31 days

Yes, in 31 days I am getting married to Prince Patrick! I am so ecstatic :)

...I think I officially went into freak out mode. I will come back later with a post once I have closed my "To Do" list. It is somewhat overwhelming at times, as everyone's can be.

Besides the fact that I am getting married in ONE MONTH (yay!) I also am:

-moving to a different town

-getting my cheer girls ready for camp

-going to cheer camp (in town thankfully)

-instructing Vacation Bible School at my church

-celebrating Prince Patrick's birthday and our 4 years together :)

...and a lot of other non-exciting stuff that I can't really comprehend right now because I get sick to my stomach thinking about things I have yet to do.

I like to think I am the girl who always stays on top of things but I feel like May took me by surprise and just left me in the dust. Oops.

Anyways...I am SO excited I cannot even wait! During times like this I realize there is so much to be thankful for, and I truly am! I feel so joyful and blessed :)

ALSO: My cousin WON Regionals so she is state bound as a freshman...whoop whoop! Add "cheering my cousin on at State" to the list!

Bows Bows Bows

I have had an obsession with bows since, well since birth. Maybe it is my girly girl nature but I am more than pleased when I spot a bow...anywhere on anyone or any thing.

I must admit, if it has a bow, I am 100 times more likely to buy whatever it is. I have thousands of bows. Bows on shoes, bows on purses, bow headbands (thanks to Blair Waldorf for starting this trend), bows on dresses, bows everywhere. My mom taught me how to make the perfect bow on packages even, it is our trademark. Everyone knows who the gift is from by the perfect bow.

How Blair Does Bows:

Onward, because it is no surprise that I covet Blair Waldorf's style and headbands....

I would be lying if I didn't say that one of my favorite parts of cheerleading was the excuse to wear a huge bow in my hair to school & to the games. (Of course, I was a cheerleader for 10 years so obviously I enjoyed it for other reasons besides the cute uniform and ribbons.)

SO, you can only image my delight when I spotted a red bow on Bubbly B at the track meet! GASP, EXCITEMENT!! I was so thrilled. I have to admit, I was rather down on track when she started because it wasn't "girly" enough for me. I should have had more faith in my extremely girly cousin, she definitely brings girly aspects to the sport.

Basically, I don't think you are ever too old to rock a bow ;) Or this is my excuse. I still wear bows (especially on headbands) whenever I can, even though I sometimes get comments about how I look like I am 5 years old. I don't care.

Just this weekend I wore a bow headband to a wedding Prince Patrick and I attended. Before we left I asked him, "Is this headband too much?"

His reply: "When have you ever wondered if a headband was 'too much'?" Yes...you could say that this princess is always [a little] over the top.

Blair Photo Credits

Oversized Croc

Today I learned that I am the ONLY person in the world who likes Lacoste's Oversized Croc logo polo. One of the local mens dress shops is going out of business so I went to the friends & family sale looking for some nice dress clothes for the men in my life. Because I am a NICE PERSON!

Well, that is the last time I am doing something nice. I have liked the big croc logo for some time now and I knew that my older brother didn't like it, so I didn't buy him one. However, my dad has always been a preppy dresser so I thought, "I could see him in this." Wrong. He said it was "too preppy and young" for him. Okay, okay. I will give him that. He is just over 50 so maybe it is a little young looking. My feelings were still hurt.

On to a YOUNG [and preppy when I dress him] Prince Patrick. I know he doesn't really go outside his style box usually so I thought that these polos would be perfect for him. He can wear polos to work. Check one. AND besides the big croc they are plain and simple. No crazy colors or designs. Check two.

WRONG AGAIN! Prince Patrick said..."can you take them back?" Hmm. No. The store CLOSED. Hints me being nice and going to the MEN'S STORE to the closing sale. I went purely to find stuff for my dad, brothers, and Prince Patrick. No selfish buying here. RAR!

Blah. I was so upset. I may have cried. Just a little. I just wanted SOMEONE to like the precious big croc logo polo that I adored and unselfishly bought.

I like them more and more each time I look at them. There is nothing "gaudy" about them. (That was Prince Patrick's excuse for not liking them, I still love you babe). So here I am...with two adorable Lacoste polos. I guess I will just wear them around the house. However, if any of you have a hubby or brother or SOMEONE who just LOVES the adorable croc like me I would send them your way. I mean, they deserve to be at a home where they are truly cared for.

Yup, I think they are fabulous.

*Side note: BUBBLY B IS A SECTIONAL CHAMPION! That's right. My super speedy freshman cousin won sectionals. Pray for a fast regional time as well :) She is the best.

40

40 more days! And then...I'm going to be married! Seriously, I feel like August was yesterday and Prince Patrick was PROPOSING! Everyone told me how fast it would go by and it really has!

Wedding plans are coming along greatly, thanks in large part to my amazing mom. I have been running out to the mail for the past month to check response cards and most of them have arrived. So that is a plus :) I have observed that GUYS are totally LAME on sending back their response cards. Most of the people who haven't answered yet are men. How hard is it to write your name, put a mark next to attending or not, and put it in the mail? Hello! It is already stamped and addressed for you...all you gotta do is take 30 seconds to fill it out. Some of them have told me in person they are coming but that is not the point. Some people need etiquette lessons. They have until June 1st before they feel the wrath of Patriotic Princess AG ;)

On to something completely different/random. Earlier this week fabulous Aly from Analyze This wrote a post on how to watermark your photos. *Love her blog, you must check it out!* Oh my goodness, I was so happy! For being quite an average girl, I have gotten my pictures stolen online numerous times. Maybe people STEAL them because I am just an average American girl but if I was going to steal photos, I would totally pick a super model. It is so frustrating when I come across "fake" people with my photos. Well, I assume they are actually real people but they are using my photos and my face and that is not cool. Anyways, long story short...I am so appreciative that I have finally learned to watermark them.

Tomorrow I'm off to watch Bubbly B run fast at her track meet! Sectionals...whoop whoop! AND she ordered me a t-shirt...it made my week! [Fun Fact: I LOVE t-shirts].

B and me

Hope everyone has had a fabulous Monday!

Please, don't be lazy.

Laziness is truly an epidemic in our society. At first, I thought people who said this were just compulsive overachievers but lately laziness has been following me around in an all consuming haze.

It started at first with middle school cheerleading. I coach at a middle school and the 7th graders are just amazing and have this drive that I can tell burns within each one of them. The 8th graders, not so much. But I just thought, "They are 8th graders. They are 'too cool' to 'work hard'." And rightfully so because 8th grade sucks.

Then I started assisting with an all-star cheerleading squad. I have been a coach for about 4 years and studied sport programming in college so I realize that recreational programming and competitive programming are complete different and definitely need to be kept separate for many, many reasons. I always have to remember to switch coaching modes whenever I go from coaching recreational programs to competitive programs. So last Sunday I was in full force "competitive coaching mode" and I had high hopes that the girls would follow my lead. Oh wow, I was in for a big surprise.

I cannot even express to you how many times I heard "I don't want to do that". Well, then that put me straight into pissy mode. There are MANY things in life that I don't "want" to do but you HAVE to do them. I understand no one wants to condition, but it will make you better. The big problem I had was girls telling me they didn't want to do a certain position. Like, "I want to be the flyer, not the base. I don't want to this stunt, I want to do the other stunt. I don't want to do my jumps like that, because I do them like this." OMGOSH, I thought I was going to explode.

Finally, after I had heard the majority of the girls complain about something I quickly grabbed the two other assistants. I wanted to make sure this wasn't just me being in a bad mood. Sure enough, they had been thinking the same thing. I would think the head coach got the same idea but we were unable to flag her down.

Anyways, this resulted in a discussion with the other coaches about how much things have changed since we cheered. I don't feel like I should be THIS out of the loop when it comes to competition. I mean, 4 years ago I was in the same gym having the same (but much more strenuous) practice. Why the big adjustment? Laziness. And lack of discipline.

I have come to the conclusion that some kids in society just want it their way. They haven't been told "no" enough. I think a lot of coaches today don't want their athletes to quit so they never push them to do things they don't want to do. If I EVER told my coach "I don't want to do that" I think I would have immediately been dismissed. I would expect someone to tell me if they didn't feel COMFORTABLE doing something, because that is something completely different...but just being "too tired" is absolutely not acceptable. How are you supposed to get any better if you don't try hard? How are you supposed to learn new things when you refuse to try anything you're not used to? And the "I'm too good" attitude isn't going to fly with me because I remember being told repeatedly, "I don't care how good you are, you can always find someone better" and I expect I may be using that line soon ;)

After coming home from the practice of I-don't-wants a frustrated Prince Patrick begins to tell me how UNmotivated his basketball team is. Ohhhh how we are in the same boat. I think it is particularly hard for us to coach unmotivated teenagers because we were so passionate about our sports when we were in their place. We wanted to be noticed, we wanted the college scholarship and whatnot. Plus, they are on competitive teams. They weren't signed up for the recreational class by their parents.

I definitely understand lazy days. I have them a lot. But laziness is not a character trait you want to develop. And it is definitely not something I want in an athlete as a coach.

*Side note: I coach middle school and high school. I'm not talking about "unmotivated" toddlers. Although I do coach gymnastics in a recreational setting from pre-school to high school this is definitely not what I am talking about.

Well, I'm off to instruct cheerleading try-outs for the middle school and then I'm coaching gymnastics. Sorry for the rant ;) HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Patriotic Princess = Winner!

So in amidst of the craziness which has become my life, I forgot to tell yall a big something...

I WON my FIRST blog giveaway! It was weird because I had just said how much I love stationary and writing notes, and then I found out I was College Prep's Winner! It was fate. Thank you notes have become my life lately with bridal showers and wedding gifts (NOT complaining) so I absolutely cannot wait to put my new fun/preppy stationary to good use.

Here is a preview of my fantastic stationary, they are SO CUTE and PREPPY...which is totally Patriotic Princess AG.

My mom was so impressed, she is determined to buy me another set with my "married" name on them! Which I actually really need. I love any reason for more stationary and a name change is definitely a valid reason to buy a whole lot of new stationary and monogrammed fun-ness.

Anyways, check out The Preppy Ladybug and College Prepster...they both are fabulous.

Okay, I'm done bragging :) I am just so excited!

Hope you have a fabulous week...yay! Love always.

"You don't really know a woman until she writes you a letter."

Mother's Day

I hope all you moms out there have an amazing Mother's Day! I definitely admire each and every one of you and I hope that I can be half the mothers that you all are. Especially my mom, she is perfect in every single way and I look up to her so incredibly much. She is my very best friend and such a fabulous & loving mom.

Church and brunch at the Country Club are on my agenda, what about yours?

Love you all! Mothers...you are SO appreciated!

Stressed OUT! Not really.

I don't feel stressed, but I think I am. I mean, I don't feel like I have anything to be "stressing" about. Sure, I have a wedding in 52 days, but I'm just excited...plus my mother is an amazing planner so I feel like everything is going well. I guess I do have a lot going on though. I feel like I can never say "no" so I have committed myself to 1,000 different things. Okay, not 1,000 but quite a few. I know compared to other people (DCGopGirl comes to mind) I don't have THAT much on my plate. I admire DCGopGirl for all her hard work, she seriously is like superwoman. You must check her out if you aren't a follower of hers already.

So back to stress. Usually my stress comes in waves like, wanting to buy new things, eating when I'm not hungry, or feeling like I'm going to rip someone's head off at any given moment...but lately I have just been developing weird OCD habits. And I FREAK out about dumb stuff, like what could happen if my kitten got out, which she did...which proves my point that it IS indeed a valid fear. Thankfully through all my weirdness my friends, family, and Prince Patrick still put up with me.

Anyways... I am having my weird paranoias flare up intensely, but they are getting some what better. And deep down inside I know they are real. Like, I throw away my tooth brush after being sick (isn't this legitimate?) so when I was at my fiancé's parent's house last weekend I grabbed my spare tooth brush that I always keep in my bag (just in case) because the last time I used the tooth brush that I leave there I was sick! Prince Patrick made so much fun of me and said that I can't "catch" my "old" germs. Well, sure enough. I am sick. I don't think it was the tooth brush, but I'm still angry.

My germ phobia is in full swing again. I have always been a slight germ freak. Public things gross me out. I mean, you don't know where OTHER people's hands have been! Not everyone had mothers who taught them about cleanliness. I know that Lysol and hand sanitizer probably do more harm than good, but they make me feel better. So I will continue to use them.

I am also the biggest "clean sheet" freak ever. It is weird. Like, I absolutely have to shower before getting in my bed and I must have clean sheets always. BUT everyone should know that yesterday, I laid in my bed (on top of the covers, of course) after I had worked out. SICK, but I did it and I am very proud of myself for accomplishing such a gruesome task.

So now yall probably think I am the biggest loser ever. Believe me, I am very normal. I just feel like being stressed out makes my OCD intensify. How do you deal with stress? Am I the only one who starts acting all freakishly? I'm not even that stressed. It's not like I have finals to worry about. This time of year I always thank God that I am a college graduate because I remember how stressed college made me. Which reminds me, GOOD LUCK to those working on finals.

Fun pictures from the weekend:

*Admirable AG and I, with my rain hat*

*Prince Patrick, only 52 more days!*

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:33)