Friday, January 31, 2014

5 on Friday!

Last day of January, whaaa? Time is going by way too fast. Today is also the last day of the Inspire Me 2014 Challenge. 
Today's prompt is simply to say how 2014 is going so far

It's been a pretty good month. Nothing major to complain about. I said it at the end of December, but I feel like some good smaller things have happened that will turn into great things in the future. I feel that it's better to have smaller things happen to you then have one big thing happen. The reason for that is these smaller things can make you really think and make you enjoy whats to come. Anyway, here's a few things that happened this month:

1. My birthday - that's always fun! I turned 24.
2. A job - I might have the opportunity to volunteer somewhere which I'm excited about
3. School - it started last week. It's going well so far and I think Biology won't be as bad as I thought!
4. We've had some fun outings and have captured so many memories via pictures.


How has your month been? 
Thank you to everyone who has linked up with Lisa and I! \
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Now for some 5 on Friday!
-ONE-
My mom takes a photography class at one of the colleges around here and had to practice on sunsets. There's nothing like it!

The water was frozen over and made it look even prettier!
-Two-
Who watched Sean and Catherine's wedding?! Gorgeous. I always love the scenes when they plan the wedding. And their vows...oh my gosh! I've always wanted to write my own. Did you know Sean's sister has a blog of her own?! You can find it here. I also followed her on instagram to see pictures of the wedding!

-THREE-
I was tagged in a #widn and posted this. We went to Christmas Tree shop the other day and they had so many fun weekly planners/note cards. I love the one I got! I love all the sayings. And I can't forget my nice Zebra mug :)

-FOUR-
Speaking of Christmas Tree Shop, oh my gosh! I'm like a kid in the candy store when I go there. There's so much to see. We went to finish shopping for my Cara Box partner and I cannnot wait for her to see what I got. If you haven't participated in Cara Box, definitely do! There are sign ups starting in March over at wifessionals.

-FIVE-
Lastly, I posted this on Instagram and though I'd post it here as well. I'm participating in the Pay-It-Forward initiative and would love to send YOU some happiness and love this year! Please leave me a comment on this post saying you'd like to join and your email address. I will send you something special at any point during the year. A book, novelty gift, gift card..anything that I think suits you best! 



Linking up for

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Inspire Me 2014 Challenge - Men style

When coming up with a list for this January challenge, I knew I wanted to get Brian involved in some way. Maybe not by him actually writing something, but at least getting mentioned. I then thought of today's prompt:


Thursday January 30: Tell us something you always remind your husband/fiance/boyfriend about. For example “happy wife happy life.” Let’s face it, it’s fun to tease them!

We love the men in our lives, but you have to admit, you've used the "I'm a girl and I get what I want" saying more than once, right? I know I have. When Brian and I first started dating he learned this quickly. It's kind of cute because one of my cousins just turned 16 and is in the "young love" stage and has had a few "girlfriends" over the past year. Whenever we get together and chat about said girlfriends, Brian reminds him that "he should always remember that girls are always right,  no matter what." At first, Brian would argue that statement with me but has now learned there's no point. I promise I'm not that terrible, and try to play as fair as possible. While we as girls need to stick together, marriage is a partnership and both people need to think about the other's perspective and always try to consider the other.

While I always try to do that with Brian, I can't help but post things on his Facebook wall when I see fit. It makes for humorous conversation/comments among my family when they see it. Here are a few things I like to remind Brian of:

Ok, I don't think I'd be that mean but you do not want to mess with my chocolate!

When Brian saw this one he said "ok, well where's the list" 


It's the whole "I'm saying yes but am not paying attention"

Enough said....


This one is a little too mean but I found it funny

That's probably enough picking on Brian for one day.
Please link back to both Lisa and I

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Inspire Me 2014 Challenge - Only Photos - Our Disney Vacation

Today's Inspire Me 2014 prompt is a little fun today! I'm actually kind of breaking the "rules" already if you get technical!

Today's prompt is:
Only photos

I was trying to think of some awesome photos to share that I hadn't already, and then I realized I havne't shared any from our Disney trip in December. So...here are a few of my favorites!:


Hollywood Studios:
(Toy Store ride...so fun!)
(It was unreal!)

Magic Kingdom:
(So pretty! We ate dinner at the Royal table but weren't really impressed)

Epcot:
(Top left - it took 20 minutes to finish the sentence so I only took the first word)
(all of the countries at Epcot)

Chef Mickey's

Hotel:

Now it's your turn! What awesome photos do you have to share?
Please link up with both Lisa and I
Read the last two prompts here

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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

February Photo A Day Challenge and Inspire Me 2014 - Worst gift recieved

I wanted to take a moment to let you all know that my lovely blogging bestie and I announced yesterday via instagram that we will be starting a February photo-a-day-challenge! We've come up with so fun and unique topics and hope you'll join us! The challenge will start this Saturday February 1st. Here is the list of topics:

Come on over to my instagram feed @happinessblog3 to learn more!

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Now it's time to get down and dirty with today's Inspire Me 2014 topic!

Today's topic is:
The worst gift you’ve ever received

I was trying to think of gifts I've gotten over the years and couldn't really think of anything that was the worst. I've gotten gifts that I didn't really care for. The gifts that you have to open right in front of the person and give the fakest smile ever so you don't feel bad. But that's just me...things that I don't personally use but others do. So technically those couldn't be the worst. Then I thought about how I've gotten a nice sweater or something that isn't my size. That's always hard as well. When Brian and I first started dating and maybe for two years after, every time his grandmother would pick out an outfit for me for either Christmas or my birthday, she'd always pick like a small or something. I never said anything but the clothes obviously didn't fit. Bless her heart! 

It then came to me. I put it out of my mind due to the circumstances but I'll never forget it. I had went to a family party with an ex boyfriend. I feel like we did a yankee swap but because there were only a few of us there, the person that handed out the gifts kind of knew what she wanted to give each of us. 

I opened my gift and was startled to see that it was men's underwear. Um...what? At first I was confused and thought it might be a prank gift. Embarrassed was such an understatement. The woman finally got her composure from laughing so much and said that this was actually a gift for one of her sons for Christmas. At the time I was still young enough to not be as amused. So, I then got another gift. I opened it and it was a chia pet. I had never seen these before and had no idea what it was. I brought it home and looked it over but my parents and I are the type of people that like to stick with what we know and what we've done all along. This was something that I wasn't sure the benefit of. I'm the type that likes for something I get to actually have a purpose and I like to use it. So, this nice chia pet was put under my bed and that's where it stayed until we gave it away.  So, it may have not been the worst gift but it wasn't as practical as I would have liked.

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Tell us about a gift you weren't fond of!
Only a few more days! Find the remaining prompts here


Monday, January 27, 2014

Inspire Me 2014 Challenge - Pet Peeves

Happy Monday! I hope you all had fantastic weekends. I'm pleased (and a little saddened) to say this is the last week of the Inspire Me 2014 challenge. It's been a great month and I've loved all the "out of my comfort zone" posts that I have written for this challenge. It's not over yet though!

Today's topic is:
Monday January 27: The littlest thing can set us off. Right about a pet peeve and try to get creative!

I hate to say it but I have many pet peeves. We all do, I know, but depending on what it is, I get a little too impatient or annoyed by it and I don't like that. I've been finding that as I get older, things make me a little more antsy faster. If I had a penny for every time Brian said "you're so OCD" last year, I'd be beyond rich! 

My mom says that I don't necessarily have OCD, I just like things neat and looking good. In other words, I have high expectations than some but not as bad as others. I realize the things I do, whether it be mumbling something I dislike under my breath when in public or doing something around the house. I've been proud of myself because I've been able to back off a little with how "perfect" I need everything and I don't let things in public get to me as much. Instead of just writing one thing I've decided to write a few!

-one-
Leaving a shopping cart - I don't get it and I never will. How hard is it to walk your empty cart 5 spaces to a holder thing? It's amazing the positions and places people put their cart so that it seems "acceptable." I understand if you are an 80 year old and although you can go shopping alone, it's hard to move. If you are my age though? No way! My dad and I were watching one of those court shows the other day and the judge made the point that l

-two-
In the grocery store - I've started telling my parents that as they processed out of an isle they need to look both ways like they are driving a car. I've never driven a car but going to the store on a busy day pretty much sums up the experience for me. There seems to be no respectable ethic anymore. Weaving in and out of people, zooming by with a cart, not looking up long enough to realize it might be best to stop and wait a minute. Gosh, the list could go on and on! My dad dropped me off to go get milk yesterday. It took more time for me to walk through the store to get the milk than it did to wait in line behind 3 different people. No excuse mes, flying in and out of isles...I wish I could of been a fly instead!

-three-
I like the kitchen to look clean - I actually only started this one last year. Our kitchen is right in the middle of the house. The back door is attached to the kitchen and you can't get to the bedrooms, living room or dining room without going through it. And because of that I like to know it's presentable. When someone is making toast and then walks away, there might be tons of crumbs on the counter. These are so small you may not be able to really spot them but if I go and put something down, I really don't want crumbs sticking to whatever it is. Thank goodness for lysol. I wipe the counters and isle after every meal. You could put this under an OCD category really, but it just gets to me when crumbs and such aren't cleaned

-four-
Cleaning - I've mentioned before that I love organization and cleanliness. When having a man in the house, it makes this process every harder. One of my biggest pet peeves is when glasses that contained a drink or food bowls are sitting in different spots not being cleaned. I dont really understand why it's so difficult to bring things into the kitchen. I personally don't mind cleaning it all but at least bring it to me. And then there are the clothes and papers and little other things. The other day my dad and I came home to one of the dining room chairs being out, the table was a mess because the dog was able to jump onto it from the pulled out chair, and the laptop cord was still plugged in. It takes 5 minutes to clean. Clothes lay on a little stool I have in my room for days. The laundry is right downstairs and my mom is more than happy to do it all. It's very difficult to have to re-clean a room after I already cleaned it two hours before.

-five-
Always say thank you - I'm the type of person that always holds the door open for others. I hate when I"m about to go out a door behind someone and they let the door just shut in my face. The thought for others isn't the main goal anymore I guess. As I hold the door I always see if the person says thank you. I'm taking a minute of my time to do a good deed for them, the least they can do is acknowledge that. Reality? Most don't. They walk out without a care in the world. My dad told me once that he says your welcome either way. Even if they dont say thank you, you need to be the bigger person. I've done it many times that way and usually the people just look at me. 


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Lisa and I would love for you to link up with us! 
Please link back to both of us


Friday, January 24, 2014

Five on Friday and Inspire Me 2014 - Fashion

It's 8:36am (it's now 1:48pm and I'm just finishing this) and I've been up for over an hour. It's not even that bad, I know, but I'm not a morning person whatsoever. I set my alarm for 30 minutes before I actually have to get up but that plan never seems to stick. So, that leaves me with 1 single reason why I'm up this early....Biology. Yes, school started this week so it's back to reality. Today I have a two hour Biology lecture that I'm not so excited about. In the meantime, let's get to some Five on Friday to make the day a little brighter!

-one- 

Now that the holiday's are over and my birthday has gone, we've started eating healthier and are exercising more. Our schedules always seem to get in the way. Although that's not really an excuse, we can't exactly spend any time outside so we've settled on a 1 mile walk On Demand after dinner when we are all together. It's so much fun and the girl that instructs it mixes it up so we get the best workout possible! We've also gotten lucky and have found some really awesome lower fatty snacks that we love but normally have too many calories.

Amazing popcorn! A perfect combo of butter/sea salt yet still only 39 calories per cup. We found it at Sam's Club if you have one near you!


Leave it to Trader Joe's to come up with the best alternative!

-Two-
Our weather has been crazy this week. Last Saturday we got a big snow storm. We were only supposed to get 1-2 inches but got so much more that my dad was able to snow blow a few times. The roads were terrible with SO many accidents and spin outs. It was so so pretty though because all the snow stuck to the trees for about a day! Two days ago we were supposed to get about 4-5 inches and got a busting...go figure!


-three-
As I mentioned above school started on Wednesday. I'm taking two classes: Biology and Social Psychology. I know I will love Psych but am a little nervous about Biology. I have no taken a science class since Sophomore year of high school so I'm a little rusty and now the work load will be heavier then it was back then. We have a 3 hour lab on Wednesdays which should be interesting. I have a Bio lecture Friday mornings which is only an hour and 50 minutes but on Wednesdays I'm there from 10:45am-8:30pm. Crazy day!


Thankfully we have a lunch break! I'm LOVING my new planner too!

-four-
I've haven't posted a picture of this little rascal lately. He's been enjoying every ounce of sun we've been getting.

He found the only piece of sun at the time.


-five-
my parents have been wanting me to get a winter coat for awhile. I've worn coats int he past but am not a big fan of them. I feel like I can't really move around. Which is why I usually just settle on wearing a sweatshirt. They said it was going to be a birthday gift, so finally I agree to go look. I told them though that I would like a vest instead. That way I'm a little warmer but I can move around and wear a nice shirt underneath. My mom and I found a very nice one at L.L Bean yesterday and bought it. 
Ascent Packaway Vest
From the website. I love the color!


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It's also time for another day of the Inspire Me 2014 Challenge!

Today's prompt is: 
Friday January 24: Share some new trends/makeup/online shops you've found recently and include a few photos!

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Link up with Lisa and I and go explore!

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