Cindy is 60!

In addition to being Labor Day, yesterday was also my dear mother’s 60th birthday.  About a month ago, my sister and I decided that since it was a “big one,” we should have a little birthday party for her.  We were a little last minute throwing everything together, but it all turned out wonderfully.  Friday afternoon I headed out of Jackson with my mom’s favorite, petit fours, from Campbell’s Bakery.  I was concerned that the delicacies might get melty in this extreme southern heat, so I had my car’s air conditioner on full blast for most of the four hour car ride.  I must have looked like an idiot to the cars I went past while wearing long sleeves and pants when it was 95 degrees outside!  But the petit fours arrived perfectly and were a big hit at the party, so it was worth it.

Emily did a great job of putting together an I Love Lucy themed party.  My mom has always loved Lucy, and we grew up watching all those old episodes.  My dad got barbeque and grilled burgers and hotdogs, and Sam… well, Sam watched football and filled the cooler with ice and drinks ha.

Several of my parents’ friends came over, as well as some other family members.  My mom (and the rest of us) had a wonderful time eating, talking, and laughing.  Lucky the pet deer even made an appearance, much to the delight of the kids in attendance!  

September 2nd is apparently a pretty popular birth date.  It was also my future mother-in-law Julie’s birthday.  After a Labor Day of pretty much nothing but laziness, we went over to her house and grilled out last night.  I’m so grateful to have these two special ladies in my life and it was fun to celebrate them this weekend!

Unbroken

Read this book.  Just do it.  It’s remarkable.  

 

From Saying Yes to a Dress to Saying No to a Deer

We have checked off two more big items on the seemingly never-ending wedding planning checklist:  a reception venue has been selected and my wedding gown has been purchased!  A couple of weeks ago, my parents came down for the weekend.  On Saturday, my mom, Brad’s mom, and I went down to Imaginations in Brookhaven to look for a wedding gown.  I had a pretty specific idea in my mind as to what I thought I wanted my gown to look like, but I wasn’t entirely confident that I’d be able to find it on my first time trying on gowns.  I tried on 8 or 9 gowns, and pretty quickly had narrowed it down to 2.  The only problem was they were not at all what I thought I wanted!  The girl helping me in the store told me that almost all brides end up purchasing something other than what they came in thinking they wanted, so this shouldn’t have come as a shock to me.  I was having trouble deciding between the 2 because I loved them both.  But my mom reminded me of what my vision was for this whole wedding:  timeless and classic.  Only one of the gowns fit that description, so that made my decision really easy.  So I said yes to the dress!  And it was the least expensive one I tried on, which is SO not like me ha!  

We came back to Jackson and that night my parents, Brad’s parents, Brad, and I went out to dinner.  This was the first official meeting of our parents (well our moms met that morning at the bridal store, but still), and it went just perfectly!  By the end of the weekend, we had also decided on our reception venue:  the Jackson Yacht Club.  I think it’s the perfect place for us, and the views over the water are just gorgeous!

As this whole planning thing goes along, I keep venturing between having a lot of fun and then feeling completely overwhelmed with anxiety.  I think Brad thought I was actually losing it last week and he had to remind me that none of this really matters.  All that matters is that we are getting married.  And I know that, I just get consumed by to do lists and wanting to cross things off the list.  I have to remember that I have people to help me and that I just need to ask.  

It hasn’t been all wedding business, though.  We’ve found some fun in the past couple of weeks as well.  We went to see comedian James Gregory at Duling Hall last weekend and he was hilarious!  His comedy is really just about real life, usually focused on things us Southerners can definitely relate to.  If you’ve never heard him, I recommend doing a little YouTube search.

We went to Corinth, my hometown, this past weekend.  My mom planned a little family reunion since it’s rare that all of her side of the family manage to get together these days.  We had family from Memphis, Eupora, Jackson, and Birmingham all together for the day to eat and fellowship.  It made my day that my cousin Becky brought the peach cake that my grandmother Memama always used to make.  It has always been my absolute favorite!  She was sweet enough to let me take the left overs home with me.  So long, wedding diet!  

Another fun encounter we had in Corinth was with Lucky, a “pet” deer that lives across the street from my parents.  This deer runs around with their neighbor’s dogs and apparently doesn’t have a clue that he’s actually a deer and not a dog.  This picture with my brother (and one of the aforementioned dogs) was taken before the deer jumped up on me with his front legs, just as a dog would do.  Needless to say, that was slightly frightening.  

90 Day Body Revolution

I go through phases of being serious about working out and then completely getting out of the routine and being lazy again.  I actually really do enjoy working out when I get into a good routine, and I feel a lot better.  So, several months ago I found myself averaging about 3 days a month of actually stepping foot in the gym and I realized I had to do something different.  The problem really started when I moved from the house I was renting in Madison, which was about 3 minutes from the gym, to my house now in Gluckstadt, which is at least 15 minutes from the gym.  I realize 15 minutes isn’t that far, but most days it was enough of a deterrent to keep my lazy self from going.  

I considered trying something like P90X or Insanity, but then knew I probably wasn’t in good enough shape to tackle those yet.  So I started looking for something I could do at home that would still be a hardcore workout.  I found Jillian Michael’s 90-day Body Revolution.  I was attracted to the program because it is only 30 minutes a day and all you need are dumbbells (I use 3 different weights) and a resistance cable.  And a mat if you want to lie on one for the floor exercises.  So I got on Amazon and ordered it.  You can also purchase it directly from Jillian’s website.  

The program consists of 3 phases, broken down over 15 DVDs.  In each phase, there are 4 different circuit workouts and 1 all cardio workout.  You do two different circuit workouts and then a cardio workout twice each week for two weeks, then move on to the next two circuit workouts and the same cardio workout.  I know that sounds confusing.  Basically, your week looks like this:

​Weeks 1 and 2

       Monday – Workout 1

       Tuesday – Workout 2

       Wednesday – Cardio 1​ 

       Thursday – Workout 1

​Friday – Workout 2

​Saturday – Cardio 1

​Sunday - REST

 

Weeks 3 and 4

       Monday – Workout 3

       Tuesday – Workout 4 

​Wednesday – Cardio 1

​Thursday – Workout 3

​Friday – Workout 4

​Saturday – Cardio 1

​Sunday - REST

And then you move into phases 2 and 3 using the same format.  The workouts progressively get harder and use a lot of plyometrics and HIIT (high intensity interval training), so you really burn a lot of calories.  The program comes with a meal plan, as it is designed for maximum weight loss.  My goal was only to lose several pounds, but to really tone up and get in better shape.  So I didn’t follow the meal plan, but did try to eat healthier.  The only negative to this program in my opinion is that it does get boring doing the same cardio DVD 8 times before moving on to a new one.  

I ended up completing the 90-day program  (in longer than 90 days as I missed a few days here and there due to being sick and/or traveling for work) having lost  9 pounds.  More important than the weight loss though was the muscle I gained and the difference I could tell in definition and how my clothes fit.  And MOST important was that I was in such better shape and felt so much better.  I’m even having few migraines, praise the Lord!

After I finished the program, I did some other various Jillian DVD’s for a few weeks and a couple of weeks ago I started the 90-day program again.  I just love having something that I can do consistently, at home before or after I go to work, that only takes 30 minutes of my day but still burns a lot of calories and builds muscle.  I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new workout!

Today's Post is Brought to You by the Number 2

We have a date! February 22, 2014 at 2:00 we will wed at The Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle in downtown Jackson, MS. 2/22 at 2:00!  Now to find a reception venue...

Key Largo, Montego, Baby Why Don't We Go

So previously I posted about catching up from the last two years.  This time I’ve got a more recent recap of our summer vacations.  Unfortunately both of my vacations fell within a one month period, so the rest of the summer is going to feel incredibly long I’m afraid.  But it is what it is. 

Our first vacation was at the end of May with my family to the Florida Keys.  My Uncle Neal has lived in Key Largo for years.  Ashley and I visited he and Gretchen a few years ago, but this time we had a bigger group:  Brad and me, my parents, my sister Emily and her husband Brooks, and my brother Sam.  Since we all live in different cities, we took separate flights and met up in South Florida.  While Brad and I sat in the New Orleans airport waiting for our flight to depart, I received the most wonderful phone call from my sister.  She and Brooks are expecting and I am going to be an Aunt!  Baby Dampeer is due to join our family on December 22nd (Christmas baby!) and we are all thrilled!  Getting this news just gave our vacation that much more excitement.

Our first day in Key Largo, I and all of the men, went out deep sea fishing.  I tend to get seasick so I tried one of those prescription patches that go behind your ear.  Aside from the EXTREME dry mouth side effect, I’d say it worked pretty well.  What didn’t work so well was the actual fishing.  Apparently the full moon had the fish and their eating patterns thrown off.  We caught one Mahi Mahi and I reeled it in, so technically you could say that I “caught” it!  We took the fish right back to the house and Gretchen cooked us up some fish sandwiches.  You just can’t beat fresh seafood!  The guys went fishing again the next day while us girls lounged around the pool, but they didn’t have much more luck with the fish that day either.

Fishing wore these two out!

On Sunday, we decided to make a day trip down to Key West.  Key Largo is the northernmost key and Key West is basically the southernmost key, so the trip takes a couple of hours.  However, it is such a beautiful trip driving down over all the bridges connecting the keys that you hardly notice how long you’ve been in the car.  The trip home at night, however, is a different story ha!  Some of us had been to Key West before and others hadn’t, so we did all the touristy things:  the Conch Train Tour, pictures at the Southernmost Point of the Continental United States which is 90 miles from Cuba, the Sunset Celebration, and of course yummy food and drinks.

 I love the Cat Man in Key West! He is literally insane. 

The last day of our trip consisted of lying around the pool and then going to The Theatre of the Sea.  Uncle Neal gave Sam a gift certificate he had to “swim with the sharks.”  So we all went to watch him and got to enjoy all of the other fun wildlife there as well:  dolphin, sea lions, iguanas, parrots, etc.  That night we went out to a nice dinner with Neal and Gretchen and then the next morning it was unfortunately time to head back to Mississippi.

The good news is that we were only back in the real world for 17 days before going on vacation with Brad’s family.  We joined his mom and stepdad, his sister and brother-in-law and their two children, and his stepsister for a week in Watercolor, Florida.  We all stayed in a fabulous big house and had a wonderful beach vacation.  I was in much needed of some relaxation time on the beach.  I realize that sounds ridiculous since I had just been on a vacation, but the thing about the Keys is that they don’t have beaches.  They are surrounded by a coral reef, so while there is a lot to do fishing/water sport-wise, there really is no sand or waves to speak of.  

We spent our week in Watercolor and Seaside sitting on the beach with good books (or in my case a Kindle), swimming in the pool with the kiddos, and eating lots of good food.   All of my most favorite things!  You really cannot beat the beaches down there.  They are gorgeous!  I’ve only seen comparable sand and pretty water in the Caribbean.  And I dare say the sand in the Caribbean isn’t as soft and white as it is here.  The weather was absolutely perfect all week.  Up until the day we left, it only rained at night and was sunny every day!  

So now the big vacations for the year are behind us and it’s back to normal life.  I’m sure we’ll still manage to go to Orange Beach for a weekend or two, but this girl’s about out of vacation days!  Guess I'll just have to start planning a honeymoon soon! 

Until next time...

The Proposal

I had another blog post about our recent summer vacations all typed up and ready to post, and then everything changed.  Brad proposed! We’re engaged!  I’ll end up posting the vacation post later, but first I’ll post our engagement story.

Brad and I have discussed getting married for a few months now, so I knew that a proposal would likely occur at some point this summer.  As much as I tried not to “expect” it to happen at any particular time, I did kind of think it would happen either on one of our vacations or on my 30th birthday last month.  When each of those events came and went, I began to wonder.  But I was also actually glad that he didn’t propose at any of those “expected” moments, because this way when he did do it, it would be much more surprising and special.

On Monday, Brad told me he wanted to go out to eat on Tuesday night to Local 463 here in Madison.  I thought to myself how we don’t typically go to eat somewhere like that on a weeknight, but it wasn’t too far out of the ordinary, so I dismissed it.  

Brad came to pick me up and then said he forgot to get something out of the car.  I thought, “we’re about to get right back in the car, but ok” as he ran back outside.  In the meantime, I noticed that he was a little dressed up for going to eat on a Tuesday at Local 463.  So I got suspicious.  He comes back in with a picture frame containing 3 photos of us:  one of us on my family vacation in Key Largo, one on the beach on his family vacation in Watercolor, and a third of us on my birthday.  He spoke about how all of those were special moments and places (and basically all of the times I thought a proposal might occur ha).  I then knew.  This was really about to happen!  He then led me over to the entryway of my house by my front door and told me how that place was special for him/us, because that is where he first kissed me, that is where he says goodnight to me when he leaves my house to go home, and that that is where he gets to propose to me!

Then he dropped to his knee, got out the ring, and asked me to marry him!  He was crying, I was trembling and shaking my head “yes” before finally managing to squeeze out the word “YES!”  We hugged and kissed and then eventually realized I hadn’t even looked at the ring yet.  And when I did, it was absolutely perfect.  I had given him some direction in what I liked, but he did an amazing job picking it out.  

Brad then told me that we were actually going to eat at Ely’s, our favorite place in Jackson.  Which explained why he was more dressed up.  So I went and changed clothes and we headed to dinner.  We decided to enjoy dinner with only the two of us knowing that we were engaged and to call our family and friends after dinner.  At the restaurant, a couple was seated next to us and they were celebrating their 47th anniversary.  We ended up telling them that we had just gotten engaged and they gave us some sweet advice.  It was a beautiful moment.  A God moment.  

We finished up and got to making our phone calls.  It was so much fun calling everyone and hearing their reactions.  Definitely something I’ll never forget.  

As do most little girls, I have dreamed of getting married my whole life.  As I got older, I was beginning to think that this may never happen for me.  But about a year and a half ago, I finally began to not just trust God, but to trust His TIMING.  From that moment, I truly became content with whatever plans He had for my life, whether or not that included marriage.  I could never have imagined how richly He would bless me over the next year (and for many years to come), and sometimes I still can’t believe it.  ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word…

So now the wedding planning begins!  I am as big of a “planner” as you will ever meet, but I am already feeling overwhelmed with everything that has to be done!  Lord, please help me not to plan myself into insanity through this!

Until next time…

I'm Back!

Well, I’ve taken a not-so-brief hiatus from the blogging world.  It’s only been, oh, about 2 years since the last time I posted anything.  Not being able to access blogs at work significantly cut down on my time devoted to blogging (sorry former employers), but lately I’ve felt the urge to get back on here.  So here goes.  A couple of pretty big changes have occurred in my life since the last time I posted, so it seems only fitting to touch on those before proceeding.

 First, I bought my first home in March of last year.  I never thought I would buy a home by myself.  I always joked that I’d rather find a husband who already had a home or who would buy a home for me/us ha!  The truth behind it, though, is that I am so anti-debt (thanks Dave Ramsey!), that the thought of taking out a mortgage with only my income coming in to pay the monthly payment was quite scary.   But in the Spring of 2012, I started considering my options.  I knew that I likely would not have a roommate for the next year once my current lease ended.  I also knew that based on where I wanted to live in the Madison area, a mortgage payment would be about the same or less as the rental rates.  Combine that with the fact that mortgage rates were basically as low as they had ever been, it only made sense to just go ahead and search for a home to purchase.  Besides, I was trying to finally plant some roots somewhere and stop moving/changing jobs, so it just felt right.  After looking at homes for a relatively short period of time (I usually spend a great deal of time researching even small purchases), I found a home in the same subdivision as my friends Mindi and Joey (baby Everett had not yet joined us at this time).

Way back on closing day.  Her landscaping has filled out now!

The process of making an offer to closing day all went incredibly smoothly, so I had a peace that I made the right decision.  Over the past 15 months I’ve been both enjoying my new home and at times being surprised at the unexpected costs of home ownership.  And although I never thought I’d do this “alone,” I really have felt a sense of accomplishment being able to make this purchase/investment all by myself.

The second big thing that has happened in my life since my last post is that I met the man of my dreams, Brad.   I only list him “second” here because he came along after the house did and I’m going chronologically ha.  About a year ago, I had become increasingly discouraged with the dating scene.  After all, I was 29 and “should have” been married by then, according to my plans.  Of course, God showed me that His plan was the only one that mattered and I should just get over myself!  I had several friends suggest online dating to me.  My first thought was, “absolutely not.”  Being honest, I suppose there was a bit of ego in there, thinking “why should I have to go online to find someone?!” Plus, it was just scary.  But after talking to a couple of friends who had done it and had some success, and after doing a bit of research on the various sites, I decided to give it a shot.  I mean, I really had nothing to lose. 

So almost a year ago, during the first week of July, I created a match.com profile.  Being the perfectionist that I am, I stressed over that thing, wanting to make sure I gave off the right impression.  Amongst an overload of creepy, somewhat stalkerish messages from 50+ year old men, I got a message from Brad.  Match emails progressed into texts messages and phone calls, and two weeks later on July 18, we went on our first date.  He was the first and only man from the site that I would ever go out with.  Our first date went wonderfully.  I left to go on vacation two days later, so we didn’t see each other again for about 2 weeks, but that was a non-issue.  We deactivated our Match profiles not long afterwards, both having only gone out with each other, and have been dating ever since!  I can’t believe we have been together almost a year now and it was been wonderful!  I am so thankful that I trusted God’s timing (finally) and waited for the one He had for me. 

Before finding Brad, I had a list of 5 Non-Negotiables, things that the man I was searching for would have to have.  Everything else was pretty unimportant, but these five things had to be there:

Christian / Has a relationship with God

 Loves his family and wants one of his own

Hardworking / Ambitious

Trustworthy

Good sense of humor

Brad has all of those and then some and truly treats me like a queen.  I am very blessed to call him mine.

So that's the most important events of the last two years in this little life.  Until next time...