Views from Kauai

As I'm sure you can assume, I took a ton of pictures while we were on vacation. I could spend two weeks worth of blog posts going over all the details. This time I'm just going to share some of the gorgeous views we got to see while we were there! We also did a plane tour, but I'll share those photos later. Here we go...

Sunrises & Oceans & Beaches

Waterfalls & Overlooks

A Church & A Lighthouse & A Warning Sign

Aloha!

We are having a fantastic time, enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery (and the pool here at our resort!). Just a quick picture from one of our excursions. Many more to come!

Wordless Wednesday -- Mom Had a Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best Mom ever. We love you very much!

(P.S -- Yes that's a picture of my Momma. Isn't she adorable?)



My Name is Amanda ...

And I have serious baby fever.

Facebook is dangerous. Everyone either has cute tiny humans, or sonogram pictures.

I'm not whining, because I know we're not (quite) there yet, and that our time will come soon enough.

I'm also not whining because I get to go on very nice vacations that would be hard to do with a small child.

But I think it's time to hang out with the friends that have a baby again, because I have to get this baby fever in check.

Also? I need to stop reading Mommy blogs. Because posts like this, simply melt me into a puddle. How cute are those onesies? I just die. Every.single.time. (Also, her kids are beyond adorable).

On the plus side, baby fever is major motivation to work out and lose weight!

That is all.

New Blog Design/Layout

I'm trying my hand at doing my own blog design again! Luckily much of the information I was using has been updated to deal with Blogger's new format ... yay! I don't have any of my buttons/sidebar stuff done, but I'm finally happy (enough) with my background and header.

I should have paid someone else to do this....

I'm Getting Paid to Blog!

Well, not on this blog... obviously with my 26 followers I'm a long, long way from having that happen, but I'm getting to blog at work! We've been working on it for a couple of months, and we're finally hoping to launch by the end of the month (I hope!!). I'm getting to learn alot about other departments, and I'm getting to spend a couple of hours each day in and office (not my cube!) blogging!

It may be about work, but it's sure a nice change from the usual.

In other news ... it's finally Friday! I'm not sure why, but this week has simply flown by! We're beta testing a new method at work, and it's just exhausting me, but I only have three more days of work until VACATION!!!

Which reminds me, I need to go dig through my summer clothes... Kauai here we come!

Another Random Post

I'm a self-proclaimed blog addict. I love reading them, but I try to continually filter out the ones I don't enjoy as much. This week I came to a realization. I always say I love decorating blogs, but I really don't. In fact, decorating blogs irritate the stuffing out of me. I can't stand 500 posts about how I updated my mantle. Normal people don't have time for that, and therefore it irritates me.

I love home improvement blogs, where they decorate too. 

I finally realized why home improvement blogs don't bother me. It's because they tell a story. It's not just about the house, but you also get bits and pieces about the families who live there. You get to see their personalities come alive in the home they create. 

My favorites right now? Young House Love (of course!) and The Casabella Project. They both are about Young families making houses with "good bones" into good homes. They are both really fun. 

Ten Random Things

This is a random post, but things lately have been bugging me, and I'm trying to just write what I feel, not what I think people will be interested in. So here goes. First off, 5 things they are irritating me this week.

1. College Football. Don't get me wrong,  I LOVE college football. Game Day is so much fun. What I don't love is being told who to cheer for. Obviously I'm going to cheer for Baylor, but beyond that I feel no obligation to anyone. Case in point: I don't have to cheer for TCU because they are right down the road, they are small, or they are the underdogs. In fact, with the exception of Baylor, I don't like it when the underdog wins. Prove yourself all season, then you deserve to win the championship.
2. Weather. Make up your mind Texas. Is it winter or spring?
3. Work. Everything's changing. And I don't like change. I cling desperately to normal.
4. Facebook. If I wasn't so nosy, I'd give it up. I can't say anything about anything because everyone I know is on there. I've seriously considered deleting it, but then how would I know who just got married, or who is having a baby? Who am I kidding, with the way things are going, I should just assume that all of my married friends are having babies.
5. Babies. I want one, but we're being all responsible and waiting until we can actually afford to live somewhere bigger than this. I know it's the right thing to do, but I'm tired of it.

I think five things is enough. I'm going to follow this up with 5 things I'm loving right now, just for balance:

1. Having a TV in our bedroom. I know this is a big marriage no-no, but it's been great. We both wind down better at night watching an episode of Friends together, and if Steven wants to play a video game, I can go watch a movie while snuggled in my bed
2. My Coworkers. They make me laugh constantly, and we can all openly share our frustrations and triumphs and ridiculous stories. It's fantastic. 
3. My Husband. Because he's awesome. That's all.
4. My New Running Shoes. Because they're bouncy, and they keep my feet in the right position. Which kinda feels weird, but it's good.
5. My Tiny Apartment. I'm choosing to see this as a blessing, even though I'd rather not. It's cozy, and comfy, and perfect for our family of 2 and a dog. 

Hello 2011!

Today has gone mostly like I expected. Bowl games and taking down Christmas. I am three strands of lights, two strands of garland, and a half hour of packing up the storage closet away from being done. That can all wait until tomorrow. Then Monday Steven and I both head back to work. I can't say I'm excited, but we just have a short amount of time before we go on vacation!

I am excited that I got to make a trip to see my grandmothers, and by the end of the day tomorrow, our house should be clean!! Unfortunately with our space constraints, the Christmas tree ended up in an odd spot this year, and the whole house has felt cluttered since then. I am excited to a fresh clean start to the new year.

After three days of sloth (between going to my grandparents and NYE), I get back on the workout wagon tomorrow. Prayers may be needed because I felt the squats from Wednesday for two days!

Sorry for the random post, but I'm just working on getting back into the rhythm of blogging!