Sprinkles

"bring your own sunshine"

(And sunshine in the form of sugar does indeed count.)

Momma Jen

baby ford is THREE months old.

really? have you seen a cuter lil nugget? I sure haven't :)

but really, I am SO flipping proud of baby Ford's momma, Jen.

These last three months (well the last year, since she found out she was expecting) I have just been in awe of what a great mom, wife and young lady she is becoming.

she keeps her calm, is SO responsible and just knows EXACTLY what her little guy needs at ALL times.

love you JenJen, you are doing SUCH a great job! :)

wedding brain dump

i though our wedding progress was going just fine. great actually.

apparently my father had different opinions.

i woke up to this on the counter on Monday.

oh snap. when daddy-o lays down the law it's time to moooooove.

who gets in TROUBLE for not planning their wedding fast enough? :) let alone, by their DAD.

so after that little kick in the pants, I decided it was go time.

that night I made drew come over and we took my clipboard and a measuring tape down to the wedding site and did some hardcore measuring :) i had a pencil behind my ear as well :)

this week, i have been one busy girl.

here are some things that have been swirling around my brain~

did i miss the memo that save-the-dates need to be magnetic????? i have gotten a few lately and they are ALL magnetic?? is that a rule? my bad :(

hmmm.... maybe food should have been one of the FIRST things I figured out?

how freaking cute are these? i love puns :) hehehe. double puns :)

fun color schemes

i drug my handsome fiance to try on some clothes. dapper, huh? how awkward are the unmatching buttons? Very awkward. I don't like it.

color experimenting with sweet Jenna Mae. she was such a tropper. how she snuck the HIGH HEELS into the dressing room to try on I don't know. :) like really. wedges for a six year old?? i think she looks muuuuch cuter in the flats. :)

loving the burlap look. i see some experimenting with it this weekend in my future.

so take THAT dad. I am making progress. :)

lots of choices. just no decisions.

;)

the good news and the bad news.

the bad news.

the Huskies lost by ONE point in overtime playing to be in the finals of the NIT tournament despite my purple and gold clothes, my dub sign and my lucky go-dawgs drink :(

the good news.

i know you have all been on pins and needles about my missing pre-marital book.

well, folks. you can rest assured. the book is back safe and sound in my hot little hands.

my MOMMY went and picked it up for me today from the restaurant.

it was a little mangled with some weird code but I think we are safe :)

you guys. my MOM picked up my book about my RELATIONSHIP from a BAR where it has sat for the last week.

muhahahahhaha. this would only happen to me ;)

so now I must go do my homework for tomorrow's class. good night y'all :)

self portraits

i think i can best describe my last few days in self portraits.

friday.

BIG problem. Remember that good ole pre-marital class that has been taking over my life for the past couple months and is making us fight like crazy?

we have our textbook thing where we do our "homework" and answer EXTREMELY personal, awkward, weird questions about our relationship.

this face?

after I realized my textbook was left at the thai restaurant where we went for dinner on Thursday night. UMMMM yeah. so my fears about not having children and what chores I will assign to Drew are floating around around with strangers. I literally get red in the face just talking about it. and i am too scared to go pick it up. i think drew is too.... hehe

sooo if you happen to go to Thai food and see a marriage counseling textbook, PLEASE don't read it :) (let's be real, I totalllly would :)

Saturday.

okay. ya know like the march madness basketball craziness?My alum and hometown played in the DIVISION TWO (so one level lower than the NCAA) CHAMPIONSHIP game on Saturday in Kentucky!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand THEY WON! heck yeah :) so we are the BEST men's basketball division two team in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. hoollllllaaaaaaaa :)

Saturday Afternoon.

Team Matchpoint had a tennis match against a bellevue club on saturday evening. and i always get in trouble for not wearing our team "uniform" so I decided to rock the royal blue.

and the anna kournikova braid.

annndd i played #1 doubles AND we won. me and my partner are the babies on the team and our cumulative ages are 50. The ladies we played? Oooh at least 120-130 years between them. good thing we won. and we barely did. ;)

and goodness can those older woman trashtalk. I got asked how recently my eyes had been checked after I called a shot out. ahahaha.

Sunday.

me and the parentals headed down to Lynnwood to go to dinner with Mandy and T.

we went a little early and I was excited to check out the new Hobby Lobby (Ikea meets Michael's meets JoAnn Fabrics?).

welp. they are closed on sundays.

a craft store closed on Sundays? ugh.

so yeah. wedding plans are being made. updates soon. :)

that is unless I get online and see pages from my marital workbook posted on MSN.com

like my expectations of "relations" on the honeymoon?

yep. it was a question in my lovely book that is now who KNOWS WHERE?!?!?!

:)

happy wednesday

Whatcha Weigh Monday?

okay. soooooo.... yes. in my life (more or less the last 6-7 years) I have developed some unhealthy ideas, concepts, thoughts about eating.

I go from food being my BFF to absolutely despising every ounce of every calorie that exists.

with a nutritionist, psychologist and lots of love, I have made AMAZING progress
and the last few months I was in SUCH a great place with food. Moderation, not obsessing, healthy level of working out.

then st. paddy's day rolled around, added in with wedding stress and that lovely time of the month and I backtracked a bit.

soooo. this morning at weigh-in wasn't pretty.

let's just say it was a gain, and I have 15 pounds to lose before August.

:) It's like all week I was rebelling against when I knew.

I don't want to have an unhealthy relationship with food, but I also know myself.

I can do it, I have made TONS of progress.

It's just a liiiiiiiiiitle difficult to find the starting motivation sometimes.

Instead of saying I want to lose x amount of pounds by the wedding (which gives me anxiety and makes me hungry), I broke it into smaller chunks.

I made a calendar with pictures of where we are going on our honeymoon (more on that later ;) along with some inspiring wedding dress photos.

The point of this?

to see OVERALL how one little treat here or there or a big night out doesn't need to derail the train. There are LOTS of little days left, and as long as my actions are 80% healthy, I don't need to sweat about the other 20%.

i also went through the next few months and acknowledged which days will be difficult (Easter, my bridal shower etc.) to remind myself I can enjoy those days, and not let it affect the entire calendar.

I also work off the momentum from my success (good and bad thing)! I made this cute little display. The jar to the left has 15 sparkly pink rocks. (the pounds I want to lose). Every time I lose one, I get to move it over into the other container. :) Visual reminder everrryyyy day :)

and not to mention the good ole fashioned motivation. The new bikini.

HOW CUTE IS THIS?

I love how it is simple, yet the ruffles are girly and add a little something something.

so yeah. wedding = motivation.

and i am motivated. and to do it in a HEALTHY way. :)

here goes :)

(yep, once again :) but for reals this time :)

Spring Street!

So. My grandparents own a lakehouse that has been in the family for years.

in fact. my parents lived there for a bit before I was born and their house was finished being built.
my aunt and uncle lived there when they first got married.
my momma's cousin and HER husband lived there when they first got married.

and then just recently, the house underwent a little makeover, and my amazing auntie and her FOUR girls moved in, and have been there the last couple years!

it was just SO perfect for them, and they made it so cozy and just a house filled with so much love.

buuuuuuut. remember how Ryan popped the question to my dear auntie and will be getting MARRIED soon?

wellllll. it just so happens..

THEY BOUGHT A HOUSE! a perfect house popped up for sale in our neighborhood and they are now the proud owners!

the happy girls (minus ryan and plus grandma!) nope. grandma isn't moving in just yet... ;)

one of the couple living rooms! :)

so excited for them as they start this adventure :)

but what does this mean, may you ask?

this purple room? well grandma asked me to pick out some paint chips...this pink room? I can see it as Drew's little man cave...

this view????

yep. the future home for the soon to be McDonald's! :)

we are moving in!

SUCH amazing timing. couldn't be more excited.

when the girls get settled in their new house, beginning of june, perhaps?,

grams and i are going to paint and then I will live in the house for the summer and slowly move things in. (aka this means girl's sleepovers at the lakehouse EVERY weekend? who's in?)

then. after our honeymoon in august?

it will be our home.

:)

45 hour work weeks

So I heard today on the radio that the average employer spends SIX seconds looking at your resume.

You better spruce your ole resume up because
The QUEEN of Wales is hiring a personal butler.

You work 45 hours a week and make $24,000 a year. And answer to this lady :) any takers???

Happy Friday eve!!

Stilllllll Cranky

What is getting me through this week?

Knowing that on friday Drew and I are going to play tennis, get a Dorito shell taco from taco bell for dinner and see The Hunger Games. Friday date night at its finest.

I'm annoyed. Here I am laying in bed thinking how dumb it was to gain like five pounds.

And I'm thinking what kind of food could Haggen POSSIBLY cater to a wedding for $130 a plate. Yep. EACH PERSON.

And I'm thinking about how a FOOTBALL player can make one hundred million dollars for playing five years of a GAME??? Like really? Makes it not even worth setting my alarm for the morning :)

I'm annoyed why Drew doesn't want to wear a pink shirt for the wedding. :)

I don't understand why spring break has to only be for students.

I don't understand how God has every single second of the next five months until the wedding completely planned out. Thank goodness someone does. ;)

I don't understand why He loves me when I always mess up.

And I really don't understand this:
but it's True. Just like the rest of the things I don't understand on this Tuesday evening.

Whatcha Weigh Monday?

oh boy. had i not promised myself i would post my progress every week on the good ole world wide web, you can bet i would have skipped weigh-in this morning and inside gone through my monday in a post-carb binge coma.

but tis is life.

and if i needed some motivation, i sure got some in my in-box yesterday. we are on the under five month count-down, baby :) it's go time.

so this week was busy, busy, busy. ate out a lot (drew and i had wendy's TWICE) ps. their chili and chicken nuggets are actually relatively low in WW points.

normally, I try to stay pretty healthy during the week and save my extra points for the weekend. so then i can go out for drinks, dinner etc.

buuuut this week? I used all my extra points before we even got to friday. (note to self: try to avoid this in the future)

but on fun things like this at least?

neon rice krispie treats for work on Friday.

i had one for my afternoon snack (PS. also low in points! 2-3 WW points!)

and then Wednesday D and I ran some wedding errands in Seattle and met some friends for a going-away dinner :( The Crate and Barrel registering was clearly very stressful. We had to take a 2PM happy hour break. Duh.

but I did GREAT and enjoyed everything in moderation. I counted points and didn't stress.

i think i will blame St. Paddy's day for the rest of the week.

I normally don't like going out for St. Paddy's Day cuz I am not really the biggest fan of blaring irish music. and just too many people.

buuuut I do like HOLIDAYS so I had the brilliant idea of going out to dinner Friday night and celebrate a little early. So off we went. Vodka Tonic, pulled pork. oh yeah.

then we ran out to the mall because we had to get some green running gear for the 5K St. Patrick's Day dash we were going to do the next day.

D got some dri-fit and I got some running shorts and some fun shamrock socks. So we were all set to start the weekend off with some endorphins.

Welp. It snowed HEAVILY Saturday morning so we didn't go to the run :(

I went to the liquor store to get some bailey's because I found a recipe for St. Paddy's Day brownies. All out. Bailey's, Jameson whiskey. Nada. Nothing.

So what did we do instead?

Our friend from Seattle came up to visit with a friend and we had a darn good time. Red Robin for lunch (green coors light anyone?) then we showed his friend Allison around our college and town. After that? We celebrated hard. Went to an irish bar where I proceeded to jig with the irish band. Jameson shots, more vodka tonics, guiness.

then we had some appetizers.

THEN we went to the grocery store and bought the last of the guiness.

and THEN we had a dance party while the boys watched a boxing match.

Then we decided it was dinner time.

Another bar for a pitcher of beer,

another place for more drinks and food.

and my friends, I paid for it allllll today.

I think my face was greener than my green fingernails this morning because I was about to hurl at any given second.

Took a nap from like 9AM to Noon and I think I got out of bed finally at like 6PM? Guys. I haven't been that hung-over EVER.

My sad face in D's workout clothes that I stole from him. :)

so yeah. I didn't really "binge" it was just a lot of alcohol-induced eating.

so yeah. here we go...

+4.4

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

:)

but it was fun. ;)

tip of the week:

give yourself a break. :)

And this is a good thing, my friends. And for now, since He knows my heart anyways, this "don't worry about tomorrow" thing is working for me because someone celebrated St. Paddy's Day a liiiiiiiiiiitle too much last night :(

I temporarily thought Vodka Tonics and green beer didn't have any weight watchers points :) nope. They still do :)

So yeah. 12:30pm. Still in bed. Thank you Lord for being there even in the not-so-serious situations :) green Coors light and all :)

TGIF

on sunday, this was my inspiration for my weekly nail polish color change.

fresh, sweet, springy? perfecto.

come monday morning, I had a liiiiitle more of a citrus-y kick to my nails. Not quiiiteee the look i was going for, but still fun and spring like!

and my friends, this was the hideous sight on Thursday night.

I think that means we have reached FRIDAY of a lonnggg and stressful week.

but don't you worry. you know how I love those holidays. HAPPY FRIDAY and metallic green St. Paddy's Day weekend!

(and yes, in case you were wondering, this is glow-in-black-light nail polish that I have from the 6th grade. a little chunky to put on, but we're good ;)

Now if only my office would decide to hold a Friday afternoon strobe-light dance party, I'm all prepared.

speaking of my obsession with holidays... IF YOU HAVEN'T, YOU MUST TAKE THE MYERS-BRIGGS PERSONALITY TEST. we took this in our pre-marital class and I am STILL blown away. I think it is a little bit of $$$ to take, but I seriously would recommend it. Life changing ;)

my personality description based on RANDOM questions I took on a scantron one evening at Ryan & Nicole's house on the kitchen table:

guardians of birthday's holidays and celebrations, ESFJ's are generous entertainers. They enjoy and joyfully observe traditions and are liberal in giving, especially where customs prescribe.

ESPJ's are easily wounded and when wounded, their emotions will not be easily contained. They by nature "wear their hearts on their sleeves, often exuding warmth and bonhomie, but not infrequently boiling over with the vexation of their souls.

Strong, contradictory forces consume the ESFJ. Their sense of "right" and wrong" wrestles with an overwhelming, rescuing, "mothering" drive. This commonly results in swift, direct action taken taken upon a transgressor, followed by stern reprimand.

An ESFJ at odds with oneself is a remarkable sight. When a decision must be made, especially one that involves conflict, there ensues an in-house wrestling match between the already mentioned Black-and-White values and the Nemesis of Discord. The contender pits self against self, once firmly deciding with The Right then switching to Prudence to forestall hostilities, countered by unswerving, winner-takes-all values.

As care takers, ESFJ's sense danger all around including insidious character flaws, they are not paranoid just "super vigilant". Thus, they serve excellently as protectors, outstanding in fields such as medical care and elementary education.

okay. enough about me. What's next with this creepily accurate information?

We get a profile of Drew's personality type PLUS my personality type. dun dun duuuuuun. ;)

5th best!

My sister got into the master's of education program at UW! The fifth best program of it's kind in the nation! Woohooooo baby sister! You will be such a great teacher :)

I am in a bad mood. The color I just painted my nails is ugly, I had oatmeal for dinner and a lady at work asked me how long it's been since I had my baby???? Umm... Nope. Never been pregnant.

But these are interesting... :)

Whatcha Weigh Monday?

first things first.

as we all watch this trainwreck on TV right about now, I have to brag my claim to fame...

oh yeah. just my sister's bestie with LINDZI FROM THE BACHELOR!!!

since we share a name, that means my arms will look like hers do for my wedding in august, right? Right. :)

how is it that just ONE measly hour, second little minutes of time change can mess me up SO much? ugh. or at least I can blame my Monday-ness on that.

So I woke up LATE (and I did remember to change my alarm clock) but I think the darkness outside my window threw me off.

I had like 15 minutes to get ready and out of the door I flew.

This weekend:

~Boomer's burgers on Friday (shared waffle fries with my mom)
~Saturday was pizza and margarita night
~Sunday was pancake breakfast, and my dad's birthday celebration. PLUS caving in to the adorable little girl scouts and their cookies.

BUT. I worked out consistently this week and made sure that before I went to all of these fun events where there would be lots of food, I had eaten well all day and wasn't FAMISHED going into the birthday cake :)

did it work?

-1.2 pounds

Once again, this makes me SO happy I want to scream and scream and scream. I ate out both FRIDAY night and SATURDAY night and didn't feel deprived. It really is just making sure you are eating veggies and protein food, and you won't need to eat 3 burgers and 2 milkshakes to feel full.

tip of the week:

this week we are getting a little philosophical... ;)

"make yourself p r o u d."

okay. sometimes we have to stop and question ourselves. Why am I trying to lose twenty pounds? Why am I going to the gym tomorrow? Why am I only having ONE margarita instead of three?

my reasons used to be:

~Because ______ (insert guy) will like me more

~Because I want to be a size 4.

~Because I want to look smokin' in a bikini this spring break.

while yes. sometimes these are legit and motivating, THEY WON'T LAST.

you gotta want to get healthy for YOU! and when I got that through my brain, it all started to click.

a very exciting tip of the week is coming next week...

(i am doing an experiment this week... stay tuned ;)

Will

sometimes (okay, most of the time) I feel like trying to figure out what I am supposed to do with my life is like finding a needle in a haystack. Is finding your dream/perfect job being in the right place at the right time, or knowing the right person? For lots of situations I hear about? Yes.

Must you pick the PERFECT major in college if you want to be happy 9-5 every single Monday through Friday for the next 40 years? I think sometimes, yes.

What if you "love" your job, but realize you really deserve to be fulfilled in a little greater sense in the monetary division? AKA you like your job, but don't earn as much as you deserve?

It goes even beyond that though. Should I spend every Tuesday night when I really want to be watching The Voice (don't tell me you don't find Adam Levine smoking hot) at photography class (WHICH IS SOOO INCREDIBLY BORING) just because I signed up and committed to all four sessions?

(this may seem silly, but seriously. it the worst two hours EVER. I dread it all week.)

Sometimes I feel like I am going to figure out what I "wanna be when I grow up" when I am in my nursing home at 79 years old. Or I will finally realize, "oohh, THAT'S what I was supposed to spend my life doing" after that opportunity is long gone.

It's like a freaking game to figure out what God wants me to do with me life, and I have never been good at games. (I lost my USTA tennis match yesterday to two 60+ year olds. Me and Amanda, my partner, are both 25. ha.)

I came across this:

Remember, God's will is not something that is lost that you need to find.

It is not something he is keeping from you,

leaking out hints along the way,

keeping you guessing

so that you are never quite sure what to do.

IS THIS SO REASSURING TO ANYONE ELSE????????

so many times I feel like I must not be praying enough, not donating enough to the homeless man on the corner, not doing something right. Because of this, God is making it tricky for me to figure out what I want to do with my life, or what HE wants to do with me life. He makes the hints and clues harder to find and understand, almost as a punishment.

Man oh man, did I have it wrong.

It's not a game to him. He doesn't like to watch us suffer through jobs our hearts clearly aren't in and missed opportunities.

He WANTS us to figure out his will for us, and will do whatever he can to point us in the perfect direction,

Us? We just have to listen and let Him guide us. :)

happy sunday :) i'm off for a run and to celebrate my dad's birthday with the fam :) and to painstakingly watch the NCAA tourney selection and hope UW makes it in... :/ fingers crossed :)

annnddd to be sad that I can't join my girls in Seattle for one last girl's day with www.krislynrae.blogspot.com as she begins a very exciting and scary new adventure this coming week. So proud of you girl! getting ready to book my ticket to see YOU and the sun :) <3

TGIF

Feeling so blessed tonight. :)

Friday night in our pink sweats, wedding planning and eating jolly rancher jelly beans.

I <3 when my sister comes home to visit.

Pushups and Birthday Candles

Most people like donuts or breakfast in bed in their birthdays. My dad? He likes to be annoying and do pushups on the morning of his birthday. One pushup for each year. So yep. This morning at 6:45am while I am groggily eating my cereal at the counter, my mom is counting while my dad does... 53 pushups.

Plus an extra for "good measure." :)

Love you Dad! If only you would have passed on your arm muscle genes to your oldest daughter. ;)