FIRE!

I had my first kitchen fire tonight.

Yes, I am fine. Thanks for the concern. (And so is the pup and the house.)

The fire you are envisioning may be a bit bigger than what it really was...I was baking cookies, a cookie fell to the bottom, I tried to get it out as best I could. There were still some crumbles and chocolate chips in the bottom. They went up in flames (tiny flames, really).

No damage done! I just need to clean out the oven now.

Oh and figure out how to get rid of the burnt smell.

You'd be proud. I held it together pretty well. (I've been good at that lately. And this time, I wasn't listening to Josh Groban, KB.)

I also had my first gross dog situation tonight. I cant share it, for your own well-being. But let's just say, I didn't really eat tonight. Everyone is fine though!

Hopefully your Monday was just as eventful as mine!

Stair Master

Before I begin, let me say that I am trying really hard to NOT become a "mommy" blogger. I will not tell you every cute thing Tillie does and post a ton of pictures (I will save that for when I actually have a kid).

However, I must say that I am so amazed by how smart she is! I haven't even had her a week yet, and she is learning so fast (on certain things). This week she learned how to climb the stairs! She is very ambitious. She doesn't always make it on the first try, but she gets it eventually. That girl can jump!

She is learning her name, and she is getting a little better at crate training. She doesn't cry as much when we put her in there, but it still breaks my heart every time she cries. (Mom says its good training for having a baby, sometimes you just have to let them cry. {I can't do that!}).

We are still working on a lot when it comes to training. She is not the best eater (it's like she has ADHD). She thinks I am a toy, along with my clothes. And the whole house training thing is going to take some time. We made a ton of progress the first couple of days, then regressed a bit. It will come, and I just have to remind myself that she is really young and what she is doing is all puppy things.

I don't know what I would do without my mom helping me. I am just so excited about the progress she has made this week and love every one of her puppy moments!

I Would Like to Introduce You

To the newest addition of my family.

This is Tillie. I brought her home yesterday.

She is a maltese/shih tzu mix, 10 weeks old, and the sweetest thing.

She loves to snuggle close and play with your feet.

I am so excited to have her and can't wait to see how this adventure goes!

My Favorite Things About My Friends: Sisters and Roomies

I have never had a sister (well, until recently when Big Bro got married). But I did pay to have about 150 of them. Funny thing is, no amount of money could ever live up to the friendships that came of being in a sorority. Fate definitely played a bigger hand than anything else could have. These girls have changed my life significantly, and I am so blessed to know each and every one of them.

Callie

I think Callie may be my soul mate. We just get each other and can talk about anything. My favorite thing that I miss dearly are the walks we used to take. We would just start walking around and eventually find our way back home, but the conversation we had during those walks were so valuable. Callie has helped me grow and be a better woman in Christ.

Aryn

Oh the memories I have with her! Aryn is my best friend. We immediately became friends when we lived across from each other in the dorms, and then lived together the next 2 years. I don’t know that I can share my favorite thing about Aryn, her small southern town upbringing, the way she tells it like it is, or her habit for falling in the bushes.

Caroline

Little Caroline. She definitely made my spring breaks memorable, and she took care of my on my 21st. I love her caring ways and loyalty as a friend. She is definitely going to make the best teacher!

Rachel

Rachel may be the most polite person I know! Even when she is mad, she still has a sweetness about her. I love when she is in a “tizzy” and gets all flustered.

Brittney

I love her curls, and she is one of the most hard-working and determined people I know! She also has the best stories to tell on road trips!

Gerlach

She makes me laugh so much! I love her calm seemingly care-free nature (I really wish I could be like that!) I don’t know if I would have made it through that Lit class without her. She is also going to be an amazing teacher!

Swanny

My roomie for 2 years. She is a brave one to put up with me! I really miss our late night talks when we couldn’t fall asleep and getting ready together. She is one of the most fun people I know – and she loves the Spice Girls, what more could you ask for?

Mal

I love her random dance moves in the TV room, her tendency to chip teeth, and reenactment of YouTube videos. Mallory can get along with practically anyone, and that makes her so much fun to be around!

Brittany and Brooke

I lived with Brittany for a summer, and it was one of the best I have ever had. She’s like a big sister to me and I just love watching girlie movies with her!

I also lived with Brooke that summer. I look up to Brooke so much. She is one of the most beautiful people I know inside and out. She is so decisive and knows exactly what she wants.

Like I have said many times, I am so fortunate to have so many amazing people in my life. My lists could go on and on. Share some of your favorite things or memories about your friends! It is nice to let them know how much you appreciate them.

The Fix Up

I tried it, I really did. When my friend asked me if I minded if she tried to fix me up with a guy friend, I went against my previous feelings on the whole idea and agreed. Although I am proud of myself for going against my norm and taking a chance, I am a little hesitant to agree to a fix up again. I feel like a fix up is forced, and I would much rather have things happen naturally.

On the positive side, these past few months were a bit more exciting than they would have been if I said no. I’ve made some new friends out of the situation, went on a date (even though I had to ask), and I had some funny/embarrassing stories to share. And I do enjoy the idea of a potential “someone” even if it doesn’t work out. Like I said, I have a new friend out of the situation and I am happy about that!

However, there is a lot of pressure! Or maybe it is just me, but I sure felt a lot of pressure. I was the one who knew about the fix up so instead of just being myself, I felt like I had to bring my A game. (Clearly this is meant to be, so I have to be perfect, right? Uh, no.) I don’t do well in these situations, so I would have rather just meet someone as a friend first, without knowing that someone thinks we would be a good match. No matter what, that idea was always in the back of my head, and I usually ended up acting like an idiot.

So I have decided that it’s not really for me. I have heard success stories from people who have been fixed up, but I am not interested in trying that again. Or maybe this was just a bad one. Oh well. Until the next great adventure!

Do you have any good fix up stories?

Getting it Back

I dont know about you, but I cant believe we are already looking toward the end of summer! Didn't summer just begin? Seriously, where did it go?!

There are things that I am looking forward to for the fall. To see some of *our* favorite things of fall check out my dear friend's wish list.

Anyway, I was starting to get off topic...

One thing I am looking forward to is for my life to slow down a bit. I feel like I have been go, go, go for the past 5 months! I will still be busy (because I LOVE being busy) but I will be busy spending time with my friends at home. Don't get me wrong, I have loved visiting with all of my friends from school that I don't get to see as much. But, I am looking forward to spending time with my friends here.

I am also looking forward to getting organized again. I just don't function well when I feel that everything in my life is out of place. So that means I am going through and organizing everything! My roomie has moved out so I have the house to myself again. That means that I need to play catch up on everything and get things back to the way I like them :)

I love when the seasons change and the newness that it brings. I am looking forward to fall and a new start of things!

How do you celebrate?

I got to celebrate by birthday with my friends early, but the celebration lasted all week long!

I felt so special on my actual birthday from all of the facebook love, to the continuous buzzing on my phone and even my colleagues at work made sure my day was different than the norm.

It all started with waking up in the middle of the morning from text messages of people sending birthday wishes. Then at work, they brought me donuts and cookies (pink and green because they looked like me). It was so hard for me to get any work done!

All I wanted to do was go see my team since they were in town. The night before there was a huge fight at the game so we knew it was going to be exciting!

Well, all of the excitement drained as I was stuck in traffic looking for somewhere to park. You would not believe that it took me over an hour and a half to find somewhere to park! I had a minor anxiety attack after I got yelled at by a cop - it was a very stressful situation. I felt so bad because my dad was standing outside the ballpark waiting for me. I told him to just go in because I wasn't going to make the game. He wanted to spend time with me so I picked him up on the side of the road and after driving for a bit longer, we found a meter that I could park at! I only had enough change for an hour and a half, but at least I made it.

We got to our seats just in time to see the Cards hit a grand slam! I love seeing my favorite players on the field and spending time with my family.

It did start raining during the game, but just in time for me to leave. I had to head down to Lexington to give my favorite Deltas some treats to help them get through recruitment prep. Then I got to celebrate in a really special way!

I was invited to go down to the Bengals Training Camp and watch them practice. It was so much fun!

I met my "long lost relative" David Fulcher. He was a hot shot Bengal back in the 80s and since I have lived here, people ask my family if we are related. Well, don't you see the resemblance?

It was so cool to be that close to the players!

(Ochocinco riding around...shouldn't he be practicing?)

TO on the field showing off.

We even had an autograph session. I am not sure how we did it, but I ended up with a football signed by Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, Coach Lewis, and even the new star, TO! How did we manage that? I don't know. It was kind of a blur to me but what an adrenaline rush! My mom had the great comparison that it is similar to getting the great sales on the day after Thanksgiving.

What a great way to celebrate! I had such a great day! Thank you all :)

I Have a Sister!

It is official, I can now remove the "Future" from my SIL. Big Bro and SIL tied the knot on Saturday! Despite a 60% chance of rain, some crazy relatives, and a hair mishap, the wedding went on beautifully!

I was at the end of the line, so I had a hard time seeing the ceremony, but rumor has it that Big Bro almost teared up when SIL started coming down the aisle!

I am so excited to officially welcome SIL to the family! I guess since I never had one, I was never the girl who always wanted a sister. I have great girlfriends in my life (and my Big Sis, MIML) and that has always been enough for me. But now I have something extra special, a real older sister and close friend. I am looking forward to the years we will share together, teasing Big Bro, pulling pranks, and having another person to go to for advice.

Congrats Big Bro and SIL! I am so excited for you and hope to someday find the love and joy that you have found in each other. (At least to just get everyone to stop asking me when it's going to be my turn...talk about pressure! :) ) Love you both!

*PS I did NOT cry at the wedding at all! Aren't ya'll proud? I think I should get all of the money that was bet on me shedding the first tear! I did cry at bit at the rehearsal dinner, however. But in my defense, it is because Daddy got a but choked up giving his toast. He is not supposed to cry. (Mom said the only other time she saw him do that was the day I was born.) If he thinks this is hard, just wait until it is my turn! We are going to need to get him a tranquilizer.

**Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday so special! I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. I will share more on the festivities soon!

Shellac Attack

I splurged this weekend and pampered myself with a mani. Not just any mani, but one of those new fads, the gel manicure. It is also called shellac. These are amazing! Not only are they supposed to last longer, but they dry instantly! No sitting there with your hands under the dryer wondering if you will have wasted your $20+ because you leave a minute too early and ruin the polish. And the whole process is so fast! I got a french manicure done, and I was only there for like 30 minutes (could be that my manicurist wasn't very talkative but that is an entirely different story).

source

If you don't like acrylics but want something a little stronger and longer lasting than a regular manicure, I highly recommend this. It is supposed to last up to 2 weeks (she told me some people's last for 3) as long as you don't pick at it. (Note to self: SC, no picking!) It goes straight on your nail, so if you are like me a prefer a shorter nail, you can do that! It is recommended to have it taken off by a professional. She told me that if you soak it yourself, you will likely still have residue on your nails.

I am really excited about this new find!

An Early Birthday

Since Big Bro is getting married next weekend (and I will be spending my actual birthday at the Bengals Training Camp VIP Party) I had to celebrate my birthday a little early.

Last night I gathered my best friends in this city and we hit the town - if that is what you want to call it.

We went to dinner at this fun restaurant, ordered so much sushi that they brought it out on a boat, and spent hours (because the service was a bit slow) sharing stories and laughing - mostly thanks to T-bird. After that we went out for a few drinks. The big 2-3 makes me feel like an official grown-up now. And it is extremely sad that I felt a bit "old" at the bar.

They even wished me Happy Birthday on the big screen!

*Note: We can't claim those blondes in the background. We stick to brunettes in our group. And we were missing Rene.

I love that I have such wonderful friends! I am looking forward to the fun times that are ahead of us as we continue adjusting to this city and our new grown-up lives!

I've Missed You!

Ok, so I apologize for my blogging hiatus. Things have been quite hectic lately and I couldn't find the time to write. And then I got stressed about not writing. And in my life, I am always looking to reduce stress, not add to it. Hence the unexplained halt to posts.

Well today I realized that I have really missed blogging and have lots of things to update you on! (Well, sort of.)

Big Bro's wedding is next weekend (and so is the big 2-3 (hint hint)) so I am kind of in a frenzy trying to finish up everything for that. Once the wedding is over, I will be back into blogging mode full force (or semi force...whichever my life allows).

Just a preview of what's to come:

• I've been crafty lately with some wedding things and decorating so hopefully I will have lots to show off!
• I've been spending lots of time with family and friends, so hopefully I will have fun stories to share.
• I have cute wedding gift ideas that I can show after the wedding.
• And all of the this and that's in my life that come up.

Hopefully I will be able to entertain you!

PS I celebrated my 1-year at my job last week. Sadly, the longest relationship that I've had, but I have realized how much you can learn in a year, especially about yourself. I am looking forward to a new year of new opportunities.