The definition of happiness

I was thinking about this over the weekend. "Happiness is a state of mind or feeling such as contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy." For most people-it's a state they are constantly trying to reach. It's always come so easy to me & I wonder if that's because I get excited about the littlest things in our life. I don't know what it is but I feel very lucky to be happy so often.

This weekend was amazing! Friday night Jenni & I spent together going through the Biggest Loser cookbook looking for good recipes to make. We are planning out a week's meals at a time so it's easy to come home and know what's for dinner & not be tempted to go out to eat. Saturday morning I got up early to meet Amy & the girls at Salon Ultimo in Woodbury where they were preparing for her big day. From then on I was on duty for the wedding. Everything went great & the reception was a lot of fun. I was just excited to put down the camera and relax!

Sunday I got up again (side note: yes, I am aware that I am crazy & push myself hard...but we have vacations to save for!!) and had another session in downtown Stillwater with the nicest couple-Sarah & Brandon. I love them! They recently just moved back from Alaska but both grew up here and I went to junior high & high school with Brandon. They are just the cutest couple and were a ton of fun to be around. I took a peak at some of the pictures I took of them already & they are all so good. It always feels so good to come away knowing I've had a great session, because it's what I love to do & I love when I get results that I know they will love! After the session Jay & I had lunch together and then we spent the day being very lazy (it was much needed!) We watched the Twins game & I read a little & took a nap. When I woke up we ran some errands and spent the afternoon together. It was a really nice day & I really enjoyed my company. I wanted to get some gardening done but I was too tired. Maybe tonight-Mr. Mans got a packed schedule tonight so I have time to get a lot done. I have a lot on my list! I'm definetly watching the bachelorette! I really liked Jillian last season so I hope this season turns out better for her.

Mr. & Mrs. Deren Thompson!

Amy & Deren's wedding was absolutely perfect! We felt so lucky to involved & invited to such a lovely occasion. She was the most beautiful bride!! I am so glad I got the chance to take some photos for her. Here are a few teasers :) I'll be posting more to my photography blog this week. We had a fabulous weekend...have fun in Vegas you two!!

This weekend was crazy!! I'll recap tomorrow when I'm not so exhausted...off to bed! Hope everyone had a blessed weekend.

50 Challenge

One of our goals on our 101 list is to do 50 crunches daily for a month, and I think it's about time we accomplish this one. I know it's not a lot, but we planned on incorporating it into our current workout schedule which already includes an ab workout, so it will be an extra ab challenge to throw in there. I also posted this challenge on our weight-loss journey blog to help us reach our goal. We are going to start on Monday the 18th & finish on June 18th! We'll take & possibly post before and after pictures to see the difference it made. We aren't very good at doing abs everyday because they are the least fun workout to do (for us) so this will be a great challenge!

A wedding weekend...

My body feels great these past few days just from changing up my eating patterns slightly. I feel like my body is getting cleansed :) Tonight is the big rehearsal for Amy & Deren's wedding! I'm heading to the Church to get an idea of what the ceremony will look like (I'll be teaming up with another of Amy's friends to shoot her wedding) It's going to be fun! She's been so busy finishing up last minutes items for the wedding so it will be nice to see her for a few minutes tonight. After the walk through at the Church Jenni & I are meeting at Caribou to figure out a good meal plan to get on...and then we are going to work out, yes on friday night!! hah! Mr. Man's headed up to a cabin for a good friend's bachelor party tonight, so I'm alone for the night. He's driving back tomorrow afternoon for the wedding. I am looking forward to the weekend! Amy is the second of our friends to get married (we were the 1st) So I'm looking forward to knowing a lot of people at the wedding & having a good time. It's always fun when all your friends are together in one room to celebrate! Amy, enjoy your last night as a single lady!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today I'm having lunch with my cousin to celebrate our birthdays...I'm excited to see her! We are going to Zelo's, one of our fav. spots to meet. I'm hoping my Dad will let me off work a little early this afternoon to jump start the weekend, I have a lot to accomplish today..stay tuned!

Eric's show.

Aaaamazing! If you haven't seen him play live-go. He's so good. He's creative, funny & has a great voice. He writes his own songs & plays his own music. Jay & I were cracking up during the whole concert!! It was so much fun. He re-invents himself everytime-he usually picks a song or two from a popular artist & sings his own version, adding lyrics here & there that are hilarious, and occasionally, making (good-hearted) fun at them. I have had a really long week at work so far so I needed to let loose a little. The concert was perfect! He also makes up a song on the spot at his performances & this time the main character he was singing about was named Abbey :) It was so funny. He is so talented and witty. I can't wait to see him again! He's coming to the State Fair this summer & so is OAR (!!!!!!!!) so it looks like I have a really tough choice to make. Or, maybe I'll just go to both =) Thanks for a great concert Eric.Last night the wind was crazy! I am a little tired because I kept waking up thinking there was a hurricane outside our window. Tonight I'm excited to get a good workout in & then relax. I'm reading a really good book right now so I'm looking forward to some quality reading time before Jay gets home :) I'm really looking forward to the weekend because Amy will finally become Mrs. Thompson!!!!!!! Yea!!!

When she wants to rock she rocks.

Yesterday I completed my second day of shredding with Jillian. She did not disappoint. Jillian bases her workout on the 3-2-1 method: 3 mins strength, 2 mins cardio, 1 min abs. You repeat this pattern for 3 circuits with absolutely no breaks (not even for a sip of water!) I absolutely am a huge fan of circuit training. I love that each time is a different activity in each circuit & I never get bored. There are 3 levels of workouts to work up to, but I started on level one & I had to do some of the modified positions. The workout kicked my butt! I can't imagine what level 2 & 3 are like...I guess we'll see in a few weeks. I had to make a protein shake this morning for breakfast because my muscles are so sore & tired from last night. I'm looking forward to day 3 tonight...they are hard to work through but I know they will be sooo worth it!

Is it Wednesday? I don't even know. Man do I need the weekend to be here!! Friday night Jenni & I are getting together to formulate some ideas to redecorate her condo. There will probably be sketches, paint swatches, & lots of wine involved :) We are also planning our meals out for the next few weeks because we've started a weight loss blog to track our progress. We are finally getting serious about it & it feels good to have a plan! It's hard to try & lose weight with my husband because he can lose it so easy & it can get frusterating. I swear he smiles at me & loses a pound! It seems so easy for him. So Jenni & I teamed up to hold each other accountable! If anyone wants to join us, let me know! You must be serious about it though because we mean business :)

Tonight Mr. Man is taking me to Eric Hutchinson at the Varsity Theatre...I can't wait!! It's been a long week at work already so it will be a super fun night. It will be a great way to finish celebrating my birthday, thanks Jay!!

Re-Connected

I've been so busy lately that I need to get re-connected. Last week we got a start on our vegetable garden (building it that is) & it is looking great! We took some rocks from the huge rockpile in the center of our townhome neighborhood and they are perfect for what we had pictured for our garden. We need to gather a few more & then fill it with soil and we will be ready! I'll try & get some pictures of it later this week.

We've decided that Vegas is a definite yes! We are going this summer or fall for sure. I have two weeks of paid vacation left to use, so this summer is going to be awesome! My vacation starts over in the end of August. We are thinking of taking one day off & leaving on a Thursday night. It will kind of be a "mini vacation" since our Anniversary trip is coming up in June. It's perfect because the flights/packages are super cheap to Vegas, most of the ones we are looking at are around $300-350 a person for flights & hotel. Right now we are looking at staying in Paris, which we have heard really good things about. But if anyone has any suggestions, please send them our way!! This will be our first time in Las Vegas so we don't know a lot about it. Tips on places to stay, or things to do are welcome :) I love that this whole trip is totally spur of the moment! Jay has a game tonight & then a baseball meeting so I have the evening to myself...but don't worry I have a list a mile long of things to get done! First things first, I'm going to start shredding. The 30-day Shred that is. By Jillian Michaels of course! I've decided I want to lose 10 pounds by June 10th (the day we leave for our trip) I'm hoping this will be the path that will take me to that weight-loss! I love all of her programs & I have no doubt it will kick my butt. Other than that-I really need to figure out a way to organize my jewelry better....so maybe I will take a stab at that tonight during dancing with the stars! I also have a big ol' gift card to use at borders, so maybe that will be my destination. The last thing I definetly need to accomplish tonight is our meal calendar. We are planning out our meals for the next few weeks thanks to the awesome cook book my Grandparents gave me for my birthday. It's all healthy living so it will be great with my shred. That's step one (the calendar) step 2 is getting to the grocery store-and that is definetly not happening tonight! Maybe tomorrow when Jay can go with me. So many possibilities of what to do for the evening!