Much Needed Relaxing Weekend!!!

This week has kicked my butt... a ton a stuff going on at school and its so nice to be laying on my couch totally engrossed in the Winter Olympics and sipping on some OJ. With my busy week at school, horrible timing for my Lent decision- no coke, dr. pepper, mt. dew...NO soft drinks for 40 days. If you know me what-so-ever you know I drink at LEAST three a day. I know- its TERRIBLE for me, but honestly that is about my only bad or unhealthily habit I have. So I'm trying to kick it for forty days and then maybe more than that.

On a side note- Steven are completely obsessed with anything Olympic. I kid him by saying if I could have the theme song for the Olympics for my ring tone year around- I would. We LOVE the games. Both of us were pretty athletic/ competitive growing up, so its just fun to be able to watch them for two weeks straight. ANYWHO. I was thinking about 4 years ago we would go to Steven's dorm room to watch the Winter Olympics in 2006. We had been together for about 6 months and now we're engaged watching the 2010 Winter Olympics. We have accomplished so much in those four years! It is so weird! I asked Steven "What do you think we'll be doing during the 2014 Winter Olympics?" Quote words "Probably sitting on our couch, in a new house, with a......" I was thinking BABY?? and he says "With a new duck hunting boat in the back yard!!" Spoken like a true duck hunter. Oh my...

{man..what a great sight}

{ahh.. Lindsey Vonn in her Gold Glory}

hope you are having a great weekend!!!

Snow Days

Yippie! I've had TWO, yes TWO snow days this week! Monday is when I have class at the UofA (which still held classes), but my professor lives in MO and didn't want to risk the weather later on in the day. CHA-CHING- Snow day for me. I was ready for school today, but it was called off due to a layer of ice on the roads (yes, please)..hee I'm such a child. I've have completely enjoyed/soaked up every minute of the last two days! Since Steven is still in school finishing up a minor, we really enjoyed our lazy days off together. We were thinking these might be the last "snow days" we acutally get to have together...we all know that my snow days will never cease, but a civil engineer doesn't get snow days! HAAA... I love it! Anywho, Monday morning I made a huge pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup, the perfect thing for a snowy day. Then Steven, Deek, and I suited up and headed to the slopes. Steven lives on a golf course with a HUGE hill...we had such a great time! I really enjoyed hanging out with the two of them and not being on a constant schedule!

{look how beautiful..not us silly..the snow ;)}

{xoxo}
I hope everyone enjoyed the snow as much as we did! Stay warm and have a great week...just in case you didn't know tomorrow is my Monday..heehee!!!

My Life Lately- in pictures

NWA has been hit with a TON of snow, which is A-OKAY with me for a few reasons: 1. the joy of being a teacher...SNOW DAYS and 2. The joy of being an intern- not having to make up the snow days for once! YAY...bring 'em on! So in honor of our snow days Bebe and I got out to enjoy her first big girl snow!!

{b had a big booboo on her nose a week earlier}

{such a cool niece}

Helped host a engagement party for one of my best friends Lindley! We also bought her wedding dress a few weeks ago! I have pictures of the beautiful gown, but I cant show!!

{Lin and I at her party}{the future Shaffers}{me and the fiance}{older sister, Heather, celebrated her birthday}Hailey and Matt came in to go to the fun, fresh, and fabulous award show, The Benny's! It was SOO much fun! Dale and Mere really know how to throw a party and they are just such fun and giving people! Thank you so much guys for letting us be a part of it! We loooove yall!
{the happy little benfield couple}{the award winners}
Okay, lets see...next on our agenda. A much needed night out with some of my best friends!

{Jacquelyn, me, and KK}{went to a few razorback basketball games with this sweetheart}{The Swopes}Ahhh... and yesterday the Kindergarten at Root Elementary celebrated the 100th day of school. If you know me what-so-ever you know my love for dressing up for different events, so Amanda (fellow kindergarten intern and friend) and I decided to get decked out. I made shirt with 100 sparkly pom poms on it (you can only see one 0, but i promise its there). I also made pompom bobby pins for my hair, earrings, and bracelets! Amanda put 100 buttons on her shirt! We played the part very well and had fun doing it!

{Amanda and me in front of the awesome 100's day quilt that the whole kindergarten made during math one day.}{Me dressed up with my sweet kiddos}

There you have it folks...my life for the last few weeks. I missed a few events due to my camera was being fixed. My friend Jacquelyn (pictured above) got engaged last Friday durng the snow storm! We are very excited for her and Brian and can't wait for the wedding!! Hope everyone is well! I'm preparing for the next "big snow storm" to come our way!! Stay warm!

Wooo Whooo..My first award

This sweet little lady nominated me for this fun award!

Thank you Chelsea, I have really enjoyed reading your blog- its right up my alley.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Paste the award on your blog
3. Link the person who nominated you for the award
4. Tell 7 interesting things about yourself
5. Nominate 7 bloggers or less
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominated

Whew.. this is going to be tough because I don't find myself that interesting. Maybe I'll enlist the help of my oh so handsome fiance to help me, maybe not though- he's been talking wedding with me all afternoon, God love him. Ok here we go...

Seven Interesting Things About Little Ol' Meee...

1. I have a blanky- you heard me... and yes, I am 23 and yes I still have her. No, no, she's not a baby blanket she is merely a piece of fabric from hancocks. I've been doing this since about ninth grade. I twist her and smell her- it is a nervous habit. If I loose her, I got get another few yards of fabric. I've had my current blanky since sophomore year in college though, so needless to say we are pretty tight.Steven doesn't LOVE her, but he embraces the fact that I have her. For those of you who are concerned-Dr. Phil said it is completely normal (no I did not contact him...he did a show on it a few years back).

2. Some would say I'm a finicky eater, but I'm really not. I just don't enjoy most things that others do. As I have gotten older I have grown to dislike many things. I HATE peanut butter, olives, cake, icing, pretty much anything sweet besides toffee, ice cream, or peach cobbler. I thoroughly dislike Thanksgiving food...it disgusts me and I would rather eat a box a Kraft macaroni and cheese- the cheesiest kind please. I'm not a huge fan of pizza. Loved donuts for the greater portion of my life and for some reasons I can't stand to think about them. I am not a fan of breakfast food. This morning at 9 I ate a huge bowl of penne pasta I cooked last night, weird I know.

3. Getting engaged is one of the greatest things that has happened to me (meeting and loving my niece ranks up there too), but it has KILLED I mean completely stomped my motivation to do anything school related. Looking at wedding mags, talking to my sister/mom constantly, and looking at wedding blogs is FAR more interesting than applying for jobs or working on assignments.

4. I have the beeeest fiance that anyone could ever have. We have the coolest relationship and I seriously thank God every morning and night that I have him. We rarely fight and have such great communication. Instead of screaming and yelling at each other we talk through things- I love it. We have never gone to bed mad or even upset about anything one time in 4.5 years and I pray it stays that way.

5. Speaking of Steven, one of my favorite things to do it watch him talk about something he LOVES...like duck hunting. Often times that little hobby of his gets on my last nerves, but I love to hear him talk about it. His eyes light up, he smiles, and I really don't even listen to a word he says. But just watching him talk makes me feel like he is a little boy. I would give anything to have known my sweet man when he was little. Watching him talk about things he is passionate about makes my little heart flutter!

6. I pray every morning before I step foot on the ground.

The mornings are my least favorite part of the day (im usually exhausted and dreading school), but it is so nice and peaceful to be able to pray and start the day positively every morning.

7. I am a worrrrry waaarrrrrt! I'm not sure that is interesting, but Im running out of things to say. I worry about everything. My latest worry: When Steven and I go on our Honeymoon in 1.5 years, I'm worried about our Fur Child's feelings! REALLY HILLARY...oh my! That literally crossed my mind about three minutes ago. I'm strange. Also worrying about all the hw I HAVE to do tomorrow!! OH Goodness me!

I hope I didn't bore you to death!! Again, Chelsea thanks for giving me the award... I'm going to tag:

Short Southern Momma

Life as a Savannah Wife
Mrs. Guru at Off The Beaten Path
Callie

Sole Matters
Annie at Chapters of Our Life
Sarah at A Life More Exciting

There ya have it folks..enjoy!! Im exciting to hear some interesting facts from you ladies!!!

VOTE-VOTE-VOTE...Pretty please

Hello All! I hope your Tuesday was wonderful! The weather was SO pretty here in Fayetteville that my kiddos got to play outside for the first time in.. well I honestly can't remember when. It was a very nice treat for our kids as well as us! ANYWHO... I'm coming to ask you a BIG favor.. you see- my older sister Hailey has been nominated several times by our photographer Dale Benfield. He holds an award show for all of his brides and Hailey just happens to be nominated for 5.. you heard me...5 categories (if you've seen her pictures it shouldn't suprise you! They are phenominal). She and I both would just be tickled pink if she won at least one category...so if you would be so kind as take a few mins to vote for my beautiful sissy! Here are the links! The voting ends the 15th so please cast your vote for Hailey!!! thank you so much!!!!!

{isn't she gorg?}

Here are the links:

for best bridal portrait:http://bennyawards.com/?page_id=3

for best dance performance:http://bennyawards.com/?page_id=18

for best wedding design:http://bennyawards.com/?page_id=35

for best shoes:http://bennyawards.com/?page_id=37

for best leading lady:http://bennyawards.com/?page_id=46

Or you could just go to http://bennyawards.com

Thank you so so much!!!

Twenty Ten

Wow..I'm on a roll, if I do say so myself. I'm trying to blog a few times a week (uh um.. callie)! I'm not sure how intense school will be this semester, but time will tell! With that being said...We had SO much fun on New Years this year! It was so nice to hang out with my best friends that I haven't seen in what seems like ages! It was also fun to show off my new best friend aka my ring to my girls who haven't seen it! It was nice to do something low key for once...and by no means was our New Years low key, but in comparison to years pervious this one was. We are used to the big Peabody parties or being in Dallas at a huge party for the Cotton bowl. This year I was so excited when we decided to stay at Morgan's lake house in Hot Springs, go to a nice dinner, and come back to ring in the new year. It felt SO good to be with my friends and just to enjoy each other's company! It has been really hard for me this year to only see my friends MAYBE once a month due to everyone's hectic schedules- but we make it work! They were so thoughtful to get Steven and I a cookie cake and some really sweet gifts to celebrate our engagement! I really have the best friends- be jealous! Here are some of the pictures from our fun little party for NYE! Ill let the pictures do the rest of the talking- we took A TON!!! I guess you could say we were making up for lost time! :)
{the pretty girls before dinner}

{oh how I've missed this guy}{my "fiance"- im still getting used to that word}{me and little momo}{the girls after our great dinner}{our whole group}{the cookie cake my friends got us- it was supposed to read "Congrats Hill and Steph". Steph being one of Steven's many nicknames, but instead it came out "Hill and Speph" Ha!}

{me and callie}{brad, mo, me, and Speph}{kk, mo, and me}{Jackie and Brian}{the newest addition to our crazy clan- Meet Patrick, KK's new boyfriend...we think he's a keeper}{Davy Crocket and Cal}{Bratlee and Momo- I love how Brad sported that nice headband all night}{ringing in the new year with my favorite person ever}

Just wanted to say thanks to my amazing friends for helping us celebrate this exciting time in our life. I can't wait to share this time with yall!! I loooove each of you!

I hope everyone has had a great start to 2010! Im looking forward to everything that is in store for us this year! I can just pray that 2010 is as wonderful, safe, and healthy as 2009 was! Happy Twenty Ten!

Some exciting news..

I know, I know- I NEVER blog anymore.. I hate hate that, but I have been a pretty busy girl here lately. If you read a few posts down (2 to be exact) you would have known that I was SO SO excited about spending Christmas with Steven this year! I couldn't wait until the 23rd when he was finally in Fayetteville to begin our Christmas festivities. We had such an agenda for the next week, but I couldn't have been more excited. Our Christmas celebrating started with a romantic dinner at Bordino's the night Steven got into town. We had reservations at 7, but before Steven had mentioned wanting to walk around the square to look at the beautiful lights (something I have been wanting to do for fiiiiive years now...)anywho- as we left for the square it started POURING down rain and I told Steven that it really wasn't that big of a deal to not look at the lights before dinner, but he insisted and pulled out his big umbrella and we headed to the square. The square was absolutely DEAD....not a soul in sight, but then I see Dale Benfield photographing a couple in the rain.... I then said to Steven "Wow...theres a stupid couple just like us walking around the square in the rain".

{the "other" couple}

Steven then told me to turn around and I thought we were going home, he took me up some stairs and got down on one knee (insert me FREAKING here). He said some extremly sweet things and I was so excited and in such disbelief that I really don't remember much of anything he said! The rest is just history....

{checking out my ring}{realizing that steven was the guy dale is talking about here}{sooo happy}{terrible iphone picture- but.. it is SOO pretty}BUT- the most amazing part of our engagement was the fact that Steven gotten ahold of Dale to photograph the whole thing. I am so thankful for the pictures because they seriously capture our special moment perfectly and I will always have them remember our engagement.

After I called all of my friends we then went to Bordino's to be suprised (yet again). Steven had arranged for both of our families and my two closest friends to be there to celebrate with us! I honestly could not ask for a more perfect engagement. I am the luckiest and quite possibly the happiest girl in the world!

A special shout out to Dale Benfield for being one of the most thoughtful, caring, and giving (just to name a few) people that we know! The pictures are just breathtaking and give me chills everytime I look at them! We are SO beyond excited to work with you and your sweet fiance for the next...well LONG time until our big day! Thank you so much again!

Also, thank you to all of our wonderful and supportive family and friends who helped sweet little Steven make our day so special! We love you all so very much!!!