What I've Been Up To, Part 1

Well well well, look who decided to show up to her own blog! Everything has been so crazy since the last time I posted mid-April, and I thought I'd come back and start to give everyone an update on my life (since I know you're all just waiting with bated breath for this, ha!) while I'm watching the Bachelorette (Andi still gets on my nerves). This probably doesn't mean I'll be back here full-time, 4 posts a week yet (there are still some unsettled things I'd like settled before I have time to fully re-commit), but I'm on my way. I want to get back into the swing of things with blogging and commenting and everything! So anyways, here goes! I'm going to start with the end of April up through mid-May, before tomorrow when I tell you guys all about the big E word and the big H word!

The end of April brought Easter (duh), which we celebrated with my family. You can see in the background that the trees had finally begun to bloom, bringing with them all kinds of fun allergens. Luckily I'm on tons of allergy meds now (okay, like 5) to calm everything down. Then after Easter came Earth Day (duh, again), but Earth Day is actually pretty big in my family. For the last 10 or years, my Dad has put on this awesome festival for a city near where we used to live, so every year we all volunteer and it's such a fun time! Brian and I always get to run the prize table, and it's always smiles at the prize table!

In May Brian and I headed down to Florida for a long weekend for his cousin's wedding. It was a great time, we stayed right near the beach, and the wedding was beautiful and overlooking the beach. They even had a golfing contest during the cocktail hour to keep the guests busy. Oh, and if you guys didn't notice, I finally got to meet Miranda when I was in Florida! We hung out at the beach and had delicious greasy food for lunch, I'm so happy she drove 2 hours to see me!! Thanks again Miranda!!

Okay guys, that's all I have for today. I'll be back tomorrow with other exciting updates, promise!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

I am so so so happy that TODAY IS MY FRIDAY! This is super awesome guys, I need this, bad! I just love Easter, it's one of my favorite holidays. The pastel colors and the candy and fact that Jesus died for us, it's all so awesome, so I thought it'd be fun to share some old Easter pics today (and tell a hilarious Mitchell story).

Cute baby me and big creepy Easter bunny

Not sure about our faces here.. or Cory's outfit bahaha

Okay this isn't me, it's Kaylee, but how cute!

Aww I love Easter outfits 

That was the coolest Troll Easter Bunny ever, I wish I still had it

This was just to embarrass Brian! hehehe

Funny story time: You know that song that goes "Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin' down the bunny trail..." 

Well my Grandmom used to sing it all the time to us, and I guess Mitchell heard it from one of us, so one day when he was about 4 he was about to get in the bathtub and he starts hopping like a rabbit down the hallway naked singing (get ready for it, it's hilarious and awkward) "Here comes Peter Cottontail, look at my peenie wail." Well, umm at least he tried to make cottontail rhyme with  "wail"... I'm not kidding! We almost died trying not to laugh, but instead we pretended to not hear him so he wouldn't think it was funny hahaha! Anyways, on that inappropriate note, I will say Happy Easter and leave you with my favorite Easter-themed (ish) song!

Pros and Cons of Blogging (according to Mean Girl gifs)

The Pros

Developing awesome relationships with people all over the country.. people you've never even met in real life!

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Blogging is a place to scream and shout and let it all out (now that I have that song stuck in my head) but seriously. Even if you don't always publish those posts, it's still nice to have an outlet where you can say whatever you want.

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You can even make up words (I'm guilty of it), no one is gunna stop you.

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Getting good feedback and compliments from strangers (or those awesome people from #1) rocks.

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The Cons

It can be a time sucker. I'll get online to read a few blogs and bam! 3 hours passed! Plus when you can't think of something to write about, you can be sitting there looking at the screen FOR-EV-ER.

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We all know there are mean girls out there, even in blog world. Seriously, why you gotta be so mean?

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Having to keep it a secret from everyone in your real life, because they just don't understand (ya know, just like how Karen doesn't understand, well, anything).

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***Update... I totally should have added this one this morning... Over the top fan girls.***

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Blogland. Can't live in it, can't live without it. P.S. I totally got this idea from Kay's list of blog post ideas, thanks Kay!!

Strange But True Facts

... A weekend pedicure can do wonders for your spirit.. especially with a pretty light, Easter-y blue color! So does ordering furniture for your new house, love it!

... Your dogs will barely move the rest of the day weekend if you take them for a 2 mile walk.

... There are other options out there for me. This one's vague but one day it won't be, I swear!

... When your boyfriend is away, you will get to spend time in stores you rarely get to go into alone, i.e. Home Goods!

... Knowing you have Friday off is awesome, but it will probably make the week seem to go by slower. Who cares, having Friday off ROCKS!

... We close on our house in 38 days!! THIRTY EIGHT DAYS!

... Putting the dog food in a pretty tin can make you feel better about the $55 bag of food you just bought that doesn't even fill it 75% full!

... Watching Hallmark movies is an awesome way to spend an early Saturday evening.

... Having your windows open all day on Saturday will make your Sunday miserable, because ALLERGIES, duh. I don't even know what I was thinking doing that.

... The Bunny Cake candle from Yankee Candle smells amazing!

Okay okay okay, not all of these are actually strange facts, but I swear they're all true! Hope your Monday isn't too painful guys! By the way, does anyone know when the Bachelorette starts?

5 on Friday

1. I've been kinda down in the dumps lately. I have my reasons, but it still sucks. I hope this weekend will perk me back up. I think some shopping and maybe a pedicure are in order (not that I can wear flip flops for like another month, but at least my feet will look nice to me).

 

2. I wrote an entire post last night that I deleted. You know how Kelli's post the other day talked about how there are pieces of ourselves we don't share with the world, well that was pretty much why I pressed delete instead of publish. Felt good to type it all out though. Maybe one day.. hopefully soon.

3. Speaking of this weekend, I should probably get a jump start on packing for our move. We might actually be settling a week or so early (!!) and our weekends between now and then are packed. I'm talking Easter, two trips out of state, Earth Day festivals, etc. etc. I'm just having trouble thinking of what to start packing that we don't need right now... any ideas?!

4. I have been bad with my April Goals. Okay, not all bad, and not all my fault (I guess). I've been good with the food/calorie goal, pretty much because I feel crappy and am not really hungry (who even am I?!), but the exercise goal has just not happened. I've gone on a few walks, but my allergies have been so bad I cannot even step outside without feeling like I'm suffocating. However I really have no options left in terms of switching allergy medications, besides starting allergy shots, which are expensive, time-consuming, and take like 6 months to 2 years to start working. So that's not going to help right now. I know I could exercise inside.... but, no excuse. On a good note, I really haven't spent any extra money at all this month that wasn't in our budget!

5. I am going to leave you with this hilarious eCard... I love it so so much. Happy Friday guys

The Water Project

Guys, Elizabeth is one of my best blog friends and such a giving person, and so she is here today because she has an extremely important topic to talk about, and she needs our help! Take it away Elizabeth!

Hello lovely Pleas(e) and Carroters! I wanted to do a little takeover today to talk about water. What? Yep, water. Because: nearly 1 billion people in the world don't have access to safe water.

Crazy, right? In fact, it's hard to imagine being one of those 1 billion people when you live in a society with indoor plumbing and readily available convenience stores. But those people are there and they are suffering because water is the foundation of life.



As humans we can go around 30 days without eating food but we can only go around 3 days without drinking water. Now imagine that your 3 days are up and you have no choice but to drink the dirty and possibly disease ridden water that is miles away from your home. There are people in the world right now facing that harsh reality.

Those people spend their time focusing on survival rather than thriving in life. That's why clean water is so important. It gives them hope for a better future. Not convinced? Take a look at all the ways water can improve life:

• You need clean water to wash your hands and limit the spread of diseases
• Clean water means less diseases even to begin with

Water keeps sickness levels down and that means increased health for more active and productive lives.

• Students miss school to fetch water for themselves and their family when it is miles away from their home.
• Girls often drop out of school during puberty because schools don't have proper and safe latrines for them to use.

Water gives a community the possibility of increased education for boys and girls.

• Access to readily available, clean water leads to healthier crops as well as more crops in a community.

Water helps stop unnecessary hunger for healthy bodies and minds.



Access to safe water can vastly improve a community's quality of life. In turn that gives them hope for a better future where they don't have to focus on simply surviving every day. I consider it a pretty noble mission to try and help these communities regain their hope by providing them with the means and education to access clean water. That's what The Water Project is doing.

How does The Water Project help these communities?

The Water Project believes in people. They focus on working with in-country teams and partners that have long term commitments to the local communities. That means they aren't just building a well before leaving the area for good. They are committed to teaching those in the area how to be self-sufficient as well as checking back in to make sure everything is working. They put the needs of the communities first and let them be a part of building and implementing the water project. That leads to higher chances of long-term success.

How can you help The Water Project?

I started a campaign to support this organization in honor of my one year "blogiversary". I would be honored if you would help me reach my $500 goal! I plan on keeping the campaign going for a month. That means you can wait until the next paycheck to give whatever you can spare. I have a few incentives going on if you do decide to donate. I won't take up any more of Jessica's time though so hop over to my blog to check them out or go straight to the campaign to help give clean water!

Confessions

I confess... I never ever change the pin descriptions on Pinterest, no matter how stupid they sound.

I confess... I don't like hot tea. I have tried it so many ways and I've tried all different kinds, and nope, I just don't like it. I really want to but I don't.

I confess... I bug Brian for details on our engagement all the time, but he won't budge.. he's so secretive! #dontjudgeme

I confess... working full-time is much harder than going to school ever was, and I am still having a hard time adjusting.

I confess... I've watched Frozen at least 6 times since I bought it. Olaf is my fav, and I kinda want an Olaf stuffed animal. Does anyone know where I can get one of these?

I confess.. I am an impatient person. I can hardly stand to wait for noodles to boil, I can't handle sales phone calls, and I don't like being put on hold.

Brian confesses... he thought a Basket Bingo was called a Basket Bingo because they pull all the numbers for Bingo out of a Basket.. bahahahaha I almost died laughing when he said that!

Linking up with Kathy for Humpday Confessions today!