Take it or Leaf it!

One of the disadvantages to having a fairly large yard and living practically next to a forest is that when fall decides to roll around, the leaves float and land on our driveway and cover our grass.

Tired of not being able to differentiate between the grass and our driveway, because they were both covered in a pretty equal amount of pine needles and leaves, we decided today would be the day we cleaned everything up.

Well, Kenny had an even better idea: he wanted me to rake the yard and sweep up the driveway. Great.

So I first raked the yard (sorry, no pictures of that), and then I grabbed our little push broom and swept the driveway. I took some before and after pictures, because I needed some positive reinforcement that I actually did something good.

Before (from the street looking towards the house):

After:

Before (from the top of the driveway looking towards the street):

After:

Woohoo! Go me :)

While I was busy making the front of the house look pretty, Kenny was inside cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. After the kitchen was clean we took to straightening up the rest of the house, because it was in a pretty sorry state. Now, a couple hours later, it's clean of debris and umm...livable again. I just LOVE our house!

I took some photos of the house (inside and out) and I'll post them on Monday so you guys can see the place in Georgia. My plan for later tonight is to hopefully get my office completely set up so I can show you pictures of my awesome space, too.

Hopefully you're all having a great weekend :)

Favorite Things Friday

I'm cheating a little bit and working on a DIY wedding project before my "real" work—the one where I actually receive a paycheck at the end—is finished. But I just can't help myself! I'm so overly excited about this project that it's all I want to work on.

Of course, I'm not going to show you what it is until it's all finished and in my hot little hands, but here's a teeny tiny sneak peak, and maybe—if you're nice—I'll post a couple more pictures once it's off to the printer. Whoops. I've said to much already... :)

source = me

It's All About Love

Last night I started working on one of my projects and I'm so excited about it! While I'd love to tell you what it is, I can't just yet, but I do need your help.

I'm on the prowl for love quotes, song lyrics, or phrases about love. I'm looking for more unique sayings and instead of going to some www.lovequote.com, I'd like to see what you guys like.
Here are some of my favorites to get your wheels turning:

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. ~ When Harry Met Sally

...Because this isn't going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at it, every day. But I want that, because I want you.I want all of you. Forever. You and me. Every day."--The Notebook.

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. -- Dr. Seuss

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.
~Author Unknown

It’s you I like,
It’s not the things you wear, it’s not the way you do your hair–
But it’s you I like

The way you are right now, the way down deep inside you–
Not the things that hide you, not your toys–
They’re just beside you.

But it’s you I like–
Every part of you, your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new.

I hope that you’ll remember, even when you’re feeling blue
That it’s you I like, it’s you yourself, it’s you,
It’s you I like.

~Mr. Rodgers

To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world. ~Author Unknown

So how about it? Can you comment with some of your favorite "love" quotes?

108 Days and Counting

You may have noticed that I haven't talked about the wedding in awhile. Lately I've been so busy with other stuff (traveling, being sick, working) that wedding planning hasn't been a priority.

But have no fear! I should finish one of my work projects at the end of the week and then my focus will be on lots of DIY projects I have. It's funny; when I got engaged 12 months seemed like it would never pass. But now I'm down to less than three months, so all of that "time" I had is quickly ticking by.

Here's a sneak peak of the things we're going to start working on:

Cupcake Flags:

(no idea where that picture's from)

Crossword Puzzle (for the cocktail hour):

source

Favors:

source

source

Guestbook:

(no idea where I got these photos - sorry!)

Pomanders:

tissue paper pomander

cupcake liner pomanders

Photo upload cards:

source

And while I'm working on most of the above, Kenny will be in the garage making our wedding box!

So much to do! The best news of the day is that I'm feeling better :) I can't wait to get started on some of the above. Did you, or are you planning on, doing any DIY projects for your wedding?

A Flick When Sick

The lack of comments from my last post makes me think you guys don't like hearing about sore throats and silly things called uvulas. Fine, fine.

I'm still sick today, but I'm fighting through it. Kenny is seriously being beyond fantastic and I can't wait to start calling him my husband. He's been making me tea, breakfast, dinner; he drew me a bath and has cleaned the house. Basically he's just going above and beyond to make sure I'm feeling okay, and I think he's sad he can't snap his fingers and make me magically feel better.

Since I'm still achy today I'm taking a break from working in my office and instead I'm relaxing and working on my work from the couch with my lap top on my...well...lap, and I'm watching The Notebook.

I've mentioned before that my favorite love story comes straight out of a Nicholas Sparks book/movie, but I think it's also one of my top five favorite movies. It's also the perfect flick to watch when I'm feeling under the weather.

So I wanna know, what movie do you like to watch when you're not feeling 100 percent?

Boo Who?

Yesterday I woke up with that feeling. That, uh-oh-I-may-be-getting-sick feeling. I immediately started to slow down and upped my fluids and Kenny was gracious enough to go buy me some EmergenC while I took a nap.

It's been around five months since I was last sick, which I think is a pretty good track record for someone who used to get sick at least once a month.

What I woke up today didn't surprise me, it just plain sucks. My uvula is swollen and that is making it hard for me to swallow and talk, and it makes the rest of my throat sore. Let me back up in case you don't know what your uvula is. You know that little dangly thing at the back of your mouth that's kinda worthless? Well that's your uvula and the worthlessness is really apparent when it swells big enough to touch the back of your tongue; then it's plain annoying.

When I was in college I had repeated cases of tonsillitis. I had it so often that as soon as I would get well again I'd prep for getting sick soon after. The final straw in this routine was when my uvula literally took over the entire back of my mouth. I went to the doctors on campus and they were surprised I was still walking around; they said the only other times they've seen a uvula that enlarged they had to feed the person through an IV, because there was no space to get nutrition in. The nice thing about a swollen uvula is that usually your nose isn't affected, so you can still breathe. Needless to say, I had a tonsillectomy scheduled a few weeks after that last uvula episode.

I'm drinking as much water as I can and hopefully I'll find something soft to eat in a little bit. Kenny has been fantastic about taking care of me, so I know I'm in good hands when he's around. Hopefully I can kick this thing soon, because I want to get back to working out and cleaning up around the house. As for right now, though; I'm pooped. Okay, enough gross uvula talk.

Now let's talk turkey pumpkins!

source

Back home there's this awesome pumpkin patch about a half hour away where you can pick your own pumpkin. We used to go out there about a week before Halloween when we were younger and my brother and I would pick the best pumpkin we could find. When we got older we would just skip the patch and get a pumpkin from any grocery store around—all the stores had them piled high in huge boxes.

So I get out to Georgia and I don't think anything of pumpkins, I just figure we'll find one when we need one.

Oh how wrong I was.

On Halloween (and yeah, maybe we shouldn't have waited until the day of), Kenny and I went allllll around town searching for a pumpkin. ANY pumpkin would do. We bought the carving kit and had our afternoon free for making our jackolanterns, but instead of making a mess sticking our hands in gooey pumpkins, we spent that time driving around to more than five stores looking for a darn pumpkin! After about an hour and a half passed we decided to give up on The Great Pumpkin Search.

This was the only jackolantern we saw:

Sad about our lack-o-pumpkin, we were just going to wallow in our pumkin-seedless lives, but then Kelly came over with her two little munchkins! We helped the kiddos get in their costumes and then I went trick or treating with them. Twas fun :)

Tyler the Monkey:

Kailey the Kitty:

They're two of the cutest kids I've ever seen and I just love seeing how well Kenny gets along with both of them :)

That's about all I have to say for today. Stay tuned, because even though I've taken a wedding-planning break, I'm about to start writing about it soon!

Seeing Stars

Buzz...Buzz...Buzz

I turned over and reached for my phone, hoping to "snooze" the alarm that was buzzing and vibrating a little too loud for my peaceful sleep. Unfortunately, once an alarm like that goes off I'm usually awake. It was 5:30 am on Wednesday morning in New York City and I had spent the previous two days at an exhausting workshop; the last thing I wanted to do was wake up early, especially when I could hear the pitter-patter of rain hitting my window.

I reminded myself that I had no idea when I'd be back in Manhattan again and I didn't want to spend my last day sleeping. With that in mind, I quickly got dressed—an outfit fit for spending the next several hours outside in the rain—I didn't shower or do my hair, because I was planning on walking a mile and a half to my destination, and with the rain I knew I'd just get gross all over again.

Fifteen minutes after the alarm buzzed I was out the door with my red polka-dot umbrella shielding me from the rain. On the way to the Good Morning America set I stopped and grabbed a bagel from a street vendor. The streets were deserted that early in the morning—a sight I never thought I'd see in New York City—but it made for a pretty fast commute.

When I got to Good Morning America on 44th Street and Broadway I expected to stand outside for the duration; the website says you can only go in if you have a reservation and a ticket...I had neither. By some chance of luck, there was a sign on the door that said during the month of October visitors don't need a ticket, anyone is welcome. That was a-okay with me.

I made friends with the people in front and behind me in line and while we were getting antsy to head inside (and to get out of the rain), I offered to hop into the Starbucks nearby and buy everyone a coffee. Little did we know that five minutes after I got back with our hot drinks, we were allowed to go inside, sans the coffee. I guzzled down my double shot vanilla latte like it was an ice cold drink, and headed into the studio.
Surprisingly there weren't very many of us in the audience, I think it was because of the gloomy weather outside. I took some pictures while I waited for the real reason I was there, to catch a glimpse of McDreamy:

Sam Champion

Chris Cuomo

And then I got more than I bargained for. Patrick Dempsy stepped into the studio and was 10 feet away from me during the entire interview. We weren't allowed to take pictures while the camera was rolling, so I tried to snap a few before and after. (I apologize for the terrible shots, I was a lot more nervous and excited than I thought I'd be.)

Kenny, disregard this next sentence, please. McDreamy was absolutely 100 percent more gorgeous in person than he is portrayed on television. Seriously.

Next up was Reese Witherspoon. I don't know how I managed to be up front for both interviews, but I was and being 5'2'' I was incredibly happy I didn't have to stand on my tippy toes to see these stars. Reese seemed as charming as she does on the pages of magazine. She is also the tiniest human being I've ever seen in real life. I'm not kidding when I say her thigh is probably as big as my forearm. She was also wearing at least four-inch heels and with that extra eight she still looked teeny.



We had to stick around for the entire show, which turned out to be a good thing, because I got a picture with Diane Sawyer and Chris Coumo, two people I see every morning on TV (Robin Roberts was "on assignment.")

The rest of my time in NYC was a blur, filled with more rain, soggy shoes, and more walking, but I'm definitely happy I got up when I did so I could see two of my favorite movie stars.

A Few Hours Left

Thank you to everyone who left me a comment on my last post. I read them all again just before I left for my workshop on the first day and it helped build my confidence. Gracias to all of you!

I'm coming home this afternoon, but couldn't resist sharing how my two-day workshop went. It was beyond fantastic and I can't wait to start implementing some of the things I've learned into my writing and life. My plan is to sharpen my "voice" as a writer (which is a silly way of saying I want to hone in on my own style of writing), and I'm going to use this blog as my workspace for the time being. The days were absolutely packed with information by some of the most influential people in magazines today and I'm still blown away and humbled that I was *thisclose* to all of them.

With eight hours left before I leave for the airport I'm bundling up in my scarf, hat, coat, and umbrella and I'm going to trudge my way through the rain to Times Square. When I get there, the plan is to find the Good Morning America set and stand outside the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two stars slated to be on the show: Mister McDreamy and the adorable Ms. Witherspoon.
I haven't been able to take too many photos, seeing that I've been cooped up inside for the past two days, but I do have some picture from this trip that I'll hopefully get up online tomorrow.

In the mean time I'll leave you with the two reasons why I'm immediately hitting the gym when I get home. I'm sure I shouldn't be sharing this, but I hear admitting your problems is the first step to recovery. Here goes nothing:

I've had pizza and cupcakes every day that I've been here, and I can't get enough of them. I don't know if it's because I'm in this "vacation" mode, or if things really do taste better here in New York City, but the pizza from Abitino's Pizza and the cupcakes (oh yes, I've had multiple - SHAME ON ME!) from Magnolia Bakery are seriously the best I've ever had.

Seriously, you're lucky that I stopped when I did to take a picture of it, because I pretty much devoured that entire slice. And see that big ol' grease spot there next to it on the right? Oh yeah, that's what made my mouth happy.

This sweet-looking Breast Cancer Awareness cupcake had that just-out-of-the-oven taste, was beyond aesthetically pleasing, and was simply delicious, not to mention that a percentage of what I paid goes to cancer research. I should mention that their Red Velvet cupcake tastes like heaven; it tastes so good that I couldn't find my camera fast enough to take a picture.

More fun NYC tales and (hopefully!) pictures of movie stars to come tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Biting the Big Apple

I don't know if you follow Ugly Betty, but if you do then you know three years ago, when the show first aired, she graduated from college and ventured out to NYC for a career in journalism, specifically for a magazine. I was hooked on the show from day one. Here was this awkward Hispanic girl, still trying to figure out who she was while desperately attempting to kick-start her new life. She started working as an assistant at MODE magazine just around the time I started working at Albuquerque The Magazine.

At the beginning of this season, Betty's job title shifted and she's now a features writer, but she's realizing just how many other talented people there are in the business and how many of those writers want her job. Interestingly enough, the same week season three started was the same week I moved out to Georgia and when I started looking for more writing positions.

Tomorrow I'm jetting off to New York City for three days. I'm not going there to sight see and be a tourist (although, I am going to try to make it to Ground Zero again, and have a slice of pizza and a bagel...mmmmm); I'm going to The Big Apple for a magazine writing workshop: two days chalk full of interactive panels, groups, and discussions on anything and everything related to writing and magazines.

The speakers who will be there are some of the best in the industry, and to say—at this moment, right now—that I'm confident and ready for this would be a complete lie. I'm scared shitless. I know I'm a capable writer and that my editor wouldn't have helped me go if I wasn't ready, and I know on Tuesday night I'll be forever grateful for going and learning all that I did, but right now I'm dealing with the unexpected.

There will be magazine editors from Women's Health, Elle, People, Esquire, Vanity Fair, the Oprah Magazine, Food and Wine, Latina, and the list goes on and on. And they're all editors for magazines I want to write for...see why my nerves are kicking in?

Luckily, I'm meeting up with a friend tomorrow when I land, so she can help take away some of my nerves. I've been online friends with her for a year and a half (we "met" on a military girlfriend's support site) and she and her (new!!) hubby are meeting me in NYC. And so that we aren't looking for each other in the middle of a giant New York haystack, they're staying at the same hotel I am.

Speaking of the hotel, it's called The Pod Hotel, and the best way I can describe it—sight unseen—is that it may be like a chic, hip, upscale hostel. Check out some photos from their website:





I'll be staying in their "Single" (picture above) and this is what it says about the room:

"Perfect for singles on the go, the Single Pod includes a comfy twin bed, an open closet, and a sleek stainless steel sink. A sleek workspace with a dimmer control light system give you a place to think and write. Our 15" LCD TV, mp3 player docking station, and free WiFi offer a number of ways to relax, while our in-room safe eases your mind and keeps your valuable secure. An in-room display indicates the availability of shared bathrooms, which feature luxurious rain-head showers, designer sinks, streaming music, and marble and granite interiors."

With the hundreds, if not thousands, of choices of places to stay in Manhatten, I had a hard time picking a place. I checked Trip Advisor, though, and this is rated #64 for all the hotels in NYC and the only bad things people had to say were that the rooms were tiny, which is expected when the name of the hotel is called "Pod," and that the elevator is slow. But after the last hostel I stayed at in England (remember, it had NO elevator), I'll take a slow lift rather than lugging my stuff up a bajillion flights of stairs any day.

So on Monday morning, with my laptop and a notebook in tow I'll attempt to walk the streets of New York City like I'm meant to be there. So if you're reading this, please send good luck and happy confidence vibes my way, because on my walk to the conference I'll probably be repeating "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!" over and over in my head.

I'll let you know how it all plays out next week :)

Favorite Things Friday

I've been wanting to do a Favorite Things Friday for awhile, but haven't really had the time. So this morning I grabbed the camera and set out to show you my favorite things from the fridge!

I don't know what makes this ice cream so delicious, but it's the best I've ever had. So yummy and so not weight watchers friendly.

The coffee you're looking at is Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla. It's a shame aromas can't be smelled over the 'net, cause that stuff smells good!

If you haven't tried this pepperoni yet, you're missing out. It may be made out of turkey, but it tastes just as good as the real stuff, I promise. AND 17 pieces is considered a serving!

I really love milk. A lot. Kenny, on the other hand, doesn't. That's fine by me, because I can drink out of the carton and nobody will yell at me!

Have you tried these yet? Run to your nearest supermarket and get some. They're thinner than bread, but are also sort of like an English muffin. It's usually my go-to snack in the afternoon.

mmmmm corn. I used to practically eat corn out of the can when I was younger. Wait...I still do!

Just as I love milk, I love cheese. Sharp, please!

I'm not a huge fan of sweets, but for some reason, I love raspberry jam. If I'm in the mood for something sweet I'll sometimes toast those sandwich thins and put a little jelly on it. Oh, and I like the kind with seeds.

Chile will hopefully forever be a staple in our fridge/freezer.

If you're a fan of spicy food, you HAVE to try this sauce. It may say "sweet" on the label, but I personally don't taste the sweet. I usually make pasta, saute some veggies and shrimp in the sauce and then mix it all together.

And this is our fridge :)

What are your favorite things in your fridge? Do we share any favorites?

Thirsty Thursday

Nothing kick-starts my day better (and faster) than a fresh cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, french vanilla flavor, of course!

What wakes you up in the morning?

Wordless Wednesday

I've seen "Wordless Wednesdays" floating around the blogosphere, so since today's Wednesday and I don't have much to say, here are some photos in honor of the fact that four months from RIGHT NOW I will be married to the handsome fellow below :)

Engagement photo by Kim Jackson Photography

Our "First Date" in Disney World, 2007

Taken at the coolest Chrismakahgiving dinner :)

Halloween 2008

Talkin' Tuesdays

Sorry my posts have been few and far between lately. My procrastination got the best of me and the deadline that seemed to be many weeks away is now here and calling out my name. This Sunday I'm also going out of town—to The Big Apple–for a writing workshop led by some of the most influential people in my industry, so needless to say, I have a lot going on right now and my nerves may start taking over any minute.

I'd love to say it'll all slow down after this next week, but then the holidays are starting and I'll be taking a trip back home for a couple months...and then I get married...FOUR months from today. Whoa! There's still so much that I want to do for the wedding, and I'm hoping I can start working on those projects in a couple weeks.

Yesterday was my first official day of working from home and I got a whole lot more done than I expected, so hopefully I can keep up this productivity. I'm not gonna lie, it's kind of nice to work from home and wear whatever I want (currently barefoot and in shorts and a hoodie). I really, really, really love my office, but it's still in shambles, so once I get it all straightened out I'll post some pics.

Last week I posted a poll about how people load their dishwasher. The topic came up when Kenny and I were loading ours together (how domestic of us!). He likes to put the handles down and I like them up. His theory is that they'll get cleaner if the spoons, forks, etc. are all pointed up. My theory is that the handles should be up so that I don't A) have to get my hands all gross and dirty while putting them in the dishwasher and B) when they're clean I can grab them by the handles, which are intended for grabbing. And from the looks of it, a few more people agreed with my method (woohoo!):

I think the compromise we're taking is that whoever starts loading the dishwasher first gets to have it their way; at least that's how it's been the past few times we've washed dishes together.

So far we haven't really had any challenges living together. I don't know if it's because I've visited him out here so often and because we both picked out most of the stuff in the house together, or what, but so far so good! I know it's only been a week, but I'm really enjoying everything about this.

I've noticed some new followers on my Twitter (follow me here!) and was wondering how many of you reading this are following me over there. If you are keeping up with my daily ramblings, let me know; I like following new people, too! Oh, and I really like reading blogs—I think it's safe to call it a vice of mine—so there's a blog you think I should be following, let me know. I need breaks throughout the day and blogs are the perfect quick-break distractions.

Happy Tuesday!

RIP Schmumfy

Traveling across the country can take a toll on a person...or a hamster.

I think I noticed this before I left for Georgia, but Schmumfy had been breathing erratically and would take very fast breaths all the time, even while sleeping. During the road trip to Georgia I'd cover her and try to keep both hamsters (I have another one named Harry) as "comfortable" as possible.

When we got to our home we set the hamsters up in their cages near our couches so we could play with them and keep an eye on them—they're seriously cute, people! (Like right now Kenny just went over and said, "Hey there, Little Man!" and gave Harry a fruit loop!)

Okay, so they were doing just fine except for Schmumfy's breathing. We were hoping it would start to get a little more regular now that we weren't traveling anymore.

On Wednesday night Kenny and I took her out of her cage to play with her and I noticed that her bottom half seemed very big and she was almost dragging/waddling her back legs. She also hadn't eaten any of the food I had left her over the past few days, which is really unlike a hamster since they hoard food.

Well, on Thursday she slept all day (they're nocturnal animals), but about five minutes after Kenny got home from work she woke up. He went over to her cage to give her a peanut (her favorite) and she walked over, tried to get it and fell. He said, "Oh no! Schmumfy fell." So I got up from my comfy spot on the couch and went over; she tried to get up to get the peanut again and fell again.

This time, though, we noticed that her breathing slowed WAYYYYY down. We watched her for a good 15 minutes and saw her breathing going from slow, slow, slower, and then it stopped. Schmumfy had died. It was really, really sad. I'm just happy it happened when Kenny was around so he could be with me.

We wrapped her up in one of Kenny's Converse shoe boxes and burried her out back by a tree. She was barely two years old and a hamster's lifespan is usually around three years, so I'm thinking she had a tumor or sickness/disease or something like that.

Long story short, it was a very sad time and she will very much be missed.

RIP Schmumfy

Road Trip Fest: From NM to GA

I wouldn't say that I'm a moving expert, but I've had my share of (mini) moves. But the difference between stuffing my then Grand Am with as much as it would hold and packing up the past 25 years of my life is that I needed to trade in my car for a moving truck.

This is what my room looked like in the midst of my packing...


Yeah...it was kind of a mess...

But then! Somehow there was a light at the end of the tunnel and it turns out that this is what my room looks like when it's completely clean:

(The stuff on the dresser are things I'll need for the wedding or when I go back in December)

So where did all of my stuff go? It got loaded into a Penske truck that looked like this:
I told myself about 100 times to take a picture of our particular truck and of the stuff inside. My brother did a great job loading it all and then Kenny unloaded it all here in Georgia. But with all that was going on I never took that picture. Oops!

Last Thursday we left Albuquerque before the sun rose. I made sure I had my Dunkin' Donuts coffee and we hit the road. My parents drove the truck and I took the lead in my car. Our goal was to make it to Oklahoma City around dinner time, and we made it, but God decided to dump pools of rain on us just before we got to OKC. I've never been terrified about driving, but that night I couldn't see a car five feet in front of me; my hands were literally shaking from grasping the steering wheel so hard. Luckily we all made it to our hotel and dodged more rain as we walked to the Golden Correll for dinner. (The first picture is of a funny looking truck—it looks like it has ginormous ears! And the second is our first truck stop.)

(Everything's bigger in Texas)

That night I stayed up late, because Kenny was flying into OKC to meet us there. His plane was supposed to land just before midnight, but it didn't get in till after 1 am. After just a few hours (if that) of sleep, we woke up and hit the road. Our next stop was Memphis.

On our way to Memphis we stopped for a quick lunch at Cracker Barrel:

We made it to Memphis with no weather problems this time. After checking in to our hotel we made our way out for some yummy BBQ.

I had eaten at Neely's BBQ when I was in Memphis before and remembered how much I liked it, so that's where we went for dinner. I should preface this by saying that I'm not a fan of barbecue...there's just something about it that I very rarely like.

Since I was in Memphis I didn't want to just get a salad or chicken strips or something generic like that. Instead, I got their BBQ Spaghetti. It's basically noodles, spaghetti sauce, and barbecue sauce and beef mixed in. It's sooooooo good!

This was Kenny's plate:And my dad's meal:

After being stuffed with good grub we went to go see Graceland. Since it was dark, all we did was drive past the mansion, but we'll go back again sometime! (I've been there before, but my parents and Kenny haven't.)

We got back to the hotel and fell asleep fast. On Saturday we woke up early and made our way to Georgia! Before we could head to Warner Robins we made a pit stop in Atlanta to meet up with my friend Mike. We've been friends for more than 10 years and he just moved to Atlanta for an art program; he asked us to bring a few things from home for him, so we happily obliged. We got back on the road and made it to my new home less than two hours later.

All together we spent 1,555 miles on the road and Kenny and I passed the time by scoping out license plates from other states! Did we see your state? Here's the rundown of the plates and states we saw:

1. California
2. Indiana
3. Oregon
4. Texas
5. Arkansas
6. Utah
7. Michigan
8. Arizona
   
9. Georgia
10. Missouri
11. Iowa
12. New Mexico
13. Nevada
14. New York
15. Ontario
16. North Carolina
17. Mississippi
18. Massachusetts
    
19. Kentucky
20. Louisiana
21. Colorado
22. Michigan
    
23. Rhode Island
24. Kansas
25. Washington
26. Alabama
27. Tennessee
    
28. Delaware
29. South Carolina
30. Virginia
31. Ohio
32. Florida
33. New Jersey
    
34. Hawaii

My parents stayed out here until Tuesday morning, but while they were here they got to see my house and a few parts of Georgia. We went to the Museum of Aviation:
They got to see a mock-up of where Kenny works:
Of course, a trip to Georgia wouldn't be complete without peaches! We went to Lane Southern Orchards and my parents picked up some peachy souvenirs.

And a trip to the south wouldn't be complete without..dun dun dun...
And that, dear readers, is my very brief moving adventure!

Right now I feel a tiny bit displaced. Usually when I come out here I'm always on vacation visiting Kenny. But now I live here—LIVE here—and it may take some getting used to. Most of my boxes are unpacked and my office is almost set up, so I'm sure I'll get the hang of this sooner or later, but in the mean time I'm still in vacation mode (e.g. today I've watched Ellen, two episodes of Overhaulin'-I couldn't figure out how to work the TV at that point—, two episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, and I'm on my second episode of The Locator).

My plan, in the next few days is to get my act together and start working on a couple projects I have (finishing my office and working on some magazine work I'm on deadline for). I also just re-signed up for Weight Watchers this morning, and I'm going to start going to a local gym here very soon. Other than that, life is good and I'm love seeing Kenny walk through the doors after work each day and saying, "Honey, I'm home!" Love it.

Stay tuned for pictures of my new house!

***If you haven't already, read this post and then make your vote on the right hand side. Do you put utensils in the dishwasher handles up or handles down?!***

I'm a Kreativ Blogger!

I really want to tell you all about the move out here to Georgia, but until I can get my stuff out of boxes and my office set up, my mind isn't thinking very cohesively. Not to mention, I need to get in a "I live here now and I'm not just on vacation" groove. So in the mean time I have this:

Miss Roddy Bride gave me some blog love right before I left New Mexico and so now I shall pass along the award to some other creative bloggers I love! (Sorry...I know it's called "Kreativ" Blogger, but I just can't stand to spell it that way!)

The award states that I need to list 7 facts about myself and then pass this fabulous award on to 7 other Kreativ Creative bloggers!

My seven facts:

1. I take naps as though I'm getting paid to sleep. Seriously, I love them. And I know everyone probably says that they love napping, but I really love naps; so much, in fact, that my cousins nicknamed me, Nappy. Yup. Actually, they call me "Nappy" more often than they use my real name.
2. I sweat. A lot. I really wish I didn't, because I can get very self conscience about it, but then the more I think about it and try not to sweat the more I sweat—it's a pretty terrible conundrum. Living in the humid southeast is definitely going to suck. On the bright side, it's been at least a year since I've had my hair cut and I don't have any split ends and it's constantly shiny. My guess? Sweat=healthy, shiny hair.
3. I'm addicted to reading blogs, particularly those written by other military wives.
   
4. I'm going to a writing workshop in NYC in less than two weeks and I'm beyond intimidated and nervous.
5. It turns out that I kind of actually like cooking. I like cooking even more when I'm wearing my awesome apron.
6. Coming up with just seven (okay, let's be honest, five) random facts about myself just helped me waste a good half hour of my life.
7. Seven is my favorite number and the only times I notice that I'm a teeny tiny bit OCD is when I get a drink of water from a water fountain (I have to let the water run for seven seconds before I'll drink from it). Weird, I know.
   

Now for my picks for 7 Creative Bloggers:
1. Keva Kate - delicious Keva Juice recipes pop up all the time!
2. Wedding Planning with Joy - she is hands down the most creative person ever!
3. My Life One Day at a Time - Beka's been keeping up with Project 365 fantastically
4. New Girl on Post - pictures from Italy are always awesome!
5. Air force Recruiting - a fellow New Mexican :)
6. Cloud Nine and Counting - a bride and military wife to be, just like me!
7. Through My Eyes - oh yeah, I'm shamelessly plugging my own blog!

***If you haven't already, read this post and then make your vote on the right hand side. Do you put utensils in the dishwasher handles up or handles down?!***

Too Hot To Handle

My Spoon is Too Big*

Hello, hello! Sorry for the delay in posts, but moving has kind of taken top priority these days. We made it to Georgia on Saturday afternoon and it feels really spectacular to be here! But while I work on getting back into the swing of things, posting may be a teeny bit sporadic.

So in the mean time, I need your opinion:

When you're filling a dishwasher and it comes to the utensils, do you:

A) put your forks, spoons, and knives in with their handles up?

or

B) put your forks, spoons, and knives in with their handles down?

Cast your vote over at the poll to the right and then if you're feeling extra adventurous, let me know why picked the way you did!


*Have you seen the Rejected video (My Spoon is Too Big)? I highly recommend checking it out. My friends and I in college used to watch this on repeat, because we thought it was so funny!

Adios, Albuquerque!

Whoa. Just writing those two words, "Adios, Albuquerque," made me sad for the very first time. By the time you're reading this, I'll already be on the road...oh the powers of Blogger's scheduled posts! I'm writing this on Wednesday night, my last night here in Albuquerque for awhile.

I think the reason I haven't been sad—yet—is because I know I'm coming back home. I'll be in Georgia for a little over 10 weeks and then I'm coming back to celebrate the holidays, New Year's, and tying up wedding-related things till the end of February. I also think I'm not sad because this is an exciting time in my life! I'm beyond happy to finally get to be with Kenny. It's also comforting to know that both of our families will always be here when we come back to visit, and most of my friends are growing roots here in town.

Don't get me wrong, there's a really good chance I'll be crying when I pull out from my driveway in the morning, or that I'll have mini sob fests in Georgia (I've already prepared Kenny for these and he's promised hugs and his shoulder for me to cry on). But right now? Right now I'm cool, calm, collected, and really anxious (in a good way, of course).

You know that "next chapter" in our lives everyone always mentions? Yeah, I'm about to turn the page...

Road Trip Fest 2009

I may have mentioned this once or twice recently, but I'm moving to Georgia and it's happening pretty darn soon. Like this Thursday morning before dawn soon. My bags (and boxes, clothes, and every other tiny little item I've had in my room for the past 25 years) are packed and I'm just about ready to go.

This won't be my first time moving to the Peach State. I lived in the heart of Atlanta for a summer about three years ago and loved the state, so when Kenny had a chance of being stationed somewhere, we talked about it and decided Georgia wouldn't be too bad, so now that's where I'll be living for the next several years.

Our trip out there will take about three days, driving around eight hours each day. We're stopping and spending the night in Oklahoma City and Memphis, and we're taking my car and a 16-foot Penske moving truck. Oh, and we're taking walkie-talkies...ooooh yeah. When I say "we" I'm talking about myself (driving my car), my parents (driving the truck), and Kenny (who will be flying in and meeting us in OKC to help alternate as a driver for the other two days).

So as you can see, I'm going to be on the road a whole lot—1,500 miles a lot, so I need your help. When I did this drive the first time my friends and I made a pretty decent playlist (click to enlarge):

But now I need your help. I want to add more songs to my Road Trip Mix (depending on my mood I've been known to just keep hitting the skip button till I find something good), so can you leave a comment with your favorite sing-along songs, road trip songs, and just other songs you think I should have on there?! I like hip hop, oldies, country, alternative...basically anything but classic rock (I know, I'm sorry) and metal. Also, if you can recommend any audio books, that would be great, too!

All Laced Up

I just bought a new dress and I'm pretty excited about it, because I think it's adorable, romantic, comfortable, and fun! I bought it online from Sears.com after trying it on in the store but finding out they didn't have my size in stock (lame). Luckily they had it online, and thanks to an awesome "Friends and Family Sale" they're having right now, I got 20 percent off.

I'm hoping to wear this for New Years Eve and/or our rehearsal dinner. The description says that I'll, "Look picture perfect on that special day with this lace party dress. Strapless. Pleated bodice. Padded interior shelf bra. Satin-trimmed waist. Rosette accent. Zips at back. Falls above knee. Fully-lined. Tulle-lined hem."

Lace Strapless Partydress With Rosettes by Appropriate Behavior

I know the above pic is tiny, so I used my mad computer skills (aka I took screen shots of the enlarged view) and pieced together what it looks like close up:

It should be arriving at my Georgia home the same day I pull up on our moving truck, which is six days away, by the way! :)

So what do you think of my new party dress?