10 days...10 pictures

3. I love Diet Coke. I don't let myself have as much of it as my body wishes, but I love it. God bless you Coca-Cola Company, God bless you.

10 days...10 pictures

2. This my BFF Jamie and I at dinner in Nashville a couple of weeks ago. We went to college together and have been best buds ever since. LOVE her!

10 days...10 pictures

Over the next 10days I'll post 10 pictures of things/people I love. Enjoy!

 1. My sweet boy, Bourke. He turned 7 last month. I just adore him.

10 pound showdown update...

It's been 2 days and I'm down 2 pounds. Kris (the husband) says he's down 5 pounds. I don't believe him. I think he's trying to fake me out. He doesn't know it, but I'm onto him.

Also, the Lent chocolate thing is totally working out. I've even managed to stay away from almost all sweets. Yay me!

I'll update on the challenge again soon!

Garner 10 Pound Showdown

Dictionary.com defines "garner" in this way - to gather or deposit; to get or acquire; to collect or hoard.

Garner just so happens to be my husband's last name (and half of my last name) and both of us just so happened to have garnered a few extra pounds over the course of our 5+ year relationship. Here's the scoop...

I've put on 5-6 pounds since beginning law school in Fall 2008. I've put on about 10 pounds since Fall 2007. I know, disgusting. Granted, my Fall 2007 weight was a little too small for me, but I loved it! To stay that size I was forced to eat healthy every single meal and exercise about 6 times a week. It was hard work. Slowly, over the course of a year, I'd put on 4-5 pounds.

Then law school happened. Forget free time. Forget a normal schedule. Hell, forget normal, period. For 3 years. Now that I've graduated, taken the bar exam, started a new job, passed the bar exam, gotten married, and purchased (put a contract on) a new house (what can say, 2011 was a good year!) I can get back into what was "normal" for me.

To make things more interesting, my husband and I will be competing to lose weight. The person who loses the the highest percentage of weight wins. Wins what, I don't know. Needless to say he's going down! Doesn't he know I'm a lawyer so I'm used to being miserable!

So, what's the 10? 10 pounds in 2 months. Ready, set, go!

Ash Wednesday

To day is Ash Wednesday, so for the past few days I've been thinking about what, if anything, I would give up for Lent. Some years I give something up, some years I don't. I decided I would give something up this year, but I couldn't decide what exactly. I settled on chocolate. I eat way too much chocolate. I love it. I try to be healthy, but chocolate is my vice. Big time.

After mulling my decision over for a couple more days, I decided chocolate would be too hard. In my mind, there was no way I could make it without chocolate for over a month. Then I stopped. I realized that Jesus gave up his life and God gave up his son so that I could have everlasting life. And I am worried about not having chocolate?! I felt pathetic. Worse than pathetic. What kind of believer am I that instead of showing God how grateful I am and striving to become closer to him I choose a lump of cocoa and sugar? This was a serious life moment for me.

All that being said, I am giving up chocolate. The Thin Mints I ordered (that just happened to have come in yesterday) will have to wait. I serve a loving God and I know he will see me through.

Here are 10 facts about Lent...

1. Ash Wednesday is a day of repentance.

2. Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of Lent.

3. During Lent, one commits to fasting or giving up certain luxuries as a form of penitence. 

4. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the 3 major characteristics of Lent and how people celebrate it.

5. Many people also choose to give up a vice, becoming closer to God.

6. The 6th Sunday of Lent, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week.

7. Holy Week is the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter.

8. Ashes marked in a cross on foreheads signify mourning and repentance before God.

9. The ashes used are from burned palms from the previous Palm Sunday.

10. Ashes were used in biblical times to express or mark mourning. 

Presidents' Day - 10 Things You Never Knew

1. It began in the 1880s when George Washington's Birthday, February 22 (or is it? See number 9), was celebrated as a federal holiday.

2. 1968, Congress voted to move a number of holidays to Monday so that laborers could have several long weekends throughout the year.

3. Presidents' Day is now celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February each year.

4. Also, in 1968, it was proposed that Washington's Birthday be renamed to Presidents' Day to honor Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday is February 12.  That change was rejected.

5. Although Congress voted to change Washington's Birthday to be celebrated on Monday, the change did not take effect until 1971.

6. Even though Congress rejected the name change, but Washington's Birthday is commonly known as Presidents' Day.

7. In Washington's home state of Virginia, the day is legally known as George Washington Day.

8. Tennessee (along with California, Idaho, and Texas) renamed Washington's Birthday to Presidents' Day.

9. There is some debate as to whether George Washington's actual birthday is February 22 or February 11.

10. Now, Presidents' Day is most well known for marketing campaigns and 3 day retail sales.

Thanks to History.com, Wikipedia, and About.com for the info!

Cool Things That Happened To Me Today

Counting my blessings. Here are 10 good things that happened today.

1. I got to wear jeans. Hallelujah for casual Fridays!

2. I did not get stopped at a single red light on the way to work.

3. The sun shining on my face this afternoon felt amazing! (even if I was only outside for 5 minutes)

4. I sat in on a conference call and didn't feel as lost as last year's Easter egg. (maybe I did learn something in law school?!)

5. The top I ordered from Banana Republic shipped! (Check it out here)

6. I'm on day 3 of the same nail polish and I still don't have any chips! (Rimmel London Grey Matter)

7. I remembered to bring my lunch to work.

8. I started making plan for a trip to Jamaica (I think we might stay here)

9. My third day hair didn't look like third day hair. (I love this dry shampoo!)

10. I found a clothing website with the cutest stuff. (Love this website!)

My new blog

Welcome to my new blog. Here, I will post 10 random things in which I am interested. Or in some cases obsessed! I hope I'll post daily, but I'll definitely post once a week! I hope you enjoy!

To start, here are 10 things you should know about me...

10. I am from a huge family and I love that!

9. I try to eat a healthy diet and exercise often. (operative word in that sentence is try)

8. I am a corporate attorney for a home shopping network. (I love my job!)

7. I am a brunette, but my boss tells me I remind him of legally blonde. (I think he meant this as a compliment. At least I hope he did!)

6. I paint my fingernails about 4x a week.

5. I am a Tennessee Vol. (It's great to be a Tennessee Vol!)

4. I am obsessed with celebrity news/gossip.

3. My husband and I are in the process of buying/building our first home. (Shoot me in the face.)

2. I am married to the coolest guy ever. (well, maybe not the coolest, but definitely the cutest!)

1. I'm a work in progress. (Praise the Lord for his grace abundant!)