rambling

well, i find you tonight while jamming out to pandora. right now, lil bow wow is singing to me :) makes me miss high school. so much.

i have been cleaning.  more than a touch of laundry to make it to the next time i need clean work pants. i have vacuumed every inch of this house. i just finished mopping and now i am about to dust and clean the bathroom. that's more than i've done at one time in a very long time. maybe ever. and the best part of it is that friday my college friend jamie is staying with me!

the reason she's in town is because we are going to meet up with the other lovely girls that helped each other survive college. i can't wait to be with most of the 17 girls that taught me everything i need to know how to be a teacher. it is also the anniversary of the tornado that hit tuscaloosa. i have been  reminded so many times how thankful i am. i am excited and comforted in knowing my friday night will be filled with lots of memories and laughs.

the past weekend was spent in guntersville, aka the best home on earth. it was my mom's birthday, so i surprised her with a lunch with her childhood friends. it was great to see her back with her friends. i know how wonderful it is to be around the people who know you best. it had been too long for her. i baked a wonderfully simple cake, that literally fell apart. oh well. then we had a cook out saturday night with family. a perfect way to spend my weekend.

here's a happy picture from college. i can't wait to be with these girls. :)

what's a girl to do

So, Friday I started feeling bad. Saturday was a little worse and by Sunday I couldn't get out of bed. I slept most of the day Sunday. Monday morning, I felt better. By the time I got to work, I thought I was going to die. I carried my butt to the doctor...only to find out that I was ordered to rest and "NO WORK" today. But today is state testing. Yes, I had to miss a HUGE day in  the life of a teacher. I don't know what my kids did today but I hope I am able to give them the test later this week. Probably not. Since I have had the day off, and can only watch so many episodes of Law and Order SVU, so I have been catching up on some blogs and ordered a dress. :) As much as I hate missing work and being very sick, I love being able to rest.

life

It's been crazy busy around my way lately. Since I bought my new car, I was nervous about the payments and still being able to survive every month. So, my sweet friend hired me at Banana Republic. That job has been a huge blessing. I work with amazing people, get a great discount, and work doing something that is kinda fun. :) I am not a huge fan of folding, but hey, it pays the bills. haha. So, I teach my 'rowdy group' during the day, and fold at night. Most nights I am so tired when I get home I barely can make it to the bed. Needless to say, I am so ready for summer.
The Hunger Games.
I refused to read the books because of all the hype...until my friend Jamie called and asked me to go to the movie. I quickly read the 1st book, fell in love with the story line, and now am happy I read it. I didn't think the movie was as good as the books, but are they ever?! I just finished the 2nd one and can't wait to start the 3rd.
I was able to get the flea situation under control. I took sweet Millie to the vet on Friday. They gave her a pill that kills the adult fleas immediately and I bought Frontline. She's a much happier kitty.
That's all for now. Happy Sunday :)

fleas.

My baby has fleas. Everywhere. How in the world did this happen? Millie is an indoor kitty. Her perfect paws have only touched concrete a few times when she made a run for it. I am beside myself. She's scratching like crazy. What can I do?! HELP!!

mexican taco wrap thing

Oh. My. Gosh.
My fabulous sister-in-law and brother told me about this new mexican dish Amanda had put together. I tried it tonight. It was delish!! So here's how you make the easiest, best, homemade Mexican taco wrap thing.
First, brown ground beef and throw in the taco seasoning. Get a can of croissants and spread out it out on cookie sheet. Sprinkle cheese and Rotel tomatoes on top. Once your meat is ready, spread that on top. Cut slits on the outside of the croissants. Fold them up so they meet in the middle. Cook for 12-14 minutes on 350. And voila!!! You have an amazing dinner. Trust me, you gotta try it. You'll thank me later.

she's mine

I am the proud owner of a beautiful black Honda Accord!! I didn't think I was ready to buy a car, but like they say, "when you know, you know." And that's exactly how I felt when I sat in her for the first time :) I am still deciding on name.

Things have been crazy busy this month...and I want to update you on my new year's goals. I was able to leave work by 4:30 everyday. Some days I was literally running out at 4:30, but I made it out. Not eating out was hard. But, until last week, I had not eaten out. With work being crazy, I had to eat out a few times. I am going to continue not eating out during the month of February. I feel much better about the foods going in my body when I cook them.

729 days

It's been 729 days since my daddy died. In the last two years, there have been some amazing changes in my life that he would be really proud of, a few he would be mad about. That's the thing about not having him around. When something great happens, I talk to him in my head. I play how I would call him and tell him ALL about it. I imagine what he would say.
Then on days when I really need to talk to him, I still talk to him in my head, but it's through sobs. I think about all the ways he would help me and the things he would tell me, just to make me smile. Even if I am sobbing. 
My brother has been an amazing stand in dad on so many occasions. It's just not the same. I miss him terribly. Because of the terrible storm that has destroyed the community I work in, I was too busy today to think about it. And I hope I am really busy tomorrow too.
Here are some of my favorite memories as I remember the first man I ever loved. Bubba, you don't count. You were a 5 year old boy when I first loved you! :)
1. My softball games when he would sit behind the home plate to talk to when I was catching.
2. Working for him during high school.
3. Him driving me in the homecoming parade senior year.
4. Seeing him cry as he dropped me off at Tutwiler.
5. Him refusing to let me wear a white Abercrombie skirt that was WAY too short.
6. Seeing him sitting in his chair waiting on me to get home, watching the clock to make sure I wasn't a second late.
7. Carving pumpkins.
8. Going to Marvin's in Albertville to pick our Christmas tree.
9. Dancing in the kitchen when we got a CD player for the kitchen.
10. Alabama's homecoming game my 4th grade year. All 4 of us wore matching Alabama sweatshirts. ROLL TIDE! :)

Daddy, I hope you're proud of the little girl you raised to be a woman. I am trying hard every day to make you the proudest daddy in the world. I miss you more than words can express. Love--Tiny

weather

I discovered Sunday that Birmingham was supposed to get some bad weather late Sunday/early Monday morning. And if you know me, you know I HATE bad weather. So, I stayed up late on Sunday waiting on the weather. Nothing...so I went to sleep and woke up at 3 to the sirens blaring. I turned on the news and found out the storms was coming for Birmingham. I quickly jumped, gathered my tornado ready stuff, and sat bright-eyed. The storms passed me, but did hit the community I work in. I didn't realize how bad the storm was until I logged into facebook yesterday and saw pictures. I can't imagine what the people are going through. Although this storm wasn't as bad as April 27th, it's still very scary and sad for the people in Center Point, Clay, and Trussville. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

enough said.

loves part 2

 This morning we went for a walk to the bay. I don't want this weekend to end. Ever. 

loves

I couldn't be a happier girl right now. I am sitting in the living room in pajamas, watching the Bachelor, and hanging out with my best friends :) Life doesn't get much better!! Have a great weekend.

New Year

This NYE was the best I've ever experienced...and it's probably because I wore this guy--- And now it's for sale :) Size 6. At the bargain price of $25. If you want it, email me. I'd love for someone else to enjoy it as much as I did!! I just don't think I'll be able to wear it again.
I've decided to make monthly goals instead of a new year's resolution. So far, I've only gotten 3 monthly goals. Here they are...
Jan- No eating out and leave work by 4 30 everyday.
Feb- Do something out of the ordinary once a week and read 2 books for fun.
March- Volunteer somewhere at least twice and exercise 3 times a week.
I'll keep you posted on how those goals turn out. So far, only a week in, I've been able to not eat out. And I've done really fun things with the money I would have spent if I'd eaten out. So it's a great trade.
I hope you had a fantastic NYE experience :) And ROLLLLL TIDE!!!