times a year. Can we NOT carry on this tradition with the new car?! That would be pretty stellar! I guess I'll find out the problem later today as you are at the dealership now being checked out! Dear 96X Vintage at Noon, This one hour in the middle of my work day makes the rest of my day literally fantastic! The majority of the songs you've been playing take me right on back to middle school, high school and even my early college years and they remind me of my much younger years!! Some of these songs are my absolute favorites too! Like ANYTHING by Blink 182, A Perfect Circle, Rise Against, and even Crazy Town {You know... the Butterfly song!}! Thank you for reminding me I need to dig through my old CD collection and add these to my iTunes! Dear Bow Flats, I really want a pair of you!!! You are really popular amongst bloggers and I am seeing them EVERYWHERE!!! It doesn't help that I love anything with a bow on it, which I blame on my past cheerleading days. If any of y'all know of where I can find a reasonable priced pair, preferably pointy toed or peep toe, let me know, and don't saw J.Crew! I'm too hard on my shoes to spend that kind of money on them! You should see my poor Tory Burch's! I'm so ashamed of their condition, hence why I need to get them to a cobbler asap! Dear Complainers, I'm not saying its wrong to complain! We all do it, though some more than others, and there really is nothing wrong with it. However, try to put yourself in the shoes of the person you are complaining too. Maybe you've complained that you are fat to someone who is larger than you. Maybe you've complained that your car sucks to someone who does not even have a car. Maybe you've even complained that you hate going to work to someone who is having a hard time finding a job. These are just examples, as my recent personal experiences have gone waaaaay deeper than this and while you may be innocently complaining it may still sting the other person. Just keep that in mind. As I said, we all have been guilty, myself included, of doing it but we could all stand to be more positive in life and lift other people up instead of knocking them down.

See y'all Monday, my dear darlings!!! XoXo!

Everything is Pinker in Texas with Taylor!

Howdy hoo love bugs!!! You know today is Thursday and I am over the moon excited to share today's Guest with you!! Not only does she share the same name as my sister but her favorite color is pink, as is mine, she LOVES books, as do I, and she's a shoe-a-holic, as am I, though there is no doubt she has more shoes than I may ever own in my lifetime! She hails from the great state of Texas and wears about twenty different hats! Seriously. Visit her blog, she really does.it.all!!! With a genuine soul and sparkling beauty, this gal really has it all!!! I hope you enjoy her! She was one of my first blogging friends and I will forever treasure her for that!! 


Hey y'all! I'm Taylor and I blog over at Pink Heels Pink Truck. I'm so excited to be guest posting on Lauran's fabulous blog today!! Here's a little bit about me, just real quick. ;) I'm a Texas girl who absolutely has an obsession with all things pink, shoes and books. Great combo, huh! ha! ;) I'm a Petroleum Landman by day and blogger extraordinaire by night (at least I try to be...ha!) Today, I thought I'd discuss some of my favorite authors. I'd love to show off some of my shoes, but then this post would get into a novel form! ;) haha! I do have my shoe closet tab on my blog, so you can take a peek at some of my shoes (I've not put them all up there, but that's a good chunk of them). I like to drool over them a bit, cause I can only really wear 1 pair at a time! Right now my book club is reading "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn and OMG...what an interesting book. So many twists and turns, this book will keep you on your toes the entire way through! One of our previous book club reads was "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern and that is a book I would highly recommend! I would love for Erin to write up another book. Her creativity will blow your socks out of the water! ha! So, here's some of my favorite authors, with a book recommendation to go with it: (in no particular order, cause really..that is just way too hard!) :)

 1. Mary Kay Andrews - "The Fixer Upper"
 
 2. Jennifer Crusie - "Maybe This Time"
 
 3. Janet Evanovich - "One for the Money" {The Stephanie Plum Series}
 4. Harriet Evans - "Going Home"
 
 5. Joanne Fluke - "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder" {The Hannah Swenson Series}
 6. Diana Gabaldon - "Outlander"
 
 7. Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham - "Twenties Girl"
 8. Sue Grafton - "A is for Alibi" {The Kinsey Milhone Series}
 9. Jill Mansel - "Perfect Timing"
 
 10. Kate Jacobs - "The Friday Night Knitting Club"
 
 So, now you have 10 books (plus The Night Circus and Gone Girl, so 12 total) to add to your "to be read" list. :) I hope you'll stop by my blog and leave some love! :) Oh and a shameless plug for my brand new venture...Fabuless Wardrobe (an online consignment shoppe where you can buy & sell gently used clothing and accessories) just launched this week. Woot Woot! This has been a baby of mine for the last 5 months. Click here to read the post all about it!
 

It really is funny to me how my Sponsors really can read my mind! Just as my previous ladies have done, Taylor must have known that I was looking for more books to add to my reading list! With all the blogging I've been doing I haven't made ANY time for reading. Plus I'm kind of waiting till June when Entwined to You comes out! I can't start another book when I'm hanging in the middle of a trilogy!! None-the-less I may have to give one of these a go! Hope you all can add some to your list as well!!! Be sure to visit Taylor in her sweet space of the blogging world AND visit her Online Consignment Shoppe! It's pretty freakin' fabulous!!

If you are interested in Sponsoring The Real Young Housewife of Southern VA for FREE. Please e-mail me at Lauran.Huffman@gmail.com or comment below! I am now booking for April and May!! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I am crazy excited that I finally decided on how I will be changing up my Wednesday posts {Remember I kind of chatted about it last week here?}. There are still a few things I need to do in order to get it finalized and ready for sharing, like creating a button and setting up the link-up for y'all to join! I think it will be a way for my readers to get to know me on a more personal level and hopefully relate to me even more than they may already. This probably won't get underway for a few more weeks so until then I will continue with the "What I'm Loving Wednesday" series!

1. I am in love with Daylight Savings Time!! Okay... maybe not in love with the fact that I lost an hour of sleep, I'm still trying to catch up,  or that it's still pitch black when I wake in the morning, buuuuuut I'd trade pitch black nights for longer sunshine evenings any day of the week! It's the first sign that warmer weather is around the corner and who doesn't love that?!

2.  Attending my first official Pilates class on Monday night! I'm actually pretty excited and proud of myself for going! I switched my gym schedule around to Tuesday and Thursdays, however because I had my monthly YAAA! meeting last night I decided to go to the gym Monday night and try out Pilates! Holy Moly, if you think it's easy, you are in for a rude awakening! I've done it with at home DVDs so I knew it wasn't a cake walk, but I didn't realize just how much it was really going to work me! I've been quite sore in areas I very rarely work, and it's a darn good feeling! I'm really thinking about adding Monday night to my gym schedule and upping my workouts to three days a week!

3.  Celebrating lots of Birthday's this month!! March seems to be a pretty huge month in our lives when it comes to celebrating birthdays! There is my mother-in-law, my stepfather-in-law, my stepbrother-in-law, our nephew, my close friend Tatiana, my awesome boss Jen, our dear friend Matt, and a slew of other friends of ours! Lots and lots of celebrating going on around these parts!! 

4. Having my first cup of coffee in almost a month! I'm not a coffee addict whatsoever. I've been a one cup a day drinker for forever and can function fine without it. I actually like the taste of coffee, however. about a month ago I noticed I wasn't enjoying the taste of it much anymore so I gave it up and started drinking tea! Lots of green tea, chai tea, and herbal teas and even using my Starbucks giftcard for Chai Tea Lattes instead of fancy coffee beverages! This weekend while at my girlfriend, Whitney's house, I had my first cup of coffee in almost a month and boy was it yummy! I don't think I'll be going back to drinking it every day but I think it would be a nice pick me up on an extra lagging day - say like this week when I'm trying to adjust to this Daylight Savings Time! 

I found this really interesting!!! 

5. Working on our taxes! To most this is probably a daunting task but this marks year number two that we have done our taxes ourselves with the help of TurboTax. Since we don't have a ton of "extras" to worry about like second properties, self employment, or rental income we are able to do them ourselves! It's usually a few day process as I like to, obviously, make sure they are 100% accurate before filing them! I won't lie though, I am always completely nervous when hitting that submit button! It's a great feeling seeing what we should be getting back from the government during the entire process! I'm quite satisfied with the figure we've been given! These suckers should be completely finalized by weeks end and we will be on our way to get our little check back and this will be another task I can cross off our "To Do" list! 

Happy Hump Day my darlings!!! Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far and didn't miss me too much yesterday!!! XoXo! 

The DIYin', Honest, Unicorn Loving Momma - Meet Michelle!

I am very excited to introduce you to today's sponsor!! She's a mommy to two precious wee ones {seriously, they are darling children - check out her little man and his mohawk and bowtie below - i die!} and a wife to one sweet hubby! We met through a link up, which she hints on, and the coolest part is that we don't live far from each other at all! It's a shame we haven't arranged a blate yet, but being that she and her family are looking for a home in my area, it may happen a lot sooner than later! Y'all enjoy Michelle! She is one hilarious momma and I love and appreciate her sense of humor, it keeps me reading! 

Hi!  It's so nice to have the opportunity meet all of your lovely faces today.  

My name is Michelle and this is me.  I blog at Let It Shine.  It's pretty much about shenanigans.

The first thing you should know is my faith drives everything I do.  I'm sure that for some of you I might be eliciting an eye roll and some a high five, but it's simply the truth.  I might not talk about it all the time, but make no mistake, it's always there.  Behind the scenes I am always thanking Jesus for this beautiful life of mine.  I am happily married and we have two kids.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Hand me a chambray shirt and I'll be just about the standard blogger cliche.  :)  I like to sew, take pictures of my adorable, mouthy rugrats, and laugh.  I love to laugh.  Good thing I have an awkward sense of humor and a husband and kids who have no shortage of mishaps, giggles, and general silliness.

Like what, you may ask?  How about the time my daughter announced to Taco Bell that her brother was a Queen?  Or the time my one year old wrote me a letter.  Yeah, okay, I might have wrote that letter for him.  Or perhaps the time we road tipped it.  It doesn't end there people, my family is always doing something off the wall.

If you've read Lauran's blog for a hot second I'm sure you've seen her do the Friday's Letters link-up.  It's actually how she and I met.  I prefer to take a deviation from the usual and try to make my Friday's Letters a little more comical than the norm.  Sometimes on Fridays I skip the letters and do confessions.  People really seem to like it when I confess things, but honestly, there's only so many things a girl can confess without having to invoke the fifth amendment.  I might have to put them on hold for a while.  Not.

I also tend to work some of my sillier quirks into the blog.  I have a childish love for unicorns.  Really I don't know why more people don't love them, they are awesome.  Occasionally I also like to poke fun at dinosaurs for their short, short arms.  I know, it's easy to poke fun at extinct animals.  In my defense, I think they're extinct because all they had to fight with was their tails.  Their poor little arms were just so short.

My last love is tutorials and DIYs.  Frugal isn't just my middle name, it's a way of life.  Creating things on your own gives me sense of accomplishment that is just not attainable by watching an entire season of White Collar on Netflix in one day.  I have a DIY Stocking tutorial, a basic skirt tutorial, and a tutorial on how to turn an old pair of jeans into a skirt.  Sewing is so much fun.  I'm still a beginner but I love to learn new tricks.  I do other crafts too, like this Pinterest Challenge.  I also feature just about any DIY project you can do.  Just email me and I'll feature you (for free!) on my blog.

So yeah, that's pretty much me.  I'd love it if you'd come over and join me.  It's never a dull moment in my house.  Thank you Lauran for letting me invade your space today!

Seriously? Michelle must realize I am all thumbs when it comes to most DIY projects! I am definitely going to have to check out her basic skirt tutorial! I've had a sewing machine for almost a year and I should probably put it to use! I do have to argue that I feel pretty accomplished when I watch a full season of White Collar in one day!! At least I can't ruin anything while watching a full season! I could ruin a lot with a DIY challenge and I could even lose some fingers in the process, who knows?! Regardless of my DIYin skills, y'all should visit Michelle's blog and get your crafting on! She's pretty inspiring when it comes to DO IT YOURSELF! 

If you are interested in FREE Sponsorship with my blog, I am now booking for the month of April and May. Please email me at Lauran.Huffman@gmail.com if you would like to be a part of The Real Young Housewife family! XoXo!

February 2012 Mini Goals Roundup!

Is February really over?! I mean, I know that it is always the shortest month of the year, but dear goodness, this one flew by! I'd like to think I did really well with my goals, however, that will be determined once I write them out below!

1. Purge and Organize house, one room at a time. Donate all to Goodwill. WIN/FAIL. I am labeling it this way because it really is an ongoing process! I did donate a car full of stuff at the beginning of the month and I do believe it's time for another load to go!

2. Finish reconstructing resume. FAIL. I did work on some added information but did not complete the entire resume. I think, in my subconscious, that I am scared to actually complete it because that means I will have to actually start applying to jobs, which then means I will sit and wait to hear from companies! Sitting and waiting is excruciating and as much as I aim to be positive about applying to positions, one must also be realistic! Not every job I apply to is going to say yes, which means there will be some rejections, and well, that just sucks!

3. Schedule actual planned date nights with the hubby! WIN! My idea is to plan at least one adventurous, out-side-of-the-box- date night, once a month and that I did! Last Friday, we went to a beer tasting! I blogged about it in our weekend recap! I am definitely, looking forward to planning something fun for March! I'm thinking ice-skating before the temperatures start to rise!

4. Book our June trip to Jamaica. WIN! I am beyond thrilled that we finally booked our trip. However, I did learn in the process that I have to renew my passport to my married name! I'm really glad we booked the trip this month as if we had waited another month I would have been cutting it WAY to close with renewing my passport!

5. Have at least one girls night with any or all of my gal pals. FAIL. This was a fail unless you count a happy hour event put on by the Jr. League of Norfolk/Virginia Beach where I got to see my love, Tatiana! I know, we are way lame for not getting together sooner, but in both of our defenses, we've been busy!! Same goes for all my closest gal pals! Busy schedules juggling work, husbands, pets, kids, outside activities, etc. Do any of you have any ideas on how to work around so many schedules including your own?!

6. Arrive on time to work, every morning. FAIL. I was on time for 5 days out of 19 work days! I know, I know, I know, before you tell me how lame I am, I already know! The funniest part about me always being late for work, is that my WHOLE ENTIRE office knows it! We had a humorous little awards show and I won the "Jeff Gordon Award" which was for the person who is always "racing" to work! Ha yes, I received the most nominations for that award and I got a sweet $25 gift card to Home Depot for it too! Running late isn't that bad is it?!

7. Save my bonus and then some to purchase a long coveted luxury item I've been eyeing for a few years. WIN! This is an ongoing goal since I do have to save more money than what my bonus was, but I do hope to have the item by summer time, if not sooner!

8. Stop expecting so much out of others. WIN for now. This goal is a lot harder than I thought, but I did noticed that when I didn't expect anything from anyone I didn't feel as stressed, upset, or hurt. Trying to remain positive on life and events has allowed me to not be SO hurt by the carelessness of others! It's a bit liberating! I know I am not perfect and that I have and will disappoint others because I don't meet their expectations. It's a bit like the circle of life, in a way. However, I believe if we all stop expecting so much from each other we can learn to accept people more easily for the exact person they are! That doesn't mean that people can totally get away from not doing certain things, but it does excuse them from the little things we tend to sweat that really don't matter in the grand scheme of life.

9. Stay off of phone and computer on evenings we are both home. WIN/FAIL. This isn't that difficult but it is difficult when the hubby isn't trying to reach the same goal for the month! He enjoys his time checking surf report after surf report on the laptop, which then makes me want to check things on my phone! I've stayed off the laptop til after we get into bed for the night! I did make it a point to not be on any electronic device when having conversations with the hubby and talking about our days events. He deserves my undivided attention! Now if only I could get him to turn the television off when I'm chatting about my day!

10. Leave more "honey do" lists to relieve myself of some responsibilities. WIN! This has been a lifesaver and I wish it was something I had started earlier and stuck with! Leaving the hubby a couple of tasks to accomplish each day before I get home, allows me to come home and not stress about all of the tasks I need to do! I made sure to leave him tasks he is good at and knows how to do like, separating, washing and folding laundry, unloading the dishwasher, cleaning our bathroom, vacuuming , and changing the bed linens! Laundry and putting away clean dishes has really been the biggest help as they are continuously on going in our home! Not only am I learning to hand over responsibilities, I am also learning to keep things the way my hubby does them. While I did point out that the bathroom mirror was streaky {because he did, in fact, use all purpose cleaner and not Windex}, I had him correct it with the Windex. No, it may not have been 100% as clean as it would have been if I had done it, but he did it and I'm not going to go down behind him and fix it. I know he tries and that really is all I can ask. I'm certain that with more practice he will improve and he'll be happier with me not nagging him and making him feel inferior about how he can't clean a mirror.

So let's count them: 5 Wins, 2 Win/Fails, 3 Fails! It looks as though the WINS won this go round! This makes me smile and I really feel accomplished. I won't lie, I have felt very motivated this month and hope it continues in the months to come! I'm keeping busy, have been active in the gym since the New Year, have changed some things in my diet, and I really feel that they are all correlating in making me feel good! Now... if only I could finish that resume and get that banging career I want... I'd be all set!

via

Hope you darlings have a fabulous Friday and weekend! I'll be busy bowling away with the YAAA! group to help in the awareness of Alzheimer's! If you missed my post Tuesday, please take a moment to read it here! We are still accepting donations and would love for you to assist in helping us raise money to help find a cure for Alzheimer's! Follow this link and just click on the green donate button!  Every little bit helps! Even if it's $1.00! See ya Monday!!! XoXo!

YAAA! Young Adults for Alzheimer's Awareness!

I've talked a bit in several past posts about the volunteer organization I have joined this year. Towards the end of 2012 I was put in contact with the PR VP Chair of YAAA! Young Adults for Alzheimer's Awareness, in order to help assist her with any PR needs the group needed. After talking with her and the President {who I have actually known since I was probably 6 years old} I decided it would be a good idea to join! I wanted to serve and be a part of a group that was doing good in the area, the nation, the world. During this time of my decision to join, the hubby and I lost his grandmother's husband to this debilitating disease!

Pappa Ted is in the standing top row, second from left in the light blue polo! This was Todd's Grandmother's entire family in 2010. 

I was lucky enough to have met Pappa Ted before he succumb to the evil grip of Alzheimer's. When I first started dating the hubby, Pappa Ted had been diagnosed with dementia. He was still functioning normally, with minor spouts of memory loss, however over six years we watched him deteriorate to almost nothing until he lost the battle the week of Thanksgiving! Not only was it painful to watch him slowly lose the battle but it was equally hard to see my husband's grandmother slowly lose her loving husband! She cared for him as much as she could until it became so hard she had to have assistance in their home with around the clock care for him. Simply heartbreaking and I hope that I never have to experience that myself or have other loved ones suffer from this disease!

If you are local to my area PAY ATTENTION: This Saturday, March 2nd, YAAA! is hosting it's Third Annual Black Tie Bowling Event! This event is a fun, black-tie inspired event with black-tie on top and anything goes on the bottom! It will take place at the AMF Chesapeake Lanes, 112 East Medical Parkway, Chesapeake, VA from 7pm to 11pm. The event will be emceed by local D.J. phenom and member, Jeremy Branch. In 2012 the event drew over 240 people and sold out! We are really hoping to engage the same amount of people to the event this year!

With that being said, my hubby and I have started a bowling team for the event consisting of the two of us and 4 other close friends of ours! We have a team page set up and are currently taking donations from anyone local AND afar who would like to commit any monetary amount! I'm not one to ask much from my readers but I am going to ask, that if it is laid upon your heart to give to our organization and team, please do! Please visit this link and click on the green donate money to help our team reach our goal and beyond for this event!  You really will be contributing to a great cause and helping to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research and education!

If you are unable to make a donation in money, please considering looking into local volunteering organizations in your area to donate your time to a good cause that you care about! I promise it will change your life for the better and will give you a sense of fulfillment! If you are in my area and would like more information about YAAA! please, please, please let me know! Also, be sure to check out their Facebook page for more information as well!!!

Thank you again for donating to our team and organization! I owe you all so much, more than I ever may be able to repay! XoXo!

Friday's Letters!

Well, Well, Well, Heeeeellllllllllooooooo Friday! How fabulous it is to see you! It's nuts how short work weeks end up feeling like the longest work weeks of my life! I think I would prefer to work the normal five days than have a holiday because it just means I am going to come in on Tuesday to twice as much work and then have to play catch up all week! Regardless, Friday is here, the week is over, and I'm pretty excited to not have a loaded weekend staring me in the face! I think a beer tasting may be in the works tonight for a fun little date night for the hubby and I! Y'all know I am trying to be more creative with our date nights so we shall see! For now though, I just have some Friday Letters for ya! Enjoy my rambling thoughts!

Via

Dear Forever Young, Has anyone seen the advertisements for this? Probably not since most folks my age don't watch TV Land! Anywho, they put young twenty something-year-olds in a house with elderly folks and they learn to live and have fun together for a certain length of time! I think it looks pretty entertaining!!! I really believe we young bucks could learn some valuable lessons from the old and wise and I think the old and wise could learn to have more fun from us young bucks! I'm pretty sure that's the direction of this new show! I am quite curious to see how the two age groups handle one another! Dear U.S. Department of State, Do I really need to renew my passport if all of my IDs and my Social Security number are in my married name but my passport is in my maiden name? I am highly annoyed with myself that I've just realized this "problem" and I am supposed to be booking our Jamaican trip today! If the travel agent needs the "names as they appear on our passports" in order to book the flights, than does it really matter?! Ugh and to think I may have to pay the renewal fee too?! Hopefully, if I do have to renew it, it won't take the full twelve weeks to get it back! Dear YAAA!, I was really excited to join your organization and represent a group of young adults doing something insanely awesome for a great cause. Now,  I am even more excited to officially be serving you as your Social Media and Press Chairperson! This is an unbelievable opportunity for me and I can't wait to hit the ground running!! Dear Groopdealz, It is quite possible that I am addicted to you and your fun deals, especially when it comes to all of the costume bracelets and jewelry!!! I need my pay-pal account to disappear so it's not as easy to feed my new obsession! Dear Followers, I promise, promise, promise that I am still doing my favorite things give-a-way soon! I slowly keep picking up goodies and I am unsure of when to stop! I will tell you this, there are some fun items included and I can't wait to kick it off! I'm thinking early March, so be on the lookout!!!

Hope all of you pretties are having a fabulous week and that you have an even more stellar weekend!!! See you Monday!!! XoXo!