Back from my 10-day blogging hiatus! The fun never stops!

These are a few pictures from Kyndal's wedding last weekend! This post would be entirely too long with all my pictures from this past week so I here is a little preview if you will. Enjoy :)

Jessie and I made time for a little photo op before the wedding began!

Kyndal and Kyle at the reception!

My mom and dad came to celebrate Kyndal and Kyle's special day

Kyndal and I just minutes before the ceremony began!

Kelsey, Kyndal's sister, and I getting ready for the rehearsal dinner!

Me with Karly and Kelsey, sisters of the bride :)

Always having fun! Of course...who wouldn't be excited after getting your hair done?!


Some of the bridesmaids...Karly, me, Kelsey and Magan

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Oh my goodness...where to begin!

Well first things first...Happy (late) Thanksgiving to everyone! Better late than never, right? We did it big here in the Redmond house...as always. Hope everyone was able to enjoy themselves and be surrounded by the ones they love. I want yall to know...I am thankful for you, all of you!! We are all a family here to support and care for each other. How awesome is that?!

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When I left you last, which was last Thursday I believe, I was about to head to Auburn for my friend Kyndal's wedding and all the other wedding festivites! Everything was a perfect success. Let me say the wedding was one of the most fun, beautiful weddings I have been in or even been to. Like myself, Kyndal loves very vintage, antique, rustic yet shabby chic inspired things and this is what the whole wedding looked like. It was outdoor with huge oak trees everywhere in the backyard of a gorgeous antebellum home. Vintage looking bird cages hung from the tree limbs, antique chandeliers hung sporadically above our heads and the reception took place in an old, beautiful barn transformed specifically for our celebration. I will try my best not to copy her wedding because I loved it all! The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was so much fun with all the wedding party, the hours leading up to the ceremony was filled with makeup, hair curling and picture taking and the wedding itself was flawless. Saturday night after the wedding, Kyndal and Kyle left for Charleston, South Carolina to enjoy their honeymoon and I stayed with Kyndal's family in Auburn for the night. They are like my second family. I love them.

Sunday I headed to Atlanta to get Burch (he can't drive because of car troubles...bummer). For those of yall who don't know, he moved to Atlanta about 3 weeks ago to look for a job. He had no success in Birmingham but because he grew up in Atlanta and has awesome friends there, he figured that was the next best option for the time being. So I go to Atlanta Sunday, stayed the night and brought him back with me to Birmingham Monday.

For the next few days we had some dinner dates, spent time with each other and helped mom prepare for Thanksgiving with some cooking and cleaning. Thursday we got up, got ready and headed to my aunt, uncle and cousin's house for Thanksgiving lunch with my mom's side of the family! I love love love family time and getting to see all my extended family! I am thankful God has blessed me with such an amazing, loving Christian family. We all truly care about each other and because I know people who aren't as fortunate to have a close family, it makes me that much more grateful. We had lots and lots and lots of food. I got a small plate (purposely) and filled it full. It's ok. Come on, it's Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving night my aunt and three cousins spent the night at my house like they always do on Thanksgiving night. Black Friday shopping is a tradition with the ladies in my family and we do it big, believe me. We were so filled with excitement of sales and bargains we didn't go to bed until midnight and woke up at 3 a.m. to get ready to leave. We were out the door at 3:30 a.m. and headed to Wally World (Wal-Mart)! Goodness, it was mad chaos but that was expected. We did walk away with some sweet bargains. I got an LCD HD tv and a laptop but those along with everything else I got has to stay with mommy and daddy until Christmas morning. Bummer.

Then we leave Wal-Mart and went to Target then Belk then a few other stores and then finally headed home. We couldn't take a nap because we had to get ready for our big Iron bowl party!! We had about 20 people over for the Auburn vs. Alabama game. As all of you football lovers probably know...it was rough for my Auburn tigers at the beginning of the game but we came back like we know how and WON THE GAME! My house exploded when Auburn won the game. The houses three streets over probably heard the rejoicing. We Auburn fans keep it fun, keep it classy and win the game. We are 12-0, we are officially numbero uno, we are pretty much the most awesome team ever AND headed to the SEC Championship next weekend against South Carolina. Gamecocks...we are coming for you ;)

Friday afternoon was a frenzy of excitement and rejoicing and greatness. My friend Kelsey, who is Kyndal's sister (the girl who just got married), came to Birmingham to watch the game with all of us and spent the night Friday night. After the Auburn game, Kelsey, Burch and I went to the Hoover High School football game (my highschool who is also headed to the championship next weekend which is being played in Auburn ironically) and then to eat at my favorite Japanese restaurant. We had the best time together!

Ok...speeding this up....I sure can get detailed...

Saturday was football, football and more football (props to Arkansas and Oklahoma!!) Saturday night we did Thanksgiving dinner with my dad's side of the family! Love them too! Isn't family great? I love it. My mom wasn't able to go because she had to work so guess who had to make the pies for the family?? You got it. Kristen had to make the pies! Praline pecan pie to be exact! Haha I rarely cook so this was a big responsibility but they turned out great! Just call me Betty Crocker from here on out ;)

I just got home about two hours ago from taking Burch back to Atlanta. If any of you have done long distance relationships you can relate. It is hard and no fun to have to say goodbye. We had a great week together enjoying each other and being around family. All my family has been so great welcoming him in and making him feel like one of us. I am so thankful for this. I am going back to Atlanta in 2 weeks to see him...it will fly by but having to resort to talking on the phone gets old, so old. But it will be fine. We have done it before.

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Umm...can we not even talk about weight loss? Or weight gain rather? Not only was it Thanksgiving and not only did we have a huge football celebration with tons of tailgating and party food...it is also my time of the month. So my scale has gone in the wrong direction over the past week. I am about 5 pounds away from my lowest weight, which I hit about three weeks ago. It's ok...five pounds isn't terrible I guess. Could be worse. I am trying to stay positive so negativity doesn't take over.

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QUESTION FOR MY FRIENDS:

Ok lastly, I have a question for all of you!! Do any of you have the body bugg? You know, the infamous things they wear on their upper arms on the biggest loser. I am contemplating whether I want this for Christmas. If you don't have the body bug, do you want one? What do you know about them? Good things? Bad things? Would I benefit from it? I figure yall might know some things about it from friends or personal experience! I appreciate the feedback!!

Until next time, have a fabulous night!!

Fun weekend ahead: Wedding edition! And NSV!!

Hey friends! Just wanted to post a blog and say hello before I leave for my long weekend in Auburn (again haha)! I am in one of my best friend's wedding this Saturday and all the festivities are starting bright and early tomorrow morning! I am about to hop in the shower, head to the tanning bed for a good ole' spray tan and head to Auburn! Tonight some of the bridesmaids are going to dinner and tomorrow morning we are all going with Kyndal, the bride, to get our nails and toes done! Yay! Then we have the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner and the fun just keeps going and going! Her wedding is at 2 p.m. Saturday and hair and makeup starts at 7 AM!! I am not a morning person but if it means getting up and getting makeover, I am there!

I am so indecisive on what to pack for the rehearsal dinner haha! So instead of bringing one dress to wear, I have like 5 packed with all different shoes so I can try them on! Goodness gracious, I wish I were more decisive. Anyways, I will be home late late Saturday night so I just wanted to say hey to my friends!!

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Also...

I have an exciting NSV for myself. I am officially, in every sense of the word, a SIZE 16!! When I started my lap band journey I was wearing a size 22 pants/jeans. Since about March I have been a size 18 in pants, jeans, dresses, you name it. About 2 months ago I bought a pair of size 16 jeans that I love and I squeezed myself in them but they sure were t-i-g-h-t! I have been holding off on giving away my size 18's just in case. But for the past week, every store I have been in I have asked for a size 16 and.....they all fit! Not just in one store, not in two stores, in all the stores! All the 18's seemed a little too big in the waist and legs so no thank you....bring on the 16's! For a fashion lover like myself, this is super duper exciting! Doesn't everyone want to be able to shop at any store and be able to wear the clothes? I know I do. Before my surgery I made a super long pro's and con's sheet and up there at the top was being able to go into any given store and wear a "normal" size. I still have a ways to go but I will take size 16 over 22 any day :)

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Hope yall have a fabulous weekend!! I will bring lots of pictures back to show you! Love you guys to pieces!! I leave you with pictures of Kyndal and I :)

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Me with the bride-to-be back in 2007

Me with the bride-to-be a few months ago! We have both shed a few pounds and are much more healthy versions of ourselves! I love this girl :)

I love weekends in Auburn! *Picture Post*

I am home from my fabulous weekend in Auburn! I just can't say enough about how much I love that place :) For me, it is one of the best places there is. Let me tell you a little something about Auburn, Alabama...

It is a charming and quaint little college town that was voted one of the top 10 best cities to live in the United States. I say it is little but it is also the fastest growing metro area in the state of Alabama. Since I was born pretty much, I have spent every football season in Auburn. My parents have had football season tickets since 1984 and I am fortunate enough to have shared so many wonderful experiences there. I also spent my college days in Auburn for four and a half years and those were some of the best times of my life. When I think of Auburn I think of family, pride, spirit, sophistication, dignity and a whole lot of love! And game days at Auburn are unlike any other. Coming from fans of South Carolina, LSU and Clemson, Auburn fans were the nicest and most welcoming people of any college town they had been to. We love our town and the people in it. During football season, the aroma of tailgating and cookouts fill the air and the town is crawling with people dressed in their orange and blue. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

This past weekend we beat Georgia making our team 11-0! It was a rocky start but we got it together in the second half. We secured the spot for the SEC West and we are playing in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta against South Carolina!! I am so proud of our boys! They have a week off and then we go to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama!! The Iron bowl...our biggest rival....our biggest game of the season!!

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So Friday night was Kyndal's bachelorette party! We had a delicious dinner and then headed to the lake house! Kelsey, Kyndal's sister, and I had gone earlier in the day to decorate. We spent the night playing crazy games, opening lingerie gifts, dancing to blaring music and taking tons of pictures!

Saturday we got up bright and early for breakfast. Then I had to get ready and head to our tailgate on campus. The game was a little stressful towards the beginning but it got better. We beat the dawgs and sent them on a long bus ride home! After the game, everyone stayed in the stadium and celebrated for about 45 minutes! All the coaches and players were running all over the field celebrating, the student section was going crazy and music filled the air...it was our last home game of the season. But what a fantastic way to end the night!

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Enjoy my pictures from the weekend! Love you all!

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Weekend update!! It's almost FRIDAY!!

Hey friends!

I have been absent from the blogging world for the past few days so I thought I would do a little recap!

So let's talk....the five day pouch test! Phew...I finished the pouch test Monday, November 8th. I must say, it was a good experience but it sure did test my will power. Overall I felt like I did pretty good. My total weight loss in the 5 days was.....drum roll please........3.5 pounds. I am happy with that. Not too shabby for 5 days. Could have been more but could have always been less if I didn't try the diet. I definitely got in more protein each day than I'm used to (around 70 grams) and tried to cut out sugars and carbs as much as possible. I would have to say day 2 was the hardest for me. It was a "liquid protein" day and throughout the day I was extremely light-headed and weak and dizzy. It got much better on day 3. I know 5 days isn't very long but when you go from having carbs to no carbs, it plays with your mind and your stomach. I think I was just having withdrawals haha. I recommend it for people that need a quick "back to basics" lesson for the band and if your eating has been out of control. I could definitely tell my stomach and pouch felt tighter and towards the end, my portions became smaller and smaller. I may do it again down the road but not any time soon.

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So this weekend is going to be C-R-A-Z-Y but in a good way! At 2:30 today I have a hair appointment (which is like one of my all-time favorite things to do along with getting manicures, pedicures and getting my makeup done). Right after my hair appointment I am driving down to Auburn for my friend Kyndal's bachelorette weekend! The bachelorette party doesn't start until Friday afternoon but I am going early to help her sister decorate.

We are staying at a really nice lake house on the lake that belongs to friends of Kyndal's family. The family who owns the lake house is going out of town and they are brave enough to let a bunch of girl's crash it for the weekend. Apparently this lake house is huge with like 6 bedrooms and a heated pool and jacuzzi! Perfect for a girls' weekend! I can't wait! But I am actually leaving the party Saturday afternoon to go to the Auburn vs. Georgia game with my family! Because we are undefeated and Georgia is a huge rivalry for Auburn, this is a big game! My family will have our camper in Auburn this weekend so Saturday night after the game we are going to cook out, enjoy some more football and spend time together in the RV field of Auburn :) If you don't know anything about camping, cookouts and tailgating at a college town during football season, I highly recommend it!

So there you have it...my busy weekend. I wanted to get on here and say hey to everyone because it will probably be Monday before I can catch up on everyone's blogs again :(

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Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I found an album of old pictures on my computer from when I was little with my family! Goodness...I love old pictures! Thought I would share some of them! Enjoy!