29X29 update

By the numbers.

10 days in. 6 pounds lost. 118 days to go. 23 more pounds to lose. Hopefully that's enough to comfortably fit in my bridesmaid dress this weekend. Ha! It was a little snug the last time I tried it on and a girl's gotta have a little room to dance. Amen?

PS. Thank you for the encouraging words! I cherish them. I'll keep you posted on the progress. And the bridesmaid dress.

via

One of my favorites

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner blog today. It's her Show Us Your Life weekly feature and today is all about our favorite single friends. Carrie's mine. Know someone that would make a good match? Leave me a comment. She's going to kill me for this, but here are her stats:

Meet Carrie.

Frog lover (of the Texas Christian University variety). Life-long and loyal Dallas Stars fan. Expert in all things fun and quirky about Fort Worth. Visiting town? Carrie's definitely the one to call to get all of the best eats and sights in Fort Worth. You could say she's in - the - know. Avid runner. She's actually running the NYC marathon this fall. Elementary school teacher extraordinaire. It's not just a job to Carr. Faithful friend. Shy to some, but most definitely the light of the party to most everyone else. Sense of humor like nobody's business. Witty. Always up for an adventure. Or shenanigan. Last to leave the dance floor. And most importantly, a Christ follower. Yup, Carrie's a catch. Serious catch. I'm probably leaving a billion things out, these are some of the most obvious highlights ;)

I met Carrie a few years ago when she was my small group leader at our church, Christ Chapel Bible Church. What began as more of a leader - group member type relationship has grown into so much more. Carrie is one of my dearest friends and someone whose friendship I treasure. There is never a dull moment with Carr, yet she is also one of the best people to call when you need good advice or a listening ear. I have never linked up with any other blogs before, but wanted to do it this time. Just felt compelled to. I love Carrie that much! Here are some pics:



Carrie (on the left) and I



told you she was the life of the party. tailgating last fall.



carrie and not sure whose eyeball



pretty much sums Carr up. frog fan for life.



29 by 29

BY

As in 29 LBs by the 29th anniversary of my birth. Yowza. I can't believe I'm actually putting this out there. Maybe it comes with the territory of our over-sharing, TMI generation. Really, I think it's more of an accountability to myself. I haven't been chowing down on chips ahoy or anything. No, I attribute the extra poundage to just simply being happy. Really happy. I haven't been monitoring what I eat reguraly or made working out a high priority lately. And it shows. My clothes have been getting tighter. And tighter. In response, I decided I needed a plan of action. Stat. I have way too much invested in my anthropologie threads to just throw in the towel. Plus, I have some (hopefully) exciting things coming up that I want to be looking and feeling my best for.

I have no real reason to pick 29, other than it made for a catchy plan name. In fact, once I hit 29 down I will actually be smaller than I was in high school. Not by much, but a little. Anyway, it's a great number and although challenging, is doable. My birthday is October 23, which gives me 18 weeks, or 128 days from today. I plan on really watching what I eat, which for me, means a lot more veggies and a lot less sugar. Bleh. I can give up fried foods easy. I don't eat them often anyway. I can give up cokes. Not quite as easy, but I've gone months (and even two years once) between them before. I can give up my favorites: pizza, mexican food and my starbucks habit. Hard, but not out of the question. Sweets? Yah, that's my vice. Those are going to have to be few and far between. I think the best way for me is a combination of all of the above. More of the good stuff, less of the bad, with a few treats spread out over 18 weeks. And LOTS of good old fashioned cardio. Any tips or suggestions? I have a feeling I'm going to need all of the help (and encouragement) I can get. Thanks guys. I'll report back periodically.

Tiny Dancer

On a lighter note, I wanted to share this sweet video of my niece at her first dance lesson. How precious?! For some reason it won't let me upload it, but you can (hopefully) see it here. Such a serious ballerina. Happy Wednesday friends! My evening plans include dinner with a friend and a little SYTYCD action. Yes ma'am.

Crashed and Burned.

First off, God is sweet. It is often when I think I am pushed to my limit that I recognize this, and for that I'm thankful. Even in the midst of something awful, God is there and He is faithful. What a relief!

Speaking of awful somethings, I came in contact with one. Literally. Last Thursday to be specific. I was invited to speak at a conference in Frisco that afternoon. Something I was honored to be asked to do and looking forward to. I left work early to pick up lunch, let Avery out and head up north. You always replay the shoulda-coulda-wouldas right? As I was driving to the house to let Avery out, a car suddenly swerved into my lane, hitting me and causing me to bump the person waiting to turn left. It happened so suddenly and before I knew what was happening the awful something driver was escaping! As in going 100 miles an hour to evade me. The lady that I hit thought I was trying to escape her even after I put my flashers on, called the police and did my best to try and at least get a license place. I was unsuccessful. UGH. I've been replaying that scene over and over in my head. I can't even believe that it happened to me. And to add salt to the wound, I had just had my car detailed, appraised and was ready to list it to SELL last weekend. As in a day after the accident. Instead of listing it I spent Friday on the phone with my insurance agent and at the auto body shop. The [insert bad word here] driver did $2100 worth of damage. It could've been much worse though. Much worse. Of course I missed the presentation, was a little traumatized and spent way too many hours thinking I should've caught the guy or I shouldn't have gone to get lunch. But do you know that right as all of that was happening I got a text from one of my dearest friends that she got a new job?! One that is hard to come by these days and one we have been praying for? Yes, friends I did. Something so wonderful that made me smile. The next day another close friend came by my office and left me cupcakes while I was at the dealership. That night Justin and I had the best relaxing time at Concerts in the Gardens with my parents. Saturday night I got to see more of my nearest and dearest friends as we cheered on my bestie at her dance recital. As in the recital for the studio she owns. So proud! And then yesterday at church my favorite pastor who doesn't preach often preached. And it spoke right to me. About courage. And forgiveness. And trusting God. And as if all of that wasn't enough the DALLAS MAVERICKS are NBAchampions? What?!

Tonight I am rejoicing over all of the wonderful things going on in my life. I am way too un-deserving of them. Seriously. I am not going to let a little accident ruin my week. Life is good people. PTL.

Congratulations Matt!

Becoming a Methodist minister is no easy task. In fact it's a very long process. You're not even finished after you graduate from seminary. First you are commissioned and then ordained. (Hopefully I have that right). Point is, it's a big deal! Being the significant achievement that it is, we were not going to miss it. Even if it was a drive. Even if the Mavs were playing. Even if Justin had a mid term the next day (today). We made it with 8 minutes to spare after leaving straight after work. Whew. It was a fast and furious trip down and back, but we are so glad we went and so excited for Matt! In true hair-brained form I didn't take any pics, but here's a shot from Matt's commissioning two years ago, a couple of weeks after Aimee had Keira.

Congratulations Matt! We are so proud of you!

Happy 2nd Birthday Keira!

This is a little delayed since Keira turned two on Monday. Somehow I don't think she'll mind. We had a greeeaat weekend at the Lake. It was hard to leave on Monday and harder to get up for work on Tuesday. We made it though. It's Friday and the weekend is here again! Hooray!

Back to Keira. I had no idea the kind of love I would feel before I became an aunt. (I can't even begin to imagine what that will feel like with my own children one day. Wow). I have a super close relationship with my aunt and I hope Keira and I will have that same type of relationship. I would do anything for this sweet girl and often find myself bragging about her to friends and co-workers as if she were my own. I am constantly amazed by her new "tricks" and sayings and can't wait to see the person she will become. I love you Keira! Happy Birthday big girl!

Here are some (read: a LOT) of pictures from Keira's first two years.

1 day

11 days

two weeks

three months

six months

one year!

14 months

15 months

oops. out of order. one year again.

15 months?

16 months. and first trip to anthropologie

19 months

20 months

22 months

22 months

22 months and big sister day!

23 months

23 months

23 months

two years old

 


two years with bapa