A little bit of fun for a Friday!

I hope everyone is winding down from a busy work week and gearing up for a great, relaxing weekend...I know I am!! The Polka Dotted Owl over at Magic Risotto Diaries has tagged me to play this little game. Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE surveys? When I had MySpace I was the survey queen!
So, here are the rules. Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own. Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people.

1. What are you wearing right now? Garnet pants from the Loft, a cream sweater, and my brown Danskos- it's Friday and I was way over dressing up for the week.

2. What's the last thing I read/ are currently reading? I am currently reading Small Town Girl. Don't ask me who it is written by, though, cause I can't remember.

3. Do you nap a lot? no, usually just on Sunday afternoons. Otherwise, naps make me feel worse when I wake up.

4. Who was the last person you hugged? WEG

5. What's your current obsession/addiction? hmm...gonna have to go with blogging!

6. What was the last thing you said out loud? Thank you...to the girl at CVS

7. What websites do you always visit when you go online? Facebook, Blogger, Hotmail, the University of SC website

8. What was the last item you bought? a picture from the Kodak picture kiosk- lame, I know. Before that it was dinner and a few drinks last night.

9. What is your most challenging goal? opening my own business someday.

10. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished- anywhere in the world, where would it be? Oh gosh...on a beach in the Caribbean where I could lounge around all day and WEG could enjoy his offshore fishing.

11. Favorite Vacation spot? the beach

12. Say something to the person who tagged you: Polka Dotted Owl, I love your blog. You make me laugh on a daily basis. I'm glad we found each other's blogs because yours provides me much entertainment- I continue to laugh about the Dead End sign!

13. What is the one thing that reminds you the most of where you grew up? COTTON, of course!

14. Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you: Cheese

15. What is your favorite item of clothing? a dress...don't make me decide which one!!

16. Favorite pair of shoes you keep going back to over and over, even though your closet is over flowing with a zillion others?! in the summer, definitely my platinum Jack Rogers

17. Name one thing you can not live with out: my car...how do people not drive??

18. Has a celebrity's haircut ever influence you on your own hairstyle? yep, Reese Witherspoon's hair in Sweet Home Alabama. I had mine cut like that, but it didn't ever look exactly like hers.

And my added question:

19. If life hands you lemons, what do you do?? Find someone whose life gave them tequila and have a party!

Now I would like to tag anybody who would like to do this. I have to get back to event budgets, so I don't have time to actually look for those who haven't been tagged!

TGIF- Have a great weekend, ladies!!

Announcing.....

Sullivan Elizabeth Wright and Jackson Scott Wright born today to Tracy & Brad. I received a text at 11:45 that Sullivan and Jackson have arrived! Babies and mother are doing great as far as I know.
Congratulations, Tracy & Brad...I can't wait to meet the little ones!!

Betty Crocker Baking School Reject

Ok, so I did NOT go to any sort of baking school, but if I had I am sure I would have failed out. I used to be terrible at cooking...whatever it was, I could mess up. I have gotten better, though, and WEG has taught me a lot, along with things my mother has taught me. However, I still completely suck at baking. Nobody will ever be able to call me Betty Crocker, that's for sure.
Last night is the perfect example. I have been craving red velvet cupcakes for a while now, thanks in part to so many of your pictures of them. So, seeing as how I know I couldn't pull off making them from scratch, I went and bought the boxed ones and cream cheese icing. Well, I baked them, just as the box said....careful to make sure that the toothpick was clean when I inserted in the middle of a cupcake.

First try, the toothpick came out gooey. So, I left the cupcakes in for 2 more minutes. Seriously, only two more minutes. Well, nothing appeared to be wrong with them when I took them out, so I cooled them, iced them, and gave one to WEG to eat when he begged for one. He ate it, but I wasn't in the room to see his reaction, clearly, because when I asked how they were he said they were good. NOT SO MUCH.

Today I went home for lunch, looking forward to having my first one...unwrapped it and noticed the bottom was burnt. Not to be deterred, I took a giant bite, only to discover the driest cupcake I have ever put in my mouth, not to mention a burned taste throughout. I immediately declared "These cupcakes suck!" to which WEG nodded his head and laughed at me. His response was "I'm so glad you said those suck because I was beginning to wonder if that was what they were supposed to taste like and I didn't want to hurt your feelings and ask." What a sweetheart, but I seriously almost brought some in to work today for the office. So glad I did not reveal my horrible baking skills to my co-workers.

By the way, WEG did say that the icing was good. I agreed, but really, that couldn't be messed up since it was store bought. HAHAHA. Clearly I do not need to go near the oven if baking sweets is involved ever again. This is not my first goof-up. Brownies are a nightmare for me. Gooey in the middle, hard on the outside. I blame it on the oven that is older than dirt, but WEG's brownies always come out perfect.

So, no red velvet cupcakes for me today, that's for sure. I told WEG that I'd just have to buy them from the bakery at the grocery store next time and he told me that he'd make me some if I bought the ingredients. Maybe I will do just that- he's definitely a better baker than I am!!

Happy Birthday, Thank You, and Good Luck!

I'm cramming three well wishes into one post.

First, I'd like to say Happy 24th Birthday to my wonderful friend, Carolyn. I can't wait to celebrate tomorrow night with her!

Here's a picture of Caro & me:

Yes, we are wearing our boyfriend's ties- It is no surprise that I have very little recollection of this picture.

A big thank you goes to Caroline over at CJAC (go tigers)...I nearly cringed when I typed that go tigers, being the huge Gamecock fan I am, but Caroline was nice enough to give me the Honest Scrap award. I filled out my list of honest things about myself in a previous post, but you never can get too many awards, I like to say!!

And finally, I would like to say GOOD LUCK!! to my former boss, Tracy from JTT. She has a scheduled C-section today to deliver her twins. Please pray that the c-section goes well and both of the babies are healthy. She's having a boy and a girl. Good luck, Tracy- love ya!!

This is a picture of some current & former JTT girls. Tracy is the cute little blonde 3rd from right. Yes, that tiny little thing is carrying twins!!

I Won Something...this never happens!

I know what you're thinking..."I thought Emily was supposed to be hard at work." I was, I promise. I just took a small break to surf through a few blogs and found out that I had won one of the preppy travel mugs that Sarah over at The Monogram Chick is giving away just by referring a fellow blog friend to go over and sign up!
I am beyond excited! And now I can go back to work.
Congratulations also to Carolina Prep who was the blogger picked to win and thank you for mentioning my name!!

Missing in Action

Just wanted to let y'all know I will probably be MIA for a few days...sporadic posts and sporadic comments as I get the time to catch up on blogs.
I have been charged with reconstructing our event budget over the past year. We did more than 20 events, some with multiple events encompassed into one larger event, so this will be a tedious task. It's a little bit frightening, but better to do this and account for every dollar spent than have to cut jobs down the road because we had not handle on our budget.
So, that's where I'll be...working away. I'll have lots of reading to do when I can get a moment!!

Another great giveaway

Go check out Whitney Caroline Designs and see the great Scout bag giveaway she has going on.

SO CUTE!!

Thanks, Sweet Carolina Bride!!

Sweet Carolina Bride has given me the Lemonade Award.

This award is for those who show great attitude and/or gratitude! If you are given the award, then put the logo on your blog or post. Next, nominate at least 5-10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog!

I would like to pass this award on to:

Magnolia Belle

Katie at A Hokie & A Wahoo

Carolina Girl

Lindsey at Learning to be a Wife

Pink Sass

If you haven't read any of these blogs, check them out!!

Also- Thanks to BLC over at The Company She Keeps for the Honest Scrap Award. You can never receive too many awards :-)

Everybody's working for the weekend...

The weekend is nearly upon us. Only an hour and a half til quitting time for me- 30 minutes if my boss is feeling nice ;-)

This weekend I am so excited to be staying in Columbia and hanging out with friends. Tonight WEG and I are going over to a friend's house to cook spaghetti, hang out, and play Wii and beer pong- yes, sometimes we have to act like we're in college all over again! I have a group of friends that I love hanging out with and we all get along so great. There are 8 of us total....4 couples. We have so much fun when we are together, and it's rare for all 8 of us to be able to hang out due to work schedules. Here we are at the beach this past summer:

and in Kentucky this past fall for the South Carolina-Kentucky football game:Let me just say, the guys LOVE it when we make them take group shots. (Can you sense the sarcasm?)

Tomorrow I am working at JTT with my adorable youngest cousin, who is now working there while in college (thanks to her lovely older cousin...moi!). And hopefully tomorrow night, WEG and I will be going out to celebrate their engagement with our friends, Michael and Bess. I must mention that Michael and Bess are the reason I met WEG. Bess and I have been friends since high school and Michael and WEG met through a mutual friend at Clemson and eventually became roommates while there.

So anyway, that's my weekend! Before all the fun starts, though, I will be heading home to help WEG tie hooks for trot lines so that he can set them tomorrow. What a good girlfriend I am...clearly, the jack of all trades ;-)

Check this out

The Monogram Chick is hosting a giveaway over at her site. Check it out!!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Seems like lots of you have done posts about things you swear by. I haven't gotten in on the fun, so I thought today might be a good day to do that.

In my makeup bag, I love:

I have tried lots of different foundations, some expensive, and this is the latest thing I have been using. I LOVE it. It's Maybelline Mineral Power. I dislike anything that is too heavy, and this is so light, yet it covers really well. And the extra bonus is it's minerals. I love it and I feel like my skin looks so much better since using it. Before this I used foundation by Tarte, which I liked, but not as much as this...and it's half the price...can't really beat that!

And this moisturizer is by far, my favorite and an old standby. I always use the one for sensitive skin. I love it and also the fact it contains SPF. (Also, I have found that the Equate brand from Wal-Mart works just as well for a fraction of the cost).

My old standby in the shower is this:

Loofahs gross me out, so I quit with the shower/gel loofah thing a while back and have been religiously using Dove soap.

And, if any of you out there have hard to tame hair, I have the product for you. This beauty:

Nexxus Sleek Memory works WONDERS. I have naturally wavy hair. Not the pretty wavy you see on the stars these days. Nope, wavy that is a NIGHTMARE. I use this product on my damp hair and then I spritz it on my dry hair as I am straightening it. It really does what it says it will do. It remembers the straight style and it takes less and less effort to straighten your hair the more you use it.

Okay, besides products, I have one clothing item to mention that I cannot live without.

Jack Rogers:

These are my spring and summer wardrobe staple. My favorite pair are my platinums, shown above because they go with literally everything. You can wear gold or silver jewelry with them, too. They're wonderful! I also have camel, lime green, and black, and I'm deciding which color I want to get this summer. I can't live without my Jacks!!

Ok, that's all for now...If you haven't already told us, what do you swear by?

Go Gamecocks!!

I have to give a shoutout to the Gamecock basketball team for beating Florida last night- the only ranked team in the SEC. The picture above says it all. That's Devan Downey, the team's leading scorer. Even on a night when the shots weren't falling for Downey or Zam Frederick, the team fought, forcing turnovers, getting offensive rebounds, making steals, and beat a good Florida team. This was a well-deserved victory for the Gamecocks and coach Darrin Horn. So, congratulations on the win! Up next is Ole Miss on Saturday- Go Cocks!!

Congratulations are in order!

One of my oldest and best friends got engaged last night while skiing in Colorado with her boyfriend. She doesn't read my blog, but I still wanted to send her a shout-out...maybe I'll direct her to it when she gets home. Congratulations, Bess and Michael! I can't wait to be a part of all of your planning and the big day!

Drumroll please....

I got another award! I'm so excited!! The Polka Dotted Owl over at The Magic Risotto Diaries gave me the Friends award!!

The award states: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement (I have no clue what this means). Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to three bloggers who must choose three more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I would like to pass this along to:

1. Mrs. Cup at My Cup Overflows

2. Liz at Objection Perfection

3. Good Gals Inc.

Thanks again, PDO!

"W" is for....

I thought this little game I signed up for over at Jenn's blog, First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage would be fun. Here's the deal:If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on. I got the letter W, so here goes!

10 "W" things I love:

1. WEG- That was an easy first one! He makes me laugh pretty much all the time- even when I'm trying to be mad :-)

2. Wellies..aka rain boots. Perfect for rainy, snowy, miserable days like today- too bad I had to come to work.

3. Water- preferably a lake or a beach in the summer. I love being on the water in a boat or just laying beside the water soaking up the sunshine.

4. Wishes- I love to wish for things, whether or not I actually receive them or not. A girl can always dream, right?

5. Watermelon- I have been known to eat half of an entire watermelon before. I just LOVE it!

5. White chocolate mousse yogurt from TCBY. This stuff is pure heaven. I haven't had it in years, but now I have made myself have a craving for it.

6. Wedding Crashers- the movie cracks me up. I could watch it again and again.

7. Witherspoon, Reese. I know I am stretching this one by using her last name, but she is my very favorite actress! I had to cheat just a little.

8. Warmth. I HATE being cold... I even cover up with a blanket when I am laying on the couch in the summer. Cold natured, yes I am.

9. Wrought Iron. I love gates and furniture made of wrought iron. I think it's so classic-looking and highly durable.

10. Waterloo, SC. This one is random, but it's where my grandparents lived on Lake Greenwood when I was growing up before they both passed away. Some of my greatest childhood memories took place in that little upstate town in a home that was filled with more love than anyone could ever ask for. It will always hold a special place in my heart and memories.

WHEW! W was harder than I thought :-) Don't forget to post if you'd like a letter!!

Snow in Columbia, what?!?

It's snowing in Columbia- it's so weird to look outside my office window and see snow coming down. It's also weird that they didn't give us the WHOLE day off for snow, but no, I had to come in at 10. BOO! I am happy that I get to go to lunch with Erin at Blue-Eyed Bride and another friend, though, even if it means going back out in the cold!!

In other news, I received another Honest Scrap award from BRD over at DC Prep. Thanks so much!! It is much appreciated :-) Annnnd, Mrs. Stilettos over at Newlywed Stilettos introduced me in this post. Thank you to both ladies!!

And, if anybody has any information on where I can get a WiiFit please let me know. WEG decided yesterday he wanted the Wii and WiiFit and I managed to get the last Wii at Target after going 10 other places, but I never did find the WiiFit. I see a few places online that have it, but it's over $100 and I know it usually runs for $89.99, so we're really not wanting to spend over that.

Bachelorette Weekend Re-cap!

I had the best time in Asheville for my cousin's bachelorette! I have never been somewhere with 12 girls where there wasn't a moment of drama...none! We all got along so great. It's probably because none of the group really hangs out on a regular basis, so it was fun hanging out with new girls and other family that I don't see very often!

My cousin got tons of cute lingerie- classy, not trashy was the theme. Here's a picture of her opening her presents with a bow on her head:

I think the bow looks like a little old lady's church hat, and Kimby would probably kill me for this picture. Lucky for me, she doesn't read my blog :-)

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the massage. I am converted! If I could get one every week I probably would. This coming from the girl who was scared of not liking it! So, the weekend was a total success. Here are 2 other pictures:

Back row: l to r. Me; Kimby's future sister-in-law Keri, our cousin Carrie

Bottom row l to r. Lora (my cousin & Kimby's sister), Claire (Kimby's cousin on the other side), our cousin Sarah, Kimby's brother's wife Katie

And one more- This is of all of our cousins in the Kirby family. Sarah and Carrie belong to my Uncle Joe, and Kimby & Lora belong to Aunt Julie. They're my mom's sister and brother. And I'm in the middle!

TGIF- Asheville Bound!

Good morning, ladies! Although I do not know if I am prepared to migrate north this weekend to colder temperatures, I am VERY excited about spending the weekend in Asheville for my cousin's bachelorette party. Tonight when we arrive we will have a Mexican Fiesta complete with fajitas and margaritas...yum...and do the lingerie shower..fuN!

And tomorrow, we are going to the Biltmore House to their spa, where I will be having a massage and pedicure. This will be my first massage ever and I am a little nervous about this because I don't generally like to have my shoulders massaged, etc. so we'll see.


Here's the Biltmore House:

A little background on the Biltmore Estate if you have never been. Biltmore was built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt when he purchased 125,000 acres in Asheville, NC. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt after an early 16th century French chateaux. In 1930, the estate was opened to the public. The Biltmore Estate today includes a winery made from the old dairy barns, an inn, and gardens. It's beautiful, and definitely worth the price of admission if you are ever in the Asheville area!!

But, back to the bachelorette party. After a spa day, we will be going to dinner at an Italian restaurant in downtown Asheville...I don't know the name, but I'm sure it will be great since a girl who is from Asheville made the reservations!

I can't wait for a girl's weekend with my cousins and some others! Oh, and the best part- NO WORK ON MONDAY :-) I will definitely enjoy it since it will be the only holiday I have off until July 4th! So, I apologize in advance if you don't hear from me until Tuesday. Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Oh so cute!!

I just found the CUTEST apron on Etsy and now I am itching to have it. Here's a picture:

I love the blue and brown and the Eiffel Tower pattern is so cute!!

I also wouldn't mind this apron either (from the same seller):

However, I have no clue about how much an apron should cost- is $35 a bit pricey? Can I find something this cute somewhere else? If you have a favorite apron or two, where did you find them??

Honest Scrap Award!

GoodGalsInc. tagged me for this award:

The rules of the award:

1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

So here goes:

1) I am a huge baseball fan. Some people find baseball to be boring, but I can go out to the baseball stadium by myself and enjoy a game, never even speaking a word to anybody else (although this rarely happens because I am a chatterbox). Baseball has been called a thinking man (or woman's) sport, and maybe that's why I like it.

2) I am honestly DONE with Steve Spurrier. If he left us tomorrow I would not be sad...at all. Now, if they fired Ray Tanner (the Gamecocks baseball coach) I would be devastated, but I don't think that's a possibility.

3) I honestly think getting my second Master's in Retail was a mistake. I was buying time, but all I really got in the end was student loans to pay off.

4) I have credit card debt from college that I wish I could snap my fingers and make go away. I have devised a plan to save and pay this of and it starts Monday.

5) I am a comma Nazi. Everyone in my office has me proofread things because I am so thorough. This is probably due to the fact that my mother is an English teacher.

6) I love Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. WEG endures this for me, but sometimes laughs and says I am acting like a senior citizen. My secret wish is to go on Wheel of Fortune.

7) I hate bad drivers and tend to have a bit of road rage. Okay, a MAJOR amount of road rage. See my post below about my patience. WEG will not ride with me if he doesn't have to because of it. He even drives my car when we go somewhere in it just so he doesn't have to listen to me rant and rave at the car in front of me.

8) If I am watching a movie at home, I am going to fall asleep. The minute my butt hits the nice, comfy couch and a movie comes on, I'm already drifting. This even happens if I am completely interested in the movie.

9) My pinkies are bent like they have been broken, but they haven't. It's hereditary. I get asked the question all the time if I broke my pinkies. But, nope, heredity is the culprit. My mother and grandmother both have/had bent pinkies.

10) My feet are huge. Size ten. They are also very narrow. Finding shoes that do not either have a slingback or slip on is a nightmare. I have 2 pair of cute pumps and it was a very large miracle that I found those.

I would like to tag the following to complete this (I apologize if you have already done this)

Erin at TheBlueEyedBride

Brittney at RunningInHighHeels

Christine at SparkleSparkle!

Lindsey at SweetSimplicity

Mrs. Stilettos at NewlywedStilettos

Elizabeth at NoWorriesWynnInLove

Tara at TheWatermelonTree

Thanks again to Good Gals Inc.!!

I need your advice!

I am looking for something to hold all of my printed from the internet and clipped from magazines recipes. Do any of y'all have something like this? I saw something similar to what I wanted at Linens N Things when they were going out of business and I should have snatched it up, but I didn't and now I regret it.
I don't necessarily want to re-write the recipes onto recipe cards, but would if I had to. What I really want is a book/binder that is easy to use and convenient. I just stick recipes I have clipped from magazines, etc. in random cookbooks or drawers only to not be able to find them the next time.
So, ladies, what do you use to do this? Please help me get organized!!
Oh, and I looked at some things online, but they all looked cheesy- I'm sure they were quite functional, but I want something cute as well.
Thanks for your help!!

No Rules, Just Right

So I have mentioned before that I work for a university, and because of this I see all types of craziness- you never know what to expect with college kids. Sometimes I think their brains go on vacation.

Today, it is in the 40's here...now, that's not as cold as many of you are enduring, but still. I am amazed to see students walking around in these:

While wearing this:

Does that make as little sense to you as it does to me? Yes, you are keeping the heat from escaping through your head, but now it is just leaving through your feet? Maybe I am just too cold-natured to understand. I definitely love my flip-flops, but January doesn't seem like an appropriate time to wear them, unless of course it's 70 degrees like it was last week...and then I still don't like to "look" like summer when it's winter.

Anyway...on another note WEG and I are going to dinner tonight which may not sound so exciting, but we rarely go out to eat unless it's with a group of people. We either eat at home or get takeout most nights and when we go out to eat we meet up with people. But I asked if we could go to dinner just us tonight, so we are. It's nice to get out of the house and have a date night every once in a while, so I'm looking forward to it!

I think we'll be going to:

Normally I'm not a huge fan of chain restaurants, but I have been craving Outback lately, so that's where we're headed. If it was a big occasion, I'd ask to go to Mr. Friendlys, a local restaurant that you need to try if you are ever in Columbia (I would include the link, but it's not working properly):

This is, hands down my favorite restaurant in Columbia, and WEG and I go a good bit for lunch- the prices are much more reasonable and their daily specials are to die for! But, I digress...Outback it is tonight for "no rules, just right." (I did not mean to rhyme).

Two things I am wanting...asap, please.

Does anybody shop at Boden? I have found some things through the years that I really love and seem to go back to in my wardrobe time and time again.
Well, my birthday is coming up in March and there are 2 things on their new spring website that I want...really badly.
The first:

I love this rainjacket and I am in need of one desperately- especially for the rainy spring days. I think the magenta color is so pretty and would be versatile with black or brown. The website has some really cute patterns, but I think I would get more use out of the solid color.

The second:

This kaftan is so cute. The website says to pair it with pants or over a bathing suit. I got one last year and wore it as a bathing suit cover up and I LOVED it. I definitely wouldn't mind having a second in my wardrobe and I love the colors on this one.

So, that's what I'm coveting right now. I'm sure I could do a whole long post on other things I want, but I'll leave it at this...for now.

I.need.to.vent

Ok, girls I need to vent. Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a patient person. It was just not one of the virtues that God blessed me with. However, despite that fact, I am more and more amazed at how many people in this world are totally incosiderate of others. On my lunch break I needed to run by the library express drop off to return a book. I pull into the little drive through behind a car that is already there. This isn't out of the ordinary, as many people use the book drop off. So I sit and wait, noticing that the man in front of me keeps bending down, getting books and putting them in the drop off. He then proceeded to take an empy box to his truck and get a fresh box, fully loaded with books and go through the same process. You can only fit about 2 or 3 books through the slot at a time, so it's not exactly a quick process to unload an entire box of books. But, it wasn't just ONE box of books that he had...oh, no...that would have been way too considerate for this guy. He had FOUR boxes of books. FOUR! In the express drop off. And that's just how many boxes I saw...he was there when I pulled in, so he may have had more. So I waited...and waited...and waited and he FINALLY finished. (please note that once you are in the drop off line you are stuck, and can't back out or go around the person in front of you). So, he finishes and does he even give me a little wave, mouth "sorry" or anything since he KNOWS I have been sitting there a while? NOPE. He hops in his truck and drives off. Now, I know 4 boxes of books probably would have been a lot to carry in, but there is a parking space on the street just up from the book drop off and that parking space doesn't block the lane of people just dropping off a book or two. All he would have had to do is pull into the space and carry his books over and go through the same procss he was going through, only nobody else would have been inconvenienced. If I had known what he was doing, I would have pulled in the space myself!
To tell you how long it took, I passed a guy on a bicycle in my neighborhood when I was leaving home for work which is 10 minutes away by car. By the time I dealt with the library drop off and got over to work, I passed the bicycle guy again. He beat me to campus ON HIS BICYCLE!
GRRR. I'm sure this man was retired or something and it never even dawned on him that some people have things to do, places to go (like work!) and are in a hurry.
So yes, as you can tell, I was steamed....
Ok, now I feel better getting that off my chest. rant over. Thanks for listening.

Great start to a Monday!!

What a great start to a Monday. I logged on this morning to discover that I received not one, but TWO awards over the weekend! This just makes me smile on a Monday morning- everyone knows Mondays are the pits!

Illegally Blonde over at Could'veBeenBlonde gave me the New Year's Award.

The rules of the award are:
- You must be a true lover of the New Year to receive this award. The person to whom you give the award must also be in love with the New Year.- List 5 things that you love about the New Year. If you can't limit it to 5 things, then keep going till you run out of space.- Pass the award along to as many people as you like. That can be 1 or 50. It's up to you! But keep the New Year cheer going.- Let your recipients know that you have tagged them by leaving a comment on their site. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award.
Alrighty, here we go....
5 things I love about 2009 so far

1. Blogging! I'm new to this and I LOVE it :-)

2. Great friends and a wonderful boyfriend that I am so blessed to have.

3. The fact that I actually have a secure job. As I look all around me, I see people who are completely qualified that are losing their jobs, and I feel so fortunate to have mine. I may complain about the salary, but it's certainly better than nothing.

4. There are many cool things happening this year, including my cousin's wedding and one of my best friend's wedding. I can't wait to be a part of each of these!

5. It's a brand new year, and I can shape it however I want. The possibilities are endless!!

I am going to tag: Angela at PicklesonPizza; Susan at ZentMrs.; and Liana at WeightforMe to complete this one!!

My next award is from Marketing Girl over at DietandFitChick. It is the Proximity Award.

The award states "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Thank you for the awards, girls! I am very proud :-)

Deal of the Day!

I just HAVE to tell y'all about the deal I got today! The store that I mentioned I work at is having a 50% off storewide sale in order to get ready for new spring inventory. Well, the store carries jewelry, handbags, and gift items. I have 2 people in my office that had babies over Christmas break, so I was trying to think what to get them...without spending much (not to be cheap, but it is RIGHT after Christmas). So, I had this lightbulb moment coming back to work from lunch and remembered that the store carries these cute cotton bib & burp cloth sets in pastel colors. $12.50 usually, but $6.25 half off! And, on top of that, my mom has a girl at home that mongrams for about $5 for 3 letters. Not $5 per letter like here in Columbia, but $5 total. So, I am going to get the bib and the burp cloth monogrammed and the whole gift will be less than $20. Can't really beat that! They only had 3 sets left so I grabbed all 3 because I know I can use the 3rd sometime in the near future for a gift. I got 2 pastel yellow and a white- I wanted green, but it was sold out. So, I'm thinking I'll do a pink monogram on the pastel yellow since both of the coworkers had little girls. And I'll save the white for future kiddies that are born. I'm really proud of my purchases, can't you tell??

In other news, I'm heading home today to spend the weekend with my parents. I'm ready for some down time...and my mom's cooking! I'm afraid I'll never be as good of a cook as she is. WEG is having boys weekend which includes hunting, fishing, and whatever else guys do on boy weekend. So, if I don't catch up with you this weekend, it's due to the annoyance of the internet at home!

Oh, and Go Panthers & Giants in your playoff games! I know this is silly that I am pulling for 2 teams on the same side because if they both win I will have to pull against one next weekend. Well, if that happens, my loyalties are with Eli Manning & the Giants, but I won't be sad if the Panthers make it to the Super Bowl. I just hope that ONE of them is in the final game!

Happy weekend :-)

National Championship Thursday

Tonight is the National Championship game and I can't wait to watch. Sorry to any OU & Sam Bradford fans out there, but I thought Tim Tebow should have repeated as the Heisman Trophy winner and I hope he proves it tonight. Go Gators!!

Now, normally I do not pull for Florida, but seeing as how I refuse to pull against the SEC in games of importance, I will be wearing a Florida t-shirt tonight (purchased on a trip to Gainseville to see my beloved Gamecocks play them). And, let's face it...I'm never in my lifetime going to see my team in a national championship game. Steve Spurrier no longer has "it" and the Gamecocks are a lost cause....but that's a rant for a whole 'nother day.

In any case, we are having some friends over to watch the game tonight rather than going out. WEG wants to be able to hear the commentary and that just wouldn't happen in a bar. Now I wish I had bought more football themed things at Target the other day!!

In addition to hamburgers, etc. that we will be making, I will be concocting that delicious, yet oh-so-easy hamburger cheese dip. For all of you weight watchers girls, you'd have to throw your diet out the window for this.

Here's the recipe:

2 lbs Velveeta Cheese- cut into cubes

1 lb Ground Beef (or Sausage if you prefer)

1 Can of Rotel Tomatos with Chiles

1 Can of Cream of Mushroom soup

Brown ground beef and set aside. Place cheese cubes into crockpot/slow cooker and heat until melted (this will take about an hour). Add ground beef, Rotel tomatoes, and cream of mushroom soup and stir. Heat through and serve with Fritos or Tostitos.

This is sure to be a crowd pleaser and my stomach is growling just thinking about it!!

A few things of note!!

First of all, go check out A Dollar for My Daughter which is a plea from Amy at Chapters' mother. Just a dollar and imagine the joy that Amy & DW will feel knowing so many people care. And who doesn't have at least dollar to spare? So, go over and check out the post at Amy's blog and help out!

And, in other news Katie at ASouthernGirlintheCity is hosting a Giveaway. What a cute makeup bag from Target! And earrings that she made herself, which are also precious!! If I don't win the giveaway, I may just have to purchase some things on my own!!

So check those two ladies' blogs out when you get a chance!!

Help!

Can someone tell me how I can follow someone's blog if they don't have a link on their blog? Do I have to somehow manually put it in?
These things are just beyond me! And there are a lot of cute blogs I'd like to follow but I can't figure out how to.
Thanks!!

Target Treasures

So, I went to Target last night, fully expecting to spend a fortune. Well, luckily, I didn't, but I could have if my willpower had failed me.
First of all, the $1.00 section right now is great!! I guess it's now the $1.00 and $2.50 section, but you still can't beat the deals.
If anybody is hosting a Super Bowl party, they have all kinds of things for just $1. They have big trays in the shape of footballs, chip bowls, cups, plates, and napkins with a football motif, and they even have packs of appetizer picks with either goalposts or footballs on the ends. I want to host a Super Bowl party just so I can get all the stuff. I did buy a tray because I figured that would be good for tailgating even if we didn't have a party.
Also in the $1 section they had tons of picture frames- some cute magnetic ones for the refrigerator, and then some other cute ones in the shapes of basketballs and baseballs and soccer balls- great for a little boys room I thought. They had scrapbooking items- background papers, stickers, ribbon. They had 2 for $1 gift bags, too with Valentine's patterns.
Then in the $2.50 section they had all kinds of things for Valentine's Day. Cookie cutters, napkins, placemats, dishtowels, children's aprons, silicone muffin bakers, silicone cake bakers, silicone pot holders, etc.
And, last, but not least, they had all sorts of baskets for organizing, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting other things too!
AND THIS WAS JUST IN THE $1 SECTION!!
I managed to leave having only spent $9 on a 2 for $1 gift bags, a coupon organizer (also $1), a football tray, roll of wrapping paper, and a card. Not my usual amount spent at Target, that's for sure.
So, if you haven't been into Target lately, go quickly and see all the neat stuff they have!!

My Award :-)

So here is the award I received from The Mrs. over at SimpleYetClassic I finally figured out how to post this with the help of Erin at TheBlue-EyedBride. Thank you, to both The Mrs. and Erin! Oh, and I figured out the hyperlinks on my own- aren't y'all so proud?? Now, the rules are to pass this along to other bloggers that you think are beautiful. I think just about everyone has received this award that I can see, but if you haven't, I'm passing it along to you :-) You can either call me generous or lazy....whatever suits!

Here's to a New Year..and a resolution.

Okay, so I don't normally make New Year's resolutions. I'm no good at keeping them usually. However, this year I felt compelled to make a New Year's resolution, and I am determined to stick with it. It's to go to church on a normal basis. I know, I know...this is something I should be doing anyway and should not have had to make a New Year's resolution in order to do.

My parents have been harping on it for years that I need to find a church in Columbia and go on a regular basis. They raised me as a good Southern Baptist, and I went to Sunday School, Church, and Youth group every Sunday and Wednesday night. Growing up I went on church trips, mission trips, and everything between. But then, I came to college and the thought of going to a church with 1,000 people there every Sunday scared the daylights out of me. My church at home has a total of about 200 people every Sunday and I love it. So, rather than try and find something comparable I just didn't do it. I even lived across the street from a church one time and didn't go. Bad, I know.

Now, my task is to find a church I like and will feel comfortable going to. My biggest thing is finding somewhere that I am comfortable going to alone. WEG is out of town a good bit on the weekends, especially during fishing season, and when he's not, he usually hunting or something else. I kept my resolution this past Sunday and went to Riverland Hills Baptist with a friend. It was nice and I enjoyed it, but it was HUGE. I seriously wouldn't have been able to find the sanctuary if I didn't go with her. I'm not sure how I'd feel about going back alone. I'm very independent usually, but this is one thing I am shy about!

So, if there's anybody out there that is reading from Columbia and knows of a good church, let me know. I'm not locked into going to a Baptist church, but it seemed the most natural given how I was raised. I could just as well do Methodist and possibly Presbyterian. Anything else may be a little out of my comfort zone!

Well, it was a great Christmas break, but now I am back to the grind of work and not enjoying it at all! I can't seem to get going this morning!! Is anyone else having this problem if it is your first day back on the job??
I feel like there are a million things that I should be doing, but I'd really just like to be back at home laying on the couch. I have gotten majorly lazy, that's for sure!!
I'd like to say thank you to Simple Yet Classic (The Mrs.) who gave me an award. That was so sweet and I appreciate it very much!! I would post the award in this blog, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that. I know, I know, it probably isn't that hard, but I am technically challenged!!
I hope everyone is having a good Monday. I will post something better when I get more motivation! It seems too much after the fact to post about my Christmas, so I'll come up with something else....stay tuned!