Happy Travels

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by loved ones and delicious food! Christmas day, like every year, I traveled up to LaGrange, GA to see my huge and amazing family. We always get together on the 26th to do a big Christmas, which I loved as a little kid because I had Christmas two days in a row. This year there were a lot more people crammed into my grandparents house as our family continues to grow. It was an especially exciting Christmas because my first cousin brought his girlfriend and while she was washing dishes so I could keep cooking, I noticed a little sparkle on her left hand. Soon after, they announced to the whole family that they are engaged! It was an exciting day and full of laughter and soooo much yummy food. BBQ, coleslaw, potato salad, fruit trays, carrot cake, snowballs, cookies, and much much more. It was also really nice to catch up with some of my favorite cousins, one of which, in true redneck fashion, invited Nick and me back up in a few weeks for a "Beaver dam blow-up" party. We have a beaver problem on part of our farm and they've managed to flood about 36 acres, and Buck is determined to blast them to the moon, so naturally Nick and I will be there to enjoy the show.
Today we made the 8-9 hour drive back home to T-ville and tomorrow afternoon I'll be getting right back in the car and heading up to Niceville, FL to see Nick :) and meet his family. It's been over two weeks and we're kind of starting to miss each other. I've made pumpkin bars, snowballs, and picked fresh grapefruit and oranges to bring up there. Basically I'm bribing his parents to like me. Hopefully it works. :)
Once again, I hope everyone has had an amazing Christmas and best wishes for 2010!

Warm peaches

Ally: "I don't like peaches that are warmed up."

Kyla: "What about peach cobbler?"

Ally: [serious face] "I do not like warm peaches. I feel like fruit should be cold."

Kyla: "What about warm apples?"

Ally: "No thank you."

Kyla: "What about apple pie?"

Ally: "Nope."

Kyla: "Not even from McDonald's?"

Ally: "No ma'am."

Kyla: "What about my homemade apple pie?"

Ally: "Exceptions can always be made."


Love, hugs, and friends that are just as crazy as you. :)

Surprises!

I woke up this morning looking forward to shopping with my momma and spending time with friends, but knowing that this is only day 2 of 7 that I wouldn't be able to talk to Nick since he's on a Caribbean cruise and will be out of the country. So my momma and I went to Viera to finish up our Christmas shopping and were very successful. On the way home we picked up our Christmas cards and my phone started ringing. I thought, "Gosh I wish it was Nick calling", thinking it was my dad or someone else. But when I looked at the caller ID it was none other than the very person I wanted to talk to! I answered and Nick said, "SURPRISE! I have international calling! I thought it would be a nice little surprise for you. Well at least I think I have an international plan..." Haha, so anyway I got to talk to him for a while and am now a very happy camper. I'm choosing to overlook the fact that he's in Cozumel on a beach soaking up the sun and I'm in tiny town, Florida addressing the never-ending stack of Christmas cards.

Love, hugs, and good surprises :)

Oh Titusville, how is it that you NEVER change? Oh a little road construction here and there, sure, but the mall? Still empty. Publix? Still where you'll see everyone and their mom/cousin/2nd grade teacher. Sunrise Bakery? Still the best coffee. And the annual Christmas Parade? Still the biggest event of the whole year. Trust me, EVERYONE in T-ville will be there, including me :) Just because I poke fun doesn't mean I don't participate.

Almost....

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm about to head to campus for my first and last final of the hardest (and funnest) semester of my life. After sitting through a miserable hour and a half-ish I then get to sit in the car by myself and drive a super fun and entertaining 4 hours home (that was dripping in sarcasm in case you didn't catch it). But it's all good. It's the holidays :)

We can do it real big, bigger than you ever done it...

I'm back! And this time for good. I only have one more exam and then I'm donezo for the semester so I'll actually have time to share my life with all you lovelies. So time for updates...

About a month ago I started dating a wonderful guy who I like to refer to as shnookums. (Haha jk jk). I met Nick in my advanced sports reporting class. He was my photographer and I was his reporter for the Christian Ponder story. We had to spend a lot of time together to work on the story, however we ended up spending A LOT of time together going out to Mellow Mushroom to "talk about the feature" or to parties with a bunch of friends from our classes. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was falling for him. I guess the feeling was mutual because he told me he wants to be with me and only me and here we are a month later, happy as can be. When Ponder got hurt, we had to change stories and ended up doing a feature on a hilarious volleyball player, Brianna Barry. She was a ball girl for the team when she was little and now she's the star and they're headed to the sweet 16 this week so it's pretty exciting. Here's the video!



We won "best team" (how ironic is that!?) and we tied for best overall feature of the semester, which is a BIG deal. These features air on Sun Sports every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and it has been so fun working on them, even if at times it felt like it was going to kill me. It was all worth it and I can't wait to take it again next semester with all of my favorite media production friends (including Nick). :)

On a different note, but still so so exciting... my good friend and hairdresser just called and told me that she has a beautiful baby girl with a full head of dark hair. Congratulations Shannon! I can't wait to see her!

Love, hugs, and livin' the good life...

Partyyyy ;)

First of all, quick update... the relationship status has changed a bit, but I think it's all for the best.

On a lighter note, you should all watch this gem of a video. It will change your life.



You're welcome :)

~Allyrae

Don't hate me!

Ok so I realize I am officially the worst blogger ever and I apologize! As soon as classes got underway things got so crazy. Between 4 senior level polisci and communication classes as well as a super time-consuming advanced sports features class, it's been a tad hectic.

So time for a quick update, reporting is going well. I'm on sunsports just about every Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. I've met so many awesome people through the production program here at FSU (I actually just had an interview with the oh-so-attractive starting quarterback, Christian Ponder, today) and have formed so many great friendships.

The roomies and I love living together. We basically just laugh all night long and make fun of my sugar obsession. :)

In the love department... the special someone I mentioned back in that last post is still around and we're very happy. :) I guess we'll see where things go!

Well that's all for now! I promise to try and be a better blogger!!

Stay classy ;)

Oh what a day...

Yesterday was quite the day. I had planned on sleeping in and taking my time getting packed and making sure I had all the school stuff I needed for a weekend at home (the pseudo-sis's bridal shower is tomorrow!). However, the morning had other plans for me.

Instead of blissfully sleeping till noon, my poor roomie woke up the hibernating bear (me) at 8 am to inform me that I needed to get out of bed because the pest control people were on their way to the house. En route. Mind you, I've had no coffee yet. Or food. And I'm not exactly a sweet southern belle in the morning. Yet here I am, in my pajamas, coffeeless, foodless, showerless, and am faced with the task of packing for the weekend in 5 minutes. I found a bag and started throwing clothes into it, randomly grabbed textbooks, and managed to grab a cinnamon roll before heading out the door.

So I called my loves that live in an apartment complex nearby and asked if I could crash there for a while. And as luck would have it, they were on their way to the bus stop. Go figure. I talked them into waiting for me to get there and promised I would drive them to class. So that's exactly what I did. Dropped them off at campus in my pajamas with my hair in a big crazy mess, no makeup, and basically looking like death warmed over.

After a hot shower and clean clothes I was in a much better mood for the long drive home. And at the end of that long drive home was dinner with my momma and some quality time with a really great guy. :) We went out to the river to watch the shuttle go up and had a really great time just talking. Could this be the start of something? ;)

Love, hugs, and days that get progressively better...

The princess and the pea

When I get in bed I want to practically sink into it. Like disappear. I want the mattress to be soft and the mattress topper to be a nice big fluffy addition of wonderfulness. A friend lounging in my bed one time called it a "cloud bed". An appropriate description.

So imagine my horror when the bed my parents lugged all the way from our place in NC was about as soft as the Rosetta Stone. But have no fear! The mattress topper is here! Wrong. The mattress topper I bought from Target was lumpy and the opposite of comfy.

Commence Mission Find Mattress Topper.

To make a long and lumpy story short, after what felt like a dozen trips to Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, and Macy's, I ended up using the original lumpy mattress topper as well as a super plush Martha Stewart one on top of that. They added so much fluff that you can barely see my headboard. However, the goal was achieved. :) I sink when I crawl in and no one would ever know there is a rock of a mattress underneath.

Just like the Princess and the Pea...

Back in Tally!

Guess who's back in Tallahassee!? Yep, yesterday I filled Old Faithful to the brim with clothes, shoes, and thats about all it would hold... We then made the long trek back north to the land of big brick buildings and huge oak trees. Upon arrival at my home sweet Tally home, my wonderful roomies helped unload my cars and I tried to get my room pulled together. We have a super charming house so I figured I would share some photos with you!


kitchen


dining room... aren't the mismatched chairs adorable! and there is a big painting of magnolia blooms on the opposite wall...


my room!


living room!


my little study area :)


hydrangeas = love

Hope ya'll like it!

Love, hugs, and charming homes :)

Help! Danger!

It's no secret that I have a shopping problem. (The psuedo-sis actually called the other day to see if I would watch Shopaholic with her because my talk of shopping issues earlier in the day made her want to watch it.) And it's also no secret that I have a severe weakness for a good pair of jeans. So will someone PLEASE talk me out of buying these gorgeous (but expensive) beauties!!??





But I really won't be upset if you say they're so dang cute that I should go ahead and treat myself. I mean it has been a long summer...

Love, hugs, and putting the credit card in the freezer...

Coolest wedding dance EVER...

Came across this the other day and LOVED it so I thought I would share it with all of you. There was also a very fun one where the wedding party did a whole shindig down the aisle during the wedding ceremony that was featured on either the Today Show or Good Morning America, I can't remember which.

Enjoy!



Love, hugs, and fun weddings :)

Magnolia May

My two beautiful roommates and I have a new addition to our humble household... a sweet precious beagle puppy named Magnolia (Maggie May for short)!


She's already a little water bug like her mommy :)



She really likes Philip for some reason...


And let the "awwww"s begin!

Love, hugs, and puppy love...

Uh oh...

Oh boy... Where to begin? I guess I'll just come out with it. I broke my boss's kayak trailer. Bent the axle actually, which cost $350 to replace. I promptly gave them the money, even though they're insisting I only pay for half while I'm insisting on paying for all of it. I then proceeded to get on victoriassecret.com and spend 150 more buckaroos.

Oh retail therapy, how I've missed you.

Suntrust is not going to be happy...

Catch up

Whew! It's been a rough and tough couple weeks, but now, for the most part, the storm has passed and things are starting to get back to normal. Now time to play catch up!

My beautiful bestie over at
Have Your Cake and Eat It Too sent me a couple awards that I have yet to formally accept and pass on. So here goes!



Thanks Ky! As well as...



Here are the rules:
*Each blogger must post these rules.
*Each blogger must list ten random facts/habits about themselves and pass the award on to other recipients.
*The award recipients then need to do the same.
*Don't forget to leave a comment telling the recipients about the award!

My Random Facts:
1. I love sweet tea more than I've loved several boys.
2. My left eye is half blue and half brown.
3. I've attempted to write a few novels and still seem to think I'll finish one someday.
4. I'm a water bug. LOVE the water.
5. I live for some good NC BBQ.
6. I'd rather drive a stick shift.
7. My best friend could be my twin.
8. I sleep with about 8 pillows.
9. I want a hound dog really bad.
10. Daisies and blue hydrangeas are my favorite flowers. :)

I'm passing this honor onto...
The always hilarious CBK @
Plan Acourtingly
The beautiful Liz @
Let's Learn to Love
and last but not least...
Miss Grits over @
Puttin' on the G.R.I.T.S.

Thanks and enjoy!

Livin' the good life

Last night I headed to work and was actually about 3 minutes early! For those of you that don't know me... this is a rare phenomenon. Anyway, I got to the office and Andrew was already there and Philip followed shortly. Then two of the newer guys and Randy (kind of our boss) showed up and we loaded up in the trucks. Lucky Philip and I got the one with no radio and no AC. So it was windows down and singing for us. Rock Show and Swing were the main songs of choice. Yeah... just picture that. Two bathing suit clad white kids singing Swing at the top of their lungs in a super old 4Runner towing a trailer full of kayaks to the middle of no where. It was a good time. :)

We got to the loading area and unloaded all the kayaks, washed em out, blah blah... There were two large groups so instead of putting them all in one big 50-something people tour, we kept them in the two groups. Andrew, Philip, and I took the first group of about 30 people and then Randy and the other guys took the second group later. I love working with Andrew and Philip and we seriously had a great time, even though Philip and I would really have enjoyed sleeping. We had a super fun group, which included two guys in a double that felt the need to hit on me the ENTIRE tour. I mean literally following me around, calling me their sweetheart, the whole nine yards. Normally, I would have had a few choice words to say to them. However, this is a business in which tips are greatly appreciated. So I fired right back at them, flirted shamelessly, laid out that southern charm so thick that Philip and Andrew were looking forward to checking out the tip jar after the tour to see how much "Momma Hoss" brought in. Haha. WEEELLLLL... a nice older gentleman gave us $11. The two ridiculous guys... nothing. We were all shocked. But hey, $11 is $11 and that was just enough for us to get some McDonald's on the way home and eat in the bed of Andrew's truck. Nothing like fine dining at 12:30 a.m.

It's a good life. :)

The simple joys of life...

Don't you love it when the little things make you incredibly happy!?

Like last yesterday for example... I had a fabulous morning run, church was great, I got to see the bestie for a while, had my second lesson on driving a stick shift (I got to go on the big girl road!! AND didn't wreck the truck!!! Go Ally, Go Ally...), drove out to McDonald's with Andrew and got sweet teas for us and nice juicy quarter pounders with fries for the homeless guys by the interstate (which is ALWAYS a good feeling), and then managed to make it to work without being too incredibly late. Work was great, as usual. We had a bioluminescent tour last night with about 30 patrons. Philip, Andrew, and I were the guides and while it wasn't the most exciting group of patrons, it was still nice to be on the water. Philip and Andrew both had to tow a double. Ouch. HOWEVER! That meant the tips were much nicer. We each got enough to go to Denny's after we packed up and got paid! And let me just say that buffalo chicken tenders at 1 am after loading and unloading kayaks and trying to entertain patrons are one of life's simple pleasures. After our delicious treats, we sat in the parking lot listening to music until Philip and I hit the wall and decided it was time for bed. I took quick shower to get all the river gunk off me and hopped in bed where I literally smiled to myself about how wonderful a day I had.

Life's little pleasures... keep coming my way. :)

Love, hugs, and the simple things...

Busy bee

Whew! The past few days have been a whirlwind. A nice whirlwind though. :) From shopping in antique stores (Where I got this adorable chair!), enjoying the sunshine at the beach, and getting/making birthday presents for practically EVERYONE I know (somehow they were all born in June!) I've been a busy girl.

Last night I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Tu Tu Tango, in Orlando with my second family. It was Momma Lesa's birthday and we went all out to celebrate. Picture this... Psuedo-sis considering jumping on the table to dance, our waiter ACTUALLY getting on a table and announcing Momma L's "21st" birthday, everyone showing off their own unique "club moves", and a table full of the most delicious food you can imagine (including my fave - the at least 4 or 5 inch tall ice cream and cookie sandwich... YUMMMM!).

Today the bestie and I got up early (WHY!?) to go for a run. We immediately regretted last night's decision to do this. However, we're not quitters so we did our little run. The rest of the day is consisting of laundry, birthday present wrapping, baking, and heading to Orlando for the psuedo-sis and Bee's birthday BBQ.

Have I mentioned how much I love summer? :)

My new anthem

"God is great. The beer is good. And people are crazy..."

Ain't that the truth!?

Sorry for the lack of posts :\ I'm a slacker. I promise to undergo some misadventures to entertain you with soon. The only misadventures I've been on lately are pretty sad I don't really feel like broadcasting them. :\

Love, hugs, and God, beer, and crazies...

Today I learned how to drive a stick shift. And I fell madly in love.

My friend Andrew offered to teach me on his Toyota Tacoma. So we went out to the church parking lot and gave it the old college try. After stalling out a couple times in the beginning I got the hang of it and within 5 minutes I was doing great!

Then my big mouth mentioned that I'll be driving a stick in Tallahassee where it is very hilly. So Andrew told me to go over to a hill on the other side of the building. After many violent tries and stalling out a couple times, I can now say I am somewhat a pro at getting going on a hill. He even stood behind the truck as if there would be another car there to make sure I wouldn't hit it. And... I didn't kill him so I must have done okay!

So all-in-all, lesson numero uno went very well and I'm looking forward to the next one where I get to go on the main road like a big girl! :)

Love is in the air!

A big congratulations is in order for my pseudo-sis and her new fiance!! Ashley of AshleyBrookeDesigns and her absolute soulmate Manolo got engaged last night in Central Park while visiting NYC for a stationary show!

I think I screamed for a good 10 minutes when I heard the news I was so excited! I can't wait to see the happy couple when they get back and I look forward to seeing them grow together in love for many years to come.

Ashley I love you like the sister I never had and now I've got a pseudo-brother-in-law too!

Love is certainly in the air...

Busy falling in love with a house

Hello hello! So so so sorry I haven't blogged lately. My friends have already gotten onto me about it so here I am again! The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind. From officially starting my summer job (and absolutely LOVING it!) to running around with friends, and making a quick trip back up to gorgeous Tallahassee where we finally found THE PERFECT HOUSE! We signed the lease Friday morning and I'm so excited!

The house is so charming. There's a big front yard and huge backyard where we plan to put our slip n' slide and kiddie pool so we don't die of heat in August and September. It's also where the hammock will reside along with the old-fashioned wood and rope swing I'm going to try and talk the bestie's boyfriend into making to hang from the big oak tree. There is a little screened in porch on the side where we could put some rocking chairs and the inside of the house is precious. Hardwood floors, wood paneling on the walls. Old windows inside the house, skeleton key doors, nice big kitchen (actually there are 2 kitchens because it used to be a duplex! The bestie loves this :] ) where we can house all our mason jars and sweet tea, and overall it's just the cutest house I've ever seen. It's close to campus, in a good neighborhood, and the bus practically comes right up to our frontyard! Talk about "meant to be."

I'm already looking at Southern Living magazines to get some ideas on how we can decorate. We've already got an adorable collection of eclectically mismatched furniture and knick-knacks that are going to make it home for us. My grandpa is graciously providing us with a beautiful solid wood kitchen table and some other antique furniture that just needs a good paint job and some sanding for that amazing distressed look.

For some reason I'm in a planting mood and I'm researching hydrangeas and daisies (my favorite flower... the happy flower :] ). I'd love if we could have a little vegetable garden in the backyard somewhere as well as some gorgeous flowers to add some color. I think we're also planning on composting so if anyone has tips on how to compost or any tips on the best way to plant some gorgeous hydrangeas let me know!

It's all very exciting and I can't wait until August 1st! :] Well I'm off to Lowe's to see if there are any hydrangeas I can experiment with here while I'm at home!

Love, hugs, and southern living...

Preview of the new novel!

I've been on a writing frenzy today and thought I'd share with ya'll the preface to the new novel I'm working on. It's titled, "The Misadventures on the Road to Love" and will hopefully find its way to completion eventually. Let's be honest, I don't exactly have the best reputation for finishing my books. But I'm praying that this one is the exception. Anyway... since I'm so excited, I figured I would give ya'll a little peak so you can tell me what you think. Be honest!

The search for love is like a road trip. For some lucky people, the ride is a short one. For others, it’s like hopping on I10 in Jacksonville, Florida and wanting to shoot your brains out around Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But like all road trips, the journey to love has its twists and turns, ups and downs, pits stops and speed traps, and I’ve certainly had my fair share along the way.

I’m Madeline Rae Johnson, Maddy Rae for short, and welcome to my incredibly insane love life. I lead a relatively normal life, but when it comes to relationships, I tend to have some weird ones. The kind you can only read in books or see in movies. And no, not The Notebook.

You see, as my friends say, I tend to attract crazies. They call me a “crazy magnet.” I personally don’t think all the guys I’ve dated should be considered loony, but some… well… you get the picture. I’ve come to the conclusion that this unfortunate phenomenon occurs due to a combination of factors.

Factor number one: it’s my nature to see the good in people. I tend to overlook things such as friends warning me, “he’s just not good enough for you” and finding out three years later that he dropped out of high school because he got a girl preggers (word of advice: your friends are always right!), or “the perfect guy” telling me he’s never had a girlfriend… in his entire 25 years of life. Some might see that as a sign. My warped mind thinks, “Aww, he’s waiting for the perfect girl! That could be me!”

Factor number two: the universe is out to get me.

Okay, so I don’t really think the universe has it in for me, but the thought has certainly crossed my mind. On multiple occasions. But that’s beside the point. The point is, that while my love life is twisted, unreal, and often unbelievable (and has been since my first crush way back in pre-school) it makes for a good story. A hilarious one in fact.

So if you’re single and wondering what the heck is wrong with the opposite sex, join the club. And if you’re happily in a relationship, count yourself lucky. Regardless of where you fall in those categories, sit back, relax, grab a bowl of popcorn and buckle up. It’s a bumpy ride.

Let me know what ya'll think! :)

Sun, sand, and scary movies?

My life feels like a Bob Marley song right now. Well it did while I was at the beach soaking up the sun today. :) I got to spend some time with the always beautiful C, and have a delicious lunch at the always fantastic Sonny's. Yummmm! I can already tell it's going to be a great summer.

(I didn't puppy-sit for pseudo-sis due because she ended up not going out of town. By the way.)

The remainder of the afternoon was spent unpacking. And I thought packing was exhausting... Jeeze. Thankfully Dubbie came and saved me from my misery - we went to Blockbuster, McDonald's for some sweet tea, and grabbed us some Chinese takeout. We then made our way home where we proceeded to pig out on said takeout and watch the most terrifying movie I've seen in a looooong time. The Uninvited. Terrifying. Gotta love movies with a twist. And this was not just any twist... this was like a knot - a flipping army ranger knot or something. It was insane. Aaaannnndddd... Dubbie couldn't stay the night because her boyfriend was waiting for her. So now I'm sitting in bed scared to turn out the light. Great. So much for sleep.

Also got some news from biffle Rusty saying he might come visit! I'm used to seeing him every day in Tally, but now it's summer and I'm here and he's there. So a visit would be nice!

Well I'm going to attempt to get some sleep. We'll see how that goes.

Summertime!

Is it summer yet!?

Packing and studying for my last final are definitely slow going. I feel like I haven't gotten ANYTHING done today. Blah.

There are some great things to look forward to, however. I've got some errands to run with CBK later today, then pizza for dinner with the girls, loading up the car, tests tomorrow, dad comes to provide another vehicle for loading up with my stuff, last "test" in another class, dinner with dad, SLEEP!, last breakfast at J&M for 3 months :(, driving home, hanging out with friends, and dog-sitting the pseudo-sis's precious Lucy all weekend in O-town, complete with a trip to the farmer's market and movie-watching with CBK!

Tomorrow I will be free from school for a glorious three months! The only downer is not seeing CBK every day. :( But we're only 45 minutes away all summer :) so no worries.

It's summertime and the livin's easy...

Leave your cares behind and paddle away...

Today was training and safety certification day for my summer job as a kayak tour guide! It was really a lot of fun... but that's not a big surprise considering I got to be outside on (and in) the water on a beautiful Florida day.

I'm tan (well... tan for me) and I have a feeling my back is going to be a bit sore tomorrow, but I love it! :)

After a a few hours on the water, we packed up and had some delicious food while taking a short test on "the product," which is the Indian River Lagoon and Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. The person that got the most right won $20. Guess who won? ME! YAY!! haha.

So now I'm sunkissed, happy, and $20 richer. Life is good.

**Disclaimer**
While I REALLY wish the above picture of the pink kayak was mine, I can't honestly say it is. I found it on tinypic.com. Bummer, I know. Who doesn't love pink!?

Epic Fail

Packing was an epic fail. It literally consisted of my throwing stuff in garbage bags all willy nilly. I have no idea where anything is. And there's still a TON of stuff that needs to be packed up. ::Sigh:: Good thing I have next week too.

But today the roomie and I are off to look at houses and then I'm heading home to T-ville. Isaac the iPod is charged, my car is (soon-to-be) packed, and I'm (kind of?) ready to go! Whew.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thank God for friends...

I'm proud to say I have the most amazing friends in the whole world. They're kind of a big deal. So when one of them sent me this a few days ago it really hit me. Everything will be ok. :)

"The way she sees it,
If you want rainbows,
You gotta have rain.
So she pulls up her bootstraps in the storm
And goes out looking
For puddles to play in.
She brightens up every dark place...
Selflessly lifting, soothing, and serving.
She finds joy in the journey
In both the hills and valleys...
And just about everything makes her laugh!
For her, laughter in the face of adversity
Is the finest sound there is!
She has a great attitude!


...go get 'em sister friend."

Love, hugs, and playing in the puddles...

Let's wrap it up

The school year is winding down and I'm faced with the daunting task of packing up all my... stuff. I have a lot of stuff. Mostly clothes because of my little shopping problem, but regardless, I have a lot of packing to do. I'm also as unorganized as it gets so I have to strategize on how to pack everything up because I KNOW I'll forget where everything is.

My roomies and I are also not having much luck finding a place to live in the fall. The perfect little stilt house is up for rent now and the won't hold it until August. If it's still open in July they'll let us have it. Talk about cutting it close. CBK and I found another perfect house really close to campus but it was out of our price range. :( However, we are looking at a couple houses Friday morning so keep your fingers crossed.

I did my grad checks last week with my two colleges and with the registrar's office. It's TERRIFYING to think that this time next year I'll be picking up my cap and gown and getting ready to walk across that stage. I'm going to walk REALLY slow because once I get to the other end I'm on my own. Ouch. No more umbrella from the 'rents. Maybe if I trip and fall they'll feel bad for me and help me with car insurance payments or something. It's worth a try.

Studying for exams isn't really going anywhere because I'm so stressed about the aforementioned issues. I can't seem to focus for more than 10 minutes at a time and now I'm stressing about not being able to study, which leads me to stressing about stressing about not being able to study... whew. It's just a cycle of madness.

Luckily, exams will be over soon and hopefully everything else falls into place sooner than later. Let's wrap it up already. Stress is not good for my complexion.

And it doesn't help that it's absolutely GORGEOUS outside and all I want to do is go to the Rez, hop in a kayak, paddle out to the middle of the lake, and just sit there soaking up the sun. ::sigh::

love, hugs, and a lookin for the light at the end of the tunnel...

All these stupid silly songs...

Weeeellllll... let's get right to the point. I'm single once again. Yeaaahhh...

It stinks, but it'll all be ok. "It will all be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end."

My friends are lifesavers. But my iPod is out to get me. How so? you ask. I drove to Orlando from T-ville today to spend a nice relaxing day at the bestie's with Lucy until Ky gets back from pastry school. Well on my way I just put my iPod on shuffle and kicked the car into cruise control.

Here was what the iPod chose to serenade me with...

"Here Comes Goodbye" - Rascal Flatts
"Fallin' Apart" - All American Rejects
"I Think About You Everyday" - A Rocket to the Moon
"When Did Your Heart Go Missing" - Rooney
"Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse
"Something's Gotta Give" - LeAnn Rimes
"Already Gone" - Sugarland
"You're Not Sorry" - Taylor Swift
"I Caught Myself" - Paramore

REALLY!!!??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

Isaac the iPod was promptly turned OFF and is now on the bestie's iHome.

Sheesh...

Hugs, love, and happiness :)

I'm officially the worst blogger ever. Sorry I haven't posted in over a week! :( I'm ashamed.

Anyway, last week was amazing. The bf came to visit me for a whole week and I had a great time introducing him to my crazy, amazing, splendiforous friends up here and showing him around beautiful Tallahassee. We ate at all my favorite restaurants in town, saw the sights, went to Lake Ella, partied it up for CBK's birthday (we made a banner for her and put it outside her door, we also decorated her door with pink and green crepe paper and sat outside with confetti poppers to surprise her at 8:45 a.m. :) She loved it), and watched a ton of movies. Friday afternoon we drove over to St. Augustine for a weekend at the beach to celebrate another friend's birthday. The best part... I GOT TANLINES!!! For all of you that don't know me, this is a BIG deal. I'm a blue-eyed blonde with a ton of freckles. Tanning does not come easy.

Unfortunately, now it's back to reality. Only two more weeks of classes and then one day of exams on exam week. Summer '09 officially begins April 30th around 7 p.m.!!

In other news... I received a call from my reporting professor last week with some exciting news. She called to tell me that she's not sure if the advanced reporting class will be offered in the fall but it looks like it will be. If it is, I definitely have a spot in it. Second bit of good news... the intro reporting class will definitely be offered in the fall and she asked me to be her TA. But wait, it just gets better! She then said she would like to offer me an internship at her station, WCTV, in the fall, saying that an internship with her at WCTV is basically her way of training you to work in her newsroom after graduation. I was practically offered a job after graduation!!!! So now that 74 I got on my poli sci research test last week doesn't even bother me. I've got a job waiting for me anyway!

The future is lookin' bright :)

Pass the pigs!

My life has been forever changed. By two rubber (or are they plastic?) pigs.

Yes friends, I have played my first game of Pass the Pig and I'm obsessed. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, there are two little pigs that you roll as if they were dice. Depending on the position they land in, you get a certain number of points, or lose your points. The first person to 100 wins. It's a game of chance and listening to your gut when it tells you to "STOP ROLLING! Your luck has run out."

Sounds kind of boring up to this point right? Wrong. The positions these pigs land in are just plain funny. And the names given to said positions are even funnier. For example, razorback, trotter, snouter, and my personal favorite... the leaning jowler. Say that out loud and tell me you didn't giggle. If one pig lands in the leaning jowler position it's 15 points, but if BOTH pigs land that way it's a DOUBLE leaning jowler and it's worth 60 big ones!

My new life mission: roll a double leaning jowler. It's going on the bucket list as we speak.

Love, hugs, and leaning jowlers...

Sorry I haven't had time to blog in the past few days. I've been preparing for next week. I have 2 tests and a lot of studying to do, as well as papers to write. So I hunkered down the past few days and got all my papers written and started the study guides for the two tests.

You're probably thinking, "Wow, she's really doing that ahead of time. How responsible. She must be a good student!" Well... no. I'm the one that skips class... often. But I'm blessed with enough intelligence to still do well in classes. Thankfully. I digress... the reason for doing all of this ahead of time is because the bf is coming to visit Sunday for a whole WEEK!!!! (Here's the sweet bf and I last week at the bestie's BBQ...)



So as you can imagine, I'm uber-excited and would rather spend time with him than study. Hence the past few days (and next one and a half) of total school-mode. I even went to most, well... some, of my classes this week! :)

I'm off to finish cleaning my room and doing some more studying before finally crashing into bed!

Love, hugs, and... LOVE!

The mean reds...

Let's get this straight... I don't have the blues, just a case of the mean reds. (In case you aren't already aware, I LOVE Breakfast at Tiffany's.)

Tallahassee is officially Tallanasty for the next few days because it's raining. Nonstop. And storming. Which includes loud and scary bursts of lightning and thunder as I carefully try to walk to classes without getting soaked, slipping and falling on my butt, or trying to maneuver around the MANY flooded areas of campus. (I'm convinced that by tomorrow afternoon the whole campus will be 2 feet underwater and classes will STILL not be cancelled.)

Don't get me wrong, I love a good rain. As long as I'm inside, warm, and either asleep or reading a good book in bed, preferably while cuddling with a)the bf b)the bestie (but she's not much of a cuddler) c) the pseudo-sis d)Coal or e)Luce-goose.

However, 1)none of the above are in Tallanasty. And 2)I have to go outside in this mess to get to class. Blah. And if I DO have to be outside in the rain, I'd like to be doing what Miss Audrey and Mr. Peppard are doing...

So this rain is bringing me down. I need some sunshine.

Love, hugs, and rainboots...

Oh... what a weekend.

Yes, I realize it's Tuesday, but my weekend lasted from Thursday through Monday so today is kind of my Monday for me. If that makes any sense.

Where to begin??? Well Thursday I drove to T-ville where I went over to the bf's house and hung out for a while before playing with the sweet precious puppy. We then spent the rest of the evening with Dubbie and Tatie watching TWILIGHT and eating junk food.

Friday morning everyone went to work or school (haha!) and I took Roxy (my backpack) to Sunrise Bread Co. to enjoy some coffee and do some homework. It was tres relaxing and needless to say, I didn't really get as much done as I wanted. And you've already read about my Old Faithful's hissy fit that day, so I'll just skip over that. Friday after the bf and Dubbie got off work we went to Sonny's where we enjoyed delicious bbq and an awkward encounter with the bf's ex. Oh well, such is life. Then it was back to Dubbie's, Shaner (Dubbie's bf) came over, we sat on the porch for a while relaxing, then crashed in front of the tv watching Hot Rod (funny!). Unfortunately, there was not much sleeping going on because Coal is apparently nocturnal. Here's a pic of the sweet girl...



Saturday morning was girl time with Dub. We went to breakfast and shopping around town until we decided we were wayyy too tired to walk anymore and went back to the house to rest a little before the bestie's BBQ! We finally got dressed and the boys came over after their little play-date and we caravaned over to the bestie's bf's in Oveido. The BBQ was sooooooo much fun! It was definitely a night to remember. Well, some might remember it. Anyway, we had a great time and I got to see my bestie which is always my favorite thing about coming home! (And Bee's party dip.) A couple pics from the partay...





Sunday we SLEPT IN! FINALLY! Uncle Seth was puppy-sitting Coal so we finally got some sleep. Mama Haskins made a huge southern breakfast for us and we devoured it in about 10 seconds. Then I was off to a meeting with my summer bosses and a couple other guides for some information about what's expected of us and whatnot. It went pretty well, but I definitely have a lot to learn. Sunday night the bf, myself, Dub, and Shaner went on a double date to Waterford to see "Knowing". Creepy, but good. Gotta love Nicolas Cage.

Monday we slept in again, went out to lunch, and then the bf and I took Coal to get her shots. We waited 2 hours for a shot that took 2 seconds! I was a little peeved. After that I packed up, got a kiss goodbye, and headed back to Tally. After stopping at a drive-thru for some dinner and getting back onto I-10 I was promptly pulled over by an admittedly nice policeman.

"Do you have any idea how fast you were going?" - Officer
"Ummm... to be honest? No." - Me
"89." - Officer
"Oh. ::terrified face::" - Me

And so I got my first ticket. Going 19 miles over the speed limit. Thankfully he gave me the ticket as if I was only going 79 and decided to "overlook" my broken brake light. So now I have to pay Baker County $116 within 30 days. Lucky me.

And did I mention that I was in a hurry to get back because I had a group project paper due last night? Or that I have a 5 page paper for an exam due Wednesday that I haven't started? Or that I have 3 tests next week? Yeeaaaahhhh...

So I woke up early this morning to get started and just took a break to post this and look at rings online at Tiffany's. Audrey definitely had it right... Nothing can go wrong at Tiffany's.



Here's to trying to survive...

My car hates me.

Old Faithful is getting a little cranky in her old age. (I think she hears me talking about the Jeep Wrangler I can't wait to trade her in for and she's rebelling.)

Needless to say, I've had another misadventure in my 11-year-old Volvo.

Lately it won't shift into gear without me having to hold down a button (shiftlock override) while I shift. Well... today I had the same issue, but just pressed down the button and shifted like usual. I parked outside Sears Auto to bring the boyfriend some lunch, turned off my iPod, opened the door, turned off the car and went to step out when I was oh-so-ungracefully yanked back inside. The fluid movement of me pulling my keys out of the ignition while sliding out of my car was violently disrupted by the fact that my keys would not come out of the ignition. So I wiggle them around for a minute and realize that unless I want to risk breaking the key off with my brute strength, I better call the b.f. for some help. (Luckily I was parked outside Sears Auto, as mentioned.) He told my to pull the car into the garage and he'd see what he could do. So I did as told and when I went to turn it off this time, the key came right on out.

Ok, Old Faithful. Way to screw with my head.

So I went along with my day, running errands around town. I had an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed at 1:15 and pulled into the parking lot on the dot, when I was once again yanked back into my car by the stubborn keys. This time I spent 20 minutes, along with my hairstylist in heels, trying to coax the keys out of the ignition. Nothing.

Aaaannnndddd back to Sears. I park the car and the keys refuse to come out. Again. But at this point, at least Old Faithful is being consistent. I look up to see the b.f. walking towards the car and I have an idea. I look at the aforementioned shiftlock override button and it is pushed in. So I push it to make it pop back out and TADA!!! The keys slide out effortlessly.

So one missed eyebrow wax appointment, a gallon of gas, and an hour later, I've conquered Old Faithful's rebellion. For now. Who knows what's next.

Love, hugs, and dreaming of Jeep Wranglers (but don't tell O.F.)...

Starry eyed

::WARNING::

Following post will be sappy and is not recommended for those that hate Valentine's day, mushy love songs, or movies like Pride and Prejudice and You've Got Mail.

I'm smitten. Starry eyed. Glowing. Daydreaming 24/7. It's pretty pathetic.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be headed back home for a long weekend. The main reason for going home is because I have a training day for my summer job (I'm a kayak tour guide) on Sunday, but I'll also get to see the new b.f. a lot and his darling puppy Coal. (I'm smitten with both.)

Tomorrow night the b.f. is cooking me dinner (how cute is that!?), then we're going shopping (which ya'll know is one of my favorite activities!!), and we'll end the evening by playing and cuddling with sweet Coal.

Friday I'll spend the morning in Sunrise Bread Co. drinking one cup of coffee after another while trudging through loads of homework, paper writing, and studying. Friday afternoon will be spent with Coal :) and then double date with Dubbie and Shanbino.

Saturday is what I'm REALLY looking forward to. BEACH all day, baking my famous pumpkin bars (or rice crispie treats, can't really decide), then primping (who doesn't love getting ready for a party!?), and off to the Bestie's and Bobbus's BBQ in Oviedo! SOOOOOO EXCITED! I just saw her 3 days ago, but I miss her like whoa. And Bobbus too of course. Plus the food is going to be UH-MAY-ZING!

Sunday is training day! Excited about that. :) It will go pretty late and if I left afterwards I wouldn't get back to Tally until around midnight or later so I'm just going back Monday! :) Rough life eh?

So I can't wait to see the b.f. ::sappy sigh::, Coal, the bestie, and all my friends. (This is in no particular order, by the way.)

Love, hugs, and daydreaming <3

Spontaneous Susan

A series of events set an uncalled-for weekend into motion. To make a long story short... I drove home Friday. Yep. Woke up, went to the gym, did laundry, and then decided to go home, for various reasons.

On my way home I received a call from the boy (Ryan) saying he was going to get the puppy he's been looking at for the past couple of weeks. So as soon as I got home we went and picked up the most precious little creature I've ever seen. (See adorable picture below.)



We named her Coal and she's a total mutt (there's at least 4 breeds in her that we're aware of), she's gray with gorgeous blue eyes, absolutely loves her daddy (Ryan), and likes to snuggle with her mommy (me). She also loves lounging on Aunt Ashley's lap on her back (as you can see) and sleeping under Aunt Ky's couch. And she's got a friend in the always sweet Lucy.

Saturday Coal and I went to Petsmart and got some toys and then headed to Orlando to spend time with the bestie, Bobbus, and pseudo-sis. Ryan came up for dinner and a movie after work and we just enjoyed all hanging out. (I miss them A LOT when I'm at school.)

This morning it was back to Tally and then house shopping with Miss Elizabeth. It was really rough going at first and we were pretty down until we stumbled across a house we'd seen online. But not just any house. The perfect house for us. P.E.R.F.E.C.T. (See perfect picture below.)



So we're praying that it's still available come August or that they'll go ahead and let us sign a lease now (even though August is 5 months away). Keep us in your prayers! It's in a perfect location - it's a pretty quiet neighborhood in the woods (we're all country girls), huge porch (my favorite part), in our price range, close to the Rez (where we kayak)... it's just perfect. Plus, do you see all that parking underneath it!!?? Haha. We've already planned out where to put the hammock and rocking chairs. I'm pretty sure we'll be doing drive-by's everyday. The neighbors are going to be creeped out, but oh well.

So then we decided to end the day's house-hunt on a good note and headed to Jim & Milt's for some sweet tea and BBQ. Good night.

Now I'm going to half-unpack (I'm going back home next weekend too. Kayak training day and super-fun BBQ at Bubbus's) and then go to bed. I got sleeping to catch up on because Coal wouldn't really let us sleep this weekend, but she's so darn cute what can you do?

Sunshine...

SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN TALLASNAZZY!

Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, the green is covered with people soaking up the sun, laying in hammocks, and playing frisbee with their adorable dogs. It's amazing.

So to celebrate this wonderful season and beautiful weather, I'm going to class and then spending a few blissful hours sprawled out on a towel on the green reading a book... or doing homework... but either way I will be outside!

Tomorrow is house hunting with the soon-to-be-roomie and then baseball game. Saturday will start off right with some delicious J&M breakfast, followed by a day on the water. :) I love college.

And the love life is DEFINITELY turning around. :D No more frog kissing for me!!!

Love, hugs, and sunshine :)

Whew!

Goodness gracious I'm tired! I had an amazing Spring Break at the beach and then in Utah snowskiing! I'll post some pictures later. :) It was definitely an eventful week full of snow (28 inches in one day!!!) and also running around spending time with friends that I don't get to see much.

More good news... looks like things in the love life department are finally turning around! It's really kind of crazy, but I've been talking to my very first ever "boyfriend" (we started dating in kindergarten... he gave me a pink power ranger ring as a token of his affection) and we had a great weekend catching up and hanging out. Since we never "broke up" in second grade when we moved schools, we've apparently been dating for 14 years. And we're only 20. But anyway, it's a cute story so I thought I'd share.

Things continued to be hectic as I drove back here to Tallasnazzy. Let's just say I was stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours, going about 2 mph the whole time, if that much, all because for about 100 feet one lane was closed. RIDICULOUS! So I had to force my eyes to stay open since I only got 3 hours of sleep the night (or shall I say morning) before. But I made it back safe and sound.

But it doesn't end there folks! Registration started at 8 this morning. I'll be a graduating senior next year so I've GOT to have certain classes in order to graduate on time. So you can understand why I wanted to throw my computer against the wall and cuss out the geniuses of FSU's blackboard system when I not only couldn't register for classes, but couldn't get even get on the internet to try! Thankfully... after a couple hours of trying everything I could think of, I finally managed to register in my media ethics class. Hopefully we didn't cover anything important.

I also woke up only to realize that I am out of coffee creamer. Ya'll know that me not having coffee leads to bad things. But not to fear, I now have my coffee, a cinnamon scone, classes registered, a love life with potential, and an ear piercing to look forward to this afternoon! (And great friends that are sucking it up to come with me and hold my hand. Ky I wish you could be here!!!)

Love, hugs, and impending exhaustion...

FINALLY!

IT'S SPRING BREAK BABY!

And I'm starting SB '09 in style... BEACH! Duh. First I'm off to lunch with a good friend from high school, Dirty Al, and then I'm off to the glorious sunshine, sand, and sea of Playalinda (our beautiful beach) where I was told to bottle up some sand and sea to bring to a friend in Utah tomorrow!

It's a rough life... I plan on going to the beach again tomorrow morning, then hopping on a plane to Utah to go skiing and snowboarding in the afternoon. Rough life, but someone's gotta do it. :)

Hope everyone enjoys their week! I won't have internet service... shucks :)

love, hugs, sand & snow...

WHY!?

Dear Professor Houck...

I really don't see the need to give us an uber-hard exam the Thursday before Spring Break, especially considering we just had an exam barely two weeks ago. And because of this upcoming exam, I'm having to sit in my room on a beautiful day and try to figure out the study guide you gave us when I should be packing for SB '09, a mixture of sand & sea with snow & mountains. I should really be getting my bathing suit and sundresses together for the few sunny beach days I'll get at home, and all my warm sweaters and ski/snowboard gear for my splendid 6 days in Utah! Alas, it cannot be, because my nose is in my textbook (which doesn't have the answers to the questions on the study guide) and I'm praying I don't fail (because after all, my mind is elsewhere).

So once again, thanks a lot. Thanks a flipping lot.

A. Hart

P.S. I can't wait till professor review time. Mwahaha...

Cold toes, warm heart

Blue Ridge was fantastic, as usual. I had an absolutely wonderful time nice and cozy on the couch in front of the fire surrounded by some of my favorite people.

I got to sleep in, wake up to coffee and banana pancakes, get dirty on the 4-wheeler and satisfy my country girl side, sit in front of the fire with a good book, get all dolled up (thanks Ashley) and go downtown for some shopping (DANGER! More on that later...), yummy BBQ, and spending some quality time with some of my favorite people.

Saturday night the bestie's entire family helped me through my very own economic crisis. It's pretty sad, really. I really felt like Becky Bloomwood while we went through my bank statements and developed a new budget for me (cutting my actual spending habits in HALF!) aided by some much needed wine. It was rough going, but I feel sooooo much better now that I have a plan. It's also a great feeling to know I have such caring people willing to help me 110% through my hard times (and bad habits).

And to add icing to the cake, I got to drive through SNOW on the way back to Tally! It was dumping snow in and around Atlanta. It was absolutely gorgeous and I love love loved it. Only a few more days until I get to see TONS of snow in Utah!

All in all it was a great weekend. :) Missing the mountains and sitting in front of the cozy fire though.

Hats off to cold toes and warm hearts...

Blue Ridge, here I come!

My car is packed and after my quickly approaching poli sci test I am hopping in my darling Volvo for a road trip to gorgeous Blue Ridge, GA. The bestie's family has a fabulous and oh-so-cozy cabin in the mountains so we're heading up for a weekend of relaxing fireside. (There will be vast amounts of studying and paper-writing involved, but it's ok when you're sitting here... doing it!)



And this is where I'll be enjoying banana pancakes and coffee in the mornings...



And this is where I'll sit and watch it SNOW on Sunday! (With coffee and a good book of course.)



And this is where I'll loosen up those tight muscles from driving through Atlanta traffic at rush hour. (Yep, that's a hot tub next to a fireplace.)



Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!

Cabin love <3