Happy Valentines Day!

I am writing this from work.  Yes, work on a Thursday night at 8:30 pm and on Valentine's Day!  Sic Em!
Today was a great day besides the fact that I feel like I am getting the flu and am achy all over.  I started my day with an intense workout - the hardest one all week.  It's beginning to take a toll on my body.  I have started working out - more on that in a later post!  

When I got home I turned on GMA and you will not believe what I found!  A shotgun wedding entitled Love in a Flash.  Whoever thought this was a good idea was nuts!  However, I will give ABC props on using other networks and shows to help create a great marketing outlet for businesses such as Cake Boss, Kleinfields, and the restaurant in Manhattan that they had their reception at later today.  If my man EVER tries to do that for me - I will say no on the spot.  I cannot wait to plan my wedding.  I know that many of you reading that have planned a wedding, or two, in your lifetime are probably thinking I am crazy.  But if I have waited 24+ years to get married - I can wait a few more months and plan my own!  It really kind of frustrated me.  But it looked exciting - just now my kind of exciting.  

I then received a text from my mom with the best words of wisdom for Valentine's Day.  
She wrote:
"You aren't single because no one loves you or because no one wants you, you are single because you were smart enough to say NO to the one's that wanted or want to be apart of your life."
Amen.  That is all I have to say.  
I have had my share of boyfriends and Valentines. However, this year is NOT one of those years.  I am single and I am loving it.  
Actually, today was not hard being single.  Which is strange if you know me. If you know me, I am the first to cry at a wedding, at love.  I love LOVE.  What more can I say.   I want it so badly. 
But for Lent, I decided that I would give up: "the idea of marriage, love, and dating."
I tweeted yesterday that:
The thing that consumes my life:  thinking about Love instead of focusing on HIS LOVE for me!
So today was NOT about love that I didn't have - it was about HIS LOVE FOR ME and the fact that in 40 days (not counting Sundays) He will Die on the cross for MY SINS!  Sins I commit everyday.  Sins that  we all commit.  WHY?  Because He loved US! Happy Valentine's Y'all!!
So I haven't blogged about Cupcakes in FOREVER!  So I thought today we could talk about some way cute ones.  Check out this sign in a cupcake shop in Vermont.  Click here to find it!  Isn't this the best saying!  I would have much rather had one dozen cupcakes today then one dozen roses.  Oh wait - I didn't get either.  I guess it is better that I didn't have flowers (Baylor might have eaten them up!) and as for the cupcakes - BodyBuilder Brandon might not have liked that.  hehe
I then found these other two cute cupcakes that look scrum-didli-umpcious!  I just love how for every holiday cupcakes can be decorated and adorned with just the right embellishments to make the day special.  They are the perfect size (some of them) and are such a sweet and sassy moment of the day.  

XOXO

This is such a cute idea for cupcakes.  I can't imagine how they did this - but how fun is it to put your letters in the middle!  What if you did that for a wedding - I wonder if they could do your monogram or last name initial?  How fun would that be?  These cupcakes just made me happy.  

Mini lemon-blueberry cupcake, topped with vanilla frosting and a dove chocolate heart.

 
Can I get a standing ovation?  This cupcake would make my day, my year, and my life!  I love lemon-blueberry and if someone would have gotten me this cupcake i would have died!  The only way it could have been better would be if it had a dove chocolate wrapped on top.  Everyone knows the only good part of dove chocolate's are the unwrapping to get your message!!  
Have a great Valentine's Day!

BLOG HOP: What's in your BAG?

You guessed it!  Today is our third annual BLOG HOP!!!  I am so excited to have Keisha Pittman over on my blog talking about what is in her bag!  

Hey guys, my name is Keisha and I can be found over at bigpittstop.blogspot.com.  Don’t let me lack of recent posting keep you from coming back.  I promise when I’m in my rhythm, its good!  (well, my dad thinks so anyway!).  

I love me some Abby and I love that she works so hard each month to keep this Blog Hop thing going.  Make sure you check out all the girls posting today including Amy Lynn Wentz over at my place!

Today is all about what’s in your bag.  And, I must admit being a good 5-6 years older than these other girls, I’m the grandma when it comes to “fun” items in your bag.  So, I’ll keep it real and keep it practical and give you something to look forward to as you “age”.

First, I have to talk about my bag.  I just got a bag in the mail from Thirty-One and I’m in love.  I had been using a bag with lots of pockets and everything had its “place” and this new bag does not disappoint!  My Casual Cargo Purse has pockets outside and inside.  It’s casual yet professional enough for me to carry every day and it holds EVERYTHING I need.  Love it.  Although I’m having a hard time loosing my keys, but I’ll get that part figured out!

Now for the inside – when it comes to the contents of my everyday bag, I keep it practical and simple.

1.     My Vera Bradley coin purse holds all those pesky gift cards and rewards card.  I hate to keep my wallet filled up with all that extra plastic, but when I need those cards I need them.  You know like the reward card for Panera that gets you a free sweet treat from time to time.  Those things are important!  So, I’ve found that keeping a Vera coin purse keeps everything handy when I need it. 

         2.     With my recent move to NWA, I’m dealing with a new winter climate meaning my hands and lips are always dry.  Blistex is my new go to – well, really any medicated mint flavored chap stick, or should I say lip balm.  I like the Bigelow kind from Bath and Body or I’m fine with the green tube from Walgreens.  Either way, my lips are silky smooth and well, my face smells minty fresh…which usually works in your favor.  I mean a girl can’t be stinky or have crusty lips!

      3. Taking advantage of the awesome pockets on my bag, something I always have with me is the power end of my phone charger.  When I switched phones recently, it did not come with a full power cord, only the USB part.  Since I had to use an adapter to keep that in my car, I keep the power part in my purse so that I always have it with me.  I travel a ton for my job and I know I will not get in a new car without my car charger. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked into my hotel room and wanted to panic and remembered to check out that handy little pocket on my purse.  Love when I can think ahead and anticipate my own little moments of crazy!

     4. Final thing I always have are Ice Breaker mints.  I’ll admit it, I’m prejudice when it comes to the mint varieties.  I like Ice breakers – you can drop a couple in your pocket if you are out meeting people or at a networking event.  You can drop a couple in the bottom of a clutch and not have that annoying rattle sound of a box of mints.  And, they have the option to “share” or “not to share”…and frankly,  I don’t always want to share or at least have pesky little germs floating around all my mints. (I mean it’s a courtesy thing after all)  Oh, and I only like the green kind, as in Spearmint.  <Insert Icebreakers>  I’ll also let you in on another little secret.  I usually always have gum with me.  I have TMJ so I can’t really chew it, but I know other people like it and I like to have it to offer in case someone pulls the proverbial “do you have any gum” to make post-coffee conversation much more pleasant for all involved!  I’m  thoughtful like that.

Maybe digging in our purses revealed a little too much BAGgage!  Hehe…but you know it’s true!

Hope you guys enjoyed hearing what the 30 something life breaks down too and stop by and see me sometime – bigpittstop.blogspot.com.

Too-dals,Keisha

Don't forget to go check Abby's blog post over at Kati's Get Away!  

blog hop THIS SUNDAY!

perspective.

If you read my blog, you know that I am currently studying and working at Baylor University and absolutely love it.  You also know that I have been working on decorating my new apartment and making it more homie.  Why do I want top decorate and make it feel like a real home?  Because I am here in Waco by myself.  I don't have a roommate, not because I don't have friends, but because I had two last year and they were wonderful - but I as ready for my OWN place.  




Most people aren't aware of exactly where Waco is in location to anything.  They just think that Texas is huge and Waco is super far away.  So I am here to change that perspective.  Waco is about an hour or hour and a half south of Dallas, an hour and a half north east of Austin and about three hours west of Houston.  It is located in central Texas and if you are driving on 30 from Arkansas, it is about 3.5 hours from the state lines.




There is something that has been brought to my attention lately, and it is a positive but also a negative.  I am extremely optimistic and I think the best of everyone.  Even if they have hurt me in the past - I give them the benefit of the doubt and set my expectations way way way too high.  This is excellent in situations when you are dealing with people you need to love and love forever (parents,siblings,family members, etc) but with people that are in and out of your life frequently - this characteristic absolutely stinks! 




You might be asking why am I beating around the bush and am really not saying anything.  Well, there is a reason.  I don't want to air my dirty laundry and I certainly don't want to create unnecessary drama when the problem is that my expectations were set too high in this situation.  




When you set your expectations to high, you set yourself up to be extremely disappointed.   I would hope that my friends and family would want the best for me, would want to be apart of my life and would want to share in this excitement that is Waco, Texas and Baylor Nation.  But sometimes, what you want, and what really happens are too different things.  




I consider so many people in my life best friends.  I am continually shocked at the way I am hurt and disregarded in life.  I need to take George Washingtons advice, "be courteous to all, but intimate with few".  No I am not speaking about romantically intimate, I am speaking in regards to the intimacy of close friends, the sharing of my inmost thoughts and life experiences.  I am having a new perspective on friends.  I am glad I have not been married yet because I know that when that does happen that the people who will be there will be the ones that truly care, that take time out of their day and communicate with me, that are there for me when I need them the most.  Those people are my friends - the people I want with me in my boat at the end of the day.  I am tired of being disappointed because of being left out, lack of communication, and 'friends' down right ignoring me mere existence.  I am wiping my hands clean and growing up - developing my boat - and filling it with only the best of friends.  




I am so thankful and blessed to have a wonderful family and great friends that do invest in my life on a daily basis.  And for those people I am forever thankful.  




I am leaving this post today with an invitation.  If you want to come experience Waco or Baylor Nation - don't hesitate to connect with me.  Baylor is an incredible place to call home and I am so thankful for the opportunity to both work and live here.  So next time you are in Dallas... Remember I am a hop skip and a jump away!

Blog Hop NEXT SUNDAY!

Hey guys!  We are running a week late on our Blog Hop this time around and I know that I have heard from several of you that you are interested in participating!  On Wednesday I will send out the rules and instructions for this week to those interested.  
If you are interested click on my Facebook icon in the top right of my blog homepage and message me.  From there I will add you to our message thread and get you involved in our Blog Hop for this weekend!  
Again - I need to know by mid day on Wednesday if you are interested in participating!  Thanks again for following the Blog Hop!