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...