Britney Spears + Groupon = A Night of Fun :)

So first of all, I'm getting very impatient with Blogger. For 3 days now, everytime I click on a new blog that I want to follow, it says "share" instead of "follow". Normally all you have to do is sign in and go back to that blog and the problem is solved...apparently Blogger hates me.

On a good note however, 2 weeks from tomorrow, Carrie and I will be going to see:

BRITNEY SPEARS IN CONCERT

along with DJ PAULY D :) :) :)

This is like the best thing ever! I still remember the VERY  first time I heard Britney on the radio. My dad was taking me to basketball practice and "Hit Me Baby One More Time" came on the radio. I was obsessed. I was a diehard Britney fan during most of her career, and even now when I'm 23 years old, I still listen when she comes on the radio. I cannot wait to go see her in concert!

Besides we scored amazing seats (on the floor) for like $50 bucks. The tickets were original over $100!!!

From this:

To this :)



Weekend Recap :)

Sadly, the weekend is over. My FB status this morning says "Why can't the weekend go by as slow as the week normally does? Hello Monday..."

While, yes I'm a little bummed the weekend is over and I had to wake up early, but at least I'm waking up and getting another day :)

This weekend was exactly what I needed. In a few of my posts I have mentioned that I have been away from home every weekend since June. This was the first weekend that I was going to at least be "in" Raleigh.

I got an extra special treat last week. Normally I am off all day Friday which is wonderful. However my boss needed me to come in for a few hours Friday morning so instead I worked Thursday and Friday 9-1. I absolutely LOVED having those afternoon hours off.

Thursday afternoon was filled with lunch, mani/pedi's and Coldstone with Heather.

Friday afternoon was filled with going to the health department which was FULL of crazies, battling the "tax free weekend" shoppers, who I must say are VERY rude, and watching countless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress with Carrie

Saturday morning I woke up and checked my phone. It was 10:25! I could hardly believe it. It was still so dark in our room. I had mentioned the previous night that I wished that I had some dark blankets or even tin foil to put up on our bedroom windows (ghetto I know) so that I could sleep in. As soon as the bright sun shines thru, I'm up. Luckily, we were having a morning Thunderstorm. So what looked like 6AM was really 10:30 :)

Justin and I headed to the grocery store to get some things for breakfast. We ended up with quite a bit more, but it was mostly snacks and other things to cook. We get back home and I start cooking breakfast. Normally I'm good at this. However, the bacon pan wasn't hot enough because it wasn't cooking very fast and the potato pan was too hot because they were burning. Luckily, Justin stepped in and made breakfast while I watched TV on the couch, I love him for things like that!

We finally ate breakfast around 12:30. I followed up with a 2 hour nap :) We were so lazy Saturday it was pretty much ridiculous. Although, I know once we are married and have kids, lazy Saturday's will be no more, I'm going to enjoy them while I can. I made tacos for dinner and we ended the night with the movie Take Me Home Tonight. It has Anna Faris & Topher Grace. Set in the year I was born -1988 :) Cute movie though.

I slept in once again Sunday morning. I tried to convice J to go to lunch with me, but he was far to content with having a repeat of Saturday. I called Megan (one of my dearest friends) and we met up for lunch. Followed by an impromptu haircut (her not me) and some browsing at TJ Maxx. Lover and I had Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner - I should really buy stock there or something as much as we eat it. We watched Toddlers and Tiaras, Big Brother, and Jersey Shore (more like I watched and he just watched to spend time with me!)

Tonight I am watching my bosses three boys - Braden, Carter and Jackson while their mom takes their sister Maddie to ballet. Could you imagine having 3 younger brothers? I can barely handle my one!

And I do want to give a moment for the 30 US Troops who died this weekend. Justin played baseball with one of them when they were younger and he has been bummed out all weekend. I pray that God gives the families and friends of those who were lost a peace of heart, or as much as possible. Let them rest assured that their loved one is in a much better place and will remain a hero in the hearts of everyone.

Happy Monday Y'all :)

Nail Salons

I'm sure you have all been to a nail salon. I'm not talking about the fancy spa places that serve you champagne while you are getting a pedi (although I've been to one and its a definite must, at least once in your life) I'm talking about the nail salons that are run by most of the time Vietmanese who have changed their names to like "Nicole" or "Brad" and who constantly talk to their coworkers in Vietmanese. I swear it always makes me feel like they are talking crap about my cuticles, or how long its been since I've gotten a pedicure, or the fact that my baby toe nail is so tiny that I just skip right over it when painting my toe nails! The ones that have names like "Marvelous Nail" or "Focus Nail". The ones that let their small children run around like chickens with their heads cut off.

So yesterday, after our lunch date, Heather and I decided to get pedicures and get our nails done. We try out a new place, which can be kind of scary in itself. I like my acrylic nails to be a certain way: short with a thinner white line for French tips. Most of the time, they want to make them crazy long and give you a white tip half the size of your nail! So we walk in and its not busy at all. We are told to pick a color for our pedi's. I choose this shimmery bright purple and eventually Heather decides that's her pick too. We get our pedicures (which felt great by the way) and get this outcome:

All during our pedicures, the shop owner's cute little boy was riding around on a scooter. However, he kept yelling "A is for Apple, A is for Apple" which we found out was a song on the computer he liked listening to. He also stole his mom's chair (who happened to be doing my toes) and he fell out of it when she took it back. He grabbed a pair of scissors and began to run around with those. He would run his scooter into the glass door repeatedly. How lovely!

We began getting our nails done. Apparently the other girl who did those, was brand new. I wish I could have taken a picture of what she did and what the other lady fixed. I was quite nervous for a bit there. However they turned out like this:

Sorry for the bad cuticles :(

All in all it was a pretty successful trip. I got my pedicure (with a free design on my big toes), and my acrylic nails with french tips for $56.00!

We concluded the day with Birthday Cake Remix from Coldstone.

Today will consist of:

1. Getting off at 1PM - only two more hours!

2. Going with Carrie while she shops for new clothes (I pray that everyone else in Raleigh is waiting until tomorrow to take advantage of tax free weekend)

3. Relaxing as much as possible

Happy Friday & Happy Weekend Y'all :)

Jam Packed!

We are only 4 days into August and I feel like the entire month is planned already! August must just be a super busy month for me, but geez can I get a break?!?

Thankfully I get this weekend to relax with my love before things get too hectic! I was asked this morning if I could watch my bosses FOUR children Monday and Tuesday while he and his wife (who also works with us) attend a meeting in Savannah. I've done this before, and honestly I feel like it may be easier than it used to be. Before they moved to Minnesota (and moved back to NC :)) I would watch all four kids for a few days at a time. At this point they were 7, 5, 2 and 10 months. The baby didn't sleep in his own room and woke up numerous times thru out the night. And the oldest two were home schooled/it was the summer. So I had to come up with things to do for four children all day long! Luckily they oldest two are in school and the younger two are pretty self sufficient at this point.

The following weekend is a trip to Morehead City with my family, followed by Momma's birthday weekend the next weekend and then a four day "watching the Storts' kids" adventure. Ahh what have I signed myself up for?!

However, I am very thankful that I am getting off today and tomorrow at 1PM. One of our school systems has a summer school graduation in the next few weeks and as always, people wait until the last minute to order their cap and gown. Therefore I had to come in for a little bit tomorrow. However, I think I would have preferred this schedule the whole summer!

Heather and I are going to grab some lunch and get manicures. Tonight is eviction night on Big Brother! I sooo hope the houseguests aren't complete idiots and keep Brendon over Jordan. You never know with this game, but I am seriously tired of Rachel whining 24/7!!

Oh and for a little update on my post from yesterday, Justin and I are doing much better. I guess I have to compromise, just as much as I want him to. We will get through this. I just know it. :)

Happy Thursday Y'all :)

Hurt.

Last night did not go as planned.

A simple talk about upcoming family gatherings

turned into

hurt feelings

a bad nights sleep

a weird awkwardness

Family has always been SO important to me. When I was younger, we celebrated every birthday as if it was some big milestone. Holidays were these huge get togethers with lots of food and family. Every summer my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins would go camping for seven-ten days at a time. My parents and my aunt and uncle raised my cousins and I like brothers and sisters. I could call on any one of them, at anytime and they would do everything they could to help whatever was going on. One of my best friends is my cousin Sam. One of my grandmas, an aunt and cousins lived at the beach. The ultimate tourist destination. I can't tell you how many times we would go to visit during the summer.

As a little girl, and even in to my teens and now young adulthood, I have always imagined the same thing for my family. I wanted family dinners on Sunday afternoon. Cookouts on Saturday nights. Week long vacations. And crazy holidays. I wanted my future children to feel like I did growing up. I wanted my husband to come with me on every occasion, as I would go with him on every occasion to his.

Last night, I learned differently.

August is a big month of birthdays for my family. My aunt is the 7th, my grandma was the 14th, my mom is the 23rd and we'll sneak my dad's September 6th in there too. If you noticed my parents birthdays are exactly two weeks apart.

In the next few weekends, my family has planned a beach day/cookout for my grandma's birthday, followed by a visit to the cemetary where she is buried. Not to mention birthday dinners for my mom and dad. The month of August and first part of September is pretty much filled to the top with family gatherings.

As Justin and I were discussing them last night, it became apparent that he would go to all of the above mentioned, but that he wasn't exactly thrilled. I don't want to make him sound like some asshole who doesn't give a crap about my family, because they all get along great. However, I have never once told him no on some family outing of his.

Yes, most of the ones I am talking about are dinners with his grandparents who live a measly 30 minutes away, but dinners usually turn into 3, 4 and 5 hour long visits, followed by something else we get roped into while we are there, usually for early the next day. I have been to visit his family in West Virgina - 3 times. His family lives 7 hours away. That is a long way to have visited them 3 times in the year we have been together, but I have done it, and with a big smile on my face.

This post is not announcing Justin and I's split. This isn't a relationship breaker for me. However, last night I was very hurt. I felt like some bad person trying to take away his weekends. His job is very stressful, I get that, but tomorrow isn't promised and I'd hate to miss out on something and not have a chance to make up for it, just because I'm too tired.

I guess what I'm saying is, that sometimes, you have to put on your big boy undies & big girl panties and get over it. You aren't going to be able to relax all weekend, every weekend. What is going to happen when we have kids? Kids who want to play sports and go on vacations and do stuff on the weekend, instead of just sitting at home?

I understand he doesn't have to attend everything and that isn't what I'm asking. What I'm asking as that he attends 75% of it, and doesn't gripe and complain about it. 

I guess after typing this, I'm still a little upset. We woke up this morning and everything was ok and it is, however last night was the first time that we didn't kiss each other goodnight, the first time we didn't say I love you, the first time we didn't cuddle before bed, and the first time that we went pretty much all night without touching.  

Days like these are when I am the happiest I have this blog. I can get out exactly how I'm feeling, with only the chance of bloggers I've never met and the one person who NEVER judges me reading it. I don't have to talk to anyone about it, I can just get it out.

Hopefully things will continue to get better. I will learn to compromise a little more and he will learn to give in a little more, and happily.

Diamond Jealousy...

I just have to get this off my chest. Have any of y'all been at the point in your life where it feels like EVERYONE around you is getting engaged? I mean everyone. Whether it's people I just went to high school with or friends of friends or your closest friends. While I am so incredibly happy for my friends, I can't help but have a little diamond jealousy. I knew 3 months into mine and Justin's relationship that he was the one. I would have said yes to a marriage proposal then. I know my time is coming, I'm just very impatient. Here are three of my friends' diamonds who have recently gotten engaged and/or married:

 Morgan Rogers & Blake Smith

Wedding Day: November 19, 2011

How He Proposed: A Football game, he had the cheerleaders hold up a sign that said "Morgan will you Marry Me"

I am a bridesmaid in her wedding and couldn't be more honored!

Melissa Delias & Rocky Underwood

Wedding Day: July 31, 2011 (Yesterday!)

How He Proposed: After a walk on the beach

They got married yesterday at the same beach he proposed on.

Caitlin Fenlon & Alexander Spence

Wedding Day: Not Set Yet

How He Proposed: I'm not sure, I JUST FOUND OUT, but he did it in front of her entire family, including her gorgeous daughter Addison :)

While I am super happy for them, I just want a pretty sparkly thing to put on my left hand ;)

80 Years Young

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was jam packed YET AGAIN with places to go, people to see and plenty of things to do. I can't wait for this weekend. I plan on doing absolutely nothing  cleaning and relaxing.

I'll start with Thursday, since lately that has been my Friday :)

Thursday after work I headed over to see Carrie. We went to dinner at Carolina Ale House and then went shopping. I found the cutest white and silver sparkles striped shirt, along with some cute earrings at Forever 21. I got a shirt & four pair of earrings for $39.00!

Once back at her house, I showed her the greatness of Big Brother. The Bitch Daniele was finally exposed and her BFF Dominic said his good byes. They announced that they were no longer pairs and started an endurance HOH competiton. Being the impatient person I am, I checked out my spoilers and found out what happens the rest of the week. If you hate Brenchel, you will be happy!!

Anyways, got home and my lovely boyfriend was spread out on the bed like he was enjoying the single life. I cuddled up to him in bed and planned in my head my shopping adventures for the next day :)

I woke up bright and early and headed to the Outlets in Smithfield. I was planning on getting a new Coach purse. I've had the first one I got for about 2 years now, so I figured it was time for a new one. I set a budget of $200 for myself and wasn't going to go over it at all. So I arrive at Coach at 10AM (as soon as the open). One of the lovely store clerks gave me a coupon for 30% off my entire purchase. I just love how they all walk around with calculators and can tell you how much your bag is going to cost before you even ask! So I check out the clearance section. EVERYTHING is 50% off and you still get your 30% off! WOW I came on the right day for sure!!

I pick out the classic pattern in black, along with a wallet to match. I go to check out and my debit card won't go thru. DO WHAT?!!? I just deposited my check yesterday. So frantically, I go call my bank and persuade the wonderful teller lady to help me out. I even went as far as explaining to her about the sale and why it was soooo important!! I waited 10 minutes and headed back in to purchase these two lovely pieces:

 

Now for the best part. I got them both for a whopping $170.00 :)

I continued my shopping and visited Carolina Pottery. They have such cute things and I really want to get a wreath made from there. I'm going to need to take someone with some artistic ability with me! I however found a ECU flag, a few cute decorations for the house and a new "A" cup. Like I don't have enough.

I headed to Raleigh to see Carrie once again. I was going to watch her friend's son for her while she went to the doctors. The rest of Friday was pretty uneventful.

Saturday I woke up and headed to Hope Mills...ONCE AGAIN. No lie, I have been in Hope Mills or at least away from home every single weekend since the end of June. I need a break. However I was going down for my Godfather's Dad's 80th birthday party.

When I say 80 years young, I mean it! You would never know that he was really 80 years old. He runs 7 1/2 miles...EVERY DAY! I couldn't run a half a mile without getting tired. He is so positive and I can honestly say I have never seen him upset or having a bad day.

After the party (which had the whip cream icing on the cake) I relaxed at home. Sunday was followed with the same and a trip back to my house.

I woke up today feeling quite crappy. I hope I'm not getting sick, but my entire body aches and I just don't feel good at all. Hopefully its just because it's Monday.

Have a good week y'all! :)