weather wednesday

I am losing my mind thinking about the weather in March 2012.  So much so that I have turned to the farmer's almanac and am thinking about buying the long range weather.  But so far this is what I have found.  Of course March is not listed.  But April and May will be cooler than normal so does that mean I will be destined for a cold outdoor wedding?  Please say noooooo.

Annual Weather Summary: November 2011 to October 2012

Winter temperatures will be near or slightly above normal, with below-normal precipitation and near-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in mid-December and early and mid-February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-December and early February.

April and May will be cooler than normal, especially in the west, with much-above-normal rainfall in the southeast and near-normal rainfall elsewhere.
Summer will be much cooler than normal, with above-normal rainfall. The hottest temperatures will be in mid- to late July and mid-August.
September and October will be much cooler and drier than normal, despite a hurricane threat in early to mid-September.

Oh the wedding registry fun.

So.  Kyle and I want one thing - for the gift giving experience to be easy.  I feel like it is not too much to ask for a big company to have their website working and in order.  But Target, they just cannot seem to get their website working and working all the time.

Example: You try to pull up Kyle & my registry.  It thinks.  And then pulls up the pretty heart background. And then it is just death.  NOTHING HAPPENS. You cannot see the registry, you don't know what is on it forcing you to go to the store rather than shop online.  Sure... if you're planning on bringing the gift to a shower or the wedding going in store is not a big deal.  But if you want it shipped to me, good freaking luck ... you may want to try one of our other registries.

And well since I have not been able to access my registry nor has a handful of my wedding guests (who ended up going elsewhere after letting me know that it does not work) we have made the decision to delete our Target registry.  The stuff from Target can be bought elsewhere so it really is not worth all the frustration.  So Target, if one of your social media or PR people happen to stumble across this, your new and improved website is pretty much a failure that 99% of people are annoyed with.  And sadly, because of its shortcomings you have lost a registry.  Sure, in the grand scheme of things I am just one person ... but it only takes one person to start a snowball effect. 

So. If you're wondering - we moved all our Target items to Bed Bath and Beyond and some of the kitchen items also to Crate & Barrel.

Holiday Booty Buster - Week 1

...was a total failure.  But, I am going to blame the fact that I went home to VA and had to be a single mother to 2 dogs. 

I got in 2.36 running miles = 2 points
And then you get 1 point for 15 minutes of low impact cardio (I read that as dog walks and oh did I walk some dogs) ... so I added in 5, 15 minute dog walks = 5 points.

7 points total.  Which is not the lowest, but it is also not impressive.

And currently - it is raining outside.  But that doesn't matter... my workout clothes are by the door. 

And I also now have an impromptu trip to Birmingham for work on Wednesday so I will try and get something in there. Oi.

How I get points:
1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs 
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (here are details on what is a serving)

foto friday :: our little super model

I just found this picture in the archives of our doggy daycare photo archives.  I mean Kennesaw hams it up for the camera.  This girl poses - what a sass face!

Tuesday Thoughts.

Since Thursday is Thanksgiving - I doubt I will get a Three Things Thursday out since that will be a family day - so I decided to do Tuesday Thoughts ... and I will not be limited to just 3 things.  I am still in total shock that we are about to be in December.  Like where has 2011 gone?  Time flies the older you get.  =/

1.  We are leaving for Northern Virginia today after work.  We = Me. Kyle. And the 2 dogs.  I am getting a little anxious about the two dogs because I will have to have them the whole time.  I am trying to make Kyle take them on Friday night - Saturday, but so far I am losing that battle. Having the 2 dogs really makes it impossible to run (really having 1 dog does this too) and there are some routes I really like back home.  I just feel REALLY bad dumping the dog(s) on my parents when I know they're more of a pain than anything.

2.  During the week I feel like I am REALLY good at hydrating myself - on the weekends I feel like I am really bad at it.  I don't know why, but I am.  So, I really really want this.  I am probably going to fall into some big amazing marketing ploy & it won't really actually work.    But it is worth a shot?  ...Or I can make a bigger effort to just drink water on the weekends?

3.  I need a December race.  If you're in Atlanta start suggesting.  I don't want to do the one in the Highlands because I predict parking will be a total nightmare and I like my pre-race activities to be stress free.

4.  The Run to the Finish - Holiday Booty Buster Challenge started this past weekend.  And I meant to run this weekend, I really did.  But then I got consumed with Football and Christmas Shopping and Christmas Movies (thanks Hallmark Channel) and dogs and super tiredness and laundry and packing to go home to VA and bathing the dogs.  HOWEVER - I got some miles in at lunch on Monday.  I was not going to let this week go by with 0 miles and 0 working out.  Those miles were not pretty, but they are done!

5.  All I want for Christmas is a new Road ID.  Seriously, especially if I am going to be running outside in the Perimeter Mall area on lunch breaks.  These stay at home moms in big SUVs are scary.  I feel like I am destined to be hit by a car (even in a crosswalk).  Therefore, I would like to have some sort of ID on me.  And I lost my old one ... and I want my new one to have my blood type on it.  And I want the one that attaches to my shoe (that way I cannot lose it).

6.  I need both Pure Barre and Blast 900 to have crazy holiday sales. I want to bring both back into my life after the 1st of the year -- especially Pure Barre, but the classes are so expensive I have a hard time justifying them.  Especially Pure Barre because I feel like you have to go a lot to see results, but I feel like Pure Barre will help the most to make me wedding dress pretty.  I wish things like that were not crazy expensive, I have bills and life to pay for.


....oh how exhausted am I. 

Oi. Oi. Oi.

Of course - Kennesaw is scared of daycare.  She LOVES one on one play but the craziness of all the dogs freaks her out.  When I called to "check on her" since we saw her against the blue wall pretty much all day they just said she is really shy and overwhelmed and daycare is not for every dog.  But we NEED her to love it.  She has to stay there over our honeymoon.  Right now they said she cannot stay overnight... it would cause too much stress.  I can hear my dad now you never should have gotten a 2nd dog.

BLAST!

I bought Grinch tickets for the same day as the SEC Championship!!  ....so much for a date night.  I would still go but Kyle told me sorry.  You know how I said Kyle really loves me since he agreed to go to see The Grinch.  Obviously Kyle does not love me enough to miss a football game (kidding).

Now I need to find buyers for my tickets and parking.  If anyone knows anyone who is interested in 2 tickets to The Grinch - December 3 - 8:00 PM at The Fox.  Let me know.

But I am sad about these recent developments.

Foto Friday :: Wedding Hair - Ideas!

As it gets closer and closer to the wedding day I have to start thinking more and more about my hair.  1st I would like to say, my hair is currently longer than it has been in a long time.  I cannot remember having it this long and I kinda like it (as does Kyle) ... so I may keep some length to my hair post wedding. we shall see...

Anyway.  I have decided on one thing about my hair.  It is going to be down.  I HATE when girls wear their veil down low because they have a low hairstyle and since I have a veil that means no low hair style.  But with down it looks so lame straight and boring which means I will need curls.  And my hair - yeah, it does not hold curls; therefore, I will need extensions.  But I am going to have the extensions cut and then died to my hair color.  But extensions will give me curls.  (Ok, maybe I have decided on 3 things about my hair 1. down. 2. curls. 3. extensions)  ....but that leaves me with the most important part: how will I have it styled.

MY THOUGHTS:

Yes I know they are all VERY similar.  Especially the last 2 - but this is where my mind is going.  That way I can attach the veil above where the hair criss crosses and then I can ditch the veil post ceremony and still have amazing hair.  But I do like the curls in the 3rd picture the most because they do not seem as tight, but I may need tight curls with the hops they fall but not fall too much.

And I would like to thank pinterest for giving me all these ideas.

Three Things Thursday.

Can you believe that next Thursday is Thanksgiving?!  I am wondering where 2011 is going and I am SLACKING on the Christmas shopping this year.  So, I need to get in gear!

And I am REALLY excited about today because on of my girls is pregnant and she is having her gender reveal party tonight and I cannot wait to hear if it is a boy or a girl so I can start buying baby stuff.  I hope it is a girl, I want to buy lots and lots of tutus! =D  Yay for friends and babies!!

1.  For real.  Kyle loves me.  I asked him the other day if he would go see The Grinch with me at the Fox Theater and his answer "sure" ... and I said, "really?" and his answer was "anything to make you happy" -- now  I know he really does not want to go to The Grinch, but since he know that I love Christmas and all things Christmas he agreed to go with me.  So we have a super fun date night on the books for December 3rd.   Sadly, we were trying to double date it with one of my most favorite people Chrissy and her husband, Matt - but they will be in the Blue Ridge Mountains .... so it is just Kyle and me and The Grinch.  :o)  now I need Kyle to agree to go see Annie with me in January ... that my friends will be true love.

2.  I am thankful to have a job and to have a job that I really really like and enjoy going to every single day.  But I would be lying if I did not say I was overwhelmed at work.  Like legit overwhelmed - not enough time in the day - overly exhausted.  We are 1 week out (correction, 2 business days) from rolling out the pilot of our new database for our branches  and just getting everything ready for it is A LOT.  Electronic documents. Training guides.  ...and then on top of my everyday tasks and other projects I am currently working on to help improve processes.  It is just a lot.  I am so thankful for Thanksgiving to be around the corner. 
3.  So I just joined Delta SkyMiles since I am about to be going to St. Louis & Daytona and Melbourne FL for work and I want points!! ...And now I am getting "Delta Deals" emails and it is making me want to travel travel travel.  Like, I can get a flight to Memphis and back for $59.00 -- and one of my bestest and more favorite people ever lives in Memphis!  So, I could go see Heather and I know she would love that since she has had a HARD past few months.  And... there is a flight to Ft. Myers for $89 and I could do that and go to the beach in October with my family.  This could be bad. Very bad. Vacaction anyone?

Ok.  Well with that - I am out of here.  If I don't post between now and Thanksgiving -- have a very good holiday with family & friends -- be safe, eat lots, tell people you love them and really, have a great holiday!

Oh and in case you're wondering -- 128 days!! I mean jeeze where is the time going!  But luckily the wedding is planned for the most part -- invites, flowers, food, cake, rehearsal dinner - done and done.  Just gotta do dress fitting and finish buying little details.  I will be a Shanahan before you know it!

Um.

Have you looked at a calendar?  Did you notice that next week is Thanksgiving?  I mean really?  Where has the time gone and where is 2011 going.

Time to stop procrastinating and I must pick up some Christmas gifts for family in VA.  Goodness.

Foto Friday :: Wedding Picture Ideas

Thanks to Pinterest I have been stalking wedding pictures and collecting ideas for pictures I want of my own wedding.  I need to print all them out and then send them to Justin and say yeah… can you make this happen?  Please and thank you?

I love this one for so so so many reasons.  The only hard part I see is that there are 5 bridesmaids and I have 6 total in my line up of lovely ladies.  Maybe a heart on each side of the word love?  I do not know, but I do know I love this picture.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture and I feel like it would only work if it was of my Dad and me before the ceremony.  How sweet and sentimental would that be – and I do have to walk down some scary old timey stairs.

This is overdone but still so cute and amazing.  Since I am not going to see Kyle before the ceremony we can at least say hello and calm each other’s nerves through the door right?  Honestly, we probably won’t do this but it is still such a sweet sweet photo.

Our venue has an amazing balcony over the front of the house.  We will recreate this picture. No options.  I may need some flip flops if I have to go up and down those stairs over and over again!

Another pre-wedding picture of Kyle and me – or it can be done after the wedding.  ….I would have to figure out if it can even be done at our venue.  I want to say something similar can be done but don’t quote me on that.

--------------------------------------------

It is a good thing I LOVE our photographer and stalk his blog and Facebook page and melt over a lot of his wedding pictures. 

Wave of Accomplishment *almost*

 

my parents will be in route to Atlanta tomorrow to make some final wedding decisions.  Thursday = flowers!  and once the flowers are decided … I will be 100% planned.  The only thing that will need to be decided from there is the rehearsal dinner.  And well that is out of my hands.

But… with 4 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days to go I am pretty much 100% planned and that is awesome.

From there the only “to do’s” to do  --- buy the rest of the candy bar candy and candy bags.  Finish getting all the goodies for the welcome bags and stuff them and buy the 3 different signs from Etsy and buy the guestbook!

I would like to say the venue made all this so so so much easier.  But yeah it feels good to be pretty much DONE! 

foto friday - mercedes half marathon medal.

So I have decided to run the Mercedes Half Marathon in February.  It is in Birmingham so it is a REALLY quick drive from Atlanta so I can run it and then come back the same day.  AND the medal is really cool.  AND it will be a month before my wedding so this can be my forced working out to get skinny minnie for the wedding.  AND I can use this as an opportunity to see some of my favorite Alabama people ever.  AND I can go to Mugshots for a killer good hamburger since they now have one in Birmingham.  Oh, and the race entry is/was wickedly cheap. =D

three things thursday

1. have you read about how they're thinking about making the new york marathon a 2 day race.  If not... you can get all the details HERE.  I have not run the NYCM but it is on my bucket list and when the lottery opened up for this year I toyed with the idea of trying to enter it {and man am I glad I did not}.  ....but I (may be alone in this thinking) but there is something about this marathon and the excitement and suspense of knowing if you did or did not get in. And I understand that the demand to run this race has and is growing, but I don't think that should change the process of getting in.   But I am not a fan of how they're getting rid of the guaranteed entry... guess I will have to get lucky. ;)

2.  I am still really shocked at how EASY the 5k I ran this weekend was.  Running 2 miles in my 'hood is hard - I blame the hills, but obviously the hills have helped a lot.  Now I am looking for a 5k for November and a 10k for December.  I actually have the Run Georgia web site pulled up and am trying to decide what to run. I am *hoping* to be amping up the miles soon.  I registered for The Mercedes Half Marathon for next February in Birmingham and I WILL RUN THIS RACE.  No more DNS.  

3.  I am so excited for everyone running Savannah this weekend but I am also so bummed that I am not running it.  There is always next year...  I kinda regret cancelling my hotel room and kept thinking I should just go to spectate... but that is a lot of money to just spectate.  But I hope everyone has a lot of fun and has a great race this weekend!!

Three Things Thursday

how is it already November?!

1. wedding invitations have been ordered (and are actually sitting on my front porch as I type this....)!  I have not seen the completed look and I will see the legit final product (other than the proof) when I get home today. I am pretty sure my mom thought I was out of control since we thought I was settled on some and then as my mom was about to order the invites I changed my mind on the color scheme.  I wasn't in love with the blue - it was too bright and even though my mom and my friend Afton said that no one will remember the invitation it just bugged me.  so we went more with the color scheme - but more of the muted colors.  Yes - I am that out of control bride who has a hard time making decisions.  ....which i kinda how/why the purple has been kinda kicked out of the wedding ceremony decor but kept alive in the reception decor.  HOT BRIDAL MESS I TELL YOU!!  ....but anyway, back to the wedding invite.  I am glad there are extras left over because (a) I want to keep one for the guest book but (b) I want to make a Christmas ornament out of it.  I saw the ornaments on Pinterest and LOVE the idea.  You just cut the invite up in small pieces, curl them and then place them in a clear globe.  So cute, right?! And Kyle and I are all about sentimental ornaments - all of ours on the tree have a meaning behind them. :o)

2. I have my flower appointment in exactly 7 days!!  Flowers are legit the last BIG wedding decision we have to make (that we have control over). I am still in love in love with this bridal bouquet so here is hoping that those flowers are (a) in season (b) able to be put together and (c) looks just as good on the wedding day.  My Mom of course is coming down and hopefully she knows a little more about flowers than me because I know nothing.  And I am unsure how his appointment is going to work because it is at the venue not the flower shop... are they going to bring flowers to me?  Erg, I need to see the final product to make a decision. With that said, I think I am just gonna trust the florist on the boutonnieres (hopefully I can see them).  But I think the longest conversations/decisions will be over ceremony decor and reception decor. ...After this meeting it means the wedding is getting seriously close!  I hope everyone has their dancing shoes and party pants ready!

3.  So... Saturday is a HUGE game.  In case you have not been watching or listening or caring.  Alabama is #2 in the BCS rankings and LSU is #1 - so we pretty much have the national championship game this weekend.  Kyle and I are excited and nervous for this game.  It would be a big win for The Tide so I am hoping for another W.  And then a W at the SEC championship and then at The National Championship!! But most importantly, I am irked that some dumb LSU fan made shirts that have a picture of the US with Alabama missing with the tag line "Imagine a World Without Alabama" -- like, isn't it too soon?  We just honored the 6 month mark post tornado last week.  Many parts of Alabama were destroyed and are still struggling to recover and get over the heartbreaking storm.  Even though it is known that LSU does not have the classiest for best fans, it really is kind of too soon to be rocking shirts like that. Especially in a town that was devastated and destroyed.  GRANTED:  My friend from college said it best "So tacky... in a way it's them admitting that we're better though! "If Alabama wasn't there, then we could win this year!"   ROLL TIDE!  ok. so here is to an awesome win and hopefully another Tide win!

big pumpkin 5k :: race photos

ohhh pictures are up and ready!  ….one is good the other I look like death.  And yes, yes I am wearing gloves.  It was COLD!