Something New

I haven't always enjoyed trying new things. In fact, my older cousin and two brothers nicknamed me "Beef" because our family used to go to this Bar-B-Q restaurant and without a doubt I would always order a child's plate of beef and nothing else. (Also, it didn't help the fact that I was a little chunky in my younger years.) At fast food restaurants, it was the same thing: a small hamburger with only ketchup...every single time. Believe it or not, I actually distinctly remember ordering my first sandwhich with lettuce on it. It was at Burger King. I ordered the chicken sandwhich. Then, of course, THAT became the only thing I ordered.

It doesn't always just deal with food either. I used to be scared to try ANYTHING new. I hate rollercoaster rides. I despise bungi jumping. I wouldn't even ride in an elevator by myself when I was younger for fear of being trapped in it alone. If I was trapped with someone else, at least, THEY might know what to do in order to save us. That was my logical 3rd grade reasoning, anyway.

I remember being scared to get on a jet ski when my family purchased two of them. I was very young and remember watching everyone have fun on them for HOURS before someone finally talked me into getting on one. When I did, they couldn't pull me off. One time I literally stayed on a jet ski for eight hours.

Well, the point of all of this is, TRY NEW THINGS! In part of highschool and all through college, I made it a point to go and DO new things. I tried my hand at water skiing, snow skiing, tubing, riding fourwheelers, and yes, I even got on a roller coaster! These things are all fairly normal things and most kids have tried at least some of them, but they were all things that I was at one point hesitant to try. But like the chicken sandwhich at Burger King, once I tried it, I loved it.

New things I have tried recently:

New Food:

Alaskan King Crab

New Artist:

Leona Lewis

New Drink:

Planet Smoothie- Equal Parts Rasberry and Strawberry with yogart, sweetener and a touch of protein added to it! I tried it last week and I'm addicted!

Try something new. ANYTHING!

engagement pics

Hey, guys (and girls)! Everybody go this instance and check out our engagement pictures at this website. Then once you do that, you will be amazed at this photographer and want to know her name so I will go ahead and tell you. Christen Byrd.

Be amazed. Be very amazed.

Hump Day

I find myself longing for weekends but not for the same reason everyone else does. I love my job so I'm not dreading the long work weeks or the endless amount of work. I just simply look forward to doing nothing. And it's not that I don't do ANYTHING, it's that I get to do the things I've been looking forward to all week. Since the weather has warmed up, I will be gettin' outside more. I absolutely love being outside! Sunday I went for my first "run" in almost two years. Officially, I was not told by the doctor I could, but I feel like I know my body well enough to make that call. I used to run daily in college. If anyone knows Ouachita's campus, I would run from Caddo apartments, past the football field, up "the hill", and back again. I would run that twice again. It may not sound like much but for someone with fibromyalgia, it's like climbing Mt. Everest. I was proud of where I was physically. I'm determined to get back to that point. So Sunday was day one of that painful journey...and yes, it is painful. My life goal has been to run a marathon one day. I'm not sure if my body can actually handle it but I will die trying probably. :)

On a lighter note, Monday was a gorgeous day for taking pictures. As soon as I got home from work, I grabbed my camera and took some shots of my friend's Harley. He's thinking about selling it. I told him he was absolutely crazy!

The first one is my favorite and the next one is one of his favs. Enjoy! Check back for more pics!

snow day

This week Conner experienced snow. It was pretty funny to see him trying to eat the snow. Also, my mom came up for a visit. We were pretty much stuck in my condo all day but we managed to step outside for a few shots.

We are ready for one more snow day!

Here's a shot of Conner while he was discovering what the white stuff was.

My mom came up for a few days to visit. She canceled her hotel room in preparation for the storm that is headed are way. I think she is praying that we get stuck in my condo all day long so we can do nothing but wedding stuff all day long! I'm not sure how I feel about this...

Food wise... starting today I get to add one new food a day to my diet. Today is chicken. So tonight I celebrate with snow...and CHICKEN!!

the essence of chicken photo by: tbthayer