chance made us sisters, hearts made us best friends....

us...

this little beauty is turning 19 tomorrow!

so i wanted to devote a little post to her....

i can not believe how quick she grew up!
she is my little sis and she is 8 years younger than me...

i never would've guessed we'd grow up and be the very best of friends!!
these days we spend SO much time together!
now that it's summer i'm guessing we will be together almost every weekend...
doin our thang, layin out by the pool.

this girl could provide endless hours of entertainment...

she has mad dancing skills... she can be sassy...

has a heart of gold...

she is beautiful inside and out!

we are always having fun together...

i would truly be lost without her.

she is always here for me and is mature beyond her years.

sometimes she gets silly ideas....

i'm overprotective of her although she is one strong cookie and knows how to handle herself.

besties forever :)

old school pics...

i love you my baby sis and bestest friend forever :)

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY!!!!

workin it out wednesday...

hi sweet ladies!

i hope everyone is having a great week!

mine has been crazy busy, once again.

our home is almost all put back together,

i can't wait to show ya'll how the flooring

on our upper level turned out...i L.O.V.E. it!!

last week i posted on my workout routine,

waking up at 4:30 every morning

to hit the gym with my sis.

i worked out both saturday and sunday as well,

just not at 5 in the a.m.

this week my sis and i decided to do something a little different.

we don't want to be totally worn out from waking at 4:30,

esp her since she works and is in school.

also both of us have a hard time getting to sleep by 10.

so, our new routine is going to be:

sunday - gym day

monday - day off

tuesday - at home workout (shred or biggest loser cardio max)

wednesday - gym day

thursday - same as tues

friday - gym day

saturday - gym day

so we will be hittin the gym hard 4 days a week
and working out 2 days at home.

i enjoy doing my biggest loser cardio max dvd!

it's a great leg/butt workout with all the different lunges.

i track all my food here...

http://www.livestrong.com/

if you have never used this site and like

to track your calories and workouts, i highly suggest it!

i am attempting to eat less carbs than i normally

do although it's not always easy.

some of the things i've been snacking on are...

flax seed (mixed with shakes or in salads)
protein shakes (post workout)
hard boiled eggs
fat free cottage cheese
low fat string cheese
morning star farms veggie burgers/chik'n patties
tuna with trader joe’s pretzel slims
steamed veggies

chicken (other lean meats)

berries

lemon water (click)

for dinner billy and i always cook and eat a meal together.
if we have something that is higher in carbs i will take a small portion and fill up on other things, such as veggies/salad.

when it comes to beverages,
water is my #1 choice!
i drink around 100 ounces a day.

after the first week of working out i am down 1 pound.
i set a goal for myself to lose 5-7 pounds by june 1st.
which gives me 6 weeks total.

off to work now...
i'm hoping to catch up on some blogs today/tonight.
happy wednesday friends!!

(i apologize for the long post, it's mainly a journal for me to keep track of what i'm doing)
photo - bing

TOP 2 TUESDAY...SUMMER FAVES!!

This weeks Top 2 Tuesday is 2 favorite things about

SUMMER!!

i pretty much heart every.little.thing about summer!!

i guess i'll attempt to narrow it...

1. cookouts!

summer drinks and foods are definitely faves!!!

fruity cocktails...

we spend a lot of time at my parent's house during the summer...

we enjoy fresh watermelon...

we grill every sunday, unless it's raining...

sometimes we even move the grill to the garage ;)

who doesn't love a yummy kabob...

hot dogs and burgers are always a fave!

chicken and steak are always in the mix as well...

we include lots of pasta salads and potato salad as well!

my absolute favorite summer food is corn on the cob!

LOVE IT!!

tastes the best grilled! delish!

2. swimming/laying out

this also takes place at my parent's house!

i quite literally spend all my free time at my parent's house in the summer!!

i love it over there and so do gus and billy!

even though gus is a big hair ball and black he insists on being outside with me.

sometimes we dip the pups feet in the pool too attempt to cool them off...

my sister, mom and i spend countless hours laying poolside over the weekends :)

dominic loves playing in the water as well, we usually set up a baby pool for him to play in.

i just love being around my family!!

living less than 5 minutes away from them allows us to spend a lot of time together.

i had more photos to share but the macbook is being lame tonight :(

okay time to eat, i'm starving after this post! ha!

head on over to the undomestic momma's blog to play along!!

food photos from google images

5 questions friday...

It is FRIDAY night....not even 7:00 yet and I'm BEAT!

As in so tired, I could lay down right now and sleep for the night....

It might have something to do with the fact that I've been waking up a tad early and hitting the treadmill by 5:00 a.m. every day this week.

No complaints here though, I am proud of myself ;)

I think it's just caught up to me and I am sleeeeepy!

Billy has hockey tonight and will not be home late so I'm going to be relaxing and hitting the sheets extra early.

I decided to play along for the first time with Five Question Friday <----click on the link to check out an adorable blog!!

now for the questions....

1. What was the first car you owned?

I had a Mercury Cougar just like the car in the photo above!

i LOVED this car!

I was able to get it in High School with the help of my parents :)

2. What song are you embarrassed to know the lyrics to?

Pretty sure I know ALL the lyrics to EVERY song on this album...yup

3. Have you ever had stitches?

I have had stitches more than once...

first time i was 2 years told, i fell off a couch onto a toy and had to stitches on my forehead...

the second time i was 4 and i was climbing my dresser and fell backwards and cracked my head open...

lastly, i had STAPLES - not stitches- when i was 18 because the crack in my head was too deep.

i fainted in a garage and hit my head on cement.

hurts just thinking about it...

4. What was your first job?

My first job was at a daycare.

i LOVED that job!

i LOVE working with kids, always have and always will.

i can not wait to be a MOMMY! :)

5. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?

hmmm....i think ELMO is adorable.

but growing up BIG BIRD was always my fave!

i had a big bird birthday party when i was 3 or 4.

i had a big bird big wheel.

big bird clothing.

i love big bird....

the end.

p.s. HAPPY FRIDAY, i hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend!

remember - you are B-E-A-U-TI-FUL!! :)

photos found on google images

ya'll gave me suggestions and i listened...

Thank you ladies for giving your input on my excuses, excuses, excuses post! I really appreciate it and I think reading all your comments was just the motivation I needed!

Today marked my third day in a row waking up at 4:40 to get the gym by 4:55 and on the treadmill or elliptical at 5:00 am!!

I never thought I could wake up that early to workout and I thought the people who did had to be crazy ;)
A lot of you suggested I give that a try since I have different things going on in the evening or I have my nights I am just plain lazy.
I have to admit it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be to wake up that early!

Some of you also suggest I have a workout buddy. I told my sister that I wanted to start working out in the mornings and she said she did as well. She goes to school and works so the only time for her to work out is early morning as well! How perfect!!

We are both independent when it comes to working out but it’s so nice to be able to meet her there and for us to hold each other accountable. We meet at 4:55 and both do our own thing and leave at 5:55.

I also partnered up with another blogger! We are having a little competition. The first person to reach a goal point (that we made up) will get a prize!! That’s extra motivation! It’s fun to keep in touch with her to make sure we both stay on track as well!

I have been eating much better over the past week and plan to do a post soon on my new eating habits. I am really hoping to drop a few pounds since swimsuit season is just about upon us!!

Anywho, I hope everyone is having a great week!! Mine has been busy!!

Tonight Billy and I have Dominic, tomorrow for work we are going to a Minnesota Twins baseball game in their new outdoor stadium and it is supposed to be 70 and sunny! Woo Hoo!! I’ll get to leave working early once that is over. My parents will be coming over that evening for survivor and pizza (I will be eating one piece!) ;) and we will be setting up for a garage sale we are having Friday and Saturday. I’m so glad I have a three day weekend, even though it will be busy. Billy has a hockey tournament again this weekend for a group of kids he coaches so he’ll be busy with that. Billy has also gotten started on projects around the house! There is just a lot going on right now….

photos - bing

observations...

My was spent running errands, going to a few games for a hockey tournament, eating out (naughty, naughty), one too many drinks on Saturday night, fun company, a few hours laying in the sun with my sister and ended with dinner at my parents house and finally falling asleep in the best spot ever, my B’s arms. I woke up this morning to find Gus in my closet sleeping in the laundry basket, on his back….cutest thing ever!

I got an email this morning about some 30 interesting observations….I thought I’d share thoughts on some of them as they related to my weekend/every day life…

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
*This weekend Kelly (another coach’s wife) and I had to navigate to a rink. When we printed directions it said 51 minutes so we decided to time it and with our detour for bagels and coffee it was a total of 50 minutes. Maybe mapquest knew we would be stopping?! ;)

10. Bad decisions make good stories.
*Bad decision – 2 grown men on a ducati
*Good story - Billy and his friend both got on his motorcycle and Billy took him for a ride….can you imagine two guys on a sport bike? The other guy did have to wrap his arms around Billy and had to hold on tight…they also passed a trooper! & They almost tipped over in the driveway but they were able to keep the bike up with their own legs....men are not always smart, ha. Myself and the other guy’s wife got quite the laugh out of this as we can’t imagine them doing this, ever. I only wish I could’ve gotten a picture!!

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
*This happens to me every.single.day! Can ya’ll relate?

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -ever.
*For me it means, I will wash on the “gentle cycle” and hang dry…then throw in the dryer for a fluffing. I had to wash a coat this weekend that was dry clean only, it came out perfect.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
*I was honestly thinking that this weekend!! We keep a lot more in our freezers than our fridges and I think a light would be nice!

22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
*Every time I get home from Target I try to do this. It might take me a few minutes to get up the stairs with all the weight of the bags but I can usually make it, ha.
If I have paper bags, which I prefer, I can’t do this.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
*no further words needed….

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,but no matter what the mode of transportation,I always hate cyclists.
*I walk a few blocks to work in the morning from the bus and I can totally relate to this, drivers and cyclists are in their own world! I’ve seen someone get hit by a car while walking across the street.

anywho….I hope every one had a wonderful weekend!

Have a great day!! :)

you asked for them....

love always....

me

jsut wanted to give ya'll short and simple post on the extensions!

i have SO much work to do before 2!

i will be catching up on blogs over the weekend :)

p.s. i really feel silly taking self-timer portraits.
i'm insecure and i always think they look so funny! ha! oh well...

about me in three(s)

i have not been tagged to play this fun little "get to know me" post but i keep seeing it around the bloggy world AND i have nothing better to blog about today and time to blog so there....

Three names I go by:

1. Annie

2. Ann (billy/my brother call me this sometimes)

3. hunny bunny/baby/boo (pet names from my B)

Three jobs I have had:

1. Infant room assistant at a daycare (favorite job!)

2. Shoe sales (selling old women ugly shoes)

3. Legal Assistant (currently)

Three Places I have lived:

1. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

2. Sioux City, Iowa

3. Apple Valley, Minnesota (currently)

Three favorite drinks:

1. Water

2. Diet Mt. Dew

3. Vodka w/ Light Lemonade

Three TV shows I watch:

1. GLEE!!!

2. Tori & Dean

3. Real Housewives (all of them)

Three places I have been:

1. Aruba

2. St. Thomas

3. NYC

Three places I would like to visit:

1. Disney World

2. Turks and Cacaos

3. Vegas - I have been before but I want to go back with Billy

I am not really into traveling, I wouldn’t mind going on a vacation one bit but I am a home body….Billy and I have never traveled more than 20-30 minutes from home due to very busy schedules. Now that Billy has a new “job” maybe we will get to go somewhere :)

Three people who text me regularly:

1. Billy

2. My sis, Ally

3. Twitter (always blowin’ up my phone!)

Three favorite old TV shows:

1. Saved By The Bell

2. Full House

3. Anything on Nickelodeon (wild and crazy kids, what would you do, hey dude…)

Three favorite dishes:

1. Pizza

2. Chips and Salsa (chilis/el azteca)

3. Anything grilled, steak, hotdogs, burgers -love that it's grilling season!

i have a million favorites, food is just simply my favorite ;)

Three makeup products I cannot live without:

1. Mascara

2. Black eyeliner

3. Bronzer

i really could not live without ALL of my makeup, its a need!

Three things I'm looking forward to:

1. Getting married to my one and only :)

2. KIDDOS

3. Being at stay at home mommy (fingers crossed)

go ahead and play along! :)

happy wednesday ladies!!

excuses, excuses, excuses....

i make excuses every.single.day on why i can't go to the gym.

i sit at work and i am totally motivated to go to the gym.

by the time i get home all ambitions are gone.

i have not one good excuse.

the gym i work out at is within walking distance from our home.

only 2-3 blocks away.

i still can't drag my lazy bum over there.

yesterday i didn't go because billy had hockey.

i wanted to be home with our pup.

i sat on the couch all night and read blogs!

me = sluggish

today it's raining and gloomy outside.

that automatically makes me want to sit around and do nothing tonight.

again, me = slacker

i know exactly how tonight will go....

i'll get home from work, chat with the stay-at-home daddy...

i'll throw in a load of laundry....

make spaghetti n meatballs for din...

then plop down on the couch for the night...

GLEE the best show ever is on!

i might read a blog or two as well ;)

i hope some day to get my motivation back.

i used to love the gym, that was just a few short months ago.

i miss running, lifting weights, doing my workout dvd's.

i just have no desire to get up and go anymore.

i think i need to challenge myself but doing it alone is not easy.

billy gets workouts in by skating for hours.

he doesn't care what he eats either.

he'll go to BK and grab a whopper jr before going to the rink.

he also doesn't mind eating dinner at midnight.

if i'm going to do this it will be all on me.

my eating habits are shot right now and i need to turn those around asap!

i realized i ate out 3 times over the weekend, that is NOT good!

you would think that being a bride in 5 months would be all the motivation i need...

ha! not.so.much

okay, enough complaining from me...
maybe ya'll can help me out ;)
what motivates you?

what songs are you listening to while at the gym these days?

p.s. if you are not on the GLEE train, you need to be...so hop on!

just a few things....

happy monday :) (blah!)

so much for thinking we were going to have a laid back weekend...
we ended up staying quite occupied.

FRIDAY
i got off work early to get my hair done!
i got EXTENSIONS!
now my "secret", is an every day secret...
instead of one i just clip-in on the weekends ;)
i love having long hair!

after my hair appt. i met billy at home depot
and we ordered new flooring for the upstairs of our townhouse.
i am loving the flooring we ordered...

it's laminate wood and billy is going to attempt to install it himself since he is a stay at home daddy now ;)
after the depot we headed to buffalo wild wings for a beer and wings, num!
we went home and watched some tv and looked up some more home improvement ideas.
then billy wanted an ice cream cone.
so we went to mcdonalds with this little guy... they chowed a vanilla cone ;)
after the cone we watch wanda sykes stand up comedy, she is hilarious!

SATURDAY
i cleaned house.
did some laundry.
ran a few errands.
then my sis and i went to dinner at this place....i had seen this place on friday and took the pic to send to my sis.
we heart panda express and there is a new one in a strip mall near us!
after din we went and watched one of billy's hockey teams practice.
he ended up going out with some of the other coaches after,
i was beat after a day of shopping and cleaning so i was in bed by 10.

SUNDAY
i woke up early and met my sweet friend cystal, gal who does my hair.
we went to a strip mall for some shopping!
we went to old navy, tjmax, famous footwear, pier one and claires.
i got a few fun things! :)
gotta love a morning of shopping, esp when it is 70 degrees out and sunny!
billy called me around 2 and invited me to come to lunch with another coach and his wife.
we always have a great time hanging out with them.
we sat outside at old chicago and enjoyed the warm weather, great food and company for a little over 2 hours!
we went home for an hour, grabbed gussy and headed to my parents house for family dinner night.
we weren't all that hungry since we had such a late lunch but it's always nice to spend time with the fam! :) dominic, of course, is always the entertainment.
i fell asleep on the couch at home around 9:30, our laid back weekend totally wore me out ;)

i hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!!

p.s. GLEE starts tomorrow!!!!

(all crappy photos taken with my palmpre)

it's a beautiful morning....

photos found via photobucket...

then edited by me.