Little Talks

It's mid-September and the weather is finally cooling off. I'm excited about this right now, yet I know soon enough I will be thinking that it's freezing & use my portable heater excessively.

Alas, it's an awesome time of year. Football, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. A lot to look forward to. In two weeks Deavin and I will be headed to Texas to visit his grandparents.

I am veeeery excited about getting a new lens for my camera soon. I'm finally learning to use my camera without relying on the automatic settings and I'm loving the results. Speaking of my favorite hobby, I recently made a blog for my photographic endeavors :) here www.bethanycottinghamphotography.blogspot.com

Tuscaloosa Outing

This picture was taken at Aldridge Gardens earlier in the summer. I love how it turned out.

The last weekend in July, David, Carrie, and the kids came to visit my parents and spend time in Tuscaloosa. Deavin and I decided to join them on the Tuscaloosa adventure. We went to the Paul Bryant Museum, Wings U, Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Coldstone Creamery.

Anniversary Trip

We went to Navarre Beach, FL for our (late) wedding anniversary trip this year from August 11-August 15. We had a great time & I'm really wishing I was still there. Our condo was in Navarre but we spent a lot of time in Pensacola. 

Saturday we went to the Gulf Breeze Zoo and were able to feed the animals!

The llamas were particularly excited to see Deavin with that cup of food. She had no personal space issues.

The goats were so cute! All of the animals ran up to the fence when they saw people walking toward them with the food cups in their hands.

This was only a small part of the abnormally large guinea pig cage.

I got to feed her. :)

Nothing excited him.

This monkey was so cute. There was a family next to us, and the father had a food cup. The monkey started reaching through the cage, stretching his arm out toward the man's hand holding the cup of food. The man decided he'd just let the monkey have it. So, here's the monkey looking up at the guy as if he's thanking him for such a wonderful gift. 

Beach sunset view from the pier at Navarre Beach.

Bedroom in our condo.

Another view of the condo. It was great, except for the lack of Wifi.

The "360" ferris wheel at Pensacola Beach. It costs $14 per person to ride this thing! I settled for taking a picture of it instead. And I love it.

Harbor sunset view from our condo.

The Space Between

Yesterday was Deavin and my first wedding anniversary! It is so hard to believe we have already been married for one year. It seems like yesterday that we were at our rehearsal dinner, then waking up on July 9, 2011 and thinking, "oh my gosh - It's our wedding day. I don't want to be the center of attention!"

 I had to work yesterday, of course, but I came home to eat with my husband and we also ate some of the top of our wedding cake that has been frozen in my parent's freezer for the past year. To our surprise, it was still really good! I consider myself to be so blessed to have Deavin as my husband and if I could relive my wedding day, I absolutely would. After all, it was a huge blur! I'm looking forward to celebrating our anniversary later this week when we both have a day/night off (and I'll be off for 5 days starting Thursday).

Today is Wilford's 1st birthday! I wished him a happy birthday this morning when I was filling up his food bowl, but he didn't seem to have much interest in what I was saying. Go figure. 

Keeping Up With The Cottinghams...Ha!

It's crazy how I have so much in my head, yet I sit here wondering where to begin writing, attempting to sift and filter my thoughts to make them acceptable to put out there. Yet why should I feel a need to filter anything? This morning my heart is heavy for a dear friend. It's painful to sit on the sidelines of a sweet person's life and watch her world spiral out of control.  I go back and forth between anger and sadness, yet the only thing that I can do is pray for her and empower & encourage her to take back control of her life. 


Alas, I'm thankful for a great husband who is also my very best friend. Our first wedding anniversary is two days away...I cannot believe how quickly the past year has gone. It really has been wonderful.


We moved to Hoover in early June and love it. I really like the apartment more than our first one. Simple things like more open space + windows makes me much happier. I've also started doing Jillian Michaels workout DVDs and adding in arm & ab workouts. I'm tired of hating my body and need to snap out of it.


We're headed to the beach in mid-August and I'm soooo ready to see the ocean. I haven't been for 2 years (I think) and that is incredibly depressing! It's my happy place.




Sweet like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock and sweet you roll.

So

Yeah, so...I failed at keeping up the blog with my P90x workouts. Not that they were particularly stimulating to read, but still. I'm still doing the workouts here and there, but can't do them daily due to the 12 hour shifts I work. I'm too tired to work out after a work day and all I'm concerned about when I leave the hospital is eating and sleeping.

But, in other news.

Deavin and I are becoming residents of Hoover as of June. Our current lease at our apartments ends at the end of June, and we just found out that rent has increased a fairly significant amount. Thus, we're moving for cheaper rent. We've signed another 1 year lease and hope to buy a house by summer 2013 (meaning we MUST save money in the next year). 

Today (May 2nd) Papa had his left knee replaced. The surgery went well and he seems to be feeling good so far. Hoping for discharge to home in 2 days and praying for a smooth, quick recovery with minimal pain (and hopefully no catheter...ha). 

That's all I have for now.

Blessings,

Bethany

P90X Day 12 and 13: Legs and Back, Kenpo X

I worked 8-8 yesterday and was pretty exhausted after a very long and mentally/physically tiring first day on day shift. It was slightly scarring, but that's a story for another day. :( My point in saying that is that after work I was in no mood to exercise. Sorry, Tony Horton. Therefore, today I did both day 12 (yesterday) and day 13.

This morning was Legs and Back. I'm getting better at all of the lunges and performing them correctly without giving up, but the pull ups are still horrible! I use a chair to help lift myself up, but my arms are still giving out each time I try to pull myself up to the bar. The only lunge that is really killing me is the one leg lunge with the other leg in a chair...ouch. I also feel like I have already memorized the commentary between the people in this video, which is amusing and annoying at the same time.

Tonight I did Kenpo X and basically sweated a lot. I haven't done Ab Ripper X yet, but plan to after American Idol. :) I think separating Ab Ripper X from the main workout of the day helps me give more of myself and energy into the exercises instead of being worn out and giving less than 100%.