5QF - 9/28

Well, it's 4:40am and I can't sleep...not feeling too great. Blah.

After sitting on the couch, in the dark, for 20 minutes, I figured I may as well make the most of my "awake" time. ha

Don't forget to visit Mama M and link up!


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1. Do you prefer to drive to your vacation spot or fly?

FLY. After a few hundred road trips as a kid with my parents (where we made them suffer through approximately a billion rounds of This is the Song That Doesn't End), a road trip to a bowl game to Florida while in college with friends...I have had it with driving. ha Now that I have had the opportunity to fly as much as I have over the past 10 years, I could never look back! :) I love hopping on a plane and jet setting off to a new locale!


2. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

There are so many places that I haven't been, but if I couldn't stay in my own happy little corner of the world (hey, southeastern Indiana in the country is a pretty great place to live), then I would definitely pick Australia. I LOVED my time there! Plus, my dear friend K lives there with her sweet family. I miss them like crazy and being an email away rather than a drive away really stinks. Australia is gorgeous, doesn't really get as cold as it does around these parts, and it's full of fabulous people with wonderful accents. ;)


3. Should grown women wear leggings?

NO. I do not get the leggings trend. I think it reminds me of the stirrup pants that were so popular in the late 80's/early 90's. Besides, not that many women can truly pull of spandex type pants...in public. Give it up ladies. It's not cute. You do not look "put together" wearing an oversized shirt cinched in with a belt over leggings in some atrocious bold print ballet flats or boots. stepping off my soapbox


4. If you could change your name to any other name, would you? What would it be?

It's kind of funny, but I can't picture myself with another name. There are other names that I like, but I don't think they would fit me. Ya know?


5. What magazines do you have subscriptions to?

Okay, now this is random. And it's funny to me, but annoying. I actually pay for no subscriptions. I really don't have time to sit down and flip through magazines. I can't say that I've ever really liked any magazine. Somehow...I get 2 magazines in the mail on a monthly basis. ?!? I am assuming that my grandma paid for them as part of some local kid's magazine sales fundraiser (why, oh why can't schools do something cool like SCENTSY - hint, hint - instead of the same ol' candy and magazines!). So...every month I throw away a copy of Rolling Stone and Marie Claire. True story. ha

5QF - 9/21

Already nearing the end of September...and that is just craziness! I keep telling myself that I'll find time to slow down and enjoy life a little (not that I'm not enjoying it...just need a break), but never seem to find the time. haha Last night, my wonderful fiancee let me take a nap and it was glorious! :)

It's been fairly quiet this past week. We survived another weekend at Friendship and thankfully, I don't think we'll ever go back, but you never know. I tried out a new recipe last night. If you like crab rangoon, you'll love this recipe because they are baked and not fried! YUM! Eric decided it was even better than the Chinese restaurant ones he's had (and trust me, that place does them right). I will definitely be making those again!

And now since I can't log onto any systems at work this morning, I am going to join in on the 5QF fun! One of the questions is mine...so link up!


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1. What is one grammar issue you cannot let go without correction?

You, Your, You're, Their, There, They're - ahhhhhh! Come on people! It's not that hard. Drives me nuts when people cannot use the correct form of you or their. 

2. What's your favorite thing about fall?

Crisp cool air, leaves changing color, football, bonfires, tshirt and jeans, apple cider....oh wait, only one? Um, I can't do it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall! It's my favorite time of the year and there is not one thing I don't enjoy about it.

3. What's your favorite dish to take to a potluck?

In our house, the usual go-to dish is what we call a 7-Layer Lettuce Salad. It is soooooooo good. My mom and her mom (gosh I miss Grandma!) have been making it for as long as I can remember. It's lettuce, mayo, carrots, cauliflower, peas, bacon, and pretty much any other type of veggie you'd like to throw in. It's one of my faves although the mayo definitely doesn't make it that healthy. ha

4. When do you start Christmas (Holiday) shopping?

Honestly, I usually am almost done Christmas shopping by now. This year - haven't even started. Mom and I did discuss what we thought we should get a few people this year, but nothing has been put into action. I really love trying to find the right gifts for people...things they want, but won't tell anyone or things I know they need, but would never ask for. It will be fun shopping for the new people in my life this year (Eric, the girls, and his parents).

5. Did you move homes a lot growing up?

Nope. I lived in the same house from birth to 3rd grade, moved into the house my parents built from end of 3rd grade until my Junior year of HS, and then moved into my grandparent's home (that mom bought from them) my Senior year of HS. I spent much of my life living in grandma & grandpa's house. It's actually the home I live in now (after moving around up at college and in Indy when I lived on my own). Looking forward to my next move being wherever Eric and I settle down together. :)

Wedding Madness

If you read my post a few days ago about planning to make plans...you'll love this update! ha It's amazing how much can change in a day or two.

Wednesday night mom, Eric, and I hopped in the car and drove over to the venue we were hoping to get for the wedding and reception. It had a lake for our outdoor ceremony and then a large, rustic looking barn where we planned to have the reception. I was so excited to come across this gem of a place just 15 minutes from my hometown! We got over there, did an unofficial tour and then excitedly emailed the General Manager that we wanted to book the venue for the date she had told me was available. AND...then the next morning, she emailed me back to tell me that she had shown the venue to another couple that night and one of their dates was "our" date. Whoever came in first to pay the deposit and sign the contract would have the date. UGH!

I was decidedly upset about possibly losing our date because we couldn't afford to pay the deposit for another week. I chatted with my cousin, Monica, for a few minutes Thursday morning and she shared a few backup ideas with me. I immediately sent Eric the link for one of those ideas and he was sold...so then I called mom (because my momma is awesome, everyone loves her, and she has connections!) to ask her to make arrangements with the 2 groups we needed to set our wedding plans in motion.

So.........after some phone calls and an in-person visit.....I am thrilled to announce that we have a date, a venue, a caterer, the DJ, and even a few decorations! Yes, people...in about 24-30 hour time frame, we have put MUCH of our wedding plans into place.

May 4, 2013 is going to be the big day! We're getting married in our neighboring town, Versailles, on the "back property" of close family friends' restaurant property. The place is called Crossroads. We'll be putting tents up on the backside around the lake. They have a beautiful wooden arbor bordering the lake and that will be where our ceremony will take place. Another close friend of the family, will be setting up the tents, tables and chairs for us - Negangard Party Rentals. Their son, Kyle, owns a DJ business (and actually dj'd a party of mine waaaaaaaaaayyyy back in HS) and will be providing the rockin' tunes. Crossroads will be catering our reception meal as well. And as for the decorations - well, I've had some ideas in my head thanks to Pinterest, and thanks to being a flea market all weekend, the neighboring booth had some green/teal glass mason jars and we made a trade for them! ha That worked perfectly because I got rid of one of the ugliest warmers Scentsy ever made (it was recently discontinued) and he got one that totally fit his family's home! *shudder* It will be the perfect pop of color against our colors - lapis and champagne. (aka purple and a very light shimmery neutral)

All in all, I'd say we're pretty pleased at the moment! We already have our wedding party in place. The guest list has been started. Now the real work starts...getting my butt in gear to slim down and get healthy!!

I couldn't be happier to know that I'm marrying my best friend! :)

TIIIIIIMMMMMBBBEEERRRR!

hahaha...have you ever wanted to shout Timber!?! I kinda wanted to do that last night, but I'm thinking mom and Eric would have laughed. So I didn't. Bummer, huh?

The old maple tree in mom's backyard has been dying and was pretty much dead. It was Jen and I's "fort" and playhouse as kids. We would climb into the low branches and just sit and pretend like we had passwords to crawl up in there. haha We spent hours and hours and hours hanging out in that tree and under that tree in the sandbox or on the picnic table.

I'm glad the tree is down as we don't need a hazard like that in the yard. (It was close enough if it fell towards the house, it would hit my room.) But it still made me a little sad to see it come down. Goodbye to a piece of my childhood...

Eric making the first cuts

mom & Eric pushing the tree over

The tree is down!

Yummy Foods

Lately I've been testing out a lot of new recipes. So far, there hasn't been any that I didn't like. Judging by the fact of no leftovers, I'd say everyone else is enjoying it too. haha These recipes were all from Pinterest, so feel free to hop over there and grab them for yourself!

Buffalo Chicken Rolls (great thing is...low calories!)

Cinnamon Roll Cake (oh my gosh - everyone was in LOVE)

Garlic Cheese Rolls (smelled heavenly!)

Creamy Chicken Pockets (went great with garlic rolls, but lots of bread...ha)

Let me know if you give any of these recipes a try! Happy cooking :)

Planning to Make Plans

I'll admit it. I'm type-A, list maker, organizational nut, slightly OCD kinda gal...and yes, I plan to make plans. Silly, huh? Maybe. Maybe not.

The biggest thing I've ever planned to make plans for...our upcoming wedding! :)

Here's the deal: I told myself I wouldn't make any plans for awhile because we wanted to save some money and see where we stood. We're also simultaneously saving for our first place together, probably a rental although we'd love to buy. The other part of it is that I'm working hard to earn this year's Scentsy Incentive Trip (we're aiming for the June trip to Hawaii, but would settle for May trip to Costa Rica). ;) Our goal is that we'd be able to take this free trip as our honeymoon! The downside is that right now we don't know the exact trip dates. AHHHHHHH For all those of you who are with me on the planning and details and list making and control issues...feel free to scream along with me at trying to plan a wedding without a wedding date! See my problem?!?!?! We can't do May as that is Indy 500 month here in Indiana and although it's not a big deal to either of us, my lovely MOH (my sis, Jenna), is an Indy 500 junkie and she never misses a day at the track practically the entire month. All of our local schools graduate the first weekend of June (the date I would love to pick) and then the next 2 weekends would be possible leave/return dates from the Hawaii trip...which leaves me planning a wedding with no exact date...FOR NOW.

I think we've decided on colors. I found adorable dresses for the girls. Jen and I will have to pick out a dress for her yet. The guys will be easy...they're all for tuxes and there are just the Groom and Best Man (BM). And hopefully I'll be getting my butt in gear here again ASAP to slim down before I get to the task of finding a wedding dress I love and feel comfortable in. Cause let's face it...I've always hated shopping for myself and it's usually very frustrating being this size. I want to change that before picking out a dress I'll wear on our special day! It's going to be a small wedding with a large reception for everyone else afterwards. We want to do it all on one day. I think I found the location for both, but once again...can't really talk to them until I have a date because we couldn't sign a contract and I'd be heartbroken if I fell in love with the place in person and then someone else booked our date. Mom told me over the weekend that a family friend of ours is getting married on the date we're seriously considering and hoping will be the big day! Fortunately, it won't take too many of our guests away...they may attend her wedding and then hit up our reception. Whatever works for them. They'll get an invite no matter what because they are my family and only her friends.

Okay....enough of my babbling. If you are Pinterest friends with me...you've probably seen me pinning away lately. I totally need to do a post on all the good food we've been trying from my pins, but that's for another day! haha So much out there in the world of weddings. After we have a date...then comes the task of merging all our ideas into one cohesive and smooth flowing day! Easy peasy. hahah Riiiiiight.

Source: santabarbarawedding.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: ruffledblog.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: weddings-engagement.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: weddings.weddingchannel.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Erin on Pinterest

Source: todays-best-pictures.blogspot.com via Erin on Pinterest

Past Few Weeks...in Pictures

Well, as promised (shocking, I know!)...here is my post with the only pictures I've taken over the past few weeks to show you what we've been up to!

Printed this adorable Subway Art poster from Eighteen25

Was daring for me and had my pedicure done in this glittery gold shade (Boiler Up!)

sitting at my Scentsy booth at the Sunman Wine & Fireworks Festival

Eric brought his dog Lucky home! Isn't she sweet?

Lucky found her way into the fenced in barnyard with Kya (Great Pyrenees)...ha

Belly rubs from her dad and the girls...they missed each other!

BATH TIME!

More belly rubs. And he says Toby is spoiled?? ;)

Scentsy booth at weekend #1 of the Friendship Shoot

Lots of period era clothes

My future step-daughter, Emma, loving Scentsy! :)

Saw these 2 girls walking in huge panties that their mom bought at the shoot! lmao

5QF - 9/7

Holy smokes, friends!! Can you believe it?? It's SEPTEMBER. This year has been flying by...and what's worse is that I have sooooooooooooooo much to update you on, but can't find the time to do it. Suffice it to say that we've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off! ha Now that's an image for ya. ;) I've been chaotically trying to keep up with family, work, Scentsy, Velata and Grace Adele. I love it, but sometimes you just need a break...and that's why we didn't do a darn thing on Labor Day. I would love to say that we took the whole weekend off, but I had an event to sell Scentsy on Saturday and Sunday I took Eric to meet some good friends of mine.

I've not participated in 5QF for what seems like a million years! Thursday nights are just too hectic with preparations for the weekend, especially on the weekends when we have his girls (which is also this weekend). The fun never ends! :)

Oh...before I forget...don't miss out on my giveaway over at the lovely Kelly's blog!

So, forgive me for not updating you better about the last few weeks...I may find time to post some pictures of our adventures, but I think those are probably even lacking! Whoops. ha


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1. What is your favorite fall family tradition?

My favorite fall family tradition is......bonfires! We didn't have one at all this summer and that saddens me. Hopefully this fall when can get everyone together for stories and cold drinks around the bonfire! It's something we've enjoyed the past 5+ years. Mom gets a big bonfire going, friends and family come over with coolers laden down, we order pizza or have a pitch-in meal...and then the fun begins...hours and hours late into the night we laugh at shared stories, keep hydrated with our cold drinks, play cornhole, and watch the lil kids run amuck with each other.

2. If money weren't an issue, how many kids would you have?

I've only ever wanted 2-3 kids. I had always kept an open mind about the number of kids my spouse would want, but I feel that as a parent, I could truly give equal time to 2-3 kiddos. I know how busy my mom and grandparents were in running my sister and I here/there for all of our activities, so I cannot imagine adding anymore crazy to that! ha

3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?

I already have a tattoo...on my left wrist, it's mostly hidden by my watch band unless you know it's there. I've actually had it for a couple years and there are people I work with (during that entire time) that have just seen it for the first time within the past month. hahaha It says Dream with a star for each of us (mom, Jen, and I). I love it!! Honestly, my text tattoo is likely to be something after we get married to signify my new family (Eric and the girls)...and again, it will be on my other wrist or under a ring band or something.

4. What condiment is a must in your house?

RANCH DRESSING. I kid you not. I've always loved ranch dressing (thanks to Karissa, I believe), but I now buy the jumbo jar! Eric loves ranch on just about everything...pizza, chicken, french fries, etc...so it is always in stock.

5. How did your spouse/fiance propose?

Finally!!! I get to answer these kinds of questions! :) He actually proposed not that long ago in a game of Hangman. haha It was sweet, romantic and very creative! If you want the story, click here to visit the post all about it.

Guest Post - Hayley

So excited to introduce you all to my very FIRST guest blogger - - and coincidentally, my very first sponsor!! Woohoo! Take time to check out Hayley's blog...and let her know you found her in my lil part of the blog world. ha Oh...and if you're interested in swapping (it's free!) sponsor spots - check out my sidebar! ;) 

Find Hayley here:

BLOG  /  TWITTER

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Hey all of you "Life and Times of E1" readers!!! My name is Hayley and I blog over at Hayleys World. And I'm here to take over the blog for today! I hope that's ok. :) 

What's that? Oh, you wanna know a little about me. Sure, I'd be happy to tell you. 

I am a 30 something, really only 31...not even 31.5 yet, should I really be saying 30 'something' yet?, anyways....where was I? Oh yes, 30 something Army wife and mom of 2. 7 year old boy and almost 3 year old girl (born 09-09-09...yeah, I know, pretty cool!). 

We are stationed in North Pole, Alaska right now and have been here for 2 years. Yes, it's super duper cold in the winters, but I love it. We might come back after he gets out, but the only things keeping us from doing that is it's super duper far away from family. 

I love God, my family and friends, photography, blogging, being a stay at home mom, volunteering, cooking and baking and sewing and crafts. I'm possibly opening up a shop. Well, I did open it, just not officially yet. You can check it out here. Just kind of testing the waters and listing things as I make them and get some pictures. 

I've been sitting in B&N for almost an hour now trying to come up with a good topic for my guest post. The only thing I can think about is Big Brother. If you don't know about Big Brother, first push that big rock you've been living under off of you and listen up. This year 16 people entered the house. They have no contact with the outside world (unless you are one of the lucky couple who wins a call or gets to be Head of Household and gets a letter from home). They spend all summer in there and vote one out of the house each week. 

Last nights episode has everyone's panties in a wad. The guy who was everyone was 97% sure was getting voted out totally turned his game around and is not even on the block to go home. He put on this whole production in front of the whole house, got the veto holder to use it on him AND even convinced the Head of Household, who was also his nemesis in the house to make a final 2 deal with him. 

Everyone is all upset because when he got off the block, it meant that Brittney is now on the block AND headed out the door tomorrow. I'd be really really surprised if she doesn't. But everyone LOVES Brittney. And while, I do to, I love the game more and the move that Dan played was FABULOUS!!!! 

He has already won the game once and he's working his way to do it again. No one particularly likes him, but he plays the game good and that's what most base their decision on in the end. 

And what bugs me too is when people find out someone they thought they were close to had lied to them, or rallied to get them out of the house. Well DUH!!! It's a game, for lots and lots of money!! 

Well, so sorry for the ramble, I got a little excited!!! I would love for you to stop by my blog and get to know me a little more. You'll find a bit of everything from menu planning and recipes, to photography to fun linkups. 

Have a super fabulous day!!!