Friday Favorites!

Thank goodness it's Friday! This week has been SO slow! Good- but slow. I really just want to go lay on the beach for the weekend. lol.

1) The Heat- It's been really fun to get into the Heat games. We have been watching all the games in the playoffs and it's been fun. We never really had an NBA team to pull for- so when we moved down here we thought, why not pull for the Heat? Lebron came down when we did! So YAY! for a win last night and here's to hoping they do work in Miami! 

2) TRUE BLOOD!- it has started and feel like my life is complete again :D However, between watching the Walking Dead and True Blood- I have started to dream about vampires and zombies. haha. At least they are not nightmares- I'm kicking some vampire and zombie butt in my dreams ;D

3) Honey Ale- Our 2nd beer is finally done! It's really good. It's crisp and refreshing. Good bubbles. It doesnt have a lot of honey taste though. I think it's really hard to get that flavor. It's delicious though! I'm curious to see how it does over time.

4) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- I finally started this series and the beginning of the book is really slow. BUT I finally got to it being more interesting. I know the books are really good, so I'm excited to get into them.

5) Vacation/Sick Days/Comp Time- I went to ask the lady in our office how much time off I have- and dang I have a lot! It's a favorite because I'll be taking some random days off coming up :D 

6) Boardwalk Empire- John and I started catching up on this series too! I forgot how slow the story line is. It's a really good series- just slow. Excited to see where they take the story this time!

Hmmmmm. sounds like all I do is watch TV and read...that and the beach make up a good summer though, right? ;D

Happy Friday y'all!

Random things on my mind...

Have you ever had a bunch of things running through your mind at once? I'm sure everyone has. Well as the summer is MUCH slower at work, I have a bunch of random things running through my mind and by random I mean not that important. haha so I thought I would share:

• The Walking Dead- John and I finished the second season! YAY! but it has really made me think about what I would do in the zombie apocalypse or really John and I have talked about what we would do...haha..it's fun:D If you are planning on watching SPOILER ALERT! First of all, John and I would gather supplies and get a reliable vehicle that the zombies cannot get in- like a tank. The show had plenty of them on the streets, so we would take one of those. They can fit a few people and provide a lot of safety- ie. the zombies cannot get in them. I would then want to find a huge farm to bunker down in- like they did in the show. However, they were SO stupid about it! In the event that a herd (mass amounts of zombies) comes- you need an emergency plan. I would have a "safe room" underground that had about 2 weeks of supplies in it. Then when we felt the zombies had left or minimized- we would kill the rest. In the show they acted like it was a huge surprise that a herd showed up- the herd was going to keep on going and pass by, but they decided to start shooting, set the barn on fire, etc. All things that attract zombies- noise and light. dumb people. Anyway, I know it's stupid- but it's fun to talk about. haha

• Mosquitoes- they are HORRIBLE right now. I seriously have bites ALL over me. Dont ask how, they are sneaky little awful bugs. They may drive me insane. However, I would still take the mass of mosquitoes over roaches any day. ANY. DAY.

• Babies- I am not ready for them, I know- but they are becoming cuter to me. Well at least babies are. We have a bunch of little kid camps on campus and when I walk past them, I cringe. Seriously, cringe. Others walking by them are smiling and saying "awww, how cute" and I crinkle my nose. Is that a bad sign? 

• Products- There are just certain product brands that people are stuck on. I'm sure everyone has them. You know the items that you REFUSE to buy the off brand for? I'm pretty good with off brand products- Winn Dixie has amazing off brand products! But some things- you just cant budge on. For me it's Q-tips. The other brands are just too soft and bend too easy. I need the firm q-tip stick with the firm cotton balls on the ends. Cream Cheese is another- I can do off brand cream cheese on a bagel- but if I'm cooking something and it calls for cream cheese, the off brand just doesnt cut it. It just tastes different to me. Pop-tarts are Johns. Not that he eats them often, but when we do get them- they better be the Pop-tart brand! the others are just gross.

• Actors- Some actors will always have to play the same type of role. And other actors will never really be able to play another role again because the role they got popular with sticks with them- like Screech and Urkel - They will always be Screech and Urkel to me. I cant really see them in another role. And then people like Angelina Jolie- she will always be the bad girl, fighter, not innocent at all. Same with Jennifer Aniston- all her roles are similar because people cant really picture her in something different. I only started thinking about this because the book I just finished reading is going to be made into a movie and I cant decide who I would want to play each role. I'm afraid they are going to mess it up!

• Beach- I dont have any desire to do any work lately. I just want to go lay on the beach or by a pool all day. Maybe that's a strong indication that I need a vacation? Like a "dont do anything for a few days vacation". lol. I know I would get bored- but I really wish I didnt have worry about grown up things and could choose not to work some days. But really- who doesnt feel like that?

• Working out- Why does it have to be so difficult? Why is it that you can eat however you want for a week and gain 5lbs, but then if you exercise and watch your calories- it takes you a few weeks to burn off that 5lbs? I feel like it should be even. I also feel like working out shouldn't be so hard. I can go running 5 days in a row and feel pretty good and get to where I'm running a good distance, but then I break for 2 days and it feels like I have to start over. WHY?! I just dont get it. I saw a funny e-card the other day that said "Men think women's greatest dream is to find a good man, but really it's to be able to eat anything and not get fat" haha! 

Anyway, that's all for now. Random, I know ;D

Friday Favorites

This is going to be a much longer Friday Favorite post, as I have had a lot of good stuff happen over the past few weeks that I have not shared yet! But first, let's celebrate that it. is. Friday! yes! haha.

1) Freezer meals- As you know the dining hall is closed all summer, so we are on our own for food all summer. Like real people. So I decided to start working on freezer meals! I've only done a few and I did them after work one day this week. It's not ideal to do them during the week, so I really need to take a few hours on a Sat or Sun and do them. But anyway, they are super helpful! I cant wait to make more, so I dont have to worry about dinner every night- I can just pull something outta the freezer :D

2) Macaroni and Cheese- There is a chef that works closely with UM and he makes the best mac and cheese EVER. I finally convinced him to give me his recipe!! I tried my first attempt while Krystal and Josh were here and it was pretty good- but I used whole grain noodles (not doing that again) and didnt have a enough cream. So round two was made and is now in the freezer- cant wait to try it. But I look forward to being the mom who makes the best mac and cheese ever :D

3) Books- I am SO glad it's the summer. I love reading and have been able to tear through some books! I also read my first book on a kindle ap on the Ipad and now I want a kindle. lol :D 

4) Shows- We finally caught up and finished this season of Modern Family! I love that show- it's hilarious and I cant wait to see what happens next season. I started to watch the Walking Dead- kind of creepy, but I'm hooked :D I love watching episode after episode with John. the sweet man was almost caught up with all the seasons and started them over with me :D True love. haha AND last but not least, TRUE BLOOD STARTS IN 2 DAYS!!!!

5) Raise- I forgot that we get yearly raises. It was a very nice surprise to open that letter up!

6) Bathing suit! I got a new bathing suit from Victoria Secrets and I CANNOT WAIT to wear it!! I'm on duty this week- but next weekend better watch out.

7) Home- I finally got my July time off approved to go home! We'll be home in less than a month and I couldnt be more excited. It will have been 6 months. I cant wait to see my family, drink real sweet tea, eat some NC bbq, and hang out with friends.

8) Brewing- We have bottled our 2nd batch of beer- a Honey Ale and have brewed our 3rd batch!- a Nut Brown. SO excited. We have stuff to make an Apple Ale in the mail- I hope it gets here soon! Krystal and Josh got us a glass carboy for John's bday, so now we can do two batches at a time if we want OR a beer that requires a second fermentation.

9) Walks- John and I started walking Carter together at night this week. I really enjoy going together. It's fun to watch Carter play in the bushes and it's a good time to train him off leash. It's also nice to walk and chat with John some and unwind :D The mosquitoes are horrible though :(  I probably have a least 15 on my body right now. Stupid humidity! 

10) Football!- Our first football game of the season is Aug 31st in Atlanta in the Georgia Dome. We have our tickets bought, hotel booked, and time off approved. And of course we are going with Krystal and Josh! I cant wait!!! 

11) New Year- The new year has officially began over in my building. Leslie has moved back to Cali and the structure change has now taken place. It's awkward in some instances, but overall I am looking forward to the changes. I am going to do everything in my power to make this a great year. 

12) Eye Doctor- So, good and bad- I needed to order more contacts and wouldnt you know my prescription ran out 11 days before I called to place the order. Ugh. So I had to set up an appointment to get a new one. Well, the good news is that my prescription didnt change at all! YAY! and while my eye doctor isnt versed in Lasik, she said my astigmatism isnt so bad where I couldnt get Lasik. Years ago when I got tested, I was told I wasnt eligible because of my astigmatism :( So as long as my cornea is thick enough, I should be eligible now. I mean, we have to save up the money, but it's nice to know it's not a definite no now!

13) Working out- I am determined to get into shape this summer, so I started working out hard this week. I know I say this a lot, so until I actually lose weight I'm not going to post about it. haha. But I did want to say that I feel so much better this week after working out! It's been awhile. I also saw a sign today that said "A year from now, you'll wish you started today" It's so true. I've lived that year after year. Hopefully, it wont be that way this time around. 

Anyway, that's all for now! I hope you have a happy Friday!

The Kinlaws Visit!

I haven't blogged in awhile because Krystal and Josh came to visit! So, we've been busy! YAY! We had so much fun :D

Krystal and Josh came in on the Wednesday before Memorial day. Little did we know that most of the groupons we had purchased for while they were here, couldnt be used during memorial day weekend :(  Either companies wouldnt let us use them or everything was booked up. I should have planned better- I still feel really bad about it :( We made the best of it anyways though!

Wednesday, I took a half day and picked them up from the airport.We grabbed John and then went straight to South Beach. Our first stop was Wet Willie's since they had never been with us. We had a yummy lunch and of course some delicious slushies! Then we went and laid out on the beach for a little bit, caught some sun and enjoyed the weather. When we came back Krystal surprised Carter with a really neat treat container with homemade treats! She also gave me some awesome NC State coasters she made! She is so thoughtful :D After, we took Carter for a walk and he got to play with another puppy named Buddha, he was part Pit- Krystal and Josh were really excited! Pits have a special place in their hearts :D When we got back we all hung out and talked for hours, it was nice to catch up and hang out like old times! We ordered pizza for dinner and then we all went to bed- were all exhausted and John had to work the next morning.

Thursday, I got up and took John to work in case we wanted to do something, but we were all so tired that we slept in and then lounged around and read our books. Haha. Krystal and I started a book together and for most of the trip we kept trying to catch up with each other. lol. A little later I took Krystal and Josh around campus, since they didnt get to see it while they were here last time. John came home while we were gone and since he was up so late and then up early for work, he took a nap. The rest of us showered and hung out for a bit and then woke him up. We had a groupon for a Cuban place- Savor Miami and we decided to do that for dinner. We drove all the way out to the place and found out that they are not open for dinner during the week- only Friday and Saturday- WHO IS ONLY OPEN FOR DINNER THOSE DAYS?! crazy. We decided on Scotty's Landing instead. We got great seats and looked at the boats. Krystal and Josh got seafood and John and I got burgers. Mine was stuffed (yes, stuffed!) with cheese and jalapenos. SO GOOD! Afterwards, we tried to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Miami Heat game and have some drinks, but the wait was ridiculous. We ended up trying a little place called Bougainvillas. We were all pretty wiped out still, so we ended up heading back after that and going to bed pretty early. We are getting so old!  

Scotty's Landing!

Friday, we got up, made some breakfast and packed for the beach. We went ahead and picked up John since he got off early and went back down to South Beach. It was Urban Weekend there for memorial day weekend, so we decided if we wanted to go back while they were here, Friday would be the last day we could go. There ended up being TONS of people over the weekend and they closed off streets- not our scene. Anyway, we went down to where the hotels have their lounge chairs and it's WAY less crowded. It was really nice! We didnt really have to share the beach with many people, the water was pretty, and we got a lot of sun- some of us too much (John!). After a few hours, we headed home and grilled out brats and made some twice baked potatoes- YUM. We also played some cornhole and relaxed.

Saturday, we lounged around some- Krystal and I read our books and the boys played Xbox. We made grilled cheese with avocado on them- SO GOOD! Then we decided to go bowling, since John and I had a free pass for up to 6 people. None of us had bowled in a LONG time. I didnt win :(. lol. After bowling we went back to the Cuban place for dinner. Driving there twice was TOTALLY worth it. The food was ridiculously amazing and there was TONS of it. The groupon we had came with a glass of wine each, 2 appetizers, and 4 entree's. The groupon was super cheap. We each got something different and tried each others. Seriously, all of the food was delicious. There was SO much that we were able to stuff ourselves and have another meal later. The food was incredibly cheap too. Talk about bang for your buck! John and I decided that we would definitely go back, at least a few times! It's kind of far, but the drive is worth it. We all got cafe con leche too (cuban coffee)- well Josh, John, and I did- Krystal is not a fan of coffee, but after telling her it would keep her up for hours and it's really small, she tasted it and we got her one too. We thought they were going to be like 3 or 4 bucks each- which is about what they are most places- nope! like 3 bucks for all 4! I love that place! We all left SO stuffed. We headed back home and had planned to take the metrorail downtown, but State was playing UNC in baseball, so we watched the end of the game. It ended up taking a LONG time for the game to finish and then we lost :(. It ended up being too late to take the metrorail, so we decided to just stay in. We played some games and hung out and stayed up WAY too late. haha. 

Bowling fun!

At Dinner- the inside was neat too and everyone was SO friendly!

 The guys :D

 Our cafe con leches, before Krystal got hers- so cute and little!

Sunday, we slept in and then got up and decided that we would go ahead and go to the Everglades! We had planned to go Monday, but it was such a nice day and we had the time that we decided we should go ahead and go. So we drove down there and stopped at the National Park Visitor Office. Apparently they need all kayaks back by 5pm. It was already 3 by the time we got there and the place that rented them was still an hour away :(. So we decided to hike some of the trails closer by. We drove to one spot and got out and sprayed ourselves with bug spray and sunscreen and loaded up my bag with everything we needed, then realized it wasnt that far of a "hike." haha. I dont even remember how far it was now, but after looking at everything- it took us probably an hour. We saw birds, fish, weird bugs, turtles, and alligators. I was walking down one of the bridges and all of the sudden there was an alligator in the water! It scared me to death! We ended up seeing about 3 alligators. The part of the bridge were we saw them dead-ended. When we were all on the end, one started moving onto the land! This one was in the direction of the way out- we were kind of scared to go past him. haha. Krystal was the fearless one! Then another one started to move to the ground behind us. I almost started crying I was so scared. We tiptoed past them. Thank goodness there was a rail, but I doubt that would really stop them/ When we finally made it away from them, it really wasnt a big deal anymore and we took some more pictures of them. But at first it was terrifying! I'm such a baby. We were seriously 3 feet from those things tho. Yikes! We ended up doing another trail, but it was wooded so there wasnt much to see. Overall, we had a good time! I'm glad we didnt kayak with them because I would have had a heart attack being in the water with them.

Checkin' out the facts about the Everglades at the visitor center

 SMILE!

 It was SO quiet out there

 Weird bugs- some kid walked around holding one...gross

 Turtle!

 The first alligator we saw!

 YIKES!

 The second- how scary do they look?!

 Then he moved to land..

 Fearless Krystal wanted a picture with him! Love this girl!

 Lots of Lily Pads! We really wanted to see a panther, but that didnt happen. I might have had a heart attack if we had though! haha

Sunday night we went out to one of John and mines favorite restaurants, Titanic. We knew they would like it since it's a local brew and they brew their own beer too! While we were there we found out it was karaoke night! John was joking around and said if they had Forgot about Dre- him and Josh would go sing it. I just had to go and check because he was certain they didnt- who has rap songs? WRONG! guess who sang karaoke! It was AWESOME! haha. So proud of them for doing that, because I am TOO shy to do that. haha. I didnt get any pictures of the karaoke- but I did get VIDEO! Oh man, my husband rapped in public..haha Click the link to see it!:  John and Josh Karaoke- Forgot About Dre

 Gangsta mode!

After Titanic we took them to Yardhouse for a few drinks and then headed back to the apartment to hang out and play games.

Monday, we slept in and then headed to a different beach. Everything was crowded, but we thought maybe Crandon Park Beach wouldnt be that bad- wrong. We still had a good time though. There is enough space on that beach to play bocce ball, so we laid out and played a few rounds of that before heading back. When we got back, we were all starving so I made some YUMMY nachos! Then we played some cornhole and cooked dinner. On the menu that night was ribs, asparagus, and mac and cheese! it was amazing. The rest of the evening we hung out and started making plans for our next big get together, which will be State's first game in the GA Dome! SO EXCITED! :D 

It's always sad to see friends go, but we were so glad to have them here. I know I always say this, but it really makes being here easier. It's nice to have a piece of home down here. Plus, they are our best friends, so we always have a good time! We love them so much and cant wait to see them again! which will be in July, then Sept, then Oct, then Nov, then Dec. HAHA SCORE! ;D

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KINLAWS!

So I woke up yesterday morning and panicked a bit when I thought I missed telling my best friend happy anniversary. As her Matron of Honor- it's always important for me to remember! Not sure why I thought I missed it, but I just did. Luckily, I was wrong and it was yesterday! John and I were so lucky to be apart of their big day 2 years ago and I couldnt be happier for them! SO HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KRYSTAL AND JOSH! We cant wait to celebrate many, many more with you!

Their day was beautiful! This is one of my favorite pictures- Officially Mr. and Mrs. Kinlaw and always including our PACK! True fans for sure:D 

After I wished her a happy anniversary, I started to think-where have the past two years gone!? Then I thought- OH MY! OUR anniversary is in 2 weeks! I am falling behind. Goodness me. Then I thought- oh wow. We've been married for 4 years on the 21st. 4 YEARS! That's just crazy. WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE?!

After John and I got married I decided that for our 5 year anniversary, I would like to do something special. We didnt get to take any pictures around campus in our wedding clothes, so that's definitely on my list! I also thought it would be neat to celebrate with friends somehow. I have had many ideas over the past 4 years and John said if when the time came, I wanted to do something still- he'd be down. He knows I change my mind a lot. haha. 4 years later though, I would still like to- I just dont know what it looks like yet. But- it's time to start planning soon! Time just flies. 

Anyway, I am beyond lucky to have been able to be married to my best friend for almost 4 years. And WE are lucky to have our best friends married to each other :D AND even though we live so far apart now, it's so nice that we have remained so close.

Again, Happy Anniversary Krystal and Josh- WE LOVE YOU!