Happiness Project–February Wrap Up!

So, I can’t believe we are already almost done with February.  I mean, it seems like it was just a week or so ago that I was beginning my Happiness Project and now I am already finished with 2 months.  Let me give a little recap on how well I did with my health resolutions for the month:

1.  Stick to the Weight Watchers program every day.  I am proud to say that I did great with this resolution!  I stuck to my daily, weekly, and activity points every day/week this month and I am currently down 12 pounds because of this!  While I definitely intended to lose weight this month, I also intended to be healthier.  I definitely feel healthier overall by making wiser food choices.  I only have 9 more pounds to lose, and I hope that I am then able to go into maintenance and keep up with the Weight Watchers lifestyle.

2.  Exercise 3 times per week.  This is another area that I did great!  I either ran or took an exercise class 3 days per week and it really helps me feel better overall. 

3.  Drink 8 glasses of water every day!  I did pretty good with this resolution, although I did miss 1 day during the month.  I accidentally fell asleep after only drinking 7 glasses, but I figure that’s not half bad…especially since I’m not a water fan AT ALL!

4.  Create a Meal Plan every week.  I also did pretty well with this!  Patrick has been a huge help with this one because he has really helped me plan meals, he has helped me cook, and he also has spent most of his Saturday nights going to the grocery store with me to load up on food.  Doing this every week helped me have many food options so I didn’t get bored with healthy eating.  However, I have to admit it got really difficult the busier I got at work.

5.  Go to bed by 11:00 every week night.  This one was a big fat fail!  I probably went to bed by 11:00 maybe half the time.  Honestly, though, I think I decided some time half way through the month that being tied down to this 11:00 pm bedtime really wasn’t contributing to my happiness.  Maybe it would any other time of year and maybe I will try again at that time.  However, I have VERY limited hours to spend time with my husband right now.  And, to be honest, he wakes up almost every single morning (even though he never has to get out of bed until I am leaving for work) and spends time catching up and talking to me while I’m getting ready…the least I can do is stay awake at night after a long day at work and spend a little bit of time with him during his favorite time of day.  THOSE are the things that bring me happiness!

6.  Get a spray tan 2 times per week.  I managed to keep up with this about once per week.  I really would have liked to do it more often than that, but I think once per week is about all I can handle right now.

The first question to address is whether I will continue to keep up with these resolutions in the coming months. The answer is that I hope to keep up with all of them except the 11:00 bedtime.  I will also probably only get a spray tan once per week.

I think the main question I have been asking myself as another month is drawing to a close is whether or not these changes in my life are increasing my happiness, and I think the answer to that is a resounding YES!  I feel more at peace, and I am better able to focus my time.  When I first started this happiness project, I was afraid that trying to keep up with all of these resolutions would take so much time that I would always feel busy and like I was never able to spend quality time with friends and family.  However, I love spending time with family and friends because I’m more present and I’m able to shut off my mind because I know I’m getting everything taken care of without the added guilt. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I reveal what I’ll be working on in March!

Weekend Update!

Hola friends!  Hope you had a great weekend!  I know that we sure did!  Friday night started with a hair cut and color which was oh, so fabulous!  Then we headed up to Hendersonville to see the Jeffers’ new house.  It is so cute and I love how much land they have!  I told Erin it would be great for a pool! 

Saturday morning started way too early because I wanted to get to the office and get my work out of the way so I could spend the afternoon shopping with my mama!  We first headed to Macy’s and both found some pretty cute items.  Then, it was time to head to my favorite…White House Black Market!  After we both racked up on some really cute items, we were off to meet Patrick for dinner. 

On Sunday, we started out with breakfast made by my beau.  He made some yummy Reduced Fat Cinnamon Rolls, and I was very excited to realize that 2 of them only have 7 Weight Watchers points!  After breakfast, we headed to church and then to lunch.  After that, it was time for my mom to head back to Knoxville. 

That afternoon, Patrick and I decided to take Zoey to Radnor Lake to walk around since it was such a nice day.  I took my camera with me and got some pretty good shots.

It was really nice and relaxing to get out and get some Vitamin D on such a nice day.

That evening, we grabbed some take out and settled in to watch the Oscars!  Holy smokes!  Jennifer Lawrence looked beautiful, didn’t she?

I hope you all had wonderful weekends!

Miscellaneous Pre-Wedding Pics

Because there were some really cool and amazing pictures taken by Streetlight Republic before the wedding, I decided these needed their own post.  I love looking at these pics and wondering what was going on in Patrick’s head that day.  Because we opted to not see each other before the wedding, it’s really special to look at these pictures and get a glimpse into each of our days.  Some of these are my favorite pics we have because they are so true to who we are and what special people we have surrounding us in life…

Apparently, I was just ready to get the party started…at least, that’s what Adam is thinking, I’m sure…

These next 2 pictures are really the only “Pinterest” ideas I stole during the entire wedding planning!  Since we didn’t see each other beforehand, I just HAD to have a picture of the 2 of us NOT seeing each other.

I think my sister looks so “fierce” in this pic!  She is putting my garters on, but I actually included this pic because I think she looks so pretty here!  I also love that it shows off her sparkly shoes that she was so proud of!

I’m pretty sure in this picture that Laura, Andi, and I were being ugly about something, and my dad was telling us to be nice…which explains the laugh on my face and the stern look on his.  My, some things don’t change even on your wedding day, do they?  =)

I love this picture of my mom and Patrick’s mom…so sweet!

And, last but not least, this picture cracks me up every time I look at it!  I’m pretty sure Hannah decided it was play time…in the floor…and I think Adriana was trying to explain the severity of the situation.  No matter what was going on, it was adorable!

Stay tuned soon for pictures of the actual wedding!  I can hardly wait to relive it all over again!

What I’m Loving Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday, lovely ladies!  I hope you are all doing awesome!  Here’s what I’m loving on this lovely day:

1.  That my mom is coming to town this weekend!  I haven’t seen her since EARLY January, and I know that’s not a big deal to most people, but I miss my mama!  She’s making a quick trip for us to go shopping, and now that I’m a few pounds skinnier, I’m hoping I can find lots of good stuff on our excursion.

2.  Zumba!  After deciding that I needed/wanted to take a break from running, but also deciding that I needed to work out MUCH more than I had been, I started attending as many different exercise classes as possible.  So far, Zumba is definitely my favorite and man, is it a workout!

3.  Speaking of working out…and being more active in general, I’m also LOVING the new Weight Watchers ActiveLink!  This thing is amazing!  I wear it all day, every day, and it calculates how many “Activity Points” I earn.  The best part is that I hardly realize I even have it on.  It just fits right on my belt and off I go!  Pure genius!

4.  My new Kindle!  A month or so ago, mine started getting lines across the screen.  I called Amazon to see if there was any sort of fix and unfortunately, it was done!  So, Patrick got me a new one for Valentine’s Day!  I love it even more than the first one!  It’s very light weight, and also very small!  Great for dropping in my purse when I want to have something to read on hand…

5.  And finally, I really love these 2:

What are you loving?  Hopefully, too many things to count!

Weekend Update!

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I’m going to say that mine began on Thursday, since it was a holiday and such a great one at that.  Here’s how my Valentine’s Day went…

I got up, went to work, and expected it to be just another tax season day…then, around 2:00, my beau dropped by the office and surprised me with these beautiful flowers…

My favorite part were the 2 pink roses at the bottom:

Talk about a pleasant surprise!!!!!  Patrick has given me flowers on Valentine’s Day every year we have been together, but never once has he brought them to me at my office!  I think he scored some major points with all the ladies that day!  Ha! 

At 6:00, I did something very rare for tax season…I went home!  It was amazing to get to leave work early and spend the evening with my favorite guy.  When I got home, we exchanged cards and presents and then it was time to get all dolled up and head to Mere Bulles for dinner! 

I had never been out to eat on Valentine’s Day (at a nice restaurant anyway), so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I’m not sure if it was the restaurant we chose or what, but let me just say, it was amazing!  The food was delicious, the service was great, and honestly, we didn’t even have to wait very long for our table!  Perfection! 

Just when I was about to order dessert, Patrick had one final surprise up his sleeve.  He told me that he had made dessert at home!  Because he knows I’m trying to lose a few LBs, he had made chocolate covered strawberries, bananas, and apples.  So yummy!  All-in-all, an excellent Valentine’s Day!

Friday night after work, I did Zumba at the office (yes, my workplace is so great, they even offer us Zumba classes during tax season), then I headed to Boscos for Mickey’s Birthday dinner!  It was so fun to get to hang out with everyone and catch up…we used to do stuff like that all the time, but we just don’t get the opportunity very much anymore!

Saturday, I worked, and then (probably because of my late nights the 2 nights before) I was exhausted.  SO, we spent Saturday night relaxing at home and eating Papa Murphy’s Pizza!  A new one opened up near our house and I couldn’t be happier about it!  I love their DeLite pizzas! 

On Sunday, I had made reservations for Patrick and I to tour Fontanel Mansion.  I didn’t know very much about Fontanel before the tour, but it was very interesting!  Barbara Mandrell and her husband built it in the 80s and now it is used for events and daily tours.  If you live in Nashville (or are planning a visit soon), you should definitely check it out.  Here are some of the pics:

Just to explain some of the above pictures, the family had 3 bears in various spots throughout the property to represent each of their 3 children.  The piano wasn’t in the original house, but owned by the current owners, which is why it is in the house now…we thought it was pretty cool and a great photo opp.  The huge bathtub pic is of the master bedroom, and pretty much my dream.  And finally, the bottom 2 pics is of the indoor pool on the property.  A few years ago, they covered it with plexi-glass and now they have proms, wedding receptions and other events in this room. 

It was a great time, and I’m glad we took some time out of our busy weekend to check it out.

Sunday afternoon was spent going to the Y, getting groceries and getting ready for the work week!  Despite the long work hours, it was an excellent weekend!

What did you do this weekend?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

To my Beau!  I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful first Valentine’s Day as my husband!  Not only is today a special holiday, it’s also exactly 7 months since we said, “I do!”  Some of the many things I love about you at this very moment are:  that you cook me dinner, that you add movies to the Netflix queue that you know I’ll like, and that you always let me decide what we do on Saturday nights after a long week of working overtime.  For you, I am grateful, and I look forward to many more Valentine’s Days!  Love you!

What I’m Loving Wednesday!

This special “What I’m Loving Wednesday” is brought to you by none other than Valentine’s Day!  That’s right, the official day of LOVE is tomorrow and on this very lovely day, I am loving…
1.  That my beau comes back to town tonight!  He had to go out of town for work this week, and I hate to admit it, but it’s so strange being at home at night without him here.  Yes, I lived by myself for almost 10 years, and yes, I am a strong, independent woman…however, I’m not afraid to admit that after 7 months of marriage, I am officially one of those people who doesn’t sleep as well in a house alone…there, I said it!  So sue me!  Not to mention that Sweet Zoey is absolutely beside herself when Patrick isn’t home.  She acts like she has to be the protector and therefore growls and even sometimes barks at EVERY. SINGLE. SOUND.

2.  That we are heading out for a date night tomorrow for Valentine’s Day!  Patrick usually cooks quite a feast on V Day, but because of his work trip this week, we decided to make things a little easier and head out to dinner.  I’ve been saving all my Weekly Weight Watchers Points, and been working out extra hard this week so I can fully enjoy our meal at Mere Bulles.  So excited!

3.  That on Sunday night, I got in some QT with my friend, Alysia.  I wanted to head to Target, and she lives close to the best Target ever, so we got to hang out for awhile watching the Grammys!  Love getting in friend time during busy season…it happens rarely!

4.  That all of my Scentsy products have arrived and have been delivered to all my guests!  They are all sooooo pretty and they smell so good!  I even bought my mom and Patrick’s mom something!  I can’t wait for them to try it out, too!  Here is a pic of my favorite purchase!  It’s sitting in my office at work! Love it!

5.  And, last but not least, I’m always loving my beau and my Zo…

Here’s to love and I hope you are surrounded by it, tomorrow and everyday!  =)