Followers, Giveaway, Baby Stuff and Halle Berry

How is it already Thursday?? This week just flew by. I hope you all are enjoying your day. :)

Just wanted to fill you in on some things:

1.) Welcome to any new followers that have joined! {{HUGS}}

2.) Since I've hit the 50 followers mark, I'm thinking of doing another giveaway! It might be jewelery again, but this piece is different because it's handmade by someone very special to me. :) So stay tuned!

3.) Thank you for all your great link-ups and suggestions about Engagement Photos! I'm going to do a re-cap post about some suggestions you all gave me in case there are any other engaged girls out there who might need the suggestions too. That will probably come on Saturday.

4.) Today is my Friday. PTL.

5.) Tomorrow we're heading up to Donner during probably one of the worst snow storms of the year. If the pass is closed due to weather, we won't be going until Saturday morning. Either way, here's praying we make it safely!

6.) Today, BFF Michelle is 23 weeks along with her twin baby girls! She is doing amazingly well and the brat doesn't even look pregnant other than her baby belly. ;) I got to see her last weekend and she is such a cute pregnant girl. I'd post a picture of her, but she made me swear I wouldn't post any belly pics of her on The Blog or FB. Little stinker!

7.) Notice the button on the top right of my page? I contacted Leslie to see what she could come up with for invites and other details for the baby shower I'm helping throw for Michelle, and Leslie came up with the cutest things! I won't be able to show you what she designed until after Michelle's shower (which is on the 12th), but trust me..it's great. Click on her button and it'll take you to her blog and you can see what other things she designs. You won't be dissapointed. :)

8.) I was browsing through E! Online today and spotted this picture of Halle Berry. She looks AH-MAZING! Her body is ridiculous and the cut and color of her dress is incredible (dress is Elie Saab Haute Couture)! Pretty sure this is the best she's ever looked.

{via}

I need Halle Berry's secret,

Confessions

1. I confess that I am so excited that I won my very first giveaway! Remember the one I posted about last week? Ya...I won it. Thankyouverymuch! :) It'll go perfect on our living room table.

2. I confess that I am in love with all the engagement photos you've all been showing me!! If you haven't linked up yet (or commented) head over to this post HERE and check it out.

3. I confess that I've spent no less than THREE. ENTIRE. DAYS researching, designing and setting up a website for my 10 year high school reunion. To say I'm OCD is a gross understatement. However, it worked out great.

4. I confess that because of numero trés above, that I've done little to no actual work that pertains to my job. Guilty as charged.

5. I confess that I'm secretly hoping we get snowed in at the cabin when we go up to Donner this weekend. Being cozy, inside, drinking tea and reading is my idea of bliss.

6. I confess that I haven't been as busy as I am now, since I was in high school and I used to be on the cheerleading squad, a dancer, dance teacher, coaching the Powder Puff Guy's Cheerleading squad, in honor courses and had a boyfriend. This time of my life consists of planning a wedding, planning a baby shower, planning a bachelorette party, planning a high school reunion, having a fiancé, taking courses through work, keeping up with work, keeping up with house cleaning and laundry, making time to see family and friends and attending appointments on the weekends. I'm exhausted - but loving every minute of it. :)

7. I confess that I've gained two pounds. Doh!

8. I confess that my ideal meal would consist of potatoes ... and ... potatoes. Preferably fried. They are my love language. Maybe that's why I've gained the above two pounds. Double-doh!

9. I confess that I've had to resort to wearing my earphones throughout the day (while listening to Pandora) at work because The Co-workers seem to want to talk on the phone AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS!

10. I confess that I really don't have a 10th confession.


The end.

And hugs,

Show Me Your Engagement Photos!

One thing that I'm obsessed with (other than babies) is engagement photos. I love looking through some one's engagement photos and seeing their own "style" put on them with the clothes they chose to wear and the photographer they chose to use. Love, love, love it all!

In a little less than a month Kevin and I are getting our engagement photos done. I'm really excited. And kind of nervous. I hope they turn out good. I hope I have a good hair and makeup day, that day. I also wish I could tone up a bit before then, without actually having to um...work out! Wishful thinking. :)

Anyways, I'd LOVE for you all to share your engagement photos with me! If you've had them done, or maybe you're a photographer and you have some engagement photo sessions you can direct me to on your site! And if you're not married or engaged, but you know of some photos you've seen that you've liked, by all means - share! :)

If you have posted on your blog in the past about your engagement photos, or you feel like posting about them, I'll leave a MckLinky below if you'd like to link up. Or, just leave a link to your photos in the comments section. Whatever is easiest for you.

I love engagement photos where the subjects don't look like they're posed. I like them when they are kind of action shots where they may be laughing or walking. Stuff like that. But please do share whatever you have!

Thanks a bunch!

A Summarization of Sorts

Thank you ALL for the great advice and tips you gave me about wedding registries. There was a lot of information, but I thought I'd summarize it here because I have a few friends getting married and they wanted me to share what information I got from all you great readers!

• Essentially what I got from everyone is that we should register about a month before our first shower. So we'll be registering in April. Which is good because it gives me some time to go through what we already have, to find out what we need and don't need.
• In our situation we are currently living together (don't judge ;)), so we have pretty much everything we need. HOWEVER, this stuff is a mish mosh of stuff from our college days; and a lot of it is old and worn. Hence my question about what you did with the old stuff. I think we're going to try and have a garage sale and whatever we don't sell we'll give to Goodwill.
• For sure registering for a Kitchen Aid Mixer! That seemed to be everyone's number one suggestion! I like it! :)
• I'm kind of vacillating on where to register. BTW...I don't really like that word: vacillating. It bothers me. Anyhoo, we're already registered with Pampered Chef for most of our cooking stuff and all of our my baking stuff through my great friend, Erika (who is a Pampered Chef Consultant, so hit a sister (aka Erika) up if you need some great things!). We will for sure be registering at Macy*s, but I'm not sure if we should also register at Target. Target has great options for things like throw pillows and rugs and stuff like that. But I'm not sure if it would be worth it just to put a handful of things on the Target registry.
• I had more than a couple people say they did not have a good experience with Pottery Barn. So I don't think that will be one we use.
• A friend gave good advice and said that when registering for your really nice dinnerware, to try and go with something that isn't very expensive. Since you usually don't get an entire set, and if you want to go back and complete the set after the wedding, it can get kind of pricey. Which is so true! And I know not having a full set of something would make me feel kind of twitchy. Luckily, I already have my Grandma Ruth's China, so I think we'll look for a reasonably priced nice dinnerware set, and then an everyday set.
• Write Thank You cards as the gifts arrive so you're not left with a pile of Thank You's to write (which would definitely overwhelm me). Then mail them out later. Thanks Margaux! ;)
• It's pretty much a given that you should continue to update your registries because items go out of stock all the time.
• Register for only what you REALLY need. A friend said that she registered for every gadget in the book and still has stuff in boxes that she has never used. Duly noted!
• If you get something that you'd like to return or exchange, and if there's a sale going on at the time for that particular item, you may be able to get cash back, or a gift card and you could use that to complete a set of something.
• Wear comfortable shoes!
• Don't try to fit it all in one day.

Thanks again for all of your great suggestions and comments. It really helped me out SO much. I have a much better idea of how we'll go about this. Still need to decide on the Target thing though.

I'm going to be posting another request for some suggestions tomorrow regarding engagement photos, so stay tuned!

Hope your weekend is splendid,

Megan's Giveaway at In This Wonderful Life!

I'm entering Megan's great Valentine's Giveaway this week! You should head on over HERE to check it out and enter for yourself. You have four chances to win! Isn't this tray the cutest!?

{via In This Wonderful Life}

Hoping I win,

In case you'd like to know...

I've had some fellow bloggers/friends ask me how I've increased the number of followers I have. First off, this blog to me is not about the number of followers I have. I think if I had just one follower, or none at all, that I'd still blog because it's a way for me to put my thoughts to computer screen and document our life. With that said, I'm always so thrilled and very grateful that you all find our life somewhat interesting to tune in and see how things are going with us. So a big THANK YOU and a {hug} for that! :)

Anyways, the way I've found to connect with fellow bloggers is start to follow the blogs that you like; and I don't mean anonymously! Follow publicly so they know who you are and so they can check out your blog - because a lot of times if you follow theirs, they will follow yours.

The other thing is to COMMENT!!! It may feel weird at first to comment on some random person's blog that you don't really know, and they don't know you at all, but when you comment you get yourself out there, and other people commenting on the same blog that you did will see your comment and go and check out your blog.

I think of the most important things I've figured out is to make sure your email is connected to the comments you leave! So many times I get comments on my posts and I SO BADLY want to respond to that person, but I can't because they haven't connected their email to their comments. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, follow this link HERE because I've posted how you can get this set up in Blogger. It's a great way to open dialogue with fellow bloggers and commenters (I don't think that's a word...).

Another little tip is to post often. This way it keeps readers interested with what's going on with you. Posting every day is really great, but I know, not always possible. But even every other day is good too. I find that some bloggers that post three or four times a day tend to overwhelm me a little and I don't really spend the time to read all their posts for just that one day. But if you're able to post every day, or every other day, or even a few times a week - it keeps you connected with others.

I've found you also reach a lot more people if you post links to your posts on FB (if you're on FB) and on Twitter (if you're on Twitter). Of course, that's if you feel comfortable doing so. There are some posts that I don't post on FB or Twitter, just because I'd rather the whole world not know about that particular topic, and just prefer the privacy of the blog readers that I have in you all. :)

And the last thing, try to keep the extent of your posts to a reasonable length. I even get carried away and write novels in one post. But you can definitely divide them up into different parts for different days. If I'm following a blog and I see that their post is LONG, I'll usually skip it for the time being and go back to it when I have the time to read that long of a post.

Of course, these are all just suggestions. If you're a blogger you can do whatever you like with your blog! :) But like I said, I've had some people ask me about this, and even some people interested in starting their own blog, so I thought I'd just do a little FYI about it in case you'd like to know. You're free to do with it what you will! :)

PS: My friend Erika is having an AWESOME giveaway for either $25 worth of stuff of your choice from Pampered Chef, or $25 worth of stuff of your choice from Tastefully Simple! So click on this link and enter to win. It's super easy, and who doesn't love shopping when it's free!? :) Plus, I want her to do another giveaway and if she has enough people enter it will give her more of an incentive to do giveaways in the future! Haha!

Perspective

On Saturday I had to take Kahlua to get her yearly vaccines. She also got her blood drawn to make sure she didn't have any heart worms. This was Kahlua as we were waiting in line at the clinic:

Notice the small tear forming beneath her eye? :(
She knew what was coming.

This was Kahlua after all was said and done.

Is this face not pitiful???

As she was getting her blood drawn and the vet was holding her he commented on how Kahlua was the most well behaved Chihuahua he's ever come across. I was a proud mama. :)

On our way home I was feeling really bad for Kahlua that she had to get poked a couple times, and sort of helpless that I couldn't really make her feel better at that moment. Then I sort of had to give myself a proverbial slap in the face and really listen to what I was telling myself. I'm feeling sad because my dog, had to get a couple shots. When there are mothers (and fathers) that have to endure so much worse when their babies are sick.

After being a part of this blog world for a little over a year now, I've come across some incredibly sad, heart wrenching, inspiring and amazing stories having to do with babies born with sicknesses or prematurely. It's not like I go out looking for these type of blogs to read, but someone will direct me there asking for prayers and after you start reading you get to know the family and you start to really care about what happens to them and their precious little one. You can't help but feel for them and what they're going through.

What I was feeling on that drive home from the clinic - times that by a trillion - and that is how these parents of these babies feel when their children are sick and there is nothing that they can do to make them feel better. That realization right there is something that I could not fathom - and it really brought me back to what is important in life, and what is not.

After getting to know these families and what they have to go through, and hearing about other people who may have a child with a runny nose or one who didn't sleep the night before, I think to myself "You have no clue how lucky you are. The fact that your child is home and only has a runny nose is what some of these families only wish they could experience."

This isn't to say that the children who get a cold are no less important than sick babies in a NICU or who have a disease, but the point I'm trying to make is that I think it's essential to really know how good you have it. Because there are parents who would give anything to have their child healthy and home.

The family whose baby is in the NICU on life support would love to have their child breathing on their own for the opportunity of a runny nose. The family whose baby has been in the hospital for over 100 days would love to have the opportunity to have a sleepless baby at home where they could take care of them. The family whose child has to have a number of breathing treatments each and every day for the rest of his life, would love nothing more than to have a child with minor sniffles than to have to worry about what infections they may contract because their lungs are so susceptible to almost anything. The family that doesn't know if their baby will live through the night would love nothing more than to have the worry of making sure they actually sleep.

All these stories put my worries and complaints into so much perspective; more than anything I have ever experienced. I know I don't have kids yet, so this probably doesn't make much sense. But it makes sense to me in just being aware of how good I have it. And when I do (hopefully) have healthy kids, for this to be a reminder to me.

I've heard again and again from these stories that these parents wouldn't wish the experience of having a child in the NICU or one with a disease, on anyone. Yet, they also wouldn't wish to have any other child than the one that God has blessed them with.

Being grateful is something we should all keep in mind when we come up against something that isn't how we planned it, or wanted it to be. Because as the saying goes "It could be worse." And for those that do have it worse, keep them in your prayers as you wipe your child's runny nose or clean up after the mess they've made of your house because there are people who would give nothing more than to have what you have.

All this to say...please visit Kynian's blog and pray. I have been following his story since the beginning and my heart breaks for his parents. About two weeks ago he was so close to finally going home from the NICU and then all of the sudden he contracted a virus and he is now on life support. I cannot begin to know how these parents must feel. I definitely believe in the power of prayer. Especially when you see miracles like Iris and Bennett and Harper who have beat the odds and are now home with their families and THRIVING!

Praying for Kynian,

Singled Out With Love

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

{via}

Even you single ladies. I was single for quite a long some time in college before I met Kevin. So I know how the whole day can kind of be a constant reminder that you don't have that "special someone" on this day of love. But just remember that there are lots of other people out there who care about you, and I don't think a day in February should have to define your worthiness of love. So here's to YOU enjoying your Valentine's day - even if it's by yourself. Catch up on some good TV with a glass of wine (I would also suggest some chocolate as well). Or go out to dinner with some girlfriends. Maybe take a Valentine's Day care package to someone who really needs it. I think God always has a reason for the different seasons in your life and I hope you can continue to enjoy it whether you're single, coupled, married or it's complicated. :)

And because I *heart* this song, and I see it only fitting...enjoy!


Beyonce - "Single Ladies" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
Uploaded by vidsuperstar. - Explore more music videos.

I'll be joining some girlfriends for drinks and dinner tonight since our significant others are all unavailabe. Which is fine by me!

XOXO~~

Advice Please! ---> Wedding Registries

Okay friends. I need some advice about registries and things that are involved with that whole process.

1. How soon before your wedding/showers did you register?

2. What did you do with all of your old stuff once you started getting the new stuff that you registered for? Did you sell it? Give it away?

3. Anything you registered for that you can't live without?

4. Anything you registered for that you wish you hadn't?

5. Did you have to update your registries as time went on?

6. How many different places and at what kind of places did you register?

8. Any special tips and tricks I should know about?

9. You can leave your advice in the comments section or you can send me an email at chasersofkaysersblog [at] yahoo [dot] com.

10. Happy Friday!


Lists make me happy,

Some useless information...for your reading pleasure

Okay, I have to make this snappy since it's now noon and I have yet to do any real work that pertains to my job. Haha!

I was sitting across from this girl on the train yesterday and had to sneak a photo of her because I think her tresses are AH-MAZING! Look at that height!

I've started back on WW today. I'm not signing up for the program because I already know how to count my points and what I should and should not be eating. Luckily I found a points tracker (that is not WW related) application on my phone, so that's been working out pretty well. So far I've lost a total of 20 pounds. I have about eight more pounds to lose to get to my goal weight.

We have scheduled our engagement pictures for March 19th and I'm excited. I'll be wearing this pretty number (in purple) with some brown boots. Now to figure out what Kevin's going to wear...

{via}

I was in Walgreens the other day and bought myself this cute little rose bush. I have it sitting in my office cubicle and it smells divine.

Speaking of divine, I LOVE the show Divine Design! Do any of you watch it? Candice Olson does the best rooms!

{Images via Google}

Kevin's out of town this weekend so I'll be busy cleaning and doing laundry. It's pretty much the only weekend I have at home before I'm doing stuff almost every weekend; whether it's showers or wedding stuff. Busy times approaching, people!

Maygan and I have finalized my bachelorette details. I'm so excited! A group of my girlfriends and I will be staying in this adorable house for a weekend in Sonoma and partaking in some eating, gossiping and wine tasting. Can.not. wait! :)









This weekend I'm going to attempt to make Superchikk's red velvet cupcakes (but making red velvet cake mix from scratch). Don't they look delicious!? Hopefully my co-workers enjoy them, come Monday.

I finally got myself a little space heater for my cubicle at work. The people here always keep the air on so it's frigid. Isn't it cute? The thing really puts out a lot of heat though, so I have to keep turning it off because my tootsies get hot!

Hugs and trying to stay warm,

It Was a "Great Times Were Had" Kind of Weekend!

The weekend was a full one and went by entirely too fast.

On Friday night Kevin and I went to another basketball game to see the Kings lose. I was able to get my share of garlic fries, so I was a happy gal. Ha! We have a friend who is a dancer on the Kings dance squad, so she was able to hook us up with some tickets. Thanks Kelly! :) Oh, and Kevin and I ended up on the jumbo tron! Embarrassing! I am not one who likes attention at. all. Kevin was all about it though.

Afterwards, we headed up to his mom's house to stay for the weekend because Kevin's cousin (Sasheen) was in town with her husband, Matt, and their adorable family. Their daughter (Salma, Kevin's second cousin) is going to be our Flower Girl, and we wanted to make sure to spend as much time as possible with them while they were visiting from out of state.

Salma (in the front) with her little friend, Molly.

Salma. Is. Ah-dorable!!! Seriously, she such a cute little girl. She just turned three and got a new "birthday haircut," as she calls it. It's cut in the cutest little bob. She has a tiny little voice, and she's so smart and well-behaved. When I showed her a picture of her Flower Girl dress the first thing she said was "What shoes am I wearing?" Ha! Salma's favorite things right now are lions and the color yellow. She likes to pretend she's a "daddy lion" and she likes to roar. I love it! She also apparently has an imaginary friend named Aaron and each day she would tell us that her and Aaron were getting married that day and that she has a baby in her tummy. Side note: Salma has an eight month old brother, so I'm pretty sure that's where she got the baby-in-the-tummy thing. Ha! So "Aaron" was there with us too. ;)

Salma being a "daddy lion" and roaring for us.

Love this little guy - and his chubby legs too!

Doesn't Kevin look thrilled? Ha!

Kevin and Laird just hanging out and playing!

Salma wanted to show us her trick and how she can balance on her daddy's hand!

Salma was a big fan of Kevin! ;)

All the kids that were there on Saturday. A couple of Sasheen's friends and their families came to see her since she was in town. There usually aren't any small children with this clan, but it was so nice to have them around and the grandparents sure did love it (as did I!)!

Sasheen (on the right) catching up with her friend since Kindergarten, Amy!

Aunt Debbie (my MIL) helping Salma pick out her birthday candles (we celebrated a belated birthday for Salma).

Love this!

Laird!

So on Saturday I pretty much spent all day watching and playing with her and her little brother Laird, who is such a smiley boy! He's a husky little guy, but oh so squeezable! You moms must have really buff arms because I was so sore come Sunday after carrying Laird around and playing with Salma. But I loved every minute of it!!! On Sunday I helped Kevin and some of his family split and stack wood for his grandparents. His grandparents heat their home with just a wood-burning stove so they need a lot of wood throughout the Fall and Winter months. It's pretty much a tradition with the family to do this for Joe and Helen. So I thought I'd join in this time. Plus, it was such a nice day out that all I wanted to do was be outside.

The lady in the white top is Kevin's grandma, Helen. She's in her mid-eighties and she's out there each time helping split wood and stacking it! Amazing-ness!

Afterwards, we headed to a couple of different super bowl parties (where I may or may not have eaten my weight in Doritos and cupcakes) and we were able to see some great friends and watch a great game. I wasn't really rooting for either team, but it was still fun.

And that's pretty much it! It really was a great weekend and to say that I have Baby Fever after getting my fill of toddlers and babies is a complete understatement. Ha! Poor Kevin. ;)

I have good news and I have good news...

I got an iPhone 4...again!

Remember my no-good-very-bad-day when I lost my first iPhone 4? Well, I've been pretty heartbroken ever since, and I've felt so bad because Kevin got it for me as a gift. There was no way in the world I'd spend $600 on a new one (since we had just renewed my contract), so there I was...stuck with the first generation iPhone. Granted, the phone still worked so it was fine. But I missed the iPhone 4.

I hate to admit this - because it really is, JUST A PHONE - but I told Maygan last week that I prayed that there was some way I could win an iPhone 4 or something so I didn't have to shell out that type of cash, or wait another two years for a new one.

And whatdoyaknow!? Maygan had the BRILLIANT (and I do mean BRILLIANT) idea that I should just open a new account/contract with AT&T and get the iPhone at the discounted price. See...I'm currently on a Family Plan with Kevin and it's under his account. So technically I never had my own account. So I went into AT&T last week on my break (it's right across the street from my office) talked to the nicest guy there, and he got me all set up and done in 15 minutes! I've never had that good of an experience with AT&T before. Ha! So that's the good news.

And the good news is that I didn't have to dip into my savings for the new phone. Since I've sold my items on eBay, I have a little nest egg I was able to use. AND!!! I get a huge discount on my monthly phone bill through work.

So I'm a happy gal. :)

Just thought I'd share.

Hugs,

Recipe - Taco Roll

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
2 Tbsp. water
2 8oz. packages of refrigerated crescent rolls
Chopped lettuce, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper
Sliced olives
Sour cream

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 375*.

2. Brown meat and drain any grease.


3. Add taco seasoning, cheese and water to meat. Mix well until cheese is melted.

4. Unroll crescent rolls and separate. Arrange triangles in a circle on a round baking stone, with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward the outside. There should be about a five-inch diameter in the center.


5. Scoop meat mixture evenly onto the widest ends of dough at the center of the ring.


6. Bring points in and tuck them underneath the wide end.


7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.


8. Garnish with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper and olives (and whatever else you choose!).



NOTES
-I know there are MANY different versions of this, but this is one that worked pretty well and was so easy to make.
-Maygan used to make a version of this back when we were roomies in college and it was always so good! So we found this recipe HERE and this is what I used.
-To make the dish a little more healthy, I used ground turkey instead of beef, I used 1/2 cup of cheese instead of the full cup and I also used reduced fat crescent rolls.
-If you have kiddos, this would be a great meal for them to help you with! :) I think they could scoop the meat onto the crescent dough, and they could also help with taking the dough and laying it over the meat. They'd feel special and wouldn't get too messy. ;)

ENJOY!