Friday Favorites

Can you believe it’s the first Friday of APRIL? Again, 1/4 of 2016 is already gone. Woah, Nelly.

In typical Friday fashion, i’m sharing my FAVORITES with you for this week. Join me and link-up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

Happy Friday to you!

The most exciting part of this past week was that Morgan and I threw together a little surprise for my parents. She had no intentions of coming home at all this semester, but when she told me her plans of leaving Gulf Shores halfway through their Spring Break I told her how fun it would be to have her surprise mom and dad. She agreed and we planned.

Our plan was that I would tell my parents I wanted to take them to lunch and when we’d walk in Morgan would be sitting there waiting for us. It worked for the most part, except Morg was awkward and didn’t know what to do so she went bouncing up to them and I couldn’t video it! ^ That was the best I got.

Pissed. Ha, just kidding, she’s in an intense conversation…aka probably being lectured by dad about something 😉

We got the cards going that night and enjoyed the rest of our weekend as a family of 6 again. So much fun.

My family has an obsession with Buffalo Wild Wings. Everyone but me that is. My siblings went for lunch that afternoon, but I tagged along for the company. You see, when Morgan isn’t here my brothers don’t want anything to do with me.

And then Sunday night she had to leave again. All good things come to an end, but as mom says, that just means she’s one day closer to coming home again.

While you northerners have been bundled up in your hats, coats, scarves, and snow flurries, we southerners have been laying out in our backyards catching some vitamin D. I’m usually not that excited for summer, but for some reason this year i’m seriously looking forward to it! This sun has been my FAVORITE lately and it’s putting me in the best spirits. I’ve been taking my reading out there while (hopefully) getting darker. We all know homegirl needs some of that.

On Tuesdays, I have a 3.5 hour break in between my classes. I dread it, but I’ve learned to take advantage of it. Usually I stay on campus, but this past week I drove to our nearest Starbucks and was pleasantly surprised to see this little outdoor area in the sun with comfortable cushioned chairs.

 

I pulled out my lunch, I got my coffee, and I ended up being so productive. It was one of those “ahhhh, I am seriously enjoying life right now” moments. You know those. This was definitely my FAVORITE 3.5 hours from this week.

For a while now I have been trying to get myself into hot tea. I just see all the advantages (on Pinterest of course) and I see how many people love it. I’ve been trying to detox lately and I picked up this Yogi Detox tea (which i’m totally loving) and sip on it right before bed while I finish up my blog or whatever it is that i’m doing. It seems like Yogi is everybody’s FAVORITE right now so I had to test it out. So far…2 thumbs up.

Okay. Hi, my name is Molly and i’m addicted to chocolate. And dessert. And having a chocolate dessert every night after dinner. Like it’s just a thing now. I was at the grocery store on Monday and snooped up and down each aisle as I always do. I’m notorious for spending way too much time at the grocery store.

WELL.

This week I came upon this little snack. And friends. My life is changed for the better. I have a chunk or two every night. It goes along with my food allergies to dairy and gluten, it’s healthy yet it’s dessert, and it’s in line with my sugar detox. Like, there’s no sugar (because it’s sweetened with date paste). A packaged product with no sugar? I about died. If you see it, just try my FAVORITE grocery store find.

A couple days ago I found this bag and within seconds of spotting it, I knew it was a keeper. It’s my FAVORITE. It’s big, it’s roomy, it’s perfect for these upcoming summer months. I’m totally loving all this light colors this year. Lots of white and stripes. Two of my FAVORITE things.

This week on the blog…

Monday I shared an update on my 2016 Bucket List. Some of my FAVORITE goals have been checked off already.

On Tuesday I shared what my talk show would look like if I had my own. You can bet two of my FAVORITE ladies were on there.

It was the first Wednesday of the month, so of course, I hosted my FAVORITE linkup…Bookworm Wednesday. It’s good stuff.

And yesterday I shared my FAVORITE go-to breakfast recipe at the moment. Healthy almond butter banana waffles for the win!

Have the best weekend!

To Louisiana For Morgan

This past weekend I set out to Louisiana with sister time on the mind. We moved her in the very first weekend of August. Then, my dad needed someone to drive with him at the end of August to her first game so I went. The brothers and I had plans to drive to one of her away games that was closer, but we never made it. I asked her if she wanted me to just come up one weekend and I could stay with her, she said yes, so we made plans for this past weekend since I hadn’t seen her in about 2 months

I took a half day at work so by noon on Friday I was southbound on I-45 to Louisiana…coffee in hand. You just have to on a 6 hour drive.

I arrived at 5:30, which is of course when she had to be at the field for her game that night. I met her in front of the field house for a hello hug and then took her dorm keys to go put my stuff in there and hang out for a little while until I had to be at the game.

At 6:50 they started announcing the starters and Morgan’s name was called. #proudsistermoment

She told me to get there a little before start time because she had a ball to throw to me. I just said okay, but mainly because I knew what that meant. We used to do this in high school.

I don’t know how it started but somehow the siblings started calling me Giss pronounced like it rhymes with siss. Anyways she told me that her teammates saw it and thought she called me “Jizz” so they wrote it on there. So funny. I brought this to work to put in my office as a little way to make me smile when I look at it.

Within 15 minutes MORGAN SCORED HER FIRST COLLEGE GOAL!!!!! And I was hooping and hollering. She told me she was going to turn around and point to me, but she chickened out. Ugh. But I was so so so so proud of her. They ended up winning the game with her 1 goal. YAY! And at halftime we were introduced to some costume contest kiddos.

And after the game we went back to Morgan’s dorm for her to shower and then headed to a local Mexican restaurant for some fajitas, chips-n-salsa (I could live off this), and a margarita!!! I had some marg leftover but didn’t want to leave it because I paid 12 darn dollars for that thing. And since you can’t take open alcohol we asked for a togo cup for water, threw my margarita in there, and bolted out of the restaurant hahah.

Then we went back to her room to watch some Grey’s Anatomy and call it nights. Her schools fall break was this weekend so there weren’t any students there for us to go out, but we enjoyed hanging out and watching movies. Now, doesn’t this make you wish you were still in a dorm 😉 Morgan’s obsession with Spiderman wore off on her pumpkin that she carved the other weekend.

Saturday morning we hit IHop pre-practice. This was the worst iHop experience ever. We ended up not even paying for our food and tipping out waitress. The manager was rude to us as well and we called our mom as we left to tell her she’d need to bail us out of jail later 😉

While Morg was at practice I wasted time in her dorm watching friends…then doing crunches…then looking through her food…and brewing coffee that I didn’t even want. Longest hour and a half ever!!

After her practice we came back so she could change…into another freaking t-shirt because that’s all homegirl wears. But to be honest so do I. I can’t blame her that much. We went up to the mall to do a little shopping.

And afterwards went to a restaurant she is OBSESSED with and has taken everyone that has come to visit her. Her dish is basically a Hawaiian pizza on salmon. Mine was salmon with shrimp, artichokes, mushrooms, and tomatoes on top. Both were so delicious and I totally see why she takes everyone there!

After dinner we went to Old Navy, did some grocery shopping for her, then went back to her dorm for another successful movie night consisting of a chick-flick and The Wild Thornberrys movie because we Middleton girls are crazy.

Sunday morning she woke up late so we opted for a breakfast at her cafe, to which I always sample everything. Because when it’s unlimited, you have to. It’s so funny that everywhere you go in Lousiana there is red beans and rice plus grits offered. (The lighting is really weird it’s not that my food is discolored FYI)

She left me at the cafe in all my gluttonous glory while she went to the field for her game. I didn’t have a key so I had to walk over there to get a key so that I could shower and pack up. And wow this is a flattering picture.

They unfortunately lost this game in overtime because the ref called a handball in the goalie’s box. STUPID. Refs that call that type of stuff are ridiculous. But it didn’t stop me from being a proud sis this weekend. Morgan has done so well with soccer and school and making friends and all things college. I miss her a ton but I love seeing her do what she does out of the field.

About halfway through my drive home she realized that I had her socks that we bought this weekend, so I took a picture to make her mad. Hehe.

And on my way home I also said goodbye to ol’ Sam Houston.

And I always hear people saying they stopped at Buccee’s or they’re wearing a shirt with the little beaver on it. If you’re not aware, it’s just a really big and popular gas station in Madisonville, Texas. I think it’s other places too though. I stopped in for a potty break and to get some water and look around to see what all the hustle and bustle was about.

I mean they had a variety of things. I think they are known for their beaver nuggets, which I almost got but I just wasn’t wanting anything sweet, so I got a fruit bowl. Which was still good! And so fresh!

Less than 30 minutes outside of Dallas I hit this awwwfffuulllllll traffic. It just so happened the day I was driving through and the day after from 6pm-6am they were doing construction on 2 lanes of the highway. COOL.

But eventually I hit D-Town and boogied all the way through to home.

And got up early Monday morning for work. It’s hard being an adult sometimes. But it was so worth it all just to spend some time with my sis and see her goal in person. I love weekends like this. Thanks for having me, sister!!!

Another Monday?

I mean, how does that happen so quickly????

It was just Friday morning. Then I blinked and it’s Monday. And now I have to go to work again…waaah.

But, I got back from a little “vacation” if you will, late last night so I didn’t have time to prepare a post for this morning. All I have to say is…

…and my own bed. Although I did have fun with my sister this weekend 🙂

I’ll be back tomorrow for Show and Tell Tuesday. See you then!

Morgan is 19

And when did this happen??? It was a year ago I was sitting around making an Olaf cake on my day off of school. My, how a year can either fly by or inch slowly.

Yesterday, Morgan turned 19 years old (HAHA OLDIE), which naturally means i’ll be turning another year older in 4 short months. Because that is how my mind works. Ahhhhh! This is the first year that my sister and I haven’t been together on a birthday. And it’s kind of sad actually because I know that we are getting older and from here on out we most likely won’t be together on birthdays anymore. For my birthday this year she will probably be headed back to school. But such is life. And I will get over it. Instead, i’m choosing to celebrate that we’re both alive and well today.

Now, how about we check out the two of us as little kiddos, just for S&G’s:

Oh, the days of the over the shoulder backpack. We begggggged for these and mom finally caved and got them.

She’s always looking up to me 😉 Except not because i’m officially the shortest sibling now. Thanks for the genes, mom.

Sometimes we like to dress up.

Say hello to my cat in the hat pants and our always fabulous little girl hair.

MP, why you no happy?? MR, why you so creepy??

We loved, loved, loved our baby brother when he was born. I totally was born to be the oldest; I was constantly baby-ing the siblings.

And last year, I gave her tickets to Luke Bryan’s concert…that she really wanted!

This year, she had my parents come down to visit her last weekend. She had a game and they took her out to dinner as well. My brothers and I are (hopefully) going to her Sunday game this weekend to see her and celebrate her birthday.

On her actual birthday, Morg had 2-a-day practices and classes. But I was told she did get to go out to dinner with her friends/teammates. And then when she FaceTimed the family I was asleep on the couch upstairs. Total fail. I sent her some questions to answer as a little questionnaire, but she never answered me back. And then asked for some pictures, and she never answered. Rude. Doesn’t homegirl know I’ve gotta put my blog together?!?!

And it’s true. I’m so thankful to have a sister. Happy 19th Morgan, here’s to many more (whether together or apart)!

Friday Favorites

Oh how I love Friday! 🙂

And i’m talking favorites this morning with Andrea, Erika, and Narci!

Bloglovin’

I had always heard about Bloglovin’ through other bloggers so I created an account to figure out what it exactly was. I had my account for a while and didn’t really understand it but then a coupe weeks ago Mattie had mentioned something about trying to follow me because she keeps up with all her favorite blogs via bloglovin’ and it all of a sudden clicked! Now I usually go through and read y’alls posts through there.

Make sure you’re following me because 1. it’s a way to get into this giveaway that i’m keeping open until Sunday night!! but 2. I can follow you back and keep up with your blog. Thanks goodness I have smart people around me to keep me up-to-date on blog happenings.

Quest Bar Flavor

You all saw last week that I did a protein bar test. I mentioned wanting to find a favorite flavor…or at least a couple of them. And I wish I would’ve taken a picture of the huge bag my mom brought home for me the other day from the store. I’ve tried pretty much all of them (Lemon Pie, White Chocolate Raspberry etc. are not going to be tried). I’m ranking them this way:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Cookies ‘n Creme (SO many people’s favorite!)
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Vanilla Almond Crunch
Cinnamon Roll
Double Chocolate Chunk
S’Mores

I still have to try Strawberry Cheesecake (not too excited about this one), Banana Nut Muffin, and Peanut Butter Supreme!) What is your favorite flavor Quest Bar?

Taralynn’s Shirts

Occasionally I do some fashion type posts on the blog. I wouldn’t consider myself a fashion blogger, but I like to highlight some wardrobe pieces that I think would be good in everyone’s closet.

I like to keep my closet simple. I don’t go shopping for outfits, I get one or two pieces at a time and try to work my outfits out according to the different pieces I have in my closet. It’s probably super abnormal..but hey! It happens 😉 I’m still the one whose momma will dress her every now and then. #noshame

This shirt is a favorite one from Taralynn’s. It was something simple I was able to throw it on with these rolled up jeans and a pair of wedges. It’s casual, yet cute at the same time. It wasn’t itchy (I kind of thought it might be) and fit me perfectly. All of her sizing is in her descriptions in case you’re wondering what to get.

This shirt is like a sweatshirt (trust me it kept me verrrrry warm this August day) but it also has holes in the sleeves where it gets breezy. Does that make any sense at all? It’s so different and unique.

Here’s a closer look at the sleeves.

And this shirt is more on the floral side…occasionally I do that. The sleeves are unique on this shirt too because they cut up the center of my arm.

And her jewelry too! I’m ALWAYS wearing it!

Don’t forget with Taralynn’s:

**Coupon Code: 0BZO4C4GZQHN for 30% off your order**

**Free Shipping everywhere in the USA**

Visiting Morgan

Not too long ago we moved Morgan into college. Last weekend my mom went down to work on some stuff with Morgan and my dad wanted to go for her game Sunday because it was in a city closer to us than her school, but he needed someone to go with him. I told him if he wanted me to go wake me up 30 minutes before he planned on leaving. 8:00 Sunday morning rolls around and “molly, molly, molly” is being whispered in my ear. SO MUCH FOR SLEEPING IN DAD!

We got there around 1 and saw the bus the team rode up on. So naturally, we had to take a picture.

And then I was totally Morgan’s paparazzi taking pictures of her warming up….

…and lined up because she started!!! Yay!!!

…as a forward with the other freshman that made the traveling team.

The fun part though was that she was surprised because we were there and we were surprised because we thought she knew dad and I were coming. So she was warming up on the sidelines, looked over and saw us, then started waving frantically. So much fun!

And then once the game was over, which at this point I was like YAY because Louisiana is humid and I was a puddle of water. I totally had a proud mom moment and took pictures with Morgan.

And then we drove back in the same day. So proud of this girl already and she still has 4 years left to do big things there. I pray every day that she loves her school. Love you, MP!!!!

And that’s it this Friday. Have a great weekend friends 🙂

Morgan’s Moved In

 At this time exactly one week ago we were in the crazy humid state of Louisiana moving Morgan in for her very first year of college. And to be honest it was really bittersweet. Sunday I went into my dad’s office and said “Dad, is this what is was like when I left? I feel like 1/6 of us is missing.” He said “Yeah, but look we all survived.” And of course we will. It’s just weird to think that first of all, we’re getting older…but second of all, this is the longest i’ll have ever gone without seeing her. So i’m going to plan a little road trip to see one of her games at the end of September because Thanksgiving is way too long. And her school is way too far.

Monday morning we planned to leave around 10:00am to drive to Louisiana. I was ready before everyone else (go figure) so I ran an errand for mom and got Starbucks for dad and I to sip on during the drive down there.

This picture below doesn’t even do it justice. This is the window looking into my moms car at all of her stuff. Plus dad’s car was filled to the top. Both were packed full.

Morgan, Ryan, and I rode with dad down there. Morgan had to get the front in case there were any spontaneous “dad lectures”…i’ve heard them all plenty of times so it was her turn!

I cracked open a book and read ’til I was tired of reading because 6 hours in dad’s tiny, uncomfortable cadillac isn’t pleasant.

And i’m not quite sure how this was either. Ry pulled an all-nighter the night before so he would sleep the whole drive down there.

We got to Louisiana around 5ish and just hung out at the hotel for a little bit before grabbing dinner.

The next morning we were up and at ’em by 7:00am to check this girl in. Here she is walking out with her room assignment, key, and whatever else in hand. AHHH!

We got lucky and the soccer team, coaches, and managers helped move everything in to where we had to do nothing. BLESSED. Because there are no elevators in her dorm. What?!?! And then we spent the next couple hours getting stuff situated and what not. The boys and I left around 3 that same day for Rick to get his license the next morning and me to get back to work so Morgan sent me some pictures of her closer to finished product of a room for me to see.

A poster of pictures that mom made hangs on the wall with spiderman over top of her my keurig, which is right next to her closet.

Her little desk area is just so cute with the quotes, cross, and PICTURE OF ME.

Her bed is my favorite. I love those pictures, the lights, the colors, the pillows (my mom made the two smaller ones in grey with the Texas and Louisiana state cut-outs on them).

And right next to her bed is the necessities. Folks if you’ll look to your bottom left you will see a scrapbook sitting next to her bed. That’s her graduation present from me. And i’m so proud of it. And she loved it. Yay! Also, this is just her room. Her roommate is in the room next to her where they both walk out an share a bathroom and then outside of that is a living area. I mean, hello mini apartment living!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a little bit bitter about the fact that she has a MANSION for a dorm room while I had to live in a cardboard box of a room my freshman year. But then I had to get over it because it was time to say our goodbyes. Serious note: I really got lucky in the siblings department.

And my dad’s not half bad either. Mom got to stay a couple extra days so she didn’t have to give hugs yet. Don’t worry we didn’t forget her!

And we were northeast bound back home. 12 hours in 2 days. Whew.

We got another Starbucks…surprise surprise. And it kept me up all night ’cause i’m so smart to drink caffeine after 6pm!

And then that was that. We got home to start getting used to have one less around here. It’ll be a fun experience for her and I know that she will make us proud on and off the soccer field. I’m excited to hear about all her fun college adventures! We love you, Morg!!!!!

Show and Tell: Back to School Traditions

Today I should be talking back to school traditions, but this year our back to school tradition is a little different…

…today I say goodbye to my sissy as we drop her off at college. To read about dropping her off, click here!

So while i’m sweating in the heat moving dresses and shoes and bedding, you should check out my previous Show and Tell Tuesdays:

My Home
My Beauty Routine
My Yard
When I Grow Up
Favorite Party I’ve Hosted
How I Got My Name
My Favorite Vacation
My Favorite Room In Our House
My Groundhog Day
My Organization Tips and Tricks
My New Year’s Resolutions

I’ll be back tomorrow, though 😉

Weekend Recap: Morgan’s Graduated and I’m old.

Hi everyone!!!! This weekend/week has been crazy. Within a week we’ve managed to bring in 7 family members, graduate Morgan, attend graduation parties, throw a graduation party, make it to Church and baseball games, spend lots of time out by the pool and on top of that I went to Valley’s wedding, started my summer class, and we had a huge project thrown our way at work. I’ll never complain about having things to do and being busy, but boy am I exhausted! However, there’s no rest for the weary and we need to get you caught up on life. Today’s post I just decided to recap Morgan’s graduation weekend…..GOSH I FEEL OLD.

You probably saw this on Friday, but Morgan and I spent the afternoon Thursday laying out and being lazy by our pool.

Friday morning the aunts, mom, and I kicked off Morgan’s graduation day by drinking mimosas in the kitchen! We used Giada’s Strawberry Lemon Basil mimosa recipe and Aunt Connie was not a fan if you couldn’t tell…because “It tastes like weeds”.Mom and I make these mimosas for pretty much any holiday. We’re huge fans.

Cheers to getting one more kid out of the house!

We probably got in the pool during the day on Friday and did nothing else but eat. Morgan’s ceremony was at 7:30pm on Friday night – AKA the worst possible time a graduation could be held. They played the seniors’ slideshow and look, she’s legit.

2 hours later and we’ve got another high school graduate in our family. We love our sister. But we hated this lighting! Since it was 10:00 by the time she was done and we found her our pictures all turned out terrible. Like I said, 7:30pm graduation should not be a thing.

Three years ago I was the one in the blue gown graduating. A lot has changed in those three years for all six of us, but especially for me. I did a lot of growing up and just like everyone else, Morgan will too. I’m just excited to see where she will be three years from now when Rick is wearing the blue gown. I’ll be in the real world…someone help!!!!

I posted the pictures of my graduation on Facebook titled this one below: “The two people who are literally the reason I am who I am today” or something of that nature. And it’s so true. I didn’t start appreciating my parents and what they did for me until probably my senior year. Morgan, Rick, Ryan and I are blessed immeasurably but especially when it comes to these two. We just got plain lucky.

My dad has two brothers and my mom has two sisters. Since i’m the oldest the two oldest of their siblings are my Godparents, and the two youngest of their siblings are Morgan’s Godparents.

My dad’s brothers came from Virginia to our graduations. They usually come every Christmas, but it’s always fun come graduation season when we get to see them two times in one year!

And then there’s me and my girl. Morgan and I haven’t always been the closest of siblings, especially being sisters. We have very different personalities for the most part, but when we do get along and hang out it’s a lot of fun. I’ll miss having another girl around to get my nails done with or tag along with me to Hobby Lobby or pick on the brothers with me.

Love you Morgan Paige!!! You are going to be fabulous at McNeese next year. I cannot wait to see how God uses you on the soccer field and off the soccer field.

Saturday morning I was designated errand girl and from 10-1 was out running to the grocery store and picking things up for Morgan’s graduation party open house. About 12 when I was going to pick up the last thing I slide through the Starbucks drive-thru for a double shot of espresso. Girlfriend needed it.

It just so happens that I didn’t take a single picture of Morgan’s graduation party. I asked her if she had any, so if she does i’m planning on updating this post. If she doesn’t i’ll be pretty upset that I failed epically at picture taking – WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?!

I hope you all had a great weekend (even though it’s Wednesday)!

Accidental 3 Day Weekend: Part 2

Today i’m finishing up my recap of the best weekend. Part 1 is here. Don’t miss out, I know you’ll regret it!! 😉

Reeeewind back to Saturday afternoon. After I got my hair done I met up with Emily and Tyler. They were eating (of course) and then we went to run errands for her dad. Saturday selfie at Walmart curtain shopping. I know….BAD TO THE BONE.

 One of our holiday breaks freshman year of college, Emily’s mom made us mudslides. And ever since then i’ve craved one every time I see her. We’ve been talking for years, literal years we’re seniors, about making mudslides again. So we finally made it to the liquor store to buy the mudslide mix after getting our ice-cream at Wally World.

We obviously need to go to alcohol school or whatever because it was absolutely disgusting!!!!! And guess what? Mudslide mix has cream in it. And guess what? People who are allergic to lactose will get sick when they are stupid enough not to realize mudslide mix has cream…..

Finally after a little while I was feeling better and Emily was craving food from Bucca di Beppo…so we went and got some food. Look at my dates? So cute, so cute.

After we got back to Emily’s, Tyler and I left. Sunday morning came fast when I was awaken mid-dream to the standard iPhone alarm for Sunday School with my favorite little 4 and 5 year olds. Goodness, these kiddos are just so sweet!! One little girl always comes up to me to tell me that her mom and I have the name. And we spell it the same way!!! #twins

After my Sunday school session was over I rushed home, grabbed some food, changed, and got ready to leave for the Red Sox/Rangers game in Arlington with my 3 favorite guys. Dad and the brothers.

We got there about 40 minutes early and as soon as we sat in our seats we got back up to grab some food and some drinks. When in Rome…

It’s impossible to get boys to take pictures. Scratch that, it’s impossible to get Middleton boys to take pictures with you. But I told them since this was their birthday present from me they had to take a picture.

Now the absolute best part! Have y’all ever met your hero? Whoever that may be to you. Someone you look up to. Someone you want to be like. Well, at the game on Sunday I was randomly looking around and saw a man in a green shirt walking down the aisle a section over from us. I thought he looked familiar and then it hit me! That’s Mr. Lowe…I awkwardly stalked watched him walk down the rest of the stairs and saw him hand something to Shay. Yes, like Mix and Match Mama Shay!! On the exact same row. Just one section over. I know. I had a mini freak out session with myself. The brothers wouldn’t understand, so I had to freak out by myself. I kept going back and forth about whether or not I should go over there, what I would say, etc. etc. I knew that if I didn’t, I would regret it later on. I couldn’t even tell you what I said I was so nervous to be meeting her, but I can tell you I just adore her even more than I did before. And her dad! I’m pretty sure he complimented my shirt (I knew I liked them!)…but again I couldn’t tell you the conversation that we had. Ha! I asked Shay if we could snap a picture and then let her be to enjoy her daddy/daughter time while I went back to hang out with my dad. It’s so cool that we both really relish that special time with our dads and the Red Sox. I live in the town over from her, so I had always hoped one day I would finally get to meet her. And how perfect that it happened to be at the Red Sox/Rangers game?!

Here’s the picture that I made the boys promise me I could have for taking them to the game as their early birthday presents 😉

We love us some Dustin Pedroia! And seats right behind home plate (that also gave us access to a suite!)

It’s was so hot outside – thankfully and unfortunately. I knew I would get some sun, but the tops of our legs started burning so I had to put my feet up for a little bit.

We had to leave at the top of the 9th to get home. Which of course was right before Hamilton’s hit that cost the Sox the game. It’s ’cause we left of course. But they were handing out free Coca-Cola, so the brothers were allllllll about it.

We walked into the house at 5:45, Morgan’s baccalaureate started at 6:00, and I smelled. Mom sent us this picture beforehand and told us to start shedding a tear already.

I changed quickly and made it only 10 minutes late to Morgan’s thing. I think Baccalaureate is only something we do in our area – I might be mistaken – but essentially all of the graduates are linked to a long ribbon where we each have a rose. As we walk up onto the stage we cut in between our rose and the person’s behind us to signify us breaking off and leaving each other to venture out on our own. They announce where each student is going to college and their future plans. Baccalaureate is just a religious ceremony that we’ve had since I can remember.

Afterwards the parents and their girls got a picture. The brothers didn’t have to come…brats!

And basically i’m her paparazzi. “Molly, come take this picture!”

My mom snapped this picture and I just think it signifies our relationship. I’m always wanting to be around her and hang out and she’s like nope, I want nothing to do with you. That’s okay…I know she’ll love me next year when she starts missing home 😉

Ugh – 2 1/2 years younger, but she gets to be taller.

Momma and her girls.

Morgan graduates Friday night, and to be honest i’m still in shock that it’s actually happening. Not that I didn’t think she couldn’t do it but because it just means we’re all getting older. I look back now and it feels like I was just the one walking across the stage in the blue gown. But in that time it took forever for me to make it this far. High school to college is a huge transition, but I have no doubt this one will rock the real world. Don’t worry you’ll be hearing more about her next week when I recap her ceremony…..no tears yet!!

Accidental 3 Day Weekend: Part 1

There’s truly nothing better than a good weekend. And this past weekend was just that, but possibly better than good…like greeeeaaatttt! You ready to hear all about it?!?! It’s so much good it’s going to be broken up into two different posts. I KNOW! And so much good I probably look like this guy right now!

Well, if you’ve been reading this blog you know that I work Monday, Wednesday, Fridays. This week, Morgan had a senior event Friday morning, so I asked my boss if we could switch around my days and i’d go in Thursday instead of Friday…so I did. Therefore, Friday morning was spent celebrating my baby sister becoming my not so baby sister anymore.

At Senior Day they announce each student with the grade they came into our school district. Once that class is out they share “remember whens” and it’s the next grade level’s turn. Morgan was one of the first ones to go…we’ve been here since I was in Kindergarten. Then there is a talent portion and a video that’s played asking the seniors what they will miss when they graduate.

I paid more attention to trying to snap a picture of her then seeing her walk across the stage. Electronics….

There she is. She’s real, people! Super proud to be her big sister. And just a forewarning there will be more Morgan pics coming up this next week 😉

It was a lot longer than I remember, so Emily and I sent selfies back and forth to each other during the ceremony. And realized we had the same arm candy on….like true best friends or what?!

Emily and I have been best friends since middle school, and Morgan and JP (Em’s little brother) have been best friends since probably Emily and I were. We’ve been known to all hang out together. No shame! Em and I are still wondering how this was us THREE YEARS AGO….

Proud of my girl!!!

And I love, love this girl!! So glad she and I can feel old together as our younger siblings walk across the stage Friday night.

Morgan and her best friend Savanna snapped a picture, too.

And then mom called in the reinforcements…aka me…to help her run errands. She gets sidetracked when i’m not around. But mostly, we just finished up last minute graduation party details.

We got home and I immediately got ready for my friend Valley‘s bachelorette party in Dallas Friday night. We got down to Dallas just in time for dinner, so we ordered us a nice sized glass of wine!!

I shared the salmon and smashed potatoes from Bob’s Steakhouse with my friend. And it comes with a giant honey glazed carrot on every dish. I know what you’re thinking…we all were too 😉

After dinner we all headed up to the hotel room for her lingerie party. This was our view looking at Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas. SO pretty!

We were at the Omni Hotel 🙂

We all sipped on some champagne while we came up with crazy names for all her lingerie.

Most gorgeous bachelorette I ever saw!!!!!!!!!!

They’re going to make a menu of the names we came up with for her lingerie for Valley’s husband to “choose from” during their honeymoon. They’re going to Maui…no big deal. You hate her too? Join the club.

I grabbed a pic with this beauty before we all headed downstairs to go out on the town.

And because candid’s are my favorite. And I love the way i’m looking at her. We should just be getting married or something because this is what #truelove looks like.

Vals and all of her high school friends that were at her Bachelorette party!

And before they all left I had to get one more picture.

The girls that I rode down with had to leave early, so I left with them. I got home and was craving popcorn. I made this bowl, poured some butter on top, and devoured the entire thing. And all was right in the world last Friday night!

Saturday morning my aunt flew in from Houston for Morgie’s graduation. We went and picked her up and using our good hostess manners, we treated her to a “welcome back” Starbucks.

I then spent the rest of the morning (2 hours) attempting to figure out Pinterest what I was going to do with my hair because I had an appointment at 1:30….1:30 rolled around, I still had no idea what I was going to do with it so I told my girl she could work her magic and this is where I ended up. All the emotions at one time!

I came home to brat 1 and brat 2 napping in my bed. Hello, who invited you two?!

….so make sure you come back and read the rest of my weekend, it involves new hair, LOTS of good stuff, and these two….

I know! You’re probably as excited as they look!!!

Happy Monday!

Memorial Day Weekend

I said I wasn’t going to post today, yet here I am. Lucky you 😉

Let’s recap the great three-day weekend we just had! Friday I left work about an hour early because pretty much everyone was gone for the holiday weekend. I came home and did my work-out. Our family didn’t really have plans, so my dad and brothers decided to go to our high school’s baseball team playoff game. And I tagged along. Our high school’s team went pretty far, but ended up losing this game. I. Miss. High School. Baseball. My brother played on the JV team this year. Can’t wait to watch him at the Varsity level next season!

Ry wouldn’t take a selfie with me, so I had to take this. Just 3 Middletons watching our favorite sport.

Saturday morning I woke up and was craving pancakes. Stop it, I know what you’re thinking! They’re not burned they’re just gluten free, okay?!

And then sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and blogging the rest of the morning while it was raining because….so relaxing!

And then I went to Em‘s house Saturday night to watch a movie with her, Tyler, and her dad for his birthday. He made us watch Something About Mary (I think that’s what it’s called) and it was aaaawwwfffuuuullllllllll. Haha! Tyler, Emily, and I hated it!

So after the movie was over, Tyler and I went home and crashed. Sunday morning brought the normal Yoga and Church. Plus I added a lunch date with Reeana at Dickey’s – aka our restaurant. In high school we went here every single Sunday pretty much after Church with her parents. I was basically her adopted sister. (Sorry about the mid-talking pic of you, Ree!)

I came home to see mom made the siblings homemade cheesey pizza, LIKE WHAT?! This looks straight out of a restaurant, I was so impressed with her. Not to mention it smelled delicious and was full of gluten and lactose so I couldn’t have a bite.

At lunch Reeana asked if I wanted to go hiking. I was just thinking the other day how I wanted to go hiking, so I said for sure let’s go! She came and picked me up and we went about 45 minutes away to what was suppose to be a beautiful trail to hike.

As soon as we got there they told us everything was closed off because of flooding. Seriously, Texas, seriously? We were super upset we drove out there to not be able to see anything, so we went driving around near that site and saw a bunch of cars parked on the side of the road. Naturally we stopped and got out to see that there were a lot of people lined up fishing. We decided it would be brilliant to make our own trail and hike up the hill next to where all these people were.

And it was…until I started taking on water with soaking wet shoes and socks. Thank you, flooding! And even after putting on bug spray I ended up with a ton of bug bites all over my legs! But it was fun getting to talk to and spend time with this girl. We live so close to each other, but still don’t get to see each other that much thanks to big kid jobs and her studying for the LSAT.

The view was still pretty despite the long grass we went trekking through. Could you imagine what life would be like had God not given us trails, and greenery, and rain, and friends, and on and on an on? Sometimes I have those moments where i’m sitting there thinking “Wow how awesome of a Creator we have to give us all of this!”.

She throws up this sign and I still am friends with her. I don’t know – I ask myself why all the time 😉 #hornsdown

I love being outdoors. We have plans to come again and go on the normal trail when it opens. IF IT EVER STOPS RAINING IN TEXAS!

I got home Sunday night and showered and we had dinner as a family. Morgan said she was going with JP somewhere (Emily’s brother) so I said okay i’m coming and tagged along with them because #whatelseisagirltodo and we ended up going back to Emily’s house with them and watching another awful movie. Haha!

That they picked out. Never again.

Yesterday was Emily and JP’s dad’s birthday so we planned to go to Top Golf, but it was super busy. So we drove to Dallas, got lunch, Morgan and I went shopping, the two of us worked out together, had dinner, and now i’m here blogging. And that was my weekend. And now you’re caught up. Aren’t you glad??? Me too!

Now it’s back to work today. Sigh. Long weekends with good friends and family are too fun 😦

Friday Favorites: I’m baaaaaaaacckkkkk Edition

Link up with Erika, Narci, and Andrea this morning! But first…

SUMMER COUNTDOWN: 2 WEEKS! SWEET JESUS, TODAY IS ALREADY FABULOUS!

I’m not going to lie, it was weird not blogging this week. Part of me was missing. I wasn’t going to post today, buttttt I didn’t really stick to that game plan as you are finding out. I logged in a couple times this week to look at my posts and realized there wasn’t one. I still had to read my favorite blogs, I couldn’t go TOO far into the no blog world thing. Ha! I said I was going to focus on school and i’m glad I did this week because it kicked my butt. And next week and the week after probably will too. It’s fine. I’m fine. Just think: 3 group presentations, 4 finals, 1 paper. Wanna be me yet????

Let’s catch you up on how life has been being MIA…

I walked into my office last Friday to this big ol’ stack of papers that I needed to go through and get situated. Needless to say, I did not finish that day.

This is pretty much my favorite go-to outfit. A chambray shirt, colored jeans, and jewelry to match. I love me some casual Fridays.

Friday night took me to the baseball fields or Heaven, whichever name you prefer. Sunflower seeds, sunshine, and baseball. Ohhhhhhhhhh my favorite kind of Friday night.

This one played crappy, so he refused to talk the entire way home. And this is the best selfie i’ve ever gotten with him. How fabulous do I look? Tan, right? Gosh I knew I missed you guys.

Saturday morning MP‘s high school soccer team played in the regional finals game (ONE GAME AWAY FROM STATE!) They were ahead the entire game until the end. They lost in overtime. And I was so sad for her, I looked over at mom and said “I want to cry for her.” I remember that feeling all too well, but hey! She’s got four more years of her sport left.

We couldn’t be sad for too long because later that night was MP’s prom. And good gosh she was BEAUTIFUL! Seriously?! Little sisters aren’t supposed to be the prettier ones 😉

I somehow learned that I memorize things/study better when i’m up moving around than sitting down. It’s weird. I’m weird. I know. So for about an hour on Sunday and Monday I went walking around my neighborhood with my entrepreneurship review and studied. And guess what? Not even half of it was on the exam! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 I LOVE LIFE!

Is school over yet…?

Then to top off the middle of my week, Wednesday I spilled coffee on my favorite white shirt. Mom, grab the bleach!

And I was not in the mood to work out on Wednesday, but it had been a while and I knew I need to get out and about. I did a little ab work out and ran. I like to move it move it. I like to MOVE IT! No? Okay.

This has been in my life very day this week. Hot, cold, frozen I don’t have a favorite, just give me all the coffee!

My name is Molly and i’m officially addicted to coffee.

And that’s one of my group members in his military stuff. We always make fun of him because Thursday is flight suit day so he comes wearing a big ol’ green jumper. Except not yesterday, so now I feel like this is pointless.

Last night Morgan and I went shopping for a dress for her to wear to her soccer banquet.

And we failed!!!!

But at least I had a cute shirt on, am I right? Dad and I are going to Boston the first weekend of May to see my favorite match-up: Sox vs. Yanks, which is my birthday present from him. I’M SO PUMPED!

Okay, enough about me. How have YOU been?!

1st Snow Day of 2015

Down here in Texas, this is what we call a snow day. Yes….you can see the ground but you’re suppose to be looking at the white!!! That’s snow!

Actually, it was really icy out today, so even if everything wasn’t cancelled I doubt I would have gone out to work. I should’ve spent the day studying and while I did a little bit there was a lot of this in my day…

I made momma’s french toast for breakfast (i’m putting the recipe up tomorrow!)

And then spent the rest of what little morning I had left sleeping/cuddling with my giant bear, magazine reading, and coffee/tea drinking.

Sometimes we all deserve a day off of life to do nothing. By 2:00pm Ryan and I went out to walk around because we started getting tired of being cooped up all day. And this is what it looked like haha. We Texans look like a bunch of amateurs to you northerners, don’t we?

But we still  had to watch where we were stepping. That criminal in my picture is just a 13 year old that wanted to stay warm in this weather 🙂

And because it really wasn’t snow, it was just ice, we couldn’t make snowballs to throw at each other, so we had to use sticks. I know….what we do to keep ourselves entertained when stuck inside all day.

And then we came back inside and decided to eat while watching Air Bud because #bestmovieever

Later that night, momma and I watched The Bachelor and The Voice.

(minus Gwen 😦 )

And then around 8:00 last night the four of us went walking in the streets. Morgan in her boot and all. The roads are super icy and Ryan actually fell….I didn’t laugh at all….lies. But, school is cancelled tomorrow too! SO HALLELUJAH I DON’T HAVE TO SIT IN CLASS!!!!!

So, that is what a snow day looks like. Nothing exciting, nothing to write home about, but a day off work/school…so I guess you can’t complain! But I might be having to write home about not having to be in classes from 8:30am-7:00pm 🙂 Whoop!

My Life Be Like…

All over the place. I feel like I live in my car #commuterprobz #livinganhourawayfrommyworkprobz

The more i’m in my car the worse my road rage gets.

The more i’m in my car the more I despise red lights. But I need to chill out because guess what? I got a freaking red light camera ticket. Is that even constitutional? Yeah so there went a day’s worth of work to the city for running a red light. THANKS CITY OF PLANO! NOW I CAN’T PAY MY TUITION BECAUSE OF YOU!

So other than red light tickets and whining, let’s get you up to speed on what has been happenin’ in my neck of the woods?
I’m going to have to ask you contain your excitement over there…. 😉

This week…..I wake up at 6:15, get littlest bro up, breakfast, and kick him out of the house in time to catch the bus. The other two are on their own because ain’t nobody got time for that. And then i’ll go to work looking OLD? Maybe it’s just me but when did I get old….?

And then I come home from work or school (i’m saving you from early morning school pictures) and take littlest brother to baseball practice at 8. Seriously…who has baseball practice from 8-10 on a Tuesday night? Sitting in classes and at the office all day during the week makes me want to run 10 marathons on the weekends. I’m not used to sitting all the time. So, Tuesday night I thew on my running shoes and power walked around the baseball diamond. Haha…..one of those! And in case you were wondering, no I didn’t have my arms pumping like propellers about to take off.

Tuesday night I ended up at the ER at 11:00pm. God bless my EXHAUSTED soul (pity party for Molly) haha. Morg texted me “I have some bad news.” Then I asked what it was and she said “I hurt my ankle during my game and they told me I might have to get x-rays”. And she wouldn’t go without me because she didn’t know what to do! Hahaha

She wasn’t kidding. Look at how gross that thing is! Even the doctor goes “wow…”

The doc was worried about a little part of her ankle after she took the x-rays, but the Radiologist told her it wasn’t what she was thinking and it turned out all it was is a sprain and some major swelling. So guess who gets to bring ice, motrin, and snacks to homegirl up in her room this week???

#sisteroftheyear

I’m kidding. I’d sit there for her until 11:30 any day of the week.

That night, I was #sisteroftheyear again and picked up Sonic for the brothers. I kept saying no to both brothers, but when I finally realized they actually needed to eat dinner and I was about to take homegirl to the ER I decided I should probably just pick them up some food. So, I caved. Even though fast food grosses me out. Sacrifices!

And on another totally random note…i’m lifting again! Because I miss being active and doing things…like I already said. (yoga every other week isn’t cutting it for me!) I decided to lift some weights while I watched the Bachelor on Monday because Rick got me these for Christmas and you can’t let a good thing just collect dust.

I see a lot of this in my future today.

Because while you were sleeping……

I picked up MOM AND DAD FROM THE AIRPORT. HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH AMEN!

And finished my paper that’s due at 8:30 this morning. #procrastinationatitsfinest

And packed my lunch for today. #foodallergyprobz

And was on time for school today….. #hahahafirsttimeforeverything

Booyah! What have you done?!?!?!?

P.s. I apologize for the excessive use of hashtags. I may or may not be delirious right now from lack of sleep.

Morgan signs her LOI!

This past Wednesday was a memorable day for us Middleton folk.

Morg signed her letter of intent to play college soccer at McNeese State University. Go girl!

Okay, so do you remember me talking about this bad boy in the pic below on my weekend recap last week?

Well………

That turned out to be this:

Seriously…..my mom is so crafty! It’s a soccer goal and then the shelf is what all the food sat on. Each of the girl’s families brought chicken mini’s, donuts, and breakfast burritos. My momma was made to be creative.

And this was a different angle of the table. With McNeese decoration on the side. Funny thing is that our high school colors are the same as her college colors. Works out pretty nicely, huh? (No buying new things!!!)

Mom made these posters for each of the girls as well..

Action shots! So everyone mingled out in the hallway for a little while until we went into the auditorium to announce all the signees. or whatever they’re called.

Good for all of them, but today we only care about this one:

She’s grown up so much!! I mean look at this lil’ baby 😦

She’s still the same ol, out of sorts, mess. But now a out of sorts mess with a soccer scholarship!!

Oh yeah, back to the ceremony….her coach announced them and introduced the parents and I was all…. “how ’bout the big sisters who take the heat for this girl?! You know, the one that always gets in trouble first and doesn’t get away with everything?” I deserve to be recognized! But she still didn’t say my name. So this picture is her and 3 of her teammates that also signed to different schools with their coach.

And all of them with their school’s logo!

And then I WANTED TO BE RECOGNIZED DANGIT! So I got my picture! And of course it couldn’t be serious. What IS serious anyways?

And then after they all “signed” we gathered back for everyone to eat, get interviewed, get congratulated, all that good stuff. This is her and her cute friend Savannah, me and sis, and her and the proud parents (cingular…raising the bars).

My mom couldn’t take pictures because her hand was shaking….oh gah, what are we going to do when Morgan goes to school this fall??? Proud, proud parents 🙂

AND THEN…she actually signed her letter. This is her in the action of signing. February 4th at 8:55am my little sister became a college athlete. THROW THE CONFETTI!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then papa bear had to sign because they want to make sure they’ll get the rest of their money 😉 And Rick surprisingly was just there for moral support haha

And there you have it. You go girl!

And that was it. Dad and I went to work. Brothers went to school. And mom brought the stuff home.

I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more senior events up here on the blog this year. Congratulations, Morger. SO PROUD OF EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

XOXOXO

Weekend Recap: Home Alone edition

Mom and dad are in Hawaii for their Anniversary (a couple months early). I’m so glad they went!! This week i’m holding down the fort with Rugrat 1, Rugrat 2, and Rugrat 3.

Thursday night I finally saw Reeana since she’s been home from her graduation in December. We went to Mi Cocina and hung out for 2 hours. We talked about being old with jobs, graduation, law school, and all that big kid stuff. It was so fun!! Love spending time with this friend 🙂 And how cute is she in this picture???

And what’s good ol’ Mexican food without some Bud and lime?

Friday morning I went in to the office and was super productive. Because always.

After I got home from work I had a couple hours before Ry had to be at his baseball practice. So I did some dishes. Morgan was at her soccer game and after we left I got a call from Rick saying he was locked out of the house. HAHA! He whinned and complained for 2 hours….however I got them Little Caesers breadsticks and pizza and when we got home the four of us sat around the table and laughed about Rick acting like he was #OMGSOFREEZING from being outside that long. Drama!

Saturday morning I slept until 11. HALLELUJAH. And I “connected over a cup” of vanilla coffee with cinnamon and watched my Hart of Dixie recording. Best. Show. Y’all.

And then to get the siblings to stop whining about how there is no food in our house. (Wrong, there were just no bagel bites) I had to go to the grocery store. But look at this weather!!!! February in TX means sunny and 70. No complaints 🙂

And Saturday afternoon I got a much-needed haircut. Hey, thanks for buying dad 😉

Saturday night I babysat this little cutie and we multi-tasked while playing Mario Kart and eating Doritos.

Sunday morning I went to Yoga as per the every other week usual.

And Rugrat 3 had practice Sunday afternoon, so Morg and I drove to pick him up. Not gonna lie..I almost broke a sweat out there! Beautiful sunshine!

They begged me for Subway, so being the awesome big sis in charge that I am, I obliged so they could get sandwiches. And definitely not so I could get sweet tea or anything 🙂

And I just want to leave you with this picture before we wrap up here, so we can all hate on my parents for being in beautiful Hawaii while each of us are at work/school/the gym/wherever this Monday morning.

Yes. I know.

Recipe Club: Good Luck!!!

So, I just learned maybe three years ago that you were supposed to have black eyed peas on New Years for good luck. My parents grew up on the east coast and in the midwest – we’ve never done any of these southern traditions. However, I do like traditions and I do like black eye pea! (Is it just me or do you guys also think of Radio saying “black eyed pea” whenever you hear that??)

I looked up black eyed pea recipes on google New Years Day, because I was darned determined we were going to have us some peas!!! They all sounded nasty or we didn’t have all the ingredients so I took some ingredients from a recipe I found and made up my own concoction.

I really wish I was a foodie blogger who knew how to take cute food pics. I’m sorry you’ll have to settle for my iPhone pictures. Forgive me?

Grab outta the fridge list:
1 can black eyed peas – drained- but keep the juice
1 tablespoon of butter
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
salt/pepper to taste
bacon bits to taste

Step 1: Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet. While it’s heating, chop up some onion to brown in the pan. Technically it should be a whole onion, but I just added whatever looked right to me. Less was more to me in this instance.

2. Brown your onion and be sure to scrape up the burned pieces on the pan (that’s the flavor, baby!). Add a clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme and some salt and pepper. Continue to stir.

3. Next, add your black eyed peas with some of it’s juice!

4. I added some bacon pieces into the pan.

5. I covered the pan and let it simmer for 10-ish minutes until all of the flavors had time to mix together.

And this is what it looks like when it’s all said and gone. If you’d prefer more of the juice from the peas, you can add it at any time. The great part is that it’s your own personal preference.

Now let me tell you, my mom does not like black eyed peas. I told her I was going to make a recipe and asked if she would try. She said yes but she wouldn’t like.
She came back for more. My dad came back for seconds. My sister tried some! We were all basically fighting over this! I had no idea that was going to happen when I made it. I will tell you this, though: the thyme is important. It gives it the flavor that sets it out from other recipes.

So if you’re in the mood for some good luck…i’m your girl today. Enjoy!

21 part two

(update: part one is here)

So as I was sitting by the fire blogging, mom made us Chili’s frozen margaritas…they were nasty. But I liked the thought and the little umbrella.

My dad remembered they had plans to go to the local bar for a little bit on Saturday night to see a band that was playing. I was almost 21 so I decided to start it off right with some 50 year olds!

I was the youngest one there, so my dad begged me to request his favorite song. He bought one of their CD’s and everyone there signed it….including the lead singer of the band.

 

“I’ve got gross hair, but I don’t care because it’s midnight and I just turned 21!!!” “I’ll shower in the morning.”

I woke up to my dad begging me to tell him what to get me at Starbucks that morning, haha. So finally after me being half asleep at 9:00 I agreed. And when I got out of the shower I had my coffee and gluten-free muffin my mom bought me from the Unrefined Bakery sitting there waiting for me.

“It’s Molly’s birthday, so we bought ourselves donuts”………WHAT?!

My birthday fell not only on a Sunday, but on the Sunday everyone goes back to college from being here for Christmas break. So I celebrated with my friends while having mimosas and breakfast tacos:)

 

I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’ve got the best friends out there. Thanks for coming Emily, Emily, Reeana, Morgan and Jonathan.

  

The Emilys both had to leave early, but we cracked out the gluten-free cake (That everyone loved) hahah not! I mean, I thought it was good. But when it’s the only thing you an have, of course it’s good! Did my mom not do an AMAZING job ordering a leopard print cake for me. If this doesn’t prove to you that I love leopard print, I don’t know what will.

As Morgan and I walked back to the car we noticed someone (or some bird) left her a pretty little surprise. It’s two days later and this is still on there…i’m just saying.

I got home to the house decorated like this 🙂

And we watched the Cowboys game until it ended.

I opened presents and Ry gave me this coat and scarf. Everyone was so distracted by the Cowboys game that I didn’t get pictures with anyone else. It was all cowboys>Molly that’s just rude.

Rick wanted me to have gluten free beer. Haha!

Then around 5:00 we got in the car and went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in downtown. Ry was so excited!

Margaritas and fish tacos. Be still my heart.

My birthday was fun. I’m grateful for the people in my life now and I can only imagine what 21 has in store for me. I’m hoping next year will be even better than 20 and filled with plenty of family, fun, friends, and lots of love. That’s all you can ask for, right?

I already know 21 is going to bring me:

-One year closer to graduating college
-My sister graduating high school and going off to college
-My friends 21st birthdays
-Lots of traveling
-Probably some tears
-Probably some laughs
-Probably some obstacles
-Most definitely some good times

But isn’t that LIFE? At least i’ll be getting one more year’s worth of experience. I know i’m not guaranteed tomorrow, so today i’m thankful I made it this far. And i’m hoping for many, many more birthdays to come! Bring it on 21!!

21 part one

Yes, the infamous 21st birthday weekend has come and gone. I feel like I took a jillion and a half pictures this weekend, so i’m going to split it up into two different days.

“EEP, I’m almost 21”

Just kidding, the Emily’s both texted me and asked what I was wearing to the basketball game we were going to later that night and when I said probably what I wore to work they MADE ME stop what I was doing, take a selfie, and send it to them. How needy….am I right? But let’s not act like it was that big of a problem for me 🙂

Through my work, the employees got to request tickets for the Texas Legends basketball game because it was Miracle League night and we sponsor The Miracle League. I requested the max (10) and brought along Emily #1 and Emily #2 and then told my siblings there was 2 tickets left, so I let them argue who got it. Morg and Ryan won.

I had to take pictures of us. You know, to document that we are in fact friends. It worked out perfectly because they both knew of each other from the restaurant we all worked at.

And that picture above was apparently “too awkward” (thank you Morgan) so we had to take another.

And then strike a pose (we got to the game a little early, can you tell?)

And I didn’t like any of them so Morgan had to get it at a different angle.

And then after still not liking any, I gave up. Here’s a quick snap of the boys! All photos by MorgMiddPhotog because i’m sure you’ll be asking 😉

And this is our motley crew!!!! Nice selfie taking skills Morg, you do a sister proud!

We were serenaded by an elementary school choir singing God Bless America (so cute!) before the game.

     

And then we moved seats because ours sucked. And we watched the game from there.

The Emily’s had a little one crushing on them and making faces at them. He obviously did not want to be there but he was seriously giving us a good laugh! At one point I winked at him to see what he would do and he just stared at me and turned around. Too bad I creep little kids out 😉

Hey girl, you single?

This game was suuuuuuuuuuuuper boring and I would have been disappointed had we paid for these tickets. There was too much going on, it was loud, kids were playing games on the sidelines, people were talking on the mic during the game, someone smelled like illegal substance. It was just all around bad. Nobody said they wanted to leave because they wanted to stay there for me, which is super sweet!!! Finally I was the one that said we should go because everyone was pretty much hating themselves at this point! Haha. So we left at half.

We went to Chili’s because Jowers was starving, the other girls wanted a milkshake, and I didn’t want to go home. We attempted another picture, but I again didn’t like it. Ugh!

There were fries involved…’nuff said. Plenty of grease. Plenty of smiles around the table.

We drove through steak ‘n shake so everyone could get a shake because chili’s doesn’t make them anymore. And then we all went to our separate places and fell asleep.

Saturday morning I slept until 11:00, so yes I wasted the entire morning. But no worries I ran some errands for my momma, including a run by the grocery store for her.

Then we took some furniture to dad’s office. So here I am in the back with lamps, pictures, and a table.

I swear my mom has been there every day for the last I don’t know how long trying to get his office set up for him, everything in it’s place, pictures hung, etc. It sounds hard being a wife 😉

When we got home it was late in the afternoon so I made some food and caught up on Parenthood.

And after that I decided to go to the Saturday night service at my Church because I knew I wasn’t going to get up early to go Sunday if I was heading out to brunch at 10:30.

The message was good and challenged me a little for this upcoming year, so i’m glad I made it. I came home and sat by the fire and blogged a little for part of the night.

UPDATE: Check out part 2 here

Friday Favorites: Because I Can

Mornin’ friends. We made it through the first week of 2015. 51 weeks until it’s 2016. AHHHHH! We’re going to blink and it’ll be December again. But we don’t have time to think about that right now because i’m linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals, Erika at A Little Bit Of Everything, and Narci at Grace and Love blog for Friday Favorites.

You in????

Friday morning I babysat for these three sweet kids. Their parents went to Vegas for the weekend to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday. I went over there at 8:00am and we watched tv to wake us up. I took them (in the pouring rain no less) to Urban Air to jump on the trampolines for two hours and while we were there I let them have ice-cream & chocolate…yes, early in the morning. Yes, because I can 😉 #bestbabysitter. We grabbed lunch at Subway and then made puzzles until their grandma came over to stay with them the rest of the weekend. It was fun. I always enjoy these crazies.

Saturday night Em 1‘s mom and her boyfriend wanted their kids + significant others to meet. So, I was her little brothers +1. Just kidding, I went because I was invited. We ate BBQ, beans, and there was Mac ‘n Cheese and SWEET TEA! I’m kinda mad at her momma for not making puppy chow. (Don’t worry she knows i’m mad at her) After dinner we all played Scattergories and Em and I KILLED IT! Why? Because we can!!! That’s what you get when you’re the only team with all girls.

(Thanks for the pics Ms. Vickie!!)

Sunday funday with my family. Around 7:30 Ryan came in my room to wake me up so I could go to Starbucks with him and my dad. Look at me drinking that hot coffee again! Ryan was allowed to get a Venti because he got up. I however, obviously didn’t shake on that deal.

Later that morning, Ryan, Morgan and I went to see Annie in theaters. Our consensus: Morgan and I didn’t like it and we thought that it doesn’t compare to the old Annie. Probably because we grew up watching that version. However, Ry not having seen any of them really liked this Annie. He’s younger too so maybe that plays into it a little bit. Have you seen it yet? Are you on me and Morg’s side? Or Ry’s?

I was selfie ready for work bright and early Monday morning. I was bundled up in my scarf and peacoat why???????? No. Wrong. It’s not because I can. It’s because it was like -12 with a windchill of -12 so that’s probably -24, right? It’s a good thing i’m not a meteorology major. I was ready to hit the office for some good old fashioned adult-like working’. Growing up is hard to do, man. or woman. whoever you are 😉

Because classes don’t start until Monday, I worked every day this week. Normally i’ll be at school Tuesday/Thursday. We didn’t know we were going to have to work late Tuesday until about 1:00, so I went on a coffee run to the Starbucks downstairs for the three of us in HR. I’ve noticed that with 2 jobs, a social life, school, and what not that my phone is buzzing and alerting me 24/7. How on Earth do people live without phones these days?

Remember this….because YOU can. It was part of my new years resolutions on Tuesday’s post. If you missed that be sure to check it out HERE.

Yesterday my boss gave me the day off of work so I ran around with mom, because I could. While we were at the mall, I had to stop at Starbucks and get some hot coffee. Who am I?? Starbucks? Hot coffee?

Then we went to Hobbs because we were looking for lamps and mirrors for my dad’s new office, so I snapped a selfie because I can. And then mom gave me the look. But it’s fine.

Next time I talk to you, my friends, i’ll be ANOTHER YEAR OLDER. Cue the tears. Birthdays are bittersweet. However, I will accept gift cards and money, you know, to make me feel better about getting old.

See you Monday!