Bachelorette Party Dresses- Which one is best?!?!

Ignore the greasy hair and super-pale skin.. These pics are listed from most to least affordable. The pink dress is really growing on me. I could wear it to Tristan's wedding, and other weddings (maybe)? I also really like the toga looking dress.. Sooo, which should I go with- Greek Goddess or Fancy Mermaid? :)  

General Contractor for hire. Pedicure=payment...

My Mom came in town and helped with Wedding errands, shopping, and HOME IMPROVEMENTS!! She fixed our vacuum, computers, replaced lights, caulked the shower, and helped me clean- it was AWESOME!!

 I can't wait until she comes again!!! :)

SHOES!!!

MB and I decided to go order his V-day gift today (work shoes that he has been wanting), and we got mine too (see below) :)!! Then we stopped for dinner at Luna De Noche (YUM)!! Date night ended early, though because I had a training run that I skipped yesterday, so I had to cram 2 workouts into tonight.

MB gave me black Tory Burch flats!! :) Just like the ones below, only with the silver instead of gold..

While we were shopping, I found a few pair of Cole Haan shoes that I think are super cute. Kinda the deckshoe/sperry/suede slip ons.. They come in Croc Navy, Lt. Beige, and Dark Crock Brown. I took a quick pic with my camera since my phone camera was acting up in the store.
 I honestly can't tell if these are really cute, or too old lady, but they are brand new and on-sale. They are a part of Cole Haan's line with Nike air technology (like my fave Cole Haan work heels), so I have complete faith in their promise of comfort. The salesman said that they were a promotional item, which is why they are on sale.. Probably bologna, but I like Em!!

Stock the bar!

Kalree and Carrie threw MB and I a wonderful wedding shower- a Stock the bar party! We received LOTS of goodies, and got them setup/set out when we got home (pics to come soon.. my camera ran out of battery from the weekend)..

It was a wonderful mix of friends and family.. :) Here are a few pics from the party:

I got my dress 50% off at the BCBG outlet ($37), necklace at Ella Blue ($28) and shoes in 2007 at DSW ($?).. My makeup was from a benefit kit called "Her name was Glowla", which I love because it contains a liquid hi-lighter that brightens you up in pictures! I love that everyone dressed up because it made the pictures cute.

This is going to be an extremely eventful year, because my bestie is expecting, lots of friends are getting married, and there is a LOT to celebrate!! More photos to come soon!

CONGRATS and Cooking!

Congrats to my bro who just got some great news about a career opportunity!! I'm SO proud!
I've been looking on my company's intranet and saw a few positions I'm going to discuss with my boss tomorrow (wish me luck).. I love my company, but not the job I'm doing right now- I've been praying about it for a VERY long time..

I made turkey chili with brown rice for dinner (DELICIOUS!), and I did 2 pretty sizeable runs 2 days in a row (which was hard= I'm not a real runner). It's so fun that Colleen and Costa are both hooked on the new pointsplus program from WW with me. Accountability partners!! I am also looking forward to MB and my couples shower this weekend in Houston. Our wonderful host just lost her grandmother (in law) and will be returning from the funeral in Oklahoma the day of the shower. They are SO SWEET to be doing this.

I have another very close friend getting married (in April), and I've already decided what I'm buying her for her lingerie shower:

You can order these with the bride's new last name aka "Mrs. XYZ" instead of "Just married".. Thoughts?!!??! :)

Turkey hand pies- GREAT success!!

I decided to give another recipe a try from Southern Living- turkey hand pies.. They were AWESOME and very easy to make. I probably shouldn't have cooked them tonight, because they were a good amount of WW points, and I had Chocolate Angel today with Costa (oh, and drinks for Tristan's bday), but who's counting?? ME!!

I love having Mondays off, and in my next job, I will ask for it permanently. It was a fun weekend (activities included babysitting, seeing black swan, EXERCISE and tanning, family dinner with MB's fam, laundry, laundry, and laundry).. Back to the grind tomorrow... I was lazy and slacked on my run yesterday, so I had to run and lift today and run again tomorrow. This will be a lesson to myself not to skip anymore Sunday runs (this weekend will be hard to do, but oh well).. Excited to see my fam and friends this weekend!!!

Paid off!

My documents came in today telling my my student loan was officially paid off (and that I should notify my co-signers). So, Mom and Grandpa- this note should be falling off your credit report soon!! I have no idea why this is so exciting, but I do feel like it was a big accomplishment.

I ran and cut a minute off my 3 mile time (holler), but as I feared, the Polar Activity Watch was not accurate in measuring calories, distance, or anything else.. It did tell me that I got a good amount of physical activity (which I did). I've come to the conclusion that this watch is best suited for those who need encouragement to get up and get moving.. Not those who are doing so, and want to monitor their every move. I'm currently researching Polar, Nike and Garmin watches so I will know exactly what I'm getting next time.

Matt is cooking quail (which he shot, eeew..) for dinner, and he is kindly making me a chicken breast. :) Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to cook turkey hand pies (a recipe best suited for the day after thanksgiving with leftovers).

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/turkey-and-vegetable-hand-pies

It's here!!

BAM!!
This is my (not-so) shiny, new polar activity monitor!!! I realized after extensive research that it is a wrist unit, therefore not an actual heart rate monitor, but an "activity computer". The use manual is small (29 pages), easy to follow (big pictures), and I had the watch on my wrist in about 3 minutes.

 This isn't the most sophisticated unit, but I'm learning on it, and will upgrade later on. The picture on the BCBS website is not of the model I received, but I'm still happy with it.
The only bad thing about receiving this today was that I'm SICK and can't exercise (which I'm itching to do)!! The good thing about being sick today is that two fun magazines came:

Aside from these, I've been looking at the J. Crew website because one of my girlfriends is getting married in April and asked her guests (who would have been bridesmaids if she had a bridal party) to pick dresses in a certain color category (she sent us swatches of (make-up) blush colors - how FREAKIN cute?!?!?!?).. This is the one I currently like best (plus it's on sale and all sale items are an extra 30% off from J. Crew this week). The color I would pick is Dusty Cedar..
http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Bridesmaid/dresses/short/PRDOVR~30748/30748.jsp

Thoughts?? :)

Week 1, Done and Done..

Hal Higdon has a half-marathon beginner's running program that is 12 weeks long, which is MAGICALLY the exact amount of time between my new year's resolution to the Dallas Rock N'Roll Half marathon. I used this program (with I found for free on-line) for the last half that I ran. This is round 2, and the biggest change I've made this go-round is that I'm really pushing my time. I trained to complete the distance, but kinda slacked on my time last race, so I'm trying for a sub 2-hour half in March (fat chance, but a girl can dream!).. I just saw via stalkers anonymous (facebook) that a friend of mine from high school is coming to Dallas for the half in March as well. Mom- I know you're going to be curious as to who it might be, so I will use this info as a test to see how often you are reading the blog.. :)

Seth & Gina's house was ADORABLE and decorated so wonderfully yesterday. They hosted a fantastic party! Wes and Jessica are going to be FUN parents- they made a few fake babies from a website that will make a composite of 2 pictures.. Let's just say there are potentially some UGLY creatures to be created from our circle of friends.. IF that website is accurate.

BIG week of errands ahead. We are officially inside of the 4 month mark for the wedding, and it's flying by! Our thank you cards came in, and they are so cute. A family friend once told me it's tacky to send out thank you cards that say "thank you" on them, and that you are only suppose to write the words "thank you" once in the note- just a tidbit of manners for you readers.. Keep it classy.. This rule is why I purchased one-sided notecards with "Cecily and Matt" across the top.. I love them..

Invitation proofs should be in soon. I can' wait!!! :)

Have a happy and healthy week!

Lucky, Busy, HAPPY!

BIG Week! I tried to post earlier, but had some internet issues, then our pup chewed through the computer charger, but all balance has since been restored..

MY WEDDING DRESS CAME IN!!! It's too big (which I knew), but after the pins were in at the seamstress, I was SO excited.. Matt and I also got to try on our wedding bands today (they look great) :)... Wedding checklist is slowly whittling down (SIGH of relief)..

I've been following weight watchers SUPER closely, and training for the Dallas Rock N'Roll half marathon with Hal Higdon's training program- (aka my wedding weight-loss cocktail), and it seems to be working. I also un-froze my tanning membership to help accomplish my new years resolution of looking and feeling my best on 5/7/11.

Costa's b-day was yesterday, and her man flew in from NJ to celebrate with her, and asked us all to come join as a surprise, which was very sweet. We went to SAKANA sushi in Frisco, which was delicious. Today, we celebrated Amy's b-day with a massage at Grand Spa (b-days are really b-weeks in our circle of friends). :)

Tonight, Matt and I are going to a baby shower in Grapevine for a friend of his who is having his first! I'm looking forward to the shower because Seth and Gina are hosting at their house, and I really want to see it... I love Grapevine/Southlake and am ready to CELEBRATE!!

Animal Love

Someone once explained to me that the loss of a pet can be particularly difficult because a pet is PURE love.. My brother had to make a very tough decision to ease the pain of a beloved family pet today. She was a fantastic, beautiful, athletic guard dog, and she will be greatly missed. Lets all give a little extra love to our pets today in honor of Kita-girl..

Wilted Spinach

I gave another WW recipe a try tonight: Bowties with spinach and mushrooms. It wasn't a hit, mainly because I used frozen spinach instead of fresh.. MB liked it, but I'm beginning to think that he is saying he likes everything just so I will continue cooking. Tomorrow I think I'm going to try turkey pies (but make them with Chicken).. I have much higher hopes for these..

Exercise- What's in it for me?

I've mentioned before that my healthmiles program through work provides me incentives for exercise- but I discovered another rewards program today- Blue Points by BCBSTX. Here's a little breakdown of what the programs have to offer (because who really works out JUST for the health benefits?)..

Healthmiles- wear a pedometer daily, and upload steps to the healthmiles website weekly to earn "healthmiles"- which add up to earn reward levels at 6,001 ($25); 12,001($75); 24,001($100), and 36,001 ($100) healthmiles. In 2009 I made it to the 36,001 mark, earning $300 in "healthcash". This year I only made it to 30.000 healthmiles, earning $200. The "healthcash" can be used to purchase a new pedometer (the first one is provided); purchase a Polar heart rate monitor; "write a check" or purchase a gift card (to one of many retailers). Some of my favorite retailers offered are: Macy's, Crate and Barrel, Gap, and Tj Maxx. You receive the full amount of your reward when you cash it in, but your prizes are taxed, and come out of your paycheck (because the program has to be subsidized by your employer). None the less, I've told myself I would save all my healthcash, and spend it on Christmas gift, which I did with $100 of mine this year. My friends at work have all teased me for wearing the pedometer (they have all quit the program), but I LOVE it. In addition to logging exercise, there are random challenges presented by Virgin (who operates healthmiles), and award prizes ranging from vacation packages to cash. Bottom line, I will continue to wear the pedometer.. How bad can it be?? :)

BCBS Blue Points- I am a part of the BCBS fitness program ,which is $31/month (it went up $1 this year), and gives me access to several gyms (I usually stick to Gold's or 24 Hour fitness). You earn points for monitoring your exercise, and nutrition. Your visits to each gym are also monitored by BCBS, and you can earn up to 500 miles/week for exercising 4x or more. You can create your own fitness program (which I did today, but it was a bit difficult), but I'm not sure if I'm going to continue monitoring it through this website.. What I was really surprised by were the quality of the merchandise you can purchase with your Blue Points. Here are a few of my favorites: Polar Heart Rate Monitor, Jillian Michaels Exercise DVD's, Rosetta Stone, Treadmill, Mariott stays, Wii, and P90X workout system.. There was also another prize that stuck out like a sore thumb to me, and here's why: The prizes are all geared for people who are a part of a health and fitness program, so they revolve around certain themes: cooking, exercise, and travel. Then, with 30,000 Blue Points, you could purchase your very own.. TELESCOPE... (silence)..
I mean I have a hard time picturing a healthy, hard-working blue points member who diligently logs exercise, and pushes him/herself at the gym so they can FINALLYget their telescope.. New treadmill, ok, Mariott getaway, yes, but not a telescope..

This isn't exercise related, but MB and I both have rewards credit cards, and we have been putting all of our wedding stuff on our cards to earn miles (rewards), then paying the cards off. I'm hoping to earn enough rewards to get a fun prize after the wedding. HOLLER!!

Year in Review

2010- Month by month. Some joyful, all memorable :)

1/10- Settling into new home
2/10- Credit cards paid off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3/10- LV clutch purchase
4/10- Cali trip with Mom
5/10- Granny's Passing
6/10- Arboretum Concert Series
7/10- House Flood, Galveston, & Engagement!!
8/10- Home Improvements
9/10- Leadership Richardson Begins (Retreat & Ropes Course)
10/10- Ears :)
11/10- Junior Achievement- Berkner High; Hosted first Thanksgiving
12/10- 28 is GREAT & Student Loan PAID OFF

Happy New Year!

Happy New Years reader (MOM)!! I will do my best to post more often in 2011, although I know finding time to do so will be tough! As a kickoff, I'll post a few of my New Years Resolutions:
1) Cook at home more often (healthy), using my tear book
2) NO PERSONAL SHOPPING in January
3) Make healthy eating and exercise (4x/week) choices so I feel great on 5/7/11
4) SAVE money
5) Attend Church more regularly

My tear book is a binder full of workouts, recipes, and cute outfits I've torn out of my favorite magazines over time. I've been on a big cooking kick lately, so for New Years dinner I was determined to incorporate all of the traditional foods required (black eyed peas, ham, and cabbage). In the spirit of New Years resolutions (see above), I also wanted to make it as healthy as possible, so I tried a recipe I found on weightwatchers.com: Beef (but I substituted turkey) stuffed cabbage. Surprisingly, it was great, and even Matt enjoyed it, which is SUPER! I grilled the ham, and chopped it up in the black eyed peas, and VOILA!!- a New Years Dinner I can be proud of!!!

Tonight, I plan to take on the challenge of Coq Au Vin (see pic below)- a recipe I found in Southern Living. It's a french recipe with chicken, veggies, egg noodles, and white wine (how could this possibly be bad)?

I attended Church this morning, and plan to go to the gym this afternoon (resolutions are being checked off my list) :) ..

Here are a few more pics from our crew ringin' in the New Year: