Chai Lovers Unite

So I found a delicious Chai mix...at Costco!

I know, shocking!

Well, not shocking...Costco has everything under the sun!

I was walking through Costco, you know, tasting all of the samples and they were testing the chai!

I had the first sip and knew I needed it!!

The best part?

There are 53 servings in the container and it was only $9.99!

I think that I made out on top!

Thanks Costco!

The Favors

I just ordered a sample of my favors!

Madre and I decided that since we are ordering online that we should only get 1 set to make sure that they are good quality and look nice.

I decided on these! 

image

They look nice and they come with the place card and the super-duper cute saying on one side and blank on the other!!

{remember the cute phrase: 

"Today, as we gather together, wish us a love to last forever. 

If you would like us to share a wedded kiss, ring the bell for lifelong bliss."}

A couple of weeks ago, Madre, Friendoodle and I went to the Gift Center in San Francisco looking at invitations and favors and we found the bell favors! Woohoo! They are super cute and I fell in love with them...again!

Problem: they were something like $2.50/bell and with a guest list of about130, that is a little pricey for something I can find online for more than 1/2 the cost! 

I went home and went back through my research and found some that seem to be the same thing!

They should arrive sometime next week! 

I will let you all know how they fair!

Happy Day!

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

So, as you all know, I have recently relocated

On top of that...I am now living {gasp} with a boy!

Much has changed in my world....

...we have moved into a teeny tiny apartment, a spacious 650 {at its max} square feet. Fortunately, we kinda like each other, so it hasn't been much of a problem...

well, since we have had to toss most of our belongings to make room for us!

The two of us each have one {or four} of everything so we have had to downsize.

We decided that we didn't need 12 plates, since there are only 2 of us here and we don't need 6 sets each of silverware--at least for now. Not to mention the fact that our kitchen it the size of my pinky-toe-nail, we simply just don't have the space for it all.

So we have made a huge giveaway pile!

Even with this huge giveaway pile, we have accumulated, through the move, more stuff with even less space for it all.

Last week, I came up with the most brilliant plan...

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

1) We have a mini dishwasher. We ran it once and it didn't even clean the dishes. Since there are only 2 of us here, we also decided not to use the dishwasher because we will just clean the dishes after we use them.

So, what is my genius plan, you might ask?

We store the plates and glasses in the dishwasher to make more cabinet room for the pots and pans!

It is just wasted space if we aren't using it, right?!

What do you think?

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

{I think that it is just resourceful, if you ask me :-D}
Sweeter thinks its ghetto..haha!

2) I baked cookies last night. We don't have a cooling rack. We have a toaster oven. 

Instead of keeping the just baked cookies on the baking stone, I decided to utilize the toaster over as a cooling rack.

It's better than using the over, right?!

What do you think?

Ghetto? Not Ghetto?

I sent Sweeter a picture text, since I made these when he was on duty and he replies with:
"was the dishwasher full"
ha ha, he thinks he is soooo funny

Haha, that is all that I have for now...I am sure that I will have more Ghetto-Fabulous updates on how to save space as the months pass!

Until then, enjoy and I hope you got a good laugh...I know that we did!

I Survived!

I survived my first night in our new apartment...alone!

Before the holidays, Sweeter was told that an NCO was going to have to stand duty from 8AM to 8AM on the 28th. Most of Sweeter's team is on leave for the holiday so there are not a lot of guys around. I have the sweetest Sweeter and he offered to split the shift and stand duty from 8PM to 8AM--Boo!

He came home after work yesterday, I made us some dinner and we ate by candle light!

{it was exciting because for Christmas, Sweeter's parents got us a blu-ray player that has wi-fi}

During dinner we also listened to some classical music on pandora through the blu-ray player!

It was pretty neat!

We feel so tech-savvy!

We also set up a netflix account-look at how hip we are

After Sweeter left for work, I put on Julie & Julia and made some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

{I felt that it was most appropriate}

Santa brought me a pampered chef stone and these cookies had the honor of being the first dish I made
Super exciting!

I just love Meryl Streep!
{have you seen Death Becomes Her? if you haven't, rent it right now! it is totally worth it}

It was a good movie, and I would definitely recommend it..It is making me want to cook--a lot

I just may have to go out and buy her cook book and make the famous beef bourguignon recipe!

I cleaned up from my cookie fiasco and then I went to bed...I am an old lady who needs her beauty rest!

Today, when Sweeter gets home we need to clean up and run errands

He is off work for the rest of the weekend for the New Year, which is super exciting!

I wish you all a Happy Hump Day!

My Drug Test

I got a job that starts on January 3rd! 

I am super excited about it!

It definitely made my move a lot easier knowing that I was going to have something here.

One of the pre-employment requirements was for me to get a drug test.

Yesterday, I finally went...well not finally, I was busy last week and I had to get it done at a specific place which I couldn't have done before the move.

Anyway, last week, before the holiday I called the office to ask about making an appointment as well as how long it would take.

The woman on the phone made me feel silly about asking these questions, not in a bad way...I have never had to take a drug test before...so it is new territory for me!

She told me it was just a walk in kind of test and that I should prepare to be there at most an hour.

So I go to the address I was told to go to and it is a nice looking hospital.

I walk in and the security guard can tell that I am obviously not sure where to go and tells me that I am in the wrong place and that I need to go down the road to a completely different address

I was thinking to myself..."oh great, this seems fishy...why didn't they put that address on the sheet if that is where I am supposed to go?!"

I started walking over there and then decided it was too far and walked back and drove

I found the place and got inside this big building with a lot of medical offices and I had to call because I wasn't sure in which suite they were located.

I walk in and I fill out my necessary paperwork and I sit and wait about 10 minutes when a nurse comes out and says:

"Is it, LA-TA-CHI?"

(ok imagine that being phonetically how she said it)

I thought to myself:

Great, this is going to be a long visit

And I responded with:

"It's LA-TOSH"

(again, imagine that being phonetically spelled)

I walk in and I had to put my purse in a cabinet along with my jacket

She told me to walk to the bathroom and that she would follow behind me

She gave me a cup, told me to wash my hands then to pee in the cup

and when I was finished not to flush or wash my hands and open the door so she could examine the room

I did what she asked

I followed her back to a desk where she sealed it in my presence

And then I was on my way

See...I can only speak for myself, of course, when I say that I was thoroughly uncomfortable.

I can understand all of the precautions that doctors and nurses have to take to make sure that people don't "cheat" on their drug tests

That is soo ridiculous to me!

You obviously shouldn't be doing drugs if you have a grown-up job, or any job for that matter

Maybe that should be a wake-up call to you if you need to be taking a drug test to stop doing them

Sorry for being so judgmental....

The whole experience just really put me out of my element!

Holiday Wrap Up

So, my Sweeter is home for good and I CANNOT be more elated!!

He got home a week before Christmas which made the holidays even more special!!

We are almost all of the way settled in our new apartment! We had everything that we need, minus the couch and the kitchen table...

...picture this...

we eat meals on bar stools...

sitting around the kitchen counter that is maybe a foot-and-a-half square around...

under candle light!

It is so sweet and romantic that he gets excited with me when I light the candles every night for dinner :-)

Last night we bought a couple movies with some Christmas gift cards and we watched our first movie in our new apartment! 

We sat on the floor

wiggling around whenever our butt cheeks got tired

....for the entire movie!

ha! got to love improvising!

We are ordering a living room set soon, so hopefully that will come in a reasonable amount of time!

The first few days that we were here, it rained and rained and rained and didn't let up for almost 5 days!!

We had some issues with the apartment complex and since the rain has stopped the issues have pretty much subsided, which is great!

The holidays were spent running around the Bay Area to both of our parents houses so we could spend time with family!

We drove up Thursday before Christmas and left the day after Christmas to get back to our home.

We spent Christmas Eve at his parents house and Christmas at mine with his family there.

The holiday was spent with great family and fun friends!

I am sad because one of my other girls was there and we didn't take a picture :-(

My Handsome Sweeter

My Beautiful Momma!

Friend!

On Christmas we played the funniest game....

a small gift is wrapped something like 20 times each inside a new and differently wrapped box

you need two dice, a hat, a jacket, a scarf and gloves (or mittens if you want the added challenge)

we played with 8 people and each person takes a turn to roll the dice

If they get a double, they have to put on all of the clothes and start to unwrap the present...

...while the rest of the group continues to roll the dice!

So I could be putting on all of the clothes when the next person rolls a double and then I have to take all of the clothes off and the next person puts it on

You can't start to unwrap the present until you are fully dressed in the outfit!

It was hysterical!

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard!

My tummy was definitely getting a good work out! ha!!!

My mom ended up winning, she made out with a burts bees chapstick! ha! 

one of the many wardrobe changes!

I had just got everything on when my mom rolled a double...I didn't even get to touch the present!

there is the gift...I think in its outter-most wrapping

Mom rolled doubles the most, I think

little bro...hahaa

we were rolling on the floor laughing!

toward the end, he thought he was going to get it...

seeing sweeter dressed in it...I think I peed a little...SOO FUNNY

So fun!!

Can-Do Challenge- Smile Because You Care

As I mentioned a few Sunday's ago, the next few Can-Do Challenges will be coming from a book that I bought as a result of a college class that I ended up dropping and I was unable to part with this book!

I hope that these are as helpful and beneficial for all of you, as they were for me!

Stress Free For Good, written by Dr Fred Luskin & Dr. Kenneth R Pelletier, is a book that has seriously changed my life and how I manage myself :-) I hope that you all have the opportunity to read this book, and if not, please read my posts because they really do help :-)

The seventh life skill written about in this book is: Smile Because You Care

"Try a smile right now. Think of the love you offer, and smile. Hold that smile for about 10 seconds. Every person that we've asked to do this has reported feeling better. In other words, not only do you smile when you feel happy, but you feel happy when you smile! Apparently you can't have one without the other. So if you want to experience a moment of happiness, smile" (156).

Purpose:

~To reflect on the positive reasons you do most of the things in your life
~ To remind yourself that you care about people

Practice:

~Think of something you did today and ask yourself why you did them and when you remember why, smile
~Think about how much you care about the people you do things for-and smile

Tips:

~Remember that often we do things because we want to help
~Reflect on how much you care for all the people around you and how much of a help you are to them
~Smile at people, and they'll more likely smile at you

Application:

~When you are feeling discouraged
~When you are feeling overworked
~When you're being photographed ;-)

Life Skill:

"When you smile, your body and mind move into a healing state of peace and well-being-so care, and then smile" (162).

Again, all of this information comes straight from the book...I have paraphrased and generally it is not verbatim-I only chose a few items that have really helped me, that I hope will help you :-)

Merry Christmas Eve/Merry Christmas to All!

Wow! 

I haven't had internet or TV all week {I feel so out of touch) and since I got it we have just been running around turning an apartment into our home!

I will have many updates for you all early next week! 

And I will catch up with everyone then!

...for now...

I wanted to send some love to all of you and leave you with some homecoming pictures!

I am seriously the happiest person on the planet right now!

thank you all for your love upon his return!

it was magical and special and everything in between!

Merry Christmas to all, and to All a Good Night!

The initial sighting ;-)

taking a good look!

ahh! sooooo excited!

kisses for my sweeter!

my fave of the day!

waiting to get off...a long wait...

I am sooo super happy!

Guest Blogger--LivKit from Simply Sunshine and Daisy's

Now for my sixth and final guest blogger:

LivKit from Simply Sunshine and Daisy's

LivKit has become one of my must read blogs

She has a positive outlook on life, that I appreciate!

She is a fellow Marine Fiance

We have become close because we have many things in common

Without further adieu...

LivKit, take it away!

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Hey everyone!

It is Liv from Simply Sunshine and Daisys!

I recently noticed that La Tache needed some guest bloggers, and so here I am of course! She has done some amazing things for me, and is such a great woman who I am proud to call a friend, so I jumped on this opportunity!

.. Now I know a lot of you probably get enough of me via my own blog.. but for those of you who dont.. I am a 20 something, Military fiance who happens to be battling Ovarian cancer and getting ready to have a hysterectomy ... No I am not handling it ok.. and yes that is why I am still blogging! Well Ill back you guys up a little bit to my being a Mil-Fi.. (I just made that up-- I have no idea if it is used anywhere else...) You can read a little more about us here... (http://kelseylaurenusaf.blogspot.com/2010/12/interview-olivia.html) My Mr came home this month on R.R and I have had the most fun with him so far! Which brings me back to La Tache... She asked me to tell about my working in a college enviroment and all the craziness that goes along with it... but I had the funnies conversation last night (12/14/2010) with the Mr that leads me to explain the title of this post...

(Setting... On our lovely little couch, drinking, and eating popcorn.. Watching TV)

Mr- Babe, What do you think of me ever being President?

Me- (nearly spits out drink) What?

Mr- Do you think Id be a good President?

Me-(looking at him like he has lost it) Well... you do have a good military background!

Mr-(puffs up like a peacock) You noticed that huh...

Me-Honey; you couldnt even make brownies last night by yourself? You might have an impresive military background but you are very LAZY!

Mr-The President doesnt do anything himself...

Me-Well the First Lady doesnt make the President brownies either.. (by this point to the point of falling in the floor laughing at this)

Mr-She would if she was a sweet First Lady... (looks at me trying to be cute)

Me-(Grabs pillow) Well you arent ready to be President then.. nor make a good one!

Mr-What?! (says this like the minion on Despicable Me)

Me-You need a better plan... and a sweeter First lady! (hits him with pillow!)

Isnt he just a bucket of laughs?

Any of you ever had a similar conversation with their Mr's?

Thank you so much La Tache for asking me to do this!

Liv Kit! 

------------------------------------------------------------

Liv, what a funny story! 

Oh boy! 

You two are too cute!

I can't wait to see pictures from your engagement session!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day! 

I hope to be back online tomorrow!

Guest Blogger--Adrienne from AOG Daily

Now for my fifth guest blogger:

Adrienne from AOG Daily

This may sound a little silly...

When I first met Adrienne she was a little intimidating to me..ok, lets be honest, I was totally intimidated!

She was a senior, I was a freshman

She was about to graduate from college, I was just starting

She was on EC as our Vice President Scholarship

She was pretty much the ideal sorority sister!

She was involved-always around

She is beautiful-inside and out

She always made sure to be friendly with me!

I remember talking to her, and really getting to know her at our spring semester retreat!

After getting to know her I was sad to see her go and also excited for her to start a new chapter in her life!

About a year ago, I came across her blog

maybe she posted about it on Facebook...who knows...

And I have been stalking her ever since!

She now has a handsome husband and a beautiful daughter

and I just can't get enough of her family/life/book updates!

She is a special and one of a kind woman and you all should check out her adorable blog!

Without further adieu...

Adrienne, take it away!

------------------------------------------------------------

Hey everyone, I'm Adrienne from AOG Daily and while my friend and sorority sister, La Tache, is enjoying some quality time with her newly returned sweetheart, I'm here to guest blog for her!

One of my favorite things about the holidays is getting Christmas and Holiday cards in the mail. Every year, we always send one out and I always put a lot of time and effort into picking just the right picture and just the right design. But once the holidays are over, these cards get lost in the oblivion of packed up or thrown away Christmas decor. This is why I like to save our cards and keep them in an album so that when my children are grown, they can look back at all the Christmas cards we have sent out over the years. So in the spirit of Christmas cards, here are our cards from the last 4 years...

2007

2008

This card doubled as our "save the date" for our wedding. Our reception was at a vineyard, hence the vineyard theme.

2009

Our first card with our daughter! It was an eventful year for us, so I decided to incorporate a timeline inside.

2010

Let's see your Christmas cards from years past!

------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for your post! 

All of your holiday cards are amazing!

I was thinking about doing a holiday card/save the date...we will see how timing works out :-)

I wish you all a Magnificent Monday!

Guest Blogger--Ty from Rants. Raves. Ridiculous.

Now for my fourth guest blogger:

Ty from Rants. Raves. Ridiculous

I love Ty's blog!

She always has the best posts and she never fails to make me laugh!

Please take a look at her lovely page and just admire how cute she is!

I promise, she won't disappoint!

Without further adieu...

Ty, take it away!

------------------------------------------------------------

My First Guest Blog, Take 7.

I've been trying to figure out what to say.  You know when you had to do all those stupid icebreakers at work/college, and everyone goes around saying their name and where they're from, and you start sweating and feeling all nervous and stupid?  And you can't really figure out why, because in the back of your mind, you KNOW your name and your hometown, so what is there to judge?

I guess that's me now.

(Tyler.  Fort Smith, Arkansas.)

I was super excited to do my first guest blog, though, even though I wasn't sure what to write about.  I've been in the middle of finals for a while now, so the posts on my blog consist of a steady stream of profanity-ladled complaining or the most random YouTube videos ever recorded.  I should probably write YouTube a letter, thanking them for singlehandedly saving my sanity with their endless stream of puppies crashing into mirrors and hidden kittens.

However, during the last wave of procrastination (in which I read the internet cover to cover because I couldn't bear the thought of reading more of the law), I came across this video and knew I had to share it.

 It really stopped me dead in my tracks.

Not just the acts themselves, but the mindset that you'd have to have to DO them.

And in my quest to avoid studying, I started thinking more about the types of people who are willing to take such incredible risks.  Not even the physical risks.  The ones who throw caution to the wind to do as they please.  I think we'd all be in better places if we were willing to be a little less uptight.

Here’s to the crazy ones.  The misfits.  The rebels.  The troublemakers.  The round pegs in the square holes.  The ones who see things differently. 

They’re not fond of rules.  And they have no respect for the status quo.  You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. 

Because they change things.  They invent.  They imagine.  They heal.  They explore.  They create.  They inspire.  They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?  Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?  Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? 

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. 

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

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I would like to say that this post totally hit the spot! 

Thank you so much, Ty!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

I know that I am!

Can-Do Challenge- Appreciate Yourself

As I mentioned a few Sunday's ago, the next few Can-Do Challenges will be coming from a book that I bought as a result of a college class that I ended up dropping and I was unable to part with this book!

I hope that these are as helpful and beneficial for all of you, as they were for me!

Stress Free For Good, written by Dr Fred Luskin & Dr. Kenneth R Pelletier, is a book that has seriously changed my life and how I manage myself :-) I hope that you all have the opportunity to read this book, and if not, please read my posts because they really do help :-)

The sixth life skill written about in this book is: Appreciate Yourself

This is a really important life skill!
And it is the most difficult.
I can promise that if you do your best to make this a priority, you will have a high self esteem and feeling of self worth!
 

Purpose:

~To notice the many good things you do
~To learn to appreciate your talents and skills
~To remind yourself that you work hard and are worthy of praise

Practice:

~Think of one or two things you did that were helpful or that you were good at
~Appreciate yourself for your talents and willingness to help
~Realize that offering kindness, help and support are all positive choices that you make
~Even the little things need to get done. Appreciate yourself for not having blown them off.

Tips:

~It's easy to forget how much good we do
We're often criticized for things we do wrong rather than praised for things we do right. Look for your own virtues if all you're hearing is complaints
~Remember that appreciation is not the same as conceit

Application:

~When you feel inferior at a social or business meeting
~At the end of the day, if you are wondering what you accomplished
~When you feel that your abilities aren't being appreciated

Life Skill:

"Learning to appreciate your own worth and value isn't an indulgence; it's seeing clearly your own unique character and gifts" (147).

Again, all of this information comes straight from the book...I have paraphrased and generally it is not verbatim-I only chose a few items that have really helped me, that I hope will help you :-)

I am the Happiest Girl in Town...

...No, no, no...

on the planet!!

My Sweeter is home!

My Sweeter is home! 

My Sweeter is home!  

My Sweeter is home! 

My Sweeter is home!  

He made it home safe and sound yesterday!

After a long day of waiting for him to get off of the darn ship...

he is off, home and in my arms, right now!

{I did schedule this post a day in advance...

no internet for me for a couple of days while I enjoy him!

keep your eyes open for more guest posts!}

Yay! 

I just cannot wait to spend Christmas and the New Year with him!

He makes me sooo happy!!

Homecoming pictures to come! 

For now, here are two from his first deployment!

 we have two happy sweeters!

My Sweeter is home! 

Guest Blogger--Lindsay from Sweet American Honey

Now on to my third guest blogger

Lindsay from Sweet American Honey

I stumbled upon Lindsay's blog and my eye was caught by the beautiful wedding photos that she has posted on her sidebar! She was a stunning bride and so I decided to peruse her blog and read her posts and I just totally fell in l.o.v.e. with it!
She write about her life and the fun things that she does on a daily basis; from work stories to marriage and everything in between.
Then one day I was reading and I found out that her husband was a Marine and they met while they were stationed where my Marine is station! Small world!

I just have always enjoyed reading Lindsay's blog, so I asked her to write a special post for me!

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

Without further adieu...

Lindsay, take it away!

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I am so thrilled to be a guest at La Tache's blog. This is my first guest post and I was so excited when she asked me. She is a fellow marine's girl and that just makes me like her even more :-) It is not always easy being in the marine world, but some of us lucky girls are trying our hardest to deal with it. And for me it is now a relief that he is out. That my hubby isn't going to be deployed again or have to work insane hours. But the marines will always be part of him emotionally and physically (USMC is tattooed on the side of his torso). I am so excited that La Tache will soon see her Sweeter and that he will be home safely and they will be together again. Enjoying each other. Having fun together. :-)

Ok now on to my post :-) Sorry I ramble sometimes. Leaving home. Leaving family. Leaving friends. Can be one of the hardest things to do. But it can also be one of the best things one can do. I moved from a city right outside Los Angeles to Oceanside (San Diego) and it was the best thing that I could have ever done. I was going through some pretty rough things in my life...losing my brother, getting screwed by a guy, losing friends. I was not the happy girl I once was. I was losing weight. I would go out. I was depressed. 

Then one morning I got to work and I decided I had to move out. I had to start over and live my own life. Be on my own, away from my family. Start fresh. I was looking into schools for nursing in San Diego and I planned to go to San Marcos, after taking a few pre-reqs. I searched on craigslist and found a tiny one bedroom apartment right by the beach...yes I could walk to the beach in 5 minutes. I didn't know the area, but momma and I decided to check it out. I fell in love. Driving down to Oceanside, the weather was gorgeous. The view of the ocean was gorgeous. I knew I had to live there. I looked at my apartment, not the best area, but I didn't care at that point. I filled out the application and was approved. All.by.myself. I felt like it was such an accomplish, I didn't need a co-signer. :-)

I moved in the 3 day weekend in January. It was my own apartment. I made it exactly how I wanted it. I loved it. I felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off my shoulders. The first couple nights, I slept on the couch with the TV on because I wasn't used to living alone. I got over it and moved into the bedroom.

Oceanside was like therapy for me. I went to the beach every day. I laid out. I read. I listened to music. I cooked for myself. I drove around figuring out the town. I loved it.

I loved being alone. Not having to answer to any one. Not hearing the dogs bark. Not cleaning up after other people. It was mine. And it was the perfect time in my life to have it. I did not end up going to nursing school, I couldn't get into the classes...I was too late to sign up. So I just did my own thing.

Then the best thing happened. I met hubby @ Hooters on Friday night, February 15th.

He asked for my number and pretty much from that night on we were inseparable. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton, but basically moved in with me. Hubby was the best thing that happened to me. I know I moved to Oceanside for a reason and that was to 'find' myself and meet my hubby.

We all have times in our lives that are hard to deal with. We all want to run away at one point...sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not. For me it was. I needed to get away from family. I saw them pretty often and was close enough to drive home. Starting over is different for every person. But I think we all need to leave our roots and see what else is out there. I did just that.

Now hubby and I are in Texas, trying to get back to 'our' roots in Oceanside.We started our lives together there and that is where we want to continue our lives together.

 ------------------------------------------------------------

Lindsay, that post was more than I could have asked for!
Thank you for your inspiring words!
As you know I have recently made a huge move and the words you wrote really hit home for me!

I hope you all will go and check out Linday's blog! She is a sweet lady with lots of great things to say!
I wish you all a very happy Friday!
{not to burst anyone's bubble...but my friday will beat all of your friday's beeeehinds....i can guarantee that!}

Guest Blogger--Tara from Connecticut Yankees in South Carolina

Now on to my second guest blogger

Tara from Connecticut Yankees in South Carolina

Tara write a lot about traveling and her transition to her new surroundings!

And from my blog I hope you can see how much traveling inspires me!

So when I asked for some guest bloggers and Tara volunteered I was super excited!

Without further adieu...

Tara, take it away!

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Summer 2005: One of my first (amazing) trips to Myrtle Beach!

When I was younger, South Carolina was never one of those places I had a burning desire to see. I think at one point my parents talked about a trip to Myrtle Beach—maybe when I was in middle school. But that vacation never came to fruition, which is why I was 22 before I ever saw more of South Carolina than the immediate 95 south corridor.

My first actual visit to South Carolina was a trip to Myrtle Beach with my sister. She was checking out Coastal Carolina University and I was just there to be company. It was a chilly weekend in mid-April 2005, and after just two nights we were both hooked—despite the fact that it was too cold to enjoy the beach.

Beautiful Falls Park in downtown Greenville, SC

Thanks to my sister’s relocation to “the Beach” for school, 2005 and 2006 were comprised of numerous visits to the Myrtle Beach area, and when my parents moved to Greenville it wasn’t long before I decided to relocate as well. My relocation led to more trips to Myrtle Beach as well as weekends in Charleston, but it wasn’t until I was forced to leave Greenville for work that I realized how much I’d taken for granted while living there. I vowed that if I was able to move back, I would do everything in my power to explore as much of South Carolina as possible.

As is evidenced by my blog Connecticut Yankees in South Carolina, I did get to move back—and I was able to bring my then-boyfriend, now-husband Steve with me. We’ve now been here just over a year and we have done just what I swore to do: explored much of South Carolina, especially Greenville, and fallen in love.

One of the amazing houses on the Battery in Charleston

I won’t claim that Greenville has the attractions of Charleston or even Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head. Living here is what drew me to South Carolina and what kept me here, and of course I believe it’s an amazing place to visit. At nearly 28, Myrtle Beach no longer holds the attractions it once did, so let’s say you came to visit South Carolina. Where would I suggest?

Playing the "Mouse game" in downtown Greenville

Well, if you want a beach community with a nightlife, Myrtle Beach it is. But if you want a beach community in a quiet, beautiful setting, we have Hilton Head, Edisto, and Folly Beaches. I have to claim ignorance about Columbia, but Charleston can certainly give you your fill of history. Go there and walk the Battery, visit the open market, take a pub or martini tour with the Lesesne Tour Company. Shop on King Street, take a nearby plantation tour or even go see the Confederate submarine Hunley.

And if you want to see the new South—a city that almost died with the local textile industry but was instead brought more to life than it ever was before by an influx of new blood and new ideas—come to Greenville. Catch a baseball game with the Greenville Drive, a Red Sox farm team that plays in a field built to resemble the infamous Fenway Park. Come to Greenville and walk the Liberty Bridge, our very own unique suspension bridge. Come to Greenville and visit the many local shops and restaurants along our beautiful Main Street. Stay at the historic Westin Poinsett, built in the 1920s, and stop by one or more of our museums, including a Confederate Museum, Upstate History Museum, or even the Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery, which has an extensive art collection. We have a surprisingly enjoyable "hidden mice" game downtown called Mice on Main that's even fun for us big kids ;o)

Fluor Field - our "mini Fenway" in Greenville

Really, the wonderful thing about South Carolina is that our state has a great blend of old and new. Even the old places like Charleston have learned to adapt; and the “new” places like Greenville have learned to hold on to their roots just tightly enough. And even better, in three hours you can drive from a beautiful coastal city, one of the oldest in the South, to a great little city at the base of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

South Carolina is easy to fall in love with and truly not a place anyone should miss visiting. I can only hope that in the future people won’t just stick to the coastline, as if it weren’t for Greenville I never would have known just how great this entire state is ;o)

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So... I have never been to South Carolina
{aside from a layover...}
After reading this post, I just cannot wait to visit there!
Tara, that pink house reminds me of the house I want in Bassano!!
I love this!

 

Thank you for your post!!
Check Tara out!!

I hope you all have an amazing day!

Guest Blogger--R from Romancing Rachel

Today is my first day of having a guest blogger...ever! 

This is so exciting!

And I couldn't be more excited that R from Romancing Rachel is my first ;-)

I love how she captivates her readers on her blog!

You all should definitely go check it out!

Without further adieu...

R, take it away!

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Hi!  I’m R from Romancing Rachel.  I’m thrilled to be allowed to highjack this blog today.  Know what happened when I was asked to do it?  Writers block!  I was trying to come up with a good topic to guest blog about and had nothing!

I could have told fun stories from work.  I mean, I work with 12 year olds.  Every day I hear amazing things that I just need to share with someone!  Did you know that it was the Wright Brothers that invented Buggs Bunny?  Yeah, that’s what I hear at work.  But that’s been done before.

Or maybe I could talk about the marathon I’m running.  Me, little miss non-athletic is strapping on the sneakers and participating in the Shamrock Half Marathon in March for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and I have fun bragging about that.  But I was afraid it would sound like I was asking for donations in doing that.

Then I got inspiration from a friend.  She and I have talked about many a great date I’ve gone on.  In fact, that’s what we were talking about when she asked me if I’d ever gone on a bad date.  Boy have I!  Let me take you back to that dreadful night…..

In college I worked at a county bar.  I was the girl at the front counter who checked id’s and took cover charge.  For work I was in black pants, a polo shirt that always seemed to big, and a cowboy hat that was anything but flattering on me and usually my long hair was braided.  Sometimes I felt like being goofy and would have the pigtail braid thing going on.  Can’t you just picture how cute that was?  Lucky for me I’m pretty outgoing and at that point was pretty darn flirty so I still met many a cute man at the door despite the outfit.

On this particular night, this blonde haired, blue eyed man walked by and I nearly dislocated my jaw it dropped so fast.  Every time he’d walk by my desk I’d blush and hope he’d talk to me.  And guess what?  Eventually he did!  Since my partner in crime at the door knew I was a bit flustered by this guy she helped him along.  Prompting him to ask for my number and seeing if I’d like to go out sometime.  The bar could have burnt down that night and I never would have noticed.  The hot guy asked me out!

The next day when my phone rang and he actually asked me to dinner I was dancing around excited.  This time when I’d see him I would look cute.  Good butt jeans, sexy beaded tank top, hair down and perfectly messy.  I put in some effort.  We met up at the restaurant and were having a nice time.  We were waiting outside for our table and I managed to not trip over my own tongue as we made small talk.  He handed me the restaurant beeper and told me he had to run to his car real quick, to just grab the table if we were called and he’d meet me inside.

Less than 30 seconds after he walked away the beeper was going off and I was telling the hostess to keep their eyes open for the tall, blonde guy who would be joining me. I sat where I could see him come in, ordered a soda and told the waiter that no, I’d wait to order until my date came in.  One minuet passed.  Then two.  Then five.  The waiter was looking at me with sad eyes.  The hostess came to check and make sure I didn’t give her the wrong description of my date. 

Finally I was willing to admit what happened.  I left a few dollars on the table for the waiter and walked out of the restaurant, trying to keep the tears from falling until I hit the car.  I couldn’t believe it.  I wasn’t stood up.  That I could have handled.  This was worse.  I was left!  I had been ditched!  How could someone do that?

The rest of the evening wasn’t important.  Neither are the next few nights at work.  But the next weekend when Mr. Jerk came into the bar and actually came through my line to be checked in I couldn’t believe it.  It takes balls of titanium to do something like that!  Of course the whole bar staff knew what happened.  The bouncers treated me like their baby sister and no one was going to get away with something like that.  It didn’t take long for Mr. Jerk to mouth off to the wrong bouncer and get himself not only thrown out of the bar but banned for life from there.  Seemed like sweet revenge to me. 

After a date like that it’s safe to say I can deal with just about anything men throw at me on dates now.  I mean hey, if we’re making it to the table it’s already a better date than that one right?

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Oh girl! I can't believe he did that to you!! That is terrible...

You are obviously better and stronger without that jerk!

I hope you haven't had any more of those dates.. :-)

Thank you for your post!!
Go check out R, she is an awesome blogger!

I hope you all have an amazing day!

Ciao for now

This morning I went to the gift center in San Francisco with my mom and my friendoodle!

We looked at favors!

Do you rememberr a while back when posted about those bells that doubled as a place holder and a favor...well we saw them in person and I love them! Yay!

Then I met with our DJ and that was really productive...

Yes we still have a lot of time and since Sweeter isn't back yet we still have some time before we make any decisions

Tonight was my last night at CCD!

It was so sweet because all of the kids wrote me a card and I got a gift from the woman in charge and from the woman who's group I was helping in!

It was soo sweet!

Alright...my new adventure is starting which means so start the guest posts!

Please hang in there while I am gone! I do have some posts ready to go and I also have an awesome line up of guest bloggers!

I wish you all a wonderful next few days..

Until I return...

Ciao For now!

Welcome Back to Reality

 I am back in the Bay for my last few chores, appointments and nights out with my girlfriends!

This past weekend was a hug blur!

I got off work on Friday and headed straight home to start packing

{yes, I waited until the last minute to pack}

We loaded up the U-Haul with the couch, dresser and some other big things and then padded everything down with a million and 1 boxes and suitcases

We woke up early on Saturday and headed on the road, mom driving the U-haul, me tailing behind her in our Lexus

We stopped at Sweeter's house to pick up a dresser, bookshelf, side table and all of his gear

Loaded it all into the U-Haul

Sweeter's Dad drove the U-Haul all of the way down

Sweeter's Mom drove their Suburban

Mom and I drove our Lexus

It took us a whopping 12 hours to get to our apartment! 

We stopped a couple of times for potty breaks and snacks

Once for lunch and that was it!

We ended up hitting some traffic and the U-Haul can really only go about 65 mph...eek!

It was a long long day!

We stopped at Sweeter's storage unit to get the bed frame, box spring, some of his clothes and kitchen supplies.

Mom and I went to meet up with my cousin because she picked up our keys since we would get to the apartment too late for the office to be open. Then we drove over to the apartment.

It is small, I knew this, and it is very cute! 

I know that we will be happy there!

So we got there around 8:00ish, and we unloaded.

We had 5 constant hands and then at one point some of the neighbors offered to help us out

We brought a couch that my mom and I have had since I was in Elementary School...we love the couch. And no matter what angle we tried, we couldn't get the couch in the d**n door! Mom can't part with it so it is sitting in our apartment garage and Sweeter and I will need to figure out a way to get it back up north! Eek!

Aside from the couch debacle we got the U-Haul unloaded in an hour! 

Schweet!

We decided to go to dinner since it was 9:30 and unload our cars on Sunday.

Mom and I slept in the apartment..it is nice and quiet...we heard the train go by once, so I hope that doesn't end up being a problem...we will see!

It was nice because mom and I had a little slumber party! 

It was a lot of fun! 

We stayed up late laughing and chatting! 

It was much needed!!

Sunday we all finished unloading the car.

Sweeter's parents hit the road around 10 and mom and I stayed to visit with my Uncle, Cousin, Grandparents and mom's friend from Elementary School {mom grew up down there}

Mom and I unloaded a lot of stuff and put a lot away

{we decided to wait for Sweeter to come home to help with the rest of it :-)}

We went to lunch and we headed back North around 3:15. 

It was a whirlwind weekend!! Not even 24 hours! Wowza!

Yesterday I went to visit one of my best friends in her classroom.

She is a 1st grade teacher!

Oh my gosh, she is such a natural!

I helped her prep for some of the testing that she needs to do. I am glad that I was able to help!

Then we went home and did back-rubs and ate dinner

Today we are going to look at Wedding Favors!

I am excited to see Friendoodle!

And tonight is my last CCD {tear}

Tomorrow I am getting groomed...haircut and the whole 9-yards

And then I am celebrating my new adventure with my girlfriends at American Cupcake! 

Thursday I hit the road for good!

Thursday is also when the guest posts start!

I am soo excited for this adventure!

Ha! This will make you smile! I promise!

Top 2 Favorite Games 

(board, card, video etc)

1) Pop 5

This is an awesome game!! It is soo fun!

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 2) Loaded Questions

This game is hilarious!

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My high school friends and I have always been into all kinds of games! 

Every time we get together we play a game!!

Some other games that are fun:

Bananagrams

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Apples to Apples

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I love playing card games

Charades is the best!

Wow, this was the longest post...EVER! ha!

If you are still reading, let me know and you deserve a pat on the back! ha!