Little bit of this, little bit of that.

Time flies!

I won't apologize for my lack of blogging; mostly because I find it annoying when other people do it. Life is busy, sometimes people have nothing to say, and other times people have too much to say but can't figure out how to put it into sentence form. I can attribute my lack of blogging to all three reasons. But, Ashley called me a slacker so I'm back, for now. ;)

Wedding Update

I almost had my first bridezilla moment. Thankfully beer, pizza, and a well-timed text message reeled me in pretty quickly.

Sean and I went to Jos. A. Bank to pick out tuxes. This should be easy, I thought. Ha. Did you know that there are a GAZILLION different vest and tie options? Did you know that no one carries solid colored vests? Not to mention the fact that it was prom season and a Carmel Housewife and her pimply-faced High School junior cut in front of us and stole the ONE table and ONE computer they had set up to go over the available options.

After waiting a solid 25 minutes for someone to acknlowledge us, we began the tux shopping experience. The only good thing that came out of this appointment was that Sean agreed that he liked the midnight blue tuxes. Once we got into the vest and tie options, the lady was totally confused by what I wanted and just was not following or helping me. Gosh, I can feel my blood pressure rising as I type this. I wanted exactly what was in the picture for the ushers, and she looked at me like a deer in headlights. Sean was pretty open to what I was suggesting, but I could tell he was irritated by the entire experience so far. Once she started confusing what I wanted the groomsmen to wear with what d the ushers will wear I knew the appointment was going nowhere.

We gave the lady the names of our groomsmen and ushers, and she told us that she wouldn't be able to cater to our ring bearers because they don't have tuxes in their sizes.  Fine, whatever. Get me out of here.

Before I totally lost it, we left and went over to enjoy a pizza and chug some beers. My blood pressure returned to normal, and Cara responded to my frantic text messages reminding me that "They are only tuxes."

Truer words have never been spoken.

This past weekend my bff, Ashley came up to visit. She went with me to Jos. A. Banks, but a different location, on Saturday - a total whim of a trip, I had planned on going with Cara and Sean's sister, Elizabeth. But, we were at Hamilton Towne Center anways and they had a Jos. A. Banks right there.

The moment we walked in I could tell it was going to be a better experience.

A lady came right to our assistance and after I explained the experience at the other Jos. A. Bank location she said, "Well, I'm a tux expert so let's get this figured out."

The very first thing we did was look up in the computer to see if the lady from the other location had added our information. Of course, she hadn't. Somehow I had everyone's numbers in my phone, so we were able to add all of the groomsmen, the ushers, the ring bearers, and Sean's dad to our account.

The event was created and we were off and running. She explained that the vests, while they don't look solid when your up close, they are a nice solid gray when you take a step back. She also showed us how they would be photographed. She really is a tux genius! She explained that they could indeed, put our ring bearers in ANY tux that they had available. By far, the best news of the day! We organized what the groomsmen are going to wear, as well as the ushers and we moved onto what Sean was wearing, and what his Dad was wearing. It was so much easier than my previous experience.

Plus, she gave us an extra free tux rental! Instead of giving one person a free tux, she divided the amount up and we applied it to the cost of all the tuxes so everyone could save a little money. Weddings are freaking expensive, for the bride (and her family) and groom (and his family), AND for all the people who are actually in the wedding with us.

I walked out with a smile, and a check mark next to Figure out the damn tux situation box on my to-do list.

Our cute Ring Bearers. Isaac, Eli, & Levi. :)



The Groomsmen. Rob, Keith, Justin, Joe, Pat, Shaun, Andrew

 Life Update

I was offered a new position that I just could not turn down. It throws a wrench in Sean's and my life plans, but we're still getting married and we're still going to do everything we planned on doing... we are just not sure where yet. It's an exciting time, and I so exicted about this turn of events. It's going to be rough for the next few months, but the payoff is huge and totally worth it.

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Linkup Thursday!

1. I laughed so hard I cried when... Megan took all the puppies in the movie Bridesmaids... still makes me laugh, just thinking of it! Matter of fact, I think I just planned my Saturday night.

2. My high school... is the pride of the east side! Bitches.

3. It really pisses me off... that my face keeps breaking out as if I'm not drinking a gallon of water a day and avoiding all chocolate. I'm 29 freaking years old and it's the worst I've ever had.

4. In ten years... my student loan payments will be gone!

5. If I could erase one thing... a really terrible decision I made in 2008. That's all you get.

6. In 1999...  I was a Freshman in highschool... and was just getting to know my HS bff, Katie.

7. Honestly... why does water coming out of a reusable water bottle taste so disgusting to me?

8. To me, Sushi... totally worth the money, most of the time.

9. Someone really needs to invent... an umbrella for the sky. Shouldn't we be able to control the weather by now?

10. The first time I drank alcohol... I was barely 20, at IU. What do you expect from one of the #1 party schools in the nation?

11. The one question I would ask God is... am I doing okay?

12. Lindsay Lohan... totally cray cray, but I love it when she lets her hair color be natural

Check out how others answered the questions at Holly's blog!

A to Z

A. Age: veinti y nueve

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you hate: I hate folding clothes and putting them away. Hit the dryer start button again, please.

D. Dogs: Eventually, I think I want one. If it's a girl, her name will be Ola. If it's a boy, his name will be Dipo. See what we did there?

E. Essential start to your day: A shower, otherwise I feel like I'm sleeping all day.

F. Favorite color: Not a fair question. All of them.

G. Gold or Silver: Either. But if it's going to be gold, I need to pick it out.

H. Height: 5 feet 5 inches of awesomeness

I. Instruments you play: Used to play flute and tenor sax

J. Job Title: Administrative Assistant

K. Kids: Lucy, Eli, Graham, Levi, Addison, and Katie are my favs

L. Live: Living is good. Live music is better.

M. Married: Dude, ALMOST! :)

N. Nicknames: Betsy boo boo, Betsy Eugene, and thankfully I haven't heard anyone call me Boots recently. I hated that nickname.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Just once. When I had my gall bladder removed. Best and most painful couple days of my life. But my Grandma was admitted to the hospital at the same time so at least I had a good buddy.

P. Pet peeve: If I listed them all, I would no longer be liked. But my biggest pet peeve is when peeps text other people in the same room, amongst company. If it can't be said out loud at that time, then there is a better time and place for it. Show some respect.

Q. Quote: I love lots. But right at this moment in my life, this is the one I keep going back to: 

"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are."

R. Righty or Lefty:  Righty

S. Siblings: Lots. One older sister, one older brother, two little sisters. Two brother-in-laws, one sister-in-law and I'm about to add more once I get hitched. I love having a big family!

T. Time you wake up: 7am-ish

U. University attended: Indiana University

V. Vegetables you dislike: Lima Beans ;)

W. What makes you run late: Hitting the snooze button one too many times. Or stopping at the gas station for an emergency caffeine fix. Or the stupid light at Keystone & 96th Street.

X. X-rays you've had: I've broken both my arms, so there's two. And they take x-rays at the dentist too, but that has been done more than once.

Y. Yummy food: Ashley's Pizza Cups... Addicted.

Z. Zoo animal favorite: I'm always amazing at large freaking elephants.

So Long!

Tax season is over! Can I get an AMEN?!

Whew! That was tougher than I thought. I honestly didn't think that going to Jim's office after putting in my normal days work would be that rough. But, let me tell you... after five days of thirteen hour days, one day of beer-festing it up, and another two days straight at Jim's office I AM POOPED. Not to mention the three weeks I put in before I started going over there every night. And wouldn't mind hearing the words "tax", "process", or "invoice" for a few months.

I will make a pretty penny from all the time I spent at his office, which honestly, makes it all worth it in my mind.

My big plan is to use some of the money to buy Sean's wedding band, to buy new running shoes, and put the rest into my IRA account... must.start.saving.more.money.

I found some Mizuno's on Amazon that are a good price, and while I like my Saucony's (which I spent a pretty penny on back in December) I'm ready for a switch-up.

And finally, now that tax season is over it's time to get back on the wedding train. I have a lot of balls up in the air right now and it's time to make them come down and put them in the spots they belong.

Here's a few pictures from our Saturday Brew Fest experience in Bloomington this past weekend.

Boston

"Running is a sport of goodwill. It's the only sport in the world where if a competitor falls, the others around will pick him or her up. It's the only sport in the world open to absolutely everyone, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or any other division you can think of. It's the only occasion when thousands of people assemble, often in a major city, for a reason that is totally peaceful, healthy and well-meaning. It's the only sport in the world where no one ever boos anybody."
-Roger Robinson, Runner's World, April 15th, 2013

Slow News Day

I don't think that last blog about my wedding color choices really give my vision justice. You will just have to wait and see, I guess! I'm sure when the time comes there will be lots of blogging with lots of pictures to remember our most special day.

I apologize for this uber boring blog post, and to try to make up for it I was going to present you with a blog I wrote in 2008. Remember Live Journal? My friends-at-the-time and I used to blog all.the.time. Mostly about boys. And school. And as it turns out, I really loved Jack Johnson because I ended almost every one of my entries with lyrics from one of his songs.

So, instead of an old blog post, you get Jack Johnson lyrics. Enjoy.

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? and where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing its always better when we're together

[Chorus:]
MMM its always better when we're together
Yeah, look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
For tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll Sit beneath the mango tree now

Its always better when we're together
Mmmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

MMmmmm MMMmmmm Mmmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're Better together.

All Things Wedding: The Color Edition!

157 Days to go!

Wowzers. Time is flying.

One of the biggest decisions a bride has to make before starting any wedding planning is what color scheme she wants to go with. I started out wanting purple, then red, then back to purple, and then finally deciding that I just can't decide. That's the biggest reason I decided to put my bridesmaids  in gray dresses. It allows me to use whatever color I want, wherever I want it without clashing. Just call me a color genius.

Here's where the color scheme stands right now.

I know we'll probably have red roses, but I also want some purple, maybe blue, and bright green mixed in. I tried calling the florist two weeks ago but she never got back with me. I guess I should make another soon.

I am really pushing for deep navy blue tuxes. I found a picture and THEY LOOK AWESOME. Plus, I figure that kinda goes with Sean and his love of the Yankee's. Navy Blue Pinstripes are classic.

The little girls will wear cream, which matches my dress but will have a satin ribbon around their wastes that will be different colors. I'm thinking something like deep red for Lucy, deep purple for Katie, and a lighter brighter green for Addison. The little boys will be wearing a tux, whatever color we end up choosing for the guys tuxes.

The reception hall is just beautiful. It's all golds, dark wood, and there's some rose color. There's no decorating needed. Which is possibly why my stress levels about the reception are pretty close to niche, nada, zero! We just have to get the food, the seating, and the drinking right.

I'm learning that the biggest thing my color scheme or lack thereof is affecting is the invitations. I know I want to assemble my own, mostly to save some moola, but also because I want to be in control of how they turn out. I've already put together the wording, but finding the paper to see my vision carried out has been a task. I was going to try and find a local paper store, but ain't nobody got time for dat! So, I found an awesome website that has pre-cut paper in every color imaginable. I ordered eight different color samples and they should be here this week. Once I look over the colors with my sister, my matron-of-honor, and my Mom, I will place the order for the different pieces we'll need and the invitation train will be in motion!

I'm still feeling good about all this wedding stuff. No bridezilla moments so far!

Today

Friday Saturday, Saturday to Sunday

Friday

Friday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunday

Contentment

Yea! It's Friday!

This week has been rough. Three days this week I didn't get home until around 10:30pm due to working at Jim's tax office. We're in the dead middle of tax season so next week doesn't look very promising either. Thankfully, April 15th is only ten glorious days away. I've never been one to wish away time, but I'd be cool with a FF button right now.

I don't know why everyone keeps saying the economy is coming back, because in times like these, it sure as hell doesn't feel like it.

For the second time in the seven months that I have been employed, there were layoffs at my day job. With those layoffs came some restructuring and I'm now responsible to answer the phones three days a week. "They're making me go backwards", I thought. The very first job I ever had after taking time off from college, was answering phones. I was not born to sit in a room and answer the damn telephone every time it rings. I was born to be moving around, to be creative, to think critically. I was not born for this!

While I'm friendly to all, I only talk on a personal level to about three people in the office. You can bet your dogs boots that they all knew I was frustrated by this turn of events. One of the people I talked to, reminded me that I should be thankful to be working still, that sometimes you have to let others do their part and while you're waiting, basically saying that sometimes"contentment is okay." Meh.

I decided I'd try and have a good attitude about it, and I started by "Betsy-fying" my new responsibilities. I made stuff look pretty. I'll do pretty much anything if it's pretty. I've already received a few compliments on the changes I've made and it reminded me that sometimes you have to suck it up and make the best of the worst. Is that what contentment means?

As I was heading home from Jim's office last night, Ashley texted me and said she had seen an e-mail from her boss to the Director asking what the status of bringing me on board was at this time. Ah. "Just let others do their part Betsy, and while you're waiting, be content."

Some people are geniusly genius... you just have to be willing to listen.

Ashley's Pizza Bites

Sick Little Man

I got most of my bridesmaids together this past weekend to finalize their dress choices and place the order - YAHOO! Ashley decided to make a weekend of it and came up Friday night to hang out. After work, I went to visit Eli, my nephew, in the hospital who was battling a rough tummy bug. He was in there three nights and it was probably the saddest thing ever. I brought him a cute card, a doggy stuffed animal, and a Where's Waldo book to help keep him occupied while he laid in bed. Although from what I understand he spent most of the time drinking a little milk and then falling back asleep. Peyton Manning's Childrens Hospital treated him well, and he finally started feeling better on Monday. Praise the baby Jesus!

After my visit with Eli, which was more of a visit with Joe since Eli was sleeping, I met Ashley at Marsh to pick up beverages and the items we needed to make Ashley's Pizza Bites.

Since it was Good Friday, Sean and I couldn't eat meat. Which kinda ruined Ashley's idea to make pizza bites, but have no fear! We waited until midnight and then she showed me how to whip up these little cups of low-calorie, low-carb goodness.

I highly recommend these to anyone - and I highly recommend getting creative! You can do anything with these - pizza, taco, Chinese, veggie, breakfast, WHATEVER you can dream of, you can enjoy. These little won ton wraps were sent directly from heaven, I'm certain of it!

Ashley's Pizza Bites

1lb Spicy Sausage

1 package of mini pepperoni (usually found by the sliced meats in the refrigerated section)

Baby Taco Salad Shells

1 can Chef Boyardee pizza sauce

1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese

1 package Nasoya Won Ton Wraps (found in the health food refrigerated section)

salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper to taste

In a cupcake pan, press one won-ton wrapper into each cup. Make sure all four corners are up, creating a little bowl. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 5-7 minutes or until the edges turn brown.

Just a dollop of sauce!

Brown the sausage until fully cooked. Add a handful (if you love pepperoni add as much as your little heart desires) of mini peperoni's and a handful of mozzarella cheese. Mix the sausage, pepperoni, and cheese together - add spices until it tastes good to you.

Move the Won Ton bowls to a cookie sheet. They should look like teeny tiny taco salad bowls. Fill each with a spoonful of the sausage and peperoni mixture. Add a dollop of pizza sauce (be careful not to use too much pizza sauce!) on top of the mixture and cover with shredded cheese.

You will have extra mixture left over - you can refrigerate it and it will be good for about a week or so. These are so easy you can pop them in whenever you want for a snack! Have unexpected guests? impress them with this quick, healthy, and easy snack!

Bake 7-8 minutes or until the cheese has a little color to it.

ENJOY.

After entering this recipe on My Fitness Pal , I figured out each pizza bite has 100 calories. Last night Sean and I made these bites with Turkey Sausage and Turkey Pepperoni (I diced the peperoni into little pieces) and they only had 60 calories in each pizza bite.

  

Cheesy Goodness

The final product!

Wobbly Wednesday

I got the blues

Mondays are never fun. I'm sure they could be fun if you have a job that you love, or if you knew you didn't have to work Tuesday, or even if you had dinner plans with your friends after work. But just like my hate for Wednesdays, my hate for Monday was pretty strong this morning. Some people would say, "Well, you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and put your poopy pants on instead of your awesome pants" but I call shenanigans.

So, instead of being all poopy because it's Monday, it's chilly outside, and I have an earache - I now present to you

What Motivates Betsy List

Reading Blogs

For example, www.mamalaughlin.com - she's totally ridiculous, but she cracks me up. and she makes me want to blog like her - saying totally ridiculous things and making up my own words. But I'm not that funny. She used to be chubby and now she's a certified badass.

Chai Tea Latte

I can't drink pop like I used to, and when I say I used to I mean in the twelve years that I've been allowed to drink pop (my Mom didn't dare allow us pop, smart woman). Anyways, it gives me this weird feeling that makes me feel like I'm going to faint. Also, I find it hard to focus when I'm on the caffeine. Coffee turns my teeth yellow, so it's just not an option.

On the way back from Sean's grandmother's funeral, my future sister-in-law, Elizabeth, and her hubby, Shaun, stopped at Starbucks. Elizabeth got a hot chai tea latte. Shaun got an iced chai tea latte. Maybe it was the other way around, I don't remember. Shaun ending up getting bored with his so he gave it to me, and that's when I had my first glorious sip of chai tea latte. I'm addicted. Perfect amount of caffeine, not too many calories, and heaven in my mouth.

The Health & Fitness Board on Pinterest

If I don't feel like working out, or really want to eat something crappy, I hop onto Pinterest and go straight to the Health and Fitness board. It never fails me. Something always pops up that reminds me how hard I've been working and there's no point in sabotaging myself now.

Upcoming Wedding

166 days to go. My dress is hanging in my apartment. We just ordered the ladies dresses.

THE HONEYMOON HAS BEEN BOOKED.

Impending Spring

I know spring has arrived according to the calendar, but not according to the temperature. Thinking about summer dresses, shorts, tank tops, sunglasses and tan lines puts a smile on my face and makes me want to work it like none other.

I guess this list turned into

"What Motivates Betsy to Get Her Butt in Shape" 

- sorry if you were looking for something different.  

Grocery Shopping

I agree with the quote, "you get fit at the gym and lose weight in the kitchen."

My Aunt Suzanne

She died way too young. I'd like to see Lucy, Eli, and Graham get hitched one day.

That's all for this list, for now.

I hope you decided to put on your awesome pants this morning instead of your poopy pants. Writing this list just forced me to change out of my poopy pants, and put on my life is good pants. Whoop, whoop.

After all, Stephen Kellogg says it best..."Happiness depends on how you handle the day..." Well said, Stephen, well said.