1st Blogiversary!

Happy Blogiversary to me!

This little blog turned 1 year old last Friday, June 24th. But that was the day I picked up Doug from the airport, so my mind was elsewhere :)

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I created The Smitten Mintons a year ago, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only do a have a journal that I (and our kids) can look at years down the road, but I have also met so many amazing people that I wouldn't have otherwise. I have gained some of my closest friends from the blog world, and I just love the encouraging little community that I have found here! Thank you all for reading, it means a lot to me that you would care to listen to my ramblings and hear about our lives. Your comments make me smile every time and I just love y'all!

I have decided that I want to print out each post, just in case Blogger slips up again and deletes anything! I know that there are many websites that do it, including www.blog2print.com, where you can make it into a book. I think I'm going to do this each year! Has anyone done this? Which website did you use?

Again, thank you so much to everyone who reads! It's been a wonderful year with y'all!

Puppy Love

Here are some cute pictures of Maisy Mae over the past couple months... Enjoy!

Maisy and Deuce love to cuddle

Cuddle bugs

This is Maisy's boyfriend, Oliver, who is our neighbor's dog...they are in love!

Wedding Week: Rehearse!

(I've been putting off this post for a while, in case I thought of any way to make it not so boring...but I couldn't come up with anything...so here ya go! Hopefully the rest of the wedding posts will be a little more exciting :)

The next big event was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Doug's cousin, Matthew, was our precious ringbearer. I adore him!

Our fabulous dinner was at Maggiano's, where we all stuffed our faces full of bread, pasta, and tons of dessert. The Mintons did an amazing job planning it all!

We had some sweet toasts (during which I cried the ugly cry)

Then a slideshow to finish the night. I wanted to upload it on here, but apparently it's too big! Just imagine cute baby Julie and Doug pictures :)

My sister-in-law and brother, Kelly and Matt

Then we said goodnight and see you at the altar!

Next up: Attire!

Get Fit

Maisy and I are going on a little diet...

We went to the vet yesterday and found out that Maisy had gained 8 pounds!!! Poor little baby was so embarrassed! 

Ironically enough, I have also gained about 8 pounds in the last 6 months since starting my job. Between Moe's and Great American Cookie (double doozies = heaven), there is a whole lot of temptation in that building. 

So little Maisy Mae and I are watching what we eat and bringing a little more moderation into our diet. I'm all about moderation- I don't believe in completely cutting things out because then it just makes me want it that much more. I've also been chugging water like it's my job. Now there's one more thing I need to conquer but it's the hardest part....exercise.

Remember this post? Yeah...that lasted all of 2 workouts. That's pretty typical. Sometimes I make it to 3. So this time, I'll shoot for 4 and then go from there. My friend Meghan has been talking about Couch to 5k and it sounds like it may be a good fit for me. She didn't work out before doing this (like me) and now she runs crazy distances all the time (future me?)

I have always haaaaaated running, but I'm willing to give it another shot. Meghan told me there is an iPhone app where you can listen to music and then it will tell you when to run/walk! Sounds easy enough! Anyone else have any experience with this or recommendations for a couch potato newbie?

PS- Meghan is having this awesome giveaway going on! Run over there and check it out!

PPS- A little addition to the vlog. Dirty Dancing is right up there with my other favorite movies. Watching it now (for the 100th time) and just can't get enough of Mr. Swayze. 

Answers in a Vlog: Part 1

Here's the vlog as promised! One take and it's unedited....yikes.

 It's a lot longer than I expected, 5 minutes, so if you don't want to watch it all, then you need to skip to the end...there is a special guest appearance :)

Untitled from Julie Minton on Vimeo.

PS- I completely forgot to tell everyone thank you on my last post for all of your kind words about my mom's diagnosis. It meant SO. MUCH. to my mom and I to know that so many people are praying for her. Y'all are really the best. Thank you.

Lately

I haven't been in the blogging mood lately, but I have sooo much going on that I need to document some of it!

• Doug is in Europe! He was one of two people picked out of his entire company (big company) to do this audit thing, and he gets to spend two weeks in Belgium eating waffles and chocolate without me. I am so so sad I can't be there with him, but he said he will bring me some chocolate :)

• Since he is gone, my mom is staying with me for the week! We have had lots of girl time, complete with Mexican food, BBQ, chocolate, and reality TV (enter Bachelorette and the Little Couple!) We also brought my parents' dog, Deuce, with us and he and Maisy are having a great time together!

• We found out yesterday that my mom's diagnosis is actually Stage 2, but the doctors are still optimistic.

• We have some big things going on right now, but I can't really discuss them on here yet...I wish I could!!!! But as soon as I can, there will be a whole lot to talk about (let's go ahead and squash the pregnancy rumor...it's not that!)

• I miss my husband!

• We got new bedding last week! Our was mostly white, which does not go well with a dog, so I looked everywhere and finally found exactly what I wanted....on clearance for $58!! It came with the bedspread, bed skirt, 2 shams, and 3 throw pillows. What a steal!

• My friend at work just got a Clarisonic and now I am itching to get one. Do y'all have one? Opinions?

I think that's all I have for today! Hopefully I'll be back in the blogging spirit soon :)

News

On Monday evening, I got a call that stopped my world. It was my mom, and she had bad news. She told me that she was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I went completely numb and had no idea what to think or how to react. I tried to stay calm for her, since I could tell she had been crying. She told me that she had 3 spots on her thyroid and one on her lymph node, which they had removed during her surgery. They only told her that she had cancer, and that she would need treatment. So we had no idea how bad it was.

I told her I was coming home, and right when I hung up, it hit me. I fell on the floor and started sobbing. Maisy and Pep knew something was wrong and were just frozen, looking at me. I called Doug, who was on his way home from work, and he rushed home and drove me to my parents' house.

We had no idea what to expect. I would alternate between feeling panicked and thinking the worst, to being optimistic, to feeling completely numb. That night, we tried to keep our minds off of it as much as possible, as we didn't want to jump to any conclusions about how severe it could be.

The next day, Mom, Dad, and I went to the appointment where we received great news. There are 4 kinds of thyroid cancer, and she has the best one! It's Stage 1 Papillary Carcenoma. We were worried that because it had spread to her lymph node, it would be metastatic, but apparently thyroid cancer is the only cancer that isn't more severe if it is in the lymph node. She will have treatment in August, when she has healed from her surgery. It is radioactive iodine that will kill all of the thyroid cells left in her body, and she will need to be isolated from people and pets during it (for three days I think) because of the radioactivity.

 During those 17 hours where I didn't know how bad it was (she knew all day Monday but waited to tell me until I was home after work), I was terrified at the thought of losing my mom. She's my best friend. She will be the one who teaches me how to be a good mom, and she's the one who I call for advice about whether or not to buy this comforter I found. (She said to buy it, so I did...good call, Mom!)

We are SO THANKFUL that the prognosis is positive, as there is a 96% survival rate of 20 years from this type of cancer. After receiving the good news, my mom and I had a little celebration yesterday. We ate at Olive Garden (her favorite), got cupcakes, went to a movie, and watched the Bachelorette. I love my mom and don't know what I'd do without her!!

I'm a Twihard

SO EXCITED for this!!!!

Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

House Envy

Last weekend, my mom and I watched Life As We Know It.

I've already seen it before and loved it, but this time I couldn't stop drooling over their house. I knew it was filmed in Atlanta, so I googled pictures of the house. Guess what....we live less than 10 minutes away from it! I also found out it was for sale but just sold. I guess this gives me enough time to save up 2 million dollars for when it goes on the market again!

I found out they recreated the interior on a set but used the original house as inspiration. I definitely like the set better, but I would settle for the originals, too :) The original decor is a tiny bit too fancy for my taste, so I would definitely mix in a little more homey feel.

The original house:

I need this bathroom

Yes please.

 The movie set:

The kitchen is what stole my heart. I love white kitchens and adore the glass cabinets.

all pictures via

So what's your favorite style of house? Or favorite house from a movie?

I may have to do a little stalking this afternoon :)

Wedding Week: Showered

I was seriously spoiled with my showers. I had 3 bridal showers that were amazing...I couldn't have planned anything better myself!

My "Aunt" Susan and "Aunt" Jeannie, who I have known for my whole life, threw me a fabulous shower. I was stunned by every little detail they planned. We invited all of my mom's friends, and since I have lived in Marietta all my life, I have known these women since I was a baby. It was soo special to have them all celebrate with me!

This is Meg. I was her (and her brother's) nanny for years...those kids mean the world to me! I was so happy to have them as junior bridesmaid and junior groomsman in the wedding, but I had a really hard time believing they were that old already! I miss the days when Meg wanted bwead and buddy (bread and butter) and tutoc (chocolate milk). But she is turning into a beautiful lady!

The hor dourves table. It was delicious and sooo pretty! They actually made that fence and put pictures of Doug and I on there. I have used it for showers that I've thrown since, and now it's in our guest room!

Then they led everyone downstairs to the 'dining area'...I couldn't believe what all they had done! Everyone had a placecard with their own lunch inside those adorable boxes, and they served lemonade and sweet tea in mason jars.

They even took the time to cut pretty paper for the tupperware lids and box. I love little details like this :)

My mom and MIL

(ignore my shiny face...this was before I switched to Bare Minerals :)

(and my eyes are all messed up in this picture...red eye corrector is not my friend)

Then we went back upstairs where these beautiful desserts appeared! It was SO dang cute. They had painted chalkboard paint on wine glasses so they could label everyone's dessert!

Then it was time to open presents! (So awkward to have everyone watch you...but SO fun to get all the pretty new stuff!)

This is one of my favorite wedding gifts. "Aunt" Susan had gotten my brother one when he got married, and I had secretly wanted one. It's just beautiful and is now in our kitchen!

The lovely hostesses and my mom.

My AWESOME maid of honor. I just received my bachelorette party video from her (that I will not be sharing on here :)...she is a pro!

Then there was the shower with my friends! I'm so sad I don't have many pictures from this, since my computer crashed right after. But here's a few I stole from Lesley Anne on facebook :)

Christy, the mother of the 2 kids I nannied, was sweet enough to throw me this shower in the midst of trying to move to Destin. I knew it would be amazing, and she did not disappoint! She is one of my favorite people ever and is always cracking everyone up. (She also made me ugly-cry in front of everyone at our rehearsal dinner because of her speech...it was the sweetest thing)

Meg was in charge of the games...and I loved her choices! First we broke up into teams and designed wedding gowns with toilet paper. I'm pretty sure Meg stole the show with her flower headpiece :)

I don't have a picture of it, but we also had a little competition to see who could draw the best wedding dress.

Then it was time for more gifts!

My roomies senior year of college...miss them!

Christy had these sweet napkins made for us :)

The whole group!

I am so blessed to have these amazing friends!

I had another shower thrown by my mom's high school friends, but sadly those picture were deleted, too! My mom has stayed in touch with 6 of her high school girl friends, and over the years we go out to dinner with the mothers and daughters! It was so fun to have a shower with all of them!!

Next up: Rehearsals (I think...I haven't planned too far ahead :)