I Don't Even Know My Own Name!

Well, hello, dah-lings!

It is I, your beloved Chicken Wing, and I am as upside down as I've ever been!  Things are a little cray cray insane right now and I'm doing my best to love every single second of it.

Let me set the scene for you.  I'm sure for most of you, much like myself, work is pretty much always crazy.  There are always a million things to do and your most important responsibility is to never ever screw up on anything.  Ever.  Seriously.  I'm sure for a lot of you, also much like myself, your home life is also crazy.  Clean this, organize that, wash this dish, fold those clothes, and don't ever stop sweeping up CiCi fur.  Ever.  Seriously.

Every now and again, you get a sweet vacation planned and boy do you look forward to it.  The beach is always a safe haven for me - I feel my most beautiful when I've got my toes in the sand, and I'm looking much less Twilight than I normally do. 

Source

Speaking of this, I must digress - WHY did this cheating scandal happen and completely rock my world?  On a serious note, I do feel for them.  People make mistakes every day, and unfortunately for these two young folks, a bad situation got a whole lot worse with the entire world watching.  I guess whatever will be will be and I wish nothing but the best for them.  The one good hilarious thing to come out of this breakup???

This. God bless you, Will Ferrell.

Anywho, back to the topic at hand, which is basically that when you take a vacation that you've been really looking forward to because work is killing you, you have that moment while on said vacation when you realize that the day you go back to work, you are really going to regret taking that vacation.  Nine times out of ten, that does happen to me, with the exception of this year.  Don't get me wrong - I have been so crazy nuts looney busy for the past few months, I don't even know my own name.

You think that's funny, do you?  Well, I really don't even know my own name because this time, it's gone and changed on me!  :)  You may recall a certain hunk of a man named Comanche - there have been many wonderful stories about him around these parts, and stay tuned, because there will be many more!  Well, he stole my heart, so I stole his last name!

Miss Chicken Wing is now Mrs. Chicken Wing, y'all!!!!!!!!

Love this man so much (and my hair stylist and my uplighting and my DJ, who took this picture)!
Photo Credit:  Official Entertainment

He's mine, he's mine, he's MINE!!!!
Photo Credit:  Official Entertainment

And for those of you smart cookies that put 2 and 2 together, the reason I had no regrets about this vacation is because it was my honeymoon!  We had a wonderful first week of being married, and we've gotten back to half-way regular life now - working hard at our jobs and at making our house a home.

I genuinely can't describe how blessed we were throughout the wedding planning process and the wedding  itself.  We're some lucky loves, let me tell you!  I can't wait to share more about the big day with all of you, and I will definitely do that once I get my official wedding photos back. Then, I can brag about all the amazing vendors we used and hopefully make each and every one of you feel like you were there. 

Bottom line:  Hi, my name is MRS. Chicken Wing.  I don't even know my own name, and I couldn't be happier about it!


Until next time,

Busy Is As Dizzy Does

As you may have been able to tell, my posting has been very erratic lately, and I am sorry for that!  It's not that I don't adore you guys, but it's that for some reason, somebody decided to only put 24 hours in a day (the nerve). So, to make up for that, I give you THE MOST MASSIVE CATCHUP POST I CAN MUSTER. You have been warned.

I wanted to catch you all up on the goings-on of the Chicken Wing, so you can each revel in the fact that you're not me for awhile.  There are two words that best describe me and my life at this moment in time:  busy and dizzy.  The good news is that I've been SO BUSY with a lot of good things in my life.  The bad news is that the busy-ness has led to lack of sleep and lack of sleep has most likely contributed to the massive allergy attack that has been plaguing me of late.  The massive allergy attack has led me to take Alavert - D and Wal-dryl (Walgreens' version of Benadryl), which is where the dizzy part comes in - whew, boy, these antihistamines aren't playing around!

Oh, hello, friends!

Okay, obviously the meds are affecting my attention span, so back to the good stuff that's been keeping this Wing so busy.  As you read in a prior post, I had a traumatic evening concerning one of my neighbors on Tuesday of last week.  That ordeal kept me up until 2am, and after a few short hours of sleep, I went in to work a full day.  On Thursday, I had taken a half-day vacation from my full-time job, and we actually booked a wedding to photograph with my part-time job, so I worked a 15-hour day that day.  Then, I waited for Little Sister Chicken Wing to get off work at midnight, we packed our things into the car, and headed home to Momma Chicken Wing's house, getting in at 2:30am (I don't know what it was with me and the 2am hour that week).

The next morning, Friday, both Little Sister CW and I had taken off work for a special reason.  We met up with some lovely ladies at 8am (yes, very little sleeping going on) and had the most wonderful pedicures.  You may think that would be an odd choice of activities for that early in the morning, but it was, again, for a very special reason.  We then went to a special venue, and Chicken Wing got crack-a-lackin' in Event Planner mode.  There were crafts to finish, hot glue guns to heat up, cameras to prep, chairs to be set out, and decor and floral to be arranged.  Why in the world would I put myself through all of this?


Because this client bride was none other than Momma Chicken Wing!

 That's right!  In a huge surprise to most folks, I've been planning and executing my own mother's wedding weekend!  It was a huge success and Momma CW and her new husband, whom we'll call Dubya, are very happy newlyweds. It was a ton of work, but all-in-all, we couldn't have had a better day! The weather was great, and when your client is happy, you are happy. That sentiment is echoed tenfold when your client is a member of your family.

As you can see, I've been rolling lately, and I wouldn't have it any other way - except for these darned allergies! Sheesh, I wish they'd move on out of here and let a Chicken Wing breathe. Not to mention, I'd like to have my old voice back. This raspy mess of a voice can only be described as one used by a sex hotline operator, and I try to live my life quite a bit classier than that.

So, in the words of the ever-articulate Taylor Swift, I ask my allergies, "Why you gotta be so...mean?"  I digress.  The reason I'm so bothered by these allergies, and want them to go away, is because one of my good friends from high school is GETTING MARRIED this week to another one of my good friends from high school...and they're getting married at the beach! Oh, you thought my busy schedule was over? NOT A CHANCE!

Aren't they the cutest?!?!?!

I will have the privilege of participating in the big day as one of G-K's bridesmaids, along with these gorgeous girls:

All the pretty ladies (minus one)!

So, as you are reading this massive post, I will be at the beach doing bridesmaid things and preparing to help another happy couple tie the knot!  I'm a sucker for a happy ending, what can I say?  I will hopefully be back to blogging regularly soon.  I still have a ton of photos to edit, and I'm sure that will only increase with G-K's wedding.  Either way, I hope you have a great week!

Until next time,

Reverb 10 - Prompt #15

December 15 – 5 Minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. (Author: Patti Digh)

Okay, I think it would be best to reflect on what I don't want to forget when I lose my memory in list form.  Okay........GO!

- Laughing with my Papa on multiple occasions.
- My last precious moments with Papa the night before he passed away.
- My family beach vacation at the best beach in the world with the best family in the world.
- Eating a world-famous Britt's doughnut for the first time.
- The massively successful events planned and executed.
- The beautiful weddings I've been privileged enough to experience.
- The Redskins beating the Cowboys at the beginning of the season.
- The engagements of high school friends.
- The engagements of college friends.
- The births of my friends' very first child.
- The DIY projects I accomplished.
- Meeting and falling head over heels for Comanche (bold and underline necessary).
- The weddings of dear friends and family members who found the loves of their lives.
- The new friends I've made who have become like family.
- Finding a new church to renew the structured part of my faith.
- Learning who would be there for me during tough times.
- Taking up Zumba classes.
- A pot luck-style dinner with some of my best girlfriends (and the chance to catch up on our lives).
- The creative dates I have been taken on.
- All the laughing and smiling I've done.
- The girls' night sessions with two of my favorite girls at local hot spots. (One ending in an all-nighter. On a work night.)
- My adorable dogs playing their hearts out in the snow (except for MuChi, who only wanted to get back inside).

I'm sure there's so much more I'd yearn to remember, but this is what I've got for now!

Until next time,

Happy Labor Day!

Holy Hiatus, Peeps!  I apologize for the delay in posting, but I have been a very busy girl!  Busy with what, you ask?  Busy with lots, I say! 

I have a home improvement project in the works, and I can't wait to share that with you (it's been a process, so I will hopefully have that post up in the next week or so).  I have been SLAMMED busy at work, trying to get things ready for three huge projects that are all going on at the same time!  I've been preparing for Beach Blast 2K10, which is a friends-only beach trip that will commence in T minus two days (we depart tomorrow)!  I've been transitioning my clothes to introduce my fall attire back into the mix.  And, I've been.....wait for it......wait for it.......dating.  I know, put your shocked faces on!

That brings me to the actual topic of this post.  Dating is an interesting concept, especially to someone who hasn't done it since she was 19.  Yeah, that would be me.  After the dissolution of the last major relationship of my life, I took some time to reflect - on both relationships and myself.  I observed other couples I admire, took time to let myself think, and jotted down what I'd discovered was important to me, and also the things that my last relationship brought to light about myself.  I discovered the qualities and habits I need to work on that will make me better able to deserve the next person I invest time and love in. 

So, here are some interesting findings that I came up with that kind of surprised me. 

1)  Respect is a big deal to me - much bigger than I originally thought.  Not only is it important to me that I be respected, but it's important for me to continually be respectful of the other person. I also want to meet someone that I genuinely do respect for whatever reason - I think it helps lay the foundation for an entire journey together.

2)  Effort is key.  Here's a fact, kids.  Love takes work.  Lots of work.  Anyone who doesn't agree is honestly very naive or crazy.  Not to be harsh, but that is one thing I know for sure.  I always put forth effort in my relationships, whether it be with friends, family, colleagues, or romantic situations, and I would love to meet someone who operates the same way and is willing to do the work.  The work isn't always pretty, but it makes everything worth it in the end.

3)  I want someone who is as focused on the experience as me.  During my self-reflection, I came to realize that what really speaks to me can't be labeled as a "thing."  What really makes me happy is the experiences - the journeys from here to there, or the memories that you make.  Gifts are nice and all, but I want someone to go on adventures with me.  I want someone to discover new things with.  I want someone who is willing to listen to what I want to do, be open to it, and then find a way to want to do that too.  And I can do the same for them.  I want to be out of my comfort zone, and I want to really live.

4)  Giving back is HUGE.  I have always made it a personal policy to donate my time and even money to causes that speak to me, and I never really realized how important that quality of service is to me.  I don't do it because I want recognition.  I've always had the fundamental desire to help people, and giving back has also been the perfect way to give thanks for all I have in this world.  I am so lucky, and so blessed, and if I can do anything to make someone's life better, I want to do it.  I'd love to meet someone with that same mentality.  It's an exceptionally humbling and worthy experience, and it shows a degree of selflessness that is very appealing to me.  It's enough to melt your heart when you see someone who really gets it.

5)  Appreciation and gratitude go a long way.  I feel like we all know someone who truly complains all the time about what's going wrong in their lives.  If someone buys them dinner, they complain about the way the steak was prepared.  If they get a promotion at work, they express their discontent for the longer hours and additional responsibilities. There are very few things that completely turn me off to a person more than lacking appreciation.  I was raised to say 'please' and I was also raised to say 'thank you,' and I feel that is extremely important.  Life is too short to wish for what others have or to waste your time away with complaints or resentment.  I often get overwhelmed when I think of all the things that have been done for me throughout my life.  As I stated before, I am so lucky and so blessed - and I am so happy!  My heart could burst for the amount of blessings that have been bestowed upon me, and I am so grateful - it would be nice to meet someone who feels the same way.

So, this is the interesting and exciting thing about dating - you get to meet new people, and ask them questions, and learn things about them.  You get to see the different ways they handle high-pressure situations, and you can see how they react to the things you say and do.  For the first time in a long time, I'm completely out of my comfort zone and I am nervous!  And, in all honesty, I think that's a good thing.  I feel cautious, and maybe even a bit cynical, but moreso than that, I am very excited about the experiences I'm having and the memories I'm making!  I'm finding it fun to walk down a path that I'm not used to, and the control freak in me is being forced to keep quiet and I'd have to say that I'm finding that refreshing.  On the one hand, I'm used to planning everything and taking care of everything (it's just my nature), and dating has really slapped that hand.  I'm not in control but, for the most part, I actually don't mind - how crazy is that?  (I know it's scary - pray for me.)

So, here's to new experiences!  Here's to making memories!  Here's to meeting people, and being brought back to square 1!  Here's to being uncomfortable, and stumbling, and most of all - learning to be okay with that!  What can I say?  It's a fabulous place to be!

Until next time,

Thought For The Day!

Courtesy of Real Simple Daily Thoughts:

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen

I hope you all have a great Monday!

Until next time,

Miss Chicken Wing

Chicken Wing Family Vacation 2010 Part I

There are certain things that you just look forward to every year - favorite holidays, your birthday, a friend or family member's wedding, etc.  For me, one of the things that tops my list of highly anticipated events is my family vacation.  As I've mentioned before, I have been blessed with the best family on the planet (I know you can tell I'm not biased at all).

We have been so fortunate to have been able to take a family vacation every year for as long as I can remember, and I don't take that for granted.  There are many people who only dream of being able to do that, so I thank God for that opportunity in my prayers.  Every year, we go to the beach, and every year it's an absolute blast!

Some girls like to party at the beach and get wild.  Call me old school but, for me, it's a time to recharge my batteries.  I rarely have the time to sit down and read a good book, or catch up on my Real Simple magazine subscription.  I'm not located in close proximity to a beach, so I don't get to take 2 mile walks in the sand and surf daily.  I do get to do those things at the beach.  I also get to turn in my normal shade of "vampire white" for "brown-as-a-biscuit."  I can stay up late and sleep in, and I feel so at peace when I'm at the beach.

This year, the Familia de Chicken Wing got to spend our week at the beach with my Aunt J, Uncle R, and Cousin C.  We had such a great time!  Here are some photos from our week at the amazingly beautiful Sunset Beach, North Carolina - home of the annual Chicken Wing Family Vacation.

*Part I Photos by Little Sister Chicken Wing

Little Sister CW, Momma CW, Miss CW

The beach is a great place for activities, like cartwheels,

heel stretches, 

scorpions,

and random, celebratory jumps. 

The people understand these random activities because they're happy to be there too.

There are wind-induced canopy attacks. 

Exhibit A:  Aunt J and Uncle R

Exhibit B:  Yours truly with the aftermath.

There are trips to world-famous donut shops!

 REMIX:  "I'll take you to the Donut Shop."

"Once you eat a donut, you will not stop."

You get to spend quality time with your little sister.

Seriously, we need our own show.  I feel like we could make ratings spikes happen.

So, as you can see by looking at a few of Little Sister Chicken Wing's photos, we had a great and relaxing time.  I promise Little Brother CW and Cousin CW were there, too, but you'll have to wait for my photos for physical evidence of that.  Stay tuned for Part II, Peeps!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Finally! Beach Recap Sneak Peek!!!

Due to the fact that I have so much glamourous and fabulous shopping to do....okay, time to be honest...I have to go grocery shopping! (Seriously, can I get a Double Yuck for that?!?!) But, due to the fact that I have to go grocery shopping (DOUBLE YUCK!), I don't have time to give the full recap. But, I know that there are some faithful followers who want to know how our wonderful week of vacation went!


So, here is a photo sneak peek, complete with captions thought up by yours truly! :)


Let's begin, shall we?


Stunner Shades...yes, please! Mr. Chicken Wing & I



Umm...the birds really wanted a Doritos party. So we had one.

Okay, that's my island behind me. Thus the pose with the outstretched arms. What do you mean you don't believe me? This is crazy. Alright, that's Ocean Isle from the end of my beach, Sunset Beach.

Preface to the following two pictures. Model poses establish to onlookers that they are actually enjoying your beach. I think it's obvious that they should know that. (Sometimes, they honestly want to know what you're modeling for, but it's best to use discretion when that occurs.)






Model Pose Number One.





And, Model Pose Number Two.





I never really wanted the world to know about my love affair with Snow Crab legs. Oops, guess that's out.


And the last one......





Two pounds down. Absolutely no shame. Now, THAT'S a happy Chicken Wing!!!

I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek! There will be more to come at a later date. (I know, those were so fantastic that you're not sure how you'll be able to wait until then! Haha!)

Until next time,

A happily tanned Chicken Wing

(Don't worry, I wore sunscreen!)

The Excitement is Almost Uncontrollable!!!!

As of tomorrow morning, myself, Mr. Chicken Wing, and Familia de Chicken Wing will officially be on VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, I can barely breathe, I'm so excited! I've only had one half-day of vacation this entire year so far, so I am so mentally ready to get away for a bit. I didn't realize how much stress I've been under until recently, and it seems like now is the perfect time for a little R&R.

I have to tell you that the beach is one of my favorite places in the entire world. I feel my prettiest at the beach by a long shot! I mean, it's one of the only places where no one judges you if you just want to let your hair air-dry and if you don't want to put forth so much effort while getting ready. You can throw on a sundress, and your sun-kissed glow makes you gorgeous! Makeup is limited, hair-drying time is close to non-existent, and no one rushes because you "have to have dinner at a certain time." Did I mention that dinner consists of seafood?!?!?! (Mmmmmm, crab legs!) And, of course, flip flops are always acceptable. :)

You can literally just wake up when you want to and mozy on down to the beach. Once you're down there, you get to decide what you do all day. You can lay out, swim, play beach games, or read and be able to actually comprehend what you're reading (hey, for me, I usually have to multi-focus so I don't actually absorb the content!).

I know that both Mr. Chicken Wing and I are so ready for a break, and we're about at that "checking out" point at work and home. We just want to get away!

So, faithful readers, I don't know if I will be posting while on vacation, but I can't wait to update you on how the week went (along with some pictures, of course)! I hope that you all get some sort of vacation of your own (you deserve it!), and I hope that next week goes so great for each and every one of you!



"Oh, won't you stay just a little bit longer..."

Until next time,
Sun-and-sand bound Chicken Wing

*Note: As always, I don't own the rights to this video/song. Thanks!