Well this is crazy...

There's too much insanity going on right now. Crazies running around killing children. Crazies running around killing soldiers. Crazies running around killing innocent civilians. Oh yea, and crazies crossing 3 lanes of traffic and running over a pedestrian...without stopping.

I got the call at work. Hour 15. Great.

I left work, got my boys, and headed south on a 11 hour, spur-of-the-moment, exhausting road trip with no money, no sure idea of what happened or what was going to happen, and no actual clothes. I had David to thank for starting the laundry minutes before I got there to pick him up. Wonderful.

We started out with crushed legs, internal bleeding, head wounds and lots of staples, vertebrae trauma, road rash and embedded gravel, other cuts and bruises...we were worried about his prognoses, but trusted and prayed and leaned on Him to carry us through such a devastating time.

Good news is that my dad is alive. For those following my facebook posts, those creating prayer chains, those [amazing people] who helped us out financially while we were traveling, securing a new, handicap accessible apartment for my parents....THANK YOU! God has done some amazing things for us, and has given us good friends and family.

Today, they are supposedly bringing my dad's new hospital bed to the parents' new apartment. Dad will come home soon, for about 5 weeks, before he returns to the hospital for more surgeries. Excellent!! He might not be home for Christmas, he might not ever walk, but he's alive.

In other news...

End of the world posts are running rampant! I find this to be a very exciting time of year. We've got apocalypse shows and series on TV, crazy facebook and twitter posts, and news media all over the official OFFICIAL end of the world festivities. Not to be confused with other, past "official" end of the world events. It's like a Parks and Rec episode. I find it to be pretty insane that stations are running apocalypse specials when there are so many other pertinent, real issues at hand to be televised. It's ridiculous how much hype unrealistic events get compared to real tragedy, pain, and war. That's American media for you!

I suppose this is my only segue into the "I just got married" debut. 

Yeah. That's right. 

Married. 

Take a second for it to set in. 

We figured it was now or never, since the end of the world starts (ends?) today. (Can someone please find me an itinerary? Should I cook dinner? Start laundry?) Also...is the end of the world respectful of time zones, or will we have to tune in an hour earlier? Anyway, we marched on over to the church, said our "I do"s and went on our merry way. Not the way either of us (mostly him) envisioned it, but the Mayans really didn't give us much to work with.



On a completely serious note, HOORAY! we're married! It's been a long--albeit quiet-- time coming. Some people knew, most people didn't. Others were waiting for an invite to a wedding we had been secretly planning. But after much consideration and my father's recent accident, we decided to postpone the celebration, but not the commitment, and make it official. It's a strangely satisfying, backwards process. Now this family of three can become a family of four. Ha. I'm kidding. Leo couldn't handle shared affections with another dog.

Married life, son. 

Happy End-of-the-World/Marriage Day.

xoxo

Procrastination.

I'm blogging instead of doing homework. How...expected. I'm recovering from 5 days of gross, leaky, mucus-y sickness; enjoying my last three days of my "5 day weekend" week. I have to say that I really do enjoy only working two days out of the seven. It makes working two, back to back 16 hour shifts totally worth it!

Today I've managed to wake up before noon, hygiene, wash the dishes, clean the house, and write about 20 words of my discussion post for coursework. Which is more than I can say for the last two days I've been home. The past two days mostly consisted of waking up, brushing my teeth, and then going back to bed. But now I'm watching Pitbulls and Parolees on mute. Fully awake. Fully dressed. I'm not sure why I leave the Animal Planet on all day. Or why I waste electricity by keeping the TV on mute for hours. In fact, I don't even like this show. It's like the bumpkin version of Animal Cops, except all of the employees are ex-cons. But I feel better, so I deserve quiet TV. Oh the benefits of the Hubs finally having a legit job. No more Sports Center loops!

If you hadn't heard, David passed his life insurance license exam. Earlier this week, he signed all of his contracts and so on and so forth. Today was his first "real" day of OTJ training with his new company. I'm definitely thankful to have some peace and quiet around the house!

Oh, and I did this:

By "did this", I mean I spent $3.99 on a cinnamon broom (that I've been searching everywhere for) and dug out some light-up pumpkin decorations from the bottom of my Christmas tote. Now we can enjoy Halloween properly. The only thing left to do is get some candy for trick-or-treaters. Last time I invested in candy, not ONE child came to my door. And I was heartbroken!! This year, I'm hoping that none show up so that I have an excuse for buying a ridiculous amount of chocolate and "having" to eat it all. What can you do, right? The good news is that it smells like cinnamon in the house.

Other than that, no new news to share. My job is great, but stressful. Especially while  sick. I'm excited for the autumn weather, and even more excited for the upcoming holidays. (Is Black Friday a holiday?) I'll leave you with this:

The view from my porch. Happy fall, tree.

Happy fall, friends.

That time I accomplished my dreams while cutting all the corners.

Wow! It's been too long since I've updated. It's only slightly ridiculous that I'm consistently away for extended periods of times now that I've moved to Charlotte. It has gone from daily or bi-daily posts to once every month or so. I'm sorry for neglecting you! In reality, my life is not as interesting as it used to be.

Last I left you, I was so very thankful that I had been blessed with an amazing partner in crime. This is how that day went:

Lucky girl!

*****

You would think that we were busy bees these last few weeks being unemployed and all, but that couldn't be further from the truth. My days have consisted of a lot of this:

This happens to be my new textbook that arrived for my next semester, but I'm on a break from school, so this isn't very representative of what I've had my nose in. Also, that was not a cocaine joke.

College Gameday: Saturdays consisting of nothing but pajamas, junk food, and couch potato-ing.

The only legit thing we've been up to. Shared prayer time makes for stronger relationships.

Foot fetish. Leo's got one.

Chocolate chip cookie mug cake.

Productive, as you can clearly see.

Seriously though, our spiritual journey is probably one of the only things in our life that is making constant progress. We've started with the Fergusons' One Year Couples Devotional: reading and studying and praying our way to open and honest communication. Very enlightening! It came to me one night before bed. It was hidden away in one of our many bookcases; it's initial intention to guide me toward marriage all that while ago. Finally, it's use has a purpose. I am finally finding solace in a healthy prayer life that compliments our healthy lifestyle.

And now onto the most exciting news of the week! 

I'm so very happy to announce that I've been offered a position with a local, prominent nonprofit organization as a Behavioral Health Counselor working with children. And I really have no one else to thank for this except for God, Himself. I have no previous experience, no master's degree (yet), and very little exposure to the counseling environment. This Monday, I'll start a two week training session that will introduce me to the work they do there, and the most reliable means of communication and interventions available.

And while I have mixed emotions, I'm also grateful that my hours will be confined to Saturday and Sunday (for a total of 32 hours), with the opportunity to make an additional 8 hours during the week. I will have the rest of the week to myself, to keep up with housework, homework, and to define a regular exercise regimen.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has been supportive (with prayers or otherwise) while we've been making these transitions. David has almost completed his insurance license coursework. All that's left is the state exam and he'll be ready to start! We do ask for continued prayers for this long-anticipated career opportunity.

It's been a while, but I did a Frenchie for this upcoming week! Yay for professionalism, class, and neutral tones.

Thank you for all that you do, reader! 

The next post should be as equally as exciting, so stay tuned! 

xoxo

Meaningful moments.

For most of you in the adult world, the big "one year" bit really doesn't have much weight. But just this year, I've accomplished more spiritually, emotionally, and physically than I have over the last five. I've come to know love that is patient, trusting, kind, protecting, honoring, justified, calm, and blessed by God. In this, I've learned "togetherness" and teamwork, sacrifice and compromise. It is everything I want and everything I need. Let me thank you, reader, for enjoying this crazy, chaotic journey with us.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

I am a blessed woman. God has given me more chances than I deserve, and more love than I can reciprocate. How wonderful it is that He has also given me David. 

I love you, dear. Here's to many more years of excitement and bliss.

Scoute Route Scavenger Race

On Friday night, David, Amanda, and I headed downtown to collect our race packets from Fitzgerald's Irish Pub. Good thing packet pickup was at a pub because after the day we had, Amanda and I were in serious need of a good drink and filling food. We managed to get our packets, but we're lousy alcoholics and the food was much like cafeteria food. Needless to say, we probably won't be eating there again. All the let-down-ness was quickly forgotten, however, after the excitement for the following day's scavenger hunt.

Last week, I mentioned that I bought tickets. David and I were one team, cleverly renamed "Wild Things". Hooray for finally having a legitimate use for buying matching shirts.

I know you can barely see it, but my hair was a FRO of teased and tangled hair; spray dyed a tealish blue. David's was just dyed. Men have it so easy! I was able to spray David's hair in under five minutes. Thankfully, he also agreed to help me with mine. I would tease it, and he would dye it. Layer. By. Freaking. Layer. I was already dreading the clean up. But when we got to the judges, we got the full 3 points for creativity and costume effort. Amanda and our other friend from work, Jamie, were also a coed team; vying for the first place, "cruise-to-Belize" prize. They both happened to wear grey shirts, and renamed their team on the spot to "50 Shades of Grey". They got one point for spontaneous creativity. Hey, it was something!

We got our map with the addresses of the challenges and tried to figure out the best way of covering all of the 10 challenges efficiently. The only thing we didn't know prior to race day was what each challenge consisted of, or how many points we could make at each, or how long the line would be.

The only modes of transportation we could use were the light rail and the city bus. We got day passes, knowing there was no way we could run around the entire downtown in three hours. Talk about huge. It'd be like having a race that covered the entire city of Tallahassee. There was just no way to run it all. And (!) I had completely forgotten my inhaler. I was one stressed out mess, however smiley I was trying to be for David. First team back to the finish line with 100 points in under 3 hours wins!

The scavenger hunt was less scavenger and more Amazing Race. At every checkpoint, there was a challenge you had to complete that you received  points for based on your performance. The only one we did terrible at was the bowling challenge. After running for 45 minutes already, we had to run up to this bowling alley and we each had a chance to throw a ball down the lane for points. One ball, one throw, per teammate. If the first person threw under 10, the second would have to knock down the remaining pins. If the first person threw a strike, the second person could have their own chance at 10 new pins. Shakey and sweaty, we both rolled gutter balls. So 15 minutes wasted at this checkpoint for a grand total of 0 points. But all we could do was move onto the next one. What I did enjoy, though, was how at every checkpoint that required team work to complete the challenge, we did great on. We got a lot of "best so far" or "excellent"s. The challenges that were one person, then the other, we didn't do so hot at.

But! We made it through 8 of the 10 challenges with a half an hour left, knowing relatively nothing of the city or places we were in. With the finally two challenges being too far from the finish line to make it before the course closed, we headed back to the finish line with 73 points. Not bad for a 0 pointer and skipping two challenges.

At the end of the day, we had managed to run a large portion of the race and finished in the top 20. I used Google Maps to figure out how far we ended up traveling (with the closest matching route we took) and it totaled up to 8 miles!

Can I just say--I am one lucky girl. I would say "in the world", but I feel like this feeling rings true for every woman who finds their "other". From start to finish, and everywhere in between, David was strong for us and worked with me. He helped with the costumes at 6am, helped strategize throughout the day, held my hand for the entire race (we must have looked so silly holding hands while running!), washed all of the dye out of my hair, and then helped me wash and dry Leo before we fell asleep on the couch. I can definitely say that it was one of the best bonding experiences I've ever shared with him, and one of the most exciting days we've had (second only to our spontaneous trip to Harry Potter world).

I don't know if Jamie and Amanda has as good of a time, but I'm glad we all got to participate. After this experience, David and I are definitely going to do it again next year. I hear people train and strategize all year for this race. I suppose a cruise could be worth it. Day 1 after race day, though....it doesn't feel worth it. I'm in pain, I tell ya! 

Much better than the half gallon plastic tank we had him in. No more hard plastic palm tree. Now he has a heating rock, and some Roman memorabilia. Oh, and a filter. So no more changing his water daily. $300 later, Rocky (aka Franklin) is a happy turtle. We aim to please.

Only a few more weeks until Lauren and Tyler get here. I'm anxious to finally get some quality girl time in. Shopping. Movies. Gossip (you know, about our men). It's all very thrilling.

Thanks for keeping up, guys!

Next week probably won't be as exciting, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. 

xoxo

The perfect view.

I'd like to say "I hate Thursdays", but let's get real. Homework Thursday is more like Homework Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Check it out: I'm actually just in the midst of procrastination (like a pro, if I do say so myself).

I'm going to try not to jinx myself by also saying that I think everything is finally slowing down. David is not working ridiculous hours, so we get to drive home without me having to wait on him or him having to wait on me (well, not for too long anyway). I'm getting off from work at a decent hour, getting my homework done, getting dinner ready, and yesterday, I even had time for a run. (Count it. Number two since I've been here.)

My run last night wasn't too bad. Minimal cramping. It's all a matter of staying properly hydrated and stretching more. But I did it. In this heat. With all the other crap going on. Without David. I need to stay on track. We've definitely fallen out of our pretty solid health routine. Patience, right?

Essie 'Devil's Advocate' and 'Set in Stones'

I know it's not Friday, but here's my Nail Files post anyway. I did the glitter on this number in the car on the way to work this morning...AFTER David spilled my entire bowl of cereal all over the center console in the car. Needless to say, I had another bowl as soon as I got home from work to satisfy that unshakable Fruity Pebbles desire. I had planned on leftovers (I hate them), but David decided to go to his sisters, so I'm all by my lonesome, and therefore, don't have to pretend I enjoy them.

On a sad note, I was really looking forward to my mom's visit this weekend. She had some sort of procedure done to alleviate the pressure she's been having for her hip, and can't make the 10 hour drive without anticipating excruciating pain. I guess I can understand. I'm just bummed. It's hard getting in some fellowship time when you live forever away from your church friends, and our neighborhood is full of older adults and families, rather than with people our age. It's great in most circumstances, but not when we're trying to make some friends. Luckily, my new bestie, Amanda, and I get to see eachother every. single. day. at work...so no lack for fun times there. This is how cool we are:

If you can't quite make it out, that would be a taxidermy armadillo that she's pretending to birth from her hoolie. This woman is nothing but class, I tell ya! (But for real, I love her.)

Southern lifestyle is definitely taking a toll on me. I think I said "y'all" for the first time in my life the other day. I smiled when it came out, thinking I must sound ridiculous. But it was alright. No one even noticed.

If you hadn't recognized the obvious difference in my picture taking, I broke down and got an iPhone. Notice how the nail picture is nice and clear and the picture of Amanda looks like I took it with a 1990's camera? Yay iPhone. Really though, I've been having problems with Boost service, and I end up getting a new phone every year. So I figured I might as well make the investment and get on board with AT&T. If you haven't added my new number, please do! It's on my facebook wall, for the friends who are too lazy to get on and check out my awesome picture timeline and haven't seen it.

Speaking of awesome, I think I promised pictures of our new furniture. Here's what we got!

Forgive my messy table. It is homework-procrastination time, after all. It's really coming together over here!

I need to get working on this homework. Stupid Ethics! Who needs you?! Obviously, it's not a good idea to have sex with the mentally unstable clients you're working with. I mean really.Why am I spending three hours working on this nonsense? *Shakes head* I just don't understand school. I spend so much time learning...well...hearing...a lot of common sense. Oh well. I'm only paying $50,000 to learn things I already know. No biggie.

Before I go, I'd like to mention that about a week ago, David woke up and told me about this crazy scavenger hunt dream he had. Today, the daily Groupon is a city-wide scavenger hunt in Charlotte. I bought 'em. One set for David and I, and another set for Amanda and friend. If we get to work as a team, I figured it'd be best to have some people who know plenty about the area, but I have a feeling we're just going to end up competing against them, get lost, get frustrated (David with me) and eventually give up. We'll see though. First prize is a cruise for two!

Happy Homework Thursday, dears. 

And Git er done.

xoxo

My life is full of crazy eyes.

As my Facebook friends might well know, I've been on a crazy cooking spree. I cook everything these days. Well, except for this weekend. I really just wanted to eat out as much as possible. No tedious labor for me, thanks! Right now, I'm waiting for my homemade potato salad to cool and the dryer to ding. Soon, David will start on the sloppy joes and we'll be enjoy yet another delicious meal. Yay teamwork. Here's some of the latest:

Filet mignon, potatoes, and onions

Bowties, broccoli, garlic, red pepper, parmesan cheese

Tomato, watermelon, mint, and feta cheese salad

Black beans, mango salsa, tuna steaks, avocado, and avocado vinaigrette tostadas

Paella (chorizo, chicken, shrimp, peppers, peas, and rice)

Pork chops and string beans, corn, squash, zucchini medley cooked in red wine

Yum, right? Feel free to take a "fat" break.

Having met few people in our area yet, I've been hard pressed to stay distracted from my long work week and the unavoidable exhaustion. So, I planned an awesome weekend for the two of us; beginning and ending with food. We managed to tear ourselves from food long enough to see a comedy show, the new Batman movie (epic--go see it), and shop til I got blisters on my feet. I'd say it was probably best weekend we've had since we've been here.

Andy and Sharon (David's dad and step-mom) will be here next week, and Kathy (David's mom) the week after. Just in time for all the birthdays coming up. David's rounding the big 2-7 (onward toward 30)! Mom and Crazy Eyes (see below) will be visiting in three weeks, too. We should have all of our furniture by then, so I'm pretty excited. We've finally picked out our sets, so stick around for those updates. It should be pretty awesome. No more lawn chairs in the living room!

He's never looking directly at you. Creepy.

Aside from that, I'm so ready to get everything settled so that we can get into an exercise routine. We've be able to do some things here and there, like racquetball tonight. It's falling into place, dears. Soon, our house will be furnished. Soon, we'll be on top of our healthy-life journey. It's all so exciting!

As always, thanks for reading.

xoxo

Busy bees

We have been busy, to say the least. Even though it hasn't felt like it the past couple of days. We've managed to sleep in a day or two, and somehow found ourselves asleep before 9pm a few days this week. We're so old!

Monday! Whew! Talk about out of shape. I couldn't believe we'd only been sans exercise for a month. You'd think it was a year! While we both finished our very first Charlotte run with pretty decent stamina and buckets of sweat, both of my legs were cramping as I neared the end of my workout. With every step, I was anticipating falling head over spaghetti legs and flat on my face. More water, more potassium. Noted, body. It's three days later and I'm finally starting to feel some muscle relief. *Shakes head* This is an utter disaster. All that work....basically undone! The good news is that I'm more motivated than ever to get this whole "new beginning" thing under control. We're doing so well in everything else. As soon as we can get back on track with regular exercise, I think we'll be set.

4th of July 2011

Tuesday, we decided to ring in 4th of July at Dave and Buster's. It was fun to eat out, play games, and day dream about giant stuffed bananas. Against his better judgment, David has agreed to help me save up tickets so that, one day, I'll be the proud new owner of said banana. *Swoon.* He's so good to me!

Wednesday: Happy 4th!!! We spent a few hours swimming with the family at the Y, followed by extremely delicious food that led almost directly into napping. I woke up, ate more food, and then drove home...to sleep. I'm pretty sure we were both passed out before 6. I didn't even hear fireworks through my mini-coma. Did I mention old?

Today was a long day. We both had to be in to work at 6am, and left around 5:30pm. I had way too much coffee. I'm still a little wired. I'm anxiously awaiting my sugar crash--gratefully prolonged by apple pie and ice cream (did I mention we were eating healthier? diet fail.). I'm hoping to fall asleep within the next hour or so. I can't wait for Friday! (Nothing important is happening on Friday. Sadness.)

This weekend will be full of moving (I hate moving.) and niece-ing. Saturday, we're due a sleep over with the girls. And they get to meet Leo! Very exciting.

Hope everyone enjoyed a fun, safe 4th of July.

Happy birthday, America!

xoxo

100th Post Time

Happy almost 4th of July!!

Happy 100th post day!!

It's crazy that there's been so much time between my most recent posts. I seriously have no time (or energy) to do anything anymore. I'd forced myself to finish my coursework, under great duress, but that's pretty much it. I've checked my facebook while waiting for things, and I've used instagram to document our lives in pictures, but I really hadn't dug up my laptop until now.

I wish I had something more exciting to update about for this 100th post, but alas, my life has fallen into a satisfyingly monotonous routine. I get up, go to work, come home, and then {this is the best part} I get to choose whether I'm going to make dinner, go out to dinner, or skip dinner and head straight for bed. Exciting, I know. Soon, though. We're really not that boring. Just tired. I either need to start drinking more coffee or settle for exhaustion. We'll see. Plus, we're on a tight budget until we can get ahead of ourselves. Then we can start saving for things like vacations and cruises and weddings. Whoops! I mean....not weddings. Or maybe I just mean wedding, singular. Never mind.

We've also mapped out our budget and set up a joint account for bills. The good news is that saving up for a couch and dining room set and a new car(!) won't be as difficult as I thought it would be; even with the ridiculous (I say that because I'm yet to realize that we're finally--really--adults) amount of bills we have now. We should have all of our (Ikea!) furniture by the end of July (just in time for his dad's visit), and a car within the next few months. Pretty exciting. It'll be nice to be able to have people over without having to offer them a camping chair and a tray table.

We're torn between these two couches:

This one is super comfortable. You really sink into it. But it's smaller. But...cheaper.

This one, on the other hand, is my favorite. And it opens up from the bottom into this:

You can see our dilemma. Comfort, cheaper, but small...or expensive and awesome and et cetera. Stupid cool things. Gets me every time.

The new church is great, for all who were wondering. We've made a bunch of friends that have definitely exceeded my expectations. We were expecting a little bit of judgment and reservation, given our not-really-a-situation situation, but we've certainly been welcomed with open arms here. It's a drive to get there, but it's nice. A perfect fit. And lots of married couples. There's much less pressure about sex and relationships when nearly everyone is married.

Speaking of which, David and I are doing wonderfully! "Playing house", as some would have it, has served us well. We're still staying true to our virtues, despite the close proximity, and maintaining a healthy, blessed relationship. The only thing that's changed is that we work more and spend less, and sleep more and exercise less. Tonight, he's enjoying a night out with our friends while I finish some domestic duties; a courtesy I rarely get to extend, but enjoy. My 50 hour a week job has made it impossible for me to clean on the daily. Time away from David helps me refocus to tackle things like laundry and vacuuming that I'd rather not do after working 12 hours. But! Things are getting done. There's nothing I like better (well, not many things anyway) than a clean house.

Still no fitness update at this point. I was hoping to get in my first official run in Charlotte tonight, but the 104 degree weather that didn't cool down much even after sundown was a little discouraging. So, not today. But, also soon.

There have been a lot of "soons", lately.
Thanks for being a reader. YOU are great.

xoxo

Oh, and as a last minute side note, say hello to the girl who misses two weeks of school, and a combined total of four 10-page essays, and still makes the Dean's List. Recognize.

That time you remembered that God is why it's possible.

I want to begin by saying that God. Is. Awesome. 

Everything that's happened in the past month or so has not just been luck, but true direction and opportunity from the Great Almighty.

Check out God's light shining down on us...literally.

I'm behind in blogging. Admittedly, I haven't been keeping up with the 100 or so blogs I frequent. I haven't read. I haven't written. In fact, I can barely find time for sleeping in between work and homework and family and church. BE GRATEFUL! I'm staying up way passed my bed time in order to get this post out.

David (finally!) has a job. With me. Which is perfect (thank you, God) since we're now a one car household. I was afraid we'd be spending so much on gas and that our schedules wouldn't work. But now we commute together, I still don't have to see him all day because I'm in the office and he's in the field, and even though he usually works longer hours than I do, we only live 10 minutes away; making it convenient to pick him up after I've already gone home. David's first week was paid daily in cash. That, with the birthday earnings from the previous week, was just enough to get us gas, food, pay bills, and whatever other necessities we needed to make it through the week.

He's happier. It's pretty obvious.

I've already worked overtime my first week...which I believe is going to be a reoccurring thing. My boss has considered moving me to salary to avoid having to pay me $200 extra dollars a week because I end up working 10 hours a day, and working a few extra on Saturday. We're busy, busy, busy!

Speaking of church, we've started going to Providence Road Church of Christ. I love it! The service is perfect. Lots of singing, lots of worship, lots of friendly people, lots of community outreach, and plenty of women holding prominent positions in the church. All of it was strange to see at a COC, but I enjoyed the change of pace. God really directed us to the perfect fit.

As an update, all of our stressful nonsense seems to have worked out. We ended up having to sign the title over to the wrecker company that towed David's crapped-out Xterra during the move. The few places in Georgia (where the car was broken down) that gave money for parts/scrap metal were only offering us about $300. When we discussed the "storage fee" with the wrecker company, we would pretty much break even, so we agreed to swap the title for the fees and just break clean and start over. It saved us from having to do any traveling and left the arrangements up to them. It was a bit of a loss because we're down to one car, but I hated that ugly (in its defense, it was David's fault that the car had an ugly mug), sun-screen-smelling car anyway.  All that means is that we can get a newer, safer car that can fit more than two people...if you catch my drift. Not that that'll happen anytime soon, but I'm glad I don't have to trade my Mustang for another car. It all works out in the end.

And! I'm back on the homework wagon. This is my last week of this session, followed by a two week break, and then new classes. I really screwed up my GPA this quarter by missing two weeks of assignments, but I did what I could. All I can say is that I'll do better next week. It won't be as exciting as having a 4.0, but damn it, it's been a rough month. And here we are. Alive. Maintaining. And happy.

Unfortunately, all this 50-hours-a-week-ing and homework and other exhausting stuff has made it nearly impossible for us to run. My body is aching to eat good food; begging me to get my behind on the pavement, but it's just been too difficult. I'm getting up at 5am, dragging home anywhere between 5 and 9, and after dinner and homework, I'm DONE! Once everything slows down, and our schedule falls into a pretty solid routine, we need to start back. We're eating crap because it's convenient (though we've managed to successfully stay away from fast food...with the exception of our two nights at CookOut), and too poor to eat like we used to. Being an adult is HARD.

Hopefully, I'll get caught up with everyone else in the next week or so. Thanks for sticking with me, folks! It's been an insane few weeks. Much love to those who have stuck by us from the beginning. "If you were absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success." Thanks, Will Smith, for some words of encouragement.

xoxo, Lovies.

50 Shades of Terrible Literature

Here we are. Two young (well, I'm young) adults enjoying patio chairs in an under-furnished living room, finishing out the weekend with ham and turkey sandwiches and MLB and homework.

David is hyperventilating next to me; second guessing the answers on his math test; working fervently and asking me questions I don't have the answers to. I don't know anything but basic math and, strangely, extremely difficult calculus. What happened to the in-between? I haven't a clue. Thanks, Mr. Powers, for making calculus so fun. After high school, I took some calc classes at Florida State and basic algebra fell to the wayside. I can't understand the bottom from the top. Plain and simply, I am mathematically useless.

Leo is sleeping on the floor between our feet. He does a lot of sleeping. Sleeping and peeing and chasing his green ball. His favorite activities.

Check out my very happy man.

As a passing thought and the inspiration for this blog title, I'm currently reading the 50 Shades of Grey series. 

The writing is terrible. 

The smut is highly unrealistic and exaggerated. 

It's pretty much literary porn. 

I find myself rolling my eyes at everything.  

And I wouldn't give it my recommendations for a good read. 

The only reason I'm still reading it is because I've already purchased all the books. 

Poor me.

 *****

After weeks of being MIA from Nail Files, I'll definitely be posting next week with my latest nail creation. I've finally removed the acrylics and I'm back to my old ways; coming up with fun, lovely, tiny works of art. Without officially linking up, here's this week's:

Yes, thank you for noticing, I have a new phone camera. It's not an iPhone, but it'll do. I was due for a free upgrade on my Android. Honestly, I love it. I may stick with this one and avoid the iPhone all together. It has everything I want, everything is unlimited, and I'm only paying $50 a month. 

Today, I'm 22 years young. It's strange to think that I've surpassed 21 (shut my mouth, right?). So much has happened to me in my short years. Most significantly (sans the best and worst of people):

New Jersey

Soccer

Florida

Music

IB

Tallahassee

Bachelor's

Meridian Woods

Engagement

Lawsuit 

Disengagement

Master's

North Carolina

And so we find ourselves in the present. I've seen the best and I've seen the worst. I've had plenty of, barely enough of, and dangerously low amounts of money. I've partied in the coolest clubs, and sat through the most humbling worship services. I've seen God, and I've seen Satan. I've been lost, and I've been found. I've known love, and I've battled hate. It has been a most trying, albeit exciting, 22 years.

Today, we got a pot and pan or two after surviving for a week without any kind of kitchen hardware. The Hindman family threw me a wonderfully pleasant birthday lunch. We slept. We read. We homeworked. And hopefully this week, we'll start jobs, we'll find a church home, and we'll testify to the safety and security that God provides.

Thanks, everyone who gave me thoughtful birthday wishes.
Thanks, everyone who's helped with the moving and the finances and the tough decisions.
And thanks, of course, for reading.

xoxo

New beginnings.

Whew! So...my last week's freakout has not been lost on me. I'd like to blame it on my very carefully hidden Puerto-Rican-ness, but it was all me. Too real. A perfect representation of how passionate I am about what I believe in. After last week, I'll be lucky to get one or two readers from now on. But in all reality, I'm sure the haters will still read: that's just human nature.

Plenty of good news. A pinch of bad news. But mostly just good news. 

I'm currently scheduled to pick up two jobs. One of which I start tomorrow. I've still been applying for a bunch, trying to find the best fit for our budget. David is busy busy busy applying for the "thousands" of jobs here in banking city. So that's exciting. Prayers greatly appreciated.

Our home! It's wonderful! It's a 2/1 in an awesome, beautiful, friendly community. it's got plenty of space for all of our stuff, an awesome fireplace, a walk-in closet, and a balcony. Leo loves it. Especially all the food and shopping around us. Having limited funds does not help me (or Leo) here.

David's car, on the other hand, is somewhere in Georgia at the moment. No thanks to the u-haul man, we're now a car short. The entire trip up here ended up being a 17 hour ordeal after being stranded in B.F.E. for 7 hours. That's really the only bad news. Oh, and the fact that someone labeled one of the boxes Pots and Pans, only to discover that there were not actually pots and pans in said box. That and we don't have a microwave. So we're eating fruit snacks and cereal. Yay!

Only 6ish days until my 22nd birthday. Man I'm getting old! (David will resent that.) We anticipated company this weekend, but it looks like money is tight for everyone. So family time instead.

Loving Charlotte!

Pictures soon.

xoxo

Cohabitation, Judgment, and Wonderment.

WHY IS IT SO DARK IN THIS HOUSE?

I can never see anything. I'm always fumbling around trying to find a light switch, most of which don't even bother working. And the lights that do work are much the same as candle light. Stupid 1 million year old house.

Seriously though. I'm going to miss it here. I'm going to miss my roommates (however slobby) and the games we play. I'm going to miss watching GCB with Mal on the dankest couches I've ever had the displeasure of sitting on. I'm going to miss teasing Maggs about sleeping in her bed while she's away. I'm going to miss being able to vent about my day and boys and stupidity. Not that I can't do that with David, sans the high pitched voices and exaggerated excitement.

This week has been interesting, to say the least. I think today was the second time since I've been at my home church that I've felt trapped and uncomfortable. Both of which (not surprisingly) have had to do with my relationship with David. 

We've received a little backlash this week from people who don't agree with our living situation. The whole not being married, but living together thing really gets under people's skin. I suppose that's the danger of revealing too much of yourself to your church "family". It's no surprise that one of the biggest complaints that non-Christians have about Christians is that there is so much hypocrisy and so much judgment--most of which is unbeknownst to the offender. It's that boldness that encourages people to say what they want to say without knowing anything about anything. Sometimes good. But usually just bad. Though you really aren't entitled to this, know that David and I have a good, healthy, Godly relationship. And it's been that way since we started dating. Say what you will: your mistakes and inhibitions are not mine to bear. While I understand that *you* (ahem) might be concerned for me (us), and feel your opinion need be heard, there is a time, a place, and a way to communicate. Do be mindful of how words are quickly misconstrued and have significant impact on your Christian (or otherwise) relationship. Not to mention, I actually thrive on people telling me what I can not do. So thank you, doubters, for making it even easier for us decide. I'll close this rant by saying that all of the parents are 100% behind us, and that God continues to pour blessing after blessing upon us; reaffirming and solidifying our decision. He is SO good to us.

There's still so much to do! 

So far, we've started packing up our perspective places, and bought an awesome washer/dryer set for a decent price. For whatever reason, it finally feels real. Making big purchases and big decisions always seems to have that effect on me. Tomorrow it'll be all about securing a house (hopefully it's still available!!) and running errands. Friday, we'll pick up the UHaul and Saturday we'll be out of here. Sunday through Thursday, we'll be unpacking and getting settled. Friday will be my meeting with the family I'll be working for, and on Saturday, Lauren and Tyler will be visiting with us in our new place and helping celebrate my 22nd birthday. Still nothing in the way of exercising and homework. Hopefully, everything will go back to normal after the move.

More updates soon.

Stay classy!

xoxo

The newest news that I know.

Let's talk about what I should be doing.

WHY must I have homework due (and lots of it!!) when important things happen in my life?

Seven days ago, I was fired from a job that I hated. Today, I was called by two new employers looking to hire me; one of which was in Tallahassee, the other of which was in Charlotte.

For all those not up-to-date on our business, we have spent the last week putting in dozens (literally) of applications. To be safe, we put in a few for Tallahassee. But we'd been hopeful that God would give us the opportunity to use this "end" as a new beginning. For a week, I've been praying hard, and asking for direction. When I got the call today about the position in North Carolina, I couldn't have been more ecstatic...or more sure that this is what we were supposed to be doing. I was practically screaming my excitement at David. And the job is perfect! More about that when it feels more real. For now, I just want to cry. So much to do in so little time. Leaving everything behind. Moving to a new place where I don't know anyone. Ya know.

So now it's that really annoying part of reality where I have to start thinking about expenses and have to make sure we have somewhere to live in the next week. We've got lots to pack, lots to toss, and lots to prepare for. Coming to Tallahassee was liberating because I knew I'd be out of my parents house, and on to new things. But sh** just got real, fools! For the first time, I'm taking a [monstrous] leap of faith without having much security. Soon, I'll be catching you up from our (gasp!) couch in our new apartment. What?

Oh, and while I have you here:

WE'RE NOT GETTING MARRIED. 

That seems to be the real issue (for the people we've told) with this whole moving in together thing. *Gag* Dealing with his night gas is enough. To damn myself for the rest of my life is a big step that I'm not willing to take just yet. But seriously. Let me help you off that high horse. I've been there, done that. Everyone remember Justin? Too soon, people. Too soon.

Moving right along.

If you're local and want to help, it would be much appreciated. We need some serious lifting and packing assistance. I believe we were talking about getting the truck on Saturday morning (19th) and heading out the same day. Unfortunately, this cuts into our first 5kness. Obviously, we can't be caught up worrying about 5king when we're planning on moving the same day. Priorities, right? Priorities and sadness. Speaking of fitness, I haven't run in what feels like forever. Homework and working out. Two things I have not attended to at all this week. Excellent.

Blessings in disguise

For those of you who haven't heard...work and I broke up. A sad reality...or not? It is really quite hysterical since I've been droning on about how much I hated my job. Unfortunately, now, we're just two unemployed bums looking for the big break. Luckily, they "were not required to give me a reason for termination", so I could apply for unemployment. Still. You're taking away my livelihood. Some explanation would have been appreciated. Turns out that I'm not the first (and assuredly not the last) to get terminated for standing up to management (ie. making it known that I was unhappy about the way things were being run). I think the saddest part about the whole ordeal is how close I was with my supervisor. She knew that David and I were pretty much sharing my income. She knew how much pressure I was under both at work and as the sole provider. Point and case why you should keep your superiors at a distance. I get too friendly. I'm your average chatty Kathy. I crave those friendships. This is my first to have gone sour, though. Sometimes a power trip is just what someone needs to ruin everything. But what goes around comes around, darling. No hard feelings.

These types of situations generally have good outcomes for me. God is so good! And He blesses my life in the strangest ways. We're hardcore looking for cash. But most importantly, we're looking for a new start. Somewhere new. Unless something pops up unexpectedly, I'd like to be done with Tallahassee. So we're searching. Searching for jobs elsewhere. Determining our budget for cute houses and apartments much sooner than I ever thought we would. And like everything, He will show us the way. In the meantime, we have SO much time to spend together, complete with sleeping in (for like the first time ever) and having the entire day to just get things done. So far, we've managed to visit my favorite museum in town, spend time with friends, exercise, set up a (one time) job for easy money (any one else need a home cleaning service?), make plans, and stay up all night talking without feeling rushed or obligated to hit the sack before 3am. And now, as 2am rounds the bend, I feel sort of liberated. The taste of freedom is so sweet. Let's hear it for not waking up and hating my life. Woo!

Yea, we actually go out in public like this.

And the best part about it? My darling David has been so wonderfully supportive. Sometimes he knows just what to say. I'm lucky.

On a crappy note, the straightener I bought (before the break up, mind you) arrived on Friday WITH EUROPEAN PLUGS. I mean...really? Really. You're an American. Selling products in America. And you don't bother to put on the item description that the product will be pretty much useless unless I want to spend more money to buy a converter? Jesus. The nerve!

I feel like I'll be blogging less regularly since I'll be spending more time at home. I should be able to get more homework, cleaning, and reading done. Speaking of homework, I have a 7 page paper due tomorrow night (tonight?). I should probably start that. I could say that I'm torn up about my job situation and couldn't bare to think about academics, but I'd be lying. No matter what, I still would have left it until the last minute. World's best procrastinator, people.

Thanks for the continued support through this crappy ordeal, dolls!

xoxo

Not a song link-up

Hello, no-longer-link-up-Thursday. What a beautiful sunshiney day.

Seriously though.

I'm sitting at my desk contemplating why I still work here. And how much longer. Let's analyze:

• Yay! I have a job.
• Yay! Ability to pay bills.
• Yay! No credit cards = no credit card debt.
• Yay! Fun trips with the beau.
• Yay! Leo doesn't starve.
• Yay! I don't starve.
• Yay! New things to feed my shopping addiction.

Why is money an essential part of my life??? I should have married rich. That's what my momma always told me to do. Sadness. Instead, I'm fending for myself and David on a meager $12/hour paycheck. Pretty good compared to other recent graduates, but I desperately need want something new before I jump out the window of the fourth floor of this stupid building. I wouldn't even die. I might just break a leg or two...if I'm lucky. If I could even break the window. I think we have that thick, bullet proof glass. It's a pipe dream, really.

That awkward moment when:

Everyone understands that you hate your job.

You hear that your "friend" is not really your friend, but secretly bitter that you undermine their authority by sticking up for yourself.
You understand all the horrible things people said about working for the state.

You feel guilty because you should appreciate the things you have.

You fail at being grateful, so you go back to hating it.

That's enough for now. Enjoy this song.

xoxo

That awkward moment when...

This weekend without David was strange. Waking up with a new boy in my bed provides additional, half-drowsy challenges. Though I'm sure Kossin wouldn't have minded a good morning kiss, I'm positive that David 2 (also known as boyfriend) would've felt encroached upon. It was a good weekend though. I never see enough of my favorite people (insert Lauren, Daniel, David, Angela, and Lee here) being as Tallahassee is literally in the middle of nowhere. Aside from being surrounded by other cities that are also in the middle of nowhere.

Saturday was spent mostly failing at everything. Our order ticket got lost when we went out to breakfast: cue 1.5 hours of waiting on a meal that would never come. After my first geocache (EPIC!), we picked up Mallory and headed downtown to the local crawfish boil. There was a cover charge to walk the street that didn't include the cost of food or drinks so we walked a few more blocks to check out the Saturday Farmer's Market...which apparently ends early in the afternoon. Then we drove across town to get smoothies and visit Mission San Luis (my favorite historical site in town). Surprise, surprise....closed 10 minutes prior to our arrival. We drove home and watched Easy A instead.

"My David" and I successfully finding my first Geocache. Also, WHY DON'T MY GLASSES EVER STAY ON MY FACE?

Additional awkwardness occurs when you're hanging out with the first guy you ever dated and his mother who pretty much thinks you're satan-spawn. Oh yea, and his entire extended family. Kossin always looks at me afterward, to which I usually respond with, "Don't. Say. Anything." Some encounters never stop being weird.

***

So, for any one who has attempted Insanity: kudos. Seriously. I didn't realize that the fit test would be so...high powered. I did half and then decided I'd rather run a marathon, naked, in the snow than do ten more minutes of the fit test. I settled for 5k, clothed, in Tallahassee humidity. Tomorrow's Day 1 should be an eye opener. Maybe we're in over our heads? It seems that jumping up and down and doing "power jacks" and scissor kicks only accomplishes one of three things: 1) Leo barks and pounces at my ridiculousness, 2) I scare myself as I hit the thin hardwood floor, sure I'm going to fall through, and 3) my legs--not my core--burn incessantly. I'm obviously doing it wrong, as well as sounding like a retarded dinosaur. If David still loves me after wedding dancing and embarrassing workout techniques, then he definitely deserves me. Or maybe it's me who deserves him. I'm a mess.

And briefly: this is my bajillionth week holding first place in our fantasy baseball league. Also, David tried to trade-rape me. Men don't know anything about how intuitive women are. But women always underestimate the ways in which men will try to manipulate them. You won't fool this girl!

I'll let you all know how Day 1 goes. Or doesn't. Stay classy, San Diego.

Not Nail Files...what??

I know, I know. You were really hoping for a nail file update. I've decided that I like the sleek look of my pink and whites, so I'm going to enjoy them for a little longer.


Surprisingly enough, I just had a hysterical conversation with a caller about how backward the state of Florida is, and how much "the system" sucks. Inefficiency! This state is ridiculous. But the more I think about it, the more I can acknowledge that I'm ready for employment change. Not because I'm bitter about how much my job description has changed since last year {ok, maybe a little}, but because my job has finally brought out the worst in me. It makes me angry, frustrates me, and creates inexcusable levels of aggravation and intolerance. I want to hang up on every person that calls, but not before telling them that FLORIDA is not the COUNTY that they live in (insert expletives here). On one hand, I wonder if God is putting me in these situations to amp up the pressure and give me something to try my nerves. But I go to bed at night dreading waking up at 6:30 am, and I wake up in the morning praying that I have a stomach virus, or some other unfortunate malady that will render me incapable of going to work. But like drugs, bad friends, partying, and living in a pretend-reality, I need to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible.

Needless to say, I've started job hunting and putting in some applications. We'll see how that goes.

Fitness Update! I got on the scale this morning only to find out that I lost another pound! Based on my poor diet choices last week, I feel pretty good about the loss, even though it's only one pound. Can I just say that I will NEVER again wait a week in between training days? Also, I will NEVER again forget to charge my iPod before a run day. Wednesday's run was SO painful on every part of my body, like I was running for the first time. I felt every pound of pressure, every stride, every time. I couldn't focus on my breathing (insert cramps here) because I was so focused on just finishing. At one point, I slowed down to barely jogging; afraid I would stop. It took some serious self-motivating to get myself going again. I was a mess, for real. Good news is that I ran a complete 5k in 35ish minutes, so less than 11 minutes a mile. Now if I could just stay focused on shortening my run time (to about 28 minutes), I'll feel good about May 19th. I'll have to run tonight and Sunday without David. Poo.

Last night, David and I reserved seats at Painting With A Twist. Paint and wine is the perfect combo! I had some delicious Beaujolais and enjoyed my typically horrendous artwork. It really wasn't that bad, but compared to David (no surprise here), I just sucked it up. I still hung it up in my room anyway. It was a blast. I recommend googling to see if there's one in your area.



We got to pick our own background color. David did a "sunset effect" and I chose a coral.



I had to cut Mr. "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TAKE PICTURES OF ME?" out per his request, but notice that his hand still makes an appearance.



Look at David's awesome shading skills on the left, and then over at my color disaster on the right. Oh well.



This weekend, the boys are off to Melbourne for some camping/gambling/baseball/sans-women adventures. No road trip is complete without chicken teragon sandwiches and snack packs, though. These boys (mostly just mine) are so damn spoiled. I think I'm just overcompensating for the fact that I really want kids. Luckily, "my David" (Kossin) will be in town for Sandy's graduation; offering a comparable solace for "David 2"s absence. Maybe I'll be able to get some homework finished and some sleep while David 2 is away. One can dream!

xoxo

South Florida Wedding Adventures

WOW!

It's so good to be home. 

Seriously. 

I don't think I've ever been this happy to just....do nothing.
And by do nothing I mean I'm back at work.
Man that sounds bitter.

Did I mention that I hate my job?
I suppose I'm lucky to have one.

 

First of all, the week leading up to the wedding was insane. Talk about exhaustion and deliriousness.

I think I spent 60% of my trip shopping. Which would normally be great, but no one likes to pressure-shop. I vaguely remember screaming at David to hurry the f* up...in my head...quite frequently. Sigh. Men don't understand urgency. We managed to get in some great quality togetherness, despite all the weddingness. 

I love these hats. I have about 8,234,238,765 pictures like this one. Just different hats. One day, I will collage them all for you.

Beachy! Sorry about forgetting to put sunblock on your other shoulder, baby.

My cutie and I waiting at the drive-in! This is when having a convertible works wonders.

Cabin in the Woods....eh. At least it was on a huge screen.

We love us some water parks! I got slashed on one of them, though. I'm likely to have contracted the HIV.

 We ate a LOT of food, but only ran one time over the course of 10 days. 

Neither of which was a good idea. Dammit. Yolo, right?

Yay, for FINALLY finishing the C25K. Now it's just maintenance. INSANITY starts May 1st! I'm sure I gained some weight back on the trip. I'll do a fitness update with details soon.

My absolute South Florida favorite! Havana's Cuban cuisine :D

California Pizza Kitchen: lettuce wraps, dynamite shrimp, and delicious pizza creations.

Dada's: amazinnnnnng rehearsal dinner. Baked brie is so wonderful.

While I'm not a fan of Mediterranean food, this arrangement made it look quite enticing. Not that I tried any of it...

This pizza (and three others) was delivered to us like this. Was it in your briefcase, delivery-man-sir? I got white-girl cray cray (more like Jersey girl crazy) and got us four FREE new pizzas.

Preparation for the wedding was ridiculous, if I do say so myself. So much to do in so little time!! We were working ourselves to death, but the wedding, itself, was beautiful. Everyone's hard work was definitely worth it. 

Midnight cake ball prep for the bridal shower.

The bridal shower Bunco was a hit! It was definitely one of my favorite nights of the week. Well, except for a bachelor party (ahem) mishap. The consensus is that men are generally stupid and inconsiderate.

Flower selection was a tedious (cold!) job. But we wound up having beautiful arrangements thanks to Donna (the groom's mother) and yours truly.

Check out these nails! We looked so hot after waxing (my first Brazilian!!), manis, and pedis. Being a woman is hard (expensive) work.

David, Me, Connor (Laur's brother), Lauren, and Tyler at the rehearsal dinner.

It was a great week for pictures. We got a new Panasonic Lumix for an awesome shelf deal!! Much more convenient than carrying around my huge Canon. 

11 years of awesomeness. And I finally found a coverlett for my dress that I loved!

We're seriously adorable. I love this man. Never in my life have I been so grateful.  

Wedding day prep! Lauren got all the girls customized hangers, bags, and robes. I can't wait to see the bridesmaids' photo shoot. Only slightly provocative and risque.

Damnnnnn, I looked good. Kristen (makeup) and Amanda (hair) were stellar. I actually ended up wearing a pair of the photographer's throw away contacts because Lauren decided she wanted me sans-glasses. I guess it worked out. I looked hot. :P

Forgive the boob grab picture. We were getting her into her dress. She looked great!

I love this picture. While it looks like Sky is getting ready to hit me, we were actually showcasing our dance moves for the bridal party.

What an awesome bridal party: Nick, Me, Connor, Lauren, Ty, Sky, Lopez, Amanda, Kyle

A balancing act: this is what happens when the bride is super short. Thank God for parking garages and car stops.

Yay! Post "I do" pictures.

Decorating this gymnasium (which also doubled as my high school IB testing site) only took about 5 hours. I wish I had gotten a picture after all the flowers and centerpieces were out, but it still looks awesome in this pic! Great work, decorating team!

Sweaty dance faces. What a trooper.

My other David.

A hilarious rendition of the garter find. The flower girl thought it was a cute game and wanted in.

He totally showed me up on the dance floor, which doesn't surprise me. I tried though, I really did.

"Now all that's left is yours!" I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard that lately. Jesus, people. I'm trying to get my life on track here! Stop pushing me! It did, however, redefine the reasons I'm in love with him. Weddings and stress always do that. I'm a lucky girl. Without him, I would have been an anxious, crazy mess.

The last exciting adventure happened just when we thought we were in the clear. The exhaust manifold in my car completely cracked, leaving my car sounding much like a run-down, old, crappy motorcycle. If it's not one thing, it's another with this stupid car. The repair barely burned a hole in my wallet, but the mustang sounds better than ever. All that's left now is unpacking, organizing, and getting back on schedule by eating properly and exercising regularly. Oh yeah, and catching up on the 70-some-odd blogs that I read. Hello!

xoxo

Missed you guys!