SING

thank you Spice for welcoming us to SING...

Another Baylor SING weekend has come and gone. Sad. I love that my sweet "circle" of girlfriends and I make this one of our weekends. Kate comes in from San Antonio, Jae, Spierce, Furr and I from DFW, Nat hosts us in Waco and KSti comes in from good 'ol Lawton, OK. This year Spiercey was sick and KSti spent the weekend with Dave who is leaving for a month for field training. (Did I get that right)? So, although it wasn't the same without them, we still enjoyed being together, critiquing the acts and participating in our traditions. Which, for the record, include eating at a certain restaurant and sharing the exact same pizza each year, Nat making us snacks for the 4 hour show, staying up far too late for our late-20-something-selves catching up and reminiscing and a new tradition this year, enjoying a delicious homemade breakfast by the George's. It was a great end to a great weekend, and we loved seeing DDD take third place! We're proud alumnae for sure. I love my friends and my alma mater more than life.

In other news, still no baby. Justin's got a big presentation and mid-term this week. I'm on week eight, almost nine, of my couch to 5k training and making it. Barely. I'm "running" my first 5k this weekend before my ten-week training is technically up. It's for my brother in law's youth group, so I'm going to try and run as much of it as I can. So, some big things coming up. I'm thankful for another week. Happy Monday friends! Let's make it a good one.

Waiting for Micah

a shot of the mantle

My family is in full waiting-for-baby-mode. My sister is due March 7, but no one thinks she'll make it that long. Personally, I'm just thankful she made it to her shower yesterday, which was admittedly cutting it a little close. February has just been an insanely busy month. Anyway, we can't wait to meet Micah ____ Ybanez. (The middle name hasn't been confirmed).

I helped host Aimee's "sprinkle" on Sunday and we infused lots of purple into the decor. (Which, for the record, goes against the very core of my home's color palette, but it worked)! This shower involved lots of crafty elements, which was fun and will hopefully be special for Micah to enjoy when she gets older. I made a pennant banner with her name, a purple yarn wreath that we hung over the mantle and little pom poms that we hung from the ceiling. It added a lot of fun whimsy to the room. No people photos because I was a little preoccupied with making sure everyone had enough to drink, cleaning up spills and chasing after my sugar-consuming-no-nap-hyped up niece to care about taking pictures! You get the idea from the photos. We had a great time celebrating Micah's impending arrival and we can't wait to meet her! She is already so loved.

some of the pom poms (and Keira in the left corner ;)

Shin Splints?

(image via fitnessinformation.net)

I. Am. Not. A. Runner. Nope. Definitely not. I have never been a fan. I think because a swim coach once told me that runners are not good swimmers and swimmers are not good runners, my once "good swimmer" self took it to heart. Probably so I could get out of running cross country with every other seventh grader. Fast forward a few (okay 15) years and I am attempting to become a fan. I began my Couch25K training program almost seven weeks ago and I'm actually doing it. I'm still not a fan, and I definitely turn an un-natural shade of purpley red when I'm finished, but I'm running. As my "runs" get longer and my race dates draw closer I discovered something else I'm not a fan of. Shin splints. I haven't been officially diagnosed or anything, but all you 2.5 readers know I'm also a hypochondriac with an affinity for diagnosing myself via WebMD. Or Wikipedia. This time I'm pretty sure I got it right. I think it's a combination of longer "runs" and my desperate need for new running shoes. Or, according to Wikipedia, it could be because, "shin splints are more common in women, a result of decreased physical fitness and smaller muscle size". Thanks for the ego boost Wikipedia. Urgh. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I had shin splints Wednesday. I'm going to get some new kicks tomorrow to help the situation. I'll keep you posted.

Love

I consider it only appropriate on a day where cheesey cards, teddy bears and little candy hearts with obscure messages are considered acceptable tokens (to some), that I share just a few of the things I love.

First off, this man.

(And Chick Fil A while I'm on the subject)

And this girl stole my heart the first moment I laid eyes on her.

My family. Duh. We're a little crazy, but I'm thankful for them.

My friends, of course. Way too many of them to post photos. You know who you are ;)

Baylor University. My heart is happy just thinking about my love for BU.

(For any non-Bears out there, that's me on Judge Baylor's lap. It's a photo every Bear has at least one copy of. Most are usually in a cap and gown. I chose to post my no-makeup, shorts and tee shot. Be thankful it's not a close up).

Because photos are annoying to upload on blogger. (Or maybe it's just me). Here's a running list of a few more things I love. In case you're interested:

Cooking

Cupcakes

Tulips (especially peach or pink or peach/pink)

Dancing

Vintage anything

Especially cookbooks

etsy

Social media. Yup, I just said it.

My house

My job

My dog

The end.

Happy Valentines Day!

Special Visitor

It has been a strangely good week. Like, good for no particular reason good. Minus a little facebook status drama. Ha. And I'm super busy at work, which is usually stress-inducing, but not this year. PTL. Anyway, I have a billion more things in my head, but like I mentioned, it's been a busy week and I've got a lot to do before I can enjoy the weekend. And this weekend's going to be fun. Tonight we're celebrating my love's birthday with dear friends, tomorrow morning we're celebrating my dad turning the big 6-0, Saturday evening we're going out for Valentines and Sunday I'm working a Home Tour. Whew. Lots of celebrating. Not a lot of relaxing, but I'm thankful for everything on the itinerary this weekend. In closing, I'm rejoicing in an unexpectedly great week and a visit from one of my favorite people on this earth who melts my heart with every little hug and slobbery kiss. How cute is she? Thanks for stopping by to visit Aunt Ash, Keira (and thanks mom for providing her transportation)! I love you!

Be Mine

I have always been a Valentine's Day fan. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my parents always made it a fun day for us growing up and I loved the parties in elementary school. I loved decorating my little shoe box, picking out the perfect valentines at the grocery store, saving the "special" ones I cut off the back of the box for my friends and then counting all of the fun cards I got in my box.

As an adult I still love Valentine's Day. And now that I think about it, my parents still give us little presents. I love it. And them. But that's not the point. I've been feeling super crafty lately and wanted to show you my mantle. It's a little cluttered, and usually I'm a mantle minimalist, but I just couldn't choose what I wanted to keep up there and what I wanted to move. I'll take a better photo to post the details, but what you see from left to right is an old (legit) church shutter my mom found for me several years ago. It stays year-round. A small heart I decoupaged last year. A photo of my grandparent's at their high school homecoming. It stays year-round too. The chalkboard "Be Mine" sign is new. Well, sort of. I recently discovered my love of chalkboard paint. I bought some on sale at Joanne's ($2.50) and searched for the perfect first project. I found an old Anne Geddes print that I used to have in my college apt. that has survived countless garage sales since. I just repainted the cheap wooden frame and painted over a chubby baby laying on a stack of towels to get my "chalkboard". Done. It took about 20 minutes. And the best part is I can erase and make a new sign with each season. Love. The item to the right of the chalkboard is a letter I found in my parent's garage from 1837! It's from a great great great great something to another great great great great something and I love it. It's not a love letter, but I thought it went with the Valentine's theme. On the end is a vase full of metal heart shaped cookie cutters. It's a little modern, but I like the way it looks. Breaks up my vintage obsession.

So there you have it. My Valentine's addiction summed up in a couple of paragraphs. Any suggestions for the mantle? Remember, I'm not one of you crafty bloggers. Just a wannabe. Suggestions welcome.

Another shot

After two previously failed attempts at blogging, I decided to give it another go. Why? I have recently become a blog troll. I can't help it. It makes my day to grab a great recipe off the Pioneer Woman's blog or catch up on what's going on with long lost college friends. More disturbing? I also read complete strangers' blogs. And I love reading about their craft projects, recipes and random happenings. I can't explain it. I love blogs. I hope I can be consistent with blogging. I'm not too optimistic, but I pledge to try my best. Not that anyone is that concerned, and not that I have anything that fascinating to say. We'll see how this goes.