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?