We Can't Stress: a Miley Remix

I think we can all agree that planning a wedding is stressful. While we try to stay focused on the bigger picture and not let the planning and details stress us out, that is much easier said than done. There are so many times during wedding planning it seems you are really just planning the day for everyone else. Jonathan and I tend to be people pleasers by nature, so it's been difficult at times to accept that we can't please everyone and focus on the fact that it is our day.

On an unrelated note, I've been listening nonstop to Miley's new album and even though I hate to admit this, I kinda really love it. As I was running on the treadmill last week listening to "We Can't Stop," I couldn't help but think of my own wedding planning version of this song. This may be a sign (1) that I've completely lost it or (2) that I have too much time on my hands, but I bring you my wedding planning version of "We Can't Stop."

Feel free to play the music video as you read my lyrics below.

“We Can’t Stress”

It’s our wedding we can plan what we want
They’re our vows we can say what we want
It’s our day we do what we want
We can invite who we want 

We can serve what we want

It’s our wedding we can plan what we want
They’re our vows we can say what we want
It’s our day we can do what we want
We can invite who we want
We can serve what we want

Open bar and mason jars everywhere
Hands in the air like we don’t care
‘Cause they came to have so much fun now
 Bet somebody here might drunk now

If you didn’t get an invite
Can I get a “Hell, no”?
‘Cause space is gonna be real tight
‘Til the end of the night, alright

So la da di da di
We’re trying to party
Spending money on all the things
To make sure you’re all happy
This is our night
This is our life

And we can’t stress
And we won’t stress
Can’t you see this is our night?
Can’t you see where about to start our life?

And we can’t stress
And we won’t stress
We’re planning our wedding, not yours
Can’t please everyone and no, we’re not serving Coors
Yeah, Yeah

It’s our wedding we can plan what we want
They’re our vows we can say what we want
It’s our day we can do what we want
We can invite who we want
We can serve what we want

To our friends hurt by no invite
Mad about it like they want a fight
Remember the venue has a limit
If we didn’t want you there we’d just admit it
And everyone who didn’t get a plus one
Don’t cry at least you get to come
We’re so stressed out here
Getting so stressed out here

So la da di da di
We’re trying to party
Spending money on all the things
To make sure you’re all happy
This is our night
This is our life

And we can’t stress
And we won’t stress
Can’t you see this is our night?
Can’t you see we're starting our life?

And we can’t stress
And we won’t stress
We’re planning our wedding, not yours
Can’t please everyone and no, we’re not serving Coors
Yeah, Yeah

It’s our wedding we can plan what we want
They’re our vows we can say what we want
It’s our day we can do what we want
We can invite who we want
We can serve what we want

It’s our wedding we can plan what we want to
It’s our day we can do what we want to
They’re our vows we can say what we want to
It’s our life we can celebrate how we want to
Say yeah, yeah, yeah, ehh

And we can’t stress, oh
And we won’t stress, no
Can’t you see this is our night?
Can’t you see where about to start our life?

And we can’t stress

And we won’t stress
We’re planning our wedding, not yours
Can’t please everyone and no, we’re not serving Coors

Brides-to-be, please tell me you can relate to this. How do you keep calm and not let the stress get to you? I promise a Wedding Wednesday post next week giving you an actual update on our wedding planning!

Linking up for Wedding Wednesday

This

"Thank God for all I missed, 'cause it led me here to this."

That's a line from a Darius Rucker song called, "This" that I love. It's basically about being glad for the opportunities you missed, relationships that didn't work out, things that didn't go your way, because it led you to something better...it led you to this. Well, I can certainly relate and I'm thanking God every day for the ups and downs that led me to this....



You ladies have heard it all here. I've fought hard to keep disappointing men in my life, I've gotten my heart broken, I've completely wasted my time and energy on the wrong people, I've made some bad choices. Throughout all of this, I knew deep down that I would find someone. Not just any someone...but someone that would be the right one for me...someone that would show me why it didn't work out with anyone else. I knew that someone would make me let go of any frustration, disappointment or self-criticism I felt over the journey I took to find him. Well, I did find him and it really is true...the road I took to get here is of no concern to me. It was all worth it because if I had done something different, what if I hadn't been downtown acting silly on a random Saturday in December to spot this wonderful man sitting at the bar? I wouldn't have met him and I sure wouldn't be falling head over heels right now for someone I am quite positive is the perfect person for me.

What I'm really trying to get at here is that I am falling for that handsome guy up there. The best part of this? He is falling, too. We are in this together...we're on the same page...we're two peas in a pod...okay, you probably get it by now. I'm well aware of how early it is in our relationship to feel this way, but I am more confident in my feelings knowing we are on the same page.

I always knew I would meet him eventually. I'm so glad I found this. So very glad.

Why I Think We Should Stop Being so Hard on Taylor Swift

I am a Taylor Swift fan. This isn't news to any of you, I'm sure.

The big news this week is apparently that her and Harry Styles called it quits. Now, I don't know who Harry Styles is and I'm quite satisfied with that. It makes perfect sense considering I am not a tween and don't still have an unhealthy obsession with boy bands at my age.

We all know Taylor Swift uses her many, many short relationships as inspiration for her hit songs and she gets a lot of criticism for that. Everyone knows by now (especially after he whined to Rolling Stone about it) that "Dear John" was so obviously about her relationship with John Mayer and "Back to December" is apparently about Taylor Lautner.

People all over the Internet are commenting on how many men she's been with, how short her relationships are and of course, making jokes about new songs everytime she splits with someone. Don't get me wrong, as a huge Taylor Swift fan (I think if we knew each other in real life, we would be really good friends), even I can admit to the laughing at things like this:

And if I had to guess, even I'd say that T. Swift is probably a little clingy with a side of crazy, which could be why she has so many short, failed relationships.

But to everyone criticizing her, I do have a few things to say.

• I have also had a series of short-lived romances. In many of these situations, like Taylor, I probably made too much of the relationship and turned it into a bigger deal than it was. I've fallen too quick, been more upset over someone than I should have been and been way overdramatic when it didn't work out.  
•  I've used those relationships for inspiration. Instead of writing a song about them (trust me, you wouldn't want to hear my singing) I just happen to record my thoughts on this here blog. Like I'm sure writing songs helps Taylor, writing helps me sort out feelings of anger, confusion, sadness when a relationship doesn't work out. Because of this, a lot of my blog content ends up being about...you guessed it, relationships.
• I, too, have dated a lot. I have friends (and sisters!) who have met the love of their lives and didn't date much, if at all, on the journey to find that person. I'm so happy for them and you if you have experienced this. It's important to remember though, that not everyone finds their someone like this. For some, our search is a little more...extensive, to say the least. Do we deserve to be criticized for trying to find love? No ma'am. We just know that we aren't going to meet the love of our life if we sit at home and think about it. So we go on dates...lots of them. We have short romances that make us wonder why we were ever interested in that person. We might kiss more guys than than we ever wanted to during our search for the one. Don't judge us for this. We are just trying to find what we are looking for.
• I sure can relate to a lot of Taylor's songs. I should add that I don't just relate to the ones about breakups. I can also relate to "Mean," which she wrote about a music executive who said she couldn't sing, "Everything has Changed," which is about the wonderful feelings we experience at the start of a new relationship and especially "Never Grow Up," which is about growing up and wishing you could go back to your childhood when things were simple. I'm sure if you listen to some of her music, you too would relate to many of her songs.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is this:

Taylor Swift and I are one in the same.

Just kidding.

I'm saying to give my girl Taylor a break. She's 23-years-old and writes about love, breakups and relationships. What do you expect her to sing about?

Tell me...

It seems everyone either loves or hates Taylor Swift. Where do you stand?

"We Just Have to Beat the Girls Who Stopped for Ice Cream!"

Good morning! I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

As many others were, I was completely torn apart by the events that took place Friday in Newtown. I wish I could find the words to write something...anything on this. But I can't. Simply knowing that horrific tragedies like this happen on this planet is absolutely heartbreaking. Since I can't find the right words to say, before I get into the nonsense my weekend consisted of, I wanted to share this song with you all. It came on my country music playlist on Friday night while I was home and it gave me a little spark of hope...hope for better days ahead.

My weekend...

The highlight of my weekend was running participating in the Tap n' Run 4K in downtown Orlando on Saturday. For those of you unfamiliar with this race, the emphasis is less on running the 2.4 miles and more on drinking beer, wearing ridiculous costumes and inappropriate behavior. Instead of the typical water stops during a typical race, there were 3 beer stops along the course and at the end of the race, everyone gets a medal/beer opener and another beer at the finish line. I had an absolute blast!

I'd fill you in on every detail, but the few photos I took really highlight the best parts:

I loved that when you registered for this race online you could choose a nickname for your bib. I obviously went with Booze Clues, which is what I refer to as trying to figure out what happened the morning after a wild night.

I absolutely loved our team baseball shirts. So cute!

It was absolutely necessary to take a "baseball card" photo. I obviously don't know how you are supposed to stand, but that isn't really important.

Best friends stop in the middle of a race to get ice cream with you. We were maybe two minutes into the race when we ran by my favorite frozen yogurt place. We just had to run in and grab a snack for the race. It was so funny to hear people behind us cheering each other on saying "We just need to beat the girls who stopped for ice cream!"

This is probably the most serious photo Laura and I have ever taken together. We got way too much joy out of creeping people out with these mustaches throughout the night. We would hold put our staches on and stare at random people from across the bar until they very awkwardly caught our eyes. After being vicimized several times, one guy finally came up to us and told us we were making him really uncomfortable and left the bar. It was hilarious.

If you ever have a chance to particpate in something like this, you just have to. It's so much fun! For all the running I've been doing and the hard work I've put in lately, it was kinda nice to partipate in something like this where I didn't care about the actual running at all.

I do have to say that day drinking really isn't my thing. I get a headache and start feeling hungover before 8 p.m. Does this stop me? Not usually. However, when at midnight you are twirling and dancing to 80s music and realize you've been drinking since 3 p.m., it's time to go home.

It's Okay Thursday

I really love this linkup. It's at the point in the week where I am ready for the weekend, where I start to wonder if I really have gone crazy...and seeing everyone's "It's okay" posts makes me realize I am at least not alone in my quirkiness. So here goes!

It's okay to be overly emotional about the fact that my child is turning one-year-old today. I can't stop looking at pictures from when I first took Blake home and remembering how tiny he was. I might shed a few tears at some point...and that is okay.

On that note, it's okay to have a full-fledged birthday celebration planned for him. We'll be celebrating with The Dog Whisperer at his house with his roommate, his dog and my roommate. There are birthday hats to go around and I bought Blake a special birthday treat. Is this overboard? Yes. It is necessary? Absolutely. Is this one of the reasons I start to wonder if I've truly lost my mind? Yes. But, it's okay.

It's okay that I haven't stopped listening to the new Taylor Swift CD all week. Really, though...listening at work, in the car, at the gym....I can't turn it off and want to twirl everytime "Holy Ground" comes on.

It's okay that it's only 11:38 a.m. and I'm already mentally checked out at work. What? I'm going bowling tonight with The Dog Whisperer and can't wait to show off my skills....or I can't wait to drink and attempt to bowl. Either way, it's going to be fun!

It's okay to stop overthinking everything and just go with it.

It's okay to take a random Tuesday off work just to go to breakfast with a sweet boy and shop for your puppy's birthday celebration. Totally worth every vacation hour spent.

It's okay to have random moments where you feel so alive, and so happy, and so happy to be living your life that you laugh and cry at the same time and and you kind of never want the moment to end.

On that note, I hope you all have a more than okay Thursday. xoxo

In Other News...

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is filled with lots of happiness. Rather than spending the day obsessing over being single or the fact that your boyfriend didn't get you the diamond necklace you wanted, put the emphasis on simply being grateful for and showing love toward the ones you care about.

This might come as a bit of shock considering what has been going on lately, but I actually DO have plans for Valentine's Day. I wish, wish, wish I could tell you because it is totally random and fun, but I want to wait and fill you in after the fact. So expect what is sure to be an entertaining post about that later in the week :)

In other news...

I baked my heart out yesterday and it was delightful. As you know from previous posts, I love all the cute Valentine's goodies there are to make and it's a yearly tradition that I make red velvet cupcakes. I used the same cupcake recipe I use every year, but this year, I got a little more creative with the decorating. I even finally got to use my Pampered Chef frosting tubes for the first time! Here's how they turned out...what do you think?

I also made the most adorable cookies...obviously found this idea on Pinterest :)

Peanut butter cookies with Dove chocolates

I also realized I totally forgot to brag about the country concerts I've been to recently. At the end of January, I headed to Tampa with a group of friends to see Zac Brown Band. I've seen them before...last year when they toured with Kenny Chesney, but this time they were headlining and it was absolutely amazing. They have an awesome set and they're just really fun to see live.

Sarah and I <3 

all the ladies!

Last weekend, I went with my good friend Laura to see Miranda Lambert, Chris Young and Jerrod Neimann. I love each of them, but over the last year or so, I've become completely obsessed with Miranda. The show was amazing and we didn't even have very good seats. Most amazing part? Miranda Lambert was really emotional because of some recent deaths in the family and her family dog of 20 years dying just a few days before the concert. She came to Orlando straight from her hometown and when she started singing "The House That Built Me," not more than a few lines into it, she started crying when she got to the part that says, "My favorite dog is buried in the yard." What happened next will go down as one of my all-time favorite experiences. The entire audience sang the rest of the song for her. She started crying, the audience started singing and she couldn't pull herself back together to start over. The audience sang the whole song while Miranda stood on stage in awe. I am getting goosebumps just remembering. It was an amazing thing to be a part of. Moments like that are why I love country music.

I can always count on Laura for concert fun :)

Chris Young, Miranda and Jerrod Neimann

Needless to say, I've been wearing my cowboy boots on the regular, which makes me ridiculously happy. I'm also going to Cowboys this Friday night to do some line dancing...always a fun time!

xoxo

Can't Stop Listening

I can't stop listening to Kelly Clarkson's new album, Stronger. I've liked a lot of Kelly's music in the past, but I am completely obsessed with this whole album. For someone dealing with a broken heart and feeling pretty angry about it, this album is absolute perfection. It's the perfect girly, powerful full-of-attitude music to help me remember that it is his loss and he doesn't deserve me. In fact, one of my favorite songs on the album called 'You Love Me' is about just that...

I can really relate to this song right now and try to listen to this instead of feeling sorry for myself. It reminds me that I am better off without someone who doesn't see how great I am. Favorite lyrics...

Thick skin, soft touch, heart of gold...but it's suddenly not enough. Forgiving arms, the higher road, working hard...but it's suddenly not enough. You said I'm not good enough, I'm not good enough. But what you really mean is you're not good enough, you're not good enough. 

Anyway, I'm currently obsessed and just had to tell you about it. What are you listening to right now?

Getting Back to Normal

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a happy Monday. I'm starting to feel like myself again after a tough few days and I'm ready to get back to the usual on here. In the midst of the last week, lots of ridiculous stuff has been going on that really makes my new blog subtitle fitting for me and my life. Unfortunately, I am a little busy at work today so I will have to fill you all in later. In the meantime, I wanted to share this song with you all. It is currently my anthem and I think we all need this reminder sometimes. Enjoy :)

Think Good Thoughts by Colbie Caillat