Such a great weekend...

Oh my gosh people. I haven't posted since EASTER! Are you still out there?

If you are, I'm going to brag to you about my weekend because it was one of the best weekends I've had in a really long time and I need to document it.

FRIDAY: Friday Steven got his test results back and is officially licensed to practice in NC, so to celebrate I went shopping for a new dress for a surprise dinner and found some other vital and adorable pieces to add to my wardrobe and it was cheap! I found a dress, a leather jacket, a satchel purse, a couple sweaters, and a pair of earmuffs(I have SUUUUPER sensitive ears. The slightest chill and I feel like I'm being stabbed in the ears). I have been looking for all of these things and found great quality items that I love for cheapo. How much better does it get?

Then, I got home, got ready for dinner and headed to Greensboro where I surprised Steven with reservations at his favorite restaurant ever, Ruth Chris Steak House(which is strictly special occasion because it is pricey). I have never been. Steven went for a work meeting once. Oh. MY. Gosh. It was deliciously worth every penny. Even the green beans people! And Steven didn't even stress once about the prices. Then, we came home and snuggled and watched Hocus Pocus.

SATURDAY: We slept in.

Then, we went to meet a puppy I had been looking at online for a while(they only show pups on Saturdays for a couple of hours). While the puppy we went to see was ADORABLE, he was just a little too hyper for our kitties liking(even though he did calm right down when you rubbed his floppy ears).

While we were playing with him some other people brought out a couple of other puppies who were a little less rambunctious, but we were told they chew and were going to get HUGE. I'm fine with the HUGE, but Steven is not and I was just happy he was willing to look at puppies. I wasn't going to push my luck with the size.

THEN. Some other people brought out another puppy from a different litter(guys, I was so stuck on this puppy from the photo online that I didn't even stop to look at the plethora of other adorable puppies this place had to offer) and she was just precious! She was just snuggling in this guys arms like she never wanted to be set down. Steven saw this and was hooked. She even played well with the other puppies when she was set down. She was PERFECT! The people that had her though seemed like they were for sure taking her home. They would get weird when Steven even looked at her.

Later we definitely decided Mr. Rough and Tumble was out(I mean we couldn't constantly rub the little guys ears!) and the others were out because they were going to get to big, so Steven went inside to see if there were other puppies from Ms. Perfect's litter...HE COMES OUT WITH MS. PERFECT!!! The other people didn't get her. They didn't even submit an application! CRAZIES! So, we played with her a little more and observed her a little more to be sure and decided to fill out an application for adoption.

While we're filling out the adoption application this ladies keeps trying to convince me that this other adorable puppy from the same litter was more perfect and the volunteers favorite. Later, Steven will teach me that she was trying to get me to change my mind because her little boy wanted my puppy! As if a dog, 3 cats, and 4 brothers isn't enough... Anyway, I loved her so much and was so on cloud 9 that I didn't even realize her rudeness until after we left, haha.

The volunteers will bring Ms. Perfect tomorrow for a house visit to see if we have a safe house for a puppy and that the kitties are okay with her. Then, they will check our references and if everything pans out, she will be all ours next Saturday! I'm not even kidding...please pray for us. I know it sounds silly, but it means a lot to me. I'll be heartbroken if for some reason we don't get approved.

I'm trying not to get too excited, but I have already been pricing puppy food and looking for supplies, like a crate and leash and everything. We even have a name! We're in so much trouble if we don't get her!

Then, our friends Maile and Mitch called and said they were going to stop by on their way to the mountains to pick up Mitch's jacket. It was so good to see them! And their dog Lucy! And it also made Steven and I decide to take a semi spontaneous trip to Boone to see the leaves. It was "semi spontaneous" because we were already planning it before I decided I'd rather go see puppies. The day was still young though and we didn't bring home a puppy like we thought, so off we went!

It was so fun! We are NEVER spontaneous. I love it, but Steven is more of a planner. The leaves were fabulous! And we passed about 10 Christmas tree farms! I didn't get a ton of pictures, because my phone sucks and doesn't take great pictures. But, we stopped in the Mast General Store and they had barrels and barrels and more barrels of candy! CANDY! We got to fill our little buckets full of our favorite treats and we also got a couple of old school sodas in glass bottles that you had to open on the machine. I felt like I was in Back to the Future. If you know me you know this is BIG!

Then, we headed home and almost died a couple times along the way because Carolina drivers are the worst...possibly in the whole world! I stopped for Taco Bell and got the new Cantina Bowl. It was actually really yummy! Steven was good and waited until we got home to eat.

Then, we went to the gym and they have put in a new stair climber!! I have a love/hate relationship with them. It is an intense cardio workout and it sucks, but I know I'm getting a really good workout, so I love it.

SUNDAY:We woke up late for church, so we only went to classes. Our friends Gary and Sarah have just moved into the ward and it was SO fun to have them there...although I got slightly jealous of all the attention people were giving them. I had to introduce myself to everyone I know! NO ONE TALKED TO ME! I MUST give off a snob vibe...or I stink. I have this odd paranoia of smelling bad. I ask Steven quite frequently if I smell. I'm totally not kidding. Although, he's used to my scent so he's not a reliable source...

Then, I broke the sabbath and went to volunteer orientation at the humane society. I already missed sacrament! What's one more thing? I have a lot of improving to do, I know this. Don't judge me because I sin differently than you! ;) I'm really excited about volunteering though. And! I got to see the sister of the puppy that first broke my heart. My heart skipped a beat when I first saw her, but she isn't up for adoption. She is there because she has a UTI and they are nursing her back to health. Then, she goes back home. Besides, I'm pretty positive we found the closest thing to perfection(as close as a puppy can get anyway) in Ms. Perfect. Hence the name!...No, we will not name her that if we get her. Although, it is growing on me!

Then, we went to Sarah and Gary's house for a yum-o dinner and dessert, watched The Avengers in 3D on their awesome new tv, talked, planned for upcoming Halloween celebrations and had a really great time! We're so glad they've moved closer! They are amazing people.

Easter Treats

So, we were invited to have Easter dinner at our bishops house and assigned dessert when we asked what we could bring. I was pretty excited about this because I had some cute ideas in mind. Also, this would be my opportunity to conquer a seemingly simple recipe that I murdered a couple of Easters back. They are super cute and the recipe is SO simple and the idea that I couldn't make them has been plaguing me for years. Well all! I have joyous news! I master the chocolate nests! Here they are.

The recipe says to make them in a regular size muffin tin, but they are rich and I figured they would go a lot further in the mini muffin tin. I'm well pleased with the turn out. I am satisfied and feel like I can move on with my Easter treat endeavors. I'm sad the picture is all blurry though!

I also made these as a back up...just in case. It's just Rice Krispie Treats formed in the same muffin tin in case the chocolate ones were too much for people like myself. I think these turned out pretty cute too.

On a side note. I have decided I hate peanut butter. I hate the taste, the smell AND it is both sticky and greasy! Two of the worst textures EVER! I know many others adore good ol' peanut butter. All I can say to that is...you can have my share too! BLEH!

Happy Easter everyone!

A very important day

This may be a little personal, but I wanted to document somewhere I knew I could always find this most important event. I've tried several times to keep a journal, but it only lasts a couple of days and then I stop, forget about it and most times happen upon some of the random pages when I'm looking for a fresh notebook for school or something. This is too important for that and I guess in a way, it's a testimony...which are meant to be shared.

Today started out pretty normal. I woke up early to take my car to get an oil change, came home and went back to sleep until the dealership called to say it was ready, got ready for the day, ate some Trix(which I realized are just balls now instead of the fruit shapes...lame!), cleaned up the apartment a little, went to pick up my car, then off to go tanning. While in the tanning bed I had the most overwhelming feeling that I needed to go to the baptism today for two new members. One is Thomas who will be 12 in 11 days and the other is his uncle Josh who is 26 and really reminded me of my estranged big brother. So much so, that I just wanted to grab him in a hug and not let go...I didn't of course. Anyway, I went off on a tangent. Back to the tanning bed. I'm laying in the tanning bed about halfway through the session and I get this overwhelming feeling that I HAVE to go to the baptism today. It was so strong I wanted to jump out of the bed right then, but the baptism wasn't for hours still. It struck me as odd because I always consider going to the baptisms in my ward because I love them, but Saturdays always seem to be packed full of errands and studying. After tanning, I went home and tried to start studying and almost talked myself out of attending the baptism because I have a big important test on Tuesday to prepare for, but I ended up getting dressed and even arrived early, which is HUGE for me! I walked in, sat down, and everything was just normal. I honestly forgot about the earlier feeling of urgency until Necia(the relief society president) walked in and sat in front of me. She turned around and was talking to me and mentioned that she was surprised they made it, because just a half hour earlier she was at home with someone working on her home when she felt like she needed to get to the baptism. She wasn't dressed and didn't know if she should just leave the person at her house to come, but she felt like she really needed to attend. That was when I remembered my feeling from earlier. It was amazing and I almost cried because I realize, for the first time in my life, without the slightest doubt, I felt the spirit speak to me. I know I must have felt it before. I've guessed that the spirit was what guided me in certain situations, but this was the first time I KNEW it was the spirit. There was a huge turn out at the baptism and the spirit was so strong. Nothing crazy happened. I don't know if anyone would even count me among the people who attended if asked, but the spirit wanted me there for whatever reason. I am just so thankful that I felt it and followed the prompting and that Necia happened to mention her experience. I think Necia telling me about her feeling the same thing is precisely what helped me realize what I had felt earlier in the day. I don't know how to put it into more eloquent words, but it's really a wonderful feeling to know that God really does know each one of us and that He chose little ol' me to speak to. I always believed that He knows each one of us and that we're all important to Him, but today, for the first time in my life, I KNOW it.

My hope is that I can look back on this often and always remember what I have felt. Maybe just being there to talk to Necia was the reason I received the prompting. Maybe I was just a filler in the crowd so that the newest members of my ward family knew that they were supported and loved. Maybe this was my opportunity to better understand the true significance and meaning of Easter, which will be celebrated tomorrow. How perfect is that?! Whatever the reason, I am so thankful.

Happy Easter everyone!

New Haircut Part II

So, I finally did it! I chopped it all off. I mulled over it for months and finally got up the nerve to go for it. Most of the motivation came with the fast approaching expiration date on my Groupon, but I have good reasons for for my apprehension. I can honestly say I do not recall ever having a GREAT haircut. They haven't all been blunders, but none of them have ever great. Also, in addition to that this time I was planning on going super short, so there was not going to be any pulling it into a pony tail to hide my misfortune if this one went awry. THANKFULLY!!! It turned out great! Best haircut I've ever had. If no one else likes it, I wouldn't care one bit because I am in love. I have volume! I did not think that was possible with my super fine, super limp, super rebellious hair. So, without further ado, here she is!

I like it so much I even got sassy!

Here's some side shots. You can see the highlights and volume better in these ones.

I like it so much I don't want to wash it or sleep on it and mess it up. If I were rich, I would hire someone to keep my hair this way. LOVE!

Spring???

So, right after I finished blogging about springtime, I looked at my phone and noticed a cluster of cute little snowflakes by the weather thing...SNOWFLAKES?!?! I looked out my bedroom window and this is what I saw.

WHAAAAAAT? So then of course I had to go outside and make sure that it was in fact real snow...It was. And like most snow it was freezing! I did make a point of playing in it a little before I ran shivering back home.

Then, I had to make sure to give Steven's Jeep a smiling...well eyes too. I can't leave the Jeep out of the fun just because his driver happens to be away during all the fun. I just did eyes because I thought the grill made a good enough smile. They don't look as good as the ones on my car because I was too short, but still cute!

Oh, and I stopped to get a picture of the tree with the pretty pink spring blossoms I mentioned in my earlier post.

Spring Time is here!

Aw, Spring Time is beginning in NC. We've seen some nice sunny days, mostly spring showers, pretty pink blossoms on the trees, birds and squirrels chasing and playing and...GINORMOUS SPIDERS! Lilly was sitting on my lap and kept looking at the roof funny (the way she does when she spots a bug). I'm expecting to see a bug. Maybe a skeeter eater or some flying bug. I look up and see one of the biggest, ugliest spiders I've ever seen in my life. Totally caught me off guard and freaked me out. Of course Steven is out of town right now, but honestly he's afraid of leaves blowing in the wind and butterflies. This is not my way of talking crap about my spouse, this is just the facts of life. However, for some reason, even though I would have been the one to kill it either way, being alone made it ten times scarier. No joke, I was so afraid I thought I was going to barf. It was out of reach, so I was going to have to knock it down with the broom and chase it down with a shoe. Every time I went to knock it down though I came up with more and more terrible scenarios. Scenario one, what if I get close with the broom only to find it is a jumping spider? Scenario two, what if it gets caught on the broom and rather than flinging away from me it flings onto me? There were others, but those were the most realistic, least embarrassing ones. I'm wearing a hoody, so I decided to pull the hood over my head and tighten the strings as tight as I could. I could just imagine it flinging into my hair or onto my neck or down my shirt. All of these would have surely lead to my death by heart attack. Hood up, broom in hand, shoe beside me ready to hammer the not so little bugger...Broom flings and bug FLIES! Not like with wings, but he is FAST! As he should be. He's got eight legs! Anyway, the speed of this thing took me by surprise and I didn't want to take my eyes off of him to grab the shoe so I run after him with the broom and rake him back and forth across the carpet leaving little buggy pieces all over. Of course, after every kill, I mourned my pray. I always feel bad no matter how ugly or mean the thing was or looked. Then, Lilly ate him. I cannot say I'm excited for Spring. I definitely do not enjoy being cold, but I do appreciate the absence bugs and their bites which I always manage to acquire plenty of the latter. I'm also not excited about the humidity I'm sure is not too far behind. Hopefully, you at least get a good laugh out of this.

Thoughts of the day

Today at work I decided I want to make a conscious effort to always be kind to people no matter what I'm going through. It is no one's fault that you're having a bad day. Why make it worse by mistreating other people, putting them down and making them upset too? How is someone else being sad or pissed off going to make you feel any better? Here's the answer...It's not! Especially the ones that can tell you're upset and are either trying to help you or going out of the way, ignoring your bad attitude to be nice in spite of your attitude. I know my coworker is not the only person guilty of this. I know for sure I am guilty of this. Being on the other end of it today made me realize just how much I don't ever want to be that person again.

Then, on my way home from work I noticed(and I've noticed this before) how people seem to get totally perturbed if you pass them. Why is that? Why should everyone want to go the same speed you are going? If you want to be a slow poke and slowly glide your way to your destination, that is perfectly okay! However, most other people are on their way somewhere and most times in a hurry in this fast paced day to day we call life. Let them pass! It is not a personal insult...unless of course they flip you off as they're passing. I happened to be exhausted and not in any particular rush, so I noticed these things. One car just coasting along in the "fast" lane, cars lining up behind him, plenty of room for him to get over and let the cars behind him pass, but he just stayed. So, the first car behind him gets over to pass and this guy punches the gas. Car trying to pass gets back behind him because he's coming up on another slow car and the annoying car starts to slow back down. They get to another opening and the cars behind try to pass again and the annoying car speeds back up. I wasn't even involved and I was getting irritated! This is what causes road rage and traffic jams. Why does annoying car feel like he has to be the leader?! Why does he feel he should be in control of the speed of his fellow drivers? This puzzled me the rest of the way home. I can honestly say I need not improve in this area. I am a very courteous driver. I never ride the "fast" lane and I always move over if I see a car coming up on me quickly, clearly wanting to go faster than I'm going. I move over for cars on the side of the road. I've got this one. I may be flawed in most aspects of my life, but courteous driving is not one of them. This makes me well pleased. :0)

Finally, nothing makes a hard day better than the loving welcome of two very affectionate kitties, loving texts from family and friends, and having dinner ready for the eating. Thank you mom, Abby, bishop and Marilyn for sending me texts the other day reminding me that I am loved and very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!

So, this post took more than a day to finish. I didn't work today and I saw those texts before right now. ;0)

Irrational Fears

I have this irrational fear that terrible things are going to happen when I am least able to fight back or escape. For instance, every time I get in the shower, without fail, I freak out at every noise and make up a few noises in my mind as well. I have this ridiculous fear every time I get in the shower that the house is going to catch on fire or someone is going to break in. What do I do if this happens and I'm right in the middle of shampooing or my body is covered in soap? There is no quick remedy or escape. Face it. You're naked and covered in soap. The only chance you got against an intruder is the fact that you're slippery and hard to hang onto. However! What if you grab something to club said intruder with and it slips out of your hand?! You can make a run for it, but careful, don't slip! Not to mention having to run outside naked and then the suds are going to dry and make you itchy all over. I schedule my showers around times when Steven is home and STILL have these thoughts plaguing me. The shower is just so loud that you can't hear anything and then there's the shower curtain blocking your view. I need a guard dog for my showers.


Then you have your regular visits to the porcelain throne. Number 1 is not a big deal. It wouldn't be the most pleasant thing to be rudely interrupted while carrying out operation number 1, but it is doable with only mild regrets. However, number 2 is a whole other story. This fear plagues me mostly in public restrooms and the occasional at home alone, heard a noise situation. In public restrooms performing operations 1 or 2 I have this irrational fear. Just think, you're squatting, doing your thing and then someone grabs your bag off the hook and runs. Like I said, number 1 sucks but I will live and get my purse back. Number 2 though! Just forget about it. There is no escaping this one, unless your handle is big enough to hang your bag around your neck. There's no way I'm sticking anything on the floor. You might as well just burn it because I will not be able to make myself touch it again without a thorough cleaning first. Besides, I would think that would make it easier to grab. OH! Or what do you do if someone turns out the lights?! Ugh! This is my life. These ideas run through my mind and give me anxiety attacks every time I use a public restroom or take a shower. I don't even know where these fears originated.

Halloween Happiness

I know it was forever ago, but it was so much fun and I actually remembered to take pictures!!

This year I decided to throw a Halloween party because I had decided on a great costume, had yummy and fun snack ideas from Pinterest and we had made enough friends to pull it off. I was nervous because my only other attempt to throw a party was a couple years prior which was also a Halloween party and it turned out to be an epic fail(yes, I used epic, because it was). I feel like this year was a major improvement.

We started the season with pumpkins of course! Sad to say we never even carved them, but I love pumpkins and they were able to stay with us through Thanksgiving this way, so I'm not that heartbroken about not carving them. We went to a little pumpkin stand across the street. They had all colors, shapes and sizes. It was really fun.

Alas, Steven and I found our pumpkins and took them to their new home where they underwent a thorough Tiger inspection...they totally passed. Look how perfect they are!

Next, it was decorating time! Cobwebs go a long way!

We also had the Halloween wreath on the front door and the count down calendar, but you've seen those in previous blogs. To take pictures and blog about them again would just be tooting my own horn, haha!

Next it was time to invite the peeps. I made some invites that I thought were pretty stinkin' cute(so much for not tooting my own horn...). I used a free printable cupcake topper as the main embellishment.

Before the party people started arriving I tried to make all of the yummy treats I had found on Pinterest. I think I tried to rush it too much because almost none of them turned out very well. I tried to make Oreo "eyeballs" and they just kept falling apart and I couldn't get the chocolate to work right so no pictures. Also no pictures of the witches broomsticks. The Reese's peanut butter cups kept splitting down the middle. Here's a picture of the pumpkin shaped rice crispy treats! Those turned out well.

Then, Steven and I put on our costumes just in time for friends dressed in their Halloween best to start arriving!

Maegan and Landon Hansen. Maegan was a potato farmer and Landon was Mr. Potato Head. They completed they costume by bringing some delectable potato skins. They won the best couple costume award.

The Vanderwerkins(I know I totally butchered that) were our insurance agents for the night. They were Flo from Progressive and the guy from Nationwide. Super creative costumes! I loved it. Charisse won the best costume overall. Technically I won(toot toot!) but I was the hostess so even though I was super flattered, I gave it to the runner up...That sounded so bad, but I want the people who voted for me to know that it made my night! I worked really hard on that costume! Anyway...

Jessica and Taylor McClellan spiced up the night dressed as salt and pepper.

Britney and John Holbein dressed as a house divided. They are attending rival schools and dressed accordingly. Britney for UNC and John for Duke.

Caitlin and Ryan Sweeney skipped the biker bar just to come to our party and entered with a roar, literally. Ryan's motorcycle is amazing and LOUD! I totally loved it and I've never seen Steven so fascinated by a motorcycle.

Maile and Mitchell dressed as Little Red Riding Hood and the Huntsman. SOOO cute!

There were SO many cute and creative costumes. Everyone was a lot of fun and really got into the Halloween spirit. We ended up walking to Chili's for dinner, in costume. It was fun, but a lot of people gave us that "y'all are crazy" looks. Especially when Maegan had to park her tractor to eat. It was great! Then, we came back and did a Halloween mad lib which turned out hilarious! Watched Hocus Pocus and made caramel apples. Which Mitch helped chop with his real hatchet! It was a really fun night!

Thanks friends for making it such a fun night!!!

Get 'er done...we'll start with Thanksgiving!

I made a to-do list of things I need to get done before school starts back up MONDAY was to get the blog updated. So here goes my best effort. I get bored with it really fast though, especially when the computer starts acting up, but I'll try because these are important memories and I'd like to share them. There's a few though so bare with me, I don't know how to turn off the automatic email notifications I setup when I first started this thing. Also, yes I am aware that they are completely out of order. I'm just blogging in order of memory and which ones are going to be shortest, haha.

This year was the first time ever that Steven and I spent Thanksgiving with just the two of us. We haven't been able to spend it with family for the last 3 years, but 2 of those years we spent with friends. It was a little different. Pretty quiet, but we had a good time and got all of the yummy food to ourselves. We used our fine china, drank sparkling apple cider and cooked dinner together. We totally went the easy route though and ordered a Honey Baked turkey (it was good, but weird. I don't think we'll go the easy route on the bird again), Stove Top stuffing, Rhodes rolls, pumpkin cheesecake from Costco...we did go all natural for the potatoes because I love real mashed potatoes. Earlier in the day we watched bits and pieces of the Thanksgiving Day parades and went on a small hunt for the Thanksgiving paper. I know you can find the sales online, but it's more fun to go through all of the adds together after dinner. Below is a picture of our Thanksgiving spread. Not to shabby if I do say so myself.

The next day we went "Black Friday Shopping." We didn't camp out or anything, but we got some really good deals on dvd's and went to the outlets. We got pretty much all of our Christmas shopping done in one morning. It was fun, but I don't think we'll do it again. You can get most of the same deals online and can even find better deals after Black Friday we found, but it was fun just spending time together and going out to lunch.

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!!!