It's 5 o'clock somewhere!

I'm so ready for the weekend. WEG will be out of town, which is a bummer, but I might as well get used to it given our schedules for the summer! He has a fishing tournament this weekend, wedding next & Mother's Day (which I will be going home for), and more fishing the 3rd weekend in May. We have Memorial Day weekend with no plans, thankfully, then the final weekend in May I have a bachelorette party and he has the coinciding bachelor party. June and July go pretty similarly with work things, wedding events, etc. I'll be pretty busy this weekend, though, so it will be Sunday before I know it and he'll be back! And then it will be back to work for another week...can't we make weekends longer and work weeks shorter? Is everybody down for that?

Anywho- Katie at a Thrifty Girl's Guide to the Kitchen tagged me for another little Q & A. So, here it goes.

1.Respond and rework: answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.

2. tag other un-tagged people.

The Questions:

What is your current obsession? Currently, I am obsessing over the wonderful weather and can't wait to go to dinner with friends tonight and sit outside and enjoy the weather, good food, and some cold beverages!!

Do you like your name? I love my name!

Who was the last person you hugged? WEG

What’s your favorite dinner? My mom's fried chicken strips, mashed potatoes or rice and homemade gravy

What was the last thing you bought? Mousse (in my attempts at finding volume for my hair)- thrilling, huh??

What are you listening to right now? People typing

What is your favorite weather? Pretty much like it is now....In the 70's or 80's with a slight breeze

What is your least favorite season? Winter- I dislike the cold!

What's in your bathroom cabinet? under the sink are towels and various toiletries

Say something to the person/s who tagged you. Katie- I'm so glad I found your blog!! I enjoy reading it and wish that we could actually meet IRL!

What is your favorite tea flavor? I like plain ol' sweet tea, but I do like plantation mint sweet tea on occasion!

What did you want to become as a child? a waitress at the Shrimper, checker at Food Lion- clearly I was very ambitious. After that I wanted to be an anchorwoman and an occupational therapist until I found out that news anchors don't make much and I was too squeamish to take any classes involving medicine!

What do you miss? childhood summers at the lake with my cousins when my grandparents were still alive....those were the days!

What's your favorite brand of jeans? Lucky or Citizens

What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? hmm, not really that concerned with having a true designer piece of clothing, but I wouldn't mind having a pair of Tory Burch Revas- just not paying that much for them!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? a white sand beach in the Caribbean to soak up a little sun!

Who do you want to meet in person? Reese Witherspoon

What is your most challenging goal right now? Paying off my college debt!

What’s your 5 year plan? Paying off said debt!! and other than that, I don't really have a "plan"

What is my favorite sport to watch? To play? to watch is baseball...and I don't play sports really

What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own? My watch WEG gave me for Christmas and also my pearl necklace and earrings which were gifts from my parents

What are your favorite college & pro sports teams? Carolina Gamecocks, Houston Astros (clearly I am not a bandwagon fan, right?), Indianapolis Colts/NY Giants (I like the Mannings, what can I say?)

What color do you feel looks best on you? Pink

Favorite pair of shoes? Jack Rogers- probably in platinum, although I like them all

Favorite quote/verse? Love is patient, love is kind, it does envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. Love never fails. ~Corinthians 13:4-8

Now I tag whomever would like to play!! :-) Yes, I took the easy way out!!

And I leave you with a picture from the shower the other night that I absolutely love (because I think a post is better with a picture)!! It's of me and 3 of my best friends (The Fab Four as we have self-proclaimed ourselves- I promise we are not conceited, and it was more of a joke than anything else!)

Topless....

Ok, girls, get your minds out of the gutter


I bought these pants last week:

The Lilly Pulitzer Kristen Capri Pant.

But, I have no idea what sort of top to put with them....or, I should say, I haven't been anywhere to look around for a top. Would you put a colored or white shirt and what style? I'm not coming up with any good ideas, so if you have seen something really cute or have a link, I would love for you to share it with me!!

Thanks!!

When life hands you lemons....

...Make lemonade! Thanks to Amanda over at The Sweet Life who gave me the Lemonade award. This award's rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post 2. Nominate at least 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude 3. Link to your nominees within your post 4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award 5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award. 6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

I have come to have an attitude of gratitude due to the beliefs that my parents instilled in me. Neither of my parents has a job that is lucrative to say the least- my dad is a state employee and my mom a teacher at a small private school. However, they always provided for me just what I needed and went above and beyond to provide many of the things I wanted. But, most importantly, they instilled in me a deep faith in the Lord by taking me to church every single Sunday, as well as Sunday School, church on Wednesday night, mission trips, etc. I came to realize that God will provide whatever it is you need and does not give you any more than you can handle. This has made me a thankful person and I hate for anything that someone does for me to go unnoticed. Being grateful to those around you is so important and I believe that's a Godly characteristic, one that was taught to me by my parents and carried on through my belief in God and His kindness to those who believe in Him.

Now, I'd like to nominate for this award (and if you've received it already, you're extra-loved!):

Gwen (Confessions of a Control Freak); Naturally Caffeinated Family; Sweet Carolina Bride; Bama Belle; Mary (Quite Contrary); The Pink Owl; Erin (Prep-E Girl); Katie (A Thrifty Girl's Guide to the Kitchen); Randall (Be Happy for this Moment); Belle of the Ball; Saskia (Saskia's Spot)

I wish I could give it to all of you, but I narrowed it down to 11 :-)

**ETA: Also, thank you to Jen over at Jen & Rob for giving me this award, as well :-)

All about me...

Brittney over at Running in High Heels tagged me to do this:

Current obsession- the weather because it is BEAUTIFUL!
Weirdest obsession- cotton- the plant
Wearing today- brown dress w/ a floral pattern from Boden
Favorite comfort food- homemade fried chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and my mom's gravy
What would make today special- if it wasn't Monday or a nice surprise
You'd like to learn to: run- no, seriously...i get awful shin splints and have no endurance
Last thing you bought- 2 bottles of wine
Listening to right now- typing
Favorite weather- the current weather- 80 and sunny with a slight breeze...perfect!
Most challenging goal now- paying off all of my debt
One who tagged you- Brittney!
Anywhere to live- I love SC, but I'd rather be on the coast somewhere than in Columbia
Want in your hands now- the remote control because that would mean I'm at home on the couch!
Like to get rid of- the lobster pigmentation to my skin
Anywhere for an hour- swimming
Language to learn- Spanish because it would be useful
Look for in a friend- honesty
Meet in person- Reese Witherspoon
Favorite type of music- country
Favorite clothing owned- Hanky Panky underwear- thanks to everyone who suggested these!Dream job- MLB player's wife- hahaha, riiiiight
$100 to spend on- probably on one of the many wedding events I have coming up
Pet peeve- bad drivers and currently- ICE CHOMPING
Who do you admire- my parents
Personal style- classic
Favorite beauty product- Dove soap

Wonderful Weekend

The weekend was as promised- nice and sunny!

On Friday I took off work a little early and WEG and I went and put the boat in at the lake. It was gorgeous! We took Abe with us and docked on an island and WEG threw sticks into the lake for him to fetch. I swear it takes a lot for Abe to get tired because he kept bringing the stick back and would then practically beg for WEG to throw it again. Abe LOVES to swim!!

Sittin' on go:

Here ya go:

Splash! And away he goes:

We then trolled around for a bit and managed to catch one striper- not big enough to keep. WEG let me reel it in even though it was his rod that hooked it. Here's a picture of me with my whopper of a fish..haha. Apparently we were just a bit too early for the fish to be really biting.

(I had a more close up picture of this, but I am not looking so great, so this will have to suffice!)

We then rode over to WEG's grandmother's house on the lake to say hello and see how she was doing. She had gotten out of rehab that day after a month in the hospital and rehab due to hip surgery, so it was her first day home in a while. WEG's parents and aunt were there, as well, so we visited for a bit and then trolled around the lake a little more before heading back to the landing. It was the perfect afternoon!!

The rest of the weekend consisted of:

• Drinks with friends when we got back from the lake on Friday night
• Saturday I worked at JTT and then we stayed in on Sat. night
• Sunday I watched church on TV (the friends I usually go with are in Jamaica- jealous, much?); washed my car; soaked up some sun in the yard (and by some, I mean Way.Too.Much- lobster!); and grocery shopped

Now it's back to work for another exciting week- can you sense my excitement? Not so much. I wish it could stay the weekend forever!!

Welcome to the Weekend

Ahh, Friday! Gotta love a weekend where the weather promises to be warm (in the 80's) and full of gorgeous sun! The best time of year in South Carolina because the humidity has not set in yet!

Thank you to all of you for your hair advice- I can't wait to try out some of your tips and product suggestions!

I'm sorry this post is so short, but I'm heading out of work in 5 minutes and have something to finish up!

Have a wonderful, sunny weekend my loves!

A Hair-Raising Post

Or at least I hope this is going to help "raise" my hair!

I need your best advice, ladies. My hair is sort of a NIGHTMARE. I have naturally wavy/curly hair that can be worn like this (far right- looking pregnant in that shirt- YIKES!):

But normally, I wear it straight because I'm not too keen on the curliness, and with my hair being longer, it doesn't do the ringlet curls as well. So, I have taken to straightening it, and that works pretty well (unless it's humid outside, then you can forget it- Frizz City!).

Lately though, I have been less than pleased with my overall hairstyle. I use this shampoo & conditioner:



I love it and it really does help my hair to be smooth and fight the frizziness. However, my hair always feels limp. It really needs a root boost!

My dilemma with something for my roots is this- my hair is oily by nature and too many products cause it to be so oily by the end of the day that I have to re-wash it before I go out in the evening. And, I have tried many root boosters and nothing has seemed to work.

So, I am contemplating changing up either my shampoo or conditioner to make one something volumizing and one something smoothing for the best of both worlds....honest opinions, though? How many of you mix your shampoo and conditioner up like this? I've always been nervous to not use the same shampoo and conditioner! Also, if you have any suggestions on root boosters that will not leave my hair oily, I would love the ideas! What have you found that works well for you?

I would especially love comments from anybody who has naturally curly/wavy hair that is limp when straightened and also oily- man, I have some major hair issues, huh?

P.S.- I dry my hair upside down and lift the roots as I blowdry, as well, but this only helps slightly.