Can't Help But Smile

This weekend was filled with just pure happiness!  It was one of those weekends where you look around you and can't help but smile because God sure knows what He is doing.  There was no grand event and yet it was the grandest of weekends.  One I won't soon forget.

Friday

Triangle Pets Alive had an adoption event at Third Friday at Golden Belt.  The weather was nice and the dogs loved all the attention.  I love being able to foster.  The dogs have given me more than I could ever give them.  The people in Triangle Pets Alive are some of the best and I love the time we get to spend together with the animals.

Rhett's adoption was finalized on Friday night.  Kristen adopted my handsome little boy and I know he is going to get to give all the kisses his little furry heart could desire!  Rhett was the last of Scarlett's puppies to be adopted.  I bonded with him over the last few weeks while he waited for his forever family!  He was definitely the hardest to say goodbye to but he was also the one I was most happy for because Kristen could not be more perfect for him!

Saturday

Little miss Lilah decided she was going to wake me up at 6:50 AM ON A SATURDAY!  But this ended up turning out to be a blessing in disguise.  Instead of crawling back under the covers, I decided it was about time I did a little spring cleaning.  I went room by room and cleaned the house from top to bottom and then I cleaned the carpets.  Now that I am puppy-less for a while, it was high time they were cleaned.

The dogs enjoyed relaxing on the bed while the sheets were washed.  And Lilah enjoyed making herself comfortable on the newly made bed.  After all, I made the bed up just for her, didn't I?  After I finished cleaning, I felt the house needed a little bit of pretty to celebrate. I love flowers.  I don't care if they die in a week and I don't care if they are expensive and I don't care if I have to buy them for myself, I love having flowers in the house.

You may be thinking that your idea of a grand weekend doesn't include cleaning but I can't even express how nice it is to have the house clean.  It makes me appreciate how much I've been blessed with even more. Plus, I was finished with the whole house by 2 p.m. so I still had plenty of time to enjoy the clean house.

Saturday night I went to see Gatsby.  I was sort of disappointed by the movie overall.  I liked the majority of the music and love the costumes and sets but I found the story to be a little hard to follow at times and unfinished.  I haven't read the book in probably 8 years so I'd like to go back and read it.  It might change my opinion of the movie.  Despite not particularly caring for the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed the company.  There is something about dinner and a movie that just makes my heart happy.  After the movie we sat and talked for over an hour and half.  Just sat and talked - no phones, no tv, no interruptions.  I felt like I was back in high school without a care in the world.  By far - this was the best part of the weekend.

Sunday

I slept in on Sunday and spent the majority of the day being lazy.  I cuddled with some very cute pups and caught up on some DVR.  I figured I deserved it after all the cleaning I did the day before.  It was raining off and on the whole day so this was just about perfect.  That evening I went to church where I got to thank God for such an amazing weekend and for blessing me with so many wonderful things.  The last year has been tough.  There were times when I wondered "why;" times when I couldn't see what He had in the works.    I think it makes the "ah ha" moments even more powerful.

At the end of mass, I made sure to say a prayer for our sweet Curry - a 5-6 month old Shepard mix puppy who came to Triangle Pets Alive this past week.  She is battling parvo and has been given a 50/50 chance right now.  TPA is doing everything we can to give her the chance to fight.  If you can take a minute and say a prayer for Curry, I'd appreciate it!

Curry's vet bills are already over $1000.  If you can donate anything, no matter how small, our rescue would appreciate it!

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High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday y'all!  This week flew by but was a very, very good week :)  Here are a few of the pictures I managed to snap!

1// I finally broke down and converted to an iPhone after dropping my phone in the bathtub Sunday night.  I still hate Apple as a company but I'm enjoying it so far!
2// Ava is my new foster dog.  She's a redbone coonhound and just as sweet as can be!  She loves to explore the backyard!
3// Got stuck in a little bit of traffic on my way to work.  This isn't anything new or noteworthy except for the reason for the traffic - two guys pulled over on the side of the highway literally fist-fighting!
4// Linked up for Three Things Thursday again!  We shared our fav quotes this week and I loved reading everyones!  Make sure you get your posts ready for next week!
5// Treated myself to a little chai tea latte on the way to work this morning.  I've largely given up coffee but decided to splurge on a little treat this beautiful Friday morning.  Caribou coffee is my favorite!

Happy {almost} weekend friends!

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN!  Head over to my lovely friend's blog and wish her a Happy Birthday too! xoxo

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GETTTT ITTTTTT GURLLLLL! + A Giveaway!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have recently become OBSESSED with my Stella & Dot pieces!

If you don't own any Stella & Dot yet, you need to check it out!  And if you are already familiar with the awesomeness that is Stella & Dot, then you need to check out their new collection!

So I wanted to host a special virtual shopping date with all my wonderful followers!

So anytime between now and May 31st...

Grab yo'self a glass of wine and a big hunk of chocolate and sit down to shop with me!  

You know you want to!

Here are some of my favorite items!  All can be found by going here.

Everyone who places an order will be entered to win this Stella & Dot "Light" bracelet!

And as an added incentive, I will be giving one of my favorite pieces away as well, the Gilded Arrow Bangle!  So if you make a purchase, you have the chance to win two items!

If you have any questions, or need some help deciding between everything, you can email me at 

carolinafireflies {at} gmail {dot} com

So lets have some fun together! xoxo

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{Three Things Thursday} Words to Live By

Welcome to another Three Things Thursday!

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The rules are: *Follow your hosts on GFC or Bloglovin' {Myranda and Kristyn} *Link up your 3 things post, all other posts will be deleted.  *Hop around and make some new friends *Grab a button and post it 
This week's topic is: 3 of your Favorite Quotes
{Movie quotes, celebrity quotes, any words you find inspiring}

I love quotes, don't you?  I actually had a hard time narrowing my favorites down to three to share with you!

1. “Our mistakes don't make or break us - if we're lucky, they simply reveal who we really are, what we're really made of.”
- Donn Moomaw
2. 
 
This quote is one of the first that my favorite English teacher, Ms. Flowers, had us read in high school freshman english.  I've always loved it.  It reminds me of where I came from and the marvelous adventure of where I'm going

3. The words I live by

Next week's Topic- Tell us about 3 of your favorite movies and why you love them! We are recruiting co-hosts for the Three Things Thursday Link up! Fill out the form here To see the full schedule of topics go here To submit a topic idea fill out the form here

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Kate Spade Surprise Sale!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you might have seen me post about the Kate Spade Surprise Sale yesterday!

In case you didn't, I just wanted to let you all know that it is still going on through today!

I love Kate Spade but with student loans, a mortgage and a new car payment, I just can't justify spending $300 on a new purse.  Well, at 75% off, I didn't have to!

Here's what's on it's way to me!  I can't wait to receive them!

{On sale for $99}

{On sale for $149}

{On sale for $59}

And here is what is still in my cart.  Which ones should I pull the trigger on?

{On Sale for $39}

{On sale for $19}

{On sale for $89}

{On sale for $29}

{On sale for $199}

{On sale for $29}

I thought this would be great for a first date! lol!

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{Three Things Thursday} My Lovely Mom

Welcome to another week of  Three Things Thursday!

This weeks topic is...

3 Things you LOVE about your Mom or
Another special woman who you admire

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The rules are: *Follow your hosts on GFC or Bloglovin' {Myranda and Kristyn} *Follow your cohost(s) on GFC or Bloglovin' {Ashley} *Link up your 3 things post, all other posts will be deleted.  *Hop around and make some new friends *Grab a button and post it 
Next week's Topic- 3 of your all time favorite quotes Those quotes that are just inspirational to you in some way!
Make sure you say hello to our co-host Ashley from Wannabe Green!

This past year, I have gone through a lot.  My mom has been there for me in ways I couldn't have imagined.  I feel like our bond grew a lot stronger over this past year so I'm so excited to share my favorite things about her this week!

1. She has great values My mom is a good person.  Plain and simple.  She always stuck to her values 100% when I was growing up even if it wasn't the easiest thing to do.  Now that I am an adult, I see how important it was and I'm so grateful she taught me those values as well.
2. She's always been my mom first I was not an easy teenager.  Not the worst, but definitely was not easy.  There were plenty of times when I wanted my mom to be my friend and let me go to a party instead of being my mom and saying no.  Now, I constantly look back and wonder "how did I turn out so good?"  I didn't drink or do drugs in high school, I didn't sleep around or get pregnant at 16, I got good grades which got me into a good college which got me into a good law school.  I've realized its because my mom was a mom during those tough years.  If I am even half the mom she is, then my kids will be very lucky.
3. She's always there for me Like I said, I've been through a lot this year.  My mom has been and I know she always will be there for me through every up and down.  She is the first person I call when I have good or bad news.  If I need anything, my mom will figure out a way to make it happen, even if it means sacrificing something in her life.  It is so comforting to know that I have someone like that in my life.  No matter what, I can be confident that even if I fail miserably at something, she will be there.  That even if I screw up, she will be there.  The future is full of fear of the unknown but having her for a mom lessens that fear immensely.
I am so blessed that God gave me her for a mom!

{New Years Eve 2010}
We are recruiting co-hosts for the Three Things Thursday Link up! Fill out the form here To see the full schedule go here To submit a topic idea fill out the form here

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{Revolt} Week 2.2

As I posted about here, I started the Revolt Fitness Plan 8 weeks ago and completed my first "uprising" April 14th.  Each Uprising is 6 weeks long and I started my second Uprising on April 15th.  The idea behind the name of the company (revolt) and each 6 week session (uprising) is that we should revolt/rise up against the before picture!  I love that!

If you are new around here, Revolt Now Fitness is a a system that was created by a mom, Nichole Huntsman.  Nichole had weight to lose and figured out how to do it and keep it off.  She’s lost 60+ pounds after each of her four children and is now a certified personal trainer.

Nichole created Revolt Fitness as a way for others, like her, to get into shape and get healthy.  Not only that, but to maintain your health and do so without a gym membership.  I don't know about everyone else but by the time I've gone to work all day and made it home to let the dogs outside, the last thing I want to do is go back out to a gym and work out surrounded by a ton of really fit people!  

Revolt provides weekly meal plans and daily workout plans that you can do at home without any fancy equipment.  Fresh workouts daily (on video and on paper), a meal plan that you can shop for on Saturday, cook on Sunday and not worry about it all week.  So simple! It’s clean eating that anyone can understand and do!

Last week I told you how this second Uprising is different from the first 6 weeks.  I love the tweaks they have made!

I'll be honest, this week I did not follow the diet much at all.  I can't tell you how important it is to prep all your food on Sunday night.  Well last Sunday night I was sitting in the woods, tossing treats at a very stubborn little dog.  But, that's what I love about this - It is OK!  Life happens and I'm not going to stick with something if it adds more stress to my life when I get thrown a curveball (or 6!).

I did try to make good choices and I think I did pretty well.  Again, this is more about a lifestyle change than following a strict diet.  I really felt like I was playing catch up this week too so I really didn't have time to crave anything too bad for me but that also meant I didn't have time to work in the exercises.  I really should have but most nights I looked up from my work and it was already like 9 p.m.  But, I'm not going to let that stop me!  Here are my stats for this week:

Beginning weight: 183

Last week: 171.5

This week: 172

If you are interested in joining Revolt, let me know! You can jump in at any time and learning the ropes is quick and easy!

Weekly Recaps:

Introduction

Week 1.1

Week 1.2

Weeks 1.3 & 1.4

Weeks 1.5 & 1.6
Week 2.1

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