Weekend Update!

Patrick and I both agreed that this was a super fun weekend!  One of those weekends that you maybe didn’t expect to be this fun, and it pleasantly surprised you!  Friday night, nothing too exciting occurred.  We had lots to do to get ready for Saturday’s fun, so we just went to the grocery store, did a few chores and called it an early night.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning though, because Steeplechase was finally here!  Many people wait all year for this day, and even though Patrick and I aren’t quite THAT die hard, we were still excited to be getting all dressed up and head to the horse races.  We arrived around 10:00 and several of the people in our group were already having a GREAT time…just to put it nicely.  =)  I had named myself a designated driver this year, and even though I had a few drinks, I never really got to the point of “fun” that many of our friends were having.  The people watching is pure enjoyment though, and thanks to other DD’s in our group (thanks Reca and Kathleen), I would consider the day a really fun success!  Here are a few pics of our adventures.

It ended up being a beautiful day despite the clouds in this picture which was taken early in the morning.

Reca and me when we were walking around trying to track down the “boutique.”  BTW, they lied about a “boutique;” we found no such thing.

Me standing on the same track that horses would be running in just a few short hours.

Me with my beau; Reca snapped this shot when I was fixing his bow tie and it turned out to be one of my favorites…sometimes candids are so much better than posed pictures, no?

Patrick and some of the guys:

And, last but not least, Patrick and me with Mickey and Kathleen.

Oh, one more…just because the back of my dress was my favorite part, I have to share this photo:

Around 4:00, Patrick and I had to pack up and say goodbye to another year of Steeplechase.  Our friend, Teona, who happens to be from the Republic of Georgia, has moved her mother to the US and was having some friends over to have a small Georgian feast.  It was great to catch up with Kirk and Teona and their little girl, Adriana.  It was also great to meet Teona’s mom.  Here are a few pics of me trying my hand at making dumplings…FYI, I think Teona’s mom tried to tell me not to quit my day job…I didn’t do such a great job!

I love this picture of us with Adriana…so glad Patrick decided to photobomb us!

I think these 3 are naturals…either that or they have had a few more years of practice than I have! Ha!

All day on Saturday, I felt a nasty cold coming on…well, sure enough, I woke up on Sunday feeling like crud!  So, instead of getting all kinds of chores and errands done (like I had planned), I laid around and did absolutely nothing!  I have to wonder sometimes if getting sick is God’s way of making sure I get don’t take life too seriously and sometimes I just SLOW down!  It was so nice yesterday to just relax and spend time with my beau and my Zo.  I definitely wouldn’t have been that relaxed had I been feeling well. 

That evening, Patrick and I had reservations to Rodizio Grill.  The purpose of the trip was my way of thanking him for being so good to me and taking care of everything at home during tax season…however, because my birthday is tomorrow, too, and I received a coupon in the mail for a free meal, we sort of started my birthday celebration a couple days early.  The only unfortunate thing is that when you have a birthday coupon, they MAY come out and sing to you in front of everyone without even asking if you want that!  Patrick and I both agreed that next time we are celebrating a birthday we will tell them on the front end that singing isn’t necessary.  My embarrassment didn’t stop Patrick from snapping a picture though!

Well, that’s it for me today…I’m off to the doctor to try to get some meds!  I can’t be sick on my birthday!  Have a great day ladies!

Happy Mother’s Day, Mama!

I don’t know about you all, but after reading all the sweet Facebook updates today from all the people wishing their mom a Happy Mother’s Day, I am a blubbering mess!  No clue why this Mother’s Day is making me so emotional…maybe it’s because I am seeing more and more friends have babies and see just how big of a responsibility being a mom can be…maybe it’s because the older I get the closer I become to my mom…maybe it’s because I am not in Knoxville with my mom today and am not able to celebrate with her in person…and maybe it’s because I hope to have a child feel the same way about me one day.

No matter the reason, I realize today that I am a very lucky woman!  I have a mom who is so much more than a mother to me!  I have a mom who I talk to every single day, who I share things with and laugh with and complain with.  I have a mom who will go shopping with me, or help me with any task or undertaking I request.  I have a mom who now treats my husband (and my doggy) like one of her own.  I have a mom who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt puts my siblings and me second only to God.  I have a mom who is my best friend! 

Now for a few pics of my mama and me.  This is my favorite picture of us…it is on my 6th  birthday and my mom is about 8 months pregnant with my sister.  I think she looks so pretty in this picture…she looks exactly like what a mom should…and P.S. I hope I look that good at 8 months preggo one day!

This is my siblings and me with my mom and grandmother.  My grandmother was the other “mom” in my life and one of the reasons my mom is so fabulous!This is Senior Night in high school.  I think my mom and I look so much alike in this picture:As you can see, there is a big gap between high school and all of the following pictures, which obviously happen to be wedding related.  My mom HATES to have her picture made, so this is the best I could do, Ha!

And, before I go, I want to take a minute to wish every mom a Happy Mother’s Day! There isn’t anything easy about being a mom; however, so many of you do it so gracefully, and make it look so easy!  I hope that one day I can be half as poised and confident when being a mom is one of my job titles!

Wedding–Family Photos (Post Ceremony)

Because Patrick and I didn’t see each other before the ceremony, we wanted to take some additional family pics after the wedding.  Here are some of my favorites with my family. 

First up, a family of 5 is now a family of 6:

Next, a sibling pic:Everyone from my family who made the drive to Nashville for the wedding:Patrick and me with my aunt, Carole:

Now, for Patrick’s family…First is a pic of us with his mom:

And a picture of his dad and sister, Kristine!

And another sibling pic with Kristine!

And, last but not least, all of Patrick’s extended family:

Patrick and I are sooooo lucky to have such loving families!  So happy that we get to start our own family traditions to add to all the happy memories we have made with the above people!

What I’m Loving Wednesday!

It’s been awhile since I’ve linked up with What I’m Loving Wednesday, so I decided to get back at it today!  Here’s what I’m loving today:

1.  That Steeplechase is this weekend!  I have a love/hate relationship with Steeplechase…every year I feel like I am too old and I declare that this year will be my last…however, I think there is just something so sentimental about it for me…afterall, it was the FIRST Nashville outing I attended when I moved to here back in 2006.  I have to say that I’m really looking forward to going back this year after taking a break from the event in 2012.  Here’s a pic of my beau and me at my last Steeplechase:

2.  That Sunday is a very special day for my Mama!  I hate that I can’t be in East Tennessee to celebrate Mother’s Day with her, but fortunately, I was able to get lots of time with her this past weekend!  She knows I think she’s the best Mama a girl could ask for!

3.  Speaking of East Tennessee…I’m loving that I got tons of cute clothes on my shopping excursion this weekend!  Can’t wait to wear all of my finds!

4.  That next week is my birthday and it appears that my week is jam packed with all kinds of fun birthday celebrations!

5.  And, finally, I’m always loving my beau and my Zo:

What are you loving today?  Can’t wait to find out!

Bridal Party Pics!

So, it looks like I’m finally back on the wedding pictures…and I promise to eventually finish these up.  I have to admit, at this point, I’m mainly documenting this because I want to make sure it’s in here for me in the future…I’m fully aware that the rest of the world has moved on from my wedding…that was almost 10 months ago!  Ha!  Anywhoodle, here are pictures of our bridal party…our best friends!

Patrick and I signing the Marriage Certificate…I guess we really weren’t married until AFTER the ceremony, huh?  =)One of my favorite wedding pictures!Our sweet guest book attendant, Lauren!And our reader, my sweet friend, Elaine!  Fun story about Elaine, her son got married the very next weekend in Colorado, so she and her husband, Ken, flew out of Nashville the next day to get to Fort Collins to prep for his wedding!

Stay tuned next week for more family photos!  Have a great Tuesday, friends!

An East Tennessee Weekend Update!

My weekend started early, as I took Friday off.  I still was up early though to head to Knoxville.  I had to meet my mom for our pedicure appointments!  We had a great time getting our toes ready for sandal weather, then we headed to Market Square to do some shopping.  I just love the Market Square area downtown.  I wish it had been that nice when I worked there! 

That evening, I met Andi, Rob, and sweet Kennedy for dinner.  I love being able to play with this adorable little girl..isn’t she sweet?

Saturday, my mom and I headed out to do a little more shopping…this time we went to West Town Mall.  We shopped ‘til we dropped and then we took our exhausted selves home for some dinner and R&R with my dad. 

Sunday morning, we went to church and then it was time for lunch with my parents and brother.  We had a nice time catching up and then it was time for me to head back to Nashville.  I was sad to leave, but I also missed my beau and my Zo, so it was time to get back.  After heading to the gym for a quick workout, my beau and I decided to head to Las Palmas for dinner…it was, afterall, Cinco de Mayo! 

That’s it for my weekend!  I had a great time, but alas, it’s back to work this morning!  Hope you all have great weeks!

Happiness Project-Work!

This is a very difficult time for many CPAs workwise.  We have just come off of a very busy time and quite frankly, it’s sometimes very hard to get back in the swing of things when you virtually have 5 months before another big deadline.  That’s why I decided this month would be a great one to work on my work guilt.  Here are a few of the changes I plan to make this month:

1.  Wake up every morning at 6:15.  I have a terrible time getting myself out of bed in the morning…in fact, that is 100% of the reason that I am never on time to work.  SO, every work day this month, I plan to get out of bed at 6:15…this should give me more than enough time to get to work by 8:00.

2.  Spend only 15 minutes in the morning getting ready for the day.  For some reason, I always have a hard time getting going in the morning…mainly because of the normal distractions of getting coffee, eating breakfast, and checking e-mail and voicemail.  This month, I resolve to spend only 15 minutes first thing in the morning “getting going.”  After that, it’s time to pick up the first project and get started.

3.  Use the 50/10 rule.  One of my biggest problems is distractions such as e-mail and phone calls coming in.  This month, I resolve to try to stick to the 50/10 rule.  Spend 50 minutes focused on one specific activity.  Then, spend 10 minutes dealing with any tasks that came up during those 50 minutes that could have been distractions.  After that, it’s back to 50 minutes of focus. 

4.  Make a To Do List for the next day before I leave the office at night.  Another issue I always have with getting my day started is not having a clear project in mind to work on when I walk in the door.  My resolution is to take 10 minutes to make a to do list for the next day before I ever leave the office at night.

Here’s to hoping this holds me accountable. 

Happiness Project–March/April Wrap Up!

So, apparently, I’ve had in my head all week that today was the last week of April…not yesterday…SO, this update is a day late.  That’s very fitting seeing as how March and April weren’t the greatest months for me Happiness wise.  I don’t mean that I wasn’t happy because I was…I just mean that I had a very hard time keeping up with the project.  March and early April are pretty self explanatory as to why, but the last half of April I was just plain unmotivated.  I didn’t fail completely, and I still feel very strongly about working on my spirituality.  Let’s review, shall we?

1.  Treat others how I want to be treated.  I think this is one that’s so hard to measure that I don’t know if I will ever feel that I “win” at this one.  I will say that I think much more about what I say, and I try more than I used to treat others how I want to be treated.  However, sometimes I’m sure I still stick my foot in my mouth.

2.  Go to church 2 times during the month.  Well, I made it once…on Easter.  I know, this is pathetic.  I really hope this is something I can do more often during the summer months!

3.  Read The Upper Room devotional every day.  I did this about half of the time.  I think I just had a hard time remembering it every day.  I really enjoyed it most days, so I also intend to keep this going. 

Clearly, I still have a lot of work to do…here’s to next month, right?  Stay tuned tomorrow for the May Happiness Project goals!