Spring vaca in the mountains!!!

I have been meaning to post this for a while and today seemed like the perfect day to do it because I soooo badly wish I was on vacation. I am so pumped Dedee and Stuart, they are my in-laws in case everyone doesn't know, are taking Hunter and I on a spring trip to two places I have had on my list to visit for quite a while. The first place we are going is Highlands, North Carolina! My friend/coworker has a house in the Highlands and has been talking about how beautiful the town is. My sister also went on a trip last year, and she came home saying it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful places she has ever been. Bring on the peacefulness please! The second place we are visiting is the Biltmore Estate. This place looks amazing! I have recently acquired a taste for wine so that will come in handy for the winery tour! I am so excited, and I am soooo ready for spring! Is that bad that I already wish it were spring? I hate to rush my life away or however people say it, but I just don't like this time of year. Everything is slow, everyone seems to have a cold that never wants to go away, all the plants and trees look pitiful, and it is so cold (except for today of course-YAY)!!! I will definitely blog in March after we go on our vacation with lots of pictures!

Baby Talk

I am so excited to announce that one of my best friends is pregnant!!!!! I have been waiting for this day to come for one of my friends to have a baby, and I am so excited for Candace and Brad. They are going to have the most beautiful baby in the world! It's so weird when you just know something...yesterday Candace called me in the morning, and I didn't have time to answer because I was running around the house trying to get ready to go out to shop with my mother-in-law and her best friend Katie. I saw that I had a text from her saying I needed to call her asap. Right then I knew it! I knew she was preggers or at least I hope that's what it was! We played a little phone tag, but I finally got in touch with her while I was waiting in line at Panera. The poor lady waiting to take my order probably wanted to yell at me because I screamed in excitement and started crying because I was so happy for her! It's even more funny because the same story happened when she told me she was engaged (except we were in person), but I still screamed loud enough for everyone in the parking lot at the mall to stare at us! I can't wait to be "Aunt Mel" and see the blessings that are coming into their life! Yay!!!

Signs

Everyday I pass by a church in my neighborhood that is so small and tucked back in the corner of a parking lot. I don't think I would have ever noticed it, if the big sign wasn't displayed on the main road. Every day I slow down and check the sign to see what the message is. Sometimes the message remains the same for about a week, and others it changes every couple days. My mind is always heavy when I pass by the church. Every time I pass by, I am usually worrying about something, stressed, anxious, excited, nervous, etc. you name it, and the sign never lets me down. I was driving home from work the other day when I was feeling a little down. I was not happy with something that happened at work, and I was holding on to it when I should have just let it go. I saw the sign, and the sign told me exactly what I needed to do: "Be nice, and nice will come back to you." It's such a simple phrase, but means so much. It's so easy to be mean back or to act ugly when someone is not treating you like you should be treated, but to be nice anyway is so important. You never know what someone is going through behind closed doors or what someone is struggling with that day. I have really been trying to act on this phrase, and although I may slip up, I am always reminded when I drive by the church.

Wii Fit...whatever

This past weekend was amazing having three days off instead of two.  I really enjoyed having extra time to rest, play and visit with friends.  Speaking of friends, I met my sweet friend Louise for lunch on Saturday.  I missed her so much! It's sad when you live in the same city and rarely get to see your friends because our "grown-up" lives are too busy! After lunch Louise said, "Why don't we go to my mom's house and play Wii Fit?" I was like sure why not...how hard could Wii Fit possibly be? It's just a game.  I continued to think this the whole time she was playing, even though it did look kinda hard.  When it was my turn she said in order to track me every time I played, I would need Wii to create a profile for me.  I still thought ok what the heck go ahead.  Little did I know what I was in for.  According to Louise this scale looking thing was going to scan my body and tell me my BMI, my posture, balance, how much weight I should lose, give me exercises, and my own personal trainer! At this point I wanted to jump off the dang thing.  I was in awe of what a little game as I thought before could tell me what I need to be doing with my diet and exercise. 

When setting up my profile I got to make my character look just like me. That part was fun! I gave it blonde hair, green eyes, long eyelashes, a cute purple top (Louise said "Of course when I chose it!") and black work out pants.  As soon as I thought we were done with the profile it started making a noise and my BMI popped right on the screen.  I screamed and looked around as if people were staring at it.  It was quite funny if you were there! I was like get that dang thing off the screen.  I declined wanting to know my weight.  The worst part of all  is when it was done "scanning" or whatever that means, it said announcing my body age-44.  I nearly had a heart attack! Not only did it say my Wii Fit age was 44, it made my cute little figure on my profile go from having a tiny waist and skinny legs to a doughnut version! Good thing I have some self confidence because if I hadn't I would have kicked that dang thing across the room, and then found myself standing in line at Target buying Louise's mom another Wii.  Other than the initial shock of this little machine, it was a lot of fun to play.  I got to do some Yoga, attempt to snow ski, aerobics, and my favorite calorie busting of all-hula hoop! I must say its fun to do with a friend because you look so dang silly while you're playing.  At one point during the hula hoop, I looked at my reflection in the windows of her mom's house and nearly fell off laughing at how silly I looked desperately trying to do 300 hulas as fast as I could! Let's just say I got my 30 minute work out with the Wii, and I'm not embarrassed to say it kicked my butt!

People look at me weird...

Have you ever said something that you thought was completely normal and had someone look at you like you are completely off your rocker? I was eating lunch with some friends the other day, and I made a comment that made everyone go "Ewwww how could that be....what is wrong with you?!" I laughed of course, but I thought it was normal. I know you're dying to know what it might be, especially because it sounds dramatic, but all I said was, "I don't care for the beach." You would think I just shouted out an awful word or said something completely ridiculous! I laughed really hard because I thought how could this be a big deal? Apparently the beach is a big deal! It's funny how something you think is completely normal, is not normal to someone else. I dislike the beach for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it's too touristy. My idea of a vacation is to go somewhere different and do different things that I couldn't normally do in Birmingham. I know we don't have a beach in Birmingham, but we can still go to the pool and lay out. I just never got into laying out all day, going to eat at touristy beach restaurants, and going to the put-put places. I can't stand getting my feet dirty, and even though sand is not dirty, it is like nails on a chalk board when I walk through dry sand. I also hate the ocean because there are too many unknowns. I don't feel comfortable putting my feet in anything when I can't see the bottom. Don't get me wrong completely though, I love the noise of the ocean, the smells of the water in the early morning, and the sunrises and sunsets. Maybe my real reason goes to seeing Jaws, but I've never been one to be frolicking in the ocean. If you do ever see me wading in the ocean, call for help because I'm being held captive! Is there something you dislike that make people go, "Ooohhhhhh that's interesting!???"

"My baby is turning 24.....what?"

                                                                

On Tuesday I celebrated my 25th birthday, and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had.  I will say that with every year, your birthday or at least my birthday, seems to be less and less important.  I don't mean to be "Debbie Downer" at all, but you have to admit that having a birthday in your mid 20's is not as fun as it was when you turned 16 or even 21.  With each year there is a milestone you reach, and so far I have reached a lot of important ones-my 15th birthday-getting my permit, 16-getting my license, 18-becoming an adult (in society that is), being able to vote, 21-drinking, you get the picture.  This year was so weird on my birthday.  It didn't feel like my birthday. I literally forgot it was my birthday until Hunter presented me with a sweet birthday card while I was getting ready for work.  I fully expected for it to be just another day, but as the day went on my sweet family and friends made sure it was not.  My dad left me a sweet birthday message saying that he couldn't believe his baby was turning 24.  When I heard 24 I couldn't help but laugh! I literally fell out of my chair, but it's ok...I'm ok with people thinking I'm 24!

I am so thankful for a sweet family.  On my actual birthday my sister and brother-in-law had me over for dinner.  It was such a nice, home cooked meal! My brother-in-law, Gavin, bought me a sweet cake, and my sister made homemade smores-yumm!!! It was such a cool birthday to share with everyone.  I now have my sweet husband, a new family, and my niece and nephew are getting so big! Jack was adorable! He helped me open my presents, and he loved helping me blow out my candles! Clara is getting so big, and she continues to become more beautiful with every day she grows older.  She will definitely be a great shopping buddy for her Aunt Missy someday!  On Saturday night, I was very blessed to be able to celebrate my birthday again! My parents had Dedee and Stuart, Hunter and myself, and Brent for another yummy dinner.  To top the night off, my sweet daddy bought me a COOKIE CAKE! It was so good, and it was everything I had been craving for a whole year.  My dad said when he went to pick it up the lady at the counter asked if he was celebrating his little girl's birthday (as in a little girl)!! He was shocked that someone would ask him that because he doesn't exactly look like he would have a baby, but he didn't argue. He said,"Well yes, it is for my baby girl."  I thought that was so cute, and it made me realize how much I will always feel like his baby girl! We had a great night of laughing, celebrating, and relaxing with family (minus my sister and brother-in-law which we all missed very much)!

Take a look!

Hey friends--

Please check out my new blog for my photography business...

melissaecholsphotography.blogspot.com

I will update my photography blog as often as possible so I can keep everyone updated on my work.I hope you like what you see! Please let me know if you or anyone of your family or friends might be interested in my photography services.  I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope that everyone finds their purpose driven life...cheesy I know, but I had to say it!

New Years, New Fun

New Years was so much fun this year! Hunter and I headed to our friend's condo with a great view to start out the night.  We did some much needed celebration for April and Jeff's engagement! They have been dating for over 5 years, and they got engaged on December 30.  They were so excited!!! We then headed to dinner with Kyle and Natalie and Jeff and April at Ruth's Chris.  The food was amazing, and well worth our wait of 45 minutes (yes we had reservations)! We got a nice round of free drinks from having to wait so we didn't complain too much! 

After dinner we headed back to the condo for more fun.  We watched the ball drop, had some much needed girl talk while the guys hung out, and finally went to sleep around 3:30 a.m.  I seriously can't tell the last time I went to bed that late! We all felt like we were about to collapse we were so tired.  I really felt like we were getting old.  A couple years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about staying up that late, but these days we have a lot of obligations now! Even though everyone was feeling tired the next day, I think I can say for all of us that we wouldn't have changed anything! It's worth it to stay up that late every once in a while with friends!