Weekend Recap!

As many of you are experiencing, the temperatures have been a scorcher which makes me want to do nothing but stay indoors in the air conditioning. That's pretty much what we did this weekend!

Friday evening we did join the hubby's grandmother, mom, aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner. It was nice to be with all of them and catch up. The best part was when Grand was scrolling through photos on my IPhone {she was looking at Baby Reef} and came across a photo of me without ANY makeup on. Her response to said photo "WHOA that is not a good photo of you"! Hahaha if this had been any other person I very well would have been offended, but I've always appreciated Grand's honesty and "say it like it is" attitude. All I really could do was laugh and agree with her as it was a pretty heinous photo!

Saturday, we literally did nothing! Napped for a lot of the day. I mean it was just too hot to do anything but! I mean I guess I could have cleaned a bit but let's be real... who wants to do that?! Not me! That evening we did head out for some sushi and froyo! Saturday evenings are really starting to turn into stellar little date nights! I like it!

Yesterday, we were actually a bit productive! We FINALLY bought the bed frame for our mattress, finally bought a bed skirt, and even bought new sheets and pillows! Yay for sleeping!! I love how the bed is lifted and the room looks more like a Master bedroom and not a college frat house bedroom! We also made a little stop at Pet Smart as Baby Reef has quite an irritating "hot spot" in his private region! The poor pup has licked it raw! We can tell he is ridiculously uncomfortable and I feel beyond bad for him! We picked up some treatment gel for it and I've been cleaning it twice a day and trying to prevent him from messing with it {I'm thinking we are going to have to put an Elizabethan collar on him for a few days}. We also have been giving him Benedryl to help with the itching and irritation! I wish so badly I could be at home with him today! He is such a little cuddle bug when he isn't feeling well and this morning was no exception! It was difficult for me to get up with him curled up next to me!

Havent seen this made in some time!

Comfort! Now we just need a headboard!

No Longer on the Floor!!!!

I've been contemplating going back brunette for the last few weeks now! I like the blonde but it is sooo high maintenance. My roots grow out in two weeks and to me it just begins to look bad after that! Being my natural color is much less work and it has actually grown on me a lot the last few years... maybe that's why I wanted to go back?! Anywho I stopped and picked up a box of color {my stepmother is going to kill me - Love you Wendy!} and got to work last night! I left it on for about an hour and it came out a dirty blondish/brown color! It is lighter than I expected BUT I think it may work well for the summer! I'm sure it will fade in another week so I may be redoing it next week! I have no doubt I'll go much darker once fall arrives, but so far I like it! Now if the hubby would just approve. He likes me blonde! Maybe because I was Barbie blonde when we first met, who knows!

Old Color - Blonde

New Color - Light Brown!

For the Fall!

I'd say we had a pretty uneventful weekend, but I seriously LOVE those kinds of weekends. Hope you lovebugs had an amazing weekend and are having a Happy Monday!!!

XoXo,

Moving On Up!

haha this is hilarious, but I hope is completely untrue for me! 

Okaaay! So I know I've mentioned a few times in the last few weeks that I recently received a promotion at work! I'm pretty excited that I now am able to tell y'all about it!! September will be two years that I have been with my company and this new position is now my third. I started as an Administration Assistant in one department and after a year there, I moved to my current department.

Yes, in my most previous position I was miserable! And I'm still not 100% sold on the inner runnings of my actual company, as the admin assistant position was in the inner department and I was able to see a lot of what occurs and what "doesn't" occur. I don't agree with it all but now that I haven't been in that department for 8 months I really can't say anything or voice my opinion. It's not my place.

So true! haha! 

My current department is ran with the utmost professionalism. My managers are simply THEBOMB.COM. I get along with them very well and see them as my work sisters and not just managers. Yea, most corporate practices say you shouldn't mix business with pleasure {and we don't} but we do chat A LOT about things outside of the office! I go to both of them a lot for advice and opinions and value their expertise in all areas! They do their job the correct way and sometimes I wonder why they aren't running the place! People from other departments come to them with questions about policies, regulations, systems, files... literally everything and they can answer it. They are problem solvers and extremely efficient. Laziness is NOT a quality these ladies possess. They work later hours if need be, they work through lunch, they work and they get their jobs done. I admire that.

Right before I left for our Annimoon, my managers pulled me into their office. They've known since New Years that I have been looking elsewhere for a career. They weren't stoked on it but they knew I would never screw them over and just up and leave and they understood I was looking for something more related to my field of study. While sitting in their office they asked me if I was still actively looking. At this point, I was looking, but wasn't applying nor was I hearing much of anything from positions I had applied to. I told them that. After explaining how my job hunt was going they told me they had a new position becoming available and that they wanted to offer it to me, but only if I was willing to give up my job hunt. I asked if there were incentives. There were! I told them I would give it some thought, talk it over with my hubs, and let them know when I returned from our vacation.

Getting out for that hour is like heaven! Even if I am just going to the post office - which I associate with hell! 

While talking it over with the hubby we both decided I needed to take it. At this point I wasn't getting much feedback, if any, from the jobs I had applied to. Who knows how long I'll be where I am? Might as well take the promotion and incentives while I am here. So that was that. I came back into work after vacation and gladly took the position. I moved my office a week later and started the position last week!

So far so good. I am now the Executive Assistant of my department and I am taking on many responsibilities from the Assistant Manager, while she is taking on many responsibilities of our Manager to help relieve her so she can manage the department better than she already does! One of my biggest tasks is endorsing Loan Notes. We, as a lender, sell mortgage loans to larger lenders, and because of that I have to endorse the note to the new lender. I also have to make sure that the original note was closed correctly, executed by the borrowers correctly, and signed and sealed by the closing attorney correctly. You'd be surprised at how many come back completely screwed up! This takes up a lot of my day as we can get an upwards of 35 files in in one day. I have to not only organize them for our Post Closers {my old position} but I have to track and update them in our computer system, determine when they are due to the big guy investors, and mail the original notes out to each investor. It's very detail oriented. There are also certain loans I have to upload into certain government systems before we can even send it off to the big guy investors. Right now it is a nerve racking position too, because if I screw up, there are consequences that could involve HUGE amounts of money lost for my company! Yea... Pressure is an understatement.

This one is sooo true... at least in our company!!! It's how I snagged my office chair! 

I do think this is a good move right now for me. There is still the stress but I have more control over that in this position, which I like. This is also great for my little family, as a promotion means more moolah in my paycheck. There is potential to advance in this position as I could move up to what my managers do or even into processing or underwriting. I'm feeling good right now but I do want to remain calm and collective. Everything is new and different right now and who's to say in 6 months I'm not miserable again? I hope it doesn't end up that way and that I remain content and fulfilled but for now I'm taking it one day at a time and enjoying this new opportunity and position that I have been blessed with!

Hope y'all are having a fantastic Friday! We don't have any huge plans except for some house projects! Yay for crossing off some goals on my monthly list! Hopefully we will get to see some family too! I'm thinking about hosting family dinners on Sundays so we can see everyone at least once a month! At least that would make me clean my house once a week!

XoXo,

My 2nd Blogger's Award!!

Why hello there y'all!!! I hope you all had a blessed 4th of July!! The hubby was off work at 2 and we were able to go partake in some Independence Day festivities at his Aunt and Uncles house! They live about 5 minutes away from us on the water and have all kinds of fun water toys! We even took Baby Reef, who swam to his little hearts content and is worn slam out!

Back about a week and a half ago, Nikki from MakeupHER nominated me for another Blog Award! I can't thank her enough for nominating me! I also can't believe that in such a short time I've already managed to have earned two awards! You ladies seriously ROCK MY SOCKS!!! If it wasn't for y'all reading, I obviously would have no awards, so thank you from the bottom of my heart!

As with most awards there are rules/questions I have to answer!

The Rules for Starters:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you {this should be obvious, if you aren't grateful I'm not sure an award is deserved!}

2. Include a link to their site

3. Include the award image {above} in your post

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award

6. When nominating, include a link to their site

7. Let the bloggers know they have been nominated {email, twitter, etc}

7 Random Facts about Me:

1. I am part Native American!

2. I color in my dark blonde eyebrows with a brown eye pencil so you can see them!

3. I have only one tattoo on my foot {and no I do not want anymore}.

4. I have naturally curly hair {that I straighten the heck out of most of the time}

5. I love love love the Fall.

6. I would rather stay up all night than wake up really early in the morning!

7. My favorite perfume is Burberry Brit and Ralph Lauren Blue!

15 Nominated Bloggers:

Tiffany @ Blabbering Thoughts

Ellen @ This Hive

Sami @ Sami's Shenanigans

Kelly @ Messy Dirty Hair

Nikki @ The Pink Growl

Courtney @ Following C's

Britt @ The Magnolia Pair

Janna @ Perception is Everything

Sam @ Reddy or Knot

Callie @ The Good Life

Carley @ Suburban Sweets

Tiff @ The Coffee House

Ashley @ A Southern Notion

Stephanie @ Bourbon and Glitter

Laurie @ The Rookie Wife

Ashlyn @ Let it be Beautiful 

Be sure to check out these awesome ladies! They are favorites of mine!! Check this post too to see other award nominations I gave out last week! 

I'm telling you, with all the questionnaires I've been filling out and the personal posts I've been blogging, y'all are going to know me inside and out pretty soon! Hope you lovies have a stellar Thursday! As much as a off day in the middle of the week stinks, it is kind of nice having a break right in the middle! I mean, now we only have two more days left in the work week before the weekend!! 

XoXo, 

What I'm Loving Wednesday & Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July everyone!!! I have no doubt each of you are celebrating this fabulous holiday in some way or another! As y'all celebrate I hope you remember the true reason of this holiday! Happy Birthday America!!! We are so blessed to live in this amazing country!

The hubby has to work on the 4th if the day lands during the work week! I'm not sure if I have shared with y'all that that he works for Hoffman Beverage which is a distribution company for Anheuser-Busch {Yes Budweiser}. Apparently people need beer desperately on the 4th of July, I mean I guess with all the beaching it, pool days, parties, and cook outs, they CAN NOT let the beer run out! Luckily and hopefully it won't be a full crazy day for the hubby. We are usually able to attend some kind of festivity during the early evening hours so I am hoping we will be able to do something this evening! No set plans yet, though!

Enough of my whining! Let's move on to what I am loving today and this week!!

1. Whole Foods is coming! When I lived in Northern Virginia there literally was a Trader Joe's on, what seemed like, every corner and a Whole Foods in the large shopping centers! They both were everywhere! When I moved back down to the ole 757 I realized I wouldn't be able to splurge on my favorite things! We have two Trader Joe's down here, both about a 35 minute drive from my house and not a Whole Foods in sight! Well that my friends is about to change! While out on a little Saturday night day with the hubby, I spotted the new Whole Foods! It isn't open yet but it doesn't look like it will be tooooooo much longer! It is still 35 minutes from our home but only about 10 minutes from my office! Helllllooooo after work grocery shopping! Here I come!

2. The White Collar summer premier! Wohooo can't wait to see Matt Bomer on my television screen every Tuesday night starting on the 10th! It's as simple as that... CAN NOT WAIT!!

3. My Hubby's Mini Goals list!! Apparently my attempts at reaching monthly goals has rubbed off on my hubby! He informed me Monday evening that he has made a list of his own! Including limiting himself to a certain amount of fast food meals a week {He is a fast food junkie}, working out more, and doing at least one house hold chore a day! No arguments from me! I am proud that he is trying to accomplish more and giving himself goals to work towards! He makes me so proud!

4. Mailing off the necklace to my Bauble Swap partner! I had so much fun looking for a necklace for her! I went to this awesome accessories store not far from my office! They have all kinds of fun stuff, from statement necklaces, to awesome bangle bracelets, to cute clutches and tons more! I saw Stephanie's necklace within a minute of being in the store, but kept looking around to see if I would find anything else. Nope, I kept coming back to the "one". So after a third trip around the store, looking at all the goodies, I came back to it and said "you're it"! It was mailed to her Monday and I seriously can not wait for her to get it! I received the necklace she sent me last week and LOVE it! I wore it to work Monday as a matter of fact! I knew it would be a beauty when I saw it was in a Stella & Dot box! Steph did good... she did real good!

My necklace Steph sent me! 

There is still time to participate in the Bauble Swap! Visit Shanna at Because Shanna Said So for details!!

5. My July 4th Manicure. Since we don't have any crazy plans for the day I figured I'd at least give myself a little mani to show off my American Pride! And yes I stole the idea from Kelly at Messy Dirty Hair! Thanks gal! I knew I had a navy blue polish and obviously a red one so I went to town! I'm not usually into the whole trendy nail polish trends buuuut I did paint all my nails but my ring fingers navy and saved the ring fingers for red! I think they turned out rather cute! What do y'all think?!

Enjoy your holiday today! Stay safe! Don't party too hard! Drink plenty of water if you're out in the heat! And most of all have the best time ever celebrating our country's birthday!!!!

XoXo,

Anni-Moon Pt. 2!

Happy Happy Tuesday!!! I am sure most of y'all are excited as all get out considering tomorrow is a holiday!! I am definitely looking forward to getting off early today and not having to be back until Thursday! Unfortunately the hubby has to work tomorrow so we don't have any set plans for the day! Bummer I know but at least it gives me some relaxing time with the pup!

Before I get started with my post, be sure to hop over to Page Twenty Two where I am guest posting for Mrs. Shannon as she is celebrating her honeymoon in Hawaii with her new hubby!!! I'm sharing a little wedding planning secret that I am sure wedding planners and Martha Stewart alike, would gawk at! Enjoy! 

I decided I'd give y'all more photos from our Anni-moon trip! Prepare for photo overload! Most of these were taken on the carriage tour ride we took! After looking through them I for sure thought I took more but apparently not! I am notorious for leaving my camera behind!

This church above was once the meeting house and is the oldest building in the city, apparently!

The sad thing is, I can't remember what many of these buildings were. If I'm not mistaken the above picture is a part of the courts.

I want a red door like this! I can see it... paint our brick a sand beige color, paint the shutters black and paint the door bright red! Love it!

I love all of the architecture in Charleston! It's a mix between colonial, french, and victorian which are ALL my favorites!! Annnd by the way... Do you even know why ALL the porches are on the sides of the houses?! Well they ALL face the direction of the water and it was built that way so the breeze that came of the water could be felt on your porch and in your house if you opened the windows! Instant AC! Who knew?! Not me!!!

I need that porch! 

Fort Sumter

The photo above is the "smallest house" in the city! It is so small it does not even have a full number as an address! It has a 1/2 number as it's address!!! Wish I could remember what it is now used for! I'm quite certain no one actually lives there!!

I know I am no photographer so I apologize for the lack of pizazz with the photos! None the less I was sitting between folks on the carriage ride and I'm quite proud that I was able to take most of them without heads and noses in the way! If you ever make it down to Charleston {I highly recommend you do!} you should really do a carriage ride tour! They give you a ton of history as you ride through the city and it's a great way to take in all the sites and give your feet a rest!

My Part 3 post I'll share our 1st Anniversary Photo Session with yall! They turned out pretty awesome and we were able to get some great shots with some of that architecture I love oh so much!

Have a wonderful Tuesday! I will be posting tomorrow, but just in case you all are partying up early and don't get to stop by, have a fabulous AND safe Fourth of July!!

XoXo,

July 2012 Mini Goals & Guest Posting!

Well Well Well Hello there July! It's good to see you! Lots of fun things happen when you roll around, like the Hubby's birthday. Even more celebrations this month as Baby Reef turns a year old too! I'm very much looking forward to celebrating my two favorite guys and their big days!!

Just a little "FYI" today, I am guest posting over at Paging Dr. Grace while she is on a fabulous get-a-way in Europe!! Be sure to check out all the guest's posts from the last week! We are all reliving our most favorite vacations... mine being our trip to Costa Rica! Why not our honeymoon you may ask? Well that's how I met Mrs. Emily... she did a guest post on Page Twenty Two about her honeymoon 3 years ago to Cabo where they stayed at the Riu Sante Fe! Well, a year ago the hubby and I spent our honeymoon in Cabo at the Riu Sante Fe!!!! Too funny right?! Well I felt like many of her readers had all the details they needed for Cabo... why repeat them all?! So I'm sharing my second favorite vacation! Be sure to head over and check it out!

Now for today's post... I've already greeted July with open arms annnnnnnd now a new set of mini goals! I'm trying to see them in a positive light and do hope more than one can be accomplished! We shall see we shall see!

1. Write one handwritten note to someone once a week. I know, you've seen this one on every mini goals post I've blogged. Well guess what? It is staying until I complete it!

2. Purchase bed frame & bed skirt for master bed. This just needs to happen. I need to get off my lazy behind and buy the dang frame so we can finally complete the room, until I find a headboard that is!

3. Send wedding set off to be redipped and soldered together. Since we don't have anywhere crazy important to be in the next two weeks, I think I may be able to part with it! We shall see!

4. Save more money - $50.00 to $100.00 per pay check. I, plain and simple, suck at saving money! This one is important to me and I am hoping with the job promotion it may be easier for me to do this now. Although all I keep hearing in my head is, the more money you make, the more you spend. I don't want to be like that.

5. Call out of town friends more often to catch up. This should also include local friends too. We are all so busy and I know I allow too much time to pass before chatting and catching up with my buddies! I want to make more of an effort to spend time with them, whether on the phone or hanging out, and rekindle some of the friendship flames that may not be burning so brightly. I think we are all guilty of this. Husbands, children, furbabies, jobs, etc change so much in our lives but those friends we have had in our lives for years need to be taken care of as well!

6. Have a blast celebrating the Hubby's 26th birthday in D.C.! Yes ladies I married a younger man! A year and a half younger to be more precise! Anywho, this year I am taking him to D.C. {Yes, he knows all of this already} to go see the Braves play the Nationals. He is a HUGE Braves fan and has been talking about wanting to see them play for sometime now! They just happen to be a 3 hour drive away his birthday weekend ... sooooo why not?! I know he'll love it!!

7. Enter more blog contests and Link Ups. Entries to contests and give aways scare me! There are soooooo many things you have to do to get an entry. Follow, comment, tweet, like, follow someone else, tweet someone else, like someone else. Sometimes I think it's a bit much, BUT I do want to win SOMETHING. Plus it gives me a chance to add new bloggers to my Reader! I really need to concentrate on participating in more Link Ups so that I can meet new ladies! Meeting new people is a huge reason why I have enjoyed blogging so much so I need to be more proactive at that!

8. Powerwalk EVERY morning with Reef. I mean this just needs to happen for my sake and the pups sake!

9. Make it a priority to spend more time with ALL of our families. If you don't already know, Todd and I come from divorced families and the majority are all remarried. Meaning we have TONS of family. It is extremely difficult to see everyone but still have time for ourselves! We do enjoy our weekends where we go on dates and just spend time together, but family is VERY important to us and we really need to try harder to see everyone more often. Point Blank.

10. Complete at least one house project. I was thinking yesterday about all the house projects I want/ need to do. New French Doors to replace the sliding glass doors. New blinds in the second guest bedroom. Replace all interior doors with paneled doors. Redo the kitchen. Redo the decor in other guest room. And the list goes on and on and on. Well, I'm tired of just thinking about the projects. I'm ready to complete some! Home Depot is about to be my best friend!

Any of y'all have any goals for the month planned? Any one have any advice on how to stick to goals you set for yourself! Obviously if you've been keeping up with my posts you know my goals end pretty disastrous! I could use all the help I can get!!!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!! Ours was quite relaxing!! Friday night, I of course went to see Magic Mike! Which I will say did not disappoint me in the grand scheme of things, but I did think the ending was pretty freaking abrupt! I could have used a couple more dance numbers and a little more Matt Bomer on the screen. Saturday we went and checked out a Volvo we've had an eye on, went to a few surf shops for the hubby's addiction, and then had dinner! It was a perfect little date night. Yesterday we literally lounged around all day! Tried to play in the sprinkler with Reef but he wasn't having it so we came inside and took naps! Nothing too crazy exciting and it was pretty darn awesome!

I assume everyone is gearing up for the 4th of July Festivities!! Wishing you all lots of fun with whatever you are doing! I'm pretty excited about being off in the middle of the week! Yay, for a little break!

Have a fabulous Monday!!!

XoXo,