Peace Pipes, Friday Five + Photo Challenge

Hello! 

Good morning! I hope you're have a great Friday so far! Only 8 hours away from the weekend--yeah! Tonight Andy's coming over and then tomorrow will be spent hitting up the gym, cooking, and cleaning like crazy for my party! Ahh!

Mini Asthma Attack

Yesterday I ended up taking an unexpected half day from work--the past few days have had my asthma all riled up and I awoke Thursday morning hardly able to breathe normally. I pushed through the first few hours of work, but when 10:30am hit, I knew I had to go in to get a nebulizer treatment. I had this happen a few years ago (on Halloween, actually) and a neb session is usually the only thing that makes it better. 

Catching up on Real Simple while at the appointment

The beast

My peace pipe! 

I have exercise-induced asthma but over the past few years, it has really settled down a lot. When I mentioned the fact that I haven't been doing a lot at the gym lately, my doctor mentioned that stress and changes in seasons can also bring it on. 

Luckily she sent me home with a new inhaler so hopefully that and some rest will do the trick! This little device helps to open up my lungs so I can get enough air with each breathe--kind of important!


The Friday Five

Remember our fun little game from last week? Here we go again! 

1.  What I’m Reading:
Still working on the Shack--I have to admit, I'm only a couple chapters in so far! Normally I'm a fast reader, but with all of this wedding and work business going on, I've found myself swamped lately. 

A little Laura!

2.  What I’m Listening To:
Last weekend I headed over to Andy's house to work on our wedding slideshow. Naturally, I listened to the songs that are in the movie over and over again trying to perfect it. The song that I chose to be played during my "growing up" pictures is What It Means to Be Loved by Mark Schultz (just the second half of the song, though!). However, after chatting with Andy last night, I might be changing it to that "Cinderella" song by Steven Curtis Chapman...any thoughts on this?

3.  What I’m Watching:
Still watching season 2 of Grey's! Most nights I watch an episode before bed but end up drifting off to sleep before the episode ends...which means I've been watching the same episode for the past 3 nights...one of these days I'll get through the whole thing!

My all-time favorite flavor

Apple Straws!

Moose Lake Fudge Froyo's best part = mini peanut butter cups

4. What I’m Eating:
Ice cream has definitely been worked into the menu for this week! mmm, so delicious and something I rarely purchase at the grocery store. Other snacks of note include copious amounts of Apple Straws, and various Luna/Clif bars since they're my go-to snack when I'm rushing around.

5.  What I’m Pinning:
Check out this neat idea--you slice up one of your wedding invitations, place the strips in a glass ball ornament, and hang it on your tree to symbolize your first Christmas together. How cute!


Photo Challenge Day 2: 


What I wore:
(Click here to see yesterday's photo challenge)

Target ruffle tank, Target cardigan, and khakis, story of my life. Please note how well I blend in with my bathroom...

I also wore this outfit for Valentine's day this year...my hair looked better on that day though. However, I blow dried and straightened my hair today! I haven't done that in a long time; I kind of forgot I actually had bangs since they've been hidden by headbands. But really, let's face it, my hair will be up in a ponytail by 10am...


Off to the office! Have a super day!


Do you suffer from asthma? 
What are you pinning this week?
What song should I use during our slideshow? Also, Andy is having a hard time finding a song to play during his little boy pictures...any ideas?

A Few of My Favorite Things

Hello!

Catching up from the weekend? In short, I wiped out, hung out with Andy, and shared my healthy eating routine.

Thanks for all of your "get better" comments yesterday on my running injuries! The wounds are slowly but surely healing!

I made some updates on the blog. Click around my subpages to check out new illustrations scattered throughout, an updated blog roll featuring some of my favorite bloggers, and my recipe page's reorganization.

As I was working on the blog yesterday morning, I was thinking about what I like reading about on blogs.

That is where you come in. 
What would you like to see more of on my blog? 

• Photography? 
• Recipes? 
• Design? 
• Daily life? 
• Tutorials?
• Any other suggestions?! 

I'm new to this whole blogging thing so I'd like to improve as a blogger. Let me know what you'd like to see more of and I will do my best!

I was also thinking it would be neat to do some basic Photoshop tutorials or something. Would anyone be interested in that?

Favorite Things
Today's post contains a few of my favorite things that I wanted to share with you! These are things I enjoy and use or consume on a regular basis!

1. Starbucks in general, but more specifically: their iced coffees! As soon as warm weather hits, I switch over to iced coffee--a tall dark roast with a splash of half + half. It is just so refreshing and packs the perfect caffeine punch to get me going in the morning.

Sometimes I promise myself a Starbucks if I can get out the door by 7:35am...Friday morning was a success! I even straightened my hair for work! Who am I?!

2. Mr. Garmin is my lifesaver. My dad purchased this handy gadget as a Christmas gift awhile back and it makes driving to new places so much smoother! I also love how it allows you to scope out what stores and restaurants are in the area--perfect for when you travel to a new city. The traffic feature is great for knowing which routes are bumper-to-bumper and which are smooth sailing--talk about saving yourself a headache!

3. Speaking of straightening hair, the Conair ProShine straightener is another one of my favorite things. This little mechanism is a gem! I used to always buy the cheapie straighteners because my hair is technically pretty straight with just a slight wave. However, when I chopped off all my hair a few years ago and sported the chin-length bob, my cheapie straightener didn't work well since the wand was too thick and it never reached a high enough temp to get the short, wavy pieces straight.

Straight hair

So, I splurged on this purple beauty this past winter and wow, it does wonders! It makes straightening so much faster and the little silicone strip on the plate (is that what they are called?) leaves your hair silky smooth! It has even encouraged me to straighten my hair more often! Now that is saying something since I usually wear ponytails all the time. I would highly recommend it!

Ponytail at our friend's wedding

4. Adele! I heard her "Rolling in the Deep" son for the first time on the radio and was not a huge fan. It wasn't until I was hanging out with my sister a few weeks ago when she had it playing in the background that I really got hooked on her style. Since then I've been checking out some of her other songs, too! Are you a fan?

These "favorite things" will be a continuing thing on my blog, so be sure to check back for more in the future!

See you tomorrow morning for some Tuesday 3's!

What would you like to see more of on my blog?
What are some of your favorite things in life?