Working Girls

When I first started my "big-girl job" 3 years ago, I think its safe to say that I had a "rough" adjustment. I was not new to the working world... I actually got my first job at age 15 and worked 2 jobs in college. (this isn't a sob story I promise... I just really enjoyed working!)  Anyway... a full time job is different from even 2 part time jobs. I had to be on time- even early, commute 45 minutes each way, work in a 5x5 cubicle for 9 hours a day, and sell over the phone. It was hard. It was draining. I cried every day before and after work and sometimes on my lunch break. (I think my old job is open if you are interested, ha!)

With a LOT of prayer and support from my then future husband things got easier. About 3 months in, I started becoming really good friends with a girl named Amy. We sat across from each other but rarely talked and then just all of a sudden hit it off. We are not extremely close in age, and are in different life stages. Amy became pregnant when we worked together and I was just engaged. I've gotten to watch her sweet baby boy grow up. We really learned to lean on each other for work, but that relationship quickly extended into a friendship that has lasted for 3 years now and includes me in a different role at my company and her in at a different job at a different company all together. Amy's husband, Shawn, is somewhat of a local celebrity- he co-hosts a sports radio show. He and Adam have become good friends over the years. I know it was God that brought Amy and I together and formed such a strong bond. I honestly don't know what I would have done without her- and I certainly wouldn't have had as much fun at work!

 Amy and I at the Hogs vs. Texas A&M game in Dallas last year.

I had to get proof of Amy calling the Hogs! She is an Ole Miss girl!

Amy and Shawn FINALLY made it to Fayetteville to visit us a few weeks ago! They even brought sweet, Harris to play! I made a yummy Seafood Lasagna for dinner and we had a great time just catching up on life and laughing a LOT!

 Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?!

Poor Harris was all tuckered out!

Thanks for coming to visit us, Shawn and Amy! We're looking forward to another visit soon!

Summer Lovin'

This weekend, we attended one of my best friend's little sister's wedding in Benton. It is so surreal that little Karis is now married! I really felt old this weekend. The wedding was beautiful and was one of the most worshipful ceremonies I have ever been to.

These were two of my favorite pictures of them. They are a beautiful couple, but I am also obsessed with their photographer, Melissa McCrotty. She has shot several of my friend's wedding and I think she is so talented. I had a less than wonderful photographer at my wedding, so I'm definately a little jealous when I see beautiful pictures! Congratulations Karis and Shad!

My youth pastor, Jay Jacobs performed the ceremony. Here are a bunch of his kiddos all together at the wedding.

Me and my besties, minus Meg. Sorry for the blurriness, an iPhone camera is all I have right now because my camera decided to stop working!!

After the wedding, Adam and I headed to Conway to celebrate Elizabeth's 25th birthday!! I helped to plan a surprise party for her for all of her closest friends and family. We had a great time and gave thanks to God for this precious miracle.

All the girls with the birthday girl.

Me and Lizzybeth.

On Sunday, we celebrated mom's birthday. It was the week before, but we had lunch and cookie cake at their house after church today to officially celebrate.

Happy Birthday, mom! I love you so much!

Vacation Part II

After getting scorched by the sun for a couple of days, we decided to spend the afternoon at the aquarium.  It was nice and cool and much fun was had!

 My cute boys.

 Mom being silly. We really had a great time and have so much fun together!

 Seahorses!

 The shark tank!! So totally cool! My mom and dad... also totally cool!

 Me in the Shark cage. Don't worry it was just pretend. We were all a little obsessed with the Sharks since "Shark Week" aired on The Discovery Channel the week before.

 Dad pointing out a super creepy eel. Eww.

 We chose to eat dinner at a chain steakhouse. We were a little disappointed with the local food that we had eaten all week and wanted a guaranteed good steak. It did not disappoint. we all scraped our plates clean and Lee's lobster posed with him after the delicious meal.

 The Richardson and Fite vacations always include good food!

I can't figure out how to turn this pic, but I'm holding a t-shirt that says:

"For Sale: Brother

comes with video games."

I thought it was pretty cute.

We had a great trip to the beach! My goal was spending a lot of time doing the above! Feet in the sand, listening to the waves crash, Sonic drink and Kindle in hand!

Thanks mom and dad for treating us to a beach trip to Galveston! It was a great time of fun and relaxation.

Vacation

The second week of August Adam and I met my mom in brother in Little Rock to hop on a quick flight to Houston, TX. Dad had been there all week for a work meeting. He picked us up and we went to dinner and stayed the night in town.. We were all short on time between my lack of vacation days and Lee starting school the next week so a quick flight and a couple of days on the beach was the answer to a MUCH needed break.

We woke up the next morning and had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Mom had a Texas- shaped waffle which I believe indicated that we were going to have a great trip!

Before arriving at the beach, we went to the outlet mall then ate at my dad's all time fav burger joint... Watta-burger. After I stuffed myself with a delicious cheeseburger, onion rings, and LARGE coke (which I managed to spill like a child in the middle of the restaurant) -we then headed to the Johnson Space Center. Lee was especially interested in seeing the space center (which I thought would be a total drag) and it ended up being incredibly cool! (Lee gets 2 cool points!)

 Dad and Lee being silly.

 I have trained mom how to pose for pictures. She's such a diva!

We decided not to pay the $20+ person and 120 degree golf cart tour around the space center and instead opted for the free, air- conditioned Apollo museum.  It documented all of the Apollo missions and one of the shuttles from a mission. (I do not recap details well so of course I cant tell you which one.) 

 Family picture by the giant rocket!! Y'all it was seriously huge!

I know this picture is sideways. And its dark. I dont know how to fix it. I want everyone to see my super cute dress from Target. :)

 They had the space shuttle broken up into each of the different pieces that drop off during the shuttle launch.

 The boys in between one of the sections... see how huge this thing is?

Lee in front of one of the huge jet engines on the back of the rocket. There were 8 of these!

 After the space center, we headed to the beach. Galveston Beach is definitely different than Florida beaches. The sand is brown and the water definitely had more debris. BUT, it was the beach and it was glorious. We headed out to put our feet in the sand before heading to dinner at a local seafood place.

 My cute husband in his new shirt.

My former roommates. I love them so. much.

The next day included a full day at the beach. There is nothing like relaxing on the beach! When we were sick of the sand and salt water, we headed to the pool. I had also just completed a dedicated week of watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I do not recommend this for beach goers. I was seriously terrified to get in the water!

Laying by the pool.... so relaxing! Mom and I went a little overboard in the sun and had some nasty sunburns to pay for it... next post!

Dog Days of Summer

Lately its been hot in northwest Arkansas...

 My car said it was 112 degrees on Monday. At first I thought that surely couldn't be, but then I saw a bank marquee that said 117! Of course that's with the heat index, I think the actual this day was 109. It was a record breaking day temperature- wise in the state.

(not sure why the pic wont rotate)

Most days for work I dress up pretty nice. Either a dress or slacks with heels or wedges. I usually fix my hair, put on full makeup etc. It's been so hot lately, I can hardly stand to wear dress clothes. Getting in and out of my car all day means I stay hot all day because my car never really has a chance to cool off. This week, I've been a lot more casual than normal and sporting a polo with capri pants and "dressy" sandals. My hair is clipped up or in a pony tail. I've also been wearing less make- up than usual... there's really no point since I've sweated most of it off by the end of the day!

As hot as it is, I'm so thankful to have air conditioning in my car and in my home. That is something I take for granted and I know there are many that do not have that luxury!

This week, I was out of town to Mountain Home, AR on Monday night and got back about 6:30 pm on Tuesday. Our friend Bret came over for dinner. On Wednesday, we went to Sean and Nicole's for Sean's 26th birthday celebration. Nicole decorated so cute with a Fiesta theme. They had a yummy taco bar and all the fixins. 

 The birthday boy.

P, Sarah, and me

Payne and his cute mustache :)

Sean and Nicole have become some of our really good friends. They are in a very similar stage of life as us which makes hanging out with them a lot of fun. We met through our small group at Cross Church and we have really enjoyed getting to know this sweet couple!

Friday night our sweet friends, Shawn and Amy came over for dinner with their adorable baby, Harris. We miss them so much and are so thankful we're going to see more of them this fall! On Saturday and Sunday we SLEPT IN AND LAID AROUND. Did you hear me??? We NEVER get to have a lazy weekend and we were so thankful for one! 

On Saturday we literally slept until 9 and didn't get out of bed until 10:00. It was wonderful! Gus doesn't sleep with us but we let him in our bed for some cuddle time around 9. We made breakfast, did some house work, then shopped for patio furniture (we found none.) I think picked up my Little Sis (BBBS) and we ran to Hobby Lobby to pick out fabric for our project. "D" just moved into a new house and we made a lamp and some bulletin boards for her room.  Adam played golf while we worked on our crafts. "D" and I then made homemade pizza before I took her home.

On Sunday, we again slept until 9 and went to the late service at church. We had lunch with our buddies at Schlotzky's Deli before coming home to lay.on.the.couch. It was bliss. Just my man and my doggy on the couch for 3+hours. We watched a sad movie, "The Time Traveler's Wife" then took a nap. We then headed to the Owen's house for a game of Yahtzee and dinner.

We're getting ready to head to Galveston, TX with my family in a few days! I am so looking forward to getting away!

Wedding Season Is Upon Us!

We are in the stage of life where weddings and babies are a regular occurrence! It seems like every time I go to the mailbox it contains an invitation of a good friend that is starting one of these life chapters and has invited us to be a part. I LOVE weddings. I love showers, buying gifts, and watching a bride walk down the aisle. I also love wedding food and cake... DUH!

This summer has been no exception, we've attended several weddings already this year and wished we could have been others but our location and busy lives kept us from a few. This past week, I attended 2 weddings of very good college friends.

Lyndsey was my "Little Sis" in our sorority- Delta Zeta, at UCA. I met Lyndsey her freshman year when I was her R.A. We had an immediate connection and spent lots of late nights in my room talking about all kinds of things. Lyndsey got married at the Junior League in Little Rock, its one of my favorite places!

 the bride and I.

 I was an RA (Resident Assistant) in college for 3 years. (I'm a nerd I know... actually it was the easiest money I've ever made!) All of these girls lived on my hall their freshman year and I haven't seen many of them in years. We had to get a picture together at Lyndsey's wedding.

One of my favorite parts of a Delta Zeta Wedding... singing to the bride and her new husband. So sweet.

Payne and his mommy came to eat lunch with me on Friday before I left for the wedding. Payne looked so cute with his spiked hair and t-shirt that says "I still live with my parents." Hilarious! I love that boy so much.

The next day, I met up with some of my other college besties and we headed to Memphis for Lauren's bachelorette party. Now, normally I don't get really excited about bachelorette weekends (I'm usually the only married woman and I'd rather go to bed at 10 pm than stay out all night,) but we seriously had a great time and I laughed a WHOLE lot. I met Lauren through several of my pledge sisters and we all went to Florida together my Junior year of college.  Lauren wasn't in our sorority, but might as well have been. She is one of my favorite friends from college.  We all wore wigs on Beale Street to celebrate her last night as a single lady!

Myself, the bachelorette Miss Lauren, Kristine, Sarah, Jessica, Katie, Morgan, Elizabeth, Erin, and Erin. Lizzybeth even came! She and I got sleepy before most of the other girls so we went back to the hotel early and raided the snack bar. :) These girls keep me young. (Ha!) About half of them are married/engaged so we're not quite as crazy as we used to be. It's funny to me how when were together its like we can pick up right where we left off.

After a crazy week, Adam and I had a date at Olive Garden on Friday night then went to bed early. We slept in Saturday and then headed to Little Rock for Lauren's wedding. It was beautiful and we got to see a few other friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

 Mr. & Mrs. Kelsey

 Us girls with the bride and groom.

 me and Jessica. We were good friends in college, but have been hanging out a lot lately since she is in NWA for the next year for her pharmacy rotations. She is seriously one of the funniest people I have ever met! And she is beautiful! She runs about 10 miles a day most days... she's my inspiration!

 Friends.

 After the wedding and reception at the church, the groom's family hosted an "after party" in the River Market. I loved that Lauren had a cute, white cocktail dress for the after party!

 The bride and I. Yes, I am re-wearing my bridesmaids dress from Meg's wedding last year!

Myself with Tyler and Becca. Sadly, they did not get to attend the bachelorette party! We sure missed them and I was SO glad to see both of them at the wedding!

My date for the evening. Isn't he a hunk? We drove back to NWA Saturday home and didn't get home until late.  We woke up Sunday morning and our poor doggy had got sick all in his crate. We went to late service at church after cleaning him up then I went to a movie (The Smurfs) with my Little Sis (Big Brothers Big Sisters).

Me and D.

Gussy in our bed after he was feeling a little better today. I don't want to tell you what it looked/smelled like in his room/my office this morning... I guess dog's can get a stomach virus??? Luckily he seems much better.

After that, I came home to my sweet husband cleaning the house. We laid around for a little bit before I headed to the grocery store and he mowed the lawn. I came home and cooked a yummy Veggie and Bacon Fritatta! (Blog post soon about some of my new recipes!) I'm headed off now to pack to go out of town tomorrow. I've been staying overnight every other week for work. It's 2-3 nights a month away from home which I'm not crazy about... but I am really loving my job right now so it works.

Adam and I are loving life right now. We are in such a fun season and I always hope to remember weekends like this together! I think we have 6 more weddings this year.... I'm not sure we'll be able to attend all of them, but I am looking forward to trying!