A Southern State Of Mind: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!! :D I am SO glad this week went by as fast as it did. I am so burned out and really need a break. I cannot wait until our trip in October. It cant get here soon enough! I had a pretty good week this week :D

However, one of my RAs decided to leave UM. :( That made me very sad. He was such an amazing person and a superb RA! However, I completely support his decision (it was truly a good one) and I wish him well. Here's a pic of Sam:

I'll miss you A LOT.

So here are my favorites :D

1) Pinterest. I. AM. ADDICTED. I know I would love it, so I avoided it. BUT I caved this week and am not hooked. It's the most awesome sight ever!! I cant wait to try some of the recipes, crafts, and DIY projects! AH! I could literally sit on it all day. I will no longer be as productive as I once was. BUT I enjoy it :D haha
2) Fall Shopping! I freaking LOVE the fall! I had to go halloween shopping for my building (I wanted to go early so there was still a good selection) and my sweet husband decided to go with me so we could get some awesome stuff for our apartment :D I HAD so much fuN! I really felt like a kid in a candy store for the first time. :D However, John wont let me put anything up set since it's still September. lol. We got a mix of fall decorations and a few halloween things to put up in our apartment. I am stoked and cannot wait to decorate! He did let me put out our new mat, but that's it for now. haha It makes me smile every time I see it!

3) I FINISHED WEEK 6 OF COUCH TO 5K!!!! This is a HUGE accomplishment for me! I have never made it this far in the program. I usually get bored and stop. BUT I am determined to finish now :D It's like a challenge to me. I beleive that I am going to do week 6 again because the amount of running jumps significantly from week 6 to week 7 and I dont think I am ready for that yet. I struggled this week. Partly do to the freaking heat and 80%+ humidity and partly because I have never been a runner. I think after 1 more week of week 6 I should be good to try the next level. And since there are only 9 weeks- I am SO close to running a 5k! I may be slow, but at least I will be able to run the entire thing! :D

4) Carter falling asleep in my arms. precious. John and I took him to the dog park this week and he got FILTHY. So we had to give him a bath. It was about time for one anyways. After the bath and drying him off as much as we could, we let him air dry some and then I went to bed. Carter followed so I pulled him up in bed with me. I snuggled with him like a teddy bear. Usually he'll leave and go lay on the end of the bed when I do that, but I guess he was too tired the time. All the sudden I heard him snoring! SUPER cute :D he stayed until John came to bed and we moved him to his crate. He snuggled real good with me though!

5) The beach this past Saturday :D John and I hit the beach again this past weekend. It was such a perfect beach day. or so we thought. lol it was great when we got there, but then it started raining on us. We thought it may pass so we waited it out. The rain drops were SO cold! We got in the ocean because it was warmer there. lol After about 10 minutes it finally stopped and the sun came back out. We actually had a really good time in the rain :D It was fun. More clouds started rolling in after awhile and we didnt see any end to them, so we left after a few hours. It was just the right amount of time though. I love spending time like that with John. :D AND I got a slight tan ;D

Unfortunately, I am on duty this weekend :( I hope it's quiet, but we shall see. On a MUCH brighter note- MY BIRTHDAY IS NEXT FRIDAY! YAY! :D I bet you cant guess what one of my friday favorites might be next week ;D lol.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Poor little duckling...

I am sure you can guess what this post might entail, but I shall tell the story from the beginning :D

I was out on a walk with my sweet Carter and he was being really good today! I saw a bunch of ducks up ahead and was very focused on them because I knew he was going to go after them. He's done a really good job about not going after them if we dont let him, so I wasnt super worried, but focused to make sure to correct him if he tried.

Anyway, all the sudden we were near a tree and Carter lunges! Please remember that he has his pinch collar on so he doesnt go that far because it pinches him. That I had I had the leash close to me. So we were VERY close. I look down to see what he lunged at and I see all of these little baby ducklings running! One of them is squawking at Carter and I look and he has one in his mouth!! I freaked out! I made him drop it and luckily the little guy was okay. Then him and his brother ran towards the water with the others. Poor little guy was quacking and crying all at the same time. I cant help but laugh because it's funny, but I was scared then. lol. AND luckily the duckling is okay :D AND luckily there was no mama close by or I am sure Carter would have been sorry.

I called John freaking out and he was proud of Carter! LOL. and then he said "what do you expect? We let him chase the ducks all the time, he was bound to catch one sooner or later." haha. so true, I guess.

Carter walked home with his head held real high. He was so proud of himself too. silly pup!

The duckling looked like this:
Very cute :D

I went and got a picture of the real one:D not sure which one it was, but here they all are!

Fantasy Football Week 3

I kicked some booooooty! :D like for reals! I am still only in 3rd though because I am 2-1. Not only did I win my game, but I somehow managed to get a TON of points! :D

I've already worked on my line up for this week and am pretty happy with it- however, I am projected to lose, so we will see :D

Hopefully, another win! :D YAY! That's all :D

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Southern State of Mind

John played this song for me the first time yesterday and i am in love with it! It's pretty much how I feel down here. People just dont get me- I'm nice, polite, hold doors for people,use my blinker, say please and thank you, etc. People in Miami are just not like that. the are rude. it's taken me awhile to see it because I am usually only on campus, but the truth always comes out eventually. lol

So here are the lyrics and Video:D

I was up in New York City just the other week
You should've seen the waitress face when I ordered sweet tea
She said we don't have that here and I apologized
I said please forgive me I'm in a southern state of mind

And those girls out in California they don't understand
They don't like it when I hold the door or when I say yes ma'am
They act like I done something wrong and they give me the evil eye
I say honey I'm sorry I'm in a southern state of mind

I could be anywhere
In my heart I'm always there
Where they drink sweet tea and they raise you to be polite
No changin' who I am
That's the way I've always been
No matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind

I'm always walkin' 'round tellin' everybody hi
Just a wavin' at the strangers in the cars passin' by
Some people may look at me and say that boy just ain't right
Hey y'all I ain't crazy I'm in a southern state of mind

I could be anywhere
In my heart I'm always there
Where they drink sweet tea and they raise you to be polite
No changin' who I am
That's the way I've always been
No matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind

You can see it in the clothes I wear you can hear it when I talk
Ball cap, boots and jeans and a little southern drawl
I could be up in Ohio or back home in Caroline
No matter what state I'm inI'm in a southern state of mind
Don't matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind
A southern state of mind

Thank you Darius Rucker! Now I am even more homesick! haha

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Favorites :D

This week seems to have gone by SO fast! Here are my favorites from this past week though! :D

1) JUST BECAUSE ROSES!!!!- my sweet, sweet husband brought me roses the other day! I was in a meeting with an RA and someone knocked on my door- jokingly I told them to go away and never come back. My RA opens the door and John is standing there with roses in his hands for me. LOL. I asked him why and he said "just because- we have both been working so much and I love you" YAY! Best hubby in the world!

SO PRETTY!

2) Butler Center- I met with the Director of the Butler Center on campus! The Butler center is our service leadership center on campus. They are in charge of things like Gandhi Day, Alternative Spring Breaks, etc. I eventually hope to work in an office similar to it one day, so it was about time I got involved. I met with him and will continue meeting with him on a regular basis so I can learn the ropes of that type of office AND give back to the community. SUPER excited! I love helping others!

3) True Blood- I was able to read a lot this weekend and finished the next book! YAY! I dont ever want them to end :D

4) 2 football games! Yes, it's true! Two football games in one week- SCORE! We won this past Saturday against South Alabama, but lost to Cincinnati last night :( John and I went to Smoke'T to watch the game and had a good time- too bad we were crushed :(

5) Kisses/Cuddle/Play time with Carter- John started a new game with Carter where he pretends to bite Carter's neck. Carter LOVES IT! So I tried and besides getting a mouth full of doggy hair, he played right back with me. It's a lot of fun- he tries to bite yours back some, but really just licks a lot. haha He also FINALLY, gives us kisses when we ask! He finally understands what we want! We have to either ask or kiss his nose :D I LOVE IT! and as I mentioned in my last post- cuddle time is always awesome. He is SO soft I just want to hug and snuggle him all day! haha

Happy Friday! Here's to a great weekend!

Carter update!

My sweet man is doing great :D He is much better- not much more eye gunk anymore, so hopefully that means whatever it was he has is gone or almost gone. :D

I think Carter is finally starting to understand John and I better. I think he is finally starting to understand when we are sad, happy, tired, etc. When I went home with my migraine the other day he tried to play with me at first, but then he just snuggled with me instead :D Then this morning when I was super tired, he jumped up on the bed and snuggled in my arms. He's such a good snuggler! I just love him to death :D

We have started training him more again. Krystal gave me a good idea about training him for like 5 minutes before he eats, so we have been doing that which has been really good. We also spent some time this weekend and week practicing with him. We taught hime "up" and "off" in regards to furniture. That way when we are at other peoples homes he understands better what "off" means and when we ask him to sit with us, he understands what "up" means. It's been working really well! We also taught him to bark at "Go Wolfpack!" and we throw up our wolf hands. Eventually, we want him to howl-but we still have only gotten him to kinda howl twice. He's gotten really good this too! :D
Go Wolfpack!

John and I got him a bunch of treats and stuff online the other day. We may have spent more than we were planning, but we wont have to buy treats for a very long time now. lol. We also got him an antler and bullysticks- they came in the mail today so I am excited to try them! :D We also got him some dental chews to help with that awful breath of his! I have started brushing his teeth A LOT more often to help combat his smelly breath. lol He doesnt love getting his teeth brushed but now he's just starting to give in. haha. Hopefully, the chews will help- I will keep you posted!

The walking has been great still! The pinch collar is like magic :D He has started to test his boundaries with it, but that is usually when he hasnt had a ton of exercise and has a lot of energy. Otherwise, he walks great and doesnt pull much.

I think that's pretty much it for now :D He's doing great! Here are some pictures I took of us this week. haha

LOVE HIM :D

HELP ME! haha

Thursday, September 22, 2011

October!!!

My favorite month is almost here!!!! and no, it's not my favorite because my birthday is in it- that's just a plus! :D

I have always loved October because its SO pretty. The leaves start changing, the air gets cooler, the morning air is crispy, pumpkins start coming out, and it just means fall is here! and I've already said it a million times- I LOVE FALL!

I am also super excited about this October because we are going to visit Krystal and Josh in Maryland! We finally booked our tickets :D We'll be gone October 19-24. A much needed vacation for sure. This trip also means our first NC State game of the year (in person)!! I am beyond excited. I cant wait to get there and also experience some cooler weather! It's still disgusting hot here.

October is so close I can TASTE IT! I believe I will take this fall to start experimenting with homemade pumpkin flavored everything :D I just gotta find the time. YAY FALL! :D

Fantasy Football Week 2

I lost my game this week :( I think I have a pretty good team, but if the players just happen to have a bad week- it messes up my score!

I have realized that I have started rooting against my components players. lol. more than I am sure others on my team are doing. oh well. haha I want to win!

I am still ranked 3rd in my league, which is good! BUT I want to win and make the playoffs, so I needed to adjust some of my players. I ended up dropping three players and adding three different ones. Hopefully, that makes a difference this week! Right now it says I am supposed to win my game, but my component may not have fixed his line up yet-so I am keeping my eye on it. You're going down Brad!

Next weekend will be better! I can just feel it! :D

Migraines

Migraines are NO fun at all. Fortunately, I have not had a bad one in a pretty long time. Until Tuesday. Monday night before I went to bed I could tell I was starting to get a headache, so I took some ibuprofen and went to sleep- that usually gets rid of headaches. I didnt realize that I was in store for a migraine the next day. I woke up feeling like I did not want to do ANYTHING (more than just the usual, "ugh, I dont want to work today.") The thought of walking Carter made me want to cry. I almost called in because I knew the migraine was just going to get worse.

I have medicine that I can take for when I feel it oncoming (which would have been the night before) but it doesnt help that much if I take it after it's in full swing. I have some other medicine that has pain killers in it, but I knew if I took it I would be out for the day. I reeeeeally didnt want to take a sick day already, so I toughed it out and went to all my meeting mornings hoping it would subside. Wrong. It just got worse. During the meetings I was at the point where I wish I could just jab something into my brain to help relieve the pressure. I just could not imagine the rest of the day sitting in my office with the bright lights and people coming in and out asking me questions. So I asked my supervisor if I could work from home the rest of the day and thankfully he said yes.

When I got home I went ahead and took a pain killer and took a long nap. Unfortunately, when I woke up I still had most of the migraine :( So I took another (dont worry, it says I can take up to two each time I take a dose). Then I had to do some work to justify working from home. lol So I did. Poor Carter just wanted to play and didnt understand why I didnt want to. When I had come home early he was SO excited! Poor puppy. Anyway, after the second pain killer I started to feel better and after more Ibuprofen by the end of the night it was pretty much gone. Thank goodness.

I dont know how many of you get migraines, but after a migraine, my brain is just sore. It's tired from hurting. lol. So the relief is great because all the pressure is gone, but my head still usually hurts afterwards for awhile- just a different hurt. And usually I can feel leftovers of it for a few days. ugh.

I've gotten migraines ever since I was a kid and like I mentioned earlier, luckily I have not had one in a long time. I also have never been able to figure out what sets them off. Sometimes stress, but there has to be something else too- I just have not been stressed out recently for it to be that. Who knows. I am just glad it's gone :D Here's to no more migraines! Ha, I wish!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Weekend fun!

Once again, the weekend did not disappoint. It's never long enough, but it was still awesome :D

Saturday, John and I woke up about 8:45am on our own.... I feel like an old person! If you guys know John and I- we DO NOT wake up that early on our own! But behold, no alarm went off. haha. We decided that since State didnt play until 6 that night that we should go ahead and go to the beach for a few hours! By the time we ate and did our morning routine, we left around 10:00. I dont think that John and I have ever made it to the beach that early without guests here. haha.

The beach was pretty much empty and it was so calm and quiet! It was HOT though. Sitting on the beach was very relaxing and we had not been there in a LONG time. I always wondered how people that lived in Miami didnt make it to the beach much, but now I guess I know. I forgot how much I love the beach. We definitely are going to make more of an effort to go more often again. Even if it's just for a few hours, it's a nice get away. Anyway, we stayed until about 12:30/1pm and headed back home. It was the perfect amount of time for us- and just enough to get a little bit of color! YAY! haha

When I got home I took Carter running with me- it was TOO hot, so it was a bad idea. Not going during the day again. ugh. Afterwards, I started cooking our food for game day! :D Our menu consisted of the rest of that yummy dip I made last time, twice baked potatoes (since I never made them last time), homemade pizza rolls (YUM), and brats. We didnt make the brats until way later, but I went ahead and cut the onion and pepper up, so I didnt have to worry about it later.

Our food for the day, minus the brats!

Then John and I watched football and played cornhole for the rest of the evening! We ended up pulling one of the other TVs into the living room with us, so we could watch our game and the UM game at the same time. It was AWESOME! haha. We won our game too! YAY! So Saturday was an awesome day :D

Sunday, we got up early again- on our own. What is happening?! lol I actually enjoy being up that early. I have always said that I am not a morning person, but I like the morning. I just dont like waking up. That's what I hate. lol. But since I woke up without an alarm and felt rested- it was awesome! We hung out for a little while and then went to run an errand. We had gotten some hoodies from Finish Line (they were 2 for $40 online)! and 3 of them didnt fit us, so we had to go all the way to Dolphin Mall (30 minutes away) to exchange them. Of course they dont have NC State ones down here, so they are in the mail. We had each ordered and NC State and a UM one. :D

After that we had a doggie play date with one of my co-workers, Jenni. Her and her husband, Joel, have a golden retriever. Their dog, Kirby, is about 2 months younger than Carter. They havnt ever played together, so we were excited! We went to the fenced-in field near Mahoney and let them run. Kirby hasnt played with many dogs yet, so they are trying to socialize him some. Carter and Kirby got along great! Carter was trying to teach Kirby how to play and by the end of the play date, he was getting it :D Kirby is really nice and sweet, and a very calm natured dog. I am really glad they get along so well! Carter needs a friend close to home that has his energy level! I forgot to get a picture :( But I will for sure next time!

After the play date, Carter was exhausted and passed out. lol. John and I hung out and watched more football. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, John painting cornhole, and me scrapbooking :D

Overall, it was a great weekend! I wish they could be longer though! haha :D
Here are the recipes that I used:

Twice Baked Potatoes

For step 4- I didnt use butter or cream. I just used milk, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and the potatoes. I also added garlic salt, chives, paprika, and seasoning salt. It was DELICIOUS!

Home Made Pizza Rolls

I dont know what made me think to make these, but I had the idea last week and I looked up a recipe. I have the stuff to make home made dough, but that just takes forever so I got some refridgerated dough this time. I only used 1 can because I figured John and I didnt need more than that. I rolled it the long way instead of the short way, and it still made A LOT of rolls. I also used mozzerella and parmesan cheese. I HIGHLY recommend lightly greasing the pan. I forgot this and they all stuck to the pan. lol- again DELICIOUS! :D

Before

After

YUM! :D

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Favorites!

I cant believe it's already Friday again! BUT, that's a good thing. :D Here are my favorites from this week:

1) Brad Paisley Concert!!- DUH! That's one of my favorites from the YEAR! It was one of the best birthday presents I have ever gotten :D

2) Soledad O'Brien- I dont know if many of you will know who I am talking about but she is a famous CNN Anchor! She came to speak at UM and since I am hosting a book club based on her book, The Next Big Story, I got a chance to meet her! I also got her autograph for my book :D I dont remember if I told you I would be hosting a book club or not, but I will be with another AD, Leslie, and a faculty member, Laura! It was awesome to meet her!

3) Getting a pinch collar- Like I said in my last post- it's like magic! Our walks are SO much more enjoyable now!! He was even walking so nice that pretty much everyone on our walk yesterday stopped to pet him! I loved when everyone did that when he was a cute little puppy, so it was nice that they saw he was a sweet puppy again and not one that doesnt know how to walk nicely.

4) Trueblood- Yes, I know this was one last week BUT we finally finished season 3 and have finally moved into this season! I LOVE TRUEBLOOD!! :D I have not had much time to read this week though, so no progress on the books :(

5) Whole Foods trip!- I was cleaning my wallet out the other week and found a $15 gift card! John had to go Whole Foods for work the other day, so I got to spend it! They have a section where you can make your own 6-pack. I've seen it before but we have never gotten one, so it was a lot of fun picking different beers we have never tried to go in it! YAY gift card!

6) My cousin- My cousin, Tanner, accepted Christ into his heart this week! It's not my story to share with everyone, but I am SO happy that he is now a follower :D My dad would be and I bet still is- SO happy!! Now, he'll get to spend eternity with the Lord and us! YAY! My heart could not be more happy!

Ususally, I will try to keep my favorites to 5. However, that last one I just couldnt leave out!! :D Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Friday y'all!

Carter Updates

My sweet puppy is still sick :( Well, he doesnt act sick but we think he is because he still has all that eye gunk coming out of his eyes. It had cleared up and now it's coming out of the other eye
:( We decided to give it a few more days since the other eye cleared up. If not, we'll probably take him to the vet.

Carter has also been very, very frustrating to walk. I dont know if he is being rebellious or what it is. All I know is walking him was driving me crazy. He's also so big now that if he has his mind set on going after something and pulls- he can pretty much overpower me. Well this just cannot happen anymore! I want to like walking him, not be dreading it:( John and I decided it was time to get him a pinch collar. I had never even heard of one before, but Krystal and Josh have one for their dog, Bailey, and works really well for them.

We stopped at Petco and got one this week. Expensive! BUT SO WORTH IT. It's like magic. Seriously. He is SO much better. The pinch collar looks scary, but it's not. Carter doesnt choke himself anymore either- the collar just pinches him a little when he starts pulling on the leash. He's only squealed a few times- and that's when he takes off after another dog. I hate that, but he's already learned so much. Yesterday, I took him for a really long walk and he heeled almost the entire time. Of course treats help too, but I believe the collar has really taught him a lot already. I really enjoyed walking him yesterday because he didnt pull the entire time!

Other than that, Carter has still been running with me every other morning. Today was nice because he was SO much better at staying with me and not trying to explore everything. :D John and I also need to start working on more tricks with him. We've totally slacked in this area. We have both been super busy, but that should not be an excuse. Carter has also decided that he will only roll over when he feels like it. He doesnt like doing it on the hardwood floors and when on carpet he'll do it only if he feels like it. He huffs at us when we wont give him whatever it is we have for him until he rolls over. Sometimes we'll have him just do something else and give the treat to him, but I think that's sending a bad message so we stopped doing that- he just wont get the treat.

It's also really easy to forget he is still a puppy because he is so big now. So that's something I really need to remember so I dont get so frustrated. But anyway, he's doing well :D Gotta love him :D

Fantasy Football

I have never really taken fantasy football seriously. I've played for a few years now, but I've always let it autodraft and most weeks I would even forget to check to see if my players had bi-weeks or were injured. I just didnt really care that much. I did it because it taught me more about pro football and I got to learn a lot about different players. Plus, it was fun being invested in more games. :D

Well this year is different! Some friends from home invited John and I to play in their league. We both decided to join. Well between last year and this year, I started watching The League. If you have never seen it and like football, watch it- it's hilarious! When I was asked to play this year with mostly all boys, I felt like the wife in that show. haha she is cut throat too!

Anyway, that show encouraged me to care more about fantasy football. SO, I did a BUNCH of research. I looked up all the rules, how to draft players, how to learn which players were good, which order to draft players in- you name it I have looked it up! After all the research, I started to create my pre-draft list. I had it all down and was SUPER excited about my future team.

So the draft came and it took FOREVER. I started to get frustrated because it literally took 3 hours. RIDICULOUS! We have 10 people playing on our team. I was a little disappointed because I realized that if you just pick the next best player for each position, you'd still have a good team. Oh well, at least doing all that research taught me a lot and I know a lot about my players now.

I have an AWESOME team and I kicked some butt the first week! I know this probably wont last long, but I was super excited ;D I won my game AND I ranked 1st out of all 10 of us. YAY for a first week victory! haha we'll see how the rest of the season goes :D

Monday, September 12, 2011

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

So I have the best husband in the world :D But all of you already knew that:D WELL, a few weeks ago John surprised me with an early birthday present! He got us tickets to see Blake Shelton and Brad Paisley in concert! AHHHHH!

I was BEYOND excited! I have only ever been to one other concert AND Brad and Blake happen to be some of my all time favorite singers. The hubs did a beyond great job :D The concert was this past Saturday, so John and I got up pretty early and made sure to take Carter to the dog park. We wanted him to be worn out since he would be alone for part of the day. I had asked one of my RAs to come hang out with him that evening, and she said yes- so he wasnt alone for long :D

Anyway, after the dog park- which is always awesome for Carter- we came back and got ready. The concert wasnt until that night but we wanted to leave early so we could watch the game. The concert was all the way in West Palm Beach (about an hour and a half away) so we had planned to go to a sports bar and watch the Pack play, then head to the concert. Before we left, I packed us a picnic to have at the concert since they let you take food in.

On the drive up, it rained and rained, so we decided to get some ponchos since I couldnt find ours before we left. I love road trips, so of course I had fun on the ride up. We listened to Brad and Blake to get ready for the show ;D. We decided to watch the game at a place called Duffy's. It was actually the first place we ate at when we moved to Florida (not this specific location-it's a chain). It has an awesome football atmosphere. When we got there it was pretty empty so our waiter put on our game for us. YAY! Our game was on, the ECU game was on, and the Carolina game- it felt like home :D We ordered some drinks and an appetizer and had a really good time. Well, besides us sucking it up majorly anyway. Who loses to WF? UGH. Anyway, we decided that we would also split an entree since we both were not that hungry. We ordered THE ULTIMATE CRABCAKE SANDWICH. and it was one of the best things I have ever eaten! It was a delicious crabcake with bacon, avocado, and spicy chipotle sauce. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. We both LOVED it and I will try to make it sometime now. lol.

We left during the 4th because we wanted to make sure we didnt miss any of the concert. We got there and parking was $20!! yikes. We kept following the signs and parked in one of the back lots- and NOBODY charged us! WOOT! It wasnt even that far from the arena. Boy did we luck out. haha We found a really good spot to sit too- it was kinda high up on the grass, but it was dead center and could have been much higher. We lucked out again! When we got there the first act was on and he finished with the only song we knew by him. PERFECT TIMING! Then *sigh* Blake Shelton came on. He was amazing! He played all my favorite songs and was just SO good!

Us Goofing off :D We had such a great time :D

BLAKE SHELTON! AHH!

During his show, we found that I had two little admirers sitting next to us. I am too nice. I need to be meaner. The boy about probably about 8 or so and the girl was 4. She wanted me to play with her and he wanted to talk to me like he was cool. When John left for the bathroom at one point, I played with her a little and asked the kid if he wanted to dance. He told me "No, last time I had 2 girls dancing with me, not just one like you." BHAHAHAHAHA. He also told me that I should stop smooching my friend. LOL. I finally had to tell the little girl I didnt want to play and I tried to get the little boy to leave us alone, but he kept trying to talk to us both. I really just need to stop being nice to everyone. haha

Next up, BRAD PAISLEY!!! I felt like a little teenager that just wanted to yell! I really couldnt have been any happier- THEN he played our wedding song!!!! It was perfect. I really could not have asked for a better birthday present than to hear our wedding song live and get to dance with my hubs while he sang it to me :D BEST HUSBAND AND BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!! I was sure he wouldnt play it because it's so slow- but he did! AHH! Brad also played all my favorite songs by him :D John and I also thought that he may not play his new song Remind Me because it's a duet with Carrie Underwood, but towards the end of his show he played it! AND CARRIE UNDERWOOD WAS THERE!!!! Again- little kid screaming right here. haha I had the BEST time. Words really cannot explain how much fun we had. In fact, I kept saying how much fun I had on Sunday and I believe it started to drive John crazy. lol.
Me and the hubs and BRAD!!!!!!!

What an amazing birthday present! Really- nothing could top that. Football AND Brad and Blake and dancing all night. LOVE IT :D Thanks my sweet husband for the best birthday present ever!!!!!! :D

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday Favorites

So, I decided that it would be neat if I started reflecting back on my week each Friday. I thought it would be neat to pull out a few favorites and share them :D I am going to try to keep it to 5 each week. This week my favorites include:

1) FOOTBALL!- duh, of course this would be one of my favorites! I've only blogged about it a few times so far. LOL. Football season is my favorite time of year :D

2) Pumpkin Spice Latte/Pumpkin Ale- I pretty much love everything pumpkin. :D This past week was the first time I got to have both. Definite positives to my week!

3) Carter chasing a lizard- This one actually happened today. I stepped in some of his poo :( and had to clean my shoe and the patio off, well somehow during that a little lizard got into our bedroom (we have a door to the patio in our room.) I called Carter and it took forever to see it since the lizard was under the bed and trying to be as still as possible. He finally saw it and then chased it for a long time. All under the bed of course and now he's really to big to be under there so it was REALLY funny :D Plus, he makes all my days better :D

4) TrueBlood- both the books (I am addicted!) and the series. One of my favorite things to do with John is to watch TV series with him. We decided to watch all of TrueBlood again before we watch the 4th season. I just love spending that time with him :D

5) Labor Day- Another obvious for the week, but it was a MUCH needed extra day off :D And the time spent with John was also much needed :D

That's it for now! I had a pretty amazing week. I think I am going to like doing this because I really need to reflect on all the good God brings into my life. I dont like being negative and it's easy to fall into always being that way. SO I am going to look at the blessings and good instead :D

Happy Friday Y'all!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Other life updates

So there is ONE month until my birthday. Am I excited? Of course. You all know I love my birthday! And I am ready to be 26. That sounds crazy, but I am. I'm sure there will be more on that the closer it gets. haha.

The reason I am blogging about it? I am STRESSED out about my list! I am not going to get near as much done as I hoped :( I have a month to get everything done I possibly can, but I have to learn to come to terms with life happening and understanding that some of those things just have not been priority. *sigh* it's okay. I'll just roll some things over that I really want to do. I also know now how to make a more reasonable list-taking into account feasibility and finances :D So here is to GO time! haha

Carter is doing well. He has actually had a cold :( My poor puppy! I noticed that his eye had more gunk coming out of it than usual. When I would clean it, it would just come right back. I called the vet and did some research on what it could be and it just looks like a cold. He has been SUPER cuddly since he has been sick- which I love, it just breaks my heart knowing he doesnt feel well. He seemed MUCH better today though! Lots of energy and excited to go for a walk both in the morning and at lunch. He also listened better than he has in a LONG time. I have been doing Couch to 5K and it's been difficult with him bc he likes to stop a lot, but today was really good! Maybe he's gaining endurance with me? haha.

Anyway, I mentioned in my last post how we have been crating Carter all day since he chewed the wall :( well I didnt crate him at all yesterday. I gave him his big mammoth bone and some toys, sprayed the walls with bitter spray, and hoped he was not going to mess up the wall or anything else. I checked on him a bunch! haha. And he seemed much happier than he had in awhile. I hope it's a few things: 1) he's getting used to the routine and 2) he realized if he's good he can be out of his crate longer during the day? At one point when I came home he had been outside playing, so I was happy he wasnt just sleeping like he does in his crate! We'll see how today goes and I'll keep you posted! I love that puppy to death :D

I think that's it for now!

ps. I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season and it was worth all 200 calories :D YUMMY!

Labor Day Weekend!

FINALLY! It was here and I couldnt be more happy! Not only was it a 3 day wonderful weekend, but FOOTBALL started! AHH!

I had a great menu planned out for game day- thanks to Krystal! So I had a lot of cooking to do in preparation. Since the game wasnt until 6- I had plenty of time.

I had decided to make some Easter Carolina BBQ, Twice Baked potatoes, this amazing dip, and sausage balls. That's a lot of food for two people. haha. Anyway, I started the BBQ the night before so the pork could cook all night. It was only my second time making it (the first I made a LONG time ago and it was too fatty). I called Krystal so she could walk me through what to do. That woman can cook! I am going to have to have her teach me how to one day :D Anyway, she gave me the following recipe:

Meat:
I used a pork shoulder. I had to cut some of the fat off- there was actually quite a bit :( so it took awhile. But you want to have some fat for the taste.

The rub:
brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and other spices. I used paprika, seasoning salt, and little crushed red pepper too.

I rubbed the mix on the pork shoulder- here is where I went wrong. Yes, already. But not a huge deal- I just used too much brown sugar so the meat was a little sweeter than I like it. So be careful!

Then I made the sauce:
2 cups of apple cider vinegar, a little brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and I also added more cayenne pepper. You are also supposed to add mustard, but I forgot it. Second place I went wrong. DANG! Anyway, you can add other spices if you want- I just dont know what spices mix well together with what kind of food yet. Then you let the mix simmer.

Since I cooked it over night, I put about half a cup of the sauce in the crock pot with the pork shoulder and let it cook on low for 6 1/2 hours. After that the crock pot just kept it warm till I got up. I slept in longer than I thought I would (to be fair it was 3am when I went to bed! we stayed up watching Trueblood:D). I thought the pork would be dry when I got up, but surprisingly it wasnt. I pulled it (using two forks), drained it, added a little more sauce to it and cooked it for another 30 min and it was yummy! Score :D Like I said it came out really good- just a little too sweet. I think using less brown sugar and actually adding mustard would have helped tremendously!

I saved some of the sauce to add to it when we ate it.

YUMMY.

Next, I made the dip since it also used the crock pot and would take awhile.
The ingredients are:
1lb ground beef
1lb ground Italian sausage (I couldnt find this, so I used regular and it was still great)
16 oz Velveeta cheese
1 can of jalapenos (I left this out because John doesnt like things too spicy)
medium onion
8 oz cheddar cheese
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cottage cheese
8 oz diced tomatoes (I used 14 oz and drained them- still amazing)
garlic

All you do is cook both of the meats- drain them and then throw everything into the crock pot and let it cook.

It was DELICIOUS! and it made a lot so we'll have some for next weekend too (if it makes it that long, lol)

Finally, I made the Sausage Balls. Also, really easy and very yummy.
Ingredients:
1lb ground sausage
4 cups cheddar cheese
2 cups Bisquick

That's all one recipe called for- then you just roll little balls out of it. BUT it was TOO crumbly for me so I added 1/4 cup of water to it. I also added some paprika and chives (look at me getting fancy;D). The water helped SO much. It was easy to make the balls and then I just cooked them for about 25 minutes on 350.

The dip on the right and the sausage balls on the left. YUM!

After all this cooking- I was done. haha the twice baked potatoes didnt happen. We already had too much food anyways. And I wanted to play cornhole! haha.

So after making all the food and resting for a bit, we played cornhole. We had also gotten some Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale- nothing pumpkin about it, but it was still good. So we drank some of that and played. Of course John won :( Then it was already time for the game! State looked rough. I am hoping it was because it was nerves from Glennon or something. If we had played an ACC school we would have for sure lost. We cant have that! I need my boys to practice and get it together. At least we won :D YAY! haha. We watched some of the ECU game and then fell asleep. When you are used to getting up at 4am (John) and 6 or 7 (me) you get tired earlier! I feel old. when did that happen? haha

This was similar to our set up when we played, we just switched where we were standing and where the board was- that way we could watch football easier :D

Cheesy picture, but he did not want to redo it AGAIN. lol and at this point he was making faces on purpose. lol anyway, we were playing cornhole when I tried to take this one

Me and The Carter watching the game! He is so cute in his jersey!

Anyway, Sunday we got up and took Carter to a new doggy park. It was nice- it had a lot more open grass to run in but I like the other park better. The dogs and people are more friendly at the other park. Of course Carter decided to roll around in the mud too, so he was GROSS. haha. After that we went back home and cleaned Carter the best we could without washing him. One of my co-workers birthdays was Monday, so she had a small get together on Sunday. I was in charge of the dessert, so I made a cake and got some ice cream. I thought the party started at 4. After everything was done and I had worked on new cornhole bags for awhile and John painted the boards, we headed over about 5.

Guess who read the invitation wrong. This girl. Whoops. It was supposed to start at 7. Luckily, two others had already showed up to start cooking so we stayed and hung out with them. Other than that we just hung around and talked. Leslie (birthday girl) let us bring Carter so, Clifford (her dog) and Carter were our entertainment. Clifford doesnt like to share much and so Leslie gave both Carter and Clifford a new toy each- Clifford stole Carters and ran around with both of the toys in his mouth teasing Carter. lol I am glad Carter is a good sport- he just chased Clifford. haha. Anyway, we got home around 10 and watched some more TrueBlood (we are rewatching all of the seasons before we watch season 4). Then we fell asleep- early AGAIN! geez. lol old people is what we are now.

I was SO glad to have an extra day off! Monday rolled around and we slept in a little, ate some breakfast, and hung out around the apartment. I cleaned some and then we spent the rest of the day watching football and playing more cornhole :D We are actually repainting the boards and making better bags (I'll post about this when we are done) but we had one board that hadnt been painted yet, so we were using that one. We had SUCH a good time. I love that man to death and am so glad we were able to have such a nice relaxing day and weekend together. :D

It was a much needed 3 day weekend! And one of the best thing about 3 day weekends is that means there are only 4 days of work the next week! YES! :D haha

No Heat Curls

Say WHAT?! Yep that's right. Thanks to an old sorority sisters blog I follow, I was enlightened to this and it's AWESOME! SO THANK YOU! :D

I can't tell you enough how quick and easy it is and just how perfect the curls look! For directions take a look at the video.

So I tried it and I looked crazy with my hair all tied up around the headband. lol. John said I looked like a little boy and I wasnt able to wear my hair like until RIGHT before bed. lol Maybe it's because I have a big forehead? Let's be honest I do, and I know it- so I just have to own it ;D He's never that adamant about things, but he was about this. haha. He really doesnt like short and he said it made me look like I cut all my hair off. Oh well. I will be kind and wait until right before bed from now on. Dont want to scare him away. ;D

Here is the after picture of my AWESOME locks! (I was ready for game day if you cant tell ;D)

I dont usually toot my own horn, but those are beautiful for not using a curling iron or hot curlers! It really only took me 2 minutes to put it all up at night and then about 2 minutes to take it down in the morning and get rid of the bed head. I forgot to spray mine with hairspray before I took down the headband, which she suggests in her video for people with thin hair. I'll make sure to do this next time because we all know I have thin hair. Even so, the curls lasted much longer than they usually do on my head! and it's MUCH faster! SCORE!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Seasons

You may be thinking that I am going to talk about the weather. Which, normally I would be because I truly miss the seasons. With Fall coming up in North Carolina it's going to be hard to not watch the leaves change. It's hard to participate in all my favorite things about Fall down here because it just doesnt change. at all. And Fall is my favorite, so it will be real hard!

While all the above is true, I am actually going to be talking about the seasons in our lives. I was talking to one of my wonderful RAs recently about her walk with Christ and where she was at in her life. She was telling me about breaking up with her boyfriend and how it was going to be hard to be single. However, she said this is the season the Lord has chosen for me right now and I have to embrace it. We talked a little bit more about seasons after that and I am so glad we did!

I had totally forgotten about the passage in the Bible about seasons. It made me think about the season of life I am in now and where I have been. Then I looked up the passage:

"There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3: 18

Wow, what an awesome passage. And boy did I forget what it said. I remember having had studies on this passage before, but I just didnt remember it at all. I also think the way we interpret a lot of what is in the Bible depends on the "season" we are in.

What initially stood out to me was the line "a time to be born and a time to die." This made me think about my dad, of course. For some reason, this line comforted me. As well as the lines "a "time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." To me it's saying its okay to be sad and cry. But it's also okay to move on, laugh, and celebrate my father. This is exactly what I want to do and this passage made me feel better about everything again :D

My next thought was about the season I am in now. And I think you can be in multiple seasons at once. I think my father passing and what I am continuing to go through with that is one type of season. But then there is also the season of living in Miami, working on building up my professional career. The season of having been married for 3 years now and continuing to build that relationship up continually. I think they can all intertwine, but can also be separate. I hope that makes sense. Then I began wondering what else God has in store for me during this season. Obviously, I am here because the Lord wanted me to be in Miami. I have a purpose here, but what is it? What is the Lord's plan for me here?

My RA that I was talking to is heavily involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, now also known as CRU. She asked me if I would be interested in speaking at one of their Thursday night meetings. At first I thought she meant a bible study- but no, she meant the entire CRU meeting. My heart is racing just thinking about it! I asked her what she wanted me to talk about and she said what it means to be a Christian on campus and also a professional. HMMMM. What does that mean, I thought?!

Then she started asking me all of these questions. How do you share the Gospel? How do you keep things professional? How do you lead people to the Lord? What are you involved in? How do you live your life on campus but spread the word? and on and on.

I am not going to lie. It stressed me out. I DONT KNOW! I mean I do, if I sat down and thought about it. BUT, I am clearly not living my purpose for Christ in this season of my life. I should be able to answer those questions. I should know exactly what my plan is and how I do it. I should be relying on Christ more than I am. Boy, it's easy to stray and forget what is important; To forget why we are here.

I must say a HUGE thank you to my RA for bringing this to my attention. She doesnt know she did and I doubt she will ever read this blog post, but thank you Lord for letting us have this conversation!

So, is part of my purpose here to get involved with CRU? Or is it to tell others that I am here as a Christian and a professional if they ever need to talk? Or both? Or more? I think that is going to be what I start praying about. Most definitely what I will start praying about. :D

As a side note, it is not a habit of mine to discuss my faith with my employees. I dont want to turn them off to discussing things with me and I feel like it can cross a line. However, my RAs know I am a Christian and if they wish to discuss the Lord with me, I will discuss it with them then. I also sought out permission from my boss to speak at CRU. My profession is really big on not making people feel ostracized and discussing faith can do that sometimes. However, sharing the good news is one of my top priorities, so it's exciting that I am allowed to. Now I just need to work up the courage! :D

Ah, Russell Wilson

Oh, how I miss him. He did work last night for the Badgers! I cant NOT pull for him. He will always be a wolfpacker in my heart. However, part of me is still bitter. Part of me doesnt want to watch him play or cheer for him. But I know this is wrong.

Russell is an extremely nice and genuine guy. I understand where he was coming from when he was trying to make a decision about whether or not to play. I also understand why Tom had to make the decision he did. Granted, after ranting about the situation to John last night, he was the one who pointed all of this out to me. And I agree. Part of me just wants to be mad too though. LOL. There is nobody to blame, and I know this. I just wish he was still with the Wolfpack.

With that said, Good Luck Russell! I hope you have an amazing year and know that I miss you already. I will do my best to stop being mad.

Now, on to our season. We start tomorrow! I couldnt be MORE excited! I have my menu planned and I am set to go! YES!

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