A Doozy

Oh man, was yesterday a doozy. It involved a two a day workout that crushed me, but I'm finally back in the saddle again, thank goodness. The newest release for body pump is INSANE, good but insane and I then got after it with Le Husband at the gym after work.

Then it was off to a fun, sister, DUCK dinner with our regular crew. I've been craving duck for the past few months and we finally got the dinner on the calendar. It was so fun catching up with our friends, who we've know for the past 22 years. We're all busy girls, but we were finally able to make dinner work. #delish #sogood #wanttogobacknow.

Dinner after the gym was late enough, but I didn't stop there. Once dinner was over it was off to the bar to meet friends for MNF. Normally I don't partake in drinking during games, but last night I needed some wine to take the edge off.

WOOF, that was a tough loss. A doozy of a loss, I might add. I don't know what happened to our team, but I do know that I didn't go in cocky, like other fans. Cowboys/Redskin games are always a toss up and last night we took our turn for the worst. While it sucks, we'll dust ourselves off and move on and hopefully get a win next week against the Cardinals.

I enjoyed the evening, despite the rude, vulgar comments from bandwagon skins fans. I do love the banter that comes along with being a Cowboys fan in DC [Jessie, our email chain last night was awesome], because usually it's all in fun and with fans that know their stuff. Last night, freaks came out though. People who hadn't posted all week about the game had statuses claiming they KNEW their team would win and celebrating the injury of Tony Romo. I don't care who you are, but if you rejoice seeing someone get hurt on an athletic field, your mama and daddy didn't raise you right.

I will still continue to rock my jersey with pride, just as I did at work yesterday. I'm a Cowboys fan, through and through and will stick with my team through the wins and the losses. We still have the overall series record of 64-45 agaisnt the Skins, so I'll take it with a smile.

#Blogtober's prompt is all about superstitions. I don't have many, but I do have a few. Most of them have to do with sports, either being a fan or actually playing the game. I only have a few real life superstitions.

Before any athletic event, I put my right shoe on first.

Breath in and out three times before start of game.

Close eyes at 'Rockets Red Glare' of national anthem.

Hands up in basketball for a free throw.

I don't step on grates or cracks on the sidewalks.

I throw salt over my shoulder when I spill it.

I make people take back bad things [death threats, sick jokes]. Literally, they have to say "I take it back".

I knock on wood.

You Five, Are My Favorite[s]

Morning, kit kats. We made it to Friday, hopefully unscathed and now it's time to prepare for the 'freaking weekend, baby I'm about to have me some fuuunnn"! This time last week I was chilling in Vegas, and while I wish I was still there, I am pretty exited for this coming weekend. I'm going to see my BFFER, watch some soccer, clean the apartment and enjoy some lazy time, too. Fun right?!? Do you have any awesome plans this weekend?

Sadly, before we actually get to our fun weekend plans, we have to get through today. I hope your Friday isn't too cuckoo-bird and flies by. Let's get started, with some Friday favorites, shall we?

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Favorite outfit of the week: New clothes make me happy and a whole new outfit makes me jump for joy. Well, maybe not jump for joy, just snap a picture for the bliggity-blog. I love, love, love my new leopard top, it's my new favorite statement piece [which makes it hard to wear a lot, since it's such a statement] and I loved how this whole look came together. Want to get this look? I've included the Loft links below, happy shopping!

Leopard Top: Here || Jeans: Here || Shoes: Here

Favorite quote of the week: I saw this quote a few days ago, with the #blogtober linkup and man, did it resonate with me. I can't please everyone but I can consistently show my true character and live with an open heart, so those that continually talk badly about me look like the fools. #jokesonyou

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Favorite picture of the week: My Cowboy's are kicking MAHJOR HINEY this year and I'm so, freakin' stoked. It's been hard the past few years, but starting 5-1 has been amazing. Knocking OFF the Seahawks and the Saints was incredible and I just hope we can rock the Giants and deadskins in the coming weeks. I'm sure Romo will do something stupid, in some future game, but right now I'm reveling in a fabulous season. Oh and you KNOW I'm rubbing it in to all my DC friends. #deadskinsstink

Favorite funny of the week: I died when I saw this on pinterest. A short joke and taco joke in one, so hilarious!

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Favorite mail moment of the week: I did the happy dance when I received my BOFF's wedding invitation in the mail earlier this week. They are super beautiful and fun and I immediately put the invite on our fridge. I also immediately put our response in the mail, because I know the stress those invites can cause. I used to be the later RSVPer for weddings, but now, after dealing with the drama of late invites, our response is back in the mail the day we receive the invitation.

                                                                         

**linking up here, here , here, and here this week**

Have a fabulous day and a kicking weekend friends!

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I haven't been great at this whole #blogtober thing, but I'm trying, y'all. I did manage to get my post together for today, wooho! linking up with tay and helene, for today's prompt of "I'm an expert at..."

I'm an expert at...

// painting my nails and immediately chipping the polish off.

// being lazy when I need to be productive.

// getting lost in a really good book.

// french braids.

// finding the good in situations.

// baking cookies and cream Oreo cupcakes.

// writing thank you notes.

// being a cheerleader for my friends.

// not slurping my food.

// procrastination.

// smiling no matter what. #itsmyfavorite

What are you an expert at?!

Are You Ready For Some Football!?!?

Happy Friday ladies! Today's a special Friday Five, as I'm also linking up with Erin for her Football Friday linkup. Can you believe football season is almost here? I'm a summer girl, through and through, but football helps take the sting out of fall for me, every year. So, without further adieu, here are my five favorite things about football :)!

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Favorite Football Team: THE DALLAS COWBOYS!!! I've cheered for them since I can remember, Daddy loves em, so you know Daddy's girl loves em too. Yes, I know I live right outside of Washington D.C. home of the Deadskins, I mean Redskins. TRUST ME, I get asked ALL THE TIME how I became a fan and usually the whole "I grew up cheering for them" gets me a bit of a pass, but sometimes people are ridiculous. If they really get annoying, I just start quoting Super Bowl wins, player names and game stats to get them off my back. Hard to make fun of a fan when she knows her ish. The 90s were the best because we owned the NFL and I loved watching my team bring home the trophy. The past decade or so has been tough, but I've stuck it out with my team and our quarterback {oh Romo}. I go all in every year and every year I get my heart broken. Hopefully, 2015 breaks the curse, but honestly, as long as we sweep the deadskins, it's a winning year to me.

[My team, beating the skins]

Favorite Quarterback: Hands down, Troy Aikman. Legit thought I was going to marry him growing up. He was the number one overall draft pick in 89, played his only twelve seasons with the Cowboys, leading them to three Super Bowl victories, was chosen Super Bowl XXVII MVP and was a six-time Pro-Bowler.  Oh yeah, and he's the quintessential good looking Texas Cowboy. I was so bummed when he got married [as was my dad, haha], but I've continued to enjoy looking at him as he announces games on the Fox Network. Personally, I think he needs to give Romo some tips, but hey that's just me.

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Favorite Football Food: I love me some football food, y'all. Chips and guac. Sliders. Seven layer dip. Meatball subs. Nachos. Basically, if it's cheesy, salty and bad for you, I want to eat it. And I do. I love trying new tailgate recipes and have found some amazing ones through the years. I have to say, my favorite tailgating food is a tie between a cheesy, crab dip and a really good slider. YUM to the O!

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Favorite Football Memory: Honestly, I don't have just one, but all of them revolve around being in Fedex Field, watching my Cowboys kick the poop out of the Redskins. There is nothing better than being in someone else's home stadium and handing them a loss. Bonus points for keeping them out of the playoffs, too :)!

Three years of watching our team win...woop woop!

Favorite Non Football-esque part of the Football Season: Not only can the Cowboy's claim the title of "America's Team", their cheerleaders are the BEST in the business and "America's Sweethearts". If I could go back in time, I'd totally take dance so I could try out for the DCC. These are the most talented women in the business and such role models for the community, too. If you need another show to watch, I highly, highly suggest DCC Making the Team, it's pretty fabulous :)!

Let's hear it for Erin and her FABULOUS FOOTBALL LINKUP!!!!

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ps.com: Don't forget to linkup with Lynn, Carolyn and me next Tuesday for:

**linking up here and here this week**

10 Mile Strong

Yes ladies, I'm Ten Mile Army Strong.

This weekend was all about Sunday's Army 10-Miler. Back in April, when we all signed up, I was excited to try train hard for the race and really hoped to beat my time from two years ago. And then, a lil thing called a WEDDING happened and all thoughts of training kind of hit the wayside August - October. Ooops!

C and I debated selling our bibs the week before Vegas, because we are proud athletes and don't like to go into an athletic even not in our 'best' shape. We both were worried we wouldn't be able to handle running a sub-par mile pace. But, after talking and thinking we decided it was something we would enjoy together and would run it to support the Army.

So Saturday was spent resting our legs. Besides going to the farmer's market and the grocery store we pretty much just stayed off our feet and watched college football all day. Sighhhhh....such a glamourous  married life right?!!?

It was nice though, just to hang out and witness some awesome college football upsets....WHAT WHAT TENNESSEE!?!?! BCS is gonna get a bit of a shake up in the rankings this week.

Sunday morning we were up super bright and early to get ready to meet up with the rest of the family. We parked right off base, walked to our corral and waited for our wave to start. It was a biiiiiiit chilly that early in the morning and I was nervous about my calves tightening up, but luckily they were fine.

Mama B, Daddy, SportySpice and BabySpice all trained for the race so they ran ahead of C and me. We were able to stay with them in sight for the first four miles, but after a small hill we lost them in the crowd. It was really nice running around Washington DC without traffic in the early morning. The 10 Miler is such an awesome experience because tons of fans line different parts of the streets and cheer the runners on throughout the race.

Our race went pretty well for not training. We kept a good pace and it wasn't until mile eight that either of us felt any kind of real twinge. The last mile required a bit of a push on both our parts but we finished only four minutes behind the rest of my family. HUGE win for us!

The FAMILY that runs together...

President Washington caught up with my family

After the race the whole family came back to our place and Le Husband cooked a banging brunch, with some help from me of course. While eating we enjoyed a classic movie on the Hallmark channel, "The Swiss Family Robinsons", which was one of C's favorites when he was younger. This was my first time viewing the movie and it was pretty fun. We all enjoyed a good laugh at the 1960s movie effects.

Once the family left, it was football, couch and stretching time. My body was HURTING badly from not training, especially my knees so I stayed on the couch as much as possible. It was a great place to watch my Cowboy's demolish the Eagles and also a great place to enjoy pizza for dinner. 

Hopefully I won't be too sore the rest of the week and I'll be able to get back after it in the gym by Tuesday. I've so missed my normal workout schedule, that's for another post. 

Speaking of another post, stop by tomorrow of the recipe of those amazing smores bars I mentioned a week ago. I promise it will be worth your time. 

Alright bunnies, go show Monday who's boss! < 3 Muah < 3

Linking up with sami, meg and leanne

Friiiiiiday, Friday....

TODAY IS FIVE ON FRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDAY!

[linkuphere]

1] Vegas: A full recap will be done sometime next week but for now here are some quick snapshots. The trip/vacation parts of Las Vegas were awesome. It was so much fun sharing the experience with SportySpice, BabySpice and Le Husband this year. We partied till early morning, ate at Hash House, saw the fountains, enjoyed good food and drinks, gambled and won money and just had a good vacation. Minus the fact our team lost. The loss was a BITTER pill to swallow Saturday and the bitterness probably won't go away for awhile. Right now though, I'm choosing to focus on the fabulous memories made with three of my favorite people.

2] Fall Fashion: Aka what fall fashion? I have yet to be really WOWed by anything this season. It's really all the same stuff it's been the past few years; boots, skinnies, leggings and big sweaters oh my...snooze. Where's the drama and the NEW?!?! Although, now that I think about it, this might be the best thing ever for my wallet because I'm not spending unnecessary money on outfits/deals/steals that I don't need. #walletwin!

3] Cowboys beat the Redskins: Yes, I know I'm late mentioning this, but the game was on while we were still in Vegas so I haven't had a chance to blog about the results until today. This game is always a huge game and until RG3 was added to the team it was pretty one sided on the Cowboy's end. We rocked the series for awhile, but recently it's been more back and forth aka MORE STRESS for a Dallas fan in DC. But, this weekend good prevailed [winkwink] and my boys brought home the WIN! #howboutthemcowboys!

4] End to the furlough: Woohoo, it's over and people are back to work, thank goodness! I personally was not affected but my dad was the first week. He was able to turn a bad situation into a good one and really used the time to help Mama B at home and just enjoyed the 'vacation'. I've had many friends affected though, and it's been a real run of the gambit in the area. There are those where the furlough has been more of an annoyance than anything, just a change in a routine, but no real difference with spending or budgeting. And others where the missed paychecks really changed and hurt their normal way of life. I'm hopeful the government keeps it's word on back-pay and really pray we don't have to go through this again. It gives our country a bad name and that is inexcusable.

5] THE HEAT: Yeah, I may be a tad bit behind with this movie, but it is bombdotcom y'all. I watched it this week and was rolling the entire time. The script is hilarious and McCarthy & Bullock are pure comedy perfection. For once, the adult language and content isn't just there for show, rather for comedy and to add a bit or reality to the situation. If you haven't watched this movie yet, go rent it this weekend, you won't be disappointed.

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Happy Friday sweet lovely friends! < 3

What....it's Monday again!?!?

Just like clockwork, the weekend has ended and again it's hello Monday.

You'd think I'd get used to it by now, huh?

So what happened this weekend?!?

I was able to catch up on sleep....WOOP!

I organized and attended a fun brunch with some awesome ladies. I'm hoping we can turn our sisters brunch into at least a bimonthly thing. It was a lot of fun and the food was amazing.

Sistas brunch

After brunch I came home, moved and put away more things in the apartment and then took a bit of a nap. Hey, brunch was super filling.

The plan was to organize and clean the apartment after my nap, but I received a surprise text from my best friend T saying she wanted to come down for dinner. Ummm yeah duh!

It work out perfectly because the husband was playing a golf tournament all day and wasn't going to be home until way after dinner time. T and I enjoyed some girl talk time and then went out to dinner and ate some amazing food together. Seriously, this weekend can be wrapped up with the word FOOD. 

Sunday was all about church, family, football [hellzyeahcowboys!!!! suckitskins] and then my first indoor soccer game since the wedding. It went well, we won and I had a goal which made me happy. 

I was pretty lazy the rest of the day and totally skipped the Emmys! #toooldforthatish

Now it's time to rock out this week. 

How was your weekend?

linking up with sami, meg and leanne

Wait, the weekend's over?!?

Big fat boo card!

Although, I might need the week to catch up on my sleep, this weekend was a doozy.

Friday night we had family dinner to celebrate BabySpice passing the bar. It was a great time with the family and Le Beau, we are a crazy awesome missmash of fun. I am SURE we left our server many fun stories to share with others. After dinner everyone was tired from the week so we went our separate ways. I stayed up WAY too late watching the Nationals lose after being up 6-0. Heart breaker! :(

Saturday after the farmer's market, I packed up and head down south to spend some time with my lil Fresh Prince. Mama and Daddy L were at a wedding and I was called in to help with babysitting the Fresh Prince later in the evening.

 The two of us had a blast, baking cookies, playing trains, enjoying the bday presents I bought him, talking [chatty cathy that one, so cute], going potty [hilarious, just hilarious], getting clean in the bath, reading stories and snuggling before bedtime. He is just TOO PRECIOUS!

Oh my lil Fresh Prince, you are SO BIG!

Funniest story of babysitting is a classic. Fresh Prince randomly told me that I was going to have a baby [!] because I had b00bs. Well, he didn't say b00bs, but pointed to my chest. I'm guessing since he sees Mama L breast feeding Princess Kate, he assumes all women with b00bs will have babies.

I explained to him that I am NOT going to have a baby for a long time because I am not yet married.

And then, THIS HAPPENED:

Fresh Prince: But, Pinky, why aren't you married?

Pinky: Ummm....because I'm not ready I guess.

FP: Well, you should be ready and get married.

Pinky: *blinks* ok......

FP: Yes, get ready and get married.

He proceeded to tell me this 3 times throughout the evening.

Guess it's time to get married huh!?! ;)

After bed time, I stayed up and worked on a scrap book from my trip to Spain...

BACK IN COLLEGE!

Not the timeliest clock in the shop, but hey, it's getting done.

I wish I could show you some of the pictures,

I was TINY!

Anyway, once the L's came home, Mama L and I stayed up way too late catching up,

talking about life and the past.

I say it every time, but I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Sunday morning we were up early with the kids, enjoyed a fun breakfast at her parent's house and I got some quality cuddle time with Princess Kate. She is so precious!

My two favorite kids...Princess Kate and Fresh Prince

Mid morning I whisked Mama L away to the salon for a mani/pedi. She turned 30 at the beginning of the month and I wanted to give her the gift of pampering and luxury. We even snuck champagne into our orange/mango flavored water, I seriously felt like I was in high school haha.

Despite the rushed employees, we both enjoyed our mani/pedi
and left the salon

feeling refreshed and prettiful.

Fun fall color :)

Once lunch was over I headed home to my parents house

and got my heart broken

AGAIN by my Dallas Cowboys.

The highest high, to the lowest low....ugh that loss HURT!

I was exhausted after my indoor soccer game so it was dinner

then lights out early.

I was so tired I skipped my morning workout today, but I'll be hitting the gym

or pavement hard this afternoon.

Gotta get ready for the Rebel Race this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great Monday!

Paging Dr. Busy

Come in Dr. Busy.

Hello friends, how are you!? Fun weekend?!

Me too!

But dang was it busy busy bee-esque!

Last week was definitely a long week and it was capped of by a late night kickball practice on Friday. With the championship this weekend [!], the team got together on Friday for walk through situational practice. While it was totally needed and a lot of progress was made, it also meant I didn't get home until 11pm. Before you give me the 'what an old lady look', let me say I had to get up at 6:30am the next morning to go hiking.

Sportyspice, Babyspice, Le Beau and I all wanted to hike Old Rag mountain in the Shenandoah valley, so Saturday we packed up and rolled out. The mountain is about 1.5 hours away which isn't too bad, but does make for an earlier morning if you want to beat the crowds.

Earlier in the week it looked as though the weather was gonna be rainy. Luckily, God blessed us with amazing weather and we were able to hike comfortably. We all had an awesome time enjoying God's majestic earth and climbing fun rock scrambles together.

Quick iphone pics from the hike

Start of the hike

 First break an hour into hiking.

Like my pretty leaf? The Nerkflaps gave it to me :)

Looking into the distance.

Oh so strong sissys.

 So talented!

Summit

The kids who pushed our pace all day.

 Hard Core!

 Summit excitement!

Beautiful end to an amazing hike.

The hike up took about 2.5 hours and we were able to speed down the mountain as well. Let me just say, descending a  mountain is not as fun as climbing for sure. All in all we had a great afternoon and despite an hour extra traffic ride home the day was a success.

After hiking, I had to whip myself into check and get ready for my best friend L's 30th birthday party. Despite being majorly tired and a double cupcake fail [don't wanna talk about it] I manged to get to the party only an hour late [and you know I'm never late].

The party was in full swing and a wonderful time. There was wine, desserts, snacks, champs [per moi] and of course fun girl talk. The event was such a breath of fresh air from normal birthday parties, but I was definitely the odd lady out. I plan to dedicate a whole post to the party, so let me just say it was a fabulously fun time.

Sunday brought the normal church and brunch family fun, and then even MORE family time. My uncle, who is a pilot, flew into DCA early in the day so he came and spent time with us that afternoon. We watched the US choke in the Ryder cup [ugh], watched Red Zone, they played tennis while I painted my nails and read and then ended the evening with a delicious chicken bbq dinner.

I was so whipped I passed out in bed around 9:30pm last night and hit the NAYNO button on my morning workout alarm. Have no fear, I'm hitting the gym after work, no laziness the week before Vegas.

Crossing my fingers that I can stay awake tonight to watch my Cowboys win! :)

Hopefully, y'all had a great weekend too. This is a short week for me as I'm heading to Vegas this weekend. I don't know when I will be able to sleep, so pray for me ;)!