All That Glitters is GOLD!

This past weekend I (with the help of my Mother) hosted a Pink, Glitter and Gold Baby Shower for my Sister.  She is having our first baby girl in the family and we could not be more excited!!!  I'm including this next statement, because something has been said to me more than once and I just think it's plain RUDE!  So you know what I say to those people?!

(This is probably my FAVORITE episode of Fresh Prince! LUB!!)

Although this is not my Sister's first child, my nephew will be SEVEN in June and he's a BOY!  Can't I just throw a Girlie Baby Shower?!  Frankly, if I want to host her baby shower, I WILL HOST HER A BABY SHOWER!  She is MY Sister and I don't care if she is having her 12th child (Don't even think about it, Steph!), do we really need a reason to host an event?! 

Moving on...

My BEAUTIFUL Sister and Me!  BEAUTIFUL!

Her Baby Shower was SWEET!  I chose the color theme, Pink, Glitter and Gold and RAN with it!  Mom, Steph and I painted and glittered these FABULOUS frames one Saturday and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way they turned out!  We made six 8x10 frames for $30!  SCORE! 

They Hydration Station Frame

Welcome to The Royal Celebration Frame and Glittered "K" for Kamille

 

     The Royal Feast Glittered Pink Frame

Here is a picture of the entry table that welcomed everyone to the shower.

  

The Hydration Station had the cutest water bottles and the BEST Nanny Punch! What's a party without Chevron Paper Straws?!  You know we had those too!

My Nephew, Koda... LOVE this kid!  He was also wearing a Prince Koda shirt.  ADORBS!

I knew there would be plenty of kiddos at this shower, so I made sure they had some fabulous yummies to enjoy! 

The cutest banner hung from the fireplace and more glittered frame with the CUTEST sayings for little girls!

Of course, we had to include a Long Live the Sweets table!  I LOVE sweets and I was going to have them!  So much pink, I could hardly contain myself.  I bought an ombre' shower curtain to hang behind the table and the most beautiful shade of pink filled her home.

 And if I hung an ombre' curtain, I HAD to have an ombre' cake!  I was strawberry cake, with a hint of almond goodness.  HELLO HAPPINESS!!!

My Sister LOVES rice krispie treats, she always has, so I made some just for her and dipped them in colored chocolate.

 Everyone filled out this card with their Wishes for Kamille, even her big brother.  His was SO SWEET!  That kid melts my heart!

 You can't have a party without favors and I can't host a party without Champs... So here's a picture of the Baby Shower Favors!  ADORE!!!

Of course my outfit had to coordinate with the shower, so here's a shot.  My Bestie quickly commented that I left out my shoes, but I can promise you I ROCKED me some gold wedges!  HOLLA!

 And here's a pic with my and the Hubby, just because he's so damn adorable!

 I loved every single bit of this shower, it was FABULOUS and filled with Pink, Glitter and Gold!  Now... I'm just missing a baby... Any day now.

Summer Bucket List - Link Up

Well...

  

Until NOW!  Holly and Trista are hosting a Link Up and well, I gave in.

I LOVE SUMMER!  I LOVE THE SUNSHINE!  I LOVE THE ICE COLD BEER!  I LOVE SITTING BY THE WATER!  I LOVE SUMMER!

Here Goes...

1. Continue eating healthy and working out... BORING, I know!

2. Our Beta Kappa Nu Annual Girls Get-a-Way is in June and I am SO READY for a get-a-way with my Sisters!

(Let's pretend TMIMITW actually said this to me!)

3. I WILL have my first niece this Summer and Miss America plans to LOVE on her and SPOIL her EVERY.SINGLE.SECOND I can!

4.  Complete one LARGE project at the house. 

5. Take two Texas trips with my boys!  Proud to be a TEXAN!  Vegas was in the books as it is annually, but I will be an Aunt this Summer and no way will I miss the birth of my baby!  I mean, my Sister's baby.

6.  Sit by the water and drink, drink, drink often. What's better than that?!  NOTHING!

That's all I've got for now!

Weekly Goals

Setting ACHIEVABLE Goals is key to Success!

This week, I've decided to set a few goals for myself... We'll see how it goes.

1st Goal and probably the most important to me: Record everything!  You canNOT out exercise a bad diet, so recording everything is a BIG deal for me.  It helps me keep track!  I love the phrase, "If you Bite it, Write it!" and i'll be doing just that.

Download the MyFitnessPal app... It's FREE!  NO EXCUSES!

Speaking of excuses... IF only they burned calories, but they don't!  This week my 2nd Goal is to get in 3 workouts that burn a minimum of 500 calories.  It's not as easy as you think!  Every workout might feel like you are burning a gazillion calories (and I wish you were), but your not.  Bummer, I know!  With the help of my Mio and Garmin, I am brought quickly back to reality.

Water is VERY important and Goal 3 this week is to continue to drink a minimum of 8 glasses a day.

Along with my 3 workouts, Goal 4 will be get in two Yoga sessions.  Yoga is GREAT!

 

After a Holiday Weekend, Goal 5 is to get my butt back on track!  I LOVE this reminder!  No matter what, you can ALWAYS get back on track. 

 

I am linking up with Jess over at Operation Skinny Jeans for this week's Weekly Goals Link Party! 

This is a great reminder that if you fall of track, set a few achievable goals for yourself and you're right back on!

Memorial Day - A Time to Remember

Memorial Day



This Memorial Day, before I grill and before I spend time with family and friends, I want to spend time giving Thanks for all of the men and women who gave their lives to protect ours. Without them, our lives would look a whole lot different.

Let's also not forget all of the families and loved ones they leave behind. Their gift to our country is every bit as great as the men and women overseas protecting us.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Life is Not a Competition

I want to start this post with saying that I AM a fan of friendly competition.  I enjoy it.  A sports game, a board game, a Spelling Bee... Bring it!  There is NOTHING wrong with a little friendly competition. 

Now... here's something that I've noticed lately.  It has become obvious to me that more and more people are comparing their lives to others.  They see a blog update about something fabulous going on and then get upset that it didn't happen for them.  When did we stop expressing happiness for others?!

  Then there are THOSE posts, we've ALL seen them, the fairytale, fantasyland living Facebook posts.

Do you REALLY think that people are going to share ALL of their ups and downs with you?!  HECK NO!  They want you to see the good, they want to embellish their lives and it's NOT to make it appear to you that things are better than they are, I think it's to make THEMSELVES believe that things aren't really how they are.

Let me say, sharing the downs in life is not as enjoyable as sharing the ups, but it's LIFE and that is what life is!  Full of UPS and DOWNS!  They mold you and make you who you are... BE PROUD OF THEM!

If you are motivated by what others are doing and get discouraged because you are not achieving the same results, traveling the same destinations, building the same house, rocking the same body or driving the same cars, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!  You WILL end up disappointed.  Refocus, because someone will ALWAYS have more and always appear to be better off than you, ALWAYS and let's face it... the things that you have right now in your life are the things that you prayed for at one time.  Enjoy them, because life is to damn short to live miserably!

My Best Friend has been on a workout kick for the last year and let me tell you... She is a BEAST!  Her workouts are tough and she gives them ALL SHE HAS!  I am motivated by her enthusiasm... I am not motivated by her results (even though I am SO FREAKING PROUD) and let me tell you why.  I will not achieve the same results as her, in the same amount of time and I will not get through the workouts she does in one piece and you know what, THAT IS OKAY!  I will give my workouts all that I have and I WILL obtain results if I stay focused.

Life is truly the journey and not the destination.  I'm learning this daily.  Life is NOT a competition... Stop trying to do better than others, stop trying to achieve their results, stop trying to be what they are.  The only person you should try to be better than, is the person you were yesterday.  If you do this, YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED!

Comparing yourself to others will only make you realize your own imperfections and insecurities.  REFOCUS!

Be proud of who you are!  Be proud of your ups AND downs!  Be proud that you are YOU and there is NO ONE else that could EVER compare!

And do you really want to get to the "Finish Line" before everyone else?!  :)

Prayers for Oklahoma

I don't have an update today,  because I've been glued to the television and watching the devastation taking place in Oklahoma.

My heart breaks for them and I just cannot pray enough.  The Lord is close to the broken hearted.

Donate what you can, but more than anything... pray!  Pray for peace and pray for strength and pray for comfort.

Lord of all, have mercy!

Weekend Wrap Up in Photos

This weekend was great... a low key, great weekend!

I started it off at what I like to call the "$150 bottle of shampoo store" (Target).  I wanted some new workout tanks and boy did I find them.  They keep me motivated, so I buy them.  Find what works for you and do it!  Rocking cute tanks... it works for me.  Target has some cute ones... get there NOW!

Speaking of Target...

 Can someone PLEASE explain this?!  A million lanes and TWO of them open.  Yes, those are LINES of people waiting to check out.  Seriously, Target?!

 Headed home for a quick workout and looked down and saw that I had burned 327 calories and decided to keep going to 350.  I looked down and saw that I had burned 362 calories and decided to go for 400... and here is where I ended up.  I might have a problem...

 After my workout, I cleaned up and headed to Margarita Mania with my boys.  We have been doing this every Friday for over 2 years and we LOVE it!  Just hanging out with my boys and talking, while enjoying great mexican food and margaritas... What could be better?!

Saturday Morning we woke up and headed to the track.  While Big D is the BEST support system in the world, his pace is KILLER.  I'm pretty sure I was near death.  I thought our fat was crying all over the pavement, but it turns out it was just tequila.

 We went to see my nephew's baseball game.  I would drop anything to spend time with this kid... He is my heart and I adore him.  His personality and cutie pie looks will get him in oh-so-much trouble one day.

 Big D took us out for Linner and we settled on a BIG, FAT, OOEY, GOOEY, JUICY Cheeseburger and Big D assured me that I had earned it.  Who am I to argue with him???

 Sunday was Beta Sigma Phi's Girl of the Year Tea hosted by my BEAUTIFUL chapter.  These girls always go above and beyond to make each event just fabulous and we succeeded again.  What a WONDERFUL day filled with great food, belly laughs and lots of champs!

Hope your weekend was filled with everything that keeps you happy!

Women – Build Me Up Buttercup

Why do women insist on tearing each other down? Don’t we know how HARD it is to be a woman? Why can’t we encourage each other, build each other up and praise each other?

Is it jealousy?

Is it unhappiness within one’s self?

What is it?

Growing up, the majority of my friends were guys. They were drama free, non-judgemental listeners and I loved it. Every bit of it!

However, I had a best friend in high school who was high-strung (we’ll call her High-Strung Holly) and although she was a great friend who experienced some of the most exciting things in my life with me, she exhausted me. High-Strung Holly is what I like to consider a Spazmatic and would fly off the handle in response to any situation that went awry. One night Big D had a poker party and didn’t contact her boyfriend to play. Big deal, whatevs, move on. YEAH RIGHT! Boy did I hear about it… Over and over and over again and after that… we didn’t talk anymore. Her decision, Not Mine and it was probably better that way.

I stood up for myself and that really seems to throw people for a loop, because I’m normally a go-along-to-get-along-girl. I didn’t need (I don’t need) that drama and did not deserve the lashing from someone who claimed to be my friend. Build each other up, don’t tear each other down!

(This is bologna... BTW)

I read an article recently, which stated that we become like the five people we hang around most. WHAAAT?! REALLY?! Do we?! Does that get you thinking? It definitely got me thinking.

In college I met a girl who I will refer to Negative Nancy. I did not realize how much we become like those that we hang around UNTIL I met Negative Nancy. I would share stories that made me happy, she would find something negative in them and y’all, I begin to think of the negatively too. The stories that she shared were rarely positive, but I enjoyed her company. Little did I know, I began thinking negatively too! After talking with others and MUCH evaluation, I decided (after trying 2 times before) that walking away from the friendship was best. I cannot even begin to explain the overwhelming sense of relief that I had. Positive things WILL happen when you distance yourself from the negative!

Moving on… I began surrounding myself with positive women, who wanted to watch me grow and truly wanted me to succeed and who told me they were proud of me and actually meant it. What a great feeling! There are still times that I have to take a step back and re-evaluate and I am not afraid to make changes if necessary, but I am truly blessed and grateful for the Positive Pattys in my life.

This is not something new… This is something that has been around forever and will continue to be around, but we don’t have to let it affect us. Find common ground. Praise each other. Encourage each other. Tearing each other down hurts ALL women. 

Today, try to encourage the women in your life.  Give them a compliment, bring a smile to their face, because I can PROMISE you that it will bring a smile to your face too!