Monday, April 21, 2014

Aunt Mel

I have four adorable kids in my life.  They call me Aunt Mel.  I am truly blessed to have them all in my life.  I currently do not have any children but these special kiddos make my world a little bit brighter.  They are the children of mine and Hubs' best friends.  Two couples who I truly wouldn't know what to do without.  They are the kind of people who would be there if we needed them.  Regardless of time or place.  They are those kind of people.  I cherish them all so much and I am so thankful I get to join in and watch their sweet babies grow up. 

With the birth of our newest little guy, I thought I would talk a little bit about each of these special little people.







N was born right before his mom and I become good friends.  We knew each other through a mutual friend but it wasn't until later that we became close.  Now, she is one of my best friends.  In fact, N and his mom are the reason I started my photography business.  I began photographing him at 18 months.  He just turned 6.  His is so handsome, super smart, a wickedly-good baseball player, and the sweetest guy ever.  He still runs up to Hubs and I for big hugs.  For a boy, that's a big deal. 



EK has a double first name.  We often guess whether she will keep it or might drop to one name or the other as she gets older.  But, we realized that more times than not, we simply call her EK.  It's unique.  Just like her.  She is a ball of energy.  Our favorite little diva princess.  She's 4 going on 24.  And I hope she never changes.  It's probably a good thing both her dad and her Uncle Bob own shotguns.  And she pretty much thinks her bud N hung the moon.



Baby C joined our group in November.  Apparently she knew her mom's OCD number issue so while she was scheduled to be born on November 22, C decided to make us wait until the 23rd.  We were not only surprised at her long-awaited arrival but then she decided to be born with red hair.  Our little red headed, fair-skinned doll.  N is her big brother and he LOVES his sister.  I was so blessed to be there to photograph our entire journey.  It was a day I will never forget.  And as girly as her momma is going to make her, her dad is still an influence.  She recently learned to spit.  Sadly, it's the cutest thing I have ever seen.

And last but certainly not least...



Big Man L just arrived last week.  He's a tax day baby.  And he might just be one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen (except for maybe N, EK, and C).  I got to love on him at the hospital and again at his house.  He is so laid back (at least when I am around).  I can't wait to really see his big sister EK interact with him.  I have a feeling she will be bossying him around before long.  I can't wait to see him play with C the way their older siblings play together. 



That's them.  My babies.  I do love them so.  I wish them all lives full of love, laughter, and amazing friendships.  I pray they are strong, compassionate people and that they follow their dreams.  The world is a big place and I hope the four of them can cover as much of it as they want.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Awkward Moments

So I thought it would be nice to scan all of my parents old family pictures.  I am scanning them and will create discs so that we can preserve these memories forever.  And boy did I find some memories.  I have scanned maybe 40% of the pictures and I have found some major doozies.  Awkward-city.

The teddy bear?  Why??


Me.  In a cowboy hat.  On a donkey.

Apparently Santa and I were not hitting it off.

Easter - circa early 1990s. I'm the short one.  I don't even know where to start. 
White shoes?  That dress!  Oh lawd the hair!
 Another Easter.  This time - 1989.  My purse matched my shoes.  And please be jealous of those socks.

 And last but certainly not least.  Miss Awkward 7th Grade.
Band picture. Huge, gold-rimmed glasses.  Boy haircut.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm back!  It's been a while.  I can't believe it is already April!  We have some fun stuff happening in the next few weeks.  One of my oldest friends is getting married on May 3rd and I'm in the wedding.  Then we leave for a week at the beach for Hub's big 30th birthday.  Very excited!  Not to mention I have two huge photography events in June and another wedding!  Busy times.

Recently we have been trying to control our grocery budget.  For two people, we can sometimes spend entirely too much on groceries.  And then we have a lot of waste too.   We are trying to be more conscious about what we are purchasing and definitely taking advantage of things like leftovers!

Here is this week...

Saturday - Barbeque Chicken Legs and Turkey Smoked Sausage, grilled squash, rice, and garlic bread

Sunday - Skillet Hamburgers and fries (we were going to grill but thunderstorms kept us inside)

Monday - Cajun-seasoned, skillet-fried chicken with roasted potatoes and asparagus

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken with Provolone Cheese, Corn on the Cob, Mashed Potatoes, and garlic bread

Wednesday - Grilled Hot Dogs and Brats with fries

Thursday - Grocery Night!

For hundreds of menu ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com!

Monday, March 17, 2014

New Shoes and New Attitude

Running and I have had an interest relationship.

A year ago I fell in love with running.  I did the Couch to 5K program with a friend (who was already a running pro). 

About 7-9 months ago, running and I had a strained and frustrating relationship.

About 6 months ago, running and seperated.  Not really intentionally but it happened.

I have been back running since late January but it just didn't feel right.  Something was missing.

A big part of my running problems had to do with my feet.  My shoes were not doing the job.  Five minutes in and my legs were hurting up the side.  Not muscular soreness - straight up pain.  My shoes were not enough support at all.

Cut to this weekend - we went to watch our friend run a race. It was a year ago at this particular race where I said "I will run this race next year." But I didn't. I stood and watched our friend get a new PR with something like a 24 minute 5k.   I was so mad at myself for watching and not participating. 

After the race, the Hubs and I went to a running store - Fleet Feet - and were professionally analyzed and fitted.  I walked out of the store with a brand new pair of Brooks Glycerin 11.  I was excited to break them in. 



I really love how much support these shoes have.  They look bulky but they aren't at all.

We finally got started running yesterday evening.  And running and I made up.  I fell in love again.  I started the couch to 5k over - for multiple reasons.  First, I wanted to break in my new shoes.  Second, it had been a while since I did any real running so I needed to get the rest of my body back to it.  It was so different than a year ago when the 1 minute runs were so taxing.  I spent the entire minute and a half walking to catch my breath.  By the end of the session, I was trying to push it harder and faster and my breathing was more strained.  But, I did every second of it.  I didn't cheat or stop too soon or anything like that.  I ran when it said run and I walked when it said walk.  And my feet?  They felt great the entire time. 

It started looking a little scary before we finished running.  Gotta love Spring-time in the South!

I'm excited to go running tonight.  I haven't felt excited in a while.



This post has been cross-posted on our group running blog, The Running Nerds.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Menu Plan Monday

It felt like Spring yesterday!  I'm officially having spring fever! We purchased a new toy this weekend - a Jeep Wrangler!  My husband is in love.  Ha!  So we enjoyed the nice weather yesterday by taking the top down and taking a drive. 

I started Weight Watchers on Friday at the recommendation of my endocrinologist to help re-jumpstart my weight loss.  We had a "bad" dinner on Saturday night at one of our favorite restaurants but overall, it wasn't a bad food weekend. 

Here is our plan...

Saturday - Out!  Seafood.  Fried.  Lovely.  Seafood. 

Sunday - Roasted Chicken in the crockpot, rosemary roasted potatoes, and asaparagus

Monday - Chili (enough to freeze for later too!)

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken, sweet potatoes, and cabbage

Wednesday - Taco Salad

Thursday - Spicy Skillet Chicken, roasted potatoes, and green beans

Friday - Grocery night!

For hundreds of menu ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com!

Monday, February 10, 2014

Menu Plan Monday

We are expecting more winter weather this week.  I'm so over winter.  We spent Sunday afternoon at the park with friends and their kids.  It was a wonderful day with beautiful weather and I'm craving spring!  I don't want to go back to snow/ice.  I guess we will see.

Here is our menu this week...

Saturday - Out with Friends

Sunday - Hamburger Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, sauteed squash, and crescent rolls

Monday - Chicken and Dumplins (maybe I will finally make this tonight!)

Tuesday - Chicken Junk (my crazy skillet meal of chicken, squash, and zucchini served over whole wheat linguine)

Wednesday - Red Beans and Rice with cornbread

Thursday - Grocery Shopping Night! 

For hundreds of menu plans, visit Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Menu Plan Monday

Since the snowpocalype my state endured last week, I have been down with the plague.  I plan to recount our experience but I ended up at home in bed for the last 4 days.  I even let Hubs go grocery shopping for us!  He did a pretty good job with the sad grocery list I emailed him.

Here we go..

Friday - Hubs picked up Little Caesar's Pizza

Saturday - Hamburgers and fries

Sunday - Homemade chicken fingers, mac & cheese, and baked beans

Monday - Spaghetti

Tuesday - Chicken and Dumplings (the easiest recipe ever - broth, cream of chicken soup, shredded chicken, and biscuit dough)

Wednesday - Tacos (we are still addicted to the Taco Bell sauce at the grocery store)

Thursday - Grocery shopping night!

For hundreds of menu ideas, visit Orgjunkie.com!