Mambo #5...I mean, Wedding #4.

Wedding #4 of the Spring is coming up this weekend. We'll be heading to Charleston on Friday for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding will be on Saturday.

I'm wearing this dress to the rehearsal dinner for which the attire is "resort casual." I think this will be okay, don't you? The rehearsal dinner is at the Maritime Center which is located on the water along with the aquarium.

And for the wedding, I'm wearing this dress, which I haven't worn in two years. I think I forgot that I had it!! The wedding is at a church and the reception is at Patriot's Point in Mt. Pleasant.

What do y'all think? I'm beginning to get tired of picking out dresses to wear!! We have one more wedding next weekend, and then I think we're done for a while...but you never know!

We're staying at the Charleston Place hotel and I can't wait. No clue what we'll do on Saturday during the day, but pulling the blinds and putting the "do not disturb" sign on the door is at the top of the list so that we can sleep as late as we want with no interruptions! I'd like to walk through the Market, but that is definitely not at the top of WEG's list of things he would like to do ;-)

In any case, it will be nice to relax during the day on Saturday in Charleston until time to head to the wedding at 5:00.

What are your big plans for the weekend?

Dear Mama**

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value......She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.....She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring praise at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:10-31 (portions)

This passage of scripture makes me think of my mama. She has always been there for me and our family. She gives selflessly to those in need, and if she's not at home or work, she's usually doing one thing or another for her church.

She instilled in me good Christian values, and I never questioned her love for me. Sure, there were times when I felt that some of her rules were too strict. Or times when I hated the response, "If everyone was jumping off a bridge, would you?" But, looking back, I am 100% thankful for her direction in my life. It may have seemed tough growing up, but it's made me who I am today and I would not change that.

So, as Mother's Day approaches, I look back at all my mama has done and sacrificed for me and I am truly thankful. On Sunday we'll celebrate Mother's Day, but I don't think celebrating my mother is something that should be relegated to just one day out of the year. After all, she deserves so much more.

Thanks, Mama for the woman that you are and the influence you have been in my life. I love you!

**You didn't actually think I was going to quote Tupac, did you?

Crazy Eights

LuvRedandWhite tagged me for this survey that will give you a little more insight into moi! Enjoy!

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. Rules of Engagement
3. Modern Family
4. Cougartown
5. Accidentally on Purpose
6. Two and a Half Men
7. Dancing with the Stars
8. Deadliest Catch

8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink
1. Mr. Friendly's
2. Tsunami
3. Casa Linda
4. Chick Fil A
5. Thirsty Fellow
6. Palmetto Pig
7. DiPrato's
8. Gourmet Shop


8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Am's bachelorette
2. Doug & Jamie's wedding in Charleston
3. Am & Jamei's wedding in Charleston & the weekend at Folly Beach
4. Fripp Island in July
5. Hopefully a good run for the Gamecocks in the baseball post-season
6. Lots more fun years with WEG
7. Living in the country one day
8. Retirement..haha

8 Things that Happened to me Yesterday
1. Took the day off from work
2. Cleaned most of the house
3. Did a good chunk of laundry
4. Hung out with friends for an early Cinco de Mayo celebration
5. Started planning a fun Fripp trip for the summer
6. Was touched by the daily devotion I read
7. The scale was unfriendly to me
8. Was reminded of the wonderful relationship that WEG and I share


8 Thinks I Like About Winter
1. Christmas
2. Snuggling for warmth
3. Snow (when we happen to get some)
4. Hooded sweatshirts
5. Roaring fires
6. Scarves
7. Football bowl games (College & the Super Bowl)
8. Baseball season is just around the corner


8 Things I am Passionate About
1. My family
2. My friends
3. WEG
4. the plight of West Virginia coal miners & their families
5. organization
6. people needing to learn the rules of the road
7. people needing to learn the rules of grammar
8. people needing to learn the rules of good etiquette


Words or Phrases I Use Often
1. Y'all
2. Touche'
3. Moron (when driving)
4. Seriously
5. crazy as a bed bug
6. get out of the way (also while driving- road rage much?)
7. Oh my gosh
8. Muah


8 Things I Have Learned From the Past
1. High school is not all it's cracked up to be
2. Some friendships fade over time, and some you lose altogether
3. Life is often shorter than you think
4. It's important to tell those you love how you feel
5. If you think you have it bad, look around and you'll find someone in a far more difficult situation
6. Don't use a credit card if you can't afford what you're buying
7. That retail degree probably wasn't necessary
8. Mom & Dad are usually right, even when you don't want to believe it.

8 Places I Would Like to Visit/See
1. Costa Rica
2. Turks & Caicos
3. Barbados
4. Australia
5. Venice
6. Paris
7. New York
8. Napa Valley wine country

8 Things I Currently Want/Need
1. a vacation
2. my credit cards to be paid off (not much longer!)
3. to lose 10 pounds
4. a 2010 4Runner...hahaha, riiiight
5. WEG's pontoon to be finished so we can go on the lake!
6. the oil spill to be resolved in the Gulf
7. a pair of gold Jack Rogers- cause silver and platinum aren't enough, right?
8. for life to continue to be wonderful!

And I, of course, am supposed to tag 8 bloggers, but since I am about to walk out of the office, I'll leave it here for anybody who wants to do it! Please feel free- especially if you're having writer's block!

A "weight"y issue

I have a problem.

I think the antibiotic that my dermatologist prescribed me is causing me to gain weight. Weight gain is not listed as one of the side effects, but I googled it along with the prescription name (Oracea), and there were forums were multiple people said they experienced weight gain or a bloated feeling due to water weight.

I have not been eating any more than usual, but I have been working out more- running, walking, doing strength training exercises, ab work, and still I have been gaining weight. And it's not muscle. Nope, my stomach looks flabbier than it did 2 weeks ago- just the time when I started taking this antibiotic.

I am completely disheartened. I need the antibiotic for my skin, but I don't want to be a fatso because of it. I also don't want to go off of it and my skin go nuts. I don't know what to do!

Has anybody had this problem before? Is there anything I can do to combat the weight gain while staying on the medication? I am not a gym rat and I love food, so please bear in mind that I will not have the willpower to alter my diet drastically or become a workoutaholic. But are there easy ways to keep from gaining weight?

Anything y'all can offer would be great!! It's bathing suit season and I don't want to be flabby!

My favorite day of the week

I have been so productive already today!
Got up at 8, went and ran/walked the Lake Murray Dam (around 3.5 miles, I think), went to Target & TJMaxx and then to the mall. I bought a lingerie shower gift, as well as a gift for my mom for Mother's Day.
I have eaten lunch and now I am listening to the baseball game before getting ready for Carrie Underwood tonight! I have no housework to do because I completed it all yesterday afternoon. And, I gave myself a pedicure last night, so I can relax a bit until time to get ready.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Tomorrow I'm headed to Game 3 of the Alabama-South Carolina baseball series. We won last night on a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning, and we're currently winning today. However, Alabama has a penchant for come-backs this season, so we can't be too comfortable with a lead.

Enjoy your Saturday!

I've reverted back to high school

Last week I went to the dermatologist. My problem? Lately I have been having breakouts worse than when I was 15. Seriously. It seems like I constantly am trying to combat yet another blemish, and usually multiple ones. It's annoying because I could not pinpoint the cause. I didn't change anything major, so what is the deal?

The dermatologist told me that because of where I experience the most problems- around my mouth- on my chin, right below my nose, etc.- it sounds like they are induced by something I am eating. She rattled of a list of things that are possible culprits and right near the top was citric acid.

Well, I'm pretty sure that's the problem. Although I have not had an increase in my citric acid intake in recent months, when I was younger I was highly allergic. I would break out if I so much as smelled an orange. The problem is, EVERYTHING seems to have citric acid in it. Basically any type of fruit juice has citric acid, then there are fruits themselves- oranges, lemons, limes, kiwi (yes, kiwi!). And of course there are things you do not think about. For instance, yesterday I looked at the ingredients on my yogurt, and there it was staring back at me- citric acid. Of course, it was key lime flavored, but this morning I have red velvet cake flavored and it has citric acid, too. Soft drinks have it- Mountain Dew is especially bad, kool aid has it.

So, it's nearly impossible that I will be able to cut it out of my diet entirely, but I'll have to be more careful to read labels. If citric acid is near the top of the ingredients, I'll need to stay away. What a pain. Especially since I love a strawberry limeade in the summertime. I had one yesterday, in fact, but I won't be able to have them with near as much regularity now.

The dermatologist did prescribe me a low-level antibiotic and a nighttime lotion to help, but apparently full results won't be seen until 3 months from now. Let's pray it works. I'm tired of feeling like a pubescent teenager!

Do any of you have weird food allergies that give you problems?

Ten years? Really?!

I am in the process of helping plan my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been ten years since I turned my tassle and headed off to college. It's crazy to think how much has changed since 2000. I hardly even know the people that I went to high school with, and not only did I go to high school with them, I went to school for 12 years with the large majority of them. There were 30 of us. We had a very small class, but I didn't really keep in touch with many of my classmates.

I think the reunion will be fun, though. We'll get to reminisce on our high school years, catch up on each other's lives, and then go our separate ways again. And that's okay with me because I feel like my life now is the best it's ever been, and I wouldn't trade it in a million years for the chance to go back to high school.

But sometimes, it's fun to remember.

Here's a picture of my class at our Junior prom. There are only 2 people missing and one person in the picture went to a different school senior year. Otherwise, we're all there.

I'm the one in the red dress. The picture is from our Facebook reunion group, so that's why it's a bit small.