There is dog hair EVERYWHERE

Literally.

There is dog hair everywhere.

Even in my foot.

You read that correctly.

I have gotten dog hair splinters several times.

Yes, I feel absolutely ridiculous saying that I get dog hair stuck in the heel of my foot.

This weekend I got one so bad that it was starting to bruise my foot.

It looked like Tom was doing surgery on my foot to get it out. He had a head lamp, tweezers, nail clippers, and a needle to dig that sucker out of my foot. That single piece of hair was half an inch. That little bugger.

Doing rudimentary surgery on your significant others foot is love.

Trusting your significant other with above items to dig out a dog hair is love. (Although he did live in a place without doctors for 6 months)

This is love.

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These are the moments we see right before we go to sleep now. A beautiful embrace in their slumber.

I love them so much.

Even if it means I have a dirty house with the never ending layer of dog hair no matter how much we sweep and wipe things down.

Even if it means that we now have  two full size comforters on the bed because only one means that Tom and I are never comfortable sleeping.

Even if it means on a regular basis I have a dog hair splinters.

Those rare moments seen here make me love them despite all that.

I am taking in these moments of love.

Autumn on My Mind-Fall Date Night

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“A Date With Autumn”

  • What would be the perfect date night you can only do in fall in your area? Are there go to places for couples?

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

Ok so I didn’t exactly follow the prompt with an activity that you can only do in the fall. I just think it is better done during the fall because of the cooler weather and scenery.

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We went horseback riding last week. I have not been since high school, so it was a little nerve-wracking when they gave me the horse that is usually skittish and likes to bite people. Awesome…

But Sue (mine) and Ranger (Tom’s) were our pals for our hour long ride. It was a fun afternoon doing something a little bit different. Although my legs were not happy with me for several days after. Sue made sure that I remembered her long after I got off.

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There are riding stables here on base that provides trail rides every weekend from March until December. They also do carriage rides every Friday and advertise that as date night. Tom and I wanted to be part of the “action” instead of just sitting there, so we opted to actually ride and control the horses.

The stables are two minutes from our house, and I drive by them every day to work. I have been pining over the opportunity to ride.

It is $20 to ride, which is a little more than we spend on our average date nights. We did make a deal that once a month we would do something “bigger” and not just a dinner date night, so this fit the bill.

It was perfect weather since you really want to wear long pants and shirt when riding. We rode all through the back woods of base, which Tom continued to scout for deer tracks. (I have become a hunter’s wife…)

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We stopped by the horse pasture on afternoon too. We got permission to go inside and get pretty close to the horses. This was so much fun to watch these beautiful animals up close.

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What do you think they are thinking?

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Do those people have food?

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So pretty.

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I love watching them gallop past us.

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This guy was really curious about us.

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Such a gorgeous horse, and really friendly.

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And then he didn’t want anything to do with us once he realized that we didn’t have food.

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I loved the patches on this one.

Dating is really important even when you are married. We try to do one thing each week to focus on our marriage and relationship. Each date is new adventure for us.

Just this week we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for date night. Right beside us was an old couple on their date night. While Tom was in the little boys room, they leaned over and asked how the daiquiri was that I was drinking. They were thinking about switching over from the margaritas they were downing. This sparked up a conversation that just really made the night for me. They told me how they met after their first spouses had passed. The man told me that the woman was making him try new things and getting him out the door as they both giggled and winked at each other. Adorable. The man had been a medic in the Navy, and the woman had been an Army wife for 30 years. We ended up talking for awhile and had a sweet and endearing conversation. It was delightful. When Tom and I left, we were so touched by this couple.

Never stop dating. There are always new things to experience, and relationships to deepen. So whether it is dinner out or game night in, it is really important to make time for each other and your relationship.

So what do your date nights look like?

We hope to see you return on Thursday for your Fall Food Must! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Coach to Cure MD

I never was one to put famous stars pictures on my wall growing up. I didn’t watch Carson Daily or read Seventeen magazine. It never made sense to me to get all up in arms for these stars.

That is until I started crushing on a football coach. I swoon over Dabo Sweeney. I am all about putting his picture on my wall. He is my version of JT or Nick Lachey.

It is no secret that I am in love with Dabo Sweeney, and I get made fun of all the time for it. Whatevs. It may be a little odd, but I seriously love Dabo. I squealed like a teenage girl the TWO times I have met him (hugged him).

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I practically jumped over tables to get to him for this picture.

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I was shaking uncontrollably after this picture I was so nervous and thrilled since this was the first time I met him.

He started his career as head coach at Clemson during my first year in grad school. So it was fun to be there for his career rise. I think that he is a great person/coach from the few speeches I have been privileged to hear in person. And then just watching a couple, (several dozen), ESPN/YouTube clips with his compassion and coaching philosophy, how can you just not fall deeper in love with him? The obsession only rises each week.

Today, Dabo and Clemson, along with 624 other schools, are participating in Coach to Cure MD. You will see them wearing these patches today.

CTCMDlogo_2012email4I have talked about Duchenne a few times with the story of T.J. (here and here). It is so great to see so many rallying around these kids to find a way to help them have stronger and longer lives. I was unfamiliar with this until heard T.J.’s story, so I know that many others are unaware of Duchenne. So the more awareness and support the better!

Here are a few inspirational stories.

Coach to Cure MD

T.J.

I am still in the process of fundraising for PPMD. My goal is to raise $900 by my next half marathon on Oct 19th. Please consider joining me and hundreds of coaches around the country today to Tackle Duchenne. Here is my personal fundraising page, and all donations go directly to PPMD and are tax deductible. Any amount is appreciated by me and the families experiencing Duchenne every day.

I hope you all are having a great Saturday watching your team of choice. Although, I wish I was there, I am enjoying the Clemson homecoming game!

Friday Filter-TV Premiere Week 2

Here is round two of my initial reactions to season openers!

Castle

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This is my favorite show that is currently on TV. It has drama, romance, and humor. I love cop dramas, and this show puts a different twist on it with an author who shadows NYPD as the main character. I wrote about my obsession here, and I am beyond ecstatic that there is new content in my life. AND SHE SAID YES! (Sorry I spoiled it for you.) However, with the long distance relationship, obviously they are heading towards some hard times. There is some new hilarity going on with the added layer of the FBI. I just love the quirky flirtation. I think that Becket will end up back in New York by the end of the season. I think they are showing a different side of Beckett now though with the engagement/relationship with Castle. She doesn’t seem so rough at the edges, which is nice to see her a little softer and showing some smiles. And you can tell that this distance is making Castle cukoo. He doesn’t like being left out of the loop or “waiting in the car.” This provides some opportunities for great one liners/moments. It was a fantastic first episode, and it mentioned the new book, which I need to get…Seriously is this real life?

Nashville

This is a phenomenal show. Who doesn’t love Connie Britton? This is the second season for the show, and there is no way they are dying anytime soon. The season premiere was great. It was just enough drama to keep you entertained, but not too much that you feel that it went overboard. They did a few flashbacks to show the early days of Deacon and Rayna. Loved it! It was great insight on their love but how Deacon’s issues with alcohol poisoned their future. I am interested to see if Juliette will use the information she found out from Rayna’s daughter against Rayna down the road. Juliette has some genuine moments, but most of the time she is so blinded by her need for attention that she doesn’t always make the best decisions. I also don’t want Scarlett and Avery together, so I hope they don’t go back to that. It seemed to me that they may have foreshadowed her going back to Gunner since they sung together at the Blue Bird. Have I confused you enough? This show is full of sex, drugs, and country music. It’s a country prime time version of a soap opera. I will say it is really fun being this close to Nashville too. It’s like I am really living in the world…yea? Ok maybe not, but it’s still fun none the less. I will say that I want to see more of Rayna’s daughters singing. They are the best!

Grey’s Anatomy

I am so over this show. I have been watching since it aired 10 seasons ago, so I feel like I need to watch it until then end. I think the actors are great, but the story lines seem to be one uppers each week. “How high can we go this week? What outlandish crash/disease/scandal can we come up with?” Don’t get me wrong, I am invested (which is why I come back week after week), but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. The season opener was no different. Heather (who I remember from the movie Andre) and Richard were electrocuted, so in the midst of the mudslide everyone is on edge with personal emotions all over the place. Ridiculous. All I know is, I would never want to work at the hospital. You either get cheated on or you die. That is some bad luck. Kepner is my favorite doctor. I just love her crazy spasticness and how she loves big. I really wanted her with Avery but I can do with this other guy too…I just want her to be happy. She is even more fun when she is throwing her positivity on everyone. That hospital needs a little happiness.

There are several shows that came out this week that are in the DVR waiting to be watched. Apparently, everything is on Thursday nights this year, and I could only commit to watching one last night. Problems of a T.V. junkie…

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

Come back on Sunday for “Autumn on My Mind.” Sunday’s episode is about fall date activities that you can do in your community. You can see the full schedule here.

Autumn on my Mind-Fall Fashion

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“Fall Fashion Trends”

  • Do you have go to styles that you wear only during fall months? Share your favorite styles and help inspire all of us to be more creative with our fall attire and what we have in our closets.

Rules of the Link-up:

1. Do one entry or all! It’s up to you!

2. Add your entry’s link below, and be sure to put the button in your post!

3. If you do link up, check out a couple fellow bloggers to see something new.

4. Your hosts (Elizabeth and Stephanie) would love a following on Bloglovin, but it is not required! We are just glad you stopped by for “Autumn on My Mind!”

Here is my “gift” to the fashion world.

I have never really considered myself a fashionista. I do like to color coordinate and mix and match different hues, so sometimes my outfits seem experimental with the pairing. I would like to think that I pull it off though! A lot of this comes while growing up we didn’t shop for clothes very often, so I had to be creative with swapping around articles of clothing to “make” new outfits. And it has just kind of grown up with me into my adult wardrobe. (Although, I will admit that I shop a little bit more these days with online shopping at my fingertips. Thank you Modcloth. and Shopruche)

And one thing that can spice up any outfit like new are scarves. Yes for fall! Although, I have been wearing them all summer because my office is like an ice cube, and these make nice office blankets. Now I just don’t look like an oddball walking into work.

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I have scarves from all over. Tom even got me a few from Afghanistan! I have around 25 different ones that I have collected over the years, mostly getting them at markets or on the fall sales. Very rarely did I pay over 5 dollars for one of these. This handy hanger (from IKEA) makes choosing one to wear easier, or harder since I can see them all, and love them all.

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This is my newest scarf found at Walmart for 6 bucks!

These are some other fall favorites from my closet that I wore in the last week.

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Yellow and blue were our wedding colors, and some how I find myself in this color combo quite a bit. It’s even better with the boots!

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This shirt has elephants on it, favorite! I love that cranberry red is everywhere in the fall. It has much more of a romantic feel to it than regular primary red.

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Crosby really wanted to be part of the photo shoot.

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I love this shirt because it encompasses all the colors of fall in one cute whimsical top. And it has a scarf attached!

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I am not the best model because I am not sure how to pose myself. Anywho, I love this casual outfit, and the fact that my shoes match my scarf!

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I just love everything about this outfit. I probably have about as many cardigans that I have scarves, and I love them equally as much.

   So there you have it. A little piece of my wardrobe documented for you!

We hope to see you return on Thursday for your Fall Date Night! You can see the full schedule for our Autumn link up here.

Check out my lovely partner!

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