On Work.

Remember last week when I watched the entire third season of True Blood on DVD and read seven books while I was at the beach? Yeah. That cloud of relaxation went poof Monday morning at 8:00 when I arrived at work. I knew that this week was going to be stressful and I thought I was prepared for it but severely underestimated the pile of work that awaited me when I returned.

After answering 14 voice mails, countless emails, writing a million receipts for student tuition payments, and creating next semesters schedule, my workload is getting smaller but I know this isn't the end of the road. You see, tomorrow is my office-mates last day at work. Come Friday morning, I'll take over her position and by the end of the month, my boss and I will have a new receptionist.

I briefly mentioned my job change before but I didn't really get into the facts because frankly, blogging about work can be bad. Especially in my case. To put it lightly, the past few months...or year, have been kind of stressful. Co-worker and I have always been friendly, don't get me wrong, even hanging out a couple of times in the beginning, but it turned into a strictly professional relationship towards the end. There was no giant falling out or any fistfights, however, we have been known to have words. If you think about it, I spend more hours in a day with co-worker than I do with my own husband for goodness sake, it's not gonna be unicorns and glitter all day, every day. We made the best of the situation we were put in, got our jobs done and that was that.

Don't get me wrong, I mean, I don't hate the person, but the best way I can think to put it is that I wish I would have stood up for myself sometimes.

Looking back, I know there were times I should have spoken up. Some things just don't belong in a professional office setting, but in my mind, causing unwanted, petty drama wasn't necessary either. I've said it before - I hate confrontation, so biting my tongue was the best thing I could have done. On the other hand, when I add up all those times? My tongue should have been bitten clean off.

C'est la vie, right? Life goes on. I'm moving on to bigger and better things and I really hope this person does too.

I'm sorry though because that was quite possibly the most vague blog post I could have written but I can't really blurt out how I feel.

I want to keep my job, yo.

Post-Vacation

I've started this post three different times. Okay, that's a lie. I started this post four different times. The fact that I'm procrastinating is because it means I have to accept the fact that my vacation really is over. My week and a half in Rodanthe, NC flew by and it was amazing. I have the most wonderful in-laws and am so glad that my sister and her husband could join us for the trip too.

There were a million and one high points to the week but I didn't take very many pictures because I was too busy soaking up the sun to care about finding my camera. Plus, I'm not in any of the pictures that I did capture because I was too lazy to put on make up or a bra most of the time.

Instead, I snapped a few of the boys fishing:

one of our beach house:

and captured several of the gorgeous sunsets that went down behind our beach house:

We all got into a few games of corn hole, Whitney dominated the game!

And we even celebrated two birthdays while we were there. My sister, Heather

and my sister in law, Chasity, both had one during our vacation.

And yes, both of those last pictures were stolen from my nieces Facebook page. You know it's bad when they take more pictures than me. I promise, I'll do better next time.

Most of our mornings were spent drinking coffee on the deck overlooking the water but there were several days that we couldn't see past the next door neighbors. There were fires burning in the swamps of the mainland and it blew all the way over to the Outer Banks making a horrific smell. Luckily, the wind took care of it by the afternoon, allowing the sun to pop out. By then, I was ready to get my bathing suit on and drag my nieces away from their computers to get some vitamin D.

Every day was spent either by the pool or by the beach, most of the time with a Corona in hand. Each afternoon, the girls and I looked forward to hearing the ice cream truck come up the road so we could have our daily Choco Taco. Then back to the pool we went where Brooke had a blast with her new underwater camera.

She caught her parents (above) and her sister (below)

We all took turns cooking dinner in the evening and my favorite nights were my brother in laws tacos and my sisters home made lasagna. (She makes her own tomato sauce. That's dedication right there.) There were no clocks, no calendars, no appointments, no alarms and no bosses. It was glorious.

Except the fact that I couldn't breath.

I was lucky enough to catch my husbands cold the day after we arrived and Kevin ended up having to go to the doctor while we were there. Turns out he had a severe bronchial infection and was prescribed three different medications. My fingers were crossed after we found out how sick he really was that my sinus infection wouldn't get worse. I'm glad to say that after half a bag of cough drops, a bottle of Delsym, two boxes of Advil Cold and Sinus plus several doses of Nyquil and sleeping sitting up did the trick. I'm all clear. Our bathroom looked like a pharmacy and no one wanted to get near us.

Oh! And don't let me forget the lovely rash I got on my arm, from God knows what. At this point, I'm thinking poison ivy/oak? Or some kind of sun rash? Whatever. Another trip to the drug store and some Benedryl should take care of that.

Ugh. Right? Well, whatever, I'd rather be sick at the beach then anywhere else. Someone was trying really hard to bring me down but guess what? I'm still dancin.

Now if you'll excuse me, my Google reader tells me I have over 1000 blog posts to read. Stay patient my loves. I'll get to it soon. I MISSED YOU ALL!

I'm Alive.

Hello? Remember me? I used to blog around here. If you are still with me, thank you. I've probably lost tons of my readers since I haven't blogged in over a week. In almost two weeks! You see, I've been a little bit busy and my husband has put a no electronics rule into effect here at the beach house. He tells me it was so my nieces would stay off their cell phones but I know the real reason. He doesn't want me blogging, he knows I'd read blogs all day if I could. Instead, I've been soaking up the sun, eating my face off and probably drinking a few too many drinks.

I started my sixth book of the week last night and it's the first of the Sookie Stackhouse True Blood series. I'm halfway through already and I love it, Kevin is going to regret linking his credit card to my kindle. I've done serious damage already.

So my friends, stick with me okay? I haven't taken that many pictures this week but if you are friends with me on Facebook, you already know that there's going to be some crazy pics for me to recap with. My nieces seem to catch me when I'm at my finest.



The fact that Brooke got an underwater camera does not bode well for me.

Oh! And if you want to see a little more of me, I'm featured over on Jen's blog, A Girl in Pearls and a Boy with Toys for Wedding Wednesday! Show her some love.

Bloody Monday.

It's been a pretty rough few days around these parts. Remember on Friday when I told you that Kevin was at home all day snuggled up with Bodie? There's a reason for that. My poor husband has been battling a nasty cold for about four days now.

It started Thursday morning and we chocked it up to allergies but it got progressively worse and now we're both losing sleep over it. Love the man to death but he is coughing through the night! Needless to say, I'm pretty damn crabby this morning and have no one to blame but his germy-ness. Shh, don't tell him I'm venting to you guys though, he really feels like crap and I don't want him to feel even worse for keeping me up. Pray for me that tonight is better, I've got to get some rest and I know he does too.

Anywho, I'm pretty sure my grumpiness kicked in around noon today as I am trying to catch up on a months worth of work by end of day tomorrow. Why do I procrastinate? I'm fairly certain I can get it all done but it won't be pretty. (Sorry boss.)

There is one thing that did cheer me up when I got home though:

Amazon totally delivered on it's two day shipping policy. I ordered this bad boy Friday night around 8:00 and it still got here by this afternoon. Also, it was ten bucks cheaper than Target's price. FYI.

Now I have six hours of True Blood to look forward to while Kevin drives us South. Outer Banks or bust kiddos.

Fun Fridays!

To link up and join in to share your fun for the weekend, head on over to Jen's blog!

Yesterday felt like Friday for me so I'm not too happy I had to get up and come to work this morning, not to mention the hubs is still in bed, probably snoozing away all cuddled up with Bodie. Sometimes life just isn't fair. I'll get Kevin back this weekend because there's lots to do this since we leave for the beach on Wednesday. WOOHOO!

I can hardly contain my excitement and I know I probably shouldn't announce it to the world but whatever, I have a house sitter:

{source : google images}

Okay, I'm lying. It's actually my brother and he looks more like Justin Bieber than he does that bodyguard. Just don't tell him I said that, he gets mad.

Anywho, we'll really just be around the house this weekend, gathering things to pack up and cleaning in preparation for our trip. I'm really hoping to get out of work early so I can get a head start on things today, keep your fingers crossed for me!

Speaking of work, I can't really say much more about it now, but I got my contract and can finally spill the beans: I got a new position at work! I'm very excited about this change and even though it will come with a heavier workload and more responsibility, it will also come with a bigger paycheck and a much more relaxed work atmosphere. 

Not only are things going in a good direction at my job, but my hubs also got a raise this month. We're hoping to be able to set aside some money for a few trips to Vegas next Spring. Once for (hopefully!) my best friends wedding (put a ring on it Steven!!) and then for a blogger meet up. 

What's that you say? You don't know what I'm talking about? Well, stay tuned, the Vegas blogger meet up is in it's planning stages right now, but I'll fill you all in when we get more info. It's gonna be a blasty blast. :D

Oh! And I almost forgot, be sure to head over to my friend, Rachel's, blog this morning, she has ten exciting giveaways today. TEN. In one day. Here are just a couple of the fabulous prizes you could win:

Soda Stream Machine 

http://www.sodastreamusa.com/ 

Canvas Print

www.easycanvasprints.com 

 So click on the link below and be sure to enter for your chance to win!
(She'll have ten separate posts so you can enter for whichever prize you want.)

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's a dogs world

I'm sad to say that this dog post does not include Bodie. I know that makes you sad since this is his blog and all, but cheer up because I have several other cutie patooties that I'd like you to meet.

These pictures have been sitting idle in my desktop folder for quite some time and I figured that since I have writers block, why not show them off? These pups have all been in my life for quite some time and I love them all to pieces so it's time to get you all formally introduced.

First up is Sasha, a husky mix that belongs to my cousin, Kristin. This dog is so sweet, it's impossible not to love her. She's on the small side for her breed or mix of breeds so she's not afraid to jump up on the back of the couch to check out who's at the front door.

And look at those eyes. Come on, you can't say that doesn't melt your heart!

This little spitfire is Cotton, my aunts Westie mix. She's part Bichon I think? (Nicole, correct me if I'm wrong.) Those little black eyes remind me so much of Bodie but then she gets the urge to play and that thought flies right out the window. She's not afraid to tell you what she thinks and won't forget a thing. We hid a rubber ducky from her and it became her life mission to find the damn thing. Persistent she is.

Sweet Amber. She's Nicole's and is getting up in her age now but she used to be one you had to watch out for. She could be quite the troublemaker! She's calmed down a lot but I hear she's been known to sneak food out of the kitchen if you don't watch her. Sneaky ol' gal. ;)

This here is Louie! My friend's mom, Kim, adopted him a few years ago and he's grown on me quite a bit. He's the man of the house since they have three other female dogs, poor guy can hardly keep up with 'em.

Molly is one of the newest additions to their family. When they adopted her, she had a few health problems since she was basically used to do nothing but breed. Thankfully, she's got her strength back and will beg anyone to cuddle.

Last but not least, is Lady. She is my best friends dog and is the queen bee. She'll be the first to tell you there's a knock at the door, she needs to go out or a ball needs to be thrown. And when you throw that ball, you better be prepared to throw for a looooong time. She doesn't wear down easily.

If you took a good look at the last three pups, you may have noticed a trend, they're all some form of Yorkshire Terrier. That's because my friend Katie and her family are a big supporter of our local yorkie rescue. They've adopted Molly, Louie and Seamus (pronounced Shay-muhs) through the rescue but Seamus isn't pictured because the little bugger wouldn't sit still long enough!

Don't tell Kevin but I've applied to the closest Westie rescue I could find but haven't heard anything back, any tips on how to get involved without pestering?

Do you have other furbabies you love besides your own?

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We Like to Party

We do, we really like to party and this weekend, we did. But before we get to the festivities and the 935 gifts the mom-to-be received, let's rewind to Friday night. You know, the night we made around 300 party favors for my cousins baby shower guests. That's right, I didn't stutter. I said 300. And they all came out awesome if I might add.

What were these favors we so diligently and painstakingly assembled? I'll give you a hint, most of them came on sticks.

Kristin, my sister and the guest of honor Nicole, working their poor fingers to the bone while I play blogger to document the day. There were many cake pops, s'more pops, Oreos and pretzels that needed to be covered in chocolate, so to work they  we went. 

My cousin Kristin, above, seems to be a little unsure of her chocolate dipping skills. (Yes, there are two.) 

Finally, after about 6 hours of dipping, drizzling, and dunking, we could admire the fruits of our labor. Above, the s'more pops. Below, chocolate covered Oreo's. Nom.

The one and only image of a finished cake pop I could find. There may or may not be a batch of these made at my house very soon. The leftovers were a hit at work today. And I'm only slightly grumpy about the fact that my last chocolate Oreo got eaten. Jerks.

After a good nights sleep, we were up bright and early to get the church reception hall set up for the main event. Around one o'clock, we hauled two car loads of food and decorations, set up for a few hours, cleaned up, cooked and were finally ready to party at four. The guests were starting to stream in so we sat back, had a slice of cake and enjoyed all our hard work.

We utilized space the best that we could and asked the guests to place their gifts on the stage. This ended up working well because folks could browse through and spy on all the baby booty.

The beautiful mom to be.

Since the invitation specified that the gifts should be left unwrapped, it gave everyone time to work on the crafts. Who doesn't like to get a little messy?

The "paint your own onesie" station was a huge hit. We provided plain white onesies (purchased at Ross for a steal) in different sizes and basically told folks to have at it and the results were pretty cute!

I even got a chance to join in on the fun and decorate a building block for the little man. Oh, and by the way, all those little wooden blocks? They were made for us free of charge by our carpentry class at the school I work at. Out of scrap lumber. And did I mention free?

The paint we used was on sale at Michael's too so I'd say this craft was a major win.

After we all had our fill of painting, it was time to eat. The spread was delicious, as it usually is at all of our family functions. We had meatballs, cold cuts, veggies, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, hot dogs and countless other items I can't remember.

 

And finally, the sweets. The pops and pretzel favors were a huge hit. Thankfully, and forcefully, people were taking them home by the handfuls.

We had an amazing time and can't wait to welcome the little one in the next month or so... and then do this whole sha-bang over again for my sister in the Fall.

I told ya, we like to party!

Fun Fridays!

To link up and share your fun plans for the weekend, click on over to Jen's blog!

Happy Friday my loves! Since Monday was Memorial Day, it made for a short work week and it really threw me off. This week was especially short for me since I'm off work today and probably on the road to Philadelphia as we speak. My travel partners this weekend will be my sister and her best friend Kristin and we're headed North for a very special occasion. Saturday afternoon is my cousin, Nicole's, baby shower! 

Her shower has been in the works for quite some time and I'm sure we'll be put to work as soon as we arrive. The cake pops need to be made, the tissue poms need to be fluffed and the mom-to-be will need to be pampered. It will be a fantastic celebration with friends and family who I know are just as anxious to meet the little guy as I am. 

It's hard to believe that it was just December when my sister and I met our cousins for lunch where Nicole sprung it on us that she was expecting. Now, we only have a couple of months left until she's due. Poor Kevin has had his fill of baby-related things to last him a long time.

I guess baby fever isn't contagious because it's obvious I've had it for a while.

Anywho, please excuse my absence from the blogs today, I promise to catch up as soon as I get back.

Have a wonderful weekend!