Thanksgiving Week Recap

A week of rest, relaxation, and family. Oh, how I enjoyed it. Waking up Saturday morning knowing that I had a whole week ahead of me to do with what I please just put a smile on my face. My sweet fur babies were happy to have me home. That means they get extra cuddle time. 

#selfieswithharley

Mr. B got snuggly over the week, too. So I have this dumb game that I like to play from time to time called "Paparazzi." It's where I randomly want to snap pictures of Mr. B. He likes to stick his hand in the camera to avoid the picture. I caught this gem though.

#celebritystatus

Monday I spent the day in McKinney and Plano visiting friends. I stopped in to visit Leigh Anne and baby Caroline. Of course, Caroline decided to take an epic nap. I only had about 30 minutes of baby time. That just allowed for easier conversation for me and Leigh Anne. When Caroline woke up, I had to get some pictures. We even matched!

#babyjuju

#colorcoordinated

I spent the rest of my Monday with Misty and Christy. We went to Dallas to browse some boutiques and stopped at The Velvet Taco for some lunch. I've never been, but it was so good. Probably not the best choice for my healthy living journey, but #holidayeatingweek

The lemon garlic roasted potatoes were a unique treat to my taste buds. 

#innerfatgirlforthewin

#isaidnotocaketho

So, Monday night the three of us went to dance jam class at Lifetime Fitness. When I went back in the summer with them, I didn't get the "Terrance experience" that Christy promised. This time, I totally got it. She was right, the class was way more fun with him teaching. I didn't die and was able to pick up the steps for the most part. We were hungry after dance jam, so we stopped at Chick Fil A for salads. It was then we realized that we didn't take any #trio pictures to document the day. Here's our post workout trio selfie outside the Chick Fil A....

#trio

#sweatyandfabulous

Tuesday I spent the day with Mr. B. We went to the movies to see Mockingjay Part 2. I normally boycott movies since I don't believe any movie is worth paying $10 to see. We went to an early bird showing. The movie was good, so I didn't mind spending $6.75 to see the movie. I even indulged on some buttery popcorn goodness. I wanted to make myself feel better about eating that popcorn, so we stopped in Cheddars so I could get a salad. Mr. B opted for a burger. That good feeling was short lived when we got lazy for dinner and ordered Dominoes pizza. I only ate a couple of pieces of stuffed cheesy bread because I chose to make a salad. It was a nice chill day together.

Wednesday I woke up and started cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry. My family arrived shortly after lunch. They brought my adorable nephew with them. We put him on the floor to play with toys. When we turned back around to check on him, this is what we found...

#donewithlifetoday

Here's what I found out about this lil' guy: he loves to take selfies. It's hard to get him to smile (unless you're his papa) unless he sees that it's a selfie. 

That night, I got to rock sweet baby to sleep. Mr. B's mom had given us this rocking chair a few months ago. I finally got to use it. Snuggling this sweet baby was probably the highlight of my week. 

Thursday was also a chill day. Mr. B had to work until 3. I woke up and made breakfast for my family. We dressed in our Texas Tech gear and prepared for a day of football and food. We opted out of the traditional Thanksgiving fare in favor of chicken tortilla soup and appetizers. There was pie of course. Wednesday at the last minute we decided we wanted dressing, so we went to the store to get stuff to make it. Soup and dressing was our meal on this cold and rainy Thanksgiving. We had pecan and pumpkin pie and my cherry fluff. We watched the Cowboys get royally beat....again! It's an adventure being a Cowboys fan. On the upside, Tech beat Texas in Austin for the first time since 1997. We were happy in our house! Here's our newest red raider fan!

#thosebabyslippers

#smileforpapa

Friday I had to run some errands. I also wanted to take the family out for dinner, so I used this as an excuse to try out my new makeup. I'm in love with my Younique makeup. I'm wearing the "skeptical" cream shadow and the "sultry" lip stain. I love being obsessed with makeup again. 

#feelingirly

#thatliptho

another picture with my little man

#selfieswithjude 

#again

Yes, another one. I love pictures with my sweet baby!

So, I had to take this picture when I saw it. My dad is napping on the couch with 4 dogs on him. When my family comes to visit, we not only have a house full of people, but a houseful of dogs. There were 5 dogs at my house this week. When all dogs are present, there are 7 of them. It's just funny to see them all in one spot, especially when they're all piled on one person. My dad says this is his life at home.

Here are some red raider selfies from Thursday

Jude with his favorite aunties

Family selfie on the couch. Jude looks confused. Dad looks enthused. We miss Mr. B!

Of course Jude needed a picture with his favorite aunt and uncle

OK, so maybe he needed 2 pictures....

OK, maybe a third one is in order....with Amanda (who cut her own head off)

Jude the Dude reading his new books with his Uncle C

#meltmyheart

#daddypractice

#daddyintraining

Amanda insisted on taking some pics of us. Since my makeup was on point, I obliged. We were dressed pretty similar. Hard not to capture that.

#twinning

#redraideralumni

#gunsup

#techpride

My family left early Saturday morning. Mr. B was off from work, so we got to spend the whole day together. I enjoyed some cuddle time with my honey.

#marriedlife

Me with my love

We spent the day decorating our house for Christmas. We had Caramel Apple Spiced Cider from Starbucks while listening to Christmas radio on Pandora. Our little tradition (one of many) that we have is getting a new ornament for our tree each year. Sometimes it's symbolic of something that has happened to us that year (like getting married and buying our first house). This year, Mr. B chose the ornament. 

I thought he chose well.

a close up

Here's a shot of all the ornaments we've bought since we've been together...the first 2 symbolize events in our relationship. The bells are "wedding bells" with 2010 on it- the year we were married. the second ornament was for 2011 when we bought our first house. The next 4 are in chronological order, but don't have any particular significance other than we just really liked the ornaments. We look forward to buying our new ornament each year.

The red/gold tree in the kitchen

the blue/turquoise/silver tree in the living room

I need to give a shout out to Mr. B's mom who tirelessly worked on the ornaments for both trees grouping them together with fishing line into groups of 3. This gives the tree a different look. It really makes the tree look fuller and more decorated. Also, it's a lot quicker to hang them. No hooks necessary.

My Christmas wreath I made (the Cowboys colors are purely coincidental)

Our mantle....I made that garland a few years ago. It was my first craft project. Mr. B's mom helped with that, too. Yoda stocking for him, Tinker Bell stocking for her. You can't see the stocking hangers, but they say "Mr" & "Mrs."

Saturday night was date night for us. We haven't had a good date night in a while. We took advantage of a 1/2 price sale at our favorite art studio. Also, it was another excuse for me to wear my new makeup. We grabbed a date night selfie in front of our newly decorated tree.

Tech scarf compliments of my mommy for my birthday

#love

I also received some tech socks

We enjoyed some Greek food (OK, so Gyros and fries) while we painted. Believe it or not, the longest part of this painting was tracing all the rectangles and keys. We've done so many of these, we eventually went rogue and just started doing our own thing instead of waiting on the teacher to give the next instruction. I love how it always looks so ugly while we're painting, but the finished product always looks so put together. 

Our finished product. I hope it fits on the wall I have picked up. We are running out of room for these masterpieces.

This was an eventful week! I had so much fun with friends and family. I'm so thankful for the time I have to spend with them. Now, just 3 more weeks until my next long break. I'm sure that will be just as eventful as this one. I really hope I can sneak in another Jude the Dude sighting. 

What's Up Wednesday-November 2015 Edition

What we're eating this week: Normally I'd have some great things to share here. However, I'm not working this week and it's Thanksgiving week. I've been eating out and being very minimal. For Thanksgiving we're having Chicken Tortilla Soup, cornbread, appetizers, and pie. Untraditional for us because #imlazy

What I'm reminiscing about:  November 28, 2009....Mr. B proposed to me in Sundance Square in front of the big Christmas display. This date falls on a Saturday again this year.

My favorite picture from our engagement

What I'm loving: meal prepping. Guys! This has saved my life these last few weeks. Knowing that I don't have to come home from work and cook each night gets me through the day sometimes. Also, it ensures that I eat healthy and don't go out as much. 

What we've been up to: Not too much has been going on with us. This is a busy time of year for us with birthdays and the holidays. Plus, there's always traditions that we get to do again and try to come up with new ones. I'm just enjoying my week off from work. 

What I'm dreading: I'm just going to go ahead and say it....Christmas shopping. I hate Christmas shopping. I don't like receiving Christmas presents and I don't like shopping for them. Thankfully, we just have to shop for the nieces and nephews and for a Christmas party or two. Still, shopping for kids can be hard, too. I go into stress mode every year when I have to start shopping for gifts. I don't like shopping for others. Not because I don't like giving gifts to people, but because I have no idea what to get people. If I get a gift, I want it to be something they want and/or need. That's why most people get gift cards from me! Sorry.

What I'm working on: Still working on  my healthy journey. It's going really well even though I haven't been going hard core lately. I'm down 25 pounds since September. I've been trying to workout before work in the mornings. I did fine last week Monday-Wednesday then just quit at week's end. Here I am with a week off, and I still can't manage to get a workout in. I worked out Monday only because I made plans to go with friends. Someone kick my butt back into gear!

What I'm excited about: My 30th birthday coming up in less than a month! I mean, I know most people dread a new decade. I'm excited for it. I feel my 30s are going to be so awesome!!!

What I'm watching/reading: Fall Tv is about to be on a break for a little over a month. I'm OK with that because I want to get back to reading. I have TV shows that I watch daily. My DVR overflows. This is the time of year that I also load up my DVR with Hallmark Channel Christmas movies....much to Mr. B's dismay. I'm also loving that "The Royals" on E! is back on. I don't ever watch that channel, but when I saw the preview for this show I made an exception. Season 2 just got started....I'm already hooked. I was on a really long wait list for JoJo Moyes' book: "After You." It finally was my turn yesterday. I checked it out and plan on reading it soon. I know I've got 3 weeks to get it done because there is no re-checking that book since the wait list is ridiculous for it. It's a sequel to "Me Before You." I reviewed that book on my "Bookworms Only" page.

What I'm listening to: I'm so excited about this segment! I never have anything good for this category....until now! Leigh Anne has been trying to get me on the podcast bandwagon for a few months now. I downloaded some podcasts several months ago recommended by Leigh Anne and another blogger I follow: Modern Mrs. Darcy. MMD had a podcast edition on her blog and she shared the Popcast by Knox and Jamie. Y'all!!!! This is sooooo good! I'm obsessed. I decided last Friday that I was tired of listening to the same 35 song loop on my iPhone, and I don't do radio. I have at least a 40 minute commute each way 5 days a week. I'll give some podcasts a try. I just decided to go with the Popcast first. Yeah, I haven't listened to anything else since then. I even did my errands on Saturday with my ear buds in like a snob so I could listen to episodes of the Popcast. Do it. Just listen.

What I'm wearing: I dressed really cute last week. This week, I'm all about "give up on life" clothes. Yeah, I'm talking about sweats. I'm all about comfy this week. But, all of a sudden I'm obsessed with doing my makeup every day. Not when I'm at home all day, but if I go to work or have a day where I'm out all day. Why? Because I found a makeup I love. Younique makeup is amazing! My amazing cousin, Kilah, is a Younique rep that posts videos on Facebook that show off the products. Their mineral foundation and concealer make anyone's skin look flawless. This makeup is bomb! 

Makeup on point

#babiesmakeeveryonelookawesome

#courtesyofcaroline

What I'm doing this weekend: My family will be here until Saturday morning. Since Saturday is our engagement anniversary AND we're the type of annoying sappy couple that would celebrate that, we're going to decorate our house for Christmas while listening to Christmas music on Pandora and having cocoa and cookies. That night, we are going to Art in the Vine to do some painting. We will probably eat at the Greek restaurant next door to the studio. Sunday will be a day of worship and rest for me and work for Mr. B. 

What I'm looking forward to next month: Obviously I'm looking forward to my big birthday. Well, and 2 weeks of no work! OK, and I may be looking forward to Christmas dinner with Mr. B's family. But mostly, my big birthday. 

What else is new: Since I do weekly blog updates, my life is an open book.

***BONUS QUESTION: What is our favorite Christmas tradition: OK, so Mr. B and I have a few things we do every Christmas that we never intended to be traditions, but I guess they kind of are. For example, every year we would buy a new ornament for our tree to signify the current year. We have an ornament for each year we've been together. Sometimes it signifies an event in our life that happened that year (think first married Christmas together and first Christmas in our new house). This year, it's a beautiful blue snowflake with 2015 on it that Mr. B picked out. Last year, we decided we wanted to make drinking caramel apple ciders from Starbucks while driving around looking at Christmas lights a new tradition. We're already looking forward to it this year. We also go to our church's holiday party each year. That always proves to be an fun time. The gift exchange, y'all! Hilarious!!! We also decorate our house together while listening to Christmas music. I never decorate alone. We always do it together. Mr. B is a great tree fluffer. I love our moments together like that. This year, we're adding cocoa and cookies to the mix. I wonder if we will think of something new this year to add.....

The Week Before Thanksgiving

I can't believe I survived at school this week before Thanksgiving break. It was touch and go there for a while, but we did survive. I made it a goal to wake up earlier to workout BEFORE work. You know, it worked well Monday-Wednesday. Monday I did the Beyoncé Cize routine and it kicked. My. Butt. It's been a while since I did a Cize routine, much less an intermediate one. I definitely had to take more breaks and take it slow. It didn't help that I was still a hacking coughing mess. Nonetheless, I felt proud enough to take picture documentation. 

Tuesday and Wednesday I did PiYo workouts. I never feel fully worked out after one of those, but I'm trying to ease back in. Thursday and Friday were total workout failures. I knew Thursday would be a long day since I had a faculty meeting. I was right. It was a long day on so many accounts. It was so long that I paid $9 to take the express way home just to save 20 minutes on my commute. #desperation #commuterprobz

However, long days seem to be irrelevant when you get to come home and FaceTime with this cutie

And something else to make me happy would be receiving a package. 

Yay for new boots. I had a love/hate relationship with these boots on Friday. I thought it was a good idea to wear them to work. Yeah, wrong! My feet were killing me. But my feet looked cute. And can I just say, without sounding too vain, that I've been feeling really good about myself lately. I feel that the little changed I've been making have done wonders for my self image. Also, I'm in love with makeup again. I'm in love with Younique makeup. I'm even wearing lipstick again. Mr. B's grandma would be so proud. One day, my work BFFs and I were wearing the same lipstick, so of course we took a selfie together. 

#thatlipthough 

First pic with these ladies that I didn't feel like the blimp in the group. 

Speaking of #blimpstatus, can we please take a look at the way Mr. B eats!?

That's 2 loaded chili dogs and 2 pieces of cornbread. Meanwhile I'm over here like "I'll have the salad." #mustbenice

Here's my new addiction (no it's not fudge related): 

Thanks to Leigh Anne, I'm obsessed with La Croix sparkling flavored water. So far, I've tried lemon, cran-raspberry, and coconut. #pleaseexcusemynails

#ineedbon #qspanails #impoortho

Why I'm poor

A full refrigerator. Whose fridge is this? Oh yeah, mine. This is what it looks like to have food in here. This is what it looks like when I meal prep and get ready to host Thanksgiving.

So Friday night I decided to have a true splurge meal. After shopping, we went to Costa Vida with our BOGO coupon. Mr. B got his usually smothered burrito. Last time, I opted for the salad. This time I had my usual. The nachos! 

I've been trying out the 80/20 lifestyle. This definitely falls within the 20 part. I call them my #naughtynachos and #yesiateitall

Here's the kicker, I weighed in Saturday morning and found I was actually 2 pounds lighter than my last weigh in. I plan on going hard core again after Thanksgiving, starting with a 3 day refresh cleanse from Shakeology. 

This Saturday morning felt different. It's colder outside and I knew I had a whole week off in front me. I lounged in bed a bit longer. Mr. B had to work, so my pooches kept me company. 

Dixie may be camera shy, but Harley is all for pics. And speaking of lounging, spending a cold Saturday night watching college football while eating nachos (I ate my healthy version today) just didn't seem right without the first fire of the season. 

Weekly Recap

I can't believe I've been on my journey to better health for two months now. These past 2 weeks have been difficult for me. I've been battling a cold with some serious coughing and congestion. This has given me a bad case of the "I don't want tos" when it comes to working out. The after work workouts just aren't working for me. I'm just too spent from the dealings of the day and the after school meetings. So next week I'm going to attempt the early morning workouts again. This will be difficult since it's getting colder and harder to leave the bed. I just tell myself that it's only 30 minutes earlier....I can do it! I've been trying to make myself go to bed earlier this last week to condition myself for this next week. There's just one week left until I'm off for a whole week for Thanksgiving break. I'm thankful for the fact that I haven't abandoned my eating habits. That, I've been pretty consistent with. I had Dairy Queen on Friday night and couldn't eat all of it. I only ate 3 chicken strips ( and I LOVE chicken strips) a couple of fries and a bite of bread. It just wasn't as appetizing to me as it once was. I crave healthy now. Like as I'm typing this....I really want some garlic hummus and carrots (and some fudge). 

I found this motivational poster and thought it summed up my thoughts about what I need to be doing right now! I can and will do this for me. No excuses.

Now, some teacher humor! It's the week before Thanksgiving break. Then there's 3 weeks until Christmas break. There is so much going on this time of year. My type A personality needs to adopt this method during the school day.....

Anything can be on the lesson plan if I cross something out and pencil it in. What? Extra computer time? Sure, why not!?

My Beach Body coaching journey is still slow in progressing. I ran a clean eating group this week. I posted many recipes and motivation for my group. There really wasn't a whole lot of interaction, but I'm excited to present....

November 30th starts a huge challenge group to shed those Thanksgiving pounds in time for Christmas. I've seen my body and mindset change because of these challenge groups. I'm excited to help others experience that success. The 21 Day Fix is on Sale AND my favorite program, Cize, is also on sale. BONUS: the Cize program comes with the portion control containers for this month only. Talk about a deal. With these workouts and Shakeology....I'm a woman on a mission! I haven't missed a day with my shake now for 2 months. 

I have to share these amazing nachos that I made last weekend. They're so good that I'm making them tonight, too. Instead of chips, I slice up a sweet potato and brush it with coconut oil and seasonings. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes on one side, flip over and bake an additional 6-7 minutes. I topped it with skirt steak, lettuce, salsa, feta, avocado, Greek yogurt, and Mrs. Dash chili lime seasoning. It was very filling and delicious. 

Meanwhile, Mr. B has gone back to mornings. Now he's home with me in the evenings. I couldn't be happier to have him home with me. It may mean a few of my shows have to wait to be watched until Saturday, but at least I have my couch buddy back!

What would a blog post be without Jude the Dude! My mom sent me this picture earlier this week. How cute is he!?

I can't wait to see my family and this lil' man over the Thanksgiving break. 

Coming up this next week:

Church potluck: Dr. Pepper pulled pork and my special fudge

Chicken salad for lunch again....

Chili from the Fresh Market and 21 Day fix cornbread

Beef tacos with veggies for dinner

I must survive 1 more week!!!!!!!