Random Sauce

I'm tired of the cold and rainy weather we've had lately. Over it. I can't remember when we've had this much rain, like I told my friend B the other day, I'm considering gathering two of each animal for the Ark. It's that serious.

In other news I've got some randomness for you. It's what I'm best at.

I've come to the conclusion that my kid is weird. She sleeps in the most awkward positions. How is this even comfortable? Can dogs get neck aches?


I love a killer deal. I've been in need of some new running shoes but honestly haven't wanted to fork over the green. A couple of weekends ago I finally broke down and told M that it was time. Asics came out with the Kayano 16's this year and I had decided that those were the ones I would get. But then I came up with a genius idea. I asked the lady at Nordstroms if they had made any changes to the shoe from the 15's (last years model) and she said no, only the colors. So instead of spending $140.00 on the 16's, I bought the 15's which were on sale for $56.00! You know you are getting older when you think up ideas like this. Gawd, I'm so smart.

A few weeks ago while blog browsing I found this gorgeous brooch that I fell in love with. After searching like a mad woman I found out it was made by Etsy seller, Pampered Bride. I finally broke down and ordered it the other day since I couldn't stop thinking about it and I could not be more pleased. It's even prettier in person. I haven't decided what I'll do with it but you can beat your ass it will on display in the wedding.

My new drink of choice has been sugar free Red Bull and vodka. And for some reason I've decided it should be served in a wine tumbler. No rhyme or reason for this. Just tastes better this way.

Lastly, I found my wedding dress! And here is a picture of it! Ok, really. I like sharing with you but not that much. This dress was in the running but didn't make the cut. I will be ordering the actual dress this weekend and am beyond excited. It's truly perfect.

Thank you for all the well wishes on finding a dress. It obviously helped. Now please start wishing for a pony. I've always wanted a pony.

On the dress hunt. Again.

My future mother in law came in town last night and guess what we are doing this afternoon? Come on now. Guess. Ok fine. I get it, it's Friday and you're not in the mood. I'll give you a hint you big babies.

I'm a pretty princess. My mom and this dress told me so.

That's right, we are trying on wedding dresses. Again. My mom is also joining in on the party. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm a little beat down about trying on dresses again. At first trying on dresses was really fun. I've tried on everything from styles I would probably never actually wear (see the picture above), to things that I seriously can't believe someone would wear, to things that I love but are just not giving me that spark I want. Each time I go I leave feeling a little let down and at this point I'm getting kind of anxious about it. I live in Dallas where there are a million and a half dress stores, why can't I find the one?

Monique Lhuillier, Call Me!

PS Did level 1 of the Shred last night...I sweated. A lot. It deserves it's own post. Later.

I'll be at home working on my fitness. No need to witness.

Remember this post? That's still occurring in our household just not as often as M or I would like. My desire to work out really slides down hill in the winter months. It's cold out. Cold weather means it takes longer to get ready and is often accompanied by coats and scarves before we can leave the house. At 5 am when we walk out the door to head to the gym that cold blast of air puts me in a foul mood. That foul mood settles until I have to get out of the car and go inside the gym and another blast of cold air hits me in the face. So instead of building a bridge and getting the hell over it, I sleep in and tell myself I'll go to the gym after work.

I have every intention on making it to the gym after work. All day long while I'm pushing papers, answering emails, and trying not to lose my shit in the process I say over and over again in my head (sometimes even out loud) YOU are going to the gym tonight. 9 times out of 10 it doesn't happen. By the time my day ends the only thing I want to do is see my girls, eat cheese, and guzzle a bottle of wine. 9 times out of 10 this does happen.

So lately I've been on a quest to figure out what I can do at home on the days I can't make it to the gym. The blog world seems to be extremely passionate about The Shred so today at lunch I bought it and tonight I'm going to try it out. After I go to the gym for a jog. Or maybe I'll just sit on the couch and eat cheese and drink wine.

Stop pressuring me, I can always start tomorrow.

A Vlog: How many times do I have to tell you THAT ball stays outside

Off and on during the entire two hour show of The Bachelor, B did this.
Shoot me.

Oh what's that you say. I should have taken it away.
Have you ever tried to take a ball from a lab? Our lab?
Good luck with that.

That's not trash! That's Michael Jordan.

Since it was balls cold in Dallas this weekend M and I started packing up for the big move in a couple of weeks. I moved into M's place when we decided to live together and we have out grown our tiny town home in both size and taste.

Packing was the perfect opportunity to throw things away that we didn't want to take. Throwing shit away is fun. Especially when it's not your stuff. M loves to collect junk and we got to go through it for over 4 hours today. Among these precious items are old pictures of ex girlfriends, baseball cards, magazines with Michael Jordan on the cover, and a John Elway jersey that apparently we are saving to frame one day.

Shit I let him keep: Rockies ticket from 1st home game in history, Pedro Martinez autographed baseball, A.I. bobble head doll, Patrick Roy commemorative Pepsi can, Steve Carlton Hall of Fame baseball, Durango baseball state championship ring, Michael Jordan G Gatorade, Bo Jackson starting line up (descriptions courtesy of M)

And his Broncos beads because look at that happy face.

Red nekked lady cup/piggy bank got the trash.

Packing up old friends was sad but we are saving them for a special occasion.

Some of M's other autographed crap got a stay of execution. He labeled where they will be on display next.

Since M didn't throw a total fit about getting rid of the majority of his clothes and valuables I let him take me to Jamba Juice for a treat. Because I'm nice like that. That is where I got a Chunky Strawberry Topper. I have had my eye on these the past couple of times I have gone in but never been hungry enough to order one but today was the day. It was amazingly delicious. If you have a Jamba Juice in your area I highly recommend trying one out.

For the record I got rid of some stuff too but no pictures because I was busy fighting M over every item he made me 'donate'.

Planning, Budgeting, and Kicking

Getting engaged to M was one of the best experiences I've ever had to date. On top of a mountain, in the town he grew up in, he asked me to spend my life with him and I was honored. Three months later we started planning a wedding. It was at this time that we came to the realization that we would be paying for 85% of it on our own. And this is when all hell broke loose.

I don't know jack about weddings. Neither does M. When we wrote out our budget we had no clue what to base the numbers on so we just based around what we thought things cost. Shortly into planning we realized we needed to rework our budget. Every single thing was coming in way over the number we had hoped for. This made M extremely anxious and this made me extremely disappointed. Insert arguments, mean faces, pouting, and kicking. Kidding...M would never kick me, he's not flexible at all and he knows a black eye wouldn't look good on him. Basically one really unhappy brown girl and one totally disheveled white guy.

Since reworking our budget our life has gotten much easier. We now know the number we need to get to. We know what elements need to be cut. We've come to the realization that while we want a nice beautiful wedding we also don't want to go broke because of it.

So I've done something I've never thought about doing before. Because I'm all tough and stuff. I started asking for a little thing called help. Then I started bargaining with my vendors and asking what they could do to help get me what I wanted, at the price I wanted. And instead of laughing in my face like I was afraid of, they have all been nothing short of amazing. Not only that but they have been extremely honest about what they could do and what they couldn't and this has made all the difference in the world. Learning to put aside my pride has been an eye opening experience for me and now I'm getting a day I never thought I could afford or dream up with the most wonderful man I know.

This whole shin dig is still costing us a pretty penny but if you're planning don't be afraid to ask because the worst they can say is no.

Blog Love

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I try and get around to visiting everyone's blog that follows mine or leaves me a comment. But it's rough friends. There are just not enough hours in the day and M beckons my attention more times than he likes to admit.

As I've mentioned on several occasions I started my blog for my brother and his family over in Japan and never in a million years did I think I would have gained over 300 friends (again, let the jury note that I hate the word followers). But I have and at times I feel like I'm not being a good enough friend because I don't have the time to comment or write a witty post every day. Just so you know I may not comment but I am reading, it's just that I feel like you deserve more than a "LOL" or something equally as lame in your little comment box.

So enough excuses, excuses are like buttholes, everyone's got one.

There are some new (to me) bloggers that I want to tell you about because if you like me then you'll love them...and this gives you someone else to read when I'm not entertaining you with my smart mouth.

• V at Uncorked- A blog named uncorked is super fitting for her. Not only is she funny but she's smart and that's a lethal combination that me likey.
• Sarah at A life more exciting and Amanda at Martinis or Diapers Genies- These two ladies are funny. They like to give each other shit and talk about poop. I like this and find it highly amusing. What else do you need to know?
• Micaela at Dolce Vita-She just got engaged and moved to be with her new fiance. She's originally a Texas girl and her posts are just so sweet. And her dog, oh her dog, I die.
  
• Meredith at (flash) pasteurized- Another super honest Texas girl that posts funny stories and tells it like it is.
• Ra at Momma ra- Her kid is adorable. And I don't even like kids. But really, now I kinda want one after seeing pictures of Jackson.
  

There are others but one large man, one large dog, and one small dog are all calling me to bed. So don't just sit there. Go on. Go say Hi. Don't forget who butters your bread though.