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

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showering in my OWN home because our shower works...with HOT WATER! HUZZAH!

cultivating the perfect look in our master bath, picking up all the last lil accessories.

expecting the next ten days to be pretty fanFREAKINGtastic. #birthdaytrip #sissyreunion #babyniece

buying nothing but the necessities right now. #lightattheendofthetunnel #soon 

cooking healthier foods because I will be on a beach at the end of the month, eeek!

believing THIRTY-FIVE could be my best year yet, cheers to BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!

loving I leave for Arizona this week to see baby niece. weeeedeeedeeeee

reading books, allllll the booooooks! #historicalfictionkick

anticipating audition results. this month, people, eeeek! #graceforeitheroutcome #wantitbad

wearing workout clothes with NO JACKET! PTL! Spring is happening here.

renovating nothing. FLIP FLOP NOTHING, HALLELUJAH AND HALLELUJAH!

What I'm Up To {June}

Hello! Today I'm linking up with Shay and friends for What's Up Wednesday. I always think it's fun to look back on the month and look ahead to the next one while reading recaps from other bloggers. Come join in the fun why don't you?

What We're Eating... so much healthier than last month, woohoo. For those of you who are new here I had gallbladder surgery back in May due to many attacks which were extremely painful. Fatty foods were my nemesis so I stopped eating them. So, you can guess what I did once the gallbladder was gone...yeah I ATE ALL THE THINGS resulting in feeling crappy and gaining weight. To combat the bad cravings, Le Husband and I did a mock WHOLE30 at the beginning of the month and we now both feel so much better. I'm still not as lean as I would like but my body is back to craving WHOLE foods and not processed crap. That is a WIN within itself, woohoo!

What I'm reminiscing about... having a job where I could do whatever I wanted when I wanted. We used to be able to galavant at a the drop of a hat and take a long weekend for kickball events. Now I really have to THINK about vacation and when I plan to take time off. I get very few paid days off now and coordinating them with my boss can be tough. I miss the freedom [and the money] but I know this is just a learning season and soon I'll be on to better things.

What I'm Loving... my new haircut. So fresh! So fun! So blonde! SO Summer!

What We've Been Up To... getting the house together some more. Homeownership and remodeling is a never ending process. We are --this-- close to having the bottom floor set and I can't wait until we can take a week or two off and just live. Everything is coming together nicely and I am super excited to show people the before and after once it gets set.

What I'm Dreading... when my family leaves next week and having cameras in the office. YUCK!

What I'm Working On... studying new releases and getting my choreography memorized. Also trying to find lil bits for the house for decor. Where do you find cute, cheap but not cheap looking pieces?

What I'm Excited About... my family is coming into town for the weekend, even the ARIZONA sister. It has been way too long since we were all together and I'm beyond excited for us all to be whole again.

What I'm Watching/Reading... watching videos for LES MILLS, reading choreography and reading my NASM textbook and notes. I need to rock it with my test and lots of textbook reading is in my future.

What I'm Listening To... LES MILLS music and podcasts. Loving The Accused and getting into other true crime podcast recommend by friends and readers. Anyone have a good podcast they think I should listen to now?

What I'm Doing This Weekend... hanging with my family and playing kickball.

What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month... July is bringing family into town, vacation to Michigan for a wedding, a kickball tournament in North Carolina and Le Husband's family coming into town. It is going to be super busy but super duper fun. What have you been up to and what are your plans for July?

Some Weekend Pics

***Before we get to my post I have to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who commented yesterday. Posting a glimpse behind the curtains of this space was scary, but something I knew I needed to do to be me. Your words, support, emails, texts and thoughts truly made my day and I am so grateful to each and everyone of you. I really think everyone should write their own "What you don't see" post, I know I'd love to read them all. Anyway, THANK YOU!***


Moving on to my weekend pictures...on a Wednesday, yup. Our weekend was so fast paced and busy I just did not have time to recap everything on Sunday afternoon. So much was done and accomplished over the weekend but I honestly just wanted to nap after my horribly tough and disappointing week. Nevertheless, I committed to getting err done and reaped the reward Sunday night.


This weekend I...

... finally made it to the DMV to become a LEGIT Tennessee resident. Yup, VA no more for this lil Pinkster. I anticipated at least an hour because, Friday, but was pleasantly surprised to be in and out of there in under 45 minutes. There was a slight heart attack during the eye exam, but phew, your girl passed.

... cracked up over my picture because the lady didn't give me warning, doh. Personally I feel like I'm channeling my inner Regina George at the bar two drinks in, haha. Thoughts?

... came home and took a quick lay down while waiting for Le Husband to get home.

... made a compliant dinner, watched some CWS then went to bed early to catch up on sleep.

... woke up way earlier than I wanted and honestly was a bit grumpy about teaching two classes back to back. I'm a yes girl when people need help, but I really wished I had taken the weekend off.

... taught one of my BEST BODYPUMP classes in awhile and had a fellow instructor and a few other members mention how well I taught the class. I put so much into preparing it was so wonderful to hear such kind words.

... felt much better after the excurcise.

... came home, ate food then attacked the mountain of things we needed to get done. We went to Hearth and Home to get a GREEN EGG [heart eye emoji], Home Depot for bookshelf stuff, grocery store for a cookout and smoothie place for food.

... had quite a few men comment on my husband being a 'lucky father' because of our Home Depot haul.

... finished painting the stairway, prepped the upstairs and enjoyed our first GREEN EGG MEAL.

... woke up lazy Sunday morning then ripped through our TO DOS.

... did gardening in the front yard, love our pretty yellow flower.

... helped Le Husband make a bookshelf, did laundry, hung pictures and started decorating the home.

... talked to Daddy on the phone for Father's day.

... went over to my aunt and uncles house for a Father's day dinner. Hung out with T-Bone, too.

... came home, prepped for the week and went to bed.

There you go, our weekend in pictures and in a nutshell. It was fun, tiring, rewarding and family oriented. All good things to me indeed. Cheers to hump day and the weekend being close again.

Weekend Highlights {The one with the HIKE and home stuff}

Morning, friends. Happy Monday to you! I know, Mondays aren't our favorites, but since they come around so often let's try and make it nice. This weekend was mostly about hiking, with a lil home improvement thrown in there for balance.

This weekend we...

... took it easy on Friday evening because tired and big hike the next day.

... woke up later than planned Saturday morning, but sleep was so needed, especially by me.

... packed up and hit the road for 30ish minute drive into the beautiful mountains.

... threw our planning for this hike together at the last minute and kind of drove around until we found something that looked good on the map. NOTE: Not the best idea for the first hike in a year.

... started the jaunt up the trail and enjoyed the gorgeous morning [so cool and sunny] and then came across aggressive bear signs, eek! The sign was in regards to a camp site, not the trail so we decided to go on with our plan.

... originally planned for maybe a six to seven mile hike round trip. Welp, somehow that turned into a twelve plus mile hike round trip because the map wasn't the C L E A R E S T on distances. Thankfully the view at the top made it alllllll worth the ouch in the legs and lungs.

... both decided the descent is a BAZILLION times worse than the ascent. Y'all my body is more sore from walking DOWN the mountain than up, no joke. By the end my feet were yelling at me and my posterior chain was talking as well. 

... had a fabulous time with wonderful weather and truly reignited our hiking bug.

... ate dinner at a delicious lil BBQ joint which had THE BEST COLESLAW in the world. PERIOD!

... headed to the gym after the hike to workout....SIKE! We went to use the foam rollers, hot tub and steam room to loosen up our uber tight lower body. Totally my idea and TOTALLY the best idea because the next day was a lot nicer to us.

... woke up late Sunday, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast then did some home improvements. 

... bought a new fan, new foyer light and new dining room light. Only snapped this baby bad one on the couch but will have more tomorrow/wednesday. I was so exhausted, but proud because I helped but up the fan and first light. 

... studied some more, prepped for the next day and tried to sleep. No dice. UGH!

Annnnd, that's all she, well I, wrote. It was a good mixed weekend, but I'm still feeling the hike and have quite a few classes on the docket for this week. Plus my test, egad. Happy vibes would be so appreciated. Have a wonderful day!

What I'm Up To {April}

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What We're Eating... random, random, random. Lots of lean protein, lots of gnocchi [because easy], lots of homemade tortilla/pita chips, lots of protein shakes.

What I'm reminiscing about... Europe. Sweet, beautiful Europe. This day last year we were traveling around Italy in Cinque Terre and my soul gets so sad remembering how beautiful of a life we had for a month. I still haven't fully recapped [I WILL, one day] and I so miss the carefree attitude we walked around with and I miss the glorious views and the delicious food. I made Le Husband promise we would go back someday.

What I'm Loving... not living for my phone. I've only been at my new job for three weeks, but not having to worry about my phone ringing all the time is the biggest blessing. Beyond thankful for the new job.

What We've Been Up To... where to start. Le Husband is now working back at his old job and doing a lot of traveling. I'm teaching four classes a week on top of my new job and starting to add 6am workouts to my fitness regimen. Now that I no longer live at the gym {PTL} mornings are the only times free for me to get MY workouts done. It's been tough, but it's what I have to do to stay in shape and get better for my class participants.

What I'm Dreading... surgery. UGH!

What I'm Working On... my PT certification. Oops, let this one fall waaaaaay off the radar and have to take the test next month. Holy frijoles, need to get my act together quick.

What I'm Excited About... being about to eat FATTY foods. I've been eating EXTREMELY lean because fatty foods cause me to have a gallbladder attack. Great for my body composition, but I miss cheese, half/half, olive oil, yogurt, burgers, avocados cheese, ice cream and did I mention cheese?

What I'm Watching/Reading... not much on television, I don't have time. I'm mostly watching videos for Les Mills releases and reading my notes. I need to get better about a devotional at the end of the day.

What I'm Listening To... BODYPUMP, BODYATTACK, BODYCOMBAT, BARRE and SPRINT music.

What I'm Wearing... REAL CLOTHES! So exciting after living in black pants and a black polo the past six months. Bringing out the leggings, long shirts, jeans and cute tops. Oh and of course, all the Reebok workout clothes.

What I'm Doing This Weekend... more house stuff. We will be traveling a lot in the summer so lots and lots to get done in the townhouse while we have the time. Oh and I think we have a kickball tournament?

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month... seeing my mama, even if it is for surgery. Traveling for kickball and seeing friends. Memorial weekend and the opening of our HOA POOL! Yes, we have a pool.

What Else Is New... gosh, seems like so much is new still.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, I know it's not as fun. But, I'm just getting back into my blog groove so posting three days in a row is big time, haha. Thanks for reading!

linking up here

Messy, Busy & Ever Changing

First, THANK YOU for all your kind wishes and words. Seriously, y'all are the BESTEST! I can't tell you how much it means each of you still read and care, insert smiley face. I miss conversations here and I miss the supportive community. Y'all make me really wanna come back. Here's hoping, right? RIGHT?!

While I'm here, I guess I'll share a bit more about what we've been up to since February. My life has been consumed by work, teaching/practicing Les Mills classes and remodeling our townhouse. Le Husband has gone all Chipper Jones on me and I'm doing my best to jump in when [and where] I can. I HOPE to chronicle in a more DIY post, especially with the popcorn ceiling, but for now I thought it would be fun to share a summary of all the work going down.

We've been... 

Removing popcorn ceilings...

Repainting the faaaaabulous yellow walls...

We went with a dark accent wall and a light grey all around

Completely redoing the fireplace...

Picking out new flooring, new counter tops, master bath tiles and fixtures...

Oh yeah, and spending tons of time online looking for the best deals and decor ideas. We are still bring a whole 'feel' to the house but have decided on a color scheme and theme. Probably not at all on trend, but that's okay. I must say I'm in LOVE with subway tile, chandeliers, copper fixtures, deep hardwoods, clean whites and of course a few pops of colors. The hardest part right now is still living in chaos, but once the floors are done downstairs everything will finally come together and feel more like home. If you have any DIY tips or shopping for decor tips, PLEASE share! I'm all about a bargain and saving some time. Fingers crossed for us this week, we're hoping to lay down the hardwood floors.

No Place Like Home

Yes, friends, YES! 

After months of feeling lost, days of feeling depressed, weeks of wondering if this was the stupidest decision ever, finally, finally have A H O M E! You may have seen the good news over Instagram on Saturday [ find me here ] and I've just now found the time to update this space with the news. 

Le Husband and I closed on a townhouse last Friday and moved everything in over the weekend [talk about that adventure another day]. Right now the place is filled with boxes, both taped and opened, and our kitchen looks like a bomb exploded, but that's okay. It is OUR KITCHEN in OUR HOME. There is a lot of work to be done and we are slowly making lists, unpacking, organizing and brainstorming ideas to make it even more us. 

Thank you all for the support and prayers the past seven months. This move was much harder than anticipated on me, on Le Husband on our marriage and just in general. Now it all makes sense and now it is all worth the pain, tears, stress, frustration and failures. We are where we need to be and it's time to build our life in Knoxville. 

I can't wait to show you more pictures once everything gets more situated and get ready for a a bunch of DIYs because this place needs some work. Two words, popcorn ceiling [i know]. Now that we have Internet I'm hopefully going to get back into the swing of blogging and will be visiting y'all soon. Before I go, I have to share a picture of our second meal in the new place. The first night I created homemade bagel bites which were delicious but not something to brag about. Saturday night [after a ridiculous day, again, more to come] Le Husband decided he wanted homemade chicken and waffles so that's what we made. They, along with champagne and a Disney movie on my laptop, created the most perfect dinner experience and will be a memory I hold on to for a very long time. 

Thank you again for being here during our journey and for championing us when we lost faith. Y'all mean so much to me and I'm so grateful for each comment, prayer, happy vibe and well wish. I hope y'all have a wonderful rest of the week!