Life Lately via Pictures

A snapshot of life's moments the past 2 weeks...

A few of my Scentsy Family team members at Spring Sprint

 With my soon-to-be Scentsy Family brands partner! :)

Our first gift!! A bridal shower gift from my friend Tami who can't make it Sunday.

The flowers we bought for parent corsages/boutonnieres...

 Having some snuggle time with my lil Tobers

 Hand writing 200 wedding invites

 

A few days of healthy snacking - strawberries! Yum!

Dinner with the family - baked chicken in the Turbowave oven, rice for my lunch the next day & sweet potatoes

My unhealthy breakfast today...detoxing next week!

Oh, How Pinteresting

Hey y'all! It's my first Oh How Pinteresting link-up! Can ya tell I'm caught up at work...finally?!?

Anyway, I thought this might be fun as I do love Pinterest and am always finding great stuff there, especially with our upcoming wedding! I even found a few ideas on there for my non-Pinterest sister to use at the Bridal Shower. ;)

First up, Eric & I have discussed doing this because in his job, he can't wear any jewelry, so we thought this would be a neat way for him to always have a "ring" on.

Source: squidoo.com via Erin on Pinterest

I recently hand wrote all 200 of our wedding invites - too bad my penmanship is not gorgeous enough to do something this fun!

Source: weddingdaypin.co via Erin on Pinterest

Yesterday, I pinned this...and Eric says it was ironic that I then pinned....

Source: dailyspark.com via Erin on Pinterest

...this one...hahaha

Source: justapinch.com via Erin on Pinterest

I really need to start doing some of this if I am gonna fit into my wedding dress in 66 days!

Source: sarya-yolt.tumblr.com via Erin on Pinterest

So important to do this EVERY day. :)

Source: druls.com via Erin on Pinterest

That's it folks. 2 posts in one week...haven't accomplished that in months! ha And I've been catching up on all my blog reading the past few days as well. It feels great!

Be sure to join the fun and link up!

Train is Back on the Tracks

Ever heard the saying that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans? ha I often times feel like God gets those deep belly chuckles because of me. I am such a planner and I can't seem to help myself.

As my last post stated, there was a whole bunch of chaos going on surrounding our wedding/honeymoon plans. I am happy relieved to report that things have straightened themselves out since then. Thank goodness!

For starters - we booked our honeymoon. We managed to snag a deal on a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for double the length of the originally intended trip, plus it's all inclusive which the other trip was not. And did I mention we got it for less than the buy-in of Eric's ticket for the other trip?!? It's not Hawaii, but my cousins have been to this resort and loved it, so I'm sure we will too! Eric has never been out of the country (or been on a plane for that matter!), so this will be quite the adventure for him. We have his passport papers ready to submit tomorrow.

Secondly, we think we have all the details sorted out for the wedding. We had to change our reception venue, which meant new invites, but we just got the shipping notice on those today, so all is well for now. Over the weekend, Mom, Jordan and I went to measure my uncle's barn (it's massive...and dirt floored...yep, we're going VERY rustic) to get placement ideas. I think we've got it all worked out. New food plans are in place. Flowers have been purchased. A few decorations were finished.

All in all, I know we'll be excited to see the big day come...and go. haha ;) Eric asked me the other day what I'm going to spend all my time talking about after the wedding and I told him I'm going right back to Scentsy! ha He was not so impressed. :p

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

Ya wanna know a secret about me? Sure! Okay, well here it is.... I AM A PLANNER. Not surprised? Already knew that? haha Yeah, probably any and every person that's ever read my blog for any substantial period of time knows that. The other thing you probably know is that I don't like for my plans to not be followed. SHOCKER. ha

Lately, I've been having a heavy dose of plans going awry. I do not like it. I do not like it one bit.

Some of the things I've experienced (and this is not to throw a pity party, just a way for me to document the down moments so when it all works out, I will rejoice that much more):

- Our Honeymoon. Last year I earned this amazing Scentsy trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for 2. It was INCREDIBLE. This year, we had our choice of 6 destinations, with our choice being Oahu, Hawaii. I worked and worked (with the help many times of my lovely fiance) to earn the trip, but due to a different set of guidelines this year, I only managed to earn the trip for 1 and not for 2. *sad face* Normally, this would not be a problem, as the company is wonderful and allows you to "buy in" a guest for the price of your trip. The bad news is that this year...we are both getting back less than half in our tax refunds than we have previously. What does this mean? No trip for us. I will cash in my trip points for 1 of the 2 other much less exciting options and we will stare blankly ahead while we try to figure out somewhere fun to go on our honeymoon, but for very (and I do mean VERY little cash) little cost.

- The Wedding. Over the weekend, we got word that some of our plans may have to be changed. It's really neither here nor there about why we have to change them...it just sucks that they will most likely have to be changed. I won't lie. I cried a good portion of yesterday and Eric tried to cheer me up through it all. It's so hard to change your "vision" when that is all you can imagine. I'm sure it will be fine and still be nice...AND...I may even grow to love it more, but for now I am not all that pleased.

Game face on. We will sort it all out. I have a hard time with patience and unfortunately, we have 75 days until the wedding....and our invites are on the way to me as I type this, so time isn't a luxury that we have. And the funds to reprint stuff isn't budgeted either.

Someone say a prayer for me. PLEASE!

My Life via Instagram

If you follow me on Instagram (emenchho1) you know what we've been up to lately.....but if you're a hold out on smart phone technology, here's the latest:

Eric & I have been getting out an walking - there was an especially lovely 58* day last week!

Eric & mom shot clay pigeons this past weekend

For some (very) odd reason, Toby LOVES to "go for rides" in anything belonging to Eric - his laundry hamper, a boot, a cooler, etc...one night he just laid in the hamper while we watched TV 

Finally feeling a little more settled in my 2 offices at work thanks to some Scentsy!

Jordan & Eric playing Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit

Jenna & her coworker got a song stuck in their heads at work and couldn't remember where it was from, but I of course saved the day! Mom & I dug out a few old Kidsongs VHS tapes and I still knew all the words!! ha Eric & the girls were appalled.

And there you have it. Just a little random smattering of my life. ;)

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Jenna, today on her 28th birthday!! And to our Uncle Kevin who swears his birthdays stopped at 29...guess he'll have to come up with a new plan in 2 years after Jen surpasses 29. ha

Countdowns & Enough

The countdowns are in full force...my phone looks like a crazy person's calendar. haha

In 24 days, I think the reality of the wedding will hit me full force as we have the first official wedding celebration - the bridal shower! :) My wonderful MOH (who also happens to be my sis) has been working hard on the plans. Everyone has loved the shower invites & recipe cards that were mailed out. I am so very ready for it to be here! Now if I could just find a dress that fits. I have ordered this dress 3 times from the Dressbarn and I truly love it, even though I have to keep going down a size! Who would have thought? However, the size I think it will really take to fit me, they didn't carry in this dress. Ugh. So the newest order is at home right now and I will try it on again tonight. *fingers crossed* If it doesn't fit, I am gonna be majorly hurried to find a dress and I HATE shopping.

.......and of course, that means that we are 86 days away from becoming husband & wife!! :) Woohoo! Definitely ready for that moment. Some of the recent things we've taken care of or are currently working on:
- Met with the cake lady. Plans are in place, need to find 2 items for her to use.
- Eric has started working on his projects for the wedding: table numbers, cake stand, and now possibly a cupcake tower. So glad I have a handy man!
- Wedding invitations are in the final design stage!! We'll be ordering them very soon thanks to the wonderful Jenn! She has been absolutely fantastic through decision making. We have 2 pieces to still design, but I am confident we'll get that wrapped up soon.
- We finally have an officiant! Up until about a week ago, we did not have anyone to marry us. Talk about a problem!?! With Eric having been married before, none of the local clergy would perform the ceremony. Luckily, a family friend who is a judge is going to do the honors. :)
- Hairstyles have for the most part been chosen. I think I find the appropriate style for each of us girls as we celebrate the big day! (and my cousin/hairdresser agrees on mine, so that is the most important part! ha)
- And since our mothers don't read the blog, I can say that I also have gifts for each of the moms from myself. I really love that it is something different. Now we just have to focus on a gift for Eric's dad and for our bridal party. Any good, unique ideas out there? My sister works for a custom design company, so no embroidered or rhinestoned apparel for her! ha
- I started the list for the photographer, not that she really needs a list. She takes unbelievable pictures in all areas of life! Plus, she is getting married in August, so she's definitely in the wedding state of mind. ;) If you didn't catch my tweet the other week, you simply MUST go read L's blog - she's a talented writer as well and really knows how to tell a story. And it's a bridal story!
- We need to start finalizing our music selections for the DJ. We already know the most important song - our first dance. :) The rest will just fall into place...I hope!
- Both moms need to find their wedding day outfits. Eric's mom wants to match my mom in color, so of course there is a stalemate until my momma finds her outfit. I think she has started browsing online and plans to go shopping with my sis next weekend. Praying they find what she's looking for!
- Instead of suits for the little boys, we opted for our "ushers" (aka Eric's nephews and my cousin) to wear black dress pants and white shirts. Talked to the moms of those kiddos the other day and they are on board for that.

And finally - saw these on Pinterest early today, but then saw friends reposting it on Facebook and it continues to strike a chord with me.

Been struggling for the past few weeks...or probably months...with so many things. Do you ever have days when you wonder if you do enough, make enough, pray enough, believe enough, work out enough? If you are pretty enough, thin enough, dedicated enough? Do you show enough love? This little poem/saying was posted on Facebook the other day as part of a long story. It resonated with all those questions I'd been asking of myself...

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

My friends, I wish you enough...