Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 55th birthday!! We had to celebrate with a fun family dinner at Double Nickel since it was his 'double nickel' (55) birthday.  It was delicious! I'm disappointed that I only took pictures of Owen but then again he was the cutest guy there! 

He was precious the whole time and was pretty content as long he had his spoon. The conversation was hilarious as we reminisced about the time we tried to teach my mom to dive off the diving board and she busted over and over until she got mad and left us at the pool! Not the most athletic gal on the planet...poor Dar. 

Here's a picture of Mom and Dad from Mom's birthday in June. It's the best I can do! 

Then another one from the Ranger's game this summer. 

Happy birthday, Dad! I love you! 

xo-Hill 

Wild About Wednesday

I've never done one of these but since I enjoy reading about products on other peoples' blogs (and have tried several things that I've discovered on various blogs)...I thought I would share a few of my favorites. 

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo

This is a winner. I first found this at TJ Maxx for $4 and thought I would give it a try because I was not pleased with my $30 Bumble & Bumble version. I'm so glad that I did because it works wonders!! I'm a morning workout person but unfortunately...I'm not a wash my hair every day person. This stuff can fix almost anything...except for maybe post hot yoga hair! This little can helps me 'cheat' and makes my life easier. I have most recently found it at Ulta for $8.99 and there are several varieties. I like the one for brown hair because it doesn't leave a white residue. The scent is a little too sweet and strong for my liking but it's definitely not a deal-breaker.  Lazy people unite! 

2. Jo Malone Diffusers

Where do I even begin?! How about by telling y'all that I have three dogs that all live inside and I have nightmares about my house smelling like dogs. The reason I have these nightmares is because it used to. My mom broke it to me. In my defense, it's tough to know what your own house smells like but...the embarrassment/insecurity remains. Then lucky me, I found out about Jo Malone from a close friend whose house always smells amazing. I asked what she used and she told me about JM candles. I drove straight home and searched online and found out that they also had diffusers. Diffusers were perfect for me because I needed something that could disperse scent all the time. I ordered two right before we sold our previous home and I've been hooked ever since! Now people always ask me, "what's that amazing smell??" and my house does NOT smell like dogs. How do I know? My mom told me so! There are 4 scents but I've only tried Pomegrante Noir and Lime Mandrian Basil. Both are great! Warning...these things are pricey. $80 each but SOOO worth it! Mine last about 3-4 months each and I order them from Nordstroms bc of the free shipping. You can get them directly from Jo Malone online or the JM Boutique inside most Neiman Marcus stores. 

3. Garnier BB Cream

I think that I first read about this product on accordingtonina's blog sometime last year and I'm so glad that I did! I had tried about five different brands of BB cream (all way too expensive) and none of them worked as well as this one does. I'm very fair skinned so I use the light/medium shade and it gives me enough coverage that it's the only 'foundation' I use. It goes on smoothly, blends easily, includes an SPF 15 and smells great! It's $12.99 and you can find it at any drug store. I highly recommend it. **Disclaimer- my friend Breanne tried it and broke out terribly. This has never happened to me but thought it was worth mentioning! 

4. Lululemon TaTa Tamer II

If you have anything going on up top and do any type of high impact exercise then you need this sports bra. I was hesitant about spending $58 on a sports bra but I had just recommitted to running and needed a better sports bra. I read the reviews and have not been disappointed! I own four of these now and wear them all the time. Nothing moves in this bra (seriously) and best of all it's adjustable just like a normal bra and doesn't leave you with that weird uni-boob look. If you're the kind of person that needs a good sports bra then look no further!

5. Nivea Exfoliating Body Wash

Last one. I'm a Versa Spa spray tan girl. I can't get a real tan to save my life and although VS isn't perfect, it's better than scaring people (myself included) with my white-ness...as a side note my phone just auto corrected to say white-MESS which is also an accurate description! Anyways, I use this stuff as an exfoliant before I spray tan. It works well, lathers nicely, and smells really good. The most important thing is that it's not oil-based. So many scrubs are oil-based which will keep your spray tan from soaking into your skin. Very disappointing after you've given $20 for a little color. This product can be found at any drug store and I think it was around $7-8. 

Well there they are! Some of my go-to products. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

I'll leave y'all with a picture of my girls from yesterday morning. Sweet sisters. 

xo- Hillary

La-la-lately!

Turns out I'm not very good at this blogging thing.  I really want to be good but I just tend to forget or tell myself that nothing fun/important has happened! Trying to remember that this is a way to remember the everyday happenings. I'll try to catch up a little from my last post. 

Truthfully, the remainder of the summer was pretty hot and uneventful and now it's my favorite month of the whole year!! I get pretty excited about September but October is really where it's at. It finally starts to cool off and fall decor, colors and clothes come into play...oh and football season is in full swing. I love everything about October!! 

This year, the thing I've been looking forward to the most is running in the cold temperatures. If you had told me last year that I would be excited about running of any description...I would have called you crazy but I've successfully fallen in love with running again. Reunited and it feels so good. I like to get up early and start my day with a run in my neighborhood or drive over to my friend Debra's house and we run around a park near her home. Running through the summer months was tough work. It was really hot (even at 6:00am), sticky and the air was so thick it was hard to get a good deep breath but now that it's cooling off, I'm in HEAVEN!! I stocked up on my favorite lulu tights and long sleeve shirts and I think I'll get to break them out tomorrow morning!! I have arrived!

In other fun news, Jay got us season tickets for Texas Tech football for the first time.  We're really enjoying them! He's pretty cute about the whole thing. Not too much outwardly excites Jay, but at 5:45am on the morning of the first Tech game he rolled over and whispered "Hill, it's game day!" and then promptly fell back asleep. Raider Nation is pretty fired up this year with Kliff leading the team!! It's fun to be a Red Raider! Wreck'em! 

Here we are at the Tech vs. TCU game! 

I can't forget this guy! Here's my little Red Raider baby! Owen is 8 months old and is truly the happiest baby on the block!

Backing up just a little (bc I'm pretty discombobulated with this recap--I should blog more) I went to FTW the first weekend of September for my friend Megan's baby shower and to see Celia and her mom Cynthia who was recently diagnosed with cancer for a third time. It was a great trip but getting there posed a little bit of a challenge. I decided to drive bc I was in charge of decor for the shower and I made everything in Lubbock to take to FTW. It was my first road trip in my car, and as soon as I got in the car at 6:00am that morning my 'low tire' signal came on. I called Jay and he said to meet him at the gas station and he would fill the tire up bc it was probably just a slight pressure change. By the time I got to Snyder it came on again and kept beeping at me. I called Jay again and he said that my tires were 'run flat tires' and I could go on to Abilene bc it was so early that no one would be opened to fix it. So...I got to Abilene and long story short, they couldn't help me bc they didn't have my specific tire and if they couldn't patch my tire, I would be stranded in Abilene. They aired it up and told me to make it to Weatherford...but then I missed my exit and ended up in FTW. Since I had made it all that way and happened to find myself in front of an Anthropologie and Lululemon (miracles do happen!) I decided to get my shopping out of the way before fixing my tire. :) I finally made it to a Discount Tire, met a sweet old man who gave me the name and phone number of every one of his family members (the paper is still in my wallet), and ended up having to buy a new tire because it wasn't patch-able. Whew! Then I made it to Chuy's to meet Cel and her mom for margaritas!! We had an amazing time visiting and catching up before they left for chemo in Arizona the next week. I was humbled by their strength and positivity in this trying time.  There are so many instances of devine intervention in her journey already and it's pretty amazing to see God working in the minute details. We finished there and I went to my friend Megan's house to head to dinner! Megan had just been released from the hospital from pneumonia, moved into a new house, was chasing around a 2-year-old AND was 38 weeks pregnant!! Unbelievable. We met our other friend from grad school, Cristina (who just got engaged!!) and had a great dinner at the coolest restaurant on Camp Bowie. Of course, I didn't take any pictures of us at dinner so I can't even remember what it was called but it had a great feel and excellent food. The next morning was the baby shower. We had it at a Tea Room in FTW and although the front of the building was concerning (that's what happens when people from out of town plan everything!) the inside was cute and the food and service were great! We had a good time visiting, opening gifts and played a couple of games. After the shower, I packed up and drove home. :) Here are a few pictures. 

Cel and me:

  

Hostess's with Meg and Baby Lily 

Grad school best friends 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Jay and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Septmeber 19th. I think that with social media broadcasting everyone's lives it's pretty common to see people referring to how their wedding day was the best day of their life...but I don't really feel that way. We had a great time and I'm happy for the commitment made on that day, but that day really has nothing to do with the marriage that follows. I have since matured, grown so much in my love for Jay and grown in my respect and definition of our marriage.  Every regular day since our wedding seems better than the day itself. What a blessing and safe place he is in my life. 

Final blog topic...the past two weekends have been extra special! We've gotten to spend time with our favorites--The Tommerup's. Last weekend they came to Lubbock for a wedding and stayed with us and this weekend we met them at their lake house near Corsicana. We flew to DFW on Thursday night and drove to McKinney to see the Morrow's new baby, Emma Elizabeth. Myron is Jay's roommate from college and his wife Ashley has a pug named Sophie so we have a lot in common! They had their first baby about 3 weeks ago and she was absolutely precious (of course, I forgot to get a picture). We spent the night in McKinney and got up the next morning and did a little shopping. Jay spent a million hours and dollars in Cabelas and then we hit the road for the lake house.  We met there on Friday afternoon and the fun began. We played ladder golf, pool, watched tv and just hung out. We may have had too much fun the first night because yesterday everyone was pretty tame...we got up this morning, had biscuits and gravy (thanks Les!), cleaned up, and headed to the airport. 

Hayes with the stuffed puppy that Jay got him at Cabelas! 

Hanging at Love Field waiting to fly home. Jay is pretty serious about keeping his beard until after the holidays. 

B says hi from atop her post!

Jay and I are going to Hawaii in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll make time to blog before we go, but if not, I'm sure I'll have plenty of blog-worthy pictures when we get back!

xo- hill

4th of July and 29

Oops! I fell off the blogging wagon...I haven't had much to say lately but this was a big week! We celebrated another wonderful 4th of July and my 29th birthday!! I would say that these are my 2 favorite holidays... :)

The 4th fell on a Thursday this year so we had the day off of work and then had to go back on Friday. On the 4th, Jay and I relaxed most of the day and then joined some friends at the LCC for dinner and a fireworks show. It was a great time!

Breezy and I at dinner!

Enjoying the fireworks with my babe!

Nothing better than fireworks to make you feel patriotic!

Friday was my 29th birthday and just let me say that I LOVE me a good birthday! I love getting older and I consider it such a privilege. I'm always confused when people act upset about celebrating another year...my life just gets better and better with each year! I had to work but since I love work I was fine with it (plus I treated myself to a bagel and mocha on the way)! After work, Jay and I met my parents, brother, SIL and nephew at Chuy's for dinner. We had a great time amd way to many calories.  We had plans to meet some friends for drinks...but...we ate so much that we just went home and got in our pajamas and hung out. It was really right up my homebody alley. 

Birthday selfie. Rocking 29 already!

Breezy and EC brought me a cupcake with sprinkles and Debra brought me Starbucks. Good friends! I also got several cards and a really cool 'H' from my college roommate Keri. 

Sweet guy with his Aunt Hill. 

He's getting his first tooth and smiling like crazy. 

Then it was the weekend...not bad for what felt like only 1 day of work. :) Jay and I relaxed all day and watched a Law & Order SVU marathon...we were thoroughly disturbed by about 4:00pm and decided to have a few people over to cook out. 

Playing washers and frisbee. 

Job loves being outside. 

And what's a blog post without a picture of Stella?!

And that's a recap!

HT

Sore is an Understatement

So...on Tuesday my dear friend Debra convinced me that we should break routine and give Crossfit a try. Only now am I ready to talk about it....

I begrudgingly agreed because I know myself pretty well...and I knew it wouldn't bring out the best in me. You see, I have a bad attitude. It's buried deep inside and I try to control it daily but it tends to creep (more like pour) out of me when I'm physically challenged in a way that I don't like. That basically means that during any activity/class that resembles boot camp (i.e., multiple reps, circuits, people cheering, hollering, coaching loudly, clapping near your head, discussing correct form, etc.) I become a monster. I roll my eyes, I glare, I sigh, I say things like 'yeah, I get it' and 'I already did that'. I really just become unreasonable and very immature.

So I predicted those behaviors and shared them with Debra and she assured me that we would be fine...and we were...sort of...until Wednesday morning. Don't get me wrong, I despised Crossfit and had a pretty bad reaction to it (ha! Like how I say reaction like I'm allergic and have no control?) and I won't be going back; however, I didn't know what 'bad reaction' was until I woke up on Wednesday morning. I have NEVER been more achy or sore in my entire 28 years on earth. Neither of us could sit, stand or walk for days. 

Here is a little snippet of the extent of soreness. I was literally so miserable that I felt sick. Think I'll just stick to running and a little pilates... 

ht

When the husband's away...

This wife will do absolutely nothing! Jay was in Ruidoso this weekend at the horse races and playing golf and my first thought was 'Good for him, he needs to get away!' My very next thought which I confess may have actually come first was...'Jay gone means I get to relish in my all time favorite and oh so treasured-- alone time'. It's true. I really love to hang out with...me. It's refreshing and fun and I'm never bored. Seriously. Never. 

You see, I lived alone for a long time before Jay and I got married and I always loved it. Like go home on Friday and not speak to another soul (in person) until Monday morning love it. Then we got married and I had some adjusting to do. I was actually quite stressed the first few months of our marriage because Jay came to my, I mean our home...everyday and to be fair it was actually his home that I invaded. Everytime I voice this caveat, I'm met with confused and slightly concerned looks...but just to be clear, I adore my husband! I just happen to also adore hanging out by myself. That's all. 

So here is a run down of my weekend in a few pictures:

I ran to my parents on Saturday for a quick bite and to see Baby O. He's a tiny sweetie. I took a nap just like Owen but I'm sure that I wasn't as cute...

I made a dinner that consisted solely of 4 stuffed peppers. One of the beauties of not cooking for my 'meat and potatoes' guy. Delicious! 

I came to grips with my inability to put things in their proper place the first time. Look at my week in shoes though! Very well balanced! 

And finally I watched several glorious hours of Real Housewives of Beverley Hills, Orange County and New Jersey with this gal. We love trash tv and we love it large quantities! I may have also watched Legally Blonde and eaten 6 Outshine popsicles...but I'll never tell. 

It's fun being me. 

ht

Geri-what?!

So I braved the vet with Stella and Ally on Saturday morning all by myself. This is a feat because Ally usually forgets that she's attached to anyone and attempts to run wild. If you can imagine a big dog pulling a person who is pulling/dragging a fat little pug then you get the idea. Train wreck. Ally also has a habit of only listening to her dad...which actually reminds me of my childhood and leaves me feeling remorseful. However, somehow this trip was totally different! Ally acted like a model citizen and Stella acted like a nut bag. 

Case and point. Blur of pug in the back. 

Anyways, I've gotten off topic. The real issue that I'm having is with the following conversation:

Me:  I need to schedule Stella to get her teeth cleaned. 

Vet: Great, and how old is Stella now?

Me: She turned 8 in November! (Very proud mom-like since I've been charged with keeping her alive for those 8 years...)

Vet: Well since she's GERIATRIC now we'll need to do an I-stat to ensure that she can go under the same anesthesia profile. 

Me: Geri-what?! She's only 8...

Vet: Yes, but 8 is past the halfway mark for the lifespan of most dogs so we'll just need to check some stuff. 

Geri-what? Geri-who? Surely not my girl!

I was devastated. I really hadn't thought about this much...I mean, logically, I understand 'dog years' and know that dogs don't live forever but I'm so sad to think that my dogs (who are all three between 8 and 9 years old) are on the other side of their lifespans. Just a little tough to swallow. I guess to put it in perspective I will just remind myself that I will consider it a true blessing if I'm able to care for and be a part of these lives until they are taken by old age instead of something more traumatic. Don't worry though, I'm pulling for my girl to last a long time! 

Puppy B. 

Big girl B. 

One last thing...Jay decided to save a little $$on dog care (he's innately frugal) and bought some clippers so that I didn't have to take Stella to the groomer. It goes without saying but...it did not go well. Bless her...

I wrote most of this last night but then something wonderful happened that I have to mention!! It rained!! Like real moisture falling from the sky. My dad called this morning and said that he and my brother got the best rain that they've had since October 2010!! Praise The Lord!

ht