Random thoughts for this Thursday

1.  Have any of you seen the movie, "Contagion?"  It was really good but pretty scary...something like that could really happen.  If you are an overly cautious germ freak already, you might not want to see this movie.  I already wash my hands 20 times a day and flush public toilets with my foot but this movie makes you want to take being cautious to a whole other level!

2.  One of my best friends started a blog yesterday!!  I have known Sarah for over 15 years and she has been one of my very best friends since then.  And we are kinda related too...her sister, Staci , married my little brother!  Anyways, she has the sweetest family, lives in Oklahoma I want to welcome her to this fun blog world :) Love you, Sari!!

3.  I started running again. I have not ran one time since my disaster of a half marathon on March 3.  Some days I miss it, some days I don't.  But, I decided to TRY to get back into it.  I am not planning on signing up for any half marathons or even 5k's anytime soon but just trying to get back to running short distance 3-4 times a week. 

4.  A few months ago my company put together a photography contest for all the employees at our corporate office.  I submitted 5 pictures and 2 of mine made it into the top 25!!  If you made it into the top 25, you got a $50 Visa Gift Card and your pictures will be blown up and put up on the walls in our building!  Whohoo! So, yesterday I saw that they started putting up the blown up canvases on the walls.  One of my 2 pictures is up already and the other will be up later this week.  Here is the one that is up now:  ( mine is the one in the middle, above the gumball machine)

Here is the original picture I took-

I took this picture on Memorial Day in Boston last year.  We were walking thru a park and came across thousands of flags and I noticed this man sitting all alone in the grass playing "God Bless The USA" on his harmonica.  I wish I could find this man and send him a copy of this picture!

And the other picture that won the contest is this one-

This is the Portland Headlight taken in Maine in May 2011. 

 

 

5.  I can not believe today is the last day of May.  Where has this year gone?!  June and July are going to be insanely busy for me.  In the next month and a half I will go to Alabama, North Carolina, California and Maine.  In between all of that we have friends coming in town, a couple showers and birthdays and normal day to day life.  Whew, it is going to be crazy!

 

6.  We got some landscaping done in our backyard on Monday!  We LOVE it so far but still have more to do.  We now have a ton of rose bushes, a pygme palm, 2 queen palms, lantana, 17 laurel trees and a crape mrytle.  Next up, new sod, mulch and lining the beds with river rock. 

Hope you have a great Thursday!! xo

WILW & Pinterest Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday and yay for a short work week!

First of all, thank you all for your sweet comments about our Cancun fiasco yesterday!  Reading them all made the whole situation a lot easier to deal with. 

I am linking up with Michelle and Jamie for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday and What I'm Loving Wednesday! Head over to their blogs and link up!

I am loving...my new monogramed koozie from this etsy shop!  It fits perfect around my water bottle or a can drink!

I am loving this new wine that Jen got me hooked on!  It is so light and refreshing and you even drink it over ice.  I found it at World Market over the weekend for $6 a bottle if you are a member there.  So, of course I stocked up!  Thank you for introducing this to me, Jen!! :)

I am loving the new Victoria Secret Pink Beach Sun Kissed lotion and spray. I got it a few weeks ago and I am obsessed with it. It smells SO good and lasts all day!  They have several other scents in their beach line but this one is the best in my opinion.

And finally, I am loving these pins this week!



This should be a post about our trip to Cancun, but......

We never made it to Cancun. :(

I will start from the beginning.....things started going wrong the night before we were supposed to leave (Wednesday).  We got out our passports and when I opened mine to look at it I realized I never got my name changed after we got married.  My passport still showed my maiden name, not my married name.  Well, my plane ticket, drivers license, etc all show my married name.  Great.  I called United and explained the situation and they told me that as long as I had my original marriage license that there should not be a problem.  That made me feel a little better but I was still nervous about it.  You just never know when you are flying international...

So, the next morning our flight was supposed to leave at 9:00 AM.  We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight and the lines for checking in and security were insanely long.  We had never seen lines like that before.  We made it thru check in without any problems (the marriage license worked!) and went to get in line for security.  Longest.line.ever.  After 30 minutes in line I was starting to get nervous.  I knew our plane was probably starting to board but we still had probably 100 people in front of us in the security line.  A couple people were nice enough to let us get in front of them but it did not help much.  We made it thru the line about 8:40 and tried to get to our gate as fast as we could.  We ran up to our gate ONE minute after they closed it down.  Apparently they close the gate 15 minutes before take off.  We have both flown Continental (United) our whole lives and had never heard that rule before.  The agents that were working at the desk at the gate said we could not get on and they gave our seats away to 2 people that were on standby.  WE MISSED OUR FLIGHT BY ONE MINUTE!!

After a minor breakdown and freak out moment we headed to customer service to see what we could do.   They put us on standby for the next flight which left around 11:00 AM.  To make a really long story short, we were on standby for 5 more flights and never made it on any of them.  Every flight was already oversold so it was next to impossible to get on one.  I felt a little bad but I was praying for people to get stuck in security or miss their flight for another reason just so we could get on.  It did not happen though. 

The ticket agent who was originally very rude to us when we missed our original flight ended up being nice to us and felt really bad about what had happened.  So we just tagged along with her to each gate she went to and she kept us updated on where we were on the standby list.  She would tell us how many people who need to miss the flight in order for us to get on and how many people were overbooked on the flight.  On the 2:15 flight she was finally able to make something happen...she got ONE of us on the flight.  Well, that brought on a whole other level of questions and stress.  What if one of us got on the flight and the other one never was able to get on one?  Then one of us would be stuck in Mexico alone and the other in the Houston airport alone.  We had to make a quick decision not to take the ticket.  We decided that if we could both not get on a plane together that we would not do it. 

After a long, terrible, emotional day, we decided to give up and go home.  Before we left though, we talked to customer service and they told us there were 2 tickets left to fly to Cozumel the next morning and they could book us right then.  So, we decided to do that and we would just find a resort in Cozumel and spend the weekend there instead.  Neither one of us was too thrilled with this option though.  We did not really want to go to Cozumel and the weather was going to be terrible all weekend.   We left the airport that night with confirmed seats to Cozumel the next morning but still not sure what we were going to do.

At this point our luggage is MIA.  One person told us that our luggage was in Cancun, one said it was in Houston and a couple people just did not know where it was.  We sat in the luggage customer service office for an hour and left there without knowing where our luggage was but they said they would call us as soon as they found it.  Awesome. 

We leave the airport and drive straight to Yucatan Taco Stand close to our house and drink margaritas and talk about what to do for the next 2 hours.

We considered forgetting about Mexico and just changing our tickets to Vegas or Phoenix or somewhere else in the US.  But after hours of looking at flights and options, nothing was working out...it was going to be WAY too expensive or the flight times were not working.  Late Thursday night we made a final decision to just stay home.  We called Cancun and canceled our resort and we called United and canceled our flights to Cozumel.  We were just going to have a 4 day "staycation" at home.  

The next morning we got a call from the airport saying they had our luggage.  We drove 30 minutes to the airport, went to the luggage office and were told that they did NOT have our luggage.  They were still unsure of where it was.  Ugh... I am still not sure why anyone ever called us to tell us it was there, when clearly it was not.  Finally they lady in customer service had the idea to call the Cancun airport to ask about the luggage.  And guess what??  It was there!  So, they were going to put it on the next flight to Houston.  Around 5:00 we finally got the call that they had our luggage and we could come pick it up.  Hallelujah!  So, we drove BACK to the airport to pick it up and yes, this time, it was there.  For all the many inconveniences they did issue us each a $100 voucher to use on future flights.  

Our bags had to go thru customs 2 times...this is what my suitcase looked like when I opened it-

They had gone thru my 2 toiletrie bags and not zipped them back up.  Stuff was EVERYWHERE.. lotions and hair products leaked all over the inside of my suite case and clothes.  

So, as terrible as all of this was...we ended up having a really fun, relaxing weekend at home.  We got a lot of stuff done around our house, we spent many, many hours in our pool, went to a friend's surprise birthday party, went to Moody Gardens & Galveston beach and had our backyard landscaped.  As sad and disappointed as we were on Thursday and Friday, it actually ended up being nice to have a weekend at home without any plans.  We could do whatever we wanted, when we wanted.  And we NEVER have weekends like that.  Missing our flight turned out to be somewhat of a blessing in disguise.  For some reason it was not in God's plan for us to be in Mexico or anywhere but our home.  If Cancun or Vegas was in His plan for us, we would have been there.  That is what I keep reminding myself when I get a little sad about missing our trip.  :) 

Sorry for the super long (probably boring to most of you) post today but I wanted to share so that we could look back on this 10 years from now and laugh about it!   

And just a little advice...if you are flying internationally out of Houston, make sure to arrive 3 hours before your flight!! Don't say I did not warn you :) 

Hope you all had a fun, relaxing and safe Memorial Day weekend!  

Guest Post...{Beach Bag Must-Haves}

Hello, Eat.Pray.Love.Run readers!!

I'm so excited Leslie asked me to do a guest post while she is enjoying a fun beach getaway with her hubby {of one year}!

I'm Jen from Down with the Dearmores. Leslie and I go way back, so I have many many stories I could share, but I'm not sure she would allow me to post again! She is one of the most fun loving, caring, and genuine friends one could wish and hope for. I've been blessed to call her my friend for almost 17 years {wow, that makes us old}!

When you get a chance, check out our little blog. I blog about anything from marriage, life as a new mommy, styles and products I love, recipes, and little randoms here and there.

Speaking of fun beach getaways, I thought I would write about some of my favorite {beach bag must-haves} from head to toe. So here goes... 

 Neon Straw Beach Tote. There are just too many fun bags out there! I'm loving all the bright neon colors this summer, so I thought this looked fun and easy to carry.

 Embellished Cover-up. Not only just a fun cover-up, but a cute and comfortable outfit for a day on the beach.

Sunny Days Fedora. Now, there's nothing like a floppy beach hat, but sometimes a girl just needs something a little different. I loved not only the look, but the price as well. Francescas never fails!

Michael Kors Sunglasses. Simply a must-have {beach or no beach}.

Laura Mercier tinted SPF lip balm. This is a new one for me, but can't wait to actually put it in my beach bag. I've heard nothing but good feedback!

SPF towelettes...brilliant! This is an easy way to apply sunscreen to your face anywhere at anytime!

Philosophy 'here comes the sun'. Great product. Not too thick and heavy when you apply it.

 Flat Sandal, These are so cute on as well as comfortable!

So I think we've covered from head to toe...maybe you have some must-haves we should all know about! Feel free to share! I know a good read is also a beach bag must-have, so I think that would be a good post for Leslie to do when she comes back (wink, wink)!

Ladies, I think it's time to plan a tropical getaway! Have a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend!

XOXO, Jen

Guest Post: Myra from The Little Aslam

Helllooo, sweet friends! I'm super excited to be guest posting for Leslie today! I met this awesome lady at work and after bonding over books and other random things, we discovered that we not only have the same awesome taste in books, but that we are both bloggers! YAY!

Anyyywhoo, in all my ramblin', I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Myra and I blog over at TheLittleAslam :) I'm a twenty-somethin' wife to Mr. A & momma to an adorbs pup. I've got a really goofy bone in my body and I tend to make awkward faces at random times.

[[seeee? but hubs makes random faces too, so it's okay, right?!]]

Today, I'm joining one of my favorite link-ups with Neely & Amber, called It's OK, Thursday :)

So today, It's OKAY...

That although I've enjoyed all my travels this month, I'm ready to go home and sit on my behind & enjoy a relaxing weekend.

That my obsession with The Vampire Diaries has led me to snuggle in bed and watch episode after episode. 

To be ready for a day by the pool with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

To feel proud of myself for giving it my best at work & at home - even if I come up short sometimes.

To be in super tears because of the stupid Glee season finale right now. Yeah, yeah, I'm being very responsible and writing this post up on Tuesday ;) Don't judge me. 

That I miss my girlfriends because being an adult means having responsibilities and not always getting to hang out.

To wish I had an endless supply of money so I could go shop-happy at all my fave stores ;) 

That I am hoping I get to make new blog friends after this post with those of you who follow Leslie!!

What are YOU sayin' is OK today?! 

Thanks Leslie for letting me steal your blog for a day! Hope you are having a fantastic time soakin' up the sun & celebrating your anniversary ;) 

5 Days in Mexico...Here we come!

This time tomorrow my hubby and I will be on plane headed to Cancun and I could not be more excited!! It has been about a year since we have had a beach vacation, which is very unusual for us.  We LOVE the beach and we absolutely LOVE Mexico.  Cancun is a short 2 hour flight from Houston and it is so beautiful there!

I know many people don't want to go to Mexico because of what you see and hear in the news and we have gotten lectured by numerous people who think we are crazy for going.  Well, we have been to Mexico 6 times in the past 5 years and we have never once felt unsafe.  But, we are not idiots either.  We do not get in random taxi's on the side of the road...we don't drink too much then decide to take a walk down the beach or in a back alley.  We are smart.  We mostly stay at our resort and when we do leave we with with a big group on an excursion that is arranged by the resort.  Cancun and some of the other touristy spots in Mexico are safe for the most part.  Yes, if you make dumb choices then you are definitely putting yourself in danger.  We love Mexico so much so it makes us sad that so many people don't want to go because of the news.  Mexico is so beautiful, close to the US and the people in the towns are friendly and welcoming!  But thanks to the drug cartels, people are terrified if they go, they will not come home.  But if you have some common sense and be cautious you will be just fine!  

So, if you are looking for a fun, tropical vacation, please consider Mexico! =)

While I am laying on the beach sipping pina coladas and margaritas (not to rub it in or anything) I have two great friends, Myra and Jen , guest posting for me! So, make sure to check back in for their posts!

We plan on laying out A LOT, spending a day at XCaret, possibly scuba diving one day, getting massages and facials, eating alot, consuming some fruity tropical drinks, touring Mayan Ruins and of course, celebrating our first year of marriage! 

If you need us, you can find us here-

(  These are all pictures from our resort :)  ) 

Check back in next week for a full recap of our trip! 

I've been up to my neck workin 6 days a week
Wearin holes into the shoes on my feet
Been dreamin of gettin away since I don't know
Aint no better time than now..for mexico

No shoes, no shirt, no problems
Blues what blues..hey I forgot them
The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom
And no shirt, no shirt, and no problems!
No problems

Want a towel on a chair in the sand by the sea
Want to look thru my shades and see you there with me
Want to soak up life for a while
In laid back mode
No boss, no polite, no stress, no dress code

No shoes, no shirt, no problems
Blues what blues hey I forgot them
The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom
And no shoes, no shirt, and no problems

Babe lets get packed..tank tops and flip flops if u got them
No shoes, no shirt, no problems
No problems.

- Kenny Chesney -

Over the weekend...

- Met up with a group of friends for margaritas at Berryhill before the DMB concert.

- Saw DMB in concert with our friends Bill & Linda.  We had my FIL's seats in a VIP box.  We were dead center and about 30 rows from the stage. 

- After the concert, we were starving (especially me...I finished the last of my juices and could finally eat again!) so we headed to Whataburger.  I savored ever bite of the breakfast taquito and dr pepper that I got :)  I was in Heaven!

-Saturday morning we had brunch with friends at Black Walnut Cafe. Love that place!



- We spent the afternoon laying out in our pool and grocery shopping.

- We had our friends Adam & Christa over for dinner.  We grilled hamburgers and I made a pasta salad, baked beans and strawberry shortcake.

-Sunday morning we headed into Houston for the day.  We had brunch at Babe Yega with our friends Chris & Kim then headed to watch the Astros lose to the Rangers.

- We ended the day by watching "The Vow" and eating sandwiches for dinner!

Fun & busy weekend!

xo 



3 Days, 18 Juices, No Food : Blue Print Cleanse Recap

Last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I jumped on the Blue Print Cleanse bandwagon and completed the beginner, 3 day juice cleanse!  I was so happy when it was over but still so glad that I stuck with it.  It was definitely one of the hardest things I have ever done but I kept reminding myself it was only for 3 days and I could do ANYTHING for 3 days.  The cleanse that I did was the beginner, 3 day Renovation Cleanse.  You drink 6 juices each day and try very hard not to eat any food.  Here is a day by day and juice by juice recap-

First of all, the 2 days before the cleanse I tried to eat really clean...fruits, veggies, nuts and a baked sweet potato.  I was warned that if you don't start preparing your body for the cleanse for a couple days before then the first day of your cleanse would be awful on your stomach.  I took this warning seriously and am glad I did. 

DAY 1

7:30 AM- Juice 1- This juice consists of Romaine, Celery, Cucumber, Apple, Spinach, Kale, Parsley and Lemon...aka- The Green Juice.  I am not going to lie, it was probably the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth.  The first half of the bottle I gagged after ever swallow.  It was awful. But, my taste buds adjusted and I was able to get the rest down without throwing up.  I held my breath and swallowed as fast as I possibly could.  I let a lady I work with try it and she LOVED it!  But, she also loves celery so that is probably why.  I HATE celery and there is a very, very strong celery taste in this juice.  I was hungry before I drank it but felt good and full after I finished it. 

10:00 AM- Juice 2- This juice consists of Pineapple, Apple and Mint.  This one was delicious and very refreshing! The mint was a little overpowering but it was still yummy. I was getting a little hungry but once I finished this juice I felt satisfied again.  I savored every drop of this one because I knew what the 3rd juice was going to be...

12:00 PM- Juice 3- The Green Juice (again! ughh! ).  Still terrible but I did not gag this time.  It is funny how much your taste buds change after just a few hours of eating (drinking) raw.  Shortly after finishing this one I felt a little spike in my energy.  This gave me the motivation to keep going.

2:00 PM- Juice 4-  This juice consisted of Filtered Water, Lemon, Agave Nectar and Cayenne Pepper.  It kind of tasted like spicy lemonade.  It was pretty good!  At this point I am pretty hungry though.  My stomach is growling and I am getting a little headache.

5:30 PM- Juice 5- This juice was Carrot, Apple, Beet, Celery, Ginger and Lemon.  Another gross one.  This was was a deep pink/red color and I was so excited to try it...it looked fruity and refreshing.  WRONG.  It had a very strong ginger taste to it and left a funny after taste.  But, I managed to get it down.

8:00 PM-  Juice 6- Cashew Nut Milk, Vanilla and Cinnamon.  YUMMMMMMM!!! This juice was very good...especially after a rough first day.  It tasted like cinnamon skim milk.  My only complaint-  it is grainy.  After swallowing I was left with a grainy texture coating my mouth.  So, I just drank a lot of water while I was drinking the juice.  At this point, I had a terrible headache.  I took Advil but knew that it would probably not help.  So, I decided the best thing to do would be to go to sleep. 


DAY 2

I woke up feeling rested, refreshed and less bloated!  I was not craving food and I was looking forward to the juices.  I got thru most of day 2 without any problems.  I drank my juices and felt great thru the day.  Late that afternoon I started feeling the urge to chew on something. My teeth NEEDED something to do!  So, I gave it a little a chewed a half piece of sugar free gum.  It satisfied the need to chew for awhile.  That night I only drank half of the cashew milk.  I did not finish it intentionally...I just got busy and forgot.  The green juices were still awful but bearable. 


DAY 3

The final day! Whohoo! I felt great all day...felt a big spike in my energy and focus during the day. I was really missing food and still feeling hungry but not as hungry as I thought I would be.  All of the juices tasted better today, but I was ready to be done. 


End result-  I lost about 5 lbs. and felt a million times lighter and healthier.  It feels great to rid my body of toxins and mush and drink raw for a few days.  This is in no way a way of life for me.  I like food too much and have no desire to eat and drink raw every day for the rest of my life.  BUT...I do see the value in doing it more often.  Whether it is a cleanse like this once every month or two or eating raw 1 or 2 days a week.  Cleanses are a great way to flush out your system and jump start a weight loss goal!!  

Making me happy on this Friday....

* Today is the 3rd and final day of my 3 day juice cleanse! PRAISE THE LORD!  I feel so good and energized but I am not going to lie, I can not wait to chew food again :)  I have a full recap of the 3 day cleanse coming up on Monday so check back in for all of you who have been asking about it!

* Tonight we have really awesome seats to see Dave Matthews tonight with some friends! Whohoo! This will be my 5th time seeing him in concert and every time it has been really good!

*The Texas Ironman is in The Woodlands this weekend! An Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run.  It starts at 7 AM tomorrow morning and ends at MIDNIGHT.  It will take many people that long to finish.  Unfortunately the weather is going to be pretty miserably hot tomorrow so I feel bad for all the participants.  But they still are unbelievably amazing for attempting something like this!  We are going to try to find a good spot to watch some of it!  Good luck to all the racers!

* Tomorrow night we are having our friends, Adam & Christa, over for dinner!  We have not seen them in months and we just found out a couple weeks ago that they are expecting their first baby!!

* Sunday will be spent having brunch at our favorite spot in Houston, Babe Yega, and going to the Astros vs Rangers game with our friends Kim & Chris! Kim & Chris just got engaged and couple weeks ago and we haven't seen them in months either!  So, we can't wait to celebrate with them too! 

Happy Friday!!!