Life Lately

Since we live in Houston and I am a teacher, I pretty much split the year into four main seasons: Fall, Christmas, Spring, and Summer. And maybe I'm the only one who feels like this, but Fall is always so busy with getting back into the routine of school and football season, so I always look forward to Spring with the intent of it being a much slower season, but it NEVER is. Somehow, spring time gets full, too. This year is no different.

I have some fun recipes to post this week that have been shared with me by a fellow BeachBody coach. She's wonderful, and we have been co-hosting a 21-Day Fix group for the last couple of weeks. So be looking for those recipes soon, but for now, here's what's been going on lately...

What I've Been Eating/Drinking LATELY:

[one]

I have recently changed my Shakeology flavor. I had been switching between Chocolate and Strawberry, but I decided to try the Vegan Chocolate, and I L-O-V-E my new flavor! No, I am not vegan, but sometimes it's just good to give your body a break from animal proteins. So yummy!

[two]

I made some Chicken Tostadas that just might make my "Top 5 Favorite Dishes I've Made" list. And, definitely hubby approved! Recipe coming soon!

[three]

We had this Sweet Potato Hash at my parents' house for a family dinner, and YUM! This recipe will also be hitting the blog very soon!

What I've Been Reading LATELY:

[one] 

My family started a book club in 2015. I dropped the ball on the first book of the year. I started reading it, and I just never got into it. However, I very quickly got into the second book that was chosen. The first Harry Potter book. I never read the series when I was a kid. I guess I really wasn't much of a reader at the time. But, after seeing all of the movies when they came out, it has been so fun going back to read the books. I really enjoyed the first one, and I am now onto the second. I also love that my students also have read/are even currently reading them. They are so excited that I am reading them and love talking to me about the books. 

[two]

I have been following a blog called SheReadsTruth and going through the last few of their studies: the book of John and then Esther. This blog is written by some wonderful ladies who very clearly love the Lord and who, I can guarantee, are blessing lots of women every day. 

What I've Been Doing LATELY:

[one] 

                                                 

Hubby and I celebrated another wonderful Valentine's Day together. When I was in high school, I always painted my fingernails black on Valentine's Day being a "rebel" for whatever reason. Well, those days are very over, and I love having this day to celebrate love. We enjoyed a delicious brunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Brennan's. And then spent the day with our sweet puppy (who I am finally coming to realize that at three years old, she's really not a puppy).

[two]

It is spring in our house! As stated earlier, I don't really consider winter a season in Houston. I like to go from Christmas to springtime :) Of course, I decorated for Valentine's Day, but I've now decorated our table for Easter, one of my very favorite holidays! I can't help but smile whenever I walk by the table. 

[three]

It was plane rides, Ubers, and a fabulous wedding for me this weekend. I just got home today from Richmond, Virginia where one of my sweet college roommates got married. Richmond was perfectly covered in a blanket of wintery white, and just look how beautiful that bride is?! And her sweet new hubby photo-bombing. 

Lots of other things have been happening around here, and some fun posts are lined up for the next few weeks, as well as some yummy recipes to share! 

Hope you all have a great week!

Hello, August!

How in the world is it already August? I feel like I was JUST locking up my classroom door for the last time before the summer started. Wasn't the 4th of July like yesterday?! Obviously not. So, hello August! While I am not quite ready to go back to school, I am definitely ready for routine. I thrive off of having a routine, a schedule. Because of this, I am SO EXCITED about a little something that came in the mail this week, BUT you'll have to wait until the end of this post to find out what it is ;) ...don't scroll down, silly! Patience...

The end of the summer brought us some fun events and activities. There has been LOTS of summer softball. Aside from being out on the field, there's nowhere else I'd rather be in the summertime than watching hubs play ball with my main gal.

We have also had the chance to enjoy some fun time with good friends. We went to see an outdoor play with a few of our favorites and our furry chicas.

                  

We've celebrated a few birthdays and had birthday parties for old(er) friends and new(er) ones :)

You can find these two lovely ladies at Caitlyn's Blog and Steph's Website and Blog--both with huge hearts for the Lord and oh so talented!

We got to witness two wonderful people promise to be together forever at their wedding, and unfortunately, I did not snap a picture of them, but snapped a few others.

Sorry ladies, he's taken!

We call this our #selfiesession

We still have a few more fun things planned, and we are going to soak up every minute. For now, I will leave you with my newest purchase... 

That's right, my 2014-2015 Erin Condren planner came in!!!!! EIGHTEEN months of organized awesomeness. They made a few changes for the '14-'15 planner that I really like am obsessed with. If you like keeping a paper calendar/agenda book, this is for you. It is worth the money spent, I promise. AND if you are a first-timer with Erin Condren, by using my referral code, you will receive $10 off of your first purchase! Just click the link above, and once you sign up, it will send you a code via e-mail to use toward your first purchase. Okay I'm finished. 

Enjoy your last few days of summer! Hope you are doing something fun to celebrate while you can!!!

Second Anniversary

To celebrate, we had an entire day of dates on Saturday. We played 18 holes of golf. We went to lunch. We went to dinner. And, we went to a movie. Quality time is one of our love languages that we both share. So, that's exactly what we did--spent some quality time together. Yesterday, we went to church and then to lunch with our class. We picked up some things from my grandparents' house, which will hit the blog later, and then I cooked Matt his favorite meal. It is a recipe that his grandmother gave to me when we got married. All in all, it was the perfect anniversary weekend.

Two years ago today was the best day of my life. I'm not sure what could top it except for the days our future children are born, God willing, but no plans for that as of now. For now, the day Matthew Bormann and I vowed to be husband and wife in front of a church filled with our family and closest friends, surrounded by God's love, that was the best day of my life. That day was two years ago.

        

        

                  

Do you see those flowers? I will never forget them. I remember just staring at them when we were on the altar. I was in awe. 

Matt and I shared a first look in the same garden where he had proposed about seven months before. He proposed to me on my 22nd birthday. He took me to the church I had grown up in, the one my parents were married in 30 years prior, the one he knew we would one day get married in. He told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He had asked for my father's permission. Both my earthly father and my Heavenly Father. It was perfect. It was all God's doing. He's amazing like that. 

After we shared our first look, we were off to say our vows.

    

  

After being pronounced husband and wife, we danced the night away with all of our favorite people.

To quote the song we first danced to...

"and I thought I loved you then."  

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my best friend and soul mate. 

Thank you to Kelly Hornberger for capturing moments that I will never forget!

Ahh... Summer!

I really cannot believe it is already June. That means that I have completed my first year (well, semester) of full-time teaching. And now I get almost three months off- amazing. What will I do with myself? I plan to craft, play, shop, cook, and spend sweet time with my sweet hubby. All of these things will hopefully begin consuming this blog. I also plan on spending a whole lot of time with our family and our friends. We have already gotten to spend so much time with friends, and I've loved every minute of it. Here are a few highlights from the last month:

May 5th -- Cinco de Mayo at the Hills

May 26th -- The Holder/Schaefer Wedding

May 31st -- bayhouse with two of my favorites

June 4th -- PPL Roomies Reunion Dinner

June 5th -- Astros Game with a whole crew (yes, we won!)

June 8th -- The Witzenman Wedding...

...and the USA v. Ireland Rugby Game with the Batte's

We really have the best friends. Both the Mr. and I have been very blessed in that area of our lives. We are surrounded by people who not only are fun to be around but that support and encourage us in our walk with the Lord, as well as in our marriage. We are looking forward to many more dinners, games, parties, weddings, and weekend adventures this summer. 

I hope you are also having a wonderful summer beginning! 

One Year in One Post

DISCLAIMER: I want to start off by apologizing for the length of this post.

This weekend signifies our One Year Anniversary as Mr. & Mrs. (the paper anniversary), so I guess we will be getting each other Hallmark cards... and plane tickets! We are going to Sonoma! That will end up on a later post since it will be after school is out for me. For now, we are just going to sit back, relax, and reminisce on our last year together as husband and wife. On April 28th of 2012, we were married at the same altar my own parents said "I do" thirty years ago. It was the most amazing day of my life, and I love getting to relive it with pictures from that day that make me feel like we are getting married all over again. (Thanks to the one and only Kelly Hornberger Photography) I don't really want to get all gushy on the world wide web--I can save that for the Hallmark card. So, instead, here goes some highlights from our first year as "The Bormanns" in pictures...

APRIL 28th: Starting from the beginning, our wedding. I got to dance the night away with my handsome groom, and we were sent off by all of our family and close friends! Thank you again to all of our incredible vendors!

APRIL 29th-May 5: We traveled to Kauai, Hawaii for our honeymoon! We enjoyed every minute of it and called ourselves "The Honeymooners." The first picture was before we took a tour of the Kauai island from a helicopter (with no doors) and the second picture is from the Smith's Family Luau. We cannot wait to go back one day.

May-July: My parents bought a bayhouse, and we all spent many many days over the summer down at the bay. Matt caught the very first fish out of everyone--hopefully, there will continue to be many more catches! 

July-September: Our sweet girl, Avery, went to training camp a puppy and came back a wonderfully trained dog. Even though she was gone for a long time, it was well worth it, and she had a blast. We called it "Summer Camp".

 

October 5th-7th: We went to Palm Springs, California with my parents and grandparents to play golf and enjoy resort-life. This was our first married vacation after the honeymoon. Let's just say that we looked better than we played. :)

October-November: Many, many Texas A&M University tailgates and Corps of Cadets march-ins. Gig'em! 

November 21st-24th: We spent our first Thanksgiving in Dallas with Matt's amazing family. We started the morning off by running in the Turkey Trot in Downtown Dallas, and then his grandmother hosted all of us at her house Thanksgiving Day.

December 15th: I graduated from Texas A&M University! (finally) I walked across the stage, received my diploma, and then we celebrated. Along with Matt's and my immediate families (including my wonderful parents), both sets of my grandparents were there (man, how I love getting to say that.) It was such a special day.

December (Christmas): Our first Christmas together as a family. We spent part of our Christmas break in Gruene, Texas with Matt's family. We participated in the "Annual Bormann Bowling Party," but unfortunately did not come home with the trophy this year. We came back home for Christmas dinner with my family.

December 31st: I planned my first wedding. What? Yes. Well, kind of. My cousin got married on New Years Eve, and she and my aunt had planned most of it, and then I came in and helped with the "week-of" planning and bossed people around the "day-of" :) Okay, not really "bossed" but you get the idea. It was so fun--something I hope to get into more a little later in life.. or now. We'll see.

  

January 8th: Start my first day of my career as a middle school teacher. I teach the most hilarious and quirky little 7th graders. The subject I teach is science, but I hope and pray every day that they are learning more than just science from me. 

January 13th: After 6 months of training, the Mr. completed his very first marathon! We ran in the Chevron Houston Marathon (Mr.) and the Aramco Houston Half Marathon (Mrs.) This was definitely a huge accomplishment. I am still so proud of him for running 26.2 miles! Awesome!

February-March: The Mr. and I both joined Houston Rodeo committees back in October--the Mr. on the Calf Scramble committee, and I joined the Mutton Bustin' committee. We had a blast working our shifts in the 2013 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. We also met some new friends this year in our Newlyweds or Close class at church and got to take them to the rodeo for the first time. 

March (Easter): We went to the bay for the first part of our Easter break with my grandparents and parents. Easter morning, we were back home and got to go to the early service at church and then had a delicious Easter lunch with family at home. He is risen indeed! 

 April 12th: Another Aggie in the family got his Aggie Ring! We spent the day in College Station, Texas to celebrate with Matt's brother, Sam, who got his Aggie Ring!

April 19th: We celebrated the 60th Wedding Anniversary of my grandparents. What an incredible example they have set for the rest of us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus in every part of our marriage.

And here we are. One year later. A pretty awesome accomplishment. It's not 60 (yet), but we are on our way. Thank you to my husband for being my better half and best friend. I have loved going through life together this past year, and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. I know it will be great things. I love you!