Thanksgiving Break

I swear I almost felt like I was in college again this past week.

I started off my holiday break on Tuesday night. I drove home and had dinner with my parents then I did my usual Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition. I wrapped. Since I worked retail in high school, my Mom loves to get me to wrap the gifts (every gift expect my own of course). While sometimes I cocmplain a little, I really do enjoy doing this. Wrapping has always been something I have loved and for the past few years we traded ugly sticky bows for real Christmas ribbon that makes big bows! I love it. Our Christmas tree is always packed with gifts and of course the wrapping looks really good.

Wednesday Mom and I got up earlyish and went downtown to get a little shopping done. Wrapsody (the old Heartstrings opened early). They had so much cute stuff! After Wrapsody, I had an eye dr appt at 10 am, but the office so kindly scheduled me with a dr that doesnt do contacts. I only wear contacts. Needless to say, it was kind of a waste of time. I did get some contacts from my old prescription to hold me over until I can get a new appointment. After my appt, I ended up meeting my mom again and we continued shopping. I bought some of the Christmas gifts I needed, but of course I didn't get it all done. I still have to buy for my brothers, they are always so hard to buy for. Mom and I ended up shopping ALL day, it was nice to spend some time with her!

Thursday! Thanksgiving... oh now this was such a good day. My grandmother is getting too tired to have my entire big family at her house so we ended up all just meeting at my aunts house in Greenville, Al. I haven't seen my dad's side of the family in so long so it was nice to finally have everyone together and enjoy eachother's company. We spent the entire day eating, laughing, talking, and eating some more. We were only about an hour and a half or so from Auburn so we headed back around 5 to beat some of the football traffic that was expected in Auburn for the Friday night game.

Every Thanksgiving some Auburn friends of mine and I get together and have Drunksgiving. Oh man this is always a very interesting party. Thanks to Charlie, we always have an awesome time that definetely lives up to it's name.

Friday was football Friday. No Black Friday shopping for me, just gameday prep and rest. Mom and Dad gave me their ticket to the game (THANKS MOM AND DAD) so I took my friend Jay with me. What an awesome game, I just wish the ending was as awesome. Despite the loss I was so proud of my Tigers! After the game I met up with Amanda and some other friends and we had an awesome night on the town.

Saturday was really low key, basically football and laying around. I did get to see Jess and her boyfriend Saturday night which was nice. We ended up going out (again) but this time we were all way too tired and only lasted about an hour. I'm getting to old for all these late nights, especially consecutive ones!

I headed home Sunday. I left thinking, surely there will be no traffic. Haha funny joke. I sat in traffic on 85 for longer than I ever have before. There were no wrecks, just morons who don't know how to drive. Annoying. When I finally got home, I headed up to Alpharetta to see Jonathan. A whole week without seeing him, that was weird, but we survived. I was glad to be back.

Overall, my Thanksgiving Break was awesome. I was so glad to see everyone and have some fun in Auburn. Now it's back to work. We do have our company Christmas party tomorrow night though, should be an interesting and fun night. I'm thinking sick day on Friday :)! I'll keep you posted!

Today I am Thankful

Because my Thanksgiving "break" starts this afternoon and I'm not sure how much computer time I will have... I thought in the spirit of Thanksgiving I would write a list of the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for having a family that loves me and would do anything for me regardless.

I am thankful for my job, while at times I struggle with the tasks at hand, and really being happy where I am, I am learning a patience I did not know before and I am gaining critical knowledge I could never have learned in school.

I am thankful for the lessons I have learned over the past 9 months. It's been a crazy and emotional 9 months in Atlanta and I will always cherish what I have experienced and look forward to what is still to come.

I am thankful for my afternoon conversations with my Mom almost every afternoon on my way home from work. My mom is such a wonderful woman and the perfect example of how I want to be as a mom one day.

















I am thankful for my friend Elizabeth Pierce. Despite how far away she is, she is always there for me. She is one of the only people who can really understand my exact thoughts on my job and can share how she has coped or dealt with similar issues and of course we both have the other to vent to.

I am thankful for Amanda Woo. My bestfriend since 8th grade. She has been by my side (in spirit now that college took her away) for all the good times, the bad times, and the times I will never forget. She is a blessing.

I am thankful for my little shishter. And our shtupid new language that we ushe when we talk to eachother. She is a messh, but despite all our argumentsh as teenagersh, we love eachother and I couldn't imagine a better shishter to have.

I am thankful for my daddy. A man who would give anything for his children, to make us happy and comfortable. I love him with all my heart and truly believe I have the best father ever.

I am thankful for Jonathan. He has been such a great friend to me since we have met and he knows me better than anyone else. He lets me be as goofy, crazy, sad, happy or normal as I want and has never looked at me differently.

I am thankful for Jessica. She has been such a loyal and wonderful friend to me since we met in college.

I am thankful for big brother Caleb. He works so hard and despite all the hardtimes I give him, he has made me a better person.
I am thankful for my brother Daniel. His patience and strength, knowledge and wittiness is something I have always admired.

I am thankful for Lindsay for being such a great friend, even as she plans a wedding, gets situated in a new job and a new town.

I am thankful for my relationship with God and the strength he gives me.

I am thankful for my Mags. No matter how bad a day I have, having that ball of fur greet me at the door always puts a smile on my face. No matter how big of a pain she is sometimes, I love that dog.

I am thankful for the memories I have and the memories I will make.

Of course I am thankful for so many things, and for all of my friends, all my family and all my experiences, but it would take me years and years to list them all.

There is a brighter side... I hope.

Well, I have been the worlds absolute worst blogger over the past month or so!

I mean I forgot Halloween, trips to Auburn, and more!

So lets rewind. Halloween was a great weekend. I ended up going to the South Carolina (JJs team) Tennessee game which was on Halloween. We (like a few other fans) wore our costumes to the game! Kind of fun! I enjoyed being somewhere different and being in Knoxville for the first time. I did however wonder how in the world they convince people to go to the University of Tennessee. There is nothing really exciting about the campus, it isnt all that pretty, and I just wasnt impressed. Maybe I'm just biased... Either way, in my SEC campus visits, I have found no place better than Auburn.

Last weekend I went to Athens. Loved seeing the people I saw, but wasnt thrilled about the outcome of the game. Parker (my best guy friend) was down there! I havent seen him in so long. He was overseas as a Marine fighting for our country and I missed him! But he is back and ready to start college. I am so proud of him! Amanda also made the trip up. I called her earlier in the week and told her I had a free ticket with her name on it if she could make it to Athens. She did! I was so thrilled! I miss having her around all the time.

I have never been a huge fan of Athens in general, but I wonder if I don't like it because I've only been when it is extremely crowded from football games. I am going to try to give it one last try and maybe then I will see what everyone else seems to see in that city. And just for the record for the two times I have been in Athens, Auburn has lost. I dont think I will be going back for another Auburn UGA game ever again. haha.

Went to Auburn for several games over the past almost 2 months! Got to see some great friends. Man that makes me miss Auburn and everyone so much though. Which brings me to my emotional rant of the blog.

Over the past few weeks I have really been missing all my really close friends from highschool and college. Amanda is all the way in Mobile, a 5-6 hour drive from Atlanta. Elizabeth is all the way in Birmingham, a 2 hour drive, Lindsay has left me in Atlanta to move to Thomasville/Tallahassee, a 3-4 hour drive, and Jess is in Auburn, but is in Birmingham so many weekends with her boyfriend and of course my mom and sister are in Auburn 2ish hours away.

It's just hard to have everyone I love so close for so long and then all of a sudden have none of them. I have great friends here in Atlanta, but they all have their Amandas, Elizabeths, Jessicas and Lindsays close by so it's hard. I miss girls nights, The Bachelorette nights (even though I won't watch that show anymore), Wine Night, Wednesday Night drink specials, random Friday nights and all the random talks I had with all of them.

AND on top of that. I am having some issues with my job. I totally love my company and I love my coworkers, but I've always expected more of myself with work and right now I feel like I have hit a wall. Most of it is my fault, and I totally understand that, but its hard to expect and want more for yourself and know that there is nothing that you can do right now to fix it. I have to change my attitude, step back, and just be happy I have a job. I need to make the best of my situation and do what I need to do to make myself proud and happy to be doing something.

It's just been a rough week I think. Things will look up. I know they will.

More exciting news!

Another friend from college got engaged last night! Jessica and Taylor, on of the most amazing couples, are getting married! I am so excited for the two of them. I love weddings, wedding festivities, and everything that comes along with engagements and weddings. But, this engagement made me think.

I think I love other people's weddings, but the idea of having one myself right now is not even a thought. Not that I don't want to get married some day, I just don't have any desire for that to happen soon.

But now I'm thinking, by the time I eventually get married (whenever that day comes) all my close girlfriends (or a lot of them) will be married! I'm gonna have a bunch of old married people in my wedding. Haha. I see some positives and some negatives, but mostly positives. I will have a fountain of knowledge from people who have learned through their own experiences. This will be a group who won't be afraid to tell me the hard parts, the challenges, the arguments that are ahead in my future. I might have a wedding party full of pregnant people :). Maybe by that time they will be ready for an amazing girls weekend (a weekend away from their husbands) for my Bachelorette Party.

But after thinking about all of that, one question still remained...

Since they will all be married will they be my bridesmatrons instead of my bridesmaids? haha.

Congratulations Jessica and Taylor! I'm so happy for you!

I'm sick

I'm sick. Thankful its just a cold (I think) and nothing more serious, but still sick. I woke up one morning barely able to breathe, throat hurting, carrying a really annoying cough. Awesome, 10 years ago I would have bounced back perfectly fine. Felt fine, just as if nothing was wrong with me at all. Nope not now, Im not even that old and sickness is already a lot harder than it used to be. I dont bounce back as quickly, I feel worse than I ever remember feeling, and I'm tired. Ugh.

Hopefully I can get rid of all of this by Friday night. I'm headed back to Auburn for a weekend of living it up "college" style. I'm so excited to see everyone and finally go out on the town. (I havent done it once since I've been back during the games.) If I'm not feeling better, I'm bringing a stash of DayQuil that will help me make it through the weekend! I'm determined to enjoy myself and do everything to my lil hearts content. Very Very excited!

Still trying to get myself situated in the house, but everything is starting to come together. While I was home sick from work yesterday Comcast finally came to set up our cable. I don't even think you understand my excitement. I did not turn the tv off one time before I went to bed. Even if I wasn't watching it, I left it on just for the noise. Now that is a luxury I definetely took for granted before. We also got our washer and dryer yesterday and our fridge got set up for the ice maker, AND our pantry went in. Whew, it was a good day. Now when I get home I'm going to turn on the tv, wash a load of clothes, put my food in the pantry and enjoy some ice cold beverage.

TV came just in time, I'm watching the South Carolina Ole Miss game tonight and cheering for Jonathan's Gamecocks (even though he won't cheer for my Tigers)! Go Gamecocks!

And Tigers vs. Ball State! (Saturday 7:45 EST). War Damn Eagle!

Another Auburn Weekend

I spent another weekend in dear 'ol Auburn this past weekend. I wasnt planning to go back home, but after my ordeal with getting tv again, I decided I would rther go home and watch the game than to sit in Atlanta and not be able to watch anything. (more to come on that)

Anyways I spent the weekend with the parents. I mentally was not prepared to head to the bars and fight all the crowds that tend to form during football season. So mom and I did some shopping, bought some of the little things I needed for the house. I went to the game on Saturday with an old friend and had a good time. I swear I've decided that so long as I dont get too excited at the games, Auburn plays well. So I'm going to try to tone down my enthusiasm despite how hard it is! Either way, Auburn won! And the score totaled more than 5 points this year! I was so proud!

Now about my tv, DISH was supposed to come out and install on Thursday. Well, since where I live is surrounded by trees, the satellites were blocked and we cannot get it anymore. (the DISH people are so nice and I wish the trees werent there so we could have them. They even offerend to come out and cut downs ome of our trees!) But we didnt want them to have to do that, so we are still TVless. Comcast is taking their sweet time coming to the house too. The promised to come by on Sunday (my roommate even called them and they told her someone was on the way). Well it is now Tuesday and we still have not seen them. Those people will lie straight to your face. Anyways we are set up to have them come by on Thursday (we will see if this actually happens or not). I'll keep you updated. I think Comcast needs to hire some new PR people to turn around the terrible customer service reputation. Or they could actually try to change their customer service.

My roommate is now back from Ireland and the dogs have officially met. Nancy wasnt home when I got back to Atlanta but I heard Watson (the dog) downstairs. He was in his crate so I just took Maggie (my dog) down there. Oh goodness, I thought he was going to eat her. He was not loving that situation at all. So I took Maggie back upstairs and then went to introduce myself to the dog first. He was probably terrified that there was a new person and dog that he had never seen before. Anywho, I got acquainted with him and then put him on a leash and brought Maggie back down (I figured Maggie listens to me so there was no need to have her on a leash). This time the meeting went a lot better. Maggie was a little scared at first, but now they are good friends, constantly playing. It's so nice to have a friend for Mags still.

Well this weekend I am staying in town (I think) and hopefully doing something fun. But next weekend I will e back on the Plains! This time with some of my graduate friends! Cannot wait to see everyone!

Labor Day weekend

Man it was a crazy weekend. Thursday night I enjoyed the kickoff of football season, South Carolina vs. NC State. Thankfully the Gamecocks won! But the real fun started on Saturday.



To prepare for my weekend I took off work on Friday to drive to Auburn early and beat some of the traffic. I thought I would leave sometime in the morning, but I ended up getting stuck until around 2. Had so much stuff to do before leaving. I wasn't just leaving for the weekend, I was moving to a new place on Sunday and had to have all of my stuff out of the other place on Friday. (more on that in a minute)



I finally made it to Auburn and got to spend some time with my family. I also got to see my best friend Amanda, my good friend Parker, Jay, and some other people I haven't seen in forever! It was nice to be in Auburn during football season, even though it is a lot different now that Auburn isn't my home anymore.



Friday night Amanda and I wanted to meet up with some folks and ended up in the least likely place ever. A fraternity house. Now I have nothing against fraternities, in fact, I like most of them, but it felt soo weird being in one as an alumni. I felt so old. Everyone there seemed to be like 18 or 19. I guess Im not that much older, but in the 4 years that you are in college you grow so much and I saw a lot of people who had A LOT of growing to do. After the party (which we stayed at for like an hour) we met up with some friends at a tailgate. Had a great time listening to music and mostly people watching.



Saturday (GAME DAY) was really good. I had to get up really early to go to the Uhaul place with my dad so that we could go pick up my brand new bedroom furniture. I am absolutely in love with it. (Picture below)





Not all the pieces fit in my room, but I just put one in the office since I wont be bringing in a desk. I then met up with some friends and tailgated before the game. I sat (rather stood in the student section) for most of the game before I got hungry and was ready to leave. My Tigers pulled out a win and I was so happy! War Damn Eagle! Can't wait for the rest of the season!





Now on to Sunday! It took 3 full car loads, a little storage in Jonathan's car, the bed of a truck and a uhaul to move everything I own from Alpharetta/Auburn to the house I was moving too. Dad and Jonathan carried all my furniture in for me and got it all set up! (So thankful for them!) They also got my tv mounted and up on my wall. Now all I have to do is wait for the cable to be installed! I've been watching movies in the meantime. Mom, Dad, Jonathan and I were busy all day and Mom and Dad didnt get home until late late at night. I wanted them to be able to have their Monday off though so I was glad to get everything done.



Monday I lounged, all day! I unpacked a little, not much left though. I was so tired from the move that Maggie and I napped and woke up jus tin time to drive to Alpharetta and watch the Florida St. Miami game. (Had to go to Alpharetta since I had no cable!)


So basically Im trying to adjust to the new house. Trying to get Maggie adjusted as well. She slept horribly the first night, but she just wasnt used to the new place. She loves it now and is loving her new big backyard.


This weekend I cant decide if I want to go home to see the family and do some last minute shopping for the house, or if I would rather just enjoy being in Atlanta and doing nothing. I guess i will just have to see!