Fur Baby Friday!

Finally Friday! I know it was a short week, but it was also a busy one so that makes me happy to see Friday. My busy bee life has also taken me away from actual blogging vs. just doing link-ups every day, so I'm sorry for that! I have a wedding update for you, but I will just post that one on it's own. Skye is going on evening shift starting tomorrow so that will give me a chance to get caught up on scheduling some future posts.

My pretty little furry girl was playing with her new tennis ball last night and I just happened to snap a cute pic of her. Isn't she just the cutest little thing? I sure think so! Things are getting back to normal around my house with that crazy humping neighbor dog back at his own home. Thankfully!

In other business - I have some BRAND NEW sponsors for the month of June so be sure to check them out on my sidebar! I will be giving shoutouts to them soon!

Final thought of the day: Wouldn't this be nice some days?

Happy Weekend!

Fur Baby Friday!

I've had a loooooonnnnnnnnnnnnng week at work so I thank the good Lord above for this 3 day weekend! Skye is working all weekend, but I'm hoping to get some lake time in Sunday & Monday. My family doesn't really have a Memorial Day tradition, we save our summer traditions for the 4th of July. Does your family have any special Memorial Day traditions?

And of course, let's not forget the reason for the holiday is NOT just to give us a day off work. It's to honor all those who have fallen in the name of freedom. Bless their souls!

I missed this link up last week so I'm going to offer you TWO pictures today of Sweet Tilly! {you're welcome!} If you follow me on Instagram (nikkib918) then this post is ruined for you...so sorry! I can't help but post them on there instantly. I'm officially obsessed with it! Come Link up with Mrs. Monologues and show us your fur prince or princess!

This week is the 2nd time this month that I've been a dogsitter. My neighbors left yesterday for vacation and I agreed to keep their male Yorkie. Unfortunately, we found out too quickly that he doesn't really like Tilly's (literally) in your face style. He growls at her a lot, but I think they will warm up to each other. If not, oh well it's just until next Wednesday!

My sweet crazy haired girl in all her glory

Tilly & Ty - she loves to stare at him, nose-to-nose. Girl has no concept of personal space!

Thank you ALL for your kind words of support and encouragement recently! I don't know what I'd do without it! Happy LONG weekend friends!

5 Question Friday & Fur Baby Friday!

We've had quite the interesting fur baby situation in my household this week! We've had a little house guest. I agreed to dog sit for my aunt while she was at the beach. Her dog, Baby, is the world's calmest dog. Well most calm dog ever meets Tilly aka ms. hyperpants and that's an odd combination! Here is a picture of these two on Day 1: calm as cucumbers. (And yes, I know Tilly needs a haircut BADLY). Unfortunately, I've had a crazy busy week between work and the gym so I didn't get a chance snap more pictures of these two. But let's just say that I think Tilly enjoys ruling our roost. She is the ultimate Alpha female.

Skye and I have been seriously talking about getting another dog. After this week's experience having 2 inside dogs to manage and wrangle, I hereby redact my want for a second inside dog. Plus, Tilly is a complete psycho and she's enough dog for me to handle at this point.

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?
Never give up. Some people in your life are worth fighting for - hopefully your soon to be husband is one of those people. If they are worth fighting for then you can never give up. I think a big problem with divorce is that people just don't want to put forth the effort to communicate and work on their problems. They give up. NEVER GIVE UP!

Since I'm a girl who will be getting married soon - I can't wait to read everyone else's advice!
2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?
Don't be in such a rush to grow up. I know all the adults tell you that when you're young and you automatically roll your eyes. When I was 16 I was an over achiever and a little boy crazy - I just wanted to move on to college like yesterday. I had the time of my life in high school, but I wish I would have known to savor it more. It's a special time in a girl's life!
3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.)
Well I live with a boy so you know how they are about keeping that AC cranked up. I'm kind of a nazi about it though and I am strict on keeping it set on 70, and then using our fans to compensate.
4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?
Never been pregnant so I honestly can't say. My mom said that she craved pickles and chili with me. I love pickles and I used to just sit down and eat them by the jar when I was little. Chili I'm not a fan of.
5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?Ah I'm drawing a blank! I am drawn to a TV mom much like June Cleaver. I know that's not very realistic these days, but my mom is the complete opposite of June Cleaver. (I actually have a posted planned soon to tell you about my mom so stay tuned for that!) As a kid, my mom was different than the other moms, so I always just longed for someone who was sickeningly normal, like June.

---------------------------------------------------------

Happy Weekend friends! I am going to spend my weekend on the lake and I am so very excited about that! This girl needs a tan in the worst way.

To all you mamas out there, Have a Happy & Blessed Mother's Day!

Fur Baby Friday!

It's been a long week around here so I am beyond glad that today is Friday! I have a lot going on tomorrow, but at least I won't be at work right? We are hoping to get out to the lake Sunday, if the weather cooperates. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I need some sunshine in my life! Here's a little something to make us all smile today...Fur Baby Friday!

Tilly was being so sweet & cuddly last night with her daddy!

Then I caught the little devil licking all over his nose while he was sleeping. Check out that tongue action!

Do you ever catch your dogs in the act? Poor Tilly gets caught all the time!
Happy Friday! 

 

Fur Baby Friday!

I am soooooooooo SUPER excited to tell you that very soon I will be unveiling my new blog design by Tori at EyeCandy! My little blog is growing in followers every day - THANK YOU FOR READING! - and I figured that my homemade looking layout just wouldn't cut it anymore. I had half a mind to attempt to re-do it myself, because I do enjoy messing around with the HTML stuff but Lord it would have taken me weeeeeks. I saw that Ms. Tori was getting into the design world and I really like her clean styles. I've been seeing previews and it's just perfect! I hope that you will like the new look of The Pink Growl!

You know what time it is! FBF is like the new TGIF!

Sweet Tilly has been exceptionally cute this week so I'm going to show you 2 pictures of her just doin' her thang. I love this girl! I have not been sleeping AT ALL this week (we are talking maybe a total of 20 hours since last Sunday) and my girl Tilly has been my little stay-awake-sidekick.  Hopefully she will be interested in being my cuddle buddy too since Skye is starting night shift tonight.

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram (nikkib918) then you may have already seen a sneak peek of these lovely photos.

She absolutely loves to stare outside. I will leave our front door open, and this one will sit for HOURS and stare through the glass storm door.

She is a Pomeranian, and if you don't know anything about poms (or little dogs in general) they are notorious for having the need to be high up. They love to find little perches to post up on. She is on top of a folder up comforter sitting on the couch.

Hope y'all have a Happy Friday & an amazing weekend! I have a lot going on this weekend so I can't wait to fill you in on Monday.

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

TGIF - Am I right? Especially Thank God for Good Friday! I am going this afternoon to check out my first wedding venue! I am so excited about it! For those of you who are stuck working today, I hope this provides you with some entertainment for your workday.

I want to offer you a throw pack picture of Tilly today for Fur Baby Friday. This picture of my girl is from the first week that we had her. You can obviously see why I instantly fell in love. My girl was rocking some serious Snooki poof. Luckily, she grew out of that. She puts the fur in fur baby haha! Come link up with us over at Mrs. Monologues for Fur Baby Friday!

Next up, 5 Question Friday with Mama M at My Little Life



1. Would you prefer having people over for dinner or going to their house?
I would say it just depends. We have a "family dinner" every week with a close group of friends and we usually keep it at one couple's house. However, every now and then we host it. I'm up for either really - as long as I have enough time to clean my house if company is coming over.

2. Favorite Bible verse and why?
Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." This verse just spoke to me the instant I found it. It's simple, yet true.

3. What was the first concert you ever attended, and the most recent one?
New Kids on the Block was my first. My dad took me and let me sit on his shoulders almost the whole time. I'm sure it was a blast for him! I was completely in love with Joey McIntyre and had the time of my life. The most recent concert was last May with Zac Brown Band. AH-MA-ZING! He was awesome in concert and I had so much fun! I love concerts and I can't believe it's been a year since I've been to one. I smell a road trip!

ZBB concert - May 2011 - Smokies Stadium

4. The year is 2025. What are you doing, and what have you done?
Oh wow - I'm going to be 39 that year and I don't even wanna think about that! Hopefully I will be happily married for 13 years with twin boys. (maybe - I go back and forth on this). I hope to be an amazingly successful (rich) business woman. Maybe even still a blogger!
5. What's your favorite Easter treat?PEEEEEPS! I love love love peeps! I saw something on Pinterest about how to make Peep smores and you better believe that I have that planned in my activities for this weekend. Yuuummm! Also, this year I found choclocate covered peeps!

Happy Friday y'all!! I hope everyone has a blessed Easter weekend!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Happy Friday loves! It's supposed to rain here all weekend, which sucks, but I totally plan on doing a couple little home improvement projects that I can tell you all about next week. Wish me luck, cause I will need it! I have a new found love for meal planning and I've been cooking lots of new recipes so I'm also going to be doing a little of that. Oh yeah, and maybe a little wedding planning too.

It's that time again peeps and I'm ready to see those fur babies! This week I am showing you how my sweet Tilly likes to sit on the couch cushion like a human. She's a very unique little pup. And Lord knows she sure is cute! It's about time for my girl to get her summer lion cut and I can't wait to show you the pictures. I love it when poms rock the long hair, but it requires lots of brushing and maintenance. Plus, my little one loves to play outside and she gets so hot in the humid TN summers with her long hair. PS - notice that black streak on the end of her tail? It looks like she just dipped her tail in black paint.

1. If you were free to just hop in the car and drive, where would you go? Or, if you could hop a plane and go anywhere, where?

I would love to be able to hop in the car and just get away this weekend. I'm really feeling like a need a break...a beach break would be AH-MAY-ZING! However, the closest beach is probably 7 hours away and that's not good for me! So maybe I would drive myself down to ATL for some retail therapy because I've had a very stressful week. If I could hop in a place and go anywhere, it would be somewhere tropical. Mexico maybe?

2. What's your most recently read favorite book?

Like everyone else on the planet, I've recently been overly obsessed with The Hunger Games. I just finished reading Mockingjay last week. I am SO SO SO SO excited to see the movie this weekend! Happy Hunger Games!

3. What's your favorite Spring Break memory?
My favorite spring break memories are from high school. I was in Showchoir and every year we would go to Disney World for spring break to sign in a competition. It was so much fun to go to Disney World for a whole week with 30 of your best friends. We would bus down, which is like an 11 hour drive, and you know that nothing can replace the memories made on a bus trip when you're 15-16-17 years old.

4. What do you put in your child's Easter basket? Or, for those w/o kids, what was put in your childhood basket?
I always had the BEST Easter baskets. I would get one at home, one at my grandparents and one at my aunt's house. Spoiled much?? My brother and I would get toys, sometimes clothing items, enough candy to give you a belly ache for a week, books, cds. My favorite thing was always the big chocolate bunnies. The hollow on the inside ones with the colored eyes you can eat? OMG, LOVE those!

5. Do you get a summer haircut?
I get my hair trimmed usually every 6-8 weeks so there's always a summer trim in there. I think it's pretty typical to go lighter with your color in the summer too. I'm going next week to get my hair done and I can't wait to be super blond for summer!



5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

I have a special treat today for Fur Baby Friday - it's a VIDEO! My girl Tilly is insanely obsessed with my blow dryer. She runs in the bathroom and gives me the evil eye every day when I'm drying my hair. She snarls her lip at it and whines, and even tries to attack it when I'm blowing her hair dry after a bath. So of course, I have to taunt her! Enjoy this little funny.

 

1. Will you run to the store or to pick up a kid looking a mess?

I have gone to the grocery store or somewhere like that post workout. Which trust me, can be a mess. However, I hate it when I see people out in their PJs so I would never just roll out of bed and go somewhere. If I must roll out of bed and go somewhere I will change clothes into something more classy than my pajamas.

 

2. Do you finish a book if it's boring or you don't like it?

I always try to finish it -even if I'm not that into it. I can only think of 1 book off the top of my head that I simply couldn't make it all the way through. It was a sci-fi type of book, and I'm just not into that. I made it over half way but just couldn't maintain my interest after that.

 

3. Beach or mountain vacations?

Both! I'm unique in that I love a good tropical vacay or a good snowboarding trip to the mountains. Most people I know definitely prefer the beach! If I had to choose though, I think I would end up at the beach also. Nothing better than the sun, the sand and a drink in my hand.

 

4. What thing/event says "winter will end and spring is right around the corner" to you?

Daylight savings time. Around here, it usually doesn't stay cold past March - there have been exceptions, but typically once we spring forward we are on the path to Spring. Lately, it's been 70's and low humidity so the weather has been absolutely perfect. However, I am afraid that if it's this warm in March then we might just die of heat strokes in August. If you haven't suffered through the staggering humidity of a Southern August then you just don't know what you're missing :)

 

5. Would you prefer couples or family vacation?

Couples. Maybe this is because I don't have kids right now. Skye likes to vacation in groups with friends so we have never even been on a real vacation alone. I can't wait for our Honeymoon!

Happy Friday loves!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Well I must say that Friday is my favorite day of the work week. Obviously because it's the last working day of the week! AND because I so look forward to Fur Baby Friday! Come link up with us and show off your furry faces.

I have a special picture to share with you this week of Tilly! It's from last Saturday when I took her to her very first Mardi Growl. It's an annual parade/festival so we will definitely be hitting it up again next year. She had a complete blast! Mardi Growl is hosted by Young Williams, which is my local animal shelter. They had an official photographer taking pictures for the official event photo album. Well guess what? My pretty girl made the official album! Yep, that's right she's a star! :) If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram then you might have already seen this, but I can't help it - I'm a proud fur mama! That thing she's licking that looks like a bottle is a new mess free treat they were testing. It's called Lickey Stix and it's a liquid that tastes like a chicken flavored dog treat with a roller ball they lick. Tilly went nuts over it.

Link to the entire album if you want to check out all the dogs dressed up!

In other business...

1. Are you looking forward to the time change this weekend?

YES, Yes & yes! I love when it's lighter when I wake up and stays lighter longer. I feel more energized to get things done after work during spring forward time. Plus, the spring time in East TN is just beautiful with all the dogwoods and other blooms.

 

2. Are you getting the new iPad/would you want a iPad?

I am not getting one. I would not be opposed to buying one, but I would rather have a MacBook instead.

 

3. If money was not a problem, what is the one thing you would splurge on?

A lake house! I would probably use that more than my regular house.

 

4. How did you and the Mr. (or Mrs.) meet?

Funny you should ask! I've been writing a 3 part series here on the blog about Our Love Story.

Check out Part 1 & Part 2 if you are interested in teh full story. Part 3 is coming next week!

5. Summer is right around the corner. Bikini or one-piece?

I'm a bikini girl. I like being tan and with a one piece or a tankini you have a white belly! Speaking of bikinis I need to hit the gym hard tonight!

This is reallllllly making me want summer to be here...like now! Happy Friday lovelies!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Are you obsessed with your animals like we are??? Come over to Mrs. Monologues and link up with us.

I have a special treat today for Fur Baby Friday link up. I have a picture of the girl that I hardly ever show off, Sadie. We've had Sadie for about 4 years now. She's a pound puppy, and they said she was a husky mix. Not sure what exactly she's mixed with, but they told us either rottweiler or Australian Sheppard. We immediately fell in love with her because her gorgeous baby blue Husky eyes. She came into our home as the little sister to our previous Pom, Roxy. (I will tell you Roxy's story another time) Now she is a big sister to Tilly. A really good big sister too! The only negative thing about this dog is her 300 layers of fur - that's the Husky in her. She sheds like you wouldn't believe - hence, she doesn't get as much inside time as Tilly. Sadie is our very own 70lb lap dog! I wanted to show her off a little bit, because Tilly typically gets the spotlight.

Also, quick note that I am venturing out this weekend to take Tilly to her first Mardi Growl. It should be interesting!

Sadie's sweet puppy face the day we brought her home
Excuse the glare, I took this picture of the picture I have my in office.

Sadie last weekend sunbathing in our backyard

Next, it's 5QF with Mama M over at My Little Life.

1. Where is your favorite vacation spot and why?

Hmm...my favorite vacation spot that I've ever been to (so far) has been Grand Cayman Islands. It was drop dead gorgeous there, plus I got to swim with the dolphins and sting rays there. Mexico is probably a close second.

I love any type of beach vacation and I can't wait for mine this summer!

2. What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Reality TV hands down 1000%! I am obsessed with The Real Housewives - all of them. I couldn't tell you why this show has sucked me in so much but it has and I can't (and don't want to) stop watching. It can be time consuming because they like to show two seasons at a time so that's two nights a week I spend watching the shows. I have 2 episodes just lingering on my DVR right now and it's about to kill me that I haven't had time to watch them yet.

Oh, and Chick-Fil-A chocolate milkshakes. They are beyond delicious!

3. What is your favorite fashion trend right now? Or, in the past?

My favorite trend right now would either be Toms or the minty-turquoisey-blue/greenish inspired jewelry pieces. I love my Toms, they are the most comfortable shoes. I wish they would make running shoes that feel like that! And I've seen a lot of turquoise/mint color variations with jewelry lately and I'm loving it. I can just imagine those colors on sun kissed skin looking fab.

 

4. What are your spring break plans?

That would have to mean I actually got a spring break. I'm all for doing spring break in the workplace!

If I did, have a spring break getaway it would be running away to a beach for a week. It's been so rainy here this winter and I could definitely use a big dose of Vitamin C from mother nature.

5. What baby names do you hate?

My name is actually Nicole - I just go by Nikki. I HATED having the name Nicole when I was in elementary school. I think every other baby girl born within the 1980's was named Nicole. It felt so common and boring!

I like a good strong unique name. It doesn't have to be too crazy - like the celebrities get sometimes - just something you wouldn't hear everyday. I guess my answer would be I dislike overly common names. (Sorry if you have one of these - but it's ok because I do too!) Like Amanda, Kelly, Lauren, Nicole - I actually just named my circle of friends haha!

----------------------------------------------

 

Happy Friday everybody!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Happy Friday everybody! Boy do I have a treat for you today too! I am finally finished with my Part 1 draft of mine and Skye's love story and I'm going to post it for you this evening. I am super excited to share this part of our story with you all, from the get go. I hope you like it! Also, this weekend I should have time FINALLY to get my "before" bathroom pictures together for a post.

But for now, I will just give you some Tilly love.

I LOVE Fur Baby Friday! I know it's so stupid but I swear I look forward to linking up with Mrs. Monologues every Friday and showing you pictures of Sweet Tilly. I need to get one soon of Sadie Girl so you can see her pretty face too.

I actually have a double treat for you this week - so enjoy!

First, her face that only a Pom mama could love.

Then, her precious face that everyone loves.

You know the drill here, come link up and get your 5 Question Friday on. It's fun!

1. What's your favorite way to spend down time (alone or with a significant other)?

Playing with my dogs, reading, shopping, in the summer we are always at the lake, cleaning, Interneting.

 I feel like I haven't had much down time lately, but this weekend I'm planning a full fledged clean-fest at mi casa. You don't even want to know the state my floors are in right now after all this rain we've had and little pup paw prints everywhere. Also, in store for this weekend, finishing the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy and posting my "before" bathroom remodel pictures for you to gawk at in disgust at the ugliness.

2. Are you the kind of person that wants things more as soon as you know you can't have it?

Sometimes - depends on what it is. Usually I'm pretty good with the self discipline, but there are areas where I fall short. Diets I can usually tackle with ease because they are temporary. One thing that I know I can't have right now (at least until after June) is a vacation, yet what do I do every day? Get on vacation sites and browse. Win some, lose some I guess.

 

3. If you were given $1000 to spend on yourself, what would you buy?

Work Clothes, Extensions - I'm on this kick of wanting hair extensions right now, Tanning Bed Package because I'm a pasty little ghost, and some sessions with a personal trainer so I can get bikini ready.

 

4. Do you ever go out to eat by yourself?

I have never been to a sit down restaurant by myself to eat. I have briefly sat in a fast food type of environment to eat alone, but I don't even like that. If I'm lacking on lunch plans while at work, I will run through a drive through and either read a book in my car when the weather is nice or catch up on phone calls with friends. The only thing I really like to do alone is shop sometimes.

 

5. What company would you want to do a blog review for?

Any makeup company or hair products. I love that stuff and I'm always trying new things and looking for the next best thing.

-----------------------------------------------------

Happy Weekend!!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Howdy - Yesterday felt like the longest day of my life! However, today is flying by and that makes me a happy girl. We have a long weekend with President's Day off and then I'm also off Tuesday & Wednesday. We are packing our snow gear and heading up north (just a little) to West Virigina to do a little snowboarding. I'm super excited because we've had an extreme lack of snow here in East TN this winter, and I've really missed being on the slopes. I haven't had 5 days off since last July so I won't know what to do with myself! Also, this weekend I'm hoping to finalize all my color selections for my bathroom redesign. I swear one day I'm going to post those damn "before" pictures.

Also, coming soon - I've been working on writing a 3-Part Series about our Love Story. I guess I was inspired by all the lovey Valentine's Day posts. I've thought of doing this for a long time and I'm finally doing it. I'm done with Part 1 and it's been more fun than I anticipated to take that walk down memory lane. It's sweet to remember how it all started 7 years ago. STAY TUNED!

I really love the Fur Baby Friday idea! I know that most of you have kids, but I don't and my fur babies are my kids so I love showing them off. Hop on over and link up with us!

Sweet Tilly in all her glory - just as lazy as she can be.



1. What do you do when you are really upset to calm yourself down?

I have really found that working out is a such a great release for me. It's an automatic stress reliever, plus it usually puts me in a much better mood after from my adrenedline rush.

I know this is horrible because it's the polar opposite of my first answer but secondly, if I'm feeling upset I really like to vent and indulge in a milkshake. Then go workout :)

2. Do you go all out for V-day or is it just another day?

I don't think that we have ever been out on a romantic V-day date. As I mentioned in my V-day post, we are not really big into celebrating for Valentines. I never have been so luckily, I don't set the bar very high. I know we've been out to dinner before, but my brother was with us. This year Skye was working night shift and had to leave home by 9 so we kept it very low key. I'm perfectly ok with that though.

3. Are you more or less productive when Hubs is away?

We'll just go ahead and pretend like he's my Hubs...since he practically is.

Usually more productive. I definitely prefer to get all my cleaning, laundry, etc done while he's gone. It's just easier with no interferences. However, we are still getting all settled into shift work so if I don't see him for a week or so, I get very non-productive. I've learned an interesting fact about myself that I'm much more boring when he's not around.

4. What is your favorite time of day and why?

Morning! I'm a morning person all the way. Just not quite morning person enough to get my workouts in before work - but that's my goal!

5. What is your go to karaoke song?

Funny you should ask because we went to sing karakoe last Saturday night! I'm usually more of an observer, but I've been known to get a little too much alcohol in me and attempt a song or two. Typically I go for a country song like Carrie Underwood, Before He Cheats. I know I've tried that one. Miranda Lambert would work too. I definitely steer clear of any ballads, or songs that require greater singing skills than I possess. Skye loves to sing karaoke and his favorite song is Warren G, Regulators. It cracks my ass up. He always wants to sing it, every single time we go. Love him!

----------------------------------------------------

Happy Friday - Have a great weekend!

5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Happy Friday - Thank the Lord this day has finally come! Last night brought me absolutely no sleep (the reason why is a story for an entirely different post), and today is a 12+ hour work day for me. I have a feeling that I might be a little grumpy tonight - based on last night's events, lack of sleep and feeling slightly over worked this week. I need a weekend like it's nobodys business!

One thing that does make me happy is posting here, especially when it's about my favorite girl Tilly!

I'm linking up again this week with Mrs. Monologues, for the 2nd week of Fur Baby Friday! I love this idea because as you can tell, I'm obsessed with my sweet furry girl. Come link up with us and share pictures of your sweet furry friends!

I snapped this last night while Tilly was mid-lick. She's a licker that girl. She actually licks the air all the time and it's quite funny. I think the poor thing has OCD about it or something. She's definitely her mama's girl!

You can't help but love her!

Next up, the usual Friday link up with Mama M for 5QF!

 Special Shout Out to my friend, Erin, for getting one of her questions on the list this week! 1. How often do you shave your legs in the winter?I love this question because you know we are all like never! Unless you live in Florida where it's probably still warm enough to show off legs this time of the year. I try to shave every week in the winter, but my leg hair isn't the pokey itchy kind and it's pretty light colored so you can't really tell when I go longer. I did notice at the gym the other day while I was wearing capris that it's definitely time for a little shave!
 2. Valentine's Day cards for your spouse: funny or romantic?Depends on the year. I've done both. This year for Christmas I did a funny card, so I will probably go with romantic for Valentine's. We are not big V-day celebraters though, so I don't think it really matters to him either way.3. What are you most looking forward to about spring?wearing cute open toe shoes! That's always my favorite about spring! And getting some color on this pale winter body.4. What's your favorite way to pamper yourself?A massage and a mini shopping spree would be a day of my dreams. I need work clothes so bad it's not funny. My work pants are all so baggy and saggy - which is a great problem to have, but I just haven't bought new ones in a while. When you've lost weight you want people to be able to tell and wearing pants that are 3 sizes too big is not the way to show off.5. Does your tax return go into savings or do you spend it instantly?Mine always goes towards a special purchase I've been eyeing but didn't want to dip into savings for.This year it will be used for my exciting bathroom re-design project. I took some "before" pictures last weekend but haven't had time to put them up this week...so stay tuned for the ugliness before the duckling reveal.-------------------------------------------------
 



5 Question Friday/Fur Baby Friday!

Today I am trying something new and doing a double link up! So I hope this doesn't feel too cluttered.

First off, I'm linking up with the fabulous Mrs. Monologues for the VERY FIRST Fur Baby Friday! I absolutely love this idea and of course, I love to show off my pretty girls.

My precious Tilly  has a new favorite toy this week. A random ping pong ball that she found in our garage. She's been playing with this ball like crazy and she loves to pounce on it when it goes bouncing across our hardwood floors.

Per usual on Fridays, next up is 5 Question Friday! Hosted by Mama M.

 

1. What have you done recently that you are proud of?

I've managed to lose about 6-7lbs. in the past 2 1/2 weeks! This gets me closer to my ideal weight goal! I'm not sure how in the world I've managed to accomplish this because I've been a major slacker in the workout department. I'm giving all the credit here to my diet. My original "2012 goal" was to lose about 10 more pounds, but now that I'm down 6.5, I feel like maybe I should have aimed for 15 total lbs. Maybe I'm becoming obsessed? It's so easy to get obsessed with losing weight!

Now I need to get back in the gym hardcore because summer is just around the corner!

2. What is your favorite way to work out? Or if you don't workout, what are you wanting to try?

I love Zumba, it's so fun and one of the best cardio workouts I've done. Other than that, I like running outside when the weather allows. I did a bootcamp at my gym last summer that was AMAZING, and it totally kicked my ass.

I like trying new things all the time. I'm not a run on the treadmill for hours kind of girl.

3. If you knew you best friend was cheating on spouse would you tell?

I want to say no. Skye always tells me to mind my own business when it comes to peoples relationships because I'm always curious about what's going on. I want to think I would be able to mind my own business, especially if the cheat-er was my best friend. Maybe I would just offer advice to her? Never been in this situation so I can't say for sure.

4. If you could afford a live-in maid or nanny, would you have one?

HELL YES! I would have a live-in maid, no need for a nanny around here.

5. Do you stress out about birthdays (specifically the age) or do you enjoy them?

Both. My last birthday was probably the first (of many) that I will be a little shy about telling people how old I am. As I get closer to 30, I'm sure it will only get worse. But in the end, my birthday is my favorite holiday so you have to enjoy it!

Bonus: Lights off or on?

Depends...It doesn't bother me with lights on, but sometimes it's not the right mood.

 

So come on over and link up with me in both places! It's fun!

 

PS - I got my hair done tonight...and I got a little advice on how to fix my alfalfa hair. Plus, I got a wild hair and added a little red this go around. I've had my hair exactly like this before, with the blonde, red and low lights, but it's been years. Kinda hard to tell in this picture, but gives you an idea.