Highlights According to Me

Yes, I'm one of those people.

Not only did I wake up at 3:30am to watch the Royal Wedding, but I also tweeted the entire way through it.
To all the followers I might have lost - I don't regret it one bit!
And I promise this is my last post about the Royal Wedding.

It was so beautiful.
Every minute of it was wonderful, but I do have my favorites.
Here are some of the best things about the day.

You all knew this one was coming. The Dress! Kate was perfect. Classic. Regal. Timeless. Not too flashy - completely Kate. And look how happy she is!
And did she not look like the perfect combo of Maria and Grace from my last post. LOVE!
The Princes! Those uniforms are working for them!
The hats! Or fascinators, as they are British-ly called. Some look like giant Spiders (middle). Most are just royal and sophisticated though.
(Why were there 3 Heidi Montags at the wedding??)
The Crowd! I mean, wow! That's alot of people.
Biggest Surprise Favorite: The Trees! One announcer said it best, "Why have flowers when you can have trees!"
The girl at the bottom left. She'll never live this photo down! Ha!
It was just like a fairy tale and I hope they really do live "Happily Ever After"
Happy Wedding Day!!

The Dress

In approximately 11 hours, I will be watching, along with billions of others, the wedding of Kate and William.

The Royal Wedding, if you will.
I have been waiting for this for, well, most of my life. And for a good portion of that wait I was convinced that it would be me in the dress that everyone couldn't wait to see.
Well, I got my prince 2.5 years ago, so I guess Kate can have her turn now.

In preparation for the occasion, I have compiled a small list of absolutely stunning wedding dresses of past royals. Not all are royals, though...they just come up on Google when you type it in the search bar!

#1 - Princess DianaYou can't say "royal" and not think of Princess Di. There's no telling how many thousands of girls modeled their wedding dress after hers. The huge, long sleeves; the full, ball gown skirt; and the 25-foot train - It's every princess's dream!

#2 - Maria VonTrappWho doesn't want to be Maria? Cause nobody solves a problem like Maria! But seriously, I wanted to be her from the time I was 3 and saw The Sound of Music for the first time. I even asked my mom while trying on wedding dresses, "Do I look like Maria VonTrapp?" Her dress is simple, but elegant, and extremely breathtaking!

#3 - Jackie KennedyYou can't have a list of classic, beautiful women without including her. Her dress is so timeless. Some might question the design on the dress, but I think its perfect.

#4 - Audrey HepburnThis is for you KK! But really, she is the picture of classic beauty. I have always been a fan of modesty, and she has got it! She is completely covered, but still is so gorgeous. I could live without the crown of roses though...

#5 - Ivanka Trump

She is not a royal (or is she?? I really don't know) But I found this photo and absolutely love her dress. I couldn't find a picture of just her in the dress, but you can tell from this one how beautiful it is. Those sleeves are to die for. If I had a redo wedding (to the same guy, of course!) I would wear a lace dress very similar to this one.

#6 - Grace Kelly
This is probably my favorite of them all. I love everything about this dress. The lace, long sleeves, the ruching in the middle, the buttons down the front, and the not-too-big skirt. Any bride going for a vintage look - this is the dress for you.

#7 - Wait! How did that get in here?

Who are your favorites? I am so excited to see Kate's dress, and I know that she will not disappoint.

Happy Royal Wedding Eve to you all!

Hope for my Future

Last night, Michael and I watched The King's Speech.

It was SO. GOOD.
If you haven't seen it, go to Redbox right this minute and watch it. You won't regret it.
That's just my opinion though.
Michael's opinion was a little different. His direct quote at the end of the movie was, "This movie sucked."
Its okay, we never have the same opinion on movies...except for the Scream movies.

Anyways, back to the point of my post. If you've seen the previews, you know that Colin Firth's character has a stammer. He is the heir to the throne of England and finds a speech therapist to help him with this problem. By the way, if I didn't know better, I would think that Colin had legitimately developed a stammer - it was that believable.

The therapist is probably my favorite character (I'm biased) I loved the interactions between him and the King because it gave me so much hope for my future. I tried to think of movies that involved therapy that turned out well, and I couldn't think of any. All I could think of was Harriet the Spy - who lost all her friends! ha!I have loved this past year of graduate school, but I am so ready to start working with real clients next year. Hopefully I will be able to change lives for the better, just like Logue, and not like Rosie O'Donnell.

PS - 2.5 days until the Royal Wedding, but who's counting?

Booked

No, not the jail type of booked.

WE BOOKED OUR VACATION!

Michael and I moved to Houston in 2009. We have not taken a vacation since we moved here. The only days we have had off were to visit our families for holidays. That is not our idea of a vacation (love you Mom!) While talking about our vacation plans, we realized that not only have we not vacationed since we moved, but we have not vacationed since we honeymooned!
3 whole years!

Here is a small glimpse into our last vacation:

Where are you going, you ask??
Well, that's the thing...we don't know! We leave August 8th (3rd Anniversary) and we don't find out where we are going until August 1st.
Its called the Secret's Secret Surprise.

Here's what we do know:
1 - We are flying to Cancun
2 - We will stay somewhere in the Riviera Maya
3 - We will be staying in one of the Secrets Resorts - Capri, Silversands, or Maroma
Other than that...nothing!

They are all beautiful, and have the ocean, and pools, and are adults only, and all inclusive.
(Wow, that was a bad run on sentence. I'm leaving it.)
All those things...they are all I need!
That's not asking too much, right?

If you need me in the next 3 months, I'll be working out. (If you know me, you know that won't happen!)

Anyone going on a vacation soon? Where are you going?

Mondays Aren't My Thing

I hate Mondays.
Usually I wake up, am busy all day, and never stop wishing that the day was over and I could be back in bed sleeping.

Today its not so bad though! Mostly because I skipped my early class this morning and slept instead.
Great. Decision.

Now I am off to practice this:

(Couples Therapy)

And then do a little of this:

(Bible Study)

Happy Monday Everyone!!

What a Weekend

 I love holidays! It doesn't matter what holiday it is, I love them all. (especially if they get me out of school, Michael off of work, and involve gifts!) Even if we don't get to go home and spend time with our families, we have family here to celebrate with, and that is so special to us!

Thursday night involved hanging out with my best friend Carrie and her family! I can't explain how happy I am that her parents moved here, even if its only for 1 year. I'm already excited for July!

Friday night Michael and I went out with Claire and her boyfriend Trey. They have been dating for awhile and Michael has taken on the role of "Relationship Ruin-er" for Claire a few times over the past 2 years, but I am happy to say that Trey survived, as did their relationship. He even got "confirmed"...whatever that means. Our evening involved lots and lots of amazing Italian food, a 99 Cent store, dying eggs, and having a confetti egg war. SO FUN!

We spent all Saturday at the Houston Leadership Training for Christ Conference and got to see many of our new youth kids in their activities.
Then we came home and dyed eggs, again (yeah, yeah, we already did that...I know!)

The finished product

My sweet puppy dying eggs with me!

Eggs with our name on it (literally)

Love Him! 

HAPPY EASTER!!

Glorious Day

It's Easter!
While I love the egg hunts, baskets full of treats, and colored eggs, I hope that you all take time to remember why we celebrate.
JESUS.
He is the reason. He is gave his life, suffered a cruel death, forgave those who killed him, and rose again all so that WE could live with HIM in Heaven one day. I don't know about you, but I'm beyond grateful for this! There's no way I could ever repay Him, and the best thing is - I don't have to! I gave Him my life, and that's all He asks.

This is a song that I have really been loving lately by Casting Crowns. Its a remake, but I really like this version. The words are perfect, and they get me really excited for that Glorious Day!

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

I hope you all have such a wonderful Easter with friends, family, and the God who loves you so much, He gave up His son for you. Praise Him and thank Him today and everyday for the life you've been given!

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life"
Romans 6:4

Complainers Sometimes Prosper

So, remember that restaurant that Michael and I weren't all too pleased with a few nights ago? Well, it pays to complain a little I guess, because tonight we got a gift card to that same chain of restaurants to make up for our bad experience! Here's the thing:

I kind of have a second mom here in Houston, and she kind of works for the corporate office of the restaurant chain, and she kind of read my blog the other day, and then she totally hooked us up! Here she is with her lovely daughter Claire on our ski trip.

So tonight we got to go to Hasta la Pasta, and it was SOO DELICIOUS!! We had salads, and appetizers, and a main course, and dessert (we like food, okay!) and it was so good. Even though we had a not so good experience, I promise to not write them off (and if you are ever in the Katy/Houston area...you should go!)
Speaking of, while Michael and I were there with Claire and her boyfriend Trey, my best friend Carrie and her family were at the exact same restaurant and we didn't even know! Small world!

Moral of the story: If you don't like something, complain. And good businesses will listen to you and try to make you happy. However, your mother will probably just tell you, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Yep, been there!

HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY!

A Hobby of Mine

Tomorrow is the day. The day I have been waiting on for so many months. The day when Water for Elephants comes to theaters. Can you tell I am a little bit excited?

My sister told me about this book around Christmas, and then I saw the preview for the movie and decided I had to read it before the movie came out. Unfortunately for me, school had already started, and with it came massive amounts of reading. So, I gave myself 2 days to read WFE and am happy to say that I was successful. So now, I will be spending my Friday morning ($5 movie ticket? - I think so!) watching this. And maybe one of my days next week too!
I realized after finishing it that I am a sucker for books-turned-movies. I absolutely love them. Part of it is that I am a control freak, and I like to know how things are going to turn out before they even start. But its also just exciting to see how the director/actors will portray the story and characters, and if the movie will stay true to the book. Sometimes, (okay, maybe most times) the movie leaves things out and is a disappointment. For instance, this movie
a perfect example of a great book turned terrible movie.

Other books-turned-movies that I have enjoyed included:
Angels & Demons
If you can look past the bad acting, this one is pretty true to the book.
You can't have a list like this without HP! Judge me!
Like I said, not all movie adaptations are great. But I love them all anyways.
Here are some that I am excited about coming out soon:
Can't. Wait.A childhood favorite
I love the Pioneer WomanThanks Amber!Are there any others that you think I should know about, read, and then see? Leave a comment and let me know your favorites!

Massagna

Last night Michael and I went out to celebrate our 1,000th day of marriage. He set up the whole thing - counted the days, planned the date, everything. He also picked the title of this post (obviously!) Trust me, it will all make sense soon!

First stop, Massage Envy. Hal-le-lujah! Though it was a wonderful massage and made me feel like Mr. Potato Head (the tortilla version in Toy Story 3) it was quite possibly the weirdest massage of my life. First of all, she kept hitting me. Who likes to be hit? Not me! Second, I asked her not to massage my face (who would want that?) or my head (because hello, I was dressed up for my date!) but she did it anyway. So, I spend the evening with greasy hair and eye makeup on my chin. Cool!

Next we went to Lasagna House, one of our favorites that we had been missing since we moved to our rent house because it was right down the street from our apt. But, we found out that we hadn't really missed it all that much. Its usually a 10, and last night it was a 4. Maybe. Makes it easier to not get to go now.

Next stop, TARGET! What? You don't go to Target on your anniversaries/dates??

Last, we went to Yogurti-Yo for some frozen deliciousness! Yum-O!

Here are a few pictures from the night

Michael also got me a little something shiny, but its not in yet (we're online shoppers) so you will just have to wait to see it. And yes, its worth the wait!

Yep, we've still got it!

A "Grand" Day

What do you get when you add thisand this

ONE HAPPY COUPLE!!

As of today, Michael and I have been married for 1,000 days! I am so lucky to be married to a guy like Michael! Seriously, how many husbands would take the time to count 1,000 days?? He's more than I ever could have asked for and I am beyond blessed to be married to him (I know, blah blah, lovey-dovey)

I don't have many photos from our wedding day...long story short - I don't have the rights. All you soon-to-be brides out there, make sure your photographer allows you to have the rights to your photos before you choose them for your big day! It will save you lots of frustration, I promise! Here are a few of the photos that I do have:

When we first saw each other before the wedding

Michael and I with our parents

I liked it so I put a ring on it

Sealing it with a kiss

Enough strolling down memory lane...its time to go celebrate with my man! Date details coming soon!

I Caved

I guess its official...I am a blogger! Well, I'm a person who blogs, and is trying to be a blogger. Who knows if I will ever make it to REAL blogger status, but for now I am just fine with trying!

As of today, this blog has no direction other than the goings on of mine and Michael's lives. Don't worry, it won't be as boring as it sounds (or will it??) and I promise to post lots of pictures, because no one likes a blog without pictures! Am I right?

My friends told me that I needed a blog. My husband told me that I needed a blog. I told myself that I needed a blog. So I caved, and HERE IT IS! I hope you enjoy reading it, leave me comments if you wish, and if you hate it - well, you can just keep that to yourself!

And now for your promised picture...
This is where this whole journey began. Lariat Creek Christian Camp - 2005