CHRISTMAS BREAK!

Hello lovelies!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post.

Things around here have been SO busy.

Lots of final projects/papers/exams at school, not to mention our poor sweet pup got PNEUMONIA!

Yeah, weird right?!  Who knew animals could get pneumonia.

I'm happy to say, though, that pup is doing well and is almost back to 100% AND my final exams at school are completely finished, marking the end of fall semester!

I couldn't be happier about that.

Not only because I never have to go back to the awful sociology class I was taking, but also because now I am about to embark on my FINAL SEMESTER EVER!

Unbelievable, to say the least.

Since I've been gone awhile, I have a few pics to share with you just to keep you guys posted on what's been going on with me!

First, Thanksgiving happened.  Every year at Joe's parents' house, Ashley and I have a potato peeling contest before dinner.

Let me start off by saying this started off as a joke...and I'm not really that competitive (I get nervous under pressure!), but Ashley is super competitive...so over the past three years the contest has gotten more and more serious.

This year, however, things jumped to a whole new level.

That's right, a golden peeler plaque was awarded to the winner, which this year just so happened to NOT be me.

I have to admit though, the plaque is pretty hilarious, and at least my name is on there as the winner last year!

Next Thanksgiving it's game on, that's for sure.

Also at Thanksgiving, Ashley and I always build a gingerbread house.

After Thanksgiving was over, Joe and I decided to get a jump start on Christmas and pick out our very first Christmas tree together!

I haven't had a real Christmas tree in probably over 10 years, so I was pretty excited about this!

My family always had this beautiful, fake, pre-lit tree, so I sort of forgot how fun it is to have a real one (and how great the smell is!).

Since this picture, AJ has managed to pull all of the lower branches closest to the floor completely off in order to chew on them.  Silly pup.

Then, my good friend Stephanie got engaged!!!

Look at that ROCK!

I'm a little obsessed with her ring...I mean LOOK at it.

And, I'm so excited to be a part of their big day!!

I'm gonna be a professional bridesmaid soon enough!

Lastly, finals week at school came and went.

My old roommate, Andrea, and I both had our last final in a class we had together, so afterwards it was only appropriate to celebrate!

This weekend, Joe's mom is graduating from UGA with her teaching degree!  So, we will be down in Peachtree City celebrating her accomplishments for the weekend.

Also coming up, on Monday to be exact, is Joe and I's 3 YEAR anniversary!

I'll be back after that with an update on how we celebrated.

I see a lot more Andre in my future, that's for sure.

:)

Have a great weekend ladies!

fill in the blank friday!

Hello lovelies!

Hallelujah, it's finally Friday!

And for those of you that are not currently college students, this Friday also brings along the start of one glorious week off of school!

I couldn't be more happy for this break...not because I'm feeling overwhelmed {I'm surprisingly calm right now about how the semester is going}.  I'm really just excited for all the things happening during it!

For one, my dad is coming into town so we can finally go to a UGA home game together.

In all my years at Georgia we have yet to go to a game together, which is a total shame!

But he couldn't have chosen a better one.  It will be exciting to see Georgia clinch the SEC East together and celebrate!

This game will also be my LAST home game as a student.  Where did the time go?!

I also get to spend some time with Kayla and Becca next week.  We haven't all been able to get together since...I don't know...maybe summer?  I can't wait for the much needed girl time!

And let's not forget, Thanksgiving!!

Joe and I are heading down to his parents' house in Peachtree City for some family time, and will also be dropping by my aunt's house for some of her yummy stuffing!

Lots of happenings!

What are you guys planning for Thanksgiving?  Anything fun?

Hope you all enjoy this beautiful fall weekend!

Here are some blanks!

1.   A nervous habit I have is  definitely chewing on my nails...which is really ironic, because nail-biting also happens to be one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I'm really anxious I just can't help it though!

2.   Something that makes me sad is not living near my mom or dad.  We're all currently in different states, and I've been okay with it...but you know.  Sometimes you just want to go home.

3.  Today I am thankful for my friends.  The fact that after 10 years we're still taking time out of our busy lives to have dinner together when possible makes me really happy and grateful to have them.  Also, of course, Joe and the pup.  Having the pup around has really made it feel like we've built a home here in this little apartment!

4. My favorite room in my house is the bedroom.  Lately I haven't been spending a lot of time in there because Joe moved his xbox in there {haha} but it's still my favorite.  When I moved in, I sort of made the bed my own little project/contribution to the place, so of course I made it as cozy as possible.

5.  I can't stand the theme song to Big Bang Theory...or anything about that show in general.  I know that is super random, but this week I keep hearing the song on TV before I can race to the remote and change it and it's driving me nuts!  That is a show I will never be able to get into.

6.  If I had an extra $100 to spend on whatever I wanted today I would use it to start Christmas shopping.  My list of people to buy for is growing and that is not a good thing for a broke college kid like me!

7.  The last person I hung out with was my good friend Stephanie in Athens last weekend!  We set up a makeshift tailgate at a picnic table for the UGA/Auburn game, so I hung out with more people than just her, but I did find myself spending most of my time catching up with her!

my surprise day off

Today, instead of a day full of playing with the kids I nanny and refereeing all of their fights, I was given a surprise day off!

A day that I should have spent preparing for a test I have tomorrow...but alas.

I've been really tired all day...probably having something to do with the fact that the pup woke us up around 5am with a horrible cough that scared the living daylights out of me.

So, instead of studying, me and the pup slept in until around 10:30 {glorious} and then I took him to the vet, where I was informed he has a minor respiratory infection.

:(

Poor thing.

After the visit to the vet, I journeyed down a few exits to visit Joe at work and have a lunch date!

There's this great mexican place we used to go to every weekend when he lived down that way, and we haven't been there probably since he moved around March.

It was delicious, just like I remember!

For the rest of the afternoon, the pup and I have been napping, watching tv, and being lazy, lazy bums.

However, I have been doing a little research online!

I go through these phases where I feel like being really crafty, particularly around the holidays.

Do you guys have any suggestions of fun crafts to make that are Christmas related?

Right now I don't have too many ideas...of course I will be pinteresting for the next hour on this.

But, I just wanted to ask because everyone out there seems to be so creative!

Also, on a side note, I wanted to show you guys these shoes.

They are a little uncomfortable...

...hard to walk in...

...but they are so glittery...

...and pretty!

I haven't been able to bring myself to return them...part of me wants to keep them just because every girl should have a pair of shoes this flashy.

Before I make my decision on their fate, I have to show them off to someone though.

Lucky ya'll!

Look how shiny and pretty!

*sigh*

Hope you all are having a great week.

Happy hump day!

:)

fill in the blank friday...and a new pup!

Hello lovelies!

I don't know about you guys, but all I can say is TGIF!

I am so glad it's the weekend.

In about 20 minutes I have to get ready for work, but I just HAD to stop by and let you all meet my new obsession:

That's right, folks.

Joe and I decided to get a puppy!!

We named him AJ, after AJ Green of course.

For those of you who don't know who that is, he is one of the best football players UGA has ever seen and Joe and I are a little obsessed with him.

Anyway, we got this little guy on Halloween {best Halloween present EVER} and I've been lovin' on him allllll week long.

Seriously.

I even took him to Athens with me because I couldn't stand the thought of him being here alone.

And yes, he may or may not be going to work with me today.

I can't help it, look at that face!

I will share more photos with you soon when I have more time.

But, until then, let's fill in some blanks!

1.   My favorite thing about this week was/is getting the new pup and taking him everywhere I go!  That was a given.

2.   Colder weather makes me really want hot chocolate.  Thankfully, my mom bought me TWO new cookbooks this week, and one contains a Christmas hot chocolate recipe for the CROCK POT.  There is no way it's not gonna taste like heaven.

3.  Three things that make me terribly happy as of late are AJ, Joe, and UGA's football season turning around and getting awesome!

4. If I could only wear one kind of shoe for the rest of my life, I'd choose flip flops.  I have always been a flip flop kinda gal.  When I was little, I was more of a barefoot kinda gal, so I guess that's why I love flip flops so much.

5.  My personality type is more introverted than extroverted.  I do okay in crowds, but I'm still pretty shy.  I've definitely grown to be more extroverted through my college years.  I'm also a big homebody.  Whoever knows me knows this to be very true.

6.  I have a serious problem resisting candy.  I got this cute new festive pumpkin candy bowl for our coffee table and filled it with candy for Halloween, but Joe and I managed to eat it all before Halloween even got here!  So bad.

7.  My favorite color to wear is black, grey, and purple...like dark purple.  Dark colors look the best on me.  In my own opinion anyway.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

:)

glory, glory to ol' Georgia!

This weekend, the unthinkable happened.

Well, not really the UNTHINKABLE.

But the unusual.

My football team finally came away from one of the biggest games of our season (GA vs. FL) victorious!

I can't tell you all how extremely exciting this moment was for all us Georgia fans.

But, in an attempt to try, I have decided to dedicate this post to the game.

I mean, it deserves somewhat of a dedication!

Originally, Joe was not thrilled I was forcing him to drive all the way to Jacksonville.

Let me preface that by saying that last year we had the absolute worst experience ever at this game.

Not only did we lose, but Florida fans were shaking chain link fences at us and dumping beer all over our heads.

This is not an exaggeration.

But I insisted that we go again this year since it's my senior year.

The least I could do is give it one more shot, as a student, and hope for the best.

So, after minimal planning and some last minute arrangements, Joe and I made the drive that would turn out to be completely worth it!

We also got to have our first little mini vacation alone, which was so nice!

The first night, we went to The Landing, which if you don't know, is where all the fans that aren't at a self-made tailgate accumulate to drink, dance, and enjoy the atmosphere.

We also got the best pizza ever.

Saturday, we woke up and had a good breakfast at this delicious breakfast/BBQ joint, and then headed back to The Landing to have some drinks and try to get rid of the nerves.

I swear, I don't know how the football players do it.

I had butterflies all day long and my only job was to sit in the stands and cheer.

This cute pup was walking around chewing on a gator all afternoon.

Definitely a fan favorite.

When we finally pulled ahead, I had to take a picture of the scoreboard...just in case something crazy happened.

But alas, it didn't, and the score stayed the same for the last 13 minutes!

Me with the winning scoreboard.

Notice how the Georgia fans are all going nuts and the Florida side is completely empty.

So, that's my story of Georgia/Florida 2011.

I hope I didn't bore you all to death...

but it's not every day I can enjoy being a winner against Florida.

So if you stuck with me through this post, I appreciate it.

And for your dedication, your reward will be...

pumpkin recipes!

Coming soon.  I stocked up on canned pumpkin and have been a Pinterest-ing machine, so I'll throw something delicious your way ASAP.

Promise.

:)

working out

Now is one of those times where I go through the phase that I like working out.

It was only a matter of time before it started again.

I took a spin class for school over the summer, and it was god awful.

Not because I hated spinning.  I actually enjoyed the spin part.

But we had to do all kinds of crazy aerobics AFTER an hour of spinning, and that just didn't fly with me.

So I took a break from working out for the last two months - ick, just saying it out loud makes me feel bad.

What do you guys do to keep yourselves healthy/in shape?

I have constantly been looking up hot yoga/Bikram yoga...I have heard so much about it and it's health benefits that I was instantly interested.

Plus, I've always loved yoga.

However, there isn't anywhere really close to my apartment that does it.

Therein lies the problem.

I want to do something that is convenient in time and place, good for me, and fun, most importantly.

If ya'll have any suggestions of fun exercises or classes to do/take, please share!

Today I got another surprise day off work, which means I am enjoying the 4th day of my weekend.

Sweet, sweet weekend.

I am going to go on a walk, do some homework, and mayyyybe get my nails done.

Maybe.

Have a great Monday, all!

:)

fill in the blank friday!

Hello ladies!

In an effort to get myself back on the blogging train, here are this Friday's blanks, courtesy of Lauren over at The Little Things We Do!

1.   The most selfless thing I've ever done was...hmm.  This is a tough one.  Probably volunteering at this food bank back in my hometown before I went to college.  I only did it a few times, but it was really eye-opening to see how much food is actually donated and the process it all goes through.  It was also really rewarding to see the families' faces when they were handed multiple bags of free groceries.  It made me thankful for everything I have!

2.   When it comes to working out I go through phases.  Sometimes I'm really into it and I'll do it every day, and then something will happen and I'll stop for like a month.  I hate how that happens because I am constantly trying to rebuild the habit!

3.  A woman should always do something for herself regularly.  Whether it's getting a pedicure, buying herself something new, or even just taking a bath and reading a book for an hour, every girl needs a little time for herself.  I know I do after work, school, making dinner, cleaning up, etc.  The list goes on!

4. I wish I could start working somewhere that could potentially hire me after graduation and then I'd start saving for my first real vacation {and by "real," I mean somewhere that's not in Florida...preferably all inclusive :)}.

5.  A best friend is someone you can tell all your secrets and problems to and get their understanding in return.

6.  I can't get enough of fall television! There are like 20 great shows on TV and I'm running out of time {and room on the DVR} to watch them all!

7.  This weekend I am relaxing at home for once!  Making chili, watching the Georgia game, and reading book three of The Hunger Games.  Definitely just what I need after the week I've had.

What are ya'll doing this weekend??

:)