Friday, September 18, 2009
Finding Fun in the Ordinary
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
lessons learned from a one year old
Lesson 1 never give up
Have you ever watched a child learning to walk? They will take a few steps and fall get up take a few more and fall and sometimes they fall so hard you are certain they are hurt and the just get right back up and yet again. We as adults give something a try if it doesn't work we quit. If we all tried to do new things in the same way a baby tries to walk there would be no failure.
Lesson 2 do what you want to do
Children at this age are quite defiant for their 20 lb selves and they will do what they want. If little baby want to walk around the living room for an hour straight they will despite how badly you want them to play the expensive educational toy you brought. As grown ups we tend to put other peoples wants befor our own and I think this applies even more so to the women out there. We are constandly doing things for our families but we often forget about our wants. Take some time to do things you truely want to do and you will feel less resentful when you do those other things for your family.
Lesson 3 go to sleep when you are tired
No one likes to be around the baby who is soo sleepy and so crabby and just don't want to go to sleep. You are the same way too but there no one making you go to sleep. Whatever you want to do can wait until you are rested and whatever it is will probally be done better when you are rested!! So go to sleep!
Lesson 4 would you feed that to your kid?
As adults we often do not consider the food we put in our mouths but when it comes to our children we are thinking fruits veggies maybe even organic! But think about this you body is the same as theirs just with a little more experience why should it not be given the same quality food as you child? Next time you go to put that vending machine lunch in your mouth think would I give this to my kid for their lunch? If the answer is no put it down!
Lesson 5 learn someting new everyday
Babies are constandly learning everthing they do teaches them something different. Even as they learn more they become More and more curious and want to learn more and more. But as adults we often feel as if we have learned all we can learn and even though we are given opportunities to learn more we do not take them because we have lost the desire to learn or seem to think we know everything. If we all used a childs curiousity to continue to learn throughout our adult lives we would feel more fulfilled and knowledgable about the world around us and give us all a little more fulfillment.
I encourage you today to learn a little from the children around you they have a lot to teach even as we tell them they have a lot to learn!
Friday, August 7, 2009
thoughts on college
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Quote for today
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Time Will Come
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tips for Future brides..
Friday, July 10, 2009
Reader poll...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Starting a Business...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Crafters Nightmare



Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thank you!

Friday, June 26, 2009
Surfing!
I rode my first wave in over 3 years yesterday! Zach finally got smart about surfing and decided to ask me to go with him. Of course the waves have to be just perfect for me to go.. Perfectly small! And they were and I was able to spend 2 hours in the waves yesterday. Sadly, I do live within minutes of the beach and this was the first time my body has touched the ocean in probally 2 years! So it took me a few minutes to readapt to waves, current, and generally being in the water. But I find it funny how all your training comes back to you. I was taught the mechanics of surfing my freshman year of college when i joined surf club and once a week they would take you to the ocean and teach you how to surf. Zach I think was a little impressed with my "turtle rolls" and ability to not let the waves bully me around. Although I didn't fully stand up on any of the waves I rode I had a blast! I still don't know how Zach does it everyday my body was so sore when we got home. I look forward to other small surf days when I can go out and attempt to surf some more!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Out with the Old....
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Back to Life...

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Just Married!

Sunday, May 10, 2009
The Graduate
10:00 University Graduation- All us theatre kids sat together in the back and made a bit of "Noise"
11:30 Theatre Dept Graduation- Dr. V. forgot me.. Ed called me Sue ( my middle name that I hate) and My candy diploma was broken :(
3:00 Psycholgy Dept. Graduation- I won the Joseph Awkard Service award and Zach missed it!
That Concludes the day long events of graduation in a nice brief summary : )
Saturday, May 2, 2009
42 days!


Friday, May 1, 2009
The End is near....
Thursday, April 23, 2009
You ARE what you EAT
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Zach's B-day Cake
It looked like a disaster I didn't know what I was going to do! So I whipped up some butter cream to attempt to "glue" the cake back together enough so that I could at least give him some sort of cake As I continued to make the cake I decided to try something new.. I wanted to make a 3-d cake.. So I decided to make Zach a surfing cake.. And about four hours later here is Zach's birthday cake..
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Art of Grocery Shopping
It really dawned on me the other day when Zach and I just happened to be at 2 different grocery stores at the same time (weird i know) and We were discussing the items we needed for our home and even though the money cames from the same account we divided who would buy what based solely on the store we were at! So.. For example: Zach was at Harris Teeter who has milk for about $3 a gallon which is very cheap and I was at Lowes foods where eggs were on sale for $.99 a carton and I purchased the eggs and he got the milk.. and we divided it up like that! I found it very amusing! :)
Another thing I've learned is to buy specific food groups from diff rent stores, yes it is inconvenient when you really only need a few items to shop around different stores but usually you will save so much more money and get much better quality food by doing so. What i've learned Buy Fruits and Veggies at Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, or Fresh Market based on whats on sale!
Buy meats at Food Lion for the best deals or Lowes Foods (if you live in Wilmington take a friend with you to food lion b/c they are all a little sketchy) Buy your paper products, cleaning products, boxed goods from Wal mart for the cheapest price! But NEVER buy fresh goods (meats or veggies) they go bad MUCH faster than if you purchase your goods from another store!!
Another awesome saver is coupons! I've become a very avid coupon clipper.. Every Sunday I get the paper from my work and clip all the coupons out that I know I will/could use before they expire. I also have them sent to my email using coupons.com. If you are an avid craft store shopper sign up w/ their websites to have them email you their coupons (they email about 2 or more a week!) i've saved tons of money using coupons.. I used to think they were just a waste of time but alot of stores will actually double your coupons so you can turn .50 coupon into a dollar of savings!!
My final grocery tip is a LIST sounds simple.. but really I keep a magentic shopping list on our fridge and each time an item is finished or we decide we need something it goes on the list and then you can just pick it up without having to think while you are at the store OH dID i need.. It's a hard habit to stick to but if you are dedicated you will save time and money on items you think you need at the store but when you get home you realize you don't need it at all.. Also, if you can stick to the list you won't pick up items you don't need at all (this is my biggest weakness...OH thats on sale.. and we didn't even need it!! )
Use these tips and enjoy your grocery shopping.. I've learned to have fun finding the best deals!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sports
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
What is that in the Kitchen?!
This fabulous meal consisted of fresh shrimp and hushpuppies all prepared by Zach. Although I did have to peel the shrimp it was very worth it! Our wonderfully fried goods were not so great for my diet or my attempts at eating healthy or vegitarian BUT it sure was yummy!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Weekend..

surfing big waves
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Food War continues..
Monday, March 23, 2009
Living w/ a Gown up baby..
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Time for a Wedding update!
- We have now received all of our bridesmaids gowns and all but one have been picked up and all of them fit just as they were order to fit (one will need to be altered but we knew that from the beginning) My wedding dress is scheduled to arrive by the middle of next month and once that arrives we will decide on a veil and or headpiece. My wedding shoes have been order and will arrive about the same time as my dress. My bridesmaids shoes are in the process of being purchased(as they will double as gifts). Our flower girl's dress is order and not sure when it will arrive but when it does the whole top will need to be remade so lets hope it gets here soon! One of the ring bearers has a tux and the other one still has to be purchased. All hair appointments have been scheduled. Our groom now has a tux and 2 of the 4 groomsman have been fitted!
- We have a confirmed HONEYMOON! Which I was beginning to think would never come through! We will be going to Masunutten VA thank you Uncle Bill and Aunt Linda for you help w/ that!!
- We have our reception decor: candles, votive, and the necessities ( table cloths, napkins, forks, plates, & cups). Our flowers have been order and mostly paid for thus covering centerpieces, boutonnieres, corsages, and bouquets. We have gotten lots of volunteer chefs to help prepare our pot luck food so I believe food is taken care of (this is the one item i personally have not been handling) Items for the reception that are still lacking are: guestbook, music, greeters, toasts, cake cutting knife, toasting glass (bride and groom)
- As for the cake, I am still planning on making it. I am half way through my 2nd Wilton cake decorating course and am now learning about fondant which is what I want to use with the cakes. While mom was here we made a few to practice and were very please with the results to Cake is till a go!
- We have a photographer confirmed and I believe a videographer (Zach's working on this so I'm not sure if its confirmed)
- For the ceremony we now have, benches, arch, vases(for decor) and flowers to run the aisle, we have an officiant, and we are lacking supplies for a sand ceremony and the vows to be said. My mom is working on putting together the programs which will be handed out at the ceremony. We are still lacking transportation for the bride and her mother from the dressing location to the ceremony as well as transportation for those who are not able to walk to and from the reception to the ceremony.
- Invitations are almost finished! Each one was made by hand with the help of my groom, mom, and a bridesmaid!
- Our wedding website is up and running with the most up to date information as well as rsvp online! which i love!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Forgotten Beauty
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What I love about the Theatre...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Skating through Life
Friday, February 6, 2009
Today's Baking Fun!



Thursday, February 5, 2009
The DIY Wedding!
The Save the Dates went out last week and I created those which was tons of fun and I got lots of compliments on! It was so simple too! I just went to the beach wrote "Save the Date" and i wrote our names in the sand and when I got home i photo shopped them together and added a text box with our wedding date and WOW! an awesome save the date card! I just had to order then in the form of post cards, address them and stamp!
The next aspect of our DIY wedding will the be the invitations. I just received the paper today from the online co. that you can order paper from for fairly cheap and My mom and I will be spending spring break assembling those! Tons of FUN :)
I will also be creating the favors, programs, and many of the decorations. What I won't be DIY is Photography, I have hired Joey Wooton to do that for us! And Flowers, The flower Basket on HI road will be doing that!
I ALSO am going to ATTEMPT to make our wedding cake! I have signed up for the cake decorating class at Micheal's where we are learning how to decorate cake. So far I haven't had a chance to actually decorate yet but I have confidence that I will be good at it and quite capable of making the cake that I want for our wedding without having to pay the $500 everyone is charging!!! Since I am in the cake decorating course I will also be making alot of different cakes over the next few weeks so if anyone has an awesome cake recipie they would like to share I would love to try and make it!!!
I am loving the DIY wedding because it allows for me to input lots of my own creativity into the wedding as well as save a lot of money!! But I don't recommend it for those with little time because it can create quite a bit of stress!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thoughts on Parenthood..

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Struggles..
I say this because I find it rather amusing HOW MUCH HE CAN SLEEP!!
A day in the life of Zach is
Work
Surf
sleep
tv
sleep
Repeat
Sometimes Instead of TV he replaces bowling..
I also find this quite annoying because While he's snoozing away on the coach I have to do homework, wedding plans, clean house, and or cook dinner.. And as we speak I am starving b/c I was supposed to come home to a Zach cooked meal and this is what I found instead of food!! After a late night in the theatre I am not really in the mood to cook especially since I have an exam tomorrow.. So instead I update our blog before beginning the long night of studing..
Sunday, January 25, 2009
surfing with my friends





within the past week we have had our friend from high school and her boyfriend move to Wilmington so i have found a new friend to annoy into going surfing with me. lol. we went today which probably wasn't too good for someone who has been out of the sport for a while but he went anyway. it gave me some perspective on the progress on my surfing ability. when you first start you always wanna go even if its blown out even if the current pulls you down the beach within a matter of minutes and you don't even get a chance to ride a single wave. when i saw him out there today it reminded myself of me 7 or 8 months ago i was no better than he is now. i have been surfing since i was 15 but i stopped when i moved to Nashville for a year and after not doing it i was no good. since i moved to Wilmington i met alot of awesome friends that love surfing and i go almost every day so i can keep out of trouble. the more i go the better i get. my endurance is so much better i can surf for hours before getting tired. today it was about 50 degrees in the water and the air was about 37. it was cold after 2 and a half hours but definitely worth it. here is some pics of the other day surfing enjoy.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Today's lesson to learn
Today was one of those days for me.. and I finally went over to a friends told her the story, had dinner, a margarita, and played scene it and now today doesn't even feel like the same day!
Always know tomorrow is a new day!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Life Lessons
- No one cares if the house is a mess but me!
- Just because he has seen me at my worst doesn't mean he wants to see me that way everyday
- Actually attempting to look nice boosts your self esteem
- NO hes not going to notice the 1lb that I worked so hard to lose
- NO hes not going to eat all that healthly stuff you eat EVEN if it is all you buy
- Compromise is difficult but required!!
- yes he will always choose surfing over helping plan wedding, house cleaning, and cooking
- Guys are just not that into cleaning, cooking, decorating and other minor details (unless they have to do w/ surfing, dirt bikes, & cars)
- NAGGING DOES NOT WORK! if anyone else has a solution I would love to hear it :)
- No he will not take out the recycling and trash w/o me asking or do other household chores
- Quality time can consist of sitting on the couch together even if we are focused on two separate tasks
Those are just a few of the things that I have learned since Zach and I have been together and I consider myself very lucky to have learned most of them before we get married.. now if I could only remember those things each and every day!!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Winter Decisions
Monday, January 19, 2009
surfing

Surfing is just one of those things where you can get away from everything that is going on around you. Some have sports or tv shows they follow and i have my surfing. i have recently been pretty hard core with my surfing almost every day i try to go. It is the way that i get my workout and the way that i clear my head. With amanda staying so busy with planning the wedding and with school i try to stay out of her way so i dont annoy her. surfing to me is the one place that i can go even if it is flatter than a pancake and still enjoy it(even though the water is a whopping 53 degrees).Thanks for checking out my first blog ever ____zach