Thankful Thursday: 10 years with Brent!

10 years ago, had I asked myself where I would be a decade later, I never could have imagined the way my life has played out. And thankfully so!

When you're in your teens and 20s and living the life (or so you think) in college, the world seems so simple. You think everything is just going to work out according to plan. I quickly learned that life does not work that way, and God most certainly has His own plan.

When Brent and I started dating back in 2002, I wouldn't say I knew he was "the one" right away (mind you, we were heavily intoxicated), but it was definitely something along those lines. :) However, I quickly realized I loved and wanted to experience life with him. And experience life we did!

From packing up and moving to Orlando for a semester to intern with the Walt Disney World College Program...to buying our first home together...to traveling all over the Caribbean...to getting scuba certified...to going skydiving...to losing loved ones...to growing into the people we've always wanted each other to be, and SO much more, I wouldn't change a single moment of it!

As my favorite quote goes, "Some days we love each other; other days we have to work at it. You never see the hard days in a photo album. But those are the ones that get you from one happy snapshot to the next."

Those words could not be truer. I LOVE YOU, Brent!! And I can't wait to see what the next 10 years holds for us!

Brent and me from the beginning:

This pic pretty much sums up our first month or so of dating ;)

2002 >> cheering for Memphis

 2003 >> cheering on Memphis at the New Orleans Bowl

2004 >> Brent's 22nd birthday in Orlando

"Wishes" at Magic Kingdom...one of our favorite things to see down there!

 

2005 >> more Memphis fun!

 2006 >> the start of a 5+ year wedding "season"

 Halloween fun!

2007 >> the proposal!! Thanks, Kelly Rhodes Stoffel! :)

 September 29, 2007 >> Mr. & Mrs. Brent Wilson!

 2008 >> Baby Buster the Boston Terrier arrives!

Some of my Buster faves!

 

 2009 fun!

 2010 >> 3rd anniversary in the Bahamas!

At our great friends, Patrick and Marcie's wedding!

 2011 >> 4th anniversary in Vegas! 

At one of my best friends, Kelly's wedding in NOLA!

 2012 >> Brent and me with our nephew, Cash. LOVE!!

It's so fun to go through all these pictures and see how much we've changed. Here's to the next 10+ years! :)

Making it through Monday...

While I am certainly no fan of Mondays, I have to say I am SO thankful last week is over and a new week has begun. The past seven days literally kicked my tail...

To start, late last Wednesday, a large government bid was dropped into my lap. I was asked to complete the technical volume write-up, similar to another large bid we completed in 2010. That one took me a solid month in a half. The time I was given to complete for this bid? A day and a half. Seriously?! While I greatly appreciate being asked to take part in something of this magnitude, there is no excuse for those who have a total lack of knowledge and concern to (1) be in the position they are, and (2) be the ones making the final decision on something this big. In the end, the project was completed; and although it was done well, it most certainly could have been done so with a great deal more accuracy and efficiency had there been more any communication and/or preparation. Regardless, there were a certain few people who really pulled together for the sake of teamwork, and we were able to get it done. SO very thankful for them!

In the middle of all that, I had my very first biopsy Friday morning. It is on my face, but luckily it's fairly small and where my jaw line folds into my ear, so it's pretty hidden. I tried hard not to freak out before going in to get the spot checked, and did a pretty good job at that. But of course after it was all over and hearing the dermatologist say she's almost certain it's skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, which thank goodness is 100% treatable and shouldn't come back once removed), I finally broke down that evening. Just a little too much after working 11+ hours three days in a row. I'll find out this Friday exactly what it is, once the biopsy has been analyzed. Skin cancer or not, it could be A LOT worse. Still...it's not something I was prepared for.

Thankfully I was able to get some actual marketing work done on Saturday (I should seriously hide a sleeping bag at the office...#ilovemyjob #ilovemyjob) and was even able to help out (if only for 20 minutes) at our first ever job fair. We truly have an amazing HR team!

Keeping on with the positives...

After our 7-mile run Saturday morning, Autumn and I had an awesome, albeit super random conversation. We stopped to say goodbye at our "corner" and figure out what time to meet on our next run, and then next thing we know, it's 25 minutes later! Autumn has truly become one of my closest friends, and I am beyond grateful for her advice, guidance, and encouragement. Has anyone (mainly runners) read Mile Markers? If you have a female running buddy, whom you share just about everything with due to the fact that you're running for multiple hours together and it would just be weird if you didn't talk, you should DEFINITELY read this book!

Buster and I had great run on Sunday afternoon, after which I did some spring cleaning, finally got a few loads of laundry done, and spent some much needed quality time with the hubby.

The NYC Half is this Sunday! While I've been having a minor issue with my left foot, I couldn't be more pumped about this race. Running through Central Park, Times Square, Ground Zero, and more – and running it with my cousin, Missy, in one of my all-time favorite cities in the world – I can't wait!!

On an even more positive note, the countdown is on for our Italy trip! A HUGE thanks to one of our friends for her Rome tour guide recommendation. We are even more excited now, if that was even possible.

And finally, today marks exactly five years (even to the day of the week) that Brent proposed! Read the super sweet story below...if you are so moved. :)

Happy Monday, everyone!

Another Year in the Books...and Another Anniversary in Vegas!

Four years later, and we’re still happily married! It hasn’t been without its ups and downs, I assure you, but I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a single moment of it for the world.

I was already planning on being in Las Vegas for a conference, so we decided it was the perfect opportunity for us to spend the weekend celebrating another year together. My flight was already paid for, we got an insane deal on the hotel room at Encore since they extended conference rate for us, and we got FREE show tickets. What more could we ask for!

Brent got in town that Thursday afternoon, once the conference wrapped up. We immediately headed down the strip for a fun afternoon of sightseeing. We stopped for lunch at Diablo’s Cantina, did more sightseeing, took a ride on the roller coaster at NY NY, and barhopped…including one of my favorite places: Cabo Wabo at Planet Hollywood. After that, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for an anniversary dinner at our favorite Vegas restaurant Lavo. Perfect way to celebrate four years: a phenomenal dinner on the patio with an amazing view of the Sirens of TI show.

Friday, we had breakfast at the Wynn, lunch at the pool, and just lounged in the sun and at the pool bar all day. It was heaven! That night, we had dinner across the street at Ra Sushi, and then made our way to Le Rêve at the Wynn. This was the second time I had seen the show, and it was even more amazing the second time around…WOW!! If you haven’t seen it, it’s a Vegas must! We even got a backstage tour with Tim Johnson, a former UCA instructor who’s now in the show. Thanks again, Tim!!

Saturday we spent the day at the pool again and didn’t really do much besides drink and swim. That night, we went back to Lavo. Once again, it didn’t disappoint!

We left to come home early Sunday morning. It was a fabulous, relaxing trip, and a perfect anniversary weekend. See you soon, Vegas!

Fun on the Vegas strip!

Our view at dinner

After a few cocktails at Lavo :)

Tim and me after Le Reve!

Early anniversary trip to the Bahamas!

While our actual anniversary is not until September 29, we decided (super last-minute, I might add) to take an early trip to celebrate. We literally booked it a week and a half before we left, which is NOTHING like me. I am pretty adamant when it comes to planning, so I was quite proud of myself. :) But we knew this would be the only time we could go, as I'm not able to take any vacation in August, Brent has VIPs in town the week of our actual anniversary, and in September, I already have two work trips planned, we have bachelor/bachelorette parties to attend, and Brent is in a wedding... plus, my boss was out of town all of July, so it was perfect!

We knew we wanted to go all-inclusive, since we've yet to go wrong with the other two we've been on. And being that we're certified scuba divers, we knew this was the way to go. We were hoping to go to St. Lucia; I have heard such amazing things about that island. Not only was it way too expensive, but we couldn't find a deal that worked with our travel schedule. We finally decided on Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma, Bahamas.

INCREDIBLE is the only word I have to describe it! Everything from the food to the cocktails to the pristine grounds to the fabulous people we met made this trip completely unforgettable. Well... that and the fact that we experienced our first Tropical Storm! We only had one bad weather day, but sadly, we weren't able to go diving even once due to winds and the strong current. :( We didn't let that spoil our fun, though! And at least we were able to put on the gear during our refresher course.

We took advantage of everything the resort had to offer. After the third day with the red flag waving, the water sports staff took us to another part of the island where the current and wind weren't so strong. While there, we went kayaking, drank some authentic Bahamian beer, went snorkeling, drank more beer, played beach volleyball, and drank some more beer. The next day, we took an amazing tour of the Emerald Reef Golf Club, which is featured on the Golf Channel's Big Break Sandals Resorts... The day after that, we met up with our friends Matthew and Margaret and played a round (well, the boys played and the girls drank champagne) on the most beautiful course I've ever seen. Crystal clear blue water stretching for miles and listening to the waves... I could've spent the rest of our vacation out there! We spent the week eating the most exquisite food I've ever tasted, drinking the most delicious cocktails ever made, and truly enjoying ourselves being surrounded by fun people.

On our last full day, we took a water taxi over to Stocking Island... Everyone we met told us this was a can't-miss while in the Exumas. And were they right!! We docked right at the entrance to Chat 'N' Chill, the most laid back, yet happening, bar I've ever been to. They were having a pig roast right on the deck, we watched boats and yachts of all sizes pull up and dock right on the beach, we swam with stingrays, and the fresh conch salad (which was made right in front of us)... uhhhhhh-mazing!

After a few hours of drinking, swinging on the rope, walking around and mingling with the locals, we met one of the coolest people in the world. His name was Patrick, and after about an hour of telling our life stories, we find out he's an undercover DEA agent. About five minutes later, we meet a boat-full of his "co-workers." They were awesome! Four hours and several mixed drinks later, the water taxi service had long-since stopped running, and our new best friends took us back to our island on their boat. They begged us to continue partying with them that night, but seeing as how neither of us could stand up for a long period of time and we were scheduled to leave the resort at 6 am, that didn't happen.

Needless to say, the trip was Heaven! That is, until the day we left... We were supposed to land in Memphis around 6 pm, but after a layover in Nassau (delayed an hour and a half) and another in Atlanta (delayed almost five hours... with us on the plane!), it was close to 1 am when we landed at good ol' Memphis International. We were absolutely exhausted, but the trip was so worth it! Can't wait to plan our four-year trip! :)