Sly Fox

Sooo glad that tomorrow is finally October, one of my favorite months ever! Anyway, Friday was my endocrinologist appointment, and it went so well! The doctors were responsive and ordered more testing than any other doctors I've seen for these problems combined. So Friday night I had to take some pill at 11pm, then go get lotssss of bloodwork between 7 and 8am Saturday morning #fun. Oh, and all day Saturday I had to do a 24 urine test... I won't get into any more details because it would seriously be TMI. I just hope for all that I get some answers, fingers crossed!

Our wedding venue has finally been completed, so on Friday night my parents, Brian, and I actually got to see it all finished for the first time and it did not disappoint. These iPhone (6!!! it finally came!) pictures don't do it justice. The venue also has a little restaurant so we ate there and the food was so good! I seriously cannot wait for our wedding, it's going to be awesome!

 The barn is where we are having our reception, tell me it isn't gorgeous?! Oh, and we will actually be using more rustic, square, wooden tables (you can see them a little bit up in the loft area). There's another loft area on the other side, and we won't actually be having any seating up there... this was set up for a 190 person wedding, ours will be closer to 100. Where that huge table is will be the dance floor at our wedding!

The fireplace and huge patio area is gorgeous and is where our cocktail hour will be!

I didn't take a lot of pictures of it but the bridal suite is gorgeous! It has an awesome bathroom, lots of nice seating, mirrors, and it's so big and private, I love it! 

Hmm what else did I do this weekend? Went to Walmart (twice), went to church, watched a bunch of Lifetime movies, and my mom and I got matching dachshund PJs at Kohls. Be jealous, they're adorable. Plus I got a bicycle shirt, a new bra, and Snoopy socks. I know.

Oh and something super creepy happened. I noticed my air pressure light on my dashboard was on Saturday morning, so Brian checked the pressure and sure enough there was a screw in my tire. Luckily it was a slow leak and was driveable after we put more air in the tire. I got it patched up for only $20 on Sunday, NBD. But what's super freaky is this: my sister and I have the same car, mine is silver, hers is black. When I was at my parents' house in the middle of last week, Savanna's back right tire was nearly flat, because of a nail in the tire. I HAD A SCREW IN MY BACK RIGHT TIRE TOO. Same car, same tire, same week, same problem, same solution (patch). How weird is that?!

Friday Five: Fall Edition

You know I had to do it. Everyone else is going on and on about fall and I'm over here like, umm it's MY favorite season, so I had to do at least one fall post. #sorrynotsorry << that's my favorite hashtag in case you didn't already notice. Anyways, without further ado, my favorite fall things:

1. Cooler weather. I've told you guys all about my sweating issues, and with fall comes 50 degree temps and that's awesome and sooo much better. Plus you get to drink hot cider and eat soup and wear sweaters and scarves and boots and leggings and plaid and and and...

2. Leaves. If you haven't been to the Northeast in the fall, well, you've been missing out. The colors around here are seriously amazing, and it seems to be starting early this year (though that better not happen next year because I'm getting married October 17th and the leaves better still be on the trees!)

Okay this was a weird year--8 inches of snow while the colored leaves were still on the trees.

3. Fall Activities. Like football- no, I don't watch it, not really, but I love trying out different fun and fall recipes for us to eat during the games on Sundays while I watch 90210 on my KindleFire. Plus, Brian has flag football games in the fall an hour away for work, which otherwise would suck, but the games are riiiiight near an Anthropologie and a Cheesecake Factory, so I'm down to go, as long as I pee in advance--those porta potties are sick nasty. Other awesome fall activities like pumpkin and apple picking are also in this category.

4. Fall-scented candles. Yea, me and every other female in America over the age of 18. But seriously, how can you resist scents like Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Sweater Weather, and Cider Web?! And I will add pumpkin scented soaps, body washes, hand sanitizers, and lotions to this list, because obviously I have transitioned my entire routine to be fall-related.

5. Decorations.We had a bunch of friends over last week and everyone complimented all my fall decorations. Now I have like nothing in comparison to my mom, who has as many fall decorations as she has Christmas decorations (which is tons!), but I was still pretty pumped that people liked my decorating :-)

What's your favorite thing about fall? Have a good weekend guys!

P.S. My gold iPhone 6 is coming today and I am so excited!

Confessions

- I binge watch Beverly Hills 90210. I can't stop won't stop.

- Brian and I were supposed to be on a 3 day diet thingy to jump start our metabolisms, but I quit. My stomach was eating itself and it made it required eating eggs, and I HATE eggs!

- If you don't follow me on Instagram, then you haven't seen my new hair yet. Well everyone seemed to love it (and I do, too!), but I definitely shocked some people at work (and it sounds mean but it was hilarious!); when they'd come into my office they'd be looking down at papers and talking to me then look up and nearly have heart attacks. It was great.

- I haven't shaved my legs in 2 weeks. Yay for fall!

- I have allergic conjunctivitis (pink eye). It's from my stupid corn smut allergy (yup, that's the real name- it's like mold that grows on corn and it blows around this time of year). PA is full of corn. PA is very windy all the time. My eyes burn. I had to throw all my eye makeup away, boo. The hits just keep on coming. But at least I got to order new stuff #silverlining

- I am addicted to online shopping. I get such a rush when I click Submit Order, and I obsessively check the tracking. Getting packages delivered to your doorstep is kinda like Christmas!

- I'm actually kind of excited for my endocrinologist appointment on Friday. No, I'm not a weirdo, I just can't wait to see if he has solutions for my sweating.. fingers crossed, but not getting my hopes up.

- We pretty much have a free weekend this weekend, and I cannot wait! We have been so super busy the entire summer, and I'm ready for a few calm weeks. We're going to head back up to the lake in the next few weeks, then it's my sister's baby shower, and then birthdays and holidays, etc., so I am reveling in the few free weekends we do have.

- I've really lost my blogging motivation. I feel like I used to be funnier and write so much more, but I'm very uninspired and I can't force it. Any ideas to bring me out of this long-time slump?

*Linking up with Kathy*

Book Review: Rare Bird

So I recently found out on Twitter about this awesome program called Blogging for Books. It's pretty much like it sounds; you request a book from their list of books, they mail it to you (or some are eBooks), then you read and review it, simple, and FREE, as that :-) I love reading so I quick signed up and got my first book within like 10 days or something crazy fast like that. Anyways, here's what you really came to this post to read, my review of Rare Bird:

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.*

Part of the description of the book from the publisher's site:

On an ordinary September day, twelve-year-old Jack is swept away in a freak neighborhood flood. His parents and younger sister are left to wrestle with the awful questions: How could God let this happen? And, Can we ever be happy again? They each fall into the abyss of grief in different ways. And in the days and months to come, they each find their faltering way toward peace.

In Rare Bird, Anna Whiston-Donaldson unfolds a mother’s story of loss that leads, in time, to enduring hope. “Anna’s storytelling,” says Glennon Doyle Melton, “is raw and real and intense and funny.”

My thoughts:

I really, really liked this book. I've been reading Glennon Doyle Melton from Momastery for years, and she, as a good friend of author Anna Whiston-Donaldson, wrote the foreward to this book. I actually knew of this story before the book came out from reading Glennon's blog, and a few days ago marked three years since Jack's death.

Anna tells the story of her son's death and the aftermath, how her family is coping and wrestling through their emotions. She writes in the first person so it really helps you connect more to her story and feel what she's feeling. I kept marveling at how strong of a person she is!

Yes, it is a very sad story, obviously, but it's not one that has you sobbing the entire time. It was such a tragic situation, and she doesn't sugar coat it, not at all, which is refreshing because sometimes when you read memoirs like this the author seems to have too easy a time coming through a horrible event. Anna questions God, and understandably so, and she also leans on him as well. Anna explains how their neighbors, friends, and family really stepped up to help her family in so many ways after Jack's accident, and it makes you realize that people, even those you may not expect, really can come through in hard times.

The Bottom Line: I totally recommend this book guys. Two thumbs enthusiastically up!

You May Not Recognize Me Tomorrow

Ummm what? It's Wednesday already?! My last week has been crazy. Last Thursday night we drove up to Brian's parents' house in NJ, and on Friday morning we hopped in the car with his parents and took off for Maine at 5am!! Ahhh! Around 2pm we arrived in Maine and it was freezing! Beautiful, yes, but freezing. I mean, I expected fall weather, not winter. It barely got above 40 degrees the whole weekend and it was SO WINDY.

Friday night the parents of the groom paid for everyone to go bowling at this awesome bowling alley, and I kicked Brian's butt, and lucky for me we bet our phone upgrade on it, so guess who's getting the iPhone 6 next month?! Yup, me! Saturday was the wedding at the campgrounds we stayed at in little log cabins, Sunday was an after party on this awesome almost-island the groom's grandparents own with all these cool cabins (it was freezing but gorgeous, and also you have to access it either by boat or over 7 miles of logging trails.. boy did I get car sick!!), and Monday we headed back home and got there at 10pm, so needless to say I am exhausted and that's why I'm just getting around to posting now.

I didn't take a ton of good pics (I didn't bring gloves, and it was too cold to take my hands out of my pocket!), but here are a few (not great) pics that I did take:

 Oh don't mind my puffiness, just wearing a long sleeve shirt, north face, and hoodie lol

 The day after party on the grooms' grandparents' property.. how cute were all the appetizers?!

4 layers this time- long sleeve shirt, vineyard vines pullover fleece, north face zip- up, and someone's grandpa's winter coat.. I'm telling you, it was freezing! Poor Brian was an ice cube! 

So anyway I'm off to the hair salon this morning to have my hair dyed! I'll explain: I think I've mentioned it before, maybe not, but I sweat like crazy, mainly on my face, and it's super embarrassing, annoying, and uncomfortable. It could be 30 degrees and I quite possibly may have sweat dripping down my face, even when the rest of me is freezing cold. I have some other similar issues too, and I finally got a endocrinologist appointment for next week in Hershey, which is an awesome hospital, because I have to get these issues taken care of. More on that after the appt, but back to the hair dying.. I am tired of washing my blonde hair only to sweat and have it look greasy and nasty an hour later. Sweat shows up way more on blonde hair, so I am dying my hair darker so it won't look so awful while I get these issues figured out. I will have my hair back to blonde before the wedding next year, it was just time for a change!

Sometimes Things Just Work Out

Okay this is the big job update I mentioned yesterday... remember two weeks ago when I told you guys all about job struggles and quitting my job? I was so relieved and was all "Que sera sera" about the whole thing. Well later that week, one of the partners at work approached me about staying on as a part-time employee, and mainly work from home doing research and drafting pleadings and briefs for the partners. It's pretty much what I've been doing, but there will be no pressure of having my own clients or going to court anymore.. research and writing is the stuff I actually like and that's what I'll be doing.

So the new deal is this: I will come into the office on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-12 so people can see my face and I can bug them to give me work. The rest of the time I'll work from home; the hours are pretty much up to me, I can work whatever days I want, and depending on the amount of work the partners give me, as much as I want. I will turn in my hours at the end of each week. I will still have my office, and I'll be able to remotely access my computer and the server at work. 

The downside is I will be bringing in less money from that job, and I won't have free insurance anymore beginning at the end of this month. Luckily I can get on Brian's insurance because apparently we are considered "domestic partners" until we get married, and I actually got another part-time at-home job writing legal blog posts for law firms to supplement my income! I am so lucky that things turned out so well. It's really amazing how things work out sometimes, isn't it? I don't know how long this all will last, but it's perfect for us right now :-)

We're heading up to Maine Thursday for a long wedding weekend, so I won't be back here til sometime next week!

A Little Life Update

• We spent the weekend at the beach with my family. Mini golf was played, yummy food was eaten, waves were ridden, and sand got everywhere! 

 Dad and Brian aww

• Our wedding favors came! Three were broken but out of 120 that's not soooo bad. I have been drinking out of the cups consistently!

• Baby shower planning is in full swing! My sister is 30 weeks and huge! I can't wait til the shower and when I can show you guys all the cute decorations and games we have planned!

• We got a cat! Well actually, we got my cat back. Long story short, when I was in middle school I got an adorable kitten named Reese for Easter. When my little brother was born a few years later though, he was allergic so my mom's friend took Reese in. Out of nowhere 2 weeks ago, she said it was getting to be too much (so weird but whatever...) and since I have my own house now, she's back! It's been an adjustment but it's going well!

• The biggest update I have is job related and deserves its own post, so check back tomorrow for that!