Frustrated....

I'm having one of those days and need to vent.... I'm completely frustrated at the current moment. Let me preface this by saying that I am extremely grateful that I have a job right now when so many of you are experiencing lay-offs due to downsizing in the horrific economy. However, I must say that I am scared of what lies ahead with my job because I am afraid I will not be good at what they want me to do.

My boss told me today that the big boss wants me to get out and visit our donors more. Yes, I am the stewardship director, but previously I have just had to oversee the thank you notes from our office and from the students with the occasional donor meeting. Now they are wanting me to meet with donors on a more frequent basis. This scares me because I am not good at just ringing someone up and asking to meet with them. I'm extremely afraid of rejection or getting someone who is rude on the other end of the line. I need thicker skin. I'm also afraid of meeting with someone one-on-one. What if I say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing? Number two, this costs money...gas money, money for lunches with the donors, etc. Yes, the University will reimburse, but the system is such that it takes sometimes 2 weeks to get reimbursed. It's a pain, and I don't have a whole lot of disposable income, especially right now with a trillion things coming up that I'll need money for.

Do any of you have to do something similar in your jobs? If so, can you give me pointers? I desperately need them. I love the event planning aspect of my job, and I want to love this new part, but I'm scared. It takes me a while to get to know someone before I am completely comfortable just calling them up and setting up a meeting. Any advice you may have would be appreciated.

I am also frustrated because of what my calendar looks like starting in May. I feel like I have something to do every weekend. What does that mean? MAJOR MONEY as I mentioned early as well as very little time for myself or WEG. It's coming up on fishing season for him, so he's gone a good bit on weekends anyway, but I do like the occasional weekend to ourselves or at least where we are in the same town and can see each other in the evenings! Starting in May this is what my summer looks like:

May- 2nd weekend- work event; 3rd weekend- work event; 4th weekend free; 5th weekend- bachelorette party
June- 1st weekend- work; 2nd weekend- wedding; and probably a shower for another wedding one of the last weekends.
In July it gets even busier!!
July- 1st weekend- 4th of July (usually with family); 2nd weekend- birthday party for my friend's son out of town; 3rd weekend- bachelorette party; 4th weekend- free
and in August I have a wedding on the 15th.

Now, that is just what is planned RIGHT.NOW. Things always come up, as you know- especially in the summer. To say I am overwhelmed when I look at my calendar would be a major understatement. At times I feel like I might just cry. One of those work weekends I have to miss a bridal shower for my friend whose Maid of Honor I am. That sucks royally, but there's nothing I can do. This is how I feel my entire summer is going to go.

So, between the scary new deal with work and everything I have coming up, I feel like my head may explode. I'm only one person, but I feel like I should multiply myself so everything gets done. I know there are people out there who would love to just have a job- I get that, I'm not complaining, just saying I'm scared of what's coming and scared of my ability to do a good job.
And, I love all of my friends that are included in some of the plans I have this summer- please don't get the wrong idea, guys! It's all just very overwhelming at the moment!

Venting over- I know your comments will make me feel better!.

I survived!

I survived both a wedding and a funeral over the weekend, but man am I exhausted. I have been going non-stop since Friday morning and have an extra-long day at work today.
Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind comments from my post on Friday. It was a difficult time for WEG's family, and your thoughts have meant so much.

On that note, I must get to work. I haven't been here for 2 days and I have a lot to catch up on!! I'll be back either later today or tomorrow with a better post and re-cap of the wedding!!

655

That is the number of posts that Google Reader says I have to read....YIKES!! I want to read every single one, but that is a little overwhelming! I may have to skim- and I'll try to comment. I am trying to avoid the dreaded "mark all as read" button.

Hope everyone is having a terrific Tuesday!!

Just another manic Monday...

Seems to be my problem last week was Google Reader- thank you everyone for your comments to assure me that you were still reading!!

It's yet another crazy week at work- I survived last week, thank goodness!! This week I have a dinner & lecture on Thursday night that I have neglected due to last week's events so I'll be doing last minute stuff for that up until time. And, they are coming to replace our windows in our office tomorrow, so we'll be uprooted for a bit- with no computer access, so that makes for a lovely mess!!

At some point this week I hope to have a real post, but I'm not sure if that will happen or not. My cousin is getting married this weekend, so I'm off to Greenville on Friday for the festivities.

I do have a question for y'all, though- one of my friends asked me to take a poll about this. She wants to know- If you were a bridesmaid in a wedding, would you rather have a gift (bag, etc.) that was the colors of the wedding or your favorite colors? Thanks in advance for your answers!!

Is anybody out there?

Is something wrong with my comments thing again or does nobody want to play the "Pay it Forward" game? I didn't get any comments yesterday about that post, which is weird. I thought for sure that some of you would want to play.
I apologize if it's because I've been a bad blogger and not so great with the comments. This is the world's worst week at work for me with board meetings and our big awards dinner on Friday night, so I'm sorry if I've offended anyone!

Thank You!!

To CTB over at Well Bless Your Heart and Amanda at The Sweet Live for giving me the Kreativ Blogger award!! You girls are just the sweetest! See my previous post about my 7 favorite things! Again, thank you!!!!

Pay it Forward!

I participated in Susan's "Pay It Forward". Monday I received my package in the mail and I was so excited!!

Here is a picture of the goodies from Susan!

She sent me a cute pink circles picture frame, a magnetic refrigerator picture frame, sticky notes, a framed one of her pictures (I loveeee that picture!!), and a pedicure set. And isn't that note she sent just the cutest??

Thanks so much, Susan!! It was so nice to have something to brighten a cold and rainy Monday!

So, now- the only rule to this game is that someone does something nice for you, so you must return the favor and "Pay it Forward"....therefore, the first 3 people to respond to this post will get a package of goodies from me sometime in the coming weeks. You won't know when you're going to get the package, but hopefully when you do it will brighten your day.

How fitting....

...that I would be asking a question about one of my favorite things- COTTON!

One of my friends has her 2nd wedding anniversary coming up, and she wants to go the traditional route and get something for her husband that is made of cotton. I told her I would ask all of my blogging friends for good ideas because y'all are always full of them!!

Ladies- if you've given your husband a 2nd anniversary gift made of cotton what have you given? Or, if you haven't, but can think of a great, meaningful gift that is made out of cotton, throw out those ideas as well.

Thanks!!

Rain, rain, go away...

A few things for this rainy Monday:

1. Thanks, Katie Lake (a Southern Girl in the City) for the Kreativ Blogger Award- my 2nd one in a week- I'm so honored that y'all like my blog!! See my post below for 7 things I love!

2. The wedding this weekend was fun- it didn't end up raining, which was so nice! It was a bit chilly when the wind blew. Boone Hall was really pretty and the Cotton Dock was a cool place for the reception. I didn't take any pictures, though- sorry!! Friday I made my first visit to Edisto Island and the surrounding area- that's where WEG is from. I loved it! It's so laid back and not at all commercialized. We had fun just visiting around, seeing all of WEG's old stomping grounds Friday afternoon and Saturday morning before heading to Charleston for the wedding.

3. Yesterday one of my friends had a seizure. Y'all have read about my friend Julie through my blog. Well, yesterday morning she woke up to her fiance having a seizure- this is the first time this has ever happened. She called the paramedics and he went to the hospital to have some tests done. The Cat Scan came back showing nothing wrong, and they couldn't pinpoint any specific thing that would have caused it. He goes to the neurologist this week to see if they can find anything. If you would just say a quick prayer for Nick, I'd appreciate it. I know it's scary not knowing what caused something like that, and the doctor has advised that he not drive or operate machinery for 6 months- which is even more of a bummer situation.

4. Here are a few pictures from my birthday dinner the other night- still missing the one with WEG, but these are of me and my girlfriends.

The Fab 4: Julie, Me, Holly, & Carolyn

Bess and Me

All the girls: Julie, Carolyn, Holly, Tara, Me, and Bess

Ah, Weather- why do you torture me??

Remember that wedding I posted about a while back that I was going to at Boone Hall this weekend? Yep, the post where you all gave me fabulous fashion advice on what to wear. Well, guess what the forecast is for Charleston tomorrow:
57 and RAINY!!
UGH! I had the cute sleeveless dress all picked out, got new shoes, and had a cardigan. I guess I should have tried that ensemble on prior to last night because the cardigan totally didn't work with the bow on the neck of the dress and I don't particularly like the shoes. And, 57 with rain is cold! So, I had to scrap the entire outfit. I am going to take the shoes back and just wear the dress and cardigan separate from each other for other events.

So now I'm wearing a dress with 3/4 sleeves and have a black pashmina. Oh, and closed toed pumps instead of sandals. Not terribly happy about this ensemble change but as WEG told me "Nobody is going to say, 'You've worn that dress before'"...point taken and I don't know but a small percentage of the guests anyway and they have never seen the dress. But still, I hate it when I have a cute outfit all planned out in my head and then it's not so great when I put it on.

In any case, I'll update y'all with wedding details and weekend recaps on Monday!

Introducing the Future Mr. & Mrs. Clark

I just wanted to say a big congratulations to my friends, Carolyn and Chris. They got engaged last night!! Carolyn finished her pharmacy seminar yesterday and will graduate in May with her Pharm.D....so congratulations on that, too!

Here are the future Clarks:

I love you both and can't wait to share your big day with you!

Kreativ Blogger!

The Polka Dotted Owl has given me the Kreative Blog Award- Thank you, P.D.O!!

Here are the award rules:List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

7 things I love:

1. My family

2. My friends

3. WEG

4. Cheese

5. Baseball- especially college

6. Shopping

7. living in the South

There are many, many more things that I love, but these are just a few!

And, although I love all of the blogs I follow, here are 7 that I find especially great and would like to pass the award on to:

1. Erin at According to Erin (Prep-E Girl)

2. Gwen at Confessions of a Control Freak

3. Sweet Carolina Bride

4. Belle at Life of a Southern Belle

5. Megan at Tales of the Trees

6. Pink, Green, and Southern

7. ms. mindless at Mindless Musings on my Average Life

Now, share the love!

Please pray

If any of you are from the Columbia, SC area you have probably heard Bayler Teal's story. If not, I'll give you a little background. Bayler is a 6 year old little boy from Bishopville, SC, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma back in September. Neuroblastoma is a rare form of cancer that only affects children. Bayler has a mass in his stomach that is pushing on his kidneys and liver. The cancer is in his liver and bone marrow.

Although many people have been praying for Bayler, it never hurts to have more! Recently, Bayler has developed mucousitis which causes sores in his mouth, on his tongue, and down his throat. How miserable for anyone, especially a child.

If you'd like to read more about Bayler and see how adorable he is, his caring bridge site is: http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do.

Thanks for your prayers and thoughts!

MIA

I apologize in advance if you find me to be missing in action over the next week and a half. We have some pretty big board meetings coming up next week and we're in preparation mode right now getting everything done. So, I'm going to be very busy!! I will try to read your blogs as I can, but my comments might be a little more scarce!

Another year older, another year wiser...

My birthday has come and gone and I thought I would give you a recap of the events of the weekend.

Friday night we celebrated with Mexican at a restaurant in the Vista. We lucked out and didn't get the sombreros or the singing....ok by me! Here's a picture of me opening presents and the other birthday girl, Julie, opening presents, as well.

After Mexican we headed over to MacDougall's where we spent most of the rest of the night until going to 2 other bars then heading home. Even after dinner and 3 bars we were home and in bed by 2...I'm just too old for anything more!!

On Saturday we slept late (heaven!) and I cleaned the house and watched our basketball team take on Georgia while WEG went to see a high school state championship game with a friend. Then Saturday night he and I went to dinner at Al-Amir, a Mediterranean restaurant. We stuffed ourselves, but their falafel and summer salad is really yummy!!

Sunday morning we got up and went to church with 2 friends and then went to lunch at Panera, followed by shopping for a TV...we got a new 42" inch flatscreen! It's great- and ours had kicked the bucket! At one point in the afternoon WEG claimed he had to go to his office and came home with a birthday cake for me from Publix. Please notice it's pink and green- and it's red velvet, my favorite! YUMM!! He did well! Then Sunday night, 6 of our friends came over and we had a fish fry and hung out.

Last night my mama and daddy came to Columbia and took me out to dinner at Mr. Friendly's...where I stuffed myself on pimento cheese filet, the Mr. Friendly's salad, and their famous Moonpie dessert- it was soooo good! The picture below is of the moonpie- complete with happy birthday syrup and a candle!

It was such a great weekend!! I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends and family who celebrated with me for 4 days! And, I racked up on the gifts (and the food, clearly!). From my friends I got the book Redeeming Love, the green Old Navy pants I wanted, Jillian Michaels video for the Wii, a hot pink Tervis tumbler with a green palmetto tree, Turbie Twists to dry my hair, earrings, and 2 movies! From WEG I got a gift certificate to Pink Sorbet, the Lilly Pulitzer store, and the fuschia rain coat I wanted. I also got the same coat from my parents (I forgot to pass along the word that I was already getting it, but no biggie- credit at Boden is never a bad thing!). I would like to mention that the raincoat is lined in a green circle pattern and the stitching for the coat is green- it's adrable! I also got a new purse and the Katie Lee Joel Comfort Table cookbook from my parents. I sure do love all of my presents!

Thank you again to all of you that wished me Happy Birthday! Tomorrow my coworkers are taking me to lunch, so I guess the celebrations still aren't over...and they did finally remember to say happy birthday yesterday! I guess 27 isn't so terrible after all!

Stay tuned for more of the fun pictures from the night once I get them from my friends- if you're reading this, send them to me, slackers!! ;-) Just kidding!

Happy birthday to me!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has left me happy birthday wishes!! I had the best weekend and am looking forward to a delicious dinner tonight to wrap up a good birthday! I will post a recap later (I am awaiting pictures of the evening from my friends), but I will say that the jeans & Hanky Panky undies went over wonderfully! I loved them both :-)

Your comments have made my day (especially since nobody at work has so much as acknowledged that it is my birthday). I should have just taken the day off since it's 84 degrees out!!

Red, White, and Preppy

I'm glad you stumbled upon my blog. I'd love to read yours! My email address is usc_emily(at)hotmail(dot)com :-) I'm anxiously awaiting my invitation!

Lord have mercy, Baby's got her blue jeans on

I can't wait for tonight when I get to wear my new blue jeans! There's nothing better than a night out with your friends for dinner and drinks...especially when it's in celebration of your birthday (which is not really until Monday, but I like to start celebrating early).

We're going to eat mexican and then out! I'm pretty sure my friend Julie (who is also celebrating her birthday tonight) and I will be accosted with the singing and sombrero at the Mexican restaurant. At least I have someone alongside me for that embarassment! I hate being sung to at a restaurant, but they make it pretty fun at this place!

Here's a picture from one night when we told the staff it was Tracy's birthday (it really wasn't- shame on us, but it was so funny!)

Then, the rest of my weekend will consist of NO MAJOR PLANS...which is just how I like it! I haven't decided what I will do with myself. Possibly take in a baseball game since it's going to be such beautiful weather, and this series promises to be a good one with the Long Beach State Dirtbags (yes, you read that right) coming to town. Or I might clean the house (it's starting to need it). I guess Saturday is really dependent on how late we stay out tonight and how I feel tomorrow!

I'll post a recap on Monday- have a great weekend, and don't forget to set your clocks ahead!

I bit the bullet....

I finally did it- I broke down and bought a pair of Hanky Panky's. I'll let you know how I like them, but I have a feeling it's going to be a lot since so many of you rave about them. I got this pretty color (Coral Reef):

They were just calling my name right there by the register in Mary as I was checking out with my other purchase- a pair of Citizens of Humanity Faye Jeans:

I know, I know- I splurged. I feel somewhat bad about this, but I am counting it as a "Happy early Birthday to me!" present. We're celebrating with my friends tomorrow night and I wanted something to feel cute in. I'll show you pictures next week!

If friends were flowers, I'd pick you.

I just was reading Meg's blog over at The Many Adventures of Meg and realized she has given me an award!

It states: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in 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.”

You can never get too many of these awards! It makes me feel good that what I say means something to people.

I'd like to pass it on to everyone who has commented on my blog in the past 2 days. Y'all make me smile and I love reading your comments and thoughts :-)

Thanks, Meg!!

A Columbia Tour...

Sweet Carolina Bride asked me "What are some of your favorite things to do in Columbia?"

What a great question! Forgive me that most of my answers are going to involve sports and food!
To me, Columbia doesn't have as much to do as Charleston or other larger cities, but there are some good eating places and some other fun things to do!

I guess, hands down, my favorite thing to do in Columbia is attend a University of South Carolina baseball game in the Spring. There's something about the camaraderie among Gamecock fans out at the ballpark- and it doesn't hurt that we're usually pretty good in baseball. Besides baseball, though, I like to go to football games and tailgate- if you've never tailgated at an SEC school, you have to do it. It's something amazing!! Besides that, this year has been a good one to take in a basketball game at the Colonial Life Arena- shame on me that I have not done this yet this year, but tonight I will be there.

Besides sports, Columbia has some great museums. The State Museum always has good exhibits, The Columbia Museum of Art is a nice place, and EdVenture is a fun children's museum. And, there's always Riverbanks Zoo which is one of the best zoos in the Southeast.

In the summer, I like to go out to Lake Murray and enjoy the warm weather on the water. We also are known as the "Riverbanks Region" because of the rivers that flow through Columbia, and you can enjoy these by tubing down them or running or walking on the Riverwalk.

Now- on to the food. I love to eat and we have some unique, good restaurants. My very favorite restaurant is Mr. Friendly's, which I have mentioned before. They have the best filet with French Quarter Pimento Cheese, and all of their other dishes are innovative and southern- it's so good!! If you're ever in Columbia, you have to check out Mr. Friendly's. Then, after Mr. Friendly's stop in next door at Cellar on Greene, a wine and tapas bar that is owned by the same person as Mr. Friendly's- it's got a neat atmosphere and some good wines. Even better is to catch them on a wine tasting night...mmm! Some other local places I like to eat are Rockaways for pimento cheese fries and burgers (not diet-friendly, but very good), Village Idiot or Za's for pizza, Blue Marlin for seafood, Gourmet Shop for chicken salad sandwiches, and DiPrato's for salads and the best pimento cheese you'll ever taste! Other good restaurants to check out are Garibaldi's, Saluda's, Dianne's on Devine, MoMo's Bistro, Terra, Gervais and Vine, and Solstice. If I have left something out, please forgive me. And if you're up for a good dessert, try Nonnah's.

So, there's a little sample of things to enjoy in Columbia! Let me know when you're coming to visit ;-)

Your questions answered

All American Preppy asked "How did Sweet Abe get his name?"

WEG's family has a tradition of naming their dogs after places they live or the place where they got the puppy. We currently live on Lincoln Street in Earlewood, so he was either going to be Abe (Abe Lincoln- get it?) or Earl and we chose Abe because it seemed to fit him! And, of course, there the whole thing about a hunting dog needing a one-syllable name. Apparently it's easier to call them, or so WEG tells me.

Coastal Belle asked "Where did you grow up?"

This was in response to a question I asked her, but I'll address it here. I grew up in Elloree, SC...population 700, one stoplight. It's small, but it was a great place to grow up!

Whitney asked "How did you and WEG meet?"

We met through mutual friends. Remember my friend Bess that I congratulated on her engagement? Her fiance and WEG were roommates at Clemson.

and she also asked "What do you do for a living?"

I work for the University of South Carolina in one of the colleges. My 2 main duties are to assist in the planning of events for the college and also to manage the scholarships. I make sure they are awarded correctly and that the donors are receiving the proper thank you's from the department, students, and college.

Mrs. Buck asked "What do you and WEG do for fun on the evenings/weekends?"

Usually in the evenings we are pretty low-key. We lounge around watching tv, cook supper, occasionally play the Wii. We mostly watch sports on TV. On occasion we will go out to dinner & a few drinks with friends. The weekends are much of the same! Dinner & drinks with friends, etc. WEG is always on the go with outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, golfing, etc. on the weekends and lots of times I am working or shopping during the daytime. At night we'll go out or have friends over to cook and hang out.

The Pink Tutu asked "If you could shop in only one store for the rest of your life what would it be?"

That's a tough one! It would have to be a store that carried a little bit of everything. I think I'd have to go with Super Target. That way I could get household items, makeup, groceries, clothes, shoes, etc. I think I could survive pretty well with only shopping there!

I would have liked to have chosen Nordstrom because that would have encompassed many of the things I shop for, but the groceries would have been a problem- and a girl's gotta eat!!

Keep the questions coming- this is fun!!

A promise

After reading Erin over at the Prep-E Girl's post today, I have been thinking about how I have been a bad blogger lately. I have been so overwhelmed with the number of posts I have to catch up on each day, that I sometimes tend to skim through and not give a proper comment.

I think this is what happens when you do not have internet at your house and try to read off and on while working!

I'm sorry, girls- I promise to try harder to comment on your blogs! I think that I am not the only one that has been busy. I have noticed a decrease in the number of comments on my blog, as well. Maybe I am just blogging about uninteresting things.

So, that said, I will open the floor up to questions about me, my life, etc. and I am also asking for blogging topics that you'd like me to post about.

Ask or suggest away!

I Love March!!

I could bore all of you readers with the details of my not-so-exciting weekend, but instead, I'll tell you why I love, love, love March!

My top 5 reasons:

1. It's my birthday month, so that right there makes you love a month! In one week I will be the big 2-7. Yikes. I will officially move from mid-20's to late 20's. Not sure how I feel about that, but I always get excited about my brithday!

2. Daylight Savings Time starts. Longer days with more sunshine are on the horizon. This makes me very happy. I love it when the sun stays out until 7 or 8:00!!

3. College baseball season gets into full swing. We left behind February on a good note, beating our rival Clemson on Saturday. Sunday's game was cancelled. March marks the start of SEC play, and days at the ballpark are usually a little warmer.

4. Warmer weather, mostly. Besides today, March usually means the start of somewhat warmer weather. By the end of this week it's supposed to be in the 70's.

5. Spring colors not only abound in the stores, but people begin to wear them!

What's your favorite month?

GRR...

Apparently the University is on a 2 hour delay this morning due to the weather (which is sunny and cold, but no ice, no snow, nothing). I, however, did not know because the TV wasn't scrolling closings when I looked and my cell phone didn't receive the text to alert me to the closing. This is supposed to happen whenever there is a closing, emergency to report, etc. Last time we had a closing it worked, this time...not so much. So, I just assumed we were supposed to be here since the weather was fine.
Here I sit in my office and there is like one other guy here. He didn't get the alert on his phone either. I.am.not.happy. I probably wouldn't have slept late, but I could have at least worked out or something. GRR.
I think I'll leave early as my "2 hour delay". I mean, I am technically working the same number of hours as the rest of the University so it only seems fair. Right?