Currently Drooling Over...

Is anybody else over Winter? I don't know about you guys, but I am so ready for spring time. I love Winter, but I have had enough already. I am ready for flowers to be blooming, the sun to be shining, and warmer weather. These are a few of the items I am currently drooling over. I hear florals, bold colors like coral purple, and turqouise; and nautical are in this season. What are you currently drooling over for spring?

I love these shoes by Jessica Simpson. I really love the cork platform, I think it makes the shoe! I might just have to add these to my collection. It might give my husband a heart attack if I come home with another pair of shoes though.
I like this one shoulder top with the ruffle. Ruffles are so frilly and girly and I just love it.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this floral dress. I think it just screams SPRING! What do you think?

Ann Taylor has some of the cutest stuff this spring. I love this necklace. It's so different and I love the coral with the gold.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!! We have nothing planned this weekend and its so nice. We are just relaxing at home and being lazy. :)

Headed to the Beach...

ITS OFFICIAL!!! I am headed to Destin Florida at the end of April with two of my favorite girlfriends that live in the ATL. (Atlanta) I am thrilled!! My friend Lauren is getting married in July and they are having her Bachelorette Party in Destin. Jenn and Lauren are sisters. Of course when I found out I knew I had to find a way to go. I only get to see Jenn and Lauren about once a year so this is a blessing. I grew up with them my whole life. I have known Jenn since we were about 3 years old. We were inseparable growing up until they moved to Georgia when we were 6 i think? Our families have always kept in touched and stayed close since then.

Aren't we so cute? haha. That's me in the middle in case you couldn't tell
My mom, Lauren and Me at Laurens college graduation. This was last taken last May.

Me and Jenn

I had been looking at flights since last week and was getting a little depressed because they were so expensive. I was thinking there is no way I can spend that kind of money for one weekend. Well lo and behold the prices dropped yesterday. Round Trip flight to the ATL cost me a whopping 158.oo. PERFECT! I immediately booked. I will leave Thursday evening and fly into Atlanta and then we will drive to Destin Friday morning. I will fly back home Monday morning. I am beyond excited and looking forward to hanging out with girls for an awesome weekend at the beach :)

I plan on doing lots of this.... (this was last summer at the beach, I'm on the right)

and this...

Jillian where are you? I need to get back with my trainer and the 30 day shred so I can get my bikini bod ready. Its such a beautiful day outside today, I think I will go for a little run. I officially have motivation. I have been slacking in the fit train area lately because the weather has been cold and yucky, and lets face it all it makes me want to do is curl up on the couch with a blanket and have a fire :)

A FUN weekend

Look who got a hair cut. Isn't he so cute? :)I had a great weekend. Yes, I am just now getting around to posting about it. I was off yesterday so technically today is my Monday.

Friday night we went over to Todd's cousins house for their little boys birthday party. He was turning 2. They had a nice family party for him. We always enjoy family birthday parties. My precious niece was able to come also, so I able to enjoy lots of time with her.

On Saturday my mom and her good friend came to Lufkin for the day. We had a fun day full of shopping, eating and showing her friend around Lufkin. We went to one of my favorite stores Belk. They were having a huge sale. I got a dress, a shirt, and a cardigan for only 22 dollars. Now that's what I call a bargain. I was so excited. Ya'll know I love to shop, and especially love to shop a good sale. We met Todd at Logan's that afternoon and had a yummy lunch. I love their Kickin Chicken Salad. If you have a Logan's and never tried that salad, you need too. I promise you wont regret ordering it. It is so good.

This cute white blouse was only $6.99

I love these dresses for spring and summer. Its all I wear. It was only $8.99

This cute cardigan was $6.99

I was on call Sunday and had to go in that morning for a few cases but was still able to make it to church at 11. Our minister Randy gave a wonderful sermon on salvation. It really opened my eyes. He never ceases to amaze me when he preaches. I had to go back in to work that afternoon and worked until about 7. It wasn't too bad of a day and at least I got a little bit of overtime. I had cooked poppy seed chicken last Sunday for dinner and since we had so much left over I froze it and just reheated it this Sunday. It was just as delish as the week before. You gotta love comfort food.

On Monday I was off since I was on call for the weekend. I wanted to sleep in so badly but I had to go to Tyler to take my car in for a recall. My friend Kristin went with me and we were able to meet up with Kelly and some other friends for lunch, so that was fun. Sadly I did not get a picture. :(

Our weather here in East Texas has been so crazy. On Saturday it was in the upper 60s and lower 70s. I was burning up being outside. It made me want to put on a swim suit and lay out and get a tan. haha. Today its in the 30s and snowing like crazy. It started snowing around 1 and its just starting to stick. Its always fun to watch the snow here since we hardly ever get it. They are saying it is supposed to snow all night, so we might wake up to another winter wonderland. Since its so cold outside I decided to cook chili tonight. I have never cooked chili before so wish me luck! I will let you know how it turns out.

PS: My phone is gone caput and I am waiting on my new blackberry to come in the mail in 1-2 days so if you have texted or called me I am not ignoring you I promise :)

My L-O-V-E Weekend

We had a great Valentines weekend!! We started our weekend off right by going to Hole In One on Friday night for burgers. I know your shocked right? haha. It is our favorite place what can I say. Their burgers are AH-MAZING!! They are seriously the best burger I have ever eaten. Then Todd and I and a few friends headed to the movies to see Valentines Day. I thought it was a pretty cute movie. I wouldn't go out and buy it on DVD or anything but it was good and I loved the ending. It was neat to see how all the people connected in the end. Let me just say one thing without spoiling the movie, I don't know if I can ever look at Bradley Cooper the same. I'm just saying. If you have seen the movie you know what I am talking about. ;)

We had a lazy day on Saturday. It was so nice to sleep in and not have anything to do. We don't get many weekends like that, so we enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing. That night was our Junior Leagues Annual Charity Ball. Todd and I had so much fun. We made it our Valentines date and decided not to do gifts this year. There was a great turnout and the decorations were so pretty. I was impressed with how well everything looked. The food was NG_ERROR_2">delish too, they had salad, a pasta bar, veggies and then you could get grilled shrimp or chicken. They had a gelato bar for dessert. Can we say yum? I had the tiramisu and wedding cake gelato. Its the best gelato I have ever put in my mouth. It was so good. There was lots of dancing and visiting with friends. It was fun to get dressed up and go out for the night. I think we might just make this an annual event for us.

On Sunday we went to church and then out to lunch with friends. I decided to cook on Sunday night since we had gone out on Friday and Saturday night. I cooked poppy seed chicken and bought one of Todd's favorite bottles of wine. I know I said we decided on new gifts but Todd was in desperate need of new cologne. I bought him Lacoste Essential and Lacoste Challenge. They both smell so good and it was such a deal I couldn't pass it up.
We had a wonderful low key weekend and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I am so lucky to be married to a wonderful man who loves me so much!!

Our friends singing El Vira.. HAHA

There was lots of dancing...

My girl Mallory busting a move on the dance floor.

My hubby knows how to cut a rug :)

I hope your Valentines was filled with lots of love :)

Who says it doesn't SNOW in East Texas?

Sorry this picture is sideways. My hubby decided to write Merry Christmas in the snow.

Playing in the snow last night.

This morning we woke up to a WINTER WONDERLAND!! It started sleeting and then snowing around 9 last night. It was coming down so hard. We have never had this much snow in Lufkin. I have been here 7 years and never seen it like this. It has snowed the past couple of years at random times but never sticks or if it did stick it was gone by morning time. This morning every ones yards were covered. It was so pretty!!

Bentley was loving the snow, he kept begging to go back outside last night. He got up 3 times last night wanting outside. I think he just wanted to check if it was still snowing outside. haha

Of course I took tons of pictures. I mean this only happens once in a lifetime in East Texas. If only we had a few mountains so Todd and I could hit the slopes :) I miss skiing. We haven't been in 3 years. :(




What are your plans for Valentines Day? Todd and I are going to the Junior League Charity Ball tomorrow night which should be fun. A lot of friends will be going also. I promise lots of pics to come. This will be our first year to go. I hope everyone has a great weekend and stay warm!!

Happy Valentines Day!! <3 <3 <3

A Sea of Tears...

I am just now getting to post my Bachelor Recap. This week has been busy at work and to be honest I don't have much to say on The Bachelor this week. It seemed as though the whole episode was full of tears. I think within the first hour of the show everyone was crying. Seriously? It was beyond getting on my nerves. Lets talk about the girls once again.

Gia- I really don't see the chemistry between these two. They don't match at all. What did yall think about the picture taking? Gia and her sexy pose? Someone get me a barf bag please STAT!! I almost could not stomach this hometown date. Her mother is a whole other story. She looked like she should be on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. She was trying to act like she was 20 years old and I could not stand her accent. UGH. Next date please....

Ali- This was a wierd date. She took him to her dead grandmothers house where there was a strategically placed picture of her grandma but the rest of the house was empty. That was a little creepy if you ask me. I understand that she was really close to her grandma but come on. Also what about them frolicking in the leaves. That was a cute scene but I didnt know you could wish on a falling leaf. BAHAHA. I feel like Im in elementary all over again. I still liked Ali and enjoyed her family but as we all know in the end she leaves for work reasons. Oh well she will probably be better off anyways.

Tenley- This was my favorite hometown date. She is so cute and presh. I think they are a match made in heaven. She is still my number one and Im going to be so upset if he breaks her heart. I really think they are both falling for each other. Loved her outfit too. Those rain boots were adorable! Her family seemed really sweet and you could tell her dad was protective of her. I thought Jake hit it off really well with her family. I hope she stays around for a while.

Sausage- Do I even have to say anything? First off you live in Florida and you took him down the river in a pontoon boat to see the alligators. I thought they must have been in Louisianna or something. I would have been taking Jakey Poo to the beach so you could get yet another glimpse of his abs! haha. The worst part was when they were in Viennas bredroom making out and her dad walks in. How old are we? Is this highschool?? I still can't believe that Vienna is still around.

I think Tenley and Vienna will make it to the final two. I wish he would pick Gia over Vienna but I just don't see it happening. Ali apparently makes a phone call to Jake next week too. I wonder what that is all about? HMMM Do we have another Ed on our hands here. Stay Tuned next week to find out...

Dear John

Last night I went with these girls to go see Dear John. I haven't been to the movies since Christmas Day so I was excited to go see a chick flick with my girlfriends.
(That is the most recent pic I have of us. We did not dress up to go to the movie. haha)

You must go see this movie!! It is so good!! It will have you crying one minute and laughing the next. To me there is nothing better than a Nicholas Sparks movies. They are always the best. I had read the book when it first came out and loved it. I was hoping the movie would be just as good and it did not disappoint. Its exactly like the book. I suggest you read the book first and then see the movie. Oh my gosh, I could go see it again. Plus how could you resist staring at Channing Tatum. He is a BEAUTIFUL man!!

We got to see the preview of SEX AND THE CITY 2. I am so excited. It comes out May 24th. There is also another Nicholas Sparks movie called Last Song coming out in March I think. It looks really good too. Now I have to go buy that book so I can read it before the movie.

PS: I finished NEW MOON today! I know I am a little behind on the Twilight Bandwagon. It was so good and I loved it. I can't wait to watch the movie now.

Just Another Ordinary Day....??

Well Lovelies, my Internet at home has been down all week. UGH!! I have been having withdrawals, but it also shows me just how much time I spend on the Internet. To say I am addicted is an understatement. ha. With my Internet being down I haven't been able to blog except for at work.

Yesterday started out as another ordinary day. Wake up 20 minutes late, rush to get dressed for work, throw my hair up in a ponytail, grab a protein shake and out the door I go. I had looked at the surgery schedule the day before and knew it was going to be a LOOOOOONG day. Little did I know what God had in store for me.

During my 10minute drive to work I was absolutely dreading the day. Some days I just absolutely dread going to work and don't feel like being there, but then some days I enjoy my job. Most days I have to remind myself this is what I was called to do, and this is what God wants me doing. He wants me to take care of his children.

I get to work and the first patient wheels in and he seems to be doing okay. I like to refer to him as PAPAW. Next thing I know he is not breathing and is having jerky movements. He was just weak from the anesthesia medicine that had not quite wore off yet. We had to re intubate (put in a breathing tube) and it was just a blur from then on. Things happen so fast when you get in that mode. I had him for about 4 hours in the recovery room. When he finally woke up and we were able to take the breathing tube out, he was the sweetest man ever. He kept telling me thank you so much for taking such good care of him and how sweet I was. Then, he said can I just hold your hand. So there as sat at his bedside holding his hand with a tear streaming down my face. That little PAPAW stole my heart right then and there. He reminded me that I am a good nurse and that this is what I am truly called to do. I was finally able to take him up to his room and he told me, I'm not going to let you go. I want you to stay with me and continue to be my nurse and then he told me he loved me. It was so sweet.

It was the perfect reminder I needed that day. I was dreading work so much and then I got a rude awakening. I was able to brighten someones day and they were able to remind me this is my calling. Sometimes we get so caught up in life we forget what God wants us to do. I am so thankful that God was able to remind me that day why I get up every morning and go to work and why I worked so hard to get through nursing school so I could be a RN and a true caretaker of my patients.

Those kind of days are rare in the recovery room. Most of our patients don't remember us because they are still under anesthesia and we don't keep them long enough. Its nice to hear every now and then that we are appreciated. That will be a day I won't forget for a while.

When your having a bad day just talk to God and he might just remind you of your blessings and why you are doing what your doing. :) I hope everyone has a great weekend. We don't have much planned. I am on call Saturday for work and then we are headed to a Super Bowl Party on Sunday.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Jakes Quest for Love

So lets talk about last nights episode. Once I again I am getting super bored with this show. This season has got to be the worst Bachelor season ever!! I will say next weeks previews looked pretty good though. I am ready for the hometown dates and the "no rose" ceremony. Really? There won't be a rose ceremony next week. This could get interesting.

Vienna aka "Sausage" is still around. I don't understand what Jake sees in this girl. I don't even see the chemistry between them and I am trying real hard. I even put my feelings aside to see if they really did have a connection and I don't get it. I had to laugh a little when she was on her 2 on 1 date with Gia and he took Gia for some alone time and Gia told Sausage that she could "eat her salmon" BAHAHA. That was the best quote of the night. I can't believe she went to Jake's bedroom after they were supposed to be asleep to seduce him. She is desperate isn't she. That was a little awkward, and Jake's line of "thinking dirty thoughts but keeping it rated G" really wasn't necessary. You are on national TV. Keep it classy please.

Is Tenley not the cutest? I still love her and I think she and Jake match perfectly. I really hope he chooses her in the end. She seems so sweet and down to earth and I hope Jake does not break her heart. She is just as cheesy as Jake and they just match really well. Their one on one date seemed to go really well and no awkward moments. Come on Jake please pick TENLEY!! She is the one for you.

Ali is still being caddy but at least she let the Vienna thing go, and just enjoyed her date with Jake. I still like her but I don't think he will pick her in the end. I cannot believe she went and jumped in the ocean with her boots on. Girlfriend, you just ruined your suede boots. I would have been kicking those things off then jumping in the ocean. I will never ruin a pair of shoes to jump in the water with some guy. I love all my shoes though and could never part with them :)

Corrie's date with Jake was so awkward. The moment of silence when they were in the boat on the water was painful to watch. I like Corrie a lot but I knew he would send her home because they just haven't spent enough time together. I was surprised to hear her say she was saving herself for marriage. I was proud of her for sticking to her morals. She really impressed me last night so I was sad to see her go :( Maybe Jake will realize he made a mistake and send Sausage packing and bring Corrie back. That would make me happy and I could see her and Jake having a future together.

Gia is still around. I think she makes it to the final 3. I like her more this week than last week. Her laugh is still annoying though and she comes off a little fake to me. I don't care for fake people.

Overall the episode was BORING but I am glad I had my girls over to keep me entertained. I hope next week is better and maybe a little more surprising and exciting. I am ready for this season to be over and ready for the next season. I wish they would get someone new and quit using people that have been on previous seasons. Stay Tuned. Don't forget to follow me on twitter and After the Final Tweet.

PS: I have lost 4lbs. WOO HOO. Only 11 more to go. I am super excited to see results. It helps to keep me motivated. :)

**Update on Macy, she is doing wonderful. She is progressing faster than expected. :) We are so thrilled. She is off of the breathing tube and feeding tube. Please still keep them in your prayers.**