Thomas O'Malley

In September, Alex and I adopted our first pet together. He had been wanting a cat for a long time, and I have never had anything but dogs (and a fish) in my whole life. I have actually been allergic to cats for most of my life. But Alex used me getting a new job and it being a great day, to persuade me that it was a good idea to go to the shelter and look at cats. "Oh we'll just look," he said, "it will be fun," he said. And yes, it was fun, but we didn't just look.

Sure, we started out looking at the adorable kittens and the puppies, because lets be honest, that's what I really wanted anyway. (When I moved out of my parents house, I cried about having to leave my dog...) We both knew that we weren't in a great place to train a puppy and neither of us have the time really to devote to training a puppy and taking care of a dog; so that was out. But he convinced me that a cat would be easy to take care of.

Alex also wasn't sure if we would have the time to devote to training a kitten, and the older pets are always cheaper anyways. As we walked around, we went in one of the rooms and found a big, adorable, orange cat. He was so sweet and wasn't really afraid of us. We both instantly felt a draw to this sweet kitty.

 I had already told Alex that if we got an orange cat that was a boy, we would name him Thomas O'Malley, like from the Disney movie The Aristocats, so that made that decision easy. I kept trying to talk myself and Alex out of actually getting a cat, I mean could we really take care of a cat? But so far it is going well. We have had him for two months and he is the sweetest cat ever!! He actually has an Instagram page for those interested in that. Every day, when I come in the door,he is so happy to see me and he loves treats.

Thomas also has an Instagram account for anyone who loves adorable cat pictures like this one

Thomas O'Malley is a firm believer in the "If I Fits, I Sits" rule of thumb

Share with me the stories of how you got your fur babies, because all animals are important!

*I also was able to mark something off my Mid Twenties Bucket List you can go here and read the rest of the things I want to do before I turn 27

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Waking up on November 9. 2016

Last night/early this morning, a new president was elected in the United States, and the internet broke. Literally, the Canadian immigration website crashed as the results were coming in. But as President Obama said, "the sun will come up tomorrow" and guess what, it did. And now America as a whole has to move forward. Regardless of who you voted for and why you voted for them, we have to remember that we are all Americans and this is our country.

Something I was taught when I was younger was that you respect the office, regardless of who is in it. I hope America can learn to respect the office of the presidency. It is the highest office in the land and even though half the country does not agree with who is sitting in the office, if America wants to grow and move forward, we have to come together. We cannot continue to hate each other because hate only breads hate.

It starts with one act of kindness. Give a smile to someone on the street, say a nice word to someone at work or in class. It doesn't have to be something big and it isn't going to happen over night but it has to start somewhere. Why not start with you?

It is not going to happen over night. Nothing is going to happen over night. But if we start now, maybe in the future, we will have a better America to leave for our children and grandchildren, because isn't that the goal for people in general?

And for those who are upset about the results of the election, continue to vote, continue to pull for the person you think is right for our country. That is the beauty of our country, we can change things. But do not let this election come between you and people in your life that you truly care about, because like I said, we are all Americans.

It is a very uncertain time in America but I truly believe that if we pull together, ignoring the party lines and come together as a country, we can make the next four, eight, twelve years even better. Remember, we are all people, regardless of race or religion, we feel pain and joy, cry and smile, and I hope, try to find the good in life.

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Pinterest Monday: Recipe Roundup

Happy Monday everyone. Have you ever sat down at your computer or phone and opened up Pinterest, and then all of a sudden you look up and its three hours later? I hope I'm not the only one. Like most people, I have figured out that just because you see it on Pinterest, doesn't mean it is a good idea, but sometimes it ends up being a great idea! Being able to find recipes online at the click of a button is wonderful but you always run the risk of it not ending up as pretty as the picture made it seem like it would.

Today I am doing a fun roundup of recipes I have tried online that ended up being huge successes! 

• Crockpot BBQ Ranch Chicken from The Frugal Girls: I actually made this chicken last night for dinner. We are in the middle of packing and wanted something easy for dinner so I just threw some chicken in the crockpot. The recipe originally said to put the chicken in the crockpot for 3 hours on high but I switched it to low for 6 hours. When I drained the chicken to add the BBQ sauce, it literally was falling off the bone, so our meal went from chicken legs to just pieces of chicken, but it tasted delicious. Alex loved it and even said it was something he could make for himself when I'm not here! 

• Bacon Wrapped Chicken from Artys Fartsy Mama: Okay, this is one of my favorite recipes that I have made. I have made it multiple times and it is always delicious. Usually, I just get the chicken tender/thighs that are smaller than the chicken breasts so that they cook better and it isn't such big pieces. This is a delicious recipe that only requires a little prep and cooking it in the oven is nice because its easy cleanup, just one pan. 

• Buffalo Chicken Dip from All Things Mamma: Alex actually introduced me to this recipe, because it is one of his favorites. He probably makes this recipe once a month, though he makes it in the oven. If you don't like hot sauce (like me) you can just add more ranch and less buffalo sauce. I have also seen it done with sour cream if you aren't a big ranch person. This is the perfect dip for a party/football game/gathering with food. 

• Easy Ravioli Bake from Betty Crocker: Another recipe that I found on Pinterest that is quickly becoming a staple dinner for Alex and I. Literally you just layer some frozen ravioli, cheese and pasta sauce, throw it in the oven, and then enjoy! Made this at home with my family one night and added some cooked ground beef to it which made it taste even better. Though we found if you add any type of meat to the dish, use more pasta sauce. 

These are just a few of my favorite Pinterest finds that turned out to be great recipes. Do you have a favorite Pinterest recipe? Share a link to it below!

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Living with a Peanut Allergy

Hi, my name is Felecia and I am allergic to any form of nuts.

I am one of the 4% of adults who have a food allergy and one of only the .6-1% of people who are allergic to peanuts. I had my first reaction when I was eleven months old when my mom tried to feed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it ended with my face super swollen, the advice nurse telling my mom that she wasn't a good parent because "all good parents have Benadryl" and my dad getting pulled over because he was speeding to get the medicine back to me. The first reaction was just the start of one of the most influential parts of my life. Especially as a young child, a big part of my life was learning what I could and couldn't eat, touch and be around, and telling a small child that she can't have the same candy as the rest of her friends is hard. But when you puff up and look like a balloon and your throat swells so much you can't breath, it is important to know what you can and cannot eat. Now that I am getting married, I pray that when I have children that they don't get this trait from me because I know how difficult life is with it. I mean, my children will probably never be able to have a PB&J anyway.

The photo on the left is a picture from me in the hospital after a reaction and the one on the right is me normally. Both of these pictures are from high school, I don't remember when exactly but it was around 2009 I think. 

Here are some facts about food allergies and peanut allergies:

Children who are going to outgrow food allergies usually outgrow them by the age of four.
        A lot of times very young children will be allergic to a variety of foods; i.e. eggs, milk, peanuts, etc. but outgrow it by the time they start school. But if a child hasn't outgrown it by that time, they probably won't. For people like me who didn't out grow their allergy, it has the potential to get worse with age. This is what happened to me. Every reaction I have, is worse than the one before. What started as "simply" my face swelling up has now escalated to my face swelling, breaking out in hives,  vomiting, blood pressure plummeting, throat swelling and blacking out. So believe me when I say that these reactions can be life threatening.

There is no cure for peanut allergies.
          While there has been talks about a drug called TNX-901 for years that increases the amount of peanuts that would have to be eaten to trigger an attack, it does not cure it. TNX-901 has also been talked about for almost 10 years now and is still not on the market. Some people who don't have a sever allergy have had success by being exposed gradually to their allergen but it never completely gets rid of the allergy. It only allows the person to be able to be exposed to more of the allergen before having a bad reaction.

If I have a reaction there are certain steps that must be taken.
          Every reaction is different and every person reacts differently to their reactions, but this is what happens to me when I have a reaction. First, I start to just feel weird. I get chills throughout my body, my ears tingle and something instinctual just kicks in so that I know something is wrong. When this happens I first take benadryl. While this won't stop a sever reaction, it can sometimes slow it down. Liquid benadryl is the best because it gets into your blood stream faster and starts to work.  If I can tell it is going to be a reaction that requires me to go to the hospital, depending on how far the reaction has progressed, I will either go straight to the hospital or use the Epi-Pen.

Once the Epi-Pen has been injected, you must go to the hospital ASAP.
          Epi-Pens are designed to speed up your heart rate by giving you a dose of Epinephrine that counteracts the reaction. Because one of the side effects of going into a life-threatening reaction, commonly known as anaphylaxis shock, is a massive drop in blood pressure. You can go here to look at more information about Epi-Pens and anaphylaxis.

Everyone needs to know how to work an Epi-Pen.
          It is not hard to learn how to work them, and who knows one day it might save someones life. Teachers especially need to know how to work these life-saves, not just because of peanut allergies but all allergies. Children are more likely to not completely understand their allergy and have a reaction. It surprised me as a kid when I had a reaction and the school nurse didn't know how to work the epi-pen! Here are some videos that teach a little bit more about how to use an Epi-Pen.

 

I hope that you understand the severity of a peanut allergy and what to do if you see someone having a reaction. And please be considerate, people with allergies didn't choose to have them, they don't ask for "special treatment" just to be difficult, it is to save a life.

I would love to answer any questions you might have about peanut allergies or Epi-Pen.

Felecia

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Mid-Twenties Bucket List

This past week was my 23 birthday, kinda crazy that I'm 23 now. I feel like I just turned 19 not long ago, but as I was reflecting on my birthday and the year I've had and the things coming up in the next year I realized time is going by much faster than I wanted it to. I have to stop everyonce in a while and enjoy the time I have and the people I'm with. And as my loving fiancé has reminded me, this is my last year in my early 20's, which again is crazy. So to make myself take some time and do something for me, I am making a Mid-twenties Bucket List!! This is stuff that I want to have done in different amounts of time, but all of it by the time I am 27 (my late 20's). Because I like to lie to myself and say that I am super organized, I am going to divide the list up into different categories; personal, money, entertainment,relationship.

Personal

• Travel somewhere outside the southeast
• Adopt a shelter pet...again  Accomplished September 11, 2016!! Meet Thomas O'Malley here
• Do another 5K

Money/Financial

• Pay off at least 75% of our student loans
• Get a job I really enjoy
• Follow Dave Ramsey's plan

Entertainment 

• Watch Classic movies
• Read at least two books a year for the fun of it
• Keep crafting

Relationship 

• Get married (okay this is really so I know I can mark something off)
• Have a Christ-Centered marriage
•  Go on a beach date to see the sunrise

Okay, so it isn't a big list, but I am not opposed to adding things to it over time. I can always use suggestions too, so what are some of your bucketlist items or things you did in your 20's?

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Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Pictures!

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Right. So shouldn't wedding photography be one of the most important things you spend money on? Right. At least thats my opinion, because lets be honest, pictures or it didn't happen. With that being said, I was so excited when Alex and I got our engagement pictures back from our awesome photographers!

When we were looking for a photographer I knew that I really wanted 2 photographers who took awesome pictures...and to not spend a boatload of money. That is when I found Anjellica and Leigh Anne Ellison of De'Lace Photography! I was referred to the mother/daughter team from a friend who used them for her own wedding last year. Not only do they take a wide range of different types of photography, (engagement, wedding, new born, babies, portraits) but they also take great pictures.

Anjellica and Leigh Anne were also super helpful in every step of our pictures, from helping us pick a location to helping us pose for the pictures, it was great to have people who knew what they were doing. I spend tons of time on Pinterest (click the link to follow me, I promise you'll see a ton of different stuff) and had looked at a ton of engagement pictures, found the ones I really liked and sent it to Anjellica and she suggested we go to Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta. Piedmont offers the best of both the park, nature look and the downtown city look.

After we took our pictures in March, about a week later we got a preview and that made the anticipation even worse waiting for the rest of our pictures. Finally about a month after we took our pictures we got them (I know a month isn't a super long time to wait, but I was extremely anxious) and it was well worth the wait!

Now I get to share some of my favorites with you:

This is the picture we used for our Save the Dates! It is an awesome thing that we started dating because of band!

This is our helmet and medallions from the Sound of the South.

This is one of my favorites because I really wanted the cityscape behind us. This is a very iconic picture for Piedmont Park but I love it!

It was incredibly difficult to choose even this as my favorites...which is a good problem I think. The pictures turned out amazing and I can't wait to use them to decorate throughout the wedding with them. We are actually using the pictures to make a phonebook to use for our guestbook. To see the rest of our pictures you can go HERE.

If you are in the Atlanta area and need a photographer for any part of your life, check out De'Lace Photography. I am so excited for the wedding to get here and see the pictures that I know are going to be gorgeous from the wedding!

Also linking up with a couple other bloggers today for a Wedding Wednesday :)

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8 Things that are True if You Marched in The Sound of the South

One of the best decisions I ever made was to join marching band in college. At Troy University, the Sound of the South is not just the band, it is a defining part of the university. With a history reaching back 50 years there is nothing stronger at Troy than the tradition behind the Sound of the South.

1.  Bacon is One of the Major Food GroupsYou know bacon is important when rehearsal has stopped for the director to tell us about a new bacon appetizer at a local restaurant. It has become universally excepted that bacon makes everything better and is expected to be put on every dish.
2. It's Always a "Great Day for Band"We're like the postal service, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Just replace "couriers" with band kids and "appointed round" with drill and there you go. With rehearsals everyday, you get to experience every type of weather possible. Sideways rain, hot sun, lightning; anything is game. And mother nature loves band so much that you can almost bet that by 3:30 Monday thru Thursday in the Fall, the rain will go away and the south Alabama humidity will set in nicely for band practice. 
   
   
3. Dr. Long is the Most Amazing Little Old Man In 1965, Dr. Johnny Long came to Troy and started the Sound of the South. Where would we all be without him? This man has single handedly created something that is nationally recognized and means so much to so many people. In 50 years we have had over 500 people get married that met in SOTS, and I will be one of those numbers in a few months. As a member of SOTS, you also understand the importance of the Stars and Stripes Forever and how it ties to Dr. Long.
   
4. Homecoming is Really One of the Worst Days From an early parade down town, to playing the homecoming chart about 90 times during the presentation of the homecoming court, Homecoming has a very different meaning for the band. Throw in a kick off time of 11:00 or 12:00, and by the time we have finished [an extra long] post game, the band is dead. I'm always amazed when band kids are members of social sororities or fraternities and have to do Homecoming week festivities on top of band stuff, God bless your souls.
5. The New Long Hall is Amazing In 2012, the old Long Hall was torn down to make room for the bigger and better Long Hall, and I must say the year wait was definitely worth it. Within this one building, we can house the choir department, the dance department, and the band department. In the old building, we were lucky to fit the rookies in the band room for rehearsal, forget the entire band, now we can fit the entire 300+ member band in the band room and still be able to move, its amazing. And don't even get me started on having band rehearsal in old Saga, that is a whole other thing completely.
   
6. We Have the Best Secretaries Hands down, Ms. Rhonda and Ms. Amanda are amazing. It never fails if you walk into either office, they always ask how your day has been, and ask about your life in general, because you know, they care! Life in the band world wouldn't run near as smoothly as it does without these two wonderful ladies.
   
7. The Light at the End of the Tunnel is Really a Train By the end of the season life is crazy. By the time you get to November you think you see the light at the end of the semester but then you realize it is a train, and it is coming right at you. There is not only regular classes and band rehearsal, but also learning a new show for Veterans Day (possibly another one too), Veterans Day parade in Montgomery, concert band concerts, and then there are finals and the stress of the end of the semester anyway. But if you can make it to the end of the tunnel, the train turns into Winter Break, and lots of sleeping.
8. We're More than just a Marching Band Webster Definition: Marching Band: (n): a group of musicians who play instruments while marching together at a parade or sports event. What it really is: A group of musicians who play instruments while marching together at a parade or sports event, that becomes your friends, your family, your loves and so much more. The Sound of the South is the group you never thought you would need in life and once you're a part of it, it really does become a part of you. There is nothing like coming back as an alumni to a football game, watching the band play pregame and knowing you will always consider this place home. The amount of pride and goosebumps you get in anticipation during the announcement "Sit back and relax, its the Sound of the South!" and the first note of the fanfare is incomparable to anything else.
   
   
   

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#TBT to Puerto Rico

Over the Christmas break I got the amazing opportunity to go to Puerto Rico to get to see my future In-Laws and let me tell you it was an awesome adventure. While the temperature is normally in the 40's in Georgia and I would be bundled up in layers of clothes, in Puerto Rico, I was wearing shorts and going to the beach and enjoying the island. If you have never been to Puerto Rico, GO! It is such a beautiful place and you get a little bit of everything; beaches and mountains, city and country side. Anyone can find anything to do. So today I wanted to share some pictures from my trip. One of the coolest things about Puerto Rico was the wild horses that just sorta roam the island.

 This really was an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back someday (hopefully sooner rather than later). It was so much fun to get to spend time with my future family and get to experience another culture.

If you could go to any place in the world where would you go? Let me know in the comments below!

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11 Months and Counting

335 days...that's it. 335 days till I am married. It seems slightly insane to think about. 11 months from right now, I will be a married woman. It is so exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. I feel like there are a million little things that have to happen before the wedding but nothing that I can do yet because I don't know where to start. Of the major things I have to do, I have already knocked off

• Picking a date
• Picking a venue
• Putting a deposit on said venue
• Putting a deposit on a DJ
• Putting a deposit on a florist
• Deciding on a photographer (that deposit will be paid next week)
• Starting to register at places
• Asking the bridal party
• Buy my dress

So I have a bunch of stuff knocked off my to-do list and that is reassuring but there is still a ton to do. (I.e. Take the engagement photos, buy Alex's ring, pick bridal party attire, the rest of my accessories, etc) But as I lay in bed at the end of this Valentine's Day I am reminded to just sit and relax and enjoy this time that I have to be engaged, because Lord willing, it's the only time I am engaged in my life. Here are my thoughts on love and what it really means to me.
I have been incredibly blessed with love. I have never been without it in my life. When I was born, I was lucky to be born into a family filled with love. My parents taught me the importance of love at a very early age and that I was surrounded by people who loved me and always wanted the best for and from me. Growing up, I had a pretty good understanding of what it meant to love someone else, to show them compassion, to want the best for them, to be there when they needed a shoulder to cry on. This is something I have seen exhibited over and over again, especially in the Scripture. There is a reason the Bible mentions God's love for us so many time, it is the way we should long to love others, completely unconditional. And I have tried my best to demonstrate this love from a human capability to others because that is how we make the world a better place. Jesus said it himself best, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so love each other" -John 13:34, and who are we to do anything other than that.
But I believe there is a difference in loving someone and being in love with someone. Again, like Jesus said, "love one another," that means love everyone, but I believe that is a love of understanding and compassion, there should be a different type of love for the person you are spending your life with, the person you are in love with. Before I met Alex, I dated a few other guys in high school, some more serious than others, and one or two that I thought "could be ther one." I thought these guys were so perfect for me, and that we would end up together, I thought I was in love with them. But as time progressed, I realized it wasn't so much being in love as it was loving their company or loving them as a person, but not someone I could be in love with for the rest of my life; unit I met Alex.
My first day of band camp in August of 2011, our band director told all the new members, "Be careful who you talk to and hang out with on the field, because you very well could meet the person you will marry out there." Asa freshmen in at a new school, in a new street, hours from home and anybody I knew, I didn't know what to think of that, but it is exactly what happened.  We met the next day, hanging out in one of the dorm buildings at Troy University during band camp, and I had no idea the guy talking with about Wicked would be the guy I get to spend the rest of my life with.
And until I met him and started dating him, I had no idea what it meant to really be in love with someone. For me it is wanting to be with the other person all the time, even if you're doing nothing but sitting there, or watching tv, or playing video games together (or separate) , because just knowing that person is close to you makes you feel so at ease. It is hurting for them when something goes wrong, especially when there is nothing you can do to fix it or you are separated by distance, but still trying to figure out any way possible to make the situation better. It is looking forward to afternoon drive home phone calls and absolutely dreading when one of you has to leave for extended periods of time because long distance sucks, but knowing that each day is one day closer to being able to be together again. It is knowing this is the person you want to do life with, your favorite person to everything and absolutely nothing with, your best friend and lover all rolled into one. It is understanding that love takes effort and dedication from both people because everything worth having takes time and effort and love and a marriage is no exception to these rules.
I know I am young and still have a lot of things to figure out in life, but I am so incredibly lucky that I have found this amazing man so early in life and we get to do life together now. In 40 or 50 years I want to be able to look back on my life and know that I have worked hard at my marriage and made it the best it possibly could be.  And I am sure that the things that make me fall in love with Alex everyday will change over time, but I am fairly confident that I will always be in love with the kindness in his heart, the love that he shows, his contagious laugh, and the way he does everything in his power to take care of me and make me smile because those are the things that drew me to him almost 5 years ago and continue to make me fall deeper in love with him everyday.
So thank you Alex for being the mot amazing man I could ever dream of and for proving that all guys are not the same. It really is true that once you find the one for you, it makes you understand why everyone else didn't work before. I cannot wait to be your wife and to continue to fall in love with you everyday. Thank you for being my Valentine everyday. I love you.

What are your suggestions for a happy marriage? Is there any advice you have been given about love and marriage that really stuck with you?
Love from,
Felecia

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