Last year I had a resolution to lose weight and I did pretty good… lost 20 lbs and kept off 15 of it and I do feel a lot healthier over all so I absolutely think that was a success. 

This year I think I have a few ideas for a better year.

1)    Take in as much as I can every day…

I learned a hard lesson this year with losing both of my Grandpa’s especially since one was a shock.  Last Christmas with my Papa Pridmore (Mom’s Dad) was so sweet and special since we all knew it was going to be his last and I will always remember that Christmas with him. 

With my Papa G, it was so different.  I enjoyed Christmas like every year with my Dad’s family… had fun, opened presents, laughed, had lunch… but I didn’t soak it in like I did with my other Papa.  It was so hard this year with my Dad’s family because he wasn’t there and I never thought he wouldn’t be.  I guess that’s part of the problem when someone close to you passes away so quickly and unexpectedly. 

So I am going to try my best to take in every second of every day… say I love you more, hug the people I love more, and make sure that everyone knows how much they mean to me every day!

2)    Try not to PLAN so much…

I think I drive Peter crazy because I’m always thinking so far ahead which always makes me worry and panic.  We had a conversation recently about the future and he said, “Stop trying to put a number on everything and just go with it, see what happens instead of planning it.” 

He’s right… I don’t need to be concerned all the time about the future and a certain time line that I’ve set for myself, or for us.  I just need to focus on being happy which he most definitely makes me every day… and take my time!!  Soak in all the happiness instead of trying to move forward all the time. 

It makes me think of that quote from Sex and the City:

"sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past, stop planning the future, 

stop figuring out precisely how we feel, 

stop deciding exactly what we want 

and; just see what happens."

3)    Make time for my girls…

Life is busy and life is hectic but I think I’ve made a constant effort to make time for my girlfriends in the past 2½ years I’ve been dating Peter.  A lot of people start a relationship and they fall off the face of the earth, I mean… come on!  You know you can name a least a handful of friends that you never talk to anymore and it’s probably because they are in a relationship now. 

I really try and keep in touch with my friends that shape me into who I am… and who I want to be.  I text them just to let them know I am thinking of them and said a prayer for them today, or starting a dinner club with 6 awesome girls so we can see each other once a month, having brunch and a movie whenever we can all get together.  It’s important to have that connection with other women I think… it helps us grow and evolve and have that accountability when we need it.

This also means my Mom!  Even though I live with her and we carpool to work together doesn’t necessarily mean that we make time for each other.  We both have busy lives and I want to constantly make time to talk to her and enjoy her because she is just amazing!!!  I’m so lucky to have a Mom that’s also my best friend! 

4)    Keep up the good work with my health…

Even though I have lost around 20 lbs I still want lose some more!!  Not because I feel the need to be super skinny so I can wear a size 6 in my jeans again but because I want to be as healthy as I can! 

Right now is the BEST time to get into the best shape of my life.  I need to make going to the gym and eating right a habit so that when life is busier and WAAAAY in the future when I want to have babies I will already be in awesome shape and ready for that.  (Not planning… just saying!!)

So, these are just a few things that I want to do in 2011!!  I hope everyone has an awesome, fun and SAFE New Years Eve and hopefully you have a list of Resolutions to make your life even sweeter than it is now! 

You can borrow some of mine if ya want!! ;)

i LOVE love!

And my friend Kelley and her new fiancée, Brantley sure do have a lot of LOVE!  

They are so great together and it was so much fun to spend some time with friends and all their family! 

We had a little girl time while the guys played some pool and drank some beer! 

I also learned that my jacket wasn't the best thing to wear for pictures... since the lining is VERY visible... 

oh well, it was such a fun time I didn't care! 

I'm glad I also got to see this sweet couple that I love SO much!!! 

And of course since Kelley's favorite color is Tiffany Blue.... 

Her and Brantley got Tiffany & Co. Champagne glasses for their first toast! 

It was a wonderful night with wonderful friends, getting to know new friends... 

and celebrating Kelley and Brantley!  So glad I got to enjoy the night with you two!  

Baby Love

I was kind of jealous yesterday morning when my Mom was lying in bed with my sweet puppy watching TV as she said “Have a nice day at work!”  Don't worry... we both had to brave the cold morning today!! 

Uggghhh, at least I only have to work Monday-Wednesday this week!

It was super hard to wake up yesterday and today after a few days of relaxation and food that’s certainly not “good” for me.  As I drag my butt out of bed to get ready for my day I was pretty thankful for Mr. Folgers!!  Don’t think I could have made it to work without him.

Work is creeping all day long this week!  Of course I am incredibly thankful for my job but it can be a little pointless when there are no customers that need help.  Just me… sitting in my office… with my To DO list of 4 things DONE and HIGHLIGHTED… fantastic!  The tellers are pretty busy but not me! 

Since I packed my gym bag yesterday morning I had no excuse to skip the gym after work.  I knew it was going to be crazy busy but after having about a month of thinking“Oh, I will get back into the gym AFTER Christmas” which I guess everyone else was thinking as well...  So I jumped on the treadmill and had my 30 minutes of sweating on the high 15 incline and I felt SO much better!  Didn’t hurt that I had ENews on… all those skinny chicks always make me work out a bit harder!!  Yea yea, you know you do it too!

After my exhilarating workout I went to my Aunt Holly’s house!!  (I love how all of my mom’s wonderful friends are my adopted aunts as well.)  She has two beautiful baby girls… Brooke and Mackenzie!  I mean, look how presh!

Absolutely love them… I don’t get to see them as much as I want since I’m so busy with work and all the plans I have with Peter, friends… and just daily life randomness so I was very happy I got to spend some time with them on Sunday and yesterday!  Brooke turned the BIG 2 on Christmas day and her Birthday Party is after the New Year, pretty excited about that!  She’s really talking and understanding things now so it will be a lot of fun!  The adorable PJs they have on are from my sweet Mom! 

Anyways… 1 more work day for this week since I am off Thursday and Friday!!  Also get to pick up my sweet man on Thursday night, IF he can fly out with this crazy blizzard that’s attacked NJ and NY!  I’m crossing my fingers and doing some serious praying!  As far as we know everything is on track with Newark Airport but ya never know... 

If you guys want to help and join me with some prayers I’d REALLY appreciate it! 

Hope everyone has had a fabulous week so far!!!  

White Christmas!!!!

It may sound silly but I feel like this beautiful white bliss falling from the sky most of today is straight from my Grandpas'!!!  

I love it!  It's just so beautiful and peaceful and the first time Greenville has had a White Christmas since 1963.  

That's just crazy!  So.... Thanks Papa Pridmore and Papa G!  I love you too!!!

Last night was Christmas Eve with my Mom's family and we all knew it was going to be emotional and strange without my sweet Papa there but we were doing okay.  Staying strong, enjoying our time together since that's what he would have wanted.... THEN my Aunt Shelia decided to surprise my Mom, Grandma, and Uncle with a wonderful gift. 

It was a quilt made with all of my Grandpa's shirts... best gift ever!!  No one was expecting it so of course we were all sitting around the living room crying.  I will always remember him in one of his many flannel shirts so it's such a touching gift!  She also has enough saved for my future babies since they never got to meet him.  

The rest of my Christmas Eve was filled with laughter and fun.... and of course Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls, AKA my FAVORITE part of Christmas! 

Christmas morning I woke up... made some coffee and sat by the tree to open gifts with my Mom and Brother!  Of course I did the "shaking of presents" last week when I found a few with my name under the tree even though Peter yelled at me because that's NOT ALOUD but my mom taught me to do that a LONG time ago and he is not going to change that!  Sorry buddy...

ANYWAYS.... point of the story, when I shook one of the beautifully wrapped gifts under the  tree I was hoping... no PRAYING that I was guessing right!  and drum roll............. 

IT WAS!!!!

Exactly what I was appropriately "praying" for plus MOORE!!  HAHA!  Get it....? Moore.  I definitely love me some Beth Moore Devotionals and this one is awesome since it's a small day by day that I can throw in my purse and use at lunch everyday.  I've also been wanting and needing a new bible for some time now and this one is PACKED with tons of awesome information.  I can't wait to use it!! 

After spending some time with my Mom my brother and I went to TR to go see my Dad's family.  With my other Papa not being there it was also very strange.  So weird to sit and open our gifts and not having him sitting beside me in his recliner where he has been sitting EVERY Christmas for as long as I can remember!  My Grandma sat there this year so at least it wasn't empty.  

BUT... it's still snowing and it's so beautiful outside!  I still can't believe that everything is white in December!!!!  So right now I am going to get a hot cup of tea... watch Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and cry (you can't watch it without crying) for the 183,947th time and try not to miss Peter too terribly bad. 

ha, yea right... 

JOY!

Last night I got to spend some quality Christmas time with 2 of my wonderful “Aunties” aka Mom’s friends that are my adopted Aunties.  I just love them to pieces!!!

We had a wonderful night that was filled with a TON of laughing, drinks, and some awesome Taco Soup. 

Mom and Peggy who have been friends for as long as I can remember!! 

And Laura and I, Peggy’s sister that has become so special to our family in the past few years! 

  

We are so lucky to have the 2 ladies in our lives, I love you both SOOOOO much!!!

This year hasn’t really been easy for my family on either side since I lost BOTH Grandpas’ this year.  For those of you who don’t know… my Mom’s dad died on January 29^th after having a tough battle with Cancer for the second time in his life and then my Dad’s dad died on September 30^th after he fell and couldn’t recover and never really woke up from it.  I definitely didn’t expect to lose BOTH Grandpas’ almost 8 months to the day exactly… I don’t think anyone expected that since both sides of my family are VERY close.  My Grandpas’ were good friends so it was very hard on our family.

Christmas is about life.  It’s about a baby born a long, long time ago to give us the chance to live… my grandpas lived.  Lived for HIM and they are still living today because of Him.  I can’t help but be happy about that, not sad and selfish that they aren’t with US this year but spilling over with JOY that they are with the one and only God that gave them eternal life! 

So that’s why I find peace in Revelation 21:4 today.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.

I hope everyone has a Christmas FULL of Love, Joy, Happiness, Cheerfulness, and so much more because we have a Father that came to earth only to die for our sins so that we could live for Him.  God bless, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! 

surprises....

On Friday night Peter and I had a Christmas party to attend at 7 but I didn't get off work till 6... of course that makes me a crazy woman rushing around trying to figure out what I'm wearing, messing with my hair and make up, all the normal just at extra fast speed.  

This also means that I'm not paying attention to Peter's large gift in the living room that was NOT wrapped.... 

Yes, it's appropriate to cringe right now because what you are thinking did happen.  He comes in the front door while I am almost ready to leave and after standing by the front door for a few moments he points behind me and calmly says... 

"What's that.....?"

My heart seriously dropped and I felt like everything was in slow motion, turning around to see his large box filled with a starter kit for brewing his very on beer!  I screamed NOOOOOO!!!!  And then tears started to fill my eyes and I turned back to see a HUGE smile on his face which  made everything a little better.  He was excited and surprised so I guess that's all I could ask for.  

And since he'd seen his large gift that was supposed to be opened LAST I might as well give him the rest of his Christmas gifts... so I gave him his set of 4 hand made Clemson Beer Mugs (that my mom dropped and broke 2 yesterday... she felt horrible but of course Peter didn't get mad) and then I gave him a beer bottle opener that's the same size as a debit card so it will fit in his wallet and he will never be without it!!  He doesn't carry a bunch of keys since he has a garage and all he ever needs his his car key so this was perfect!!  

I had it engraved with the quote above and it also has Christmas, 2010 below the quote.  

We went to the new bar in Greenville, The Carolina Ale House and they had the same quote written on the bar!!  Perfect opportunity for a picture we thought! 

I guess it wasn't the end of the world.... but definitely didn't want the gift giving to go that way!!  

Last night we went out on a double date with one of my best friends Madison and her sweet man, Andy!  It was a lot of fun!!  Before our date night I went to her house to have my hair colored and we were brave enough to chop the bangs as well.  We were very pleased and it turned out great!  

While we were getting ready Peter and Andy chatted and supplied us with a glass of wine and some cheese.  We are lucky ladies!  After the cheese and wine and some chitchat we headed downtown for dinner at Soby's.  DELICIOUS!  Then we went to the Carolina Ale House for some drinks since we wanted to see the new place.  It was pretty nice and had a great selection of Beer to choose from.  

So glad we got to spend some time with them before the Holidays! 

As for right now.... gotta go wrap some presents and head over to Peter's for lunch and my mini Eliya Christmas since Peter is leaving next week to head to NJ for Christmas.  Can't wait to spend the day with the family!! 

Sushi... and other important things!

I had a wonderful, weekly Sushi Date with Peter last night as usual but I was thinking about how I’ve never shared what we have each week.  That just can’t happen!  Sooooo… every week THIS is what I am craving first thing Wednesday morning when I wake up (I know… I think I have a problem) and sometimes on Tuesday nights (problem, yes… got it) if I am super excited about it. 

For those of you who don’t know, we go to Miyabi’s EVERY Wednesday night because it’s the BEST in Greenville and they also have their shipment flown in from Japan on Wednesday morning so we know that everything will be at it’s freshest.  Try and change my mind, many have tried but they never succeed because Miyabi’s is MOST DEFINITELY the BEST sushi in Greenville.  HANDS DOWN!

We start the Sushi Date night with an appetizer that’s FREEEEEE! 

They switch it up every week… beef, fish; raw, cooked… depends on what they want to give us.

Also, everyone has this… not just the special regulars. ;)

Then we move on to the most magnificent, scrumptious, BEST part!!!

The awesome Red Snapper Sashimi Salad.  AH!  

I want to eat it again right now just from looking at it!!!

Then we have the same 2 rolls every week because they could never become boring.  

The Mexican Roll and Peter’s Creation… the Snapping Turtle!

The Mexican Roll has Spicy Tuna with Avocado and Tempora Flakes… simple and tasty.  The Snapping Turtle (yes, Peter came up with the name as well) has Red Snapper and Avocado inside with sliced Tuna and hot sauce on top then Sesame Seeds.  The 2 rolls might seem like they taste the same but they are very different and OH so yummy!!! 

The last thing we have is our dessert!!!  Toro! 

It’s the “bacon of tuna” Peter says, hahaha!  Most places charge $15 or more for this IF they have it but Miyabi’s only charges $5 per sashimi serving… another reason they are the BEST!!!  

Also, on cold nights like this one we have a pot of hot Green Tea.  It’s a must!

Another Sushi lover that I met at Miyabi’s one night shared a secret with me and I can’t eat sushi any other way now.

First you place your desirable amount of wasabi in your bowl…

Then add the juice from a wedge of lemon… 

and then stir until the wasabi is mixed completely.

 After that add your soy sauce and ENJOY!  YUUUUUUMMO!

YAY FOR SUSHI!!!

On a serious note... if you haven't been to Miyabi's GO RIGHT NOW... if they aren't open, go very soon!  You will not regret it!  :) 

When we were finished with dinner Peter had to RUSH home because his new drum set for Rock Band was waiting for him... 

He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning!!!!  :)  It was so adorable!  But, seriously... it's a true LEGIT drum set!  Helping him put it together I was getting so pumped up because I couldn't wait to try it out!  Once we finished I watched him play set it up for me to play and when I finally sat down ready to play I picked my favorite song while Peter was busy upstairs.... next think I know he is RUNNING, and I mean RUNNING downstairs to inform me that I can NOT play that song because that's HIS favorite and only HE can play that one first.  I chuckled and kept playing and he just stood there staring at me... I turned to look at him and said "are you serious!?!?" .....he was.  So, I picked another song and enjoyed that one instead.  It was a ton of fun, definitely a lot harder than the older drum set but I can't wait to practice more!  After I was finished playing Peter got to play "His favorite song" so now I am allowed to play it once again. 

ALSO... Tonight was the SECOND Dinner Club with my favorite ladies and I.  2 had to miss it and 1 was a little late but it was still wonderful!!!  I truly LOVE them and I am so lucky to have such awesome girlfriends!!  

Here is the monthly picture with Jessica on the laps since it was at her house this time. 

bad to great!

Well… today was a little rough.  I woke up and did NOT want to get out of bed but I made myself after snoozing for around 30 minutes (I’m not lying) jumped in the shower and finally started getting ready.  I told myself, “Self… think positive thoughts!!!”  I tried, and I almost succeeded until I stepped into work.  I just did NOT want to be there!  Don’t get my wrong, I love my co-workers and I do love my job but I definitely had a case of the Mondays! 

One of my co-workers… the Head Teller Extraordinaire, Rebecca whom I love with my whole heart even asked me what was up with my snotty attitude!  hahaha!  I couldn’t help but laugh because I knew it was true!  So around 1:30 I decided that I was going to be happy and not be “snotty” for the rest of the day!!!  I had a nice cup of hot tea (that the wonderful Rebecca made me) and started reading some bible verses to encourage me and these 2 made all the difference!!   

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
  always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
  and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
  Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!  

Proverbs 3
1 My child,* never forget the things I have taught you.
  Store my commands in your heart.
2 If you do this, you will live many years,
  and your life will be satisfying.
3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
  Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
  Write them deep within your heart.
4 Then you will find favor with both God and people,
  and you will earn a good reputation.

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
  do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
  and he will show you which path to take.

After reading those and saying a prayer I felt so much better!  The rest of the day was completely different.  I got a lot of work done, helped my co-workers with a happy smile and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the girls from work at Blue Fin in Spartanburg!  It was soooo good!  

Wonderful glass of Sovereign Blanc and a tasty bowl of Shrimp and Grits!!! Not the best ever but it was definitely high on the list of.... 

"Best Shrimp and Grits EVER List"

1) High Cotton

2) Boulevard Diner 

3) Soby's 

4) Blue Fin

So, the day went from BAD to GREAT!  Lot of help from up above... and a little from a VERY yummy dinner and chat with my gals!