Insomnia...

So these steroids that I'm taking right now for the Bell's are making me completely miserable! I, for the life of me, cannot sleep. I have this horrible nervous, anxious, restless feeling, too. I'm just so pitiful. In the past 24 hours, I have slept (more like dozed) only about 4. Hopefully by the end of the week I will feel a little bit better. After tomorrow, I will get to gradually lower the dosage. I pray relief comes SOON!!!

But in the midst of my blog reading insomnia, I realized I didn't get back to my progress on the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred program. It was going pretty well for the first 20 days. I progressed smoothly all the way up to level III. However, in the midst of doing a portion of the plyometrics one day, I injured my lower back sending shooting pains down the backs of both my legs. This lasted for about 10 days or so & gradually faded away. So I decided to wait till I felt better to start it up again. I did level I again on New Year's Day & also ran/walked 3 miles. Saturday I repeated level I & Sunday I did a different DVD of hers that I got for Christmas. I did the Banish Fat Boost Metabolism workout. This workout was about 40 minutes long, unlike the 30 Day Shred which is only 20 minutes. I took a break today, though, just because of how I've been feeling & sleeping. So anyway from doing 20 days of the 30 day Shred, I definitely didn't lose 20 pounds (not like I expected to!) But I definitely feel stronger & more fit. Hopefully from doing a combination of these 3 workouts over the next month I will continue to improve...

These are the two new DVDs that I got in my stocking this year. Haven't done the No More Trouble Zones workout yet. Maybe tomorrow...if I can sleep!

Auld Lang Syne

New Year - New Opportunities! (Hopefully)

We had a wonderful, quiet little New Year's Eve. We stayed at home in Athens - just the four of us. We cooked dinner, watched movies, and watched some of the New Year countdown shows. Nothing too exciting, but still fun. I hadn't been feeling well all week so it was nice to have Will home & just relax.

Our Sparkling Grape Juice all ready for midnight!

Will counting down the New Year with Missy.

New Year's kiss
Does Missy not have the cutest little wink?!

Toasting the New Year with our wedding flutes.

The girls couldn't make it much past midnight.

New Year's Day:

So New Year's Eve was fun & all, but New Year's Day was not what I hoped this "fresh start" would be! That morning we woke up & cooked a big breakfast. We watched movies, ate hot dogs for lunch, went for a run, & just had fun being at home together on Will's day off. On Thursday, I had noticed that my eyes were feeling funny. It was strange - I couldn't shut my left eye very well & even in the sunlight, it didn't squint like my other one.


New Year's evening at about 9:30, I went to brush my teeth and noticed that my the left side of my mouth was not working right. I could only do a half smile & I just knew something was wrong. Of course, I FREAKED out! I called my mom in a panic, Will googled it online, & we finally decided that I better go to the emergency room just to get things checked out. I knew that if I waited until the next morning that I would never be able to sleep that night. But the emergency room?!? I started crying. I just knew they were going to draw blood or give me shots in the face or something.

We got to Athens Regional Medical Center, checked in, & before we even sat down in the waiting room, a nurse was there to take us on back. I got right back into a room & they hooked me up to all the monitors. The doctor finally came in, did some tests, & determined that I had Bell's Palsy. This is just basically a dysfunction in a nerve that controls the facial muscles on that one side. They don't really know what causes it, but they put me on some steroids, an antiviral medication, and gave me some eye cream (all for over $200!!!) My left eyelid is not working so I have to tape it shut at night. =( They told me it should all go away in 2 to 4 weeks or so...hopefully. And thankfully, there were no needles involved!

So here is what my face looks like...DON'T LAUGH! =(

You can see that my left eye sort of appears to be stuck open, but it actually looks pretty normal in this picture. Will says it looks like I'm winking all the time because when I blink, only one eyelid moves. And obviously my smile is crooked because the muscles in my face are so weak. You can't tell there is anything wrong unless I'm smiling or laughing, though.

Needless to say, I'm not off to a good start...

Another year older (*sigh*)...

Well I'm officially 24. There was no turning back -- no stopping it. I have decided to face the fact that I can't change how old I am & to deal with it (at least till next year...25 is gonna be a tough one!)

Overall, this Christmas was a pretty good one. We made all our rounds visiting family & friends, but I'm so sad that Will is back to work already. I enjoyed having him home for a long 4 day weekend, though.

So anyway here is how we spent our holiday weekend...

Tuesday the 22nd:

After Will got off work, we had our little Christmas -- just the four of us. We stayed at home, exchanged gifts, and watched Elf together by our Christmas tree.

This UGA shirt was in my stocking. It is the softest t-shirt ever! I also got two Jillian Michael's exercise DVDs, underwear, a Starbucks coffee mug, & Reese's Christmas trees in my stocking. My big Christmas gift, though, was that Will paid off my credit card in full! Best gift ever! =)

Will going through his stocking! He got socks, underwear, an oven mitt & brownie mix (he loves to cook!), a new lunch box (he lost his in the wreck), a razor & razor blades, a "manly" Starbucks coffee mug, & candy.

I also ordered a bottle of wine from the winery we went to in Savannah & a quarter collecting book for the next series of quarters coming out in 2010. He loved them!

Santa also brought Missy & Tini gifts. They each got a bone & a reindeer Bo-Bo.

Tini does NOT want to share her bone with Missy!

Wednesday the 23rd:

We had to planned to go to El Sombrero to eat with my friends for my birthday and then head over to the Monkey Barrel to hear Mary Susan sing.

There was the most beautiful sunset on the drive from Athens to Gainesville!!! I knew it was gonna be a good night! =)

Two of my high school friends, Alayna & Brittany, with me at El Som.

Blythe, one of my friends from North Georgia, stopped by to say hey! It's been TOO long since I've seen her!

At midnight, Mary Susan sang Happy Birthday to me at The Monkey Barrel! Oh how I love her!!!

Mary's "audience": Molly, Erin, Me, & Brittany

With my sweet Will!

I had so much fun getting to see all my friends! I even got to see people from high school that I hadn't seen in forever. It was a good night!

Thursday the 24th (Birthday!):

The next day for my birthday Will brought me breakfast in bed. We just lounged around the entire day & watched movies. We also ordered Golden Buddha, my favorite, for dinner. The weekend before, Will took me shopping for my birthday to Dress Up Boutique (an adorable Dahlonega store that one of my sorority sisters owns) & I bought three dresses, leggings, a hat, jewelry, a scarf, and boots. He also bought me two pairs of jeans that I DESPERATELY needed! He also let me get a birthday massage! =) I got a monogrammed blanket for our bedroom, too. (I also saw Gramma earlier this week & she gave me a water lily picture that she painted herself for my birthday.) Later that night we went over to my parents house to have cake (red velvet from Green's Grocery...mmm!) My mom gave me a monogrammed market tote from Cozy Corner (the FIRST thing I have with my new initials on it) & a gift card to Pier 1. After that, we went back to Kathy's house & played games with Erin & Daniel. We also had Christmas with Kathy that night. I got a Wal-Mart gift card & a Pier 1 wallet. Kathy also gave me a brown & teal hot chocolate gift set for my birthday. Will got a Wal-Mart gift card, too, bottled Cokes & Root Beer, a NY Yankees puzzle, & the last bottle of wine in the Braves charity wine collection.

Friday the 25th (Christmas!):

On Christmas morning, we woke up & headed over to my parents house to exchange gifts. In my stocking we got marinades (Will is OBSESSED with marinades!) and a bunch of other edible treats and candies. We also got a new knife set, an Olive Garden gift card (our favorite!), a hand painted ornament, a hot chocolate gift set & mugs, and Night at the Museum II. For brunch we went over to my Grandmother's house in Gainesville. Will & I got even MORE snacks & treats, another Olive Garden gift card, a Target gift card, an ornament, & two wooden wine boxes. After heading back to Kathy's for nap time, we went over to Erin & Daniel's house. We ate dinner with them, played games, & watched a movie. We had a great Christmas!

Christmas brunch at Gramma's

Saturday the 26th:

We woke up & went shopping to take advantage of the after Christmas sale. We went to Pier 1 where I bought 21 BEAUTIFUL Christmas balls for our tree next year! They are soooooo pretty! (Thanks, Mom!) We also went to Target & bought Will a new travel coffee tumbler. That night we had two parties to go to...

Missy & Me were twins!

Party #1 was at Erin & Daniel's house. It was for Ryan's birthday (a guy that Will works with & one of Daniel's best friends).

Here's Will, Ryan, & Daniel -- "Cause they're the 3 best friends that anybody could have..."

The next party was at Brett Fowler's house (one of our good friends from high school). It was just a Christmas party for a bunch of Gainesville High School folks. There were people there from the class of 2000 all the way down to the class of 2007. Craziness!

Sunday the 27th:

We went up to Sky Valley to meet the Williams side of the family for lunch. We ate at the Dillard house! It was so good to see Will's grandparents...we haven't seen them in so long! For my birthday, Oma handmade me a quilt -- such a special gift! For Christmas she also gave me a beautiful scarf, gloves, & a Wal-Mart gift card. She also put together a little gift bag of goodies to celebrate New Years! She always gives the most thoughtful gifts!

I wanted to take a picture with little Tini since we matched, but she is scared of cameras & wanted down. She's scared of everything!

That night we headed back to Athens, unpacked & put away everything, ordered Olive Garden to go & watched The Holiday. It felt soooooooo wonderful to be back home! =)

Here are just some of the Christmas treats we got from our families! We are gonna bring in the New Year with a few extra pounds!!!

The Not-So Magical Nights of Lights

The Magical Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier Islands has been a yearly tradition for us ever since we started dating. We have made it to the lights ALMOST every single year over the past 10 Christmases that we have been together. Every year they seem to add new displays to make it even better than the year before. This year, they rerouted the driving course to expand the mileage. I'm guessing this was to make it seem even longer & even better...but it wasn't. You would think since they made it into a longer course they would add a whole lot more lights to make it bigger & brighter. Nope! It ended up being just a bunch of empty stretches of darkness instead. Some of my favorite things they have done every year were missing. It seemed as though they hadn't even finished putting everything up. Not to mention the price of the lights was almost DOUBLE what it has been the past years. I'm not sure what they were thinking this year in this horrible economy, but we tried to enjoy OUR LAST TIME EVER at the Magical Nights of Lights...

On our way...pre-disappointment.

This was one thing they added...a giant carousel. It was cool, but not worth the jacked-up price and quarter miles of darkness amidst the course.

One of my favorites over the years past...The Wizard of Oz.

Cute little ginger bread house

Long time tradition:

Will & his turkey leg; Me & my spiced apple cider

You will be missed...

Deck the halls!

Well, we are all decorated for our last Christmas in our little condo! Our first home will officially be on the market in January. It's a bit bittersweet...

Our cute little guest bathroom...

I'm obsessed with these little Christmas trees & hand towel that I found at Target last year. My favorite colors!

Our bathroom...this glass vase is filled with vintage ornaments from both of our families.

Our bedroom...we move this end table from the living room to our bedroom at Christmas to make room for the tree. This year we added this glass vase filled with jingle bells (brown & blue, of course!)

Our dining room table...this is our favorite Christmas decoration. A cute little sleigh that I found at Kirkland's (one of my all time favorite stores!)

Our kitchen...a towel that I stole from my mom. It was a teacher gift from one of her students last year.

I love my new little garland on our mantle. I bought it last year after Christmas on sale.

The candlescape on our coffee table. This candle smells like a Christmas tree since ours is artificial. It is surrounded by little gold ornaments! =)

Our tree! It has come a long way since our first Christmas!

I added bows to the tree this year...reminds me of my grandmother's tree in Toccoa.

I put jingle bells on the tree this year, too. (They're my new Christmas obsession!)

Our nutcracker collection! This year we added a pirate nutcracker to the bunch in honor of our Savannah trip that we took in August.

Little Missy...loving the Christmas blanket, of course!

On your mark, get set, Shred!

This is the 1st time in my life that I have not had free access to a gym...EVER! And for the past 6 months my body has been paying for it. So I have been having to come up with creative ways to stay fit. Don't get me wrong - I am a FIRM believer that you don't need an expensive gym membership to stay in shape! But being creative & keeping with it is a bit more challenging.

So, starting today, this is one of the creative things that I'm going to try...

I have been obsessed with Jillian Michaels ever since I watched the Biggest Loser for the first time! I love her intensity & her motivational techniques are insane! Not to mention she actually knows what she's talking about. I heard about this 30 Day Shred "deal" from a friend. You do this DVD every single day for 30 days. It claims you can lose 20 pounds in 30 days...now I don't buy that (at least not without some major eating changes - which by the way I'm not really willing to do) but I am hoping for some toning results. In reality, you don't usually see muscular differences until at least 8 weeks & you don't see significant changes in body fat until about 12 weeks...so, 30 days? We'll see! Let the Shred begin!