Anxious on a Thursday

I'm sitting here at work trying so VERY hard to stay on task.

It's not working.

But shh.... don't tell my boss. sigh.

As I mentioned yesterday I'm off to see my orthopedic surgeon today. Why might you ask? Well...my knee has been feeling funny.

Here's what I'm telling my doctor about my knee: it will sometimes pop constantly....but not a good pop but lots of little grinding pops never feels better unlike when i pop my hip or something THEN sometimes it feels like it needs to pop - there's all this pressure and it won't pop, but instead feels like there is a partially blown up balloon - you know the kind that you can't squish and pop but you squish and it just changes shape? yeah. my knee feels like that sometimes.

sigh. Here's hoping my doctor has some answers for me.....

Let's move on to other things to keep me distracted shall we?

• Soldier Boy is the BEST boyfriend. I like him lots and lots. Last night he asked me if I'd go on a date with him Friday night. ;) I said yes, of course. 

• My bright pink shoes? Yeah...they're AWESOME. see for yourself:

• I get to blog for work now. If we're real-life friends you've probably seen the links on Facebook. I'm cool like that.

• I'm kind of loving social media everything at work right now. It keeps me sane.

•  I'm not going to lie: I've been loving the super nice, super warm weather we've been enjoying round these parts. I hate to see it go in the coming days.

• The Tulip Festival? So much win! Loved it!

• This weekend is going to be fun....I hope. ;) I'm just excited that the weekend is basically here. :o)

So there you go. Stay tuned for the post-appointment update. :P Prayers would be great! See you on the flip side!

half way

hey there. it's been a long week so far, and it's only Wednesday.

Yesterday was rough. I'm sorry I didn't get to a tender mercies post - I haven't done one in a while and I think I need to remember to take time to pause and reflect on the blessings I have been given as of late. So hopefully you'll see something next Tuesday. :o)

Last night my classes were missing over half the students. In both of them. With only seven weeks until the show and the year-end dances no where near being done...I'm starting to get a little stressed out. gah. That's the one thing about teaching advanced classes - the girls are all older and in high school and trying to do everything under the sun because they CAN and because they want to have the best possible resumes to get into colleges. bah. This is when I am grateful my mom made me choose just ONE thing to focus on. :o) Hopefully I have all the girls in class in the coming weeks. :P

I bought some bright pink sparkly TOM knockoffs....they are uber adorable. :o)

I get to go spend the evening with Soldier Boy tonight. I always look forward to my evenings with him - they rock my world. :o)

My coworker and I are sitting on exercise balls at work today. :o) It's fun. For now. Hopefully this bodes well for my figure. ;)

Finally, I'm going to go see my orthopedic surgeoun tomorrow. Remember him? He gave me bad news....he gave me good news. I'm hoping for good news tomorrow. See...my knee has been doing this weird popping thing as of late.

Day 8: Dress up a Coat

Well...here we are, Day 8 of the lovely 10 day challenge. I'll admit that it is going MUCH faster than the last challenge, although a part of me is going to miss it. I really enjoy someone else telling me how to dress. (Sometimes. Not all the time.)

Anywho, I didn't really feel like dressing up my every day coat - because most people really wouldn't get to see it and that thought made me sad. :( But then I had the brilliant idea to dress up my suit coat! I love, love, love my suit coat.

Before I dressed it up:

This suit coat was purchased by my mom, for me, a bazillion years ago from Walmart. (I think.) It was also long-sleeved. Well....I didn't ever really wear it - the sleeves were a little on the short side and I just didn't love it. THEN one day I got all crazy sauce, whacked off the sleeves and then hemmed them. NOW I LOVE this jacket and wear it way more often. It's fun. :o)

The whole she-bang outfit:

I added this AWESOME flower to the lapel of my jacket (safety pin to be able to clip this flower onto. :o) ) Pencil skirt from JC Penney, tights (see below) from Forever 21 and my favorite bright pink heels.

the details:

These are some awesome paisely/fishnet tights that I paired OVER a pair of bright pink tights. LOVE this look. I'm a huge fan.

Overall...I loved adding the flower to my jacket! It totally made the outfit pop just a little bit more than it normally does. WOO HOO!

Thursday Things

It has been one insanely crazy day at the office, but I just wanted to leave you with a few things before taking off for the weekend. (you'll probably still see my outfit post for tomorrow, but that's about it!)

• Soldier Boy called me last night. It was another 2ish hour conversation. I'm a fan of him.

• Work is crazy.

• changes are coming to my job at work - I get to start helping out and collaborating on everything social media for my company. Facebook, Twitter, Blogging (!) - I'm REALLY excited about it.

• I was on the phone a lot at work today - it was ringing off the hook

• During my (later than normal) lunch break, Solider Boy texted me with this remark: :) 6 hours!!! 

• To say I was giddy about seeing that text was an understatement.

• I've been counting down for the past day.

• Things that are happening this weekend include: dancing the night away with a really cute boy, getting a good night kiss, shoe shopping (desparately needing new black flats), and dress shopping.

• Also, I think we're going to the some hot springs somewhere local. We'll see if that goes down.

• Dress rehearsal at the studio is happening on Saturday. Joy. :P

• ZUMBA! Saturday morning! If you want details on the FREE class that my 2nd counselor is offering, let me know. ALL are welcome! (unless you're a creepy stalker. then probably not.)

Sounds fun, right? I'm just excited to get to spend more time with Soldier Boy. Our phone conversations in the past couple of nights have been FANTASTIC and I know that this weekend is going to bring good things. :o) catch ya on the flip side!

How I deal....

I can usually handle a break-up pretty well. usually being the key word.

This time around has been interesting since I saw the other side of breaking-up. I have found myself still going through the same grief cycle and what not.

First thing that's always on my agenda? New shoes. Oh and did these new shoes deliver...please observe:

Hot, no? I am so in love with these gold glitter stilettos. They make me tall, add some pizzaz to any outfit and are just plain AWESOME.

Next thing on my agenda is to immerse myself in crafty projects and hang out with all my friends. Done and done. I finished my sister's wedding gift (a wedding album of everything from their wedding. I am so awesome) and gave it to her this weekend. I hung out with Surfer Boy and other peeps from my ward and basically just had a fun time.

The next thing that usually happens after a break-up is that I begin to miss having a boyfriend but don't necessarily miss the boy I was dating specifically. I am currently in that phase. It is always a hard phase to get out of, but I will persevere. :o) Today I'm doing that by reminding myself of the awesomeness through a few quotes. Enjoy and have a marvelous Martin Luther King Jr. Day (I SO wish I had the day off. :( )

The Versatile Blogger

Today I feel  very honored. Maggie B. from Finding Myself awarded me with this little blog award. In all of my six years of blogging this is the very first award I have ever received!

There are some rules to this whole award business and they are as follows:

1. Link back to the blogger that originally awarded you
2. List out 7 things about yourself
3. Give this award to 15 other *newly discovered* blogs

 I have posted several get to know you things over the years and as I sit here thinking of 7 things I'm not sure if I've told you these things in the past or not. However, it's my blog and I really don't care. ;) ha. so there.

1. I love to eat cake for breakfast. When it's my birthday and I make (or my sister makes) a cake I always make sure to have some leftover for breakfast the day after. :o) I don't care if it makes me fat. I'll run an extra mile for that cake.


2. I love running through the grass barefoot but 9 times out of 10 I prefer to wear socks when in the house. Odd, I know. 


3. I have to always have chapstick with me. Preferably of the Natural Ice variety. I think I have about 5 sticks right now all in different places so that I always have some within reach.


4. I can totally get ready in ten minutes or less. I might not look amazing, but I can do it.


5. Try as hard as I can, I can't seem to make a boy wait for me when he comes to pick me up for a date. Seriously, I'm such a good time manager (humble I know) when it comes to getting ready that I am ALWAYS ready JUST as they are ringing the doorbell or even 5 minutes before. I even TRY to start getting ready later just so I can make them wait just a little bit...it doesn't work. Even when I was dating SwingKid it didn't work. 


6. I have a thing for gorgeous shoes. I love shoes. A lot. 


7. Lately there are some days that I really wish I had a boyfriend and then there are other days when I am SO glad that I am single. 

There you go. Seven, VERY random things about me.

And now for me to dish out this award to other people. I admit, that I am very much stalker when it comes to reading blogs. There are so many random people I follow. Now, I am bending the rules just a little bit. Like Maggie, I don't have 15 versatile, *newly discovered* blogs that I felt like I could award this blogging award to at this time.So, I'm only awarding this award to four people. I know! It's not very many and not even a third of the "required" amount. But....I don't think there is any blogging policemen out there who are going to come and take my award away and really this is a great way for YOU to meet new bloggers! Exciting, right?! s (also, some of them I may or may not have been following for a while and they may or may not know that! ;) ) so the peeps I'm giving this award to are as follows:

1. Meg from "The Adventures of Me" This girl...I find her so full of awesome. She's straightforward, honest, blunt and tells her stories THE BEST WAY. Love stalking reading her blog.


2.  jessie jean from "messie jessie." I LOVE this girl. She's a former ballet student of mine (HI SWEETIE!) and I've just "come out" and let it be known that I read about stalk her life. She'll appreciate that I'm sure. ;)


3.  Rasha from "and this is what She said" I might or might not have commented on her "tell me a secret tuesday" meme and I amy or may not have commented before...regardless I love her thoughts and little notes she posts. she's adorable.


4.  Kayla from "Freckles in April" She recently hosted my favorite part about the month of August - the 21 Day Challenge (maybe you saw some of my posts on that? ha!) I think she's a great example of someone who is a mom and stays up to date on fashion and what not. Also, she's super nice!

So that's it! Huzzah for getting an award!!!! :o) Have a great hump day all y'all.

It a new day, a new dawn....

and I'm feelin'.....good! Oh my. I just love Michael Buble. He makes my heart quiver with joy. He's the best. :o)

I am seriously feeling so good right now! Part of that is because I got my hair done last night and I just love it. I went a dark, chestnut brown with red highlights and new bangs and it just looks fantastic, if I do say so myself. Let's move on to some Thursday things shall we? I have plenty for ya!

• Not only do I have new hair, but on Saturday I am going shopping with Sister B to get a few new items of clothing. Life will be good with new elements to my wardrobe. :o)

• Speaking of wardrobe, I am LOVING the 21 Day Challenge! It has been SO fabulous for me and I'm discovering new ways to wear things that I already have in my closet. It is rocking my socks!

• Speaking of the 21 Day Challenge, today is Day 11 and the challenge was to wear a dress or skirt. Easy enough! I love wearing skirts, especially during the summer. Keeps me cool. :o) Today I not only wore a skirt, but I went with remixing my item from Day 1. So without further ado, my outfit:
  

  

  {skirt: my roommate's from Gap, shirt: Kohls/DownEast, belt: Papaya}

  
  

  I sort of love this...Tucking in this shirt does feel weird and I feel like it does funny things...sort of. Overall, I like it. I added a pop of color with my bright pink heels (which you can't see). I almost wore my pink belt that I have...but it just didn't flow right.

• I love pencil skirts (which is what I'm wearing today.) They make my heart happy.

• I don't work tomorrow. This makes me SUPER happy.

• I am teaching my company for the first time tonight and I'm rather excited. It will be fun times for sure.

• I've mentioned this a few times this week, but I just can't contain my excitement. I'm going dancing tonight!!! Oh yes! This just might be the highlight of my week!

• I'm in love with Instagram. It is so fun to play with.

• I went grocery shopping last night and then made taco meat. I froze some of it for future meals and then ate a taco salad. Yummy.

• Work is insane. It's driving me crazy.

• This week's running schedule is sort of crazy. I'm trying to decide what is going to work best. It's a little up in the air.

• However, going running means I get to wear my awesome new, bright pink running shoes and that just gets me all excited.

• I have tickets to a UVU Volleyball game tomorrow night. I want to go, but not by myself. I need to find a friend to go with me.

I think that's all for now. Pretty much, I am loving today - even if work is insane and driving me to be slightly cynical. :P Oh well...c'est la vie!

Tender Mercy Tuesday - 35th Edition

I have been thinking a lot the past few days on what I wanted to post about for my Tender Mercy Tuesday today. I was struggling with finding something to share that would be appropriate, but nothing was coming to mind. Then yesterday happened. Friday was a really awful day at work and I was not looking forward to coming into work yesterday. However, I knew that we should be fully staffed and that would make a huge difference from Friday where I was the only customer service specialist in the office. Well...my one coworker called in sick. So we were only partially staffed yesterday. It ended up being an okay day - and I attribute it to the fact that I was able to find the good in things as the day went on. This isn't always the easiest thing in the world to do, but finding the good in life has always been a talent of mine and I was glad I was able to put it to good use yesterday. blessings. :o)

In other news: I bought new running shoes last night. They are hot pink and full of awesome. See?

I think they made me run better last night than I would have otherwise. :o) After a 2-month hiatus from the gym, I got my butt on the treadmill and pounded out Day 1 of Week 4 of the Couch 2 5k program. With my warm up/cool down this is what the treadmill said I did:

I feel pretty good about that. I'm a little sore this morning, but as I saw my pink shoes on the floor of my bedroom, a part of me wanted to go running again today! Even though today is not a running day. :o) I think the pink shoes are going to be good for me! huzzah!

Finally, today is Day Nine of the 21 Day Challenge. I took a HUGE risk today and I'm pretty sure I look like some sort of vegetable today, but I wanted to push the envelope on Monochrome outfit day. So...without further ado, my outfit:

{skirt: made for my sister's wedding by my mom, jacket: BYU bookstore, shirt: DownEast bracelet: Gardner Village. not pictured: headband sash made to match skirt and earrings: green discs from claire's}

I'm pretty sure I look like a green bean, or lettuce or something. I am not sure I'd ever wear a monochrome outfit like this again...but who knows. maybe? I'm just not sure how I feel about it. I can wear mostly black, mostly brown all the time, but any other color and it makes me nervous. sigh. Anyways. There's Day 9!

It's Tuesday, and that means first day of ballet classes! woo hoo! Here's hoping you all have a great second day of the week! ciao!

Wednesdayness

In past years I haven't really been a fan of Wednesdays. They just aren't usually the best of days. Last Wednesday was a decent day - it was my first day off during the week that I'd had in a long time. Today's Wednesday has started off dealing with a ticked off customer and moved into lots of tasks to accomplish. I'm hoping the work day moves quickly so I can get into performance mode. Last night's show felt like a glorified dress rehearsal (aka a dress rehearsal with a sold out audience - well....almost sold out) but it went well for the most part and it's a different feeling inside the de Jong concert hall vs the outsideness of the SCERA Shell. I will say this - dancing on a real floor is nicer than concrete although it is different to turn on and I wasn't amazing last night. I will be better tonight!!!

In other news it is Day 3 of the 21 Day Challenge. Today's challenge? Mixing patterns. Oh man was I ever so nervous for this challenge! Like my dear friend Hilary, mixing patterns scares the bejeebers out of me. Something I realized last night as I was planning my outfit...I don't wear a ton of patterned clothes. At least, not patterns that can mix with each other - meaning they are completely different color schemes, etc. BUT! I did find an outfit that I actually like quite a bit and I'll probably wear it again in the future. So without further ado.....I present my Day 3 outfit

skirt: custom made by my mommy, top: Kohls/downeast tank

So this is a pale blue skirt with emobroidered flowers all over it - the thread goes from white light blue, to teal, to dk blue to black. The top is teal, blue, yellow, aqua and white. I love both these pieces but usually pair the skirt with a plain blue, teal, or black top and the top I usually pair with black slacks or pencil skirt. As nervous as I was for this outfit, I very much like it. I feel confident, sassy and cute. I would have paired it with my awesome teal heels, but my feet are tired from the show today so instead I went with my black gladiator sandals instead. :o)

Happy Wednesday all y'all! Have a great day!!

Thursday Things and such

*yawn* Hi friends. I am a little on the sleepy side. That seems to be the story of my life these days. I keep attempting to get myself to go to bed early...but alas, it just doesn't seem to happen like ever. Oh well. I must be living life right? or maybe I'm just crazy. ;)

Let's see what awesome things are on my brain today shall we?

• I am so glad that it is a holiday weekend. I am very much looking forward to sleeping in on Monday. :o)

• Also, because of my awesome work schedule I have a 3-day weekend, a 3-day work week, followed by another 3-day weekend. What follows then is a 5-day work week and then a whole week off (my "vacation") for my sister's wedding/the end-year show. I can't believe it's coming up that fast. Gah.

• I feel like I have 500 things to do. I really don't have that much to do, but it feels like I do. le sigh.

• My iPod touch came in the mail this week! It is so fancy and shiny. I am in love with it.

Doesn't it look shiny? sigh. I think it is going to make my life way easier. We shall see!

•  Also! I bought shoes for my the wedding. Finally. It only took me ages to find something I liked and that went with the outfits we are wearing. :o)

see?! aren't they super cute? I'm rather excited to wear them and stuff.

• Sister B has her bridal session tomorrow. It should be fun times! I'm rather excited to see how they turn out and what not. 

• I am not happy that it is supposed to rain this weekend. I just want sunshine and happiness! Is that too much to ask?

• I'm singing a solo in church here in a few weeks. EEK! It's part of a choral number...but still. Me. A Solo. :P

• I am making new friends in my ward. I love friends. People to do things with! Hurrah!

Basically...that's my life. The end-year recital + the wedding are slowly taking over - but everything will be said and done in 3 weeks + 2 days. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself at that point - but I'll probably play!! A lot!! :o)

Have a great Thursday friends!

TGIF

Seriously guys. It has been a rough week. I haven't gotten much sleep (purely my fault) and work has been absolutely nuts and I've been going crazy!!!

My plans this weekend are low key, but I'm excited for them.

Ugh. I'm having a hard time wanting to blog today. Like I said, it's been a rough week.

How about some Friday Fill-ins? ok? Ok!

1. I know that this week was just a fluke. Next week will be better.

2. I want to get lots of sleep tonight, if at all possible.

3. This weather has been great for picnics in the park..

4. I still need shoes for my sister's wedding. This could be a problem.

5. I'm really happy I have the ability to dance. Makes me happy to just let loose sometimes.

6. I'm wishing for a remote for life so I can fast forward the crappy parts, or something to that effect.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to cleaning, laundry, and Disney movies, tomorrow my plans include rehearsal and former-Roommate E's wedding reception and Sunday, I want to read a book on a blanket outside!

in the meantime...I wish I had someplace like this to runaway to....have a good weekend loves!

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once upon a Thursday

Good morning my dear internet friends! I hope you're having a lovely day. So far mine has been just splendid. I have just this work day + a one hour ballet class and it will be my weekend. Hurrah!! It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend and THANK GOODNESS. I haven't had a beautiful weekend (weather wise) in SO LONG. I plan on spending lots of time outside and in the sunshine. :o)

Anyways...it's time for some Thursday things!! dun de de de dun!!!

• I went to the SLC Temple with HiccupMel last night. It was such a fabulous time. I love going to the temple. Going with a friend was the most marvelous thing.

• Speaking of HiccupMel, today is her Birthday!!! Make sure to visit her and wish her a happy birthday.  I will be forever grateful to Chillygator for introducing me to HiccupMel. I'd be without a very good friend if it wasn't for Chillygator. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HiccupMel!

• I'm getting my car washed this weekend and vacuumed. It needs it so desperately. 

• It's pay day.

• I love pay day.

• I'm going to Blue Tango tonight. I'm rather excited. I love Blue Tango.

• There are 6 weeks FROM TODAY until Sister B's wedding. There is so much to do and I might die between now and then. 

• I don't want to die.

• I still need shoes.

• Hiccupmel suggested I look for nude colored shoes instead of white ones to match my outfit. I think she might be a genius.

• Work has been crazy this week. My brain has been used SO MUCH. I'm ready to have a day off and not have to think too hard.

• I need to go grocery shopping.

• Today is Cinco de Mayo. Celebrate!

• I wore my brand new hot pink peep-toe heels yesterday. I feel so sexy wearing them that I wish I could handle wearing them all the time. They are just that AWESOME.

• Speaking of awesome, I apparantly really like that word because in my post yesterday I managed to say "It was awesome" no less than 6 times. Man, I think I need a thesaurus. ha! 

• We now have a disco ball hanging in my office. This makes me all sorts of giddy.

• Did I mention that tomorrow is my day off? Because it is, and I am very much excited for it.

Finally, an awesome picture that my mom sent me:

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Well folks, I hope you have the most marvelous day!

High on Laughter

Sister B and I went shoe shopping again last night. We're still pulling a big fat nothing when it comes to shoes for her wedding. We keep thinking we've found something and then they don't have her size or the right color. It's so lame-sauce! Here's hoping we find something tonight. :P

When I took her home last night we ended up sitting in my car for over an hour talking and having SO MUCH FUN. I love that girl. I am so glad that I'm related to her. She rocks my socks.

Look how cute these  bookmarks are:

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I totally want to make some of them. I'm always looking for cute and easy to use bookmarks.

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I love this quote. Isn't it just the greatest? I want to live my life right that once is enough for me. I went to a funeral yesterday for an amazing man. He most definitely lived his life right enough that once was all he needed to do things right.

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I am SO ready for Summer. Summer = sunshine and butterflies. I need some sunshine and butterflies right about now. My brain is so scattered with all sorts of things with work and oh my goodness....craziness!!! :P