not a Viking

I posted earlier this month about participating in the Viking Challenge. It is an annual event held here on base. It is a 24 hour team walk to raise money for the Fisher Houses.  Since I first heard about it, I wanted to participate. For various reasons (travel, inability to find a team with empty spots in it, etc.) I couldn't participate the past few years. When a friend of mine posted on facebook that she was organizing a team, I jumped at the chance to join! I got so happy and excited. I fundraised as much as I could and I even got my mother-in-law to send us decorations and fun accessories for the day of. I could not wait to participate.

This past weekend, Terry and I went to Nuremberg for the weekend. On Saturday, I woke up with both of my feet swollen and developed a rash that started around both ankles and went up my legs. It was so painful and hard for me to walk that we ended up having to cut our trip short and didn't get to see all of the World War II sights that we wanted to. After seeing my doctor on Monday, I was told to rest and keep my feet elevated and to stay off them as much as possible. I was hoping that by tomorrow, I would be well enough to at least walk a few laps. The rash has thankfully gone away but unfortunately, after being out today, my feet have started to swell up again, and I had to come to the painful realization that I just can not walk tomorrow.

I am proud of all of the work that I've done in fundraising and am very grateful to all of my friends and readers who have donated in support of me. I know that this was something that I could not have planned for and did not do on purpose, but I can't help feeling like I'm a failure and that I let my team down.

Sponsor Intro: Prep Obsessed

Today I am so excited to introduce you to one of my new sponsors- Prep Obsessed!

Prep Obsessed is a facebook jewelry, home decor, and accessories site that is run by two female friends- Corey and Nina.

how cute is this picture?

They operate via Facebook flash sales mainly on Sunday nights at 8pm EST and have special sales on items pop up throughout the week. Shipping is free and their items are so cute and reasonably priced- much better than any of their competitors! I purchased this Caitlin necklace on Sunday night for only $13.95!

I have seen this same necklace go for $20-30 at other companies, and Bauble Bar sells them for $36!

How fun are some of these other items that they have offered in the past?

anyone else singing "Red Solo Cup" now? just me?

In addition to their already low prices, Prep Obsessed is offering Preppy Girl Meets World readers 10% off any purchase with coupon code PGMW. Be sure to like them on facebook and show them some love if you don't already.

Walking My Butt Off

Hello friends. A bit of a shameless plug here:

Later this month I will be participating in the Viking Challenge on base. The Viking Challenge is a 24 hour team walk which raises funds for the Fisher House. For those of you who don't know what the Fisher House is, it is similar to the Ronald McDonald house for wounded servicemembers. Their families can stay in their houses free of charge while the troops are receiving care at a military treatment facility, sometimes for extended periods of time. A friend of mine stayed in one for about a month after her husband stepped on an IED in Afghanistan, and she was so thankful for the support system and to not have to worry about paying a hotel bill or anything of that sort.

Since this is such an important cause, we are trying to raise as much money as we possibly can for it. If you can afford to donate anything, even just a dollar, please do so here. If you can't, then just please think good thoughts for us as we walk on July 26th. :)

Rabbit Rabbit!

Rabbit Rabbit!

How cute are these bunnies? As always, all bunny pictures are from Daily Bunny.

Happy July! So excited for this month. It is my 30th (gulp) birthday this month and I am most definitely one of those girls who doesn't celebrate her birthday just once. Terry and I are planning a dinner just the two of us in Frankfurt or Belgium that I am so very looking forward to along with a birthday dinner locally with some friends. (I don't know the details of it, but I do know that it will hopefully involve funfetti cake. My favorite.)  I fell in love with this gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring and a little birdie (read: mommy) informed me that it is more than likely going to be mine.

how gorgeous is this? please ignore my un-manicured nails

A few other things I'm looking forward to this month:
*Working- I know it sounds weird to say, but I can honestly say that I love my job and I love working there and I love the ladies and starting today, I got a bit of a promotion. It's something I have been wanting a for a long time and am so excited to finally get it.
*Fourth of July- we will be attending our base's annual Rockin' 4th Celebration and in addition to the fireworks (which I seriously L-O-V-E), I am so looking forward to all of the food from the Booster Clubs (lemonade, funnel cakes, burgers, boiled peanuts, and the list goes on and on). Can you tell I really like to eat?
*The Tao of Martha- as soon as I finish reading my current book on my Kindle, I am going to start this one from one of my favorite authors, Jen Lancaster.
*Shake Shack!- One of my favorite restaurants EVER is opening in London on July 5th. We planned to go there at the end of a month for a short trip, but unfortunately, it looks like our trip will be postponed until August or September. Nonetheless, I am so excited to just be living this close to a shack finally.
*Polar Bears- I love love love polar bears. There is something so sweet and charming about them. Sadly, none of the zoos close to us have polar bears. We are thinking about going to either Nuremberg or Stuttgart the weekend of the 20th to explore the cities and visit their zoos. (Terry is a huge World War II history buff- shockingly enough you can get a lot of that over here in Germany- so it would be cool seeing where the Nuremberg War Trials took place.)

What about you? What are you looking forward to this month?



And just one more thing: