In my dreams

If I could pick anywhere to be right now, I think it would have to be this place (as long as there were mosquito repellant candles). Can you not imagine having a dinner party out there for hours into the night? *sigh* The only thing that could make it more perfect would be if I was wearing these shoes too.

Staying put for now

We had a scare with our apartment this past week. :/ On Friday we got a notice stating that if we didn't re-sign our lease by 3pm on Monday then we would be charged month-to-month. I went to the leasing office on Saturday and the girl who handles lease renewals doesn't work on Saturdays. Strike one. Then I call the number listed on the notice and she doesn't answer. Strike two. Then I email her using the email address that was on the notice and it was sent back as a delivery failure because it wasn't a valid email address. Strike three. At that point, I'm getting really upset because I know that if we are going to be charged month to month, we would have to move out because it would charge us over $1000.00 a month. I had to take a personal day from work on Monday, our very pretty snow day, and take care of everything. Ugh...such an ordeal. I now know that you need to renew a lease WAY before your original move in date.

Mark and I have decided that we will be moving out of our apartment complex next January after our year long lease is up. We are thinking of renting a little house in the east Memphis/midtown area. We definitely have no intentions of buying a house, but we are really excited about renting one soon. We'll start looking around for a rental house in the fall, so if anyone has any suggestions or anything please let us know!

So is anyone out there ready for spring and summer yet? I must say that I am not at all. It's been such a mild winter that I feel slightly cheated out of the cold weather fun. I'd be lying, though, if I said that I wasn't looking forward to growing my herbs on our balcony again. Plus we have a grill this year so it'll be fun to use that to grill some veggies. :)

I just despise hot weather. I hate walking around for 2 minutes and have a sweat broken out on my forehead. It just feels really gross to me. I remember back when I was a little kid my mom would always make Kool-Aid and we would sit and watch the Price is Right all summer. Then of course we would go to my grandparents, swim, eat popsicles and popcorn, and watch Nick at Nite in their bedroom until our parents made us go home. Those were the good ol days. :)

Healthier Lifestyle

I wanted to start this off by saying that I am not a big fan of New Years resolutios at all. I actually stared this new approach to eating before the New Years b/c (for me at least) I feel like I will be more consistent with it if I don't start it on New Years. Weird I know.

From time to time I like to read different people's diets and how they work. Normally I might take a few things here and there from a few diets that I think are applicable to real life, but I never follow one specifically because I think that is a sad and restricting way to live life. I did come across a book written from some reality house wife (who I honestly know nothing about) named Bethenny Frankel. Her book is basically about eating balanced meals, slowing down when you eat so you don't eat as much, and eating foods in their natural state. Although there are some things I don't agree with in her book, I do love her approach to thinking of your diet as a bank account.

After reading this book, I began thinking about how balanced Mark and I's meals really were...and it turns out that they were not at all. They were mostly carbs. haha A few days ago I decided to try eating a more balanced diet (like diary and protein in the morning instead of just carbs) and also tried incorporating more natural foods (veggies, fruit, humus, etc.) and I have to say that Mark and I have felt so much better. I also started taking my multi vitamin again (oops), B-12, fish oil, and vitamin B. Now I in no way view this as any sort of diet. Mark and I don't think it's healthy to restrict yourself too much because it just makes us, well ME mostly, really miserable. We're trying to throw out as much processed food as possible and really trying to re-evaulate the way that we approach food.

With being a vegetarian and I am ashamedly very aware that I do not get enough protein. I have been researching other ways to get it and have been eating more yogurt, milk, eggs, beans, and humus. It's just amazing how after changing your diet for a few days can make you feel so much more energized and lighter. Will we eat pizza ever again? oh yes. :) And I will still enjoy a cupcake or cookie every now and then, but I must say that after eating food that's more healthy it makes me second guess if I want to put sugar in my body AS MUCH as I was (b/c I still will :)). Anyways, that is my rant. My next agenda is to tackle tofu--it really freaks me out. I did have tofu sausage last night and it just had that meaty consistency which I hate. If anyone has any other healthy tips or ideas comment below!

Happy New Years!

I thought it would be nice to list a few things that I feel blessed for that happened in the past year. I'm not a big fan of making resolutions because I feel like it just sets you up for failure. How many people go to the gym in January, but then slowly stop going throughout the year? My theory is that it's best to start lifestyle changes whenever you recognize them as something that needs to happen immediately, not just at the beginning of a new year. So here is a list of a few things I thank God for in the year 2010:

1. Marrying my wonderful husband and best friend. Although our dating/engagement period was relatively short, I feel like I have known Mark my whole life. I can't imagine not having him in my life every day when I wake up and go to bed. God really blessed me by giving me a man who is passionate and loving. Being best friends with my husband is always something I wanted growing up, but I never thought it was very realistic. Having someone to sit on the couch with and talk and about whatever and be able to agree and disagree (usually agree though :)) in love is one of the most precious gifts I've been given.

2. Mark and I being employeed. I know that the employment rate has increased by 30% this past year, but it is still so incredibly difficult to find a good and stable job. Although Mark may not LOVE working for Starbucks, it is a job that provides him with what he needs right now. Although I would have NEVER seen myself working in finance, having a stable job that is not stressful and that doesn't involve me waking up at 4 am has been such a blessing.

3. The addition of Mark's family. It has been such a joy to inherit Mark's family. It is obvious that all families are extremely different, but that makes it so much better. I am so blessed to have been accepted and loved by his family which is something I don't take for granted.

4. The kitties. Yes I know, they are like our children. :/ I am, however, thankful that I was given the opportunity to at least help a few stray animals this past year. They could've been dead in the bushes or by atree in the forest area by our apartment, but God decided to put them right where I could see them so they could be helped. Now our apartment is crazy, but at least there is lots of love and excitement.

5. Being done with school. I am so blessed to realize now why I had the urge to finish school so quickly when I was there. I never knew why I wanted to finish quickly--I just knew I did. Now looking back, there is no way I could be in school, be a wife, have Mark in school, and work at Morgan Keegan. It's weird how those little things that don't make sense in the past sometimes reveal themselves to you in such an obvious way later on.

6. First Evan. Although we're still in the process of finding the right Sunday School class, we have really fallen in love with the contemporay service at First Evan (yes Mark converted me from traditional to contempory). Having Cole as our marriage counselor made us grow even closer to the church because we got to see the kind of man Cole was outside the pulpil, which drew us to the church even more.

7. Yogurt Mountain. It's a new frozen yogurt place on Germantown Pkwy that's self serve. I typically don't like frozen yogurt, but this yogurt is INCREDIBLE. I like it better than even custard or ice cream I've ever had.

The end!

Christmas and Colds

Mark and I have been feeling a bit under the weather this past week. Mark's had an on and off cough all month and I've been dealing wih congestion. I've been fighting the urge to take a half sick day all day, but I just can't use it unless I'm nauseous or throwing up. I'm just going to have to take one for the team. ha

Christmas has come and gone. We had a wonderful Christmas this year--very relaxed. On Christmas day Mark and I got to spend the whole day at home together so I could rest and try and feel better. These days for us are so rare and we really do enjoy every moment. Mark won the best husband of the year award for buying me my first pair of diamond earings from Jareds! I in turn bought him a Nintendo Wi so he could play his video games after work. :)

I ended up taking down all our Christmas decoration yesterday along with the help of my mom and dad (THANKS!). I thought I was going to be really sad about it, but instead I have to admit that it was kind of nice to see everything looking clean and bare again.

I think it's about time that I get a hair cut...it's starting to get too long. Scheduling a hair appointment for me is like scheduling a dentist appointment though. For some reason I hate doing it. Maybe I can try and pull off that 60's inspired look with stick straight hair that goes all the way down your back. I'm probably not too far off now. :/

Much like everyone else this time of year, I would like to start working out more consecutively. I'm usually really good about working out in the summer, but come winter when it gets cold I'm not as good about it as I should be. I'm just never as hungry in the winter though..it's weird I know. I wanted to start working out this week, but this sinus infection/cold/whatever it is makes me just want to curl up with a mup of green tea. The best part is, on Friday the high is supposed to be 66 (yes Memphis, I absolutely HATE your weather). Last time it got warmer then colder I got sick...now time for  relapse. Mark and I need to move to Iceland where it just stays cold all the time.

Monday

This is what I need in my life right now. Cupcakes! This past weekend  I bit the dust and went to Muddys (I interviewed for them for awhile and they never hired me...I was bitter) and I have to admit that the cupcake I got was delicious. It was a chocolate cupcake with peppermint icing. :) I also learned that my husband apparently loves Molassas cookies, so of course I had to try and make him some. Coming from a person that doesn't like molassas at all, the cookies were surprisingly delicious--very spicy and not too sweet. Now I am craving another cupcake, but I'm not going to let myself get another one. :(

This morning I awoke to the strange feeling that something or someone was really close to me. I look over and Mark is in the bathroom, and then I realize that Clove is sleeping on the top of my pillow. :) People say that your animals take on the personality of the parents, and I think we are subconsciously training our little kitten to be a snuggler. On a different note, yesterday I was changing the sheets on the bed...clean, white sheets. Then all of the sudden Cinnamon jumps on the bed, throws up, and jumps off. Needless to say, my sheets are ruined. That pretty much summed up my Sunday afternoon. I also had to go out to the Wolfchase mall to pick up a few things, and it just reminded me how much I HATE it. People are rude and it is just way too crowded. I get anxiety just thinking about it. Then I headed over to Michaels and waited in line for 15 minutes, with only 2 people in front of me. Note to self: never.go.shopping.near.Christmas.

This past Saturday Mark and I went to the refugee center/apartment to help paint and clean up. I forgot how cathartic painting can be. There is just something so refreshing about seeing a dirty wall become pretty and clean again. Mark and I spent some good quality time painting the base boards and the door trims. :) This was all after I realized that I was too short to paint the ceilings...and dropped paint on the floor (thankfully it's being carpeted).

I got a recipe from RealSimple.com for a sweet potato risotto. It sounded good, and after making it, I realized that I love risotto...just not with sweet potatoes. Sad. :( It's ok, I baked my favorite bread the next day to make up for it: Pomegranate Pistchio Bread. It's the best breakfast food because it has mashed bananas in it so it's really filling, meaning you only need a little slice to fill you up. :)

Mark and I are headed to the Singing Christmas Tree tonight with some of the family. I've heard mixed reviews, so I'm curious to see it as an outside observer. I'm so used to being in performance that it's still odd to watch. But don't worry, I have already warned Mark that I will be singing along with all the songs.

Holiday Wishlist

I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to my selfish Christmas wishlist. I know that I won't be getting any of these things, but it's still really fun to see what your list looks like after you finish it. Let's begin!

1. Nintendo Wi: I want to get some of the workout games/programs so I can workout at home more. :)

2. Real diamond earings. I've never had some before and they go with anything you wear and can dress up anything.

3. Subscription to Real Simple--my sister introduced me to this magazine and I've been hooked on it. It has the best decorating and organizing ideas.

4. Tall Ugg boots. I have the smaller ones and wear them constantly, but I really want the taller ones too. :)

5. Sephora giftcard. I love makeup so much that I watch tutorials on youtube on how to do different things with it. Needless to say, most of my makeup comes from the drugstore butI love splurging on the nicer stuff at Sephora.

6. Papasan chair cushion. They have red one at World Market that I've been looking at. Mark has a papasan chair but the cushion is digusting (sorry Mark). This would make the chair look and feel so much better.

That's all for now. I didn't want to be super greedy and list 20 things. If anyone else wants to blog about their Christmas list I'd love to look at it! For some reason I love looking at them. :)