Happy Birthday Sportyspice

Happy, happy, happy birthday to my middle sister Sportyspice. Earlier in the weekend we thought today might be a double birthday, however it's looking like today will be JUST your day. I'm so excited for your journey as a MAMA and so thankful to be your older sister. Wishing you the best, most wonderfully joyous day. All my love and kisses!

Weekly Wins {Renovations Gone Mad, but Healthy}

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+++ Biggest win of the week is I'm fully on the healthy train. A random cough throughout the day and sniffles [more to do with the CONSTANT rain and clouds] but feeling 100% normal now. I am so grateful to have sickness behind me, it was a beast.

+++ I know we are insane for doing the bathroom and kitchen at the same time [guess who's choice it was? if you guessed NOT ME you are correct] however we will FINALLY have our master bathroom taken care of this weekend. A friend is helping us with the install saving us THOUSANDS of dollars so it was about his schedule. SO GRATEFUL, even in the chaos.

+++ Our top cabinets are hung and have brought so much more space to our tiny kitchen. I love the white and can't wait to get the counter cut and have everything back together.

+++ We were able to save half of our cabinets to give to Habitat for Humanity. I love being able to give back with things we no longer use. The cabinets are just old and not our style, still functional.

+++ I HAD A SECOND INTERVIEW on Thursday and it went really, really, really well. I am one of over 100 people who applied for one of the four positions open so prayers if you're willing.

+++ The Olympics have made solo weeknights easier. Le Husband is traveling every week so having something to look forward to at home during the week is really nice. Way to go USA.

+++ Even though we chose not to celebrate Valentine's day, Le Husband brought me home a small chocolate heart lollipop and it made me smile so big.

Wishing you a safe and wonderful weekend.

C U R R E N T L Y {FEBRUARY}

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finishing my two library books due back next week. #cheerstonewlibrarycard

subscribing to nothing right now. keeping excess out of life for the moment.

wishlisting many new workout clothes plus lots and lots of trips. 

watching THE O L Y M P I C S! USA USA USA!!!!!

hearting my family, my friends, my husband and of course YOU! 

praying for Lent to help cleanse my heart and set me up for a more relaxed year.

believing in the good. believing in myself. believing in faith.

recovering from a virus last week. almost to day ten when it will be truly GONE! 

practicing my BODYPUMP and SPRINT routines all the time. Have to be ready for auditions next month.

renovating our kitchen...and our bathroom...at the SAME TIME. #facepalm

Lots of love to all our you dear friends. I wish you a wonderful Valentine's and a blessed Ash Wednesday.

Weekly Wins { The Much Needed Small and BIG WINS }

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Oh y'all. It has been a week. A sick week. A week of feeling like crap and not being able to do anything to make money. A week of people not stepping up to help as expected. A week of plans laid out and nothing going right. A week of expectations not being met. A week of possibles turned into nada. A week were finding the wins is what I need the most.

+++ When I was legit down for the count on Monday and Tuesday I had some incredible instructor friends come to my aid and sub my classes at the last minute. Support like that is the best thing.

+++ My tribe friends down here checked in on me constantly since Le Husband was out of town.

+++ Le Husband was out of town for most of this week, which was actually a blessing since our place is small and me sick when he's working from home isn't the best scenario. He made me dinner Thursday night too.

+++ Having AmazonPrime to stream Downton Abbey while sick made it more bearable.

And now the biiiiiigggggggggggg win of the week....
++++++++++++++++++I RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO AUDITIONS IN TWO LES MILLS PROGRAMS +++++++++++++++++

Y'all, I am so unbelievably excited and thrilled and honored. Lots to work on until auditions in early March, but this is something I worked really, really, really hard for so now I'm basking in the woohoo. Another big win, both friends who I auditioned with made it too, yay!

Wishing you a fabulous and HEALTHY WEEKEND!

Week of Sick

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Yup, that's me y'all. After two years of not being sick I went down for the count on Sunday evening. It was slow burn throughout the evening then WWWWHHHAAAMMMOO Monday morning. Tired, achy, sore throat and slight fever had me feeling pretty low [you hear me on instastories].

I've been super stressed out because I offered to sub classes this week, bringing my count to ten and was scrambling to get the Monday/Tuesday/Weds covered. It was a bit frustrating because I JUMP to help and no one would jump to help me until the last minute, but most of the classes were covered in the end.

I ended up teaching my Tuesday night class and filming for a new status and overall it went well. Honestly, my body was happy to move more than to the kitchen, to the sofa, to the bedroom. I also made it to the doctor, where I tested negative for step and the flu, which was awesome but also meant I just have to ride this out, ugh.

So that's what I'll be doing. Healing up and taking it easy. Hope you have a great week!

Valentine's TBB { The One About LOVE }

1. Kisses or Hugs? I love to hug friends and family, but ADORE kisses from Le Husband.

2. Candy or Flowers? FLOWERS! I know they die, but they are such a sweet sentiment when given. #nocalories

3. Baking or Cooking? I like both, but LOVE to bake. #bettycrockeroverhere

4. Do you remember your fist kiss? Yes!

5. Favorite color of roses? Pink or white, but cherish the red ones Le Husband randomly brings me.

6. Conversation Hearts, Yes or No? Only the SWEETART kind. 

7. Do you leave love notes? YES! The first two years of marriage I left Le Husband a note EVERY MORNING when I left for work. I also hide them in his car or luggage when he travels. I leave them for friends and family too.

8. Do you decorate for Valentine's day? I have cute plates, but that's about it.

9. Red or Pink? DUHHHHHHHH!!!! :)

10. Milk, While or Dark Chocolate? DARK! Not a fan of white, yuck!

11. Do you believe in love at first sight? Hmmm, I believe in KNOWING someone is meant for you, either in that moment or forever, but probably not LOVE at first sight. That takes time.

12. Do you give humorous or serious Valentine's cars? Depends on the mood of the year. 

13. Favorite Chick Flick or Romantic Movie? The Holiday, Under the Tuscan Sun, Two Weeks Notice.

14. Stay in or Go out? Le Husband and I have never gone out for Valentine's. We usually cook a delicious meal together, exchange cards and get dessert. It's just perfect.

Weekly Wins {The One With Birthdays and Trips}

Happy Friday, kids. I'm back with some wins and also bringing you a quick [kind of] recap of our trip to New York City. We had such a great time, I'm honestly still smiling from it. But first, two wins.

>>> Wednesday was T-Bone's 92nd birthday, woohoo! He'd been feeling sick recently so we weren't sure if we'd have to wait for the weekend, but thankfully he started feeling better that morning. We celebrated with margarita's and prosecco and he really enjoyed his coupon book for 'work around the house' from us. It was all Le Husband's idea and it was hoot when T-Bone finally realized what he had in hand.

>>> Yesterday was Daddy's birthday and we tried to celebrate him as best we could from afar. The girls reached out to family to have tons of letters sent his way. He seemed touched which made it quite wonderful.

Wedding day pictures are my favorite. 

Those are the two big wins of the week, now on to our winning weekend in NYC. My Christmas present from Le Husband was a weekend in NYC, which in itself was awesome, but the main part of the present was a visit to an Athletic Movement Protocol facility. We flew out Thursday night and landed in DC for an evening layover. Which meant we met up with family and friends for dinner that night. It was so lovely seeing people and totally worth the late night before an early morning. 

Friday morning we were up bright and early for our quick flight into La Guardia. I must admit, the NYC skyline is quite fabulous, especially Miss Liberty. 

To save money we took the bus and the subway instead of an uber and it was actually quite fun. I grew up using the DC metro and NYC is soooo different, very well laid out though. Since it was still cold tourists were quite minimal so we had tons of space to move around. Le Husband travels so much for work now [three days up to two weeks at a time] he has racked up some pretty insane Marriott points so we stayed a Courtyard Marriott right in Times Square. We dropped off our bags and took of in search of lunch [more on that below] and sight seeing fun.

Both Le Husband and I wanted to see the World Trade Center memorial and on a whim we decided to take the One World Trade Center tour. Tickets weren't horrible and we both thought, why not. The elevator ride up was not my favorite but the view was spectacular. Saw lots of Instagram husbands doing their thing for a special photo. We just snapped the quick one below, ha.

Afterwards we spent time around the memorial. It's quite moving and very well done, definitely tear inducing.

 Someone Le Husband convinced me to walk the 30 (!) blocks back to our hotel before dinner. It was quite chilly and a few times I wanted to tap out and take the subway, but the people of NYC kept me pretty entertained. There was a quick stop to a bar for a whiskey and then it was time for dinner.

Saturday morning we headed to Penn Station to catch the LIRR out to Long Island. Mad props to people who do that often, woof. The whole trip was based around visiting Athletic Movement Protocol which a friend of Le Husband owns. He took us through an hour assessment, gave us an hour of treatment and then an hour of drills/workouts to implement on our own.

I learned a TON about my body, specifically I have an anterior [forward tilt] in my shoulders which causes my lats to be loaded constantly and keeps strain on my neck aka TENSION headaches. The treatments were DIVINE and the drills are savagely simple to keep up with so I'm excited for progress. If you're in the New York area needing functional/mobility you must check out this facility.

Lunch was quick and then it was back to the city. Our dinner on Saturday night was also Le Husband's birthday celebration and we found this fabulous French bistro a few blocks from the hotel. The evening was warmer so there were quite a few more people out, which was fun for people watching of course.

Sunday morning was for sleeping in and getting brunch before the trek back to the airport. Best part of Le Husband's travel is his Admiral's Club access, free food and quiet, wahoo. Soon we were up up and away in the clouds on our way back to DC.

Le Husband timed our layover long enough for us to do a quick trip to our favorite Arlington restaurant, Pollo Rico. Mom and dad picked us up, Babyspice met us there, we ate dinner, had birthday cake for Daddy and then went right back to the airport. It was the perfect ending to the perfect weekend.

Our eats: None of our food was planned, we just YELPed around the area with thoughts, so us.

PHO!!!!

Macaron and cappuccino after lunch 

Whiskey to keep the cold at bay.

Street corn at Mexque 

Pomegranate margarita 

Tuna ceviche, Lobster & duck tacos

 Our delicious French dinner was incredibly authentic and made me reminisce about our European trip.

There you go, our weekend recap. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, friends. Catch you back here on Monday!

H A P P Y BIRTHDAY D A D D Y

Today is my fabulous father's 60th BIRTHDAY! Wow, what a milestone. I thought about writing 60 reasons he's amazing, but figured that would be a bit overboard. So, instead, here are 10 pictures and SIX reasons my dad is the greatest. 

+ He thrives on providing for us and being head of the household. His work ethic at his job is incredible and he would stay up late to help us with homework and then go to work early without ever complaining. His role as breadwinner is one he takes seriously.

+ Even though he's an introvert he will do whatever we extroverts want even if it's out of his comfort zone. As I've grown up I've witness him become more out going and it's been pretty darn cool. I do adore how much he loves to read at parties. 

+ His love of God and his faith is incredible to witness. Our church family is blessed by his service.

+ He spoils his girls like no other. If I EVER mentioned something techie I was interested in or needed he was on the hunt to get me it at the best price. When I needed a new car and had no idea where to start he made me a power point of the top five cars I thought I wanted. When bad things happen he takes us out for ice cream or to a movie. And, the DADDY ATM makes an appearance from random time to time when it's least expected.

+ He danced to NYSNC at my wedding. He practiced the moves with me, on his own and gave a stellar performance. All because his oldest daughter LOVED those boy bands. 

+ Daddy is the greatest example of a man I've ever known and I'm so thankful he was chosen to be my father. Le Husband is the only guy to hold a candle to him and I am truly blessed to have such high standards. 

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Daddy. Your Pookie Bear loves you to the moon and back < 3 !