TGIF

Thank goodness it is Friday!

 It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Work has been busy and the Hubby and I are trying to soak up the end of summer time. A couple of weeks ago the weather was in the mid 70's low 80's, it was our little glimpse at fall before the heat wave came back! It's been in the high 90's the past 2 weeks! Most nights you can find us lounging by the pool with a drink in our hand or lounging on our couch in the AC. It's a rough life, but someones got to live it :) The Hubby and I like to really enjoy the times where we can pick up and do whatever we want because hopefully some day we won't be able to just do things on a whim, we will have a little family to take into consideration.

I wish the Friday before a Holiday weekend was a day of no work and all fun. It always seems those are the days everyone takes off and the office is so quiet. I'm really hoping to sneak out early and head to the pool. It's only open till Monday and I am in desperate need of a darker tan. For as many times as we have been to the pool this year I am surprised I didn't get more color. I guess it's hard to compare this summer to last summer. At this time we were getting all of the final details set in place for our wedding. It's hard to believe we have been married for a year. More details on our 1st year of marriage in a later post!

This weekend is the big party for our friend's recent engagement. Lots of pictures to come next week.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend!!

xoxo
A

Our Week in Pictures

This last week/weekend was very busy. Seemed like we had something to do almost every day/night of the week. And this week is looking to be the same way. It sure does make the weeks go by fast, but I wish it would slow down just a tad. It's really hard to believe it's already August 19th!

The Hubby and I played in a golf tournament for the UNO Men's Basketball team. It was nice to be away from work for an afternoon to play golf, that hasn't happened to me all summer! The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

I've been trying really hard lately to cook more at home during the week and limit the amount of times we go out to dinner. While it's much easier to go out to dinner because it's just the two of us, I've reached my limit on how many times we can go out to eat. Nothing sounds good and it definitely hasn't been good for my waist line. Therefore, I have been researching  pinteresting and blog reading to find some yummy/easy recipes. I stumbled upon the blog Peas & Crayons and was instantly in heaven. She has the most amazing recipes. 1st up on my list was Savory Sweet Potato Casserole. I didn't make the recipe ingredient for ingredient, I made what works best for us. Or should I say Hubby because he is sometimes a picky eater :) It was sooo good and the left overs were just as good!

 

 

We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. I told myself I was going to try something other than the Coconut Chicken Salad. I tried one of their new pizzas. Sadly I wish I would have stuck with my favorite salad as it doesn't disappoint. The pizza was okay, but didn't fill me up. Then we met up with a friend to have some wine and meet his new girlfriend. I love getting to know new people!!!

 

Sunday we played in a golf tournament with my parents. It was a last minute thing since one of the couples backed out. Thank goodness the weather was perfect because we love our lazy Sundays at home!! My mom's best friend recently passed away from cancer and she was an avid golfer. There was a storm a couple months back that knocked down a bunch of trees. A guy came and carved a golf ball out of the left over stump. They just put up her memorial plaque so it was neat to see it almost all finished. We miss her like crazy and this summer definitely hasn't been the same without her!!!!

Bring on the busy week ... I am ready for another weekend!!!

xoxo
A



 



Emetophobia

I've been contemplating this post roughly 1 million times, but honestly haven't had the courage to actually write about it. I will give you a little background to better understand.

I am not a sickly person. I get a cold once every 2 years and the flu once every 6-8 years. So very lucky!!  But since I can remember (Pre-school/kindergarten age) I have been terrified of vomit. Each passing year it's gotten a little bit worse. I can tell you every single story, in full detail, that I have witnessed vomit or vomited myself. Last time I vomited ... Friday, February 22nd, 2008.  As of today it's actually been 2,000 days since I last threw up.

 *The Fear*
Growing up I had a huge fear of going to church because when you attend a Catholic School, you have to attend weekly mass. Well it seemed like every other morning we had mass someone got sick. And I don't mean just leaving church because they were feeling ill, I mean full blown vomiting ALL OVER the place. One Wednesday a month the Grade School and High School would have mass together. I think the last time I attended once of those masses was in 8th grade. All throughout High School I made my mom excuse me from school for the 1st hour on those mass days. I just couldn't face it. Church felt like a trap to me, no way out. One other place that gave gives me anxiety is planes. It's even more of a trap than church and is statistically known for people vomiting. I have flown a little over 10 times and haven't once witnessed a bad situation, but I am always convinced the next time will be the time it happens.

*The Realization*
With all of that being said, about 6 or so months ago my husband and I were laying in bed and I was panicking. I wasn't feeling good and I couldn't relax. I talked to him about how I was for sure getting the flu and it was going to be the most awful thing ever. He reassured me I wasn't. I then started telling him how many times I think about throwing up. 3-5 times ... A DAY ... Yes, it's terrible. I worry, worry, worry all the time about it. Talk about extremely unhealthy. Anyways, I told him about how I contemplate what I eat and always analyzing the way my stomach feels. I had never led on to him or anyone for that matter of just how much I thought about it. He was so sad. He had no idea that I had been keeping this in for so long. One thing he said to me was "sounds like you have a phobia, have you ever looked it up?". I am someone who looks everything up on the Internet, yet it had NEVER crossed my mind that my "weird" way of thinking would actually be something. So I grabbed my I-Pad and starting typing "fear of " and before I could even type "vomit", it was the 5th or 6th thing on the suggested list. I literally could not believe it. I clicked it and there it was "Emetophobia". The irrational fear of vomit. BINGO. That was me. Crazy thing, it's the 5th most common phobia, but no one realy talks about it. I also found out that celebrities like Cameron Diaz and Matt Lauer suffer from it as well. The sad part is that this phobia is not 100% avoidable. Where as fears of heights, snakes and spiders can be avoided. Also even though its the 5th most common phobia, not many therapists have heard of it or treat it.

*The Journey To Overcome*
My hopes are to one day over come this phobia. How and when I am going to do that is still unknown. I have done lots of research online. One great website is www.emetophobia.org. It's a great resource to go to when you feel like you are the only one having these absurd feelings. I am also currently reading the "Emetophobia Recovery System". It gives you lots of different tools and techniques to manage your anxiety. I will touch more on these techniques in another post. One thing I have not been successfull at is finding a therapist in my area that has a good idea about emetophobia and how to overcome it. Still looking. 

I hope by sharing this part of my life it may help others as much as it will help me. 

Xoxo

A

Party Planning

One of my best friends recently got engaged. Just so happens Rob and I introduced them about 2 years ago. We were just dating at the time and he wanted me to come out to his friends house to boat on Labor Day weekend. I was a little nervous, so I brought my friend Lindsay with me. We had no intentions of setting them up, but it happened anyways. They didn't necessarily hit it off the 1st time they met, but they enjoyed each others company enough to exchange numbers. The rest is history! Ben and his family are great and I am so happy Lindsay is now going to be part of their family as well.

So this Labor Day weekend, 2 years since they met, Rob and I are throwing them an Engagement Party at our house. I've been searching all over Etsy and Pinterest for ideas. One big thing we have in common with Ben & Lindsay is our love for WINE :) So a wine party seemed like the perfect thing! Here are some ideas I have so far.

Simple & Cute Banners

 

Aren't these the cutest?!?

 

 

We are serving up some appetizers and I want to make sure to do more than just the expected fruit, meat and cheese trays.

 

 

 

Bake edamame (p.s. that's not my hand :) Thank you Pinterest)

 

 

 

 

 

More Pictures to come after the party!!! I have some more ideas up my sleeve !!!

 

 

xoxo

A

 



 

Our Weekend in Pictures

Once again our weekend was too short! But you can count on us to start our weekend a little bit early! Thursday the Hubby and I both worked in Lincoln and then headed to Happy Hour to enjoy the nice weather before the rain came! I heart sitting outside with an ice cold adult beverage :)

 

Friday night was low key. Dinner at home and a bottle of wine at our favorite place .. BRIX!

 

Saturday we headed out to the lake with friends, despite the gloomy weather. Why is it always cloudy, gloomy, rainy on the weekends and during the week it's hot and sunny? We had so much fun!



Don't mind my no make-up and gross hair!

 

 

 

 

Aren't they so cute?!?

So excited for the wedding festivities next summer!!

 

 

 

BEAUTIFUL !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say we needed Sunday as a recovery day. We slept in, ran errands, did some housework, and went out to dinner. Definitely another great weekend in the books! I can't believe summer is almost over with. Looking forward to Fall though. It's our favorite season!!!

 

HAPPY MONDAY!!

 

XOXO

A