Goodies!

So, my plans for this past weekend changed about 400 times before I actually decided on what to do. First I was going to visit Jenna, but then I realized I was overwhelmed with homework and the drive there, going out, staying the night, and driving back probably wasn't the best use o my time. Then I almost had to puppy-sit for Frank while my mom and Jim went to the casino. Then ended up not going, so that left me with an open weekend. Until Thursday. Thursday I was listening to the radio and heard about a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser where they auctioned off Bachelors and Bachelorettes. I convinced Matt to go but then, for reasons which shall remain nameless to protect the guilty, I did not go. THEN I was going to go to Bay City to visit people and go out with one of the girls that works in Ionia. Her bowling tournaments were in Bay City and I thought it would be a good time to head up there. But, Saturday morning, before I left for my hair appointment, Brenda called and asked me if I wanted to ride with her to visit Jenna and do some shopping. Initially I said no, but after thinking about it I realized I was crazy! Of course I wanted to shop and see Jenna (and maybe go to the casino)!! So after my hair appointment I headed over to Lyons and we set off for Farmington Hills.


We had a great time, as expected with the Lemke women. We went to Twelve Oaks mall, where I was about to walk out empty handed... until I glanced over at FYE and saw they had a ton of TV on DVD for $10 a season! I was thrilled because I saw Friends! But... lurking on the other side of the shelf was... GILMORE GIRLS! I've been wanting the series for quite some time now, so I figured this was the best time to get it. The sale ended up being $27 per series with a mail in rebate of $17 so the price is $10. So to get the actual $10 price it's going to take some work, but I figured I'd never find them for that price again. Here is my second favorite purchase of the day!
Yes, I said my second favorite purchase. My ultimate favorite purchase of the day would have to be my new red leather Coach purse. I LOVE IT! It's the perfect size for all of my stuff, with little compartments on the inside. And the straps are the perfect length to perfectly fit over my shoulder. I also picked up a purse and little coin purse for Lindsey for her birthday in August. She says she doesnt want to use them til her birthday, but I told her I couldn't guarantee they'd last in the tissue paper that long!

The lighting doesnt do it justice, but I still think it's pretty cute!

My favorite little man!

I was cleaning out my camera and I came across quite a few pictures of Carter so I figured they deserved a blog post. Seriously, how cute is he! For Christmas, I took him to Build-A-Bear so he could make a T-Rex. He was much more interested in running around and playing with the kids instead of actually building a bear...

Carter and Mommy!

Carter and I giving Rex a bath!

Typing up Rex's birth certificate!

Carter with the finished product! Rex with a yellow hard hat, just like Carter's!

I picked up this book at Borders called "I'm the Best Artist in the Ocean!" It was pretty cheesy but he seemed to like it. He read it over and over to himself and pointed out the blue and purple pages : )

What a happy face!

Reading it for about the fourth time

Carter and Ashley came over and surprised me today! Carter looked super cute in his lil' train conductor pants! Here he's looking at Justin's fish bubble thing and turned around when I snapped the pic. He kinda looks goofy, but he's still cute!

Watchin a little bit of Nemo!

Ashley and James bought me this beautiful necklace, "just because" they appreciate how much I love their baby. How nice is that (and how can I NOT love Carter!). I LOVE the necklace and can't wait to wear it! It's a beautiful diamond and sapphire pendant and it's very sparkly!!

GR weekend

This weekend I went to Grand Rapids for a little bit of shopping and drinking. The perfect weekend in my mind. I hit some amazing sales at Rivertown with Ashley and got to spend some time with Carter too : ) After shopping, Ashley and I met up with Matt to go out for some drinks with his roommate and friends. Luckily the pictures below were taken before I spilled cheese dip down the front of me... that's what I get for indulging in calorie-laden appetizers! Matt introduced me to my new favorite cheap wine: Arbor Mist Blackberry Merlot. YUMMMMY! A few glasses were the perfect pre-drinking libation. And then, Matt's friend TJ introduced me to a Hypnotiq martini, which basically added Hypnotiq to one of my favorite drinks- Malibu and pineapple juice. The result was VERY tasty and it didnt take me long to reach my 2 martini max at O'Charley's.

I love how Matt's hair looks red in this pic. We were making fun of it all night. And NO, we are NOT dating. I swear, if I had $1.00 for every person who's asked me that in the last week I would be rich.

One more down...

Well... I finished my 5th of 40 books for the year. My latest conquest was The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. My first impression was that it was a "boy's book" and that I would be bored by the content (plus it smelled bad, but I guess that's a risk you take with library books). It's actually an interesting look into the hierarchy of an all boys Catholic school, complete with a secret society. The writing was fabulous, and although I've never been a teenage boy, I can imagine it's written from a very realistic perspective. The best thing about this book is also the worst, and that's the ending. It was not what I expected and not what I wanted to see, but the more I think about it, the more I understand what Cormier was trying to convey, and the more appreciative I am of the book. It would be interesting to teach to a group of students... the lesson plans are already forming in my mind!

I'm a big loser...

So... like I said before, we're doing a Biggest Loser competition at work. Well, today was our first weigh in, and I was the Biggest Loser (so far)! I had a 5.2 pound loss, which blew my mind. I was pretty excited though : )

AND- I got a new workout DVD (I only have one that was unpacked and I'm sick of it). I was at Meijer Sunday and saw a whole selection of exercise DVDs that all looked fun/ass kicking. Well, I ruled out anything that had the word "dance" in the title. I'm super clumsy and uncoordinated, so I figured I'd just get frustrated with something like that. I settled on Skinny Bitch Bootcamp and I love it so far. I've only done it for 3 days, but I could definitely feel it today! There is some great cardio mixed in with sculpting/toning exercises. Plus, they have it broken down into 5 minute segments which I'm thinking will be great for the mornings I have to work in GR and I've got limited morning time. The hosts are great and tell it like it is. Of course, they were both models, so that's a little annoying, but it's forgivable : )

And... on another note- One of my friends is getting married in November. Actually, her wedding wraps up my 9 weddings in 13 months. Today she sent me a facebook message with a link to the probable dress I will be wearing. I LOVE IT! I love the style, the color, everything! Here's a sneak peek:

Isn't it beautiful! I can't wait for her wedding and I'm honored that she chose me to be one of the girls standing up with her!

I did it!!

After 2 weeks I've finally finished the Twilight saga and added another completed book to my list of 40! YAY! Yesterday afternoon I turned the last page of Breaking Dawn. It was better than I expected, but a little science-fictionish for me. The suspense was great, the characters were amazing as always, and I was pleasantly surprised with the ending. One of the good things about finishing the saga is that now I can concentrate on my school work! I was so distracted with finishing the 3rd and 4th books this week that I left all of my school reading for today. Yeah... I'm nose deep in western expansion, basic psychology, the makings of our political system, The Chocolate War, and how to evaluate adolescent literature. Obviously I've taken a break to update my blog, facebook-stalk, and catch up on some TV I missed while reading Breaking Dawn.

Another thing that's been keeping me from my studies: Etsy.com. If you've never checked this site out, DO IT! Right now! It's like eBay for crafters. There is so much homemade and handmade stuff for sale on this site that it's completely overwhelming! From jewelry to home decor to paper products to clothing, this site has everything. It's amazing how talented some of the people are! I was shocked the first time I perused the site.

One of my favorite things are the handmade greeting cards. Check out KandRdesigns for some fabulous ideas. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, wouldnt it be nice to surprise your special someone with something other than a store bought card? This is perfect for people who want a personal touch but lack the creativity or time to do it themselves. How cute is this- seriously!?

Or, for those of you who know someone who will be having a new addition to the family, browse littlebellabean for some super cute, super trendy onesies, blankies, and burp cloths. Check out this adorable little blanket set!

Anyways, I didnt mean for my blog to turn into a commercial, but I just thought I'd share some things that have caught my eye lately. So, go ahead, check out etsy.com - I dare you to NOT find something you think is adorable!

A little catch up...and a little fun!

Ok, I've only been blogging about things for which I have pictures and I've decided I don't want to limit my blog to only those events where my camera is handy! I'm going to try to blog two or three times a week about whatever is on my mind, or something that catches my eye. Now... I'm not going to promise that I'll stick to this goal, but I'm going to TRY my hardest! So- here goes! This is what's on my mind today:

• I have an addiction. And it's Carrie's fault. I'm addicted to blogs about weddings!! I'm NOT even close to being married, and I'm not necessarily trying to pre-plan my wedding, but for some reason I just love looking at pictures and decor for weddings. I'm sure some of my future blogs will feature things I've seen on the tons of blogs I follow.
  
• I'm trying to keep up my New Year's Resolution of reading 40 books in a year, and so far I'm doing OK. I've read three books - Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. These are all from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer and I was very reluctant to jump on the bandwagon. More or less, I thought they would be stupid and I hated all of the buzz the books were creating. But, then I realized that as a future high school English teacher, I should bite the bullet and read books that are relevant and interesting for that age group. Well, I'm glad I did because the books are amazing. Not only are they well written and suspenseful, but Meyer writes teenage angst as if the characters' minds were speaking out loud. I can see why teenagers have devoured these books (no pun intended)- they're exciting and different from most other book series out there. If you've got some time on your hands and can handle reading about teenage romance, I would recommend this series to you!
• At work we started The Biggest Loser for the next 12 weeks. I'm going to WIN! All of us at work are counting points and encouraging each other to get healthier. We're only about 2 days in, but I can definitely say that it's going to be a lot of fun. Hopefully after 6 weeks I'm still saying it's fun... I'll keep you posted on my progress : ) I'll also let you know if I find any yummy healthy recipes!

I guess that's all for now... I've got lots of homework to do before next week, and Breaking Dawn, the last Twilight book, is calling my name! Stay tuned for a new update!

Now for a little fun- This is something I saw on one of the blogs I stumbled upon. The poster posted 7 things about herself, and then tagged 7 people to do the same. Unfortunately, Carrie is the only person I know who reads this, sooooo TAG! Carrie- you're it! I expect to see 7 fun things about yourself posted on your blog soooooon!

1. Like I said before, I'm addicted to wedding blogs! Photography, invitations, table settings, cakes... I love everything!
2. Also like I said before, I'm on book 4 of 40 for the year in my New Year's resolution, which happens to be book 4 of the Twilight series
   
3. One of my hopes for myself is to become an amateur photographer (after I'm done with my teaching degree of course...) and decorate my future house with my own photography
4. I think I'm in love with Chocolate and Oat Fiber One bars as a snack... and the cereal is pretty good too!
5. I love postsecret.com and onesentence.org. For some reason, I love hearing about other peoples' lives and experiences. The postcards on the former site are sometimes hilarious and sometimes shocking, but always beautiful. The sentences on the latter sum up a story in only one sentence. It's amazing the emotion that can be conveyed in just a few words.
6. I'm loving Matt Nathanson's music! Download him now!
7. I discovered that I like peppermint tea- Thanks Matt! (even though I'm sure you dont read this...)

K Carrie- it's your turn!