Thanksgiving Blessings!

Last year I was away from my family for the Thanksgiving Holiday, I was in Vegas with my girlfriend Kelli. So I typed up a letter to send with my mom to share with my family at the table for all the blessings I am thankful for. My Auntie Cousin Joy has requested that I send a letter again this year since I will be in Dallas with Brian's family. So here is my letter I will be sending this year!

Thank you Lord for my many blessings this year, for those I am thankful!!!

· Blessings to my mother and father, for not only being my 2 best friends but for supporting my rather good or bad, having Faith in me no matter the circumstances and just always being so encouraging in whatever I may do!

· Blessings to my Bubba, he is so loving and caring and I look up to him so much for all the pain he fights through, Lord I know it’s hard sometimes but I hope he can see the positives to his situation.

· Blessings to my wonderful boyfriend Brian, for his patience with me in times of need, his understanding with life’s up’s and down’s, for sticking by my side through all my anxiety problems and my weight gain. He is a constant supporter of me and I prayed for years I would find someone like him one day and I am so blessed that he’s the one!

· Blessings to Auntie Cousin Joy, I know it’s been a rough year but she has been so positive and strong. God you have put her to a test and she continues to fight it every day. Please watch over her and keep her pain free.

· Blessings to Frank, what another wonderful year of getting to know him, Lord Bless him for all he has done and gone through this past year. Continue to guide him with patience and understanding.

· Blessings to my extended family for the love and support over the years.. Continue to keep them healthy and safe!

· Blessings to my best friends, Megan, Danielle, Lindsey, Mike C, Rebekah, Heather, and Rachael for supporting me with me weight gain and other health concerns I have gone through over the past year. Bless them for being true friends, I have been through so many heart aches with friends in the past, and you have finally blessed me with TRUE friends! Thank you for that, keep them all healthy and safe!

· Blessings to my school friends, I don’t know what I would of done this semester without them, especially Kelli who is my school buddy, we do it all together J

· Blessings to all friends old and new for their being there in good times and bad and there unconditional bonds of friendships.

· Blessings to our Soldiers who are overseas risking their lives to make ours safer..

· Blessings to our country and know God has a plan and will not let US fall apart.

· God’s Blessings’ all over the world to those who need a little extra this time of year, may they find what they’re looking for in your love!

· Counting your blessings this time of year is common, remember them all year through.. These are just a few of mine…

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Friend Making Monday (on tusday)

Saw this over on Jen's blog. Every Monday she does "Friend Making Monday" and this Week the topic is Thanksgiving.
This is open for any one to copy and do! The point is to get to know more about each other, so I'd love if any of my followers did it :)

1. Turkey or Ham? Turkey

2. Favorite side dish. dressing and cranberry sauce

3. Favorite dessert. Pumpkin Cheesecake, oh so yumm! Wish they served this at Chessecake factory year round!

4. Black Friday: Are you going or not? NOPE! Ok well were going to Nordstrom Rack in Arlington, but not early and not a rush for deals etc...

5. If so, what's on the top of your list? Jeans

6. Going out of town or staying close to home? Headed to Dallas to meet Brian's step mom's family, finally!

7. Hosting or helping? Helping

8. Name one family tradition at Thanksgiving. No tradition really.. I will def make one for my family, we will write on cards or play some kind of game of things were thankful for. I would like to start this when I create my own family :)

9. What do you do after dinner? Watch Football

10. What are you most thankful for this year? I have a lot to be thankful for, first and foremost my Lord and savor! Also my family, Brian, and my close friends!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

Roses & Thorns

*Had a very relaxing, low key weekend.. Didn't get as much accomplished as planned, but that's ok!
*Pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, including ALL of Brian's fam!
*Almost done with another semester, 1 project and 3 finals to go!
*God has been answering some prayers lately!
*Headed to Dallas to celebrate Thanksgiving with Brian's step mom's side of the fam, who I have yet to meet :), excited about that! We will also be staying with the Jones Fam, so so excited!
*Meeting with a nutritionist tomorrow to start a meal plan
*Excited to have dinner with one of my High School girls, Shauna this week :)
*After hearing of another wedding last week, we now have 6 weddings to attend in 2010!!!


*Took the PPR on Friday, didn't pass :(
*Missed dinner last week with Lindsey from Longhorn in Houston
*Having a bunch of blood work and test done tomorrow to try and figure out what is wrong with my stupid body and why I keep putting on MORE weight :( :( :( :(
*Been looking everywhere for a cute sweater dress, that's not $$$, doesn't have a big neck... no luck so far!
*Does anyone have a Thyroid problem? Or know any info they would like to share with me, that's what were thinking is wrong..
*I haven't blogged in about a week, I broke the November blogging month, oops!

I can't remember everything I've said, but I'll try not to repeat...
Thankful 18: My brother and his willingness to fight his problems everyday
Thankful 19: The Doctor's that are going to help me figure out what is wrong with me
Thankful 20: Ok I've said my best friends.. But I'm thankful for ALL my friends!!!
Thankful 21: Having family to spend the Holiday's with
Thankful 22: The faith God has lead me to

Followers and Post

I officially have 50 followers and this is my 80th post! I know many of you have double and triple than me for each, but I'm excited for myself, ha!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Photos and Memories, Thankful 17

I am beyond obsessed with displaying memories rather it be photos, letters, brochures, whatever it may be! Problem is there just isn't enough shelf space... So look at this Chandelier I found new on Pottery Barn!!
Whats your thoughts and opinions? Tacky cute? Modern?
What about possibly hanging it over the sweetheart table at your wedding with things from your childhood, his childhood, and your time together?

Let's hear it ladies, be honest!

Thankful 17: The people I have met and grown to know in 2009!

Weekend ReCap in Pictures!

Friday: Fiesta Rehearsal Dinner

Saturday morning Bridal Luncheon and getting ready:


Saturday Ceremony:




Saturday: Reception


This is just a brief preview of the 300+ pics I took!
What a great weekend celebrating my big sister's aka Godsister, Life Long Friend's Wedding!

Thankful 16: Being able to get an education and also furthering my degree with intentions of going to grad school!

Over The Top!

Just got home from my beautiful "sisters(God sister, Best Friend, Role Model) Wedding! I will blog more about that later, for now I am going to complete the award and pass it on that I received from the lovely Christi @ A Classy, Southern Bride.

So Here are the Rules....

You can only use one word! Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers. Have Fun!

The Survey

1. Where is your cell phone? desk

2. Your hair? long

3. Your mother? best friend (oops that's 2)

4. Your father? amazing!

5. Your favorite food? mexican

6. Your dream last night? nothing

7. Your favorite drink? Sweet tea

8. Your dream/goal? teacher

9. What room are you in? Mine

10. Your hobby? scrapbooking

11. Your fear? death

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy

13. Where were you last night? reception

14. Something that you aren’t? quite

15. Muffins? Blueberry

16. Wish list item? TB Flats

17. Where did you grow up? Texas

18. Last thing you did? unpacked

19. What are you wearing? sweats

20. Your TV? lifetime/tlc

21. Your pets? dogs

22. Friends? amazing!

23. Your life? wonderful

24. Your mood? blah

25. Missing someone? yes

26. Vehicle? Acura

27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes

28. Your favorite store? Marshall's

29. Your favorite color? purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? yesterday

32. Your best friend? lots

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. One person who e-mails me regularly? Danielle

35. Favorite place to eat? Pappasito's

I tag:

Whoever want's to participate! I know alot of my blog ladies have already done this one!

TGIF!

Quick Friday post: I am going to miss tomorrow with no computer access and busy day with Bridal Luncheon, pictures, ceremony, and reception!!! So excited!! Headed to Seguin for Rehearsal dinner!

Oh and p.s. WHY ME? It's always something, ha! I got a kidney infection this week.. talk about painful!!! Went for more test and meds this am so hopefully it won't be an issue this weekend!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thankful 13: My God sister and her wedding this weekend! She is my big sis and I love her to death, even though we don't see or talk as often as we should...

Thankful Thursday and Thankful 11

*So excited about the next 4 days.. Thur: Nutcracker Market with my mom, then to the Children's Museum to volunteer, Friday: Pack and head to Seguin with my brother and the beau for Lindsey's Rehearsal dinner, Saturday: Bridal luncheon, pics, WEDDING, party! Sunday: San Marcos outlets!

*Other things I'm looking forward to.. Dinner with Lindsey @ Longhorn in Houston next week, Zac Brown Band @ the Woodlands Paviollion, Fishing with Bekah, Dallas for Thanksgiving, UH vs RICE.. That basically sums up the rest of my November.. What are you looking forward to?

*My trainer has been out with the flu all week, so I haven't been trained this week :(

*I have SO much do for school next Monday and Tuesday, eek!

*Got another wedding invitation and Save the date in the mail this week.. 2010 seems like the year for Weddings, I have 5 so far...

Thankful 11: All of Brian's wonderful family, Love them!

Blog Award! Thankful 9

I have not received an award in a LONG time, so when Ashley over at Ramirez Family wrote me saying she had left me an award, I got overly excited!

THE RULES:

-Add logo to your blog,
-Link to the person who gave it to you,
-Nominate 7 or more blogs,
-Let them know you nominated them :)

I pass this award on to the following 7 ladies....

Lindsey
Jenn
Katie
Nicole
Mrs. Bun Bun
Kristy
Amanda

Thankful 9: I am thankful for ALL my family, including all my cousins, aunts, uncles etc etc!

Weekend ReCap and Thankful 8

Friday:
Saturday: Lunch with the rents.. Mr. Brooks service with the fam.. Ulta and Garden Ridge with mom...

Cheesecake factory with my ♥
after wards we worked on this...


We did a couple pages in our scrapbook, ok I'll be honest, I did a couple pages, he assisted with his thoughts and opinions while playing with my dogs.

Yes Danielle and Megan, this is Christmas 2007 we are 2 years behind....

Sunday: Church..
School work..
Shopped with Megan..
Met Brian for dinner!

Thankful 8: All that my parents do for me!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personal Christmas Touch, Thankful 10

So Brian and I won't be exchanging gifts this year due to the debt we will be in with our cruise Janurary 9th 2010 but I wanted to make him something from the heart..

I got a precious idea from Catalog of Love to make a "Card Catalog" like the card catalogs we used to use in libraries to search for a book..
Here's a few pics she posted on her blog

As the catalog # you put a date and then of course a title and a short summary or story of why that day is significant to you and your ♥

To top it off she also shared a website that makes them for you, how much better can it get?

After searching high and low (trying to avoid spending a lot of $) I found this box on ebay, the box is from the 1920's!
So here is where you come into play, I need opinions..

Should I paint it a pretty color or leave it antique looking?

Any ideas of dates that would be cute to use besides the expected?

Any other thoughts or ideas?

Thankful 10: All America's Veterans

Fit Point and Thankful 7

Since I recently started working out more and started with my trainer, I decided to take advantage of some of my gyms free things, so I did my "Fit Point". As I susspected I am not exactly where I want to be :(
here is everything it measures...

Height: 5"3
Weight:...
Cardiovascular: 32.0 = POOR 36.65-39.52 is good, 39.53-44.14 is excellent
Bicep Strength: 41= Average, 29-58 is average, 59-75 is good
Sit and Reach: 12.2 POOR, 12.7-14.5 fair, 14.6-15.8 average, 15.9-18.7 good
Body Composition: 31.8 Overweight :( 29.1-33.0 is over weight, 23.1-29.0 Moderate, 18.1-23.0 is Good (this is my goal within 2 months)
Overall Fitness: 37.5 Fair, 21-40 Fair, 41-60 is Average, 61-80 is Good

So my Age is 24
Body Age 31 eeeeekkkk!!!
Obtainable Body Age 18 :) I can do it!

I found this very helpful to do before I started my hard training to help me see how far I have come in a couple months, I look forward to doing it again!

You should def look into if your gym does this...

Thankful #7: All the time and effort people volunteer at their local church. I really enjoy playing dodge ball with the kids on Wed. and also teaching Bible study, I was very nervous to teach bible study, feeling like I do not know enough about the bible but it has really taught me a lot and brings joy to my heart every time those kids walk in my door

Roses and Throns

I saw this over on another blog and just had to copy it!

*My cousin Kristi got engaged to her wonderful fiance Aaron tonight, I am so so excited and ready to start planning tomorrow! ha! She deserves all the happiness in the world!
*I have to tell you about my dad, I am so so proud of him!
So my dad has been over weight his WHOLE life, literally since he was a baby. He has said that his mom used to literally stuff cake down his throat (ok not literally but you know...) she liked him being chunky, thought it was cute! So last November my Dad decided that was it, he was going cold turkey and eating healthy and walking at night (he is up to 10 miles a day now) He has now lost 60+ pounds, he looks great, feels great, and just is great!
This is my Daddy opening his watch Christmas 2007

This is my Daddy August 2009 in Vegas!

Congrats to my Daddy for achieving his goal, he deserves it!

*Went to Sugar Plum Market today that was mentioned in my last post... Not as successful as intended.. Only purchased 3 candles (1 for stephanie over @ The Mrs.) and a picture frame for Brian's mom for Christmas! So looking forward to Nutcracker Market next weekend for the other items I planned on purchasing today...

* My family will be attending Mr. Brooks service tomorrow, the family friend I mentioned in a previous post this week.. not looking forward to that :(
*Please go check out Noah's Christmas Facebook page.. It WILL make you cry but worth it, I went and bought him a card today, it will go in the mail tomorrow!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171286393685&ref=mf#/event.php?eid=171286393685

*Prayers for all the victims and their families at Ft. Hood

Now that I'm full of tears, I think I will end at that!

Talk to you ladies tomorrow!

Thankful #6: Our troops!

Thursday Thoughts and Thankful: 5

*I want a new "Thursday Thoughts" logo, any ideas?

*Another crazy week done, as me and the girls in class were saying yesterday, "Week 11, November 4th" ha we were just being silly!

*Blogging everyday has been fun (minus Tuesday, please forgive me)

*I'm ready to start Christmas shopping!!! I already got my list of people and ideal gifts :)

*Finally a weekend with no plans, except the funeral on Saturday :(

*Me and my school girls decided to do an Ornament exchange/dinner this year! Made the evite last night, super excited!

* I want to make something for Brian that's homemade and sentimental for Christmas like a book or box or something.. Any ideas?

Thankful # 5: I am extremely Thankful for my wonderful girlfriends!

Go Shop NOW!

My best friend Megan already posted about this on her blog, but I had to copy cause this is OUR favorite store!
She is my personal shopping buddy, we get mad at each other when we hear of each other shopping or finding good deals without one another (not literally mad)
As a matter of fact we will be attending the Sugar Plum Market this weekend hosted by FBJSL (Fort Bend Junior Service League)
Megan and I both have a lot of things in mind we are looking for, I have a list written out of what and who I need to be shopping for!
So if you live in the Houston area and have never been, you must go! It is at the Stafford Center right off 59 South!

In other news:
Sad new... Mr Brooks a family friend who we have none for 16 years passed away last night around 1120.. I know all people say this about someone who has passed but this man was literally the sweetest most caring man ever! He always always gave me big bear hugs when he saw me, I will miss those!
So we will be celebrating his life this weekend at some point..

I missed yesterday (darn it) I'm gonna post twice today to make up for it so I can continue with my daily postings for the month of November!
I have a good excuse, I only slept 3.5 hours the night before and was at school for 8 hours then came home went to dinner with Brian's Dad and family then came home and crashed!


Thankful #3~My oh so wonderful, loving, caring, funny, loveable (etc etc) BOYFRIEND!



So more to post later :)

"Fall Package" Giveaway WINNER!

Out of 13 participants....

Only 1 lucky winner drawn...

Stephanie over @ "The Mrs." is the winner

Steph, you know how to contact me!
Send me your address and I'll get the "Fall Package" sent out to you by the end of this week!

Thanks to everyone who participated, can't wait to do another one closer to Christmas! So stay tuned......

Day 2 of Blog Month: Wedding Ideas

Today is my 2nd day of

Not sure what to blog about today....

I think I'll share some wedding ideas I LoVe!
*Special personalized cards to ask your Bridemaids to be a part of your big day!

*How cute are these save the dates?!?!

*The boyfriend and I love all things Rustic... We've talked about incorporating it in our wedding one day, this tin bucket would be cute to use!

*My dream is to have a photo booth!

*Love the chair letters!

*Would this not make the cutest dress pics?

*Perfect for your Thank You cards!

That's it for today! I need to come up with some creative blog posts so you ladies don't get bored the next month!

*I am Thankful for... My Brother's Life