Holiday Treats: Sausage Balls

I had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope y'all did too.  Unfortunately my family and I didn't get to do too much because my middle sister and mom were pretty sick during the days leading up to Christmas.  Luckily they are on the mend now!

Every Christmas season I always get into a cooking mood.  Sausage balls are always a staple in our household during this time of year.  I usually make them the day before Christmas Eve, but since we were dealing with sickness I didn't get a chance to make them until Christmas Day.

I thought sausage balls were a pretty typical treat, but KOTR had never heard of them...so maybe it's a Southern thing.  Here's the super easy recipe:

Sausage Balls

3 cups Bisquick mix

1.5 pounds of sausage--I like to mix hot and regular sausage.  I also recommend using Neese's sausage for the best flavor!

1.5 pounds sharp cheddar cheese 

Mix all of the above ingredients together until they are totally incorporated. 

Roll into small round balls.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until you hear them start to sizzle.

Let them cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy! 

I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product!

I hope everyone has been staying warm during the past few days!  It sure has been cold here in NC!

Plans For Christmas Break

I just got back in town after a long weekend in MD with KOTR.  I forgot my camera charger, so I didn't take any pics while I was there.  Major fail.  I had a wonderful time hanging out with KOTR and his cousins.  Now I'm just counting down the days until we see each other again! :-)

As y'all know from my lack of blogging this semester, I've been extremely busy.  Over Christmas break I don't have to do any work or schoolwork.  I have to start planning UNC Dance Marathon, but other than that I'm free!!  Since I've got so much time on my hands, I've compiled a "to-do" list to keep me occupied.

• Watch the last season of One Tree Hill.
• Work out at least 4 days a week.
• Skype with KOTR.
• Create policy manuals and volunteer schedules for UNC Dance Marathon.
• Plan a special outing for the next time KOTR comes to NC.
• Keep my blog updated!
• Begin invitation list for the wedding.
• Sleep in!!

We shall see how this goes!!

Christmas Wish List!

Hello - is there anybody out there?!?  I realize it's been a really long time since I've updated.  Working almost 40 hours a week, going to school full time, planning UNC Dance Marathon and a wedding haven't left me with much extra time for blogging.  That will definitely change next semester!  I'm taking some time off from my internship and I'm only taking one class next semester.  That's the wonderful life of a second semester senior!

Here's a few things I've been eying this holiday season:

 How cute is this?  I found it on Etsy. It would be perfect for keeping my ears warm without messing my hair up! 

Yeah, yeah.  I know these probably won't look that great in a size ten, but they look so comfy!  I know they would be wonderful for the marathon in February!  

I am in love with these Nine West booties.  Actually, I'm just loving all booties these days!

With all this nasty winter weather Chapel Hill has been getting I've decided I've got to have these LL Bean boots.  I'm realizing that I definitely don't have appropriate snow/ice gear!

Honestly if I had to choose my favorite things off my list it would be the headband and the LL Bean boots.  I realize they aren't the most trendy and they wouldn't really make a fashion statement, but I can't catch a break when it comes to walking outside in less-than-favorable conditions!  I walked around with wet feet all day today and it was no fun at all!

On another note, A Charlie Brown Christmas is on ABC right now.  I usually watch this movie with my sissys...can't wait to be home with them!  More importantly, I can't wait to see my fiancé tomorrow!!  I'll have updates from my trip to MD soon! 

weekend.

It's been a little crazy this week, my papa's birthday cookout is tomorrow, so I came home for the weekend. My mom, dad, and sisters aren't home, right now they're in Atlanta playing basketball.  So it turns out that it's really great I came home...

My mom's mom was having severe arm and chest pain yesterday morning.  My uncle had to take her to the hospital [she's still there] and there's no one to sit with my papa.  My aunt is going to be going by to check on him periodically, so I'm going to be able to help with that.

So please keep my family in your thoughts this weekend.

On a more positive note, I nailed down a DJ for the wedding!  I have a feeling he's going to be great!

toe tapping thursday.

this song really helped motivate me on the treadmill today:

toe tapping thursday.

haven't done this in a while!

Seriously?!?! Are You Kidding Me?!?!

Woah! Today has been one of those crazy days full of ups and downs.

I got to work early today for a meeting, only to find out I didn't actually need to be there.  I was pretty upset about it because I could have slept at least 45 minutes longer this morning.  I didn't have much to do this morning, so time went by so slowly!  However, when the afternoon rolled around I was a busy little bee!

At work I'm putting together a survey and spent the majority of my busy afternoon working on it.  I normally leave work right at 5:00, but I really wanted to get to a good stopping point with the survey, so I hung around the office a little later than I normally do.

I got in the car to drive home and the radio was still tuned to NPR from my morning commute and there was an interesting story being broadcast, so I decided to leave it on for a little while.  I am so thankful I did because the traffic report came on as I was driving down I-540, just a few miles before I was about to exit to I-40.  I-40 was totally shut down in Durham County due to a bomb threat near Southpoint Mall.

I immediately hit the detour button on my GPS, was rerouted, and was pleasantly surprised.  The detour was only going to tack on 8 extra minutes.  I could totally handle that.

Well the GPS was wrong, and I mean big time wrong.  Apparently everybody and their brother thought it would be a great idea to take the same detour I was taking.  It took me 2 freaking hours to get back to CH tonight.  I wanted to rip my hair out by the time I finally got home.

And y'all want to know the best part?  Later I found this on a local news station's website, "Acting Assistant Chief of Durham Police, Captain D.C. Allen, said the device was actually foam tubing with white tape and bungee cord around the top. Police think it may have come from a boat; possibly some sort of a buoy."

Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!

2011 Dance Marathon Overall Committee

Here's that post I promised that doesn't relate to weddings or work!

As y'all know from a previous post I'm on the 2011 Overall Committee for the UNC Dance Marathon.  Our mid-summer progress is due in a week, so it's been on my front burner for the past few days.

I thought now would be a great time to introduce y'all to 13 AMAZING ladies that are all going to do great things for the kids this year!

Sarah Beth: Overall Coordinator 

Olivia: Alumni Relations

Courtney: Business Management

Galen: Campus Fundraising

Cathy: Community Events

B. Rand: Corporate Marketing

Alice: Entertainment

Christine: Event Donations

Bethany: Fundraising Projects

Gracie: Hospital

Emma: Morale

Katie: Outreach

Becca B.: Publicity 

I can't even begin to express to y'all how excited I am to work with these girls over the course of the next 8 months!  I can't wait to form a special bond with each and every one of them.  On that same note...I can't wait to meet Christine--she's been abroad, so I hope to meet her soon!

Y'all better get used to me talking about the girls a lot!!

meetings.

At work I am able to interact with all types of people.

Quite possibly one of my most favorite engineers to work with is Machine Safety Dave.  Machine Safety Dave is a Product Manager with the best sense of humor.  I've been lucky to work closely with him because he's been convinced by others in the company to attempt to market Schneider Electric's machine safety products using social media.

Machine Safety Dave recommended Dilbert.  I told him that I'd read the comic strip before and thought I was mildly funny, but it definitely wasn't one of my favorites.  He told me to go back and read it again after working for such a large company, he claimed I would see it in a whole new light...and boy, he was right on the money!

Here's my favorite that I've read so far (especially since we reserve meeting rooms and attend meetings for the majority of the working day):
 

[if you can't see three columns you'll have to click the comic to enlarge it]

Maybe if y'all get lucky I'll think of something other than work and the wedding to blog about! :)

chug a lug.

Alright y'all, today I'm going to talk about something that pretty little Southern girls aren't supposed to talk about.

I've been trying to be a little more healthy this summer, so I've been trying to drink a lot of water.  By a lot, I really do mean A LOT.  I'll probably refill my bottle 4 to 5 times a day.  So naturally I have to [you know] quite a bit.

As y'all know, I work in an office full of cubicles. So, I just want to put out a public apology to the man that sits in the cubicle right outside the restroom.  I probably walk past/interrupt him 6 times a day.  I know he probably thinks I've got some serious issues.  Promise, I don't!

Maybe it's a sign that I should slow down with the water!?

I don't think I will though...I can really tell a difference in the way I feel!  So once again, man-in-the-cubicle-next-to-the-restroom, I'm sorry.

ready for the weekend.

Are y'all as ready for the weekend as I am?

Well I am practically jumping up and down because of all the fun things that I get to do this weekend!

Tomorrow KOTR is coming!  I'm so excited, this will be the first time I've seen him in 4 weeks!  Hopefully he'll be here right as I'm getting off work and then we'll be hopping in the car to head to my hometown for the night.

 Aren't I so lucky to be able to call such a pretty place home??

As y'all know from my previous posts, I've been doing a lot of wedding planning.  Last weekend the crew that went dress shopping and I toured this possible venue:

It was really nice and only about 15 minutes away from my house.  I thought I had made up my mind and I even had the event coordinator pencil KOTR and I in for June 11, 2011...but then I discovered this place:

OMG I think I'm in love.  It's a vineyard located in Ronda, NC about 40 minutes away from my house.  Y'all really should check out their website.  The photos on the site are breathtaking.  I can't get enough of them!  While I was at work yesterday I kept the website up all day and every time I got a free second I just sat and stared [and maybe daydreamed a little about my dream wedding!].

I am overjoyed that KOTR gets to tag along to tour the vineyard tomorrow!! [Although if I had to guess I'd say he's not too thrilled.]

And to top it off we're having our engagement photos taken in Chapel Hill on Saturday evening!!!  I'm so happy that a family friend, Jenny [check out her blog!], as agreed to take them!  I know she is going to be great!

Have a good Friday y'all!

THE dress.

This past weekend I went home to go wedding dress shopping!

I decided to bring my mom, my grandma, my sisters, and my MOH.  My grandma treated us to breakfast at Cracker Barrel before my appointment, and it sure was good!

 3 of 6 bridesmaids (+ me, of course!) waiting for breakfast

the beautiful MOH and myself!

Before the weekend I had looked through a couple bridal magazines and what seemed like thousands of dresses online.  I had decided that I loved the designer Maggie Sottero, but I was trying not to get too attached because I'd heard that most of her dresses started at $1,000 and I just didn't want to spend that much.

I'd heard so many good things about this bridal boutique in Yadkinville and I would highly recommend it!

For what it lacks in the fancy-ness department, it made up for with the bargains!  They had a good selection of dresses.  The best part about it was the wonderful customer service.  I couldn't have asked to be helped by any nicer ladies.  They were great!!

I picked out 7 or 8 dresses, but after I tried on dress number 2, I knew it was THE ONE!!  I just couldn't wipe this cheesy grin off my face:

I had to do a whole bunch of editing to this....I don't want to give KOTR any ideas! ;)

I was so excited because the dress I chose was a Maggie Sottero dress and it didn't cost any where near $1,000!  I was the happiest girl in the world while I had my dress on!  I can't wait to finally wear it for KOTR and see the look on his face!

If KOTR tries to get any of y'all to tell him what it looks like, describe this one to him:

 That will really have him sweating bullets! HA!

work, work, work, all day long.

I've been so preoccupied listening to the wedding bells in my future that I haven't updated y'all on my job for the summer!

For those of you that know me, you know I was VERY stressed about not having a job.  I put in tons and tons of applications, and I am happy to say that I FINALLY GOT AN INTERVIEW with this company:

 

I left the interview feeling a little less than confident, but I hoped for the best nonetheless.  They said I would hear something within about a week and a half, and I'll just be real honest, I was a nervous wreck.  I was so worried that I wasn't going to have a job for the summer!

On Friday, May 14 [yes I know I'm a little late updating the blog, don't rub it in too much] KOTR and I were getting ready for our good friends J and K's wedding when I got a phone call.  I GOT THE JOB!  Wooo Hooo!  I can't even begin to describe how excited I was!  And to top it off, we headed to one of the best weddings I've been to in a while!

J and K's carriage ride right after the ceremony....aren't they so cute!?!

Sidenote: J is going to be KOTR's best man!  I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends like J and K.  They have been so welcoming and friendly to me...they will never know how much I appreciate them!

Alright, back to the job...even though it's not nearly as much fun to talk about as weddings! :)

Today marks the start of my third week at work and I'm finally getting settled.  I'm finally getting used to working in a huge building with what seems like a gazillion people!  I feel sort of like I'm a character in the movie Office Space because I spend the majority of my day in a cubicle. 

I still need to spruce up my area, but they'll be shifting me around within the next couple of weeks, so I plan on taking in pictures and a Carolina pom-pom as soon as I get settled!

I'm working as part of their Marketing team, more specifically with their Program Management team.  At first I was worried because I didn't know anything about the products they make, but it's getting easier.  I've learned the basics..and for those of you that are wondering...Schneider makes a lot of things for and related to industry automation systems.

It's right up my alley.  The Program Managers basically delegates tasks to a "team" that is focused on one end goal, whether it be a promotional event or a product launch.  They also oversee parts of the project and do a lot of communicating between the members of the team.  They do other stuff too, but I figured y'all don't really care that much! ;)

Keep me in mind over the summer.  I'm praying that something good comes out of this summer job!

crazy morning.

Wow. This morning just hasn't gone as planned.

I was supposed to be at work this morning for my job at Campus Rec at 7:30. I wasn't happy about having to be awake that early, but I woke up at 6:30 ready to take on the day. I found out last night that the reason I had to be at work so early was Sylvia Hatchell's Woman's Basketball Camp. The campers weren't going to get to the gym until 8:00, so I decided I'd get to work around 7:45. In theory, that would give me plenty of time to unlock all the doors and turn on all the lights in the gyms.

Welllll.....

I barely got everything done before the campers arrived.

I couldn't get the master keys out of this stupid thing:

Ugh. What a damper that dumb thing put on my morning. [Can y'all tell I'm just a little bitter?!?]

I guess it wasn't all bad. It could have been worse. The guy running the camp was really nice and understanding. He even tried to get the box to open.

I called the Campus Police and luckily they were able to get everything done for me.

I was so irritated about that lock box, so I was determined I was going to get it open before my boss had to come in and do it for me. [Knowing my luck, he'd have come in and gotten it open right away.] I kept working and working [and maybe swearing] at it, and I finally got that darn thing opened.

...And all this happened before 9:00.

It's going to be a long shift, but I have this...



to look forward to this afternoon!!

Details...Finally!

Shew. The past 2 weeks have certainly been a whirlwind. I'll give y'all a quick overview of what has happened in my life!!

Mother's Day was a very special day for me for a couple of reasons.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to be with my mom for Mother's Day because it was Graduation Sunday at Carolina. I thought it was important that I stay for graduation because I have I have several friends that were graduating. Here's some pictures...

me and my beautiful friend, Mandalin, right before the graduation ceremony

myself, Mandalin, Katie, and Michele right after the graduation ceremony

I can't believe that I'll be wearing a Carolina blue gown a year from now! It's scary to think that I'm officially a senior in college now!

Now for the most exciting part...I GOT ENGAGED!

KOTR spent the previous weekend at a Bachelor Party for the wedding we attended last Friday. He came to my apartment after the Bachelor party and we planned to spend a few days in my hometown before we headed to the beach for the wedding. I knew he was going to be in CH around 5:30 so I wanted to have supper cooked by the time he got to my apartment. He came in as I was getting ready to mash the mashed potatoes. He stood in the kitchen said something like "I know we aren't supposed to be keeping secrets from each other, but there's something I need to tell you." I started freaking out because I thought something had happened at the Bachelor party. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes! Once I had calmed down I was able to really look at the ring....

I'll say he did a real good job! :)

The big day is scheduled for June 11, 2011!!!

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

details will come soon..PROMISE!

final project update.

for those of you that are interested in my final project:

i've decided to move the blog posts related to the project to Blogging and Popular Culture. i just think it will make things easier and more organized.

as for Flip Flops and Pearls....i will be updating as soon as i'm finished with my exams!

by friday my junior year of college will be over!!!!

so funny.

toe tapping thursday.

during interviews for DM subchair positions we typically ask, 'if you could have one song play every time you walk in a room, what would it be?' this is the answer we've gotten over and over and over again...

new developments in the dance marathon world.

as i said, come into my dreams has a very significant meaning.
it was perhaps the most memorable song that was played at the 2009 dance marathon--which just happens to be the first marathon i actually participated in.

two weeks the application for a position on the overall committee were sent out to all previous committee members. since i had only been a committee member for one year, i didn't think i was ready to be an overall chair, so i wasn't even thinking about applying. i had planned on waiting until the applications for subchair positions came out.

that all changed when i got an email from the current operations chair encouraging me to apply for an overall committee position. i decided to step outside my comfort zone and apply, and i'm so glad i did because....

I GOT IT!!

i'm so thankful for the opportunity to be so involved with dance marathon! the work has already started. the applications for subchairs were sent out this morning and we'll be interviewing for those positions next week. so wish me luck!

you can read more about the marathon here.

and i finally got my name in the daily tar heel!! i'm on page 3!! [can you tell that i'm a little too excited about that??]

i hope this blog will be a great way of documenting my experiences as i get ready for the marathon. i think it will be extra special to go back and read through after it is all said and done.

toe tapping thursday.

this has a very significant meaning that i will explain as soon as i can.
for now i've got to pay attention in class and then head southbound for ocean lakes!

i'll be here tomorrow....

bucket list.

over the past couple of weeks it has really hit me that i'll be a senior in college next semester.

wow.

where did the time go?!?

my roommates and i have been talking about how we should sit down and make a list of things to do before we graduate. that has got me thinking about my own personal bucket list. i think of things everyday that i'd like to do while i'm young [or at least while i'm still spry enough to get around], so i'm going to try to list all of the things i want to do on my blog. i'm sure i'll have to add some, or even take some away, but i think it'll be a great way of keeping track of things!

1. climb to the top of the bell tower on campus
2. tailgate for a carolina football game
3. go to the daytona 500
4. go to the harry potter theme park
5. go to the u.s. virgin islands
6. go to napa valley
7. overcome my extreme fear of flying
8. overcome my extreme fear of water
9. go to a tim mcgraw concert
10. go to an eric chruch concert
11. go to a lady antebellum concert
12. eat at a five star restaurant
13. go to bobby flay's mesa grill at the atlantis hotel in the bahamas
14. get married in my home church
15. ....with as much carolina blue as possible
16. name my children names that all begin with the same letter, preferably P
17. go on a long trip with just my sisters
18. survive that long trip with just my sisters
19. learn to sew more than a button back on a shirt
20. learn to crochet
    
21. read 100 books in a year

the list will keep growing, i'm sure, but that's all i've got for right now!

geez, i'm the world's worst blogger.

i feel like i haven't blogged in forever! i had the best of intentions, but i got super busy with school work. now i'll try to give y'all the condensed version of the last couple of weeks.

spring break was the second week of this month. i had originally planned to go to the beach with kotr, but he ended up getting a long-term substitute teaching position and wouldn't be able to come stay with me. he ended up driving to CH, spending the weekend here, and then i rode back with him to MD. i was lucky enough to get to spend over a week with him!!

there was a downside to all of it though...he worked everyday until 2:30. fortunately i have the ability to sleep for much longer than any normal human being should, so i would sleep until 12:00, get up, shower and get ready, watch Days of Our Lives, and then he'd be home. [i should mention that i was asleep by the time the 11:00 news came on every night...so that's 13 hours of sleep!!]

there were a couple of days that i did wake up before 10:00 and since i didn't have my car there i was kind of stuck. lucky for me his grandma was kind enough to let me drive her sweet buick.



that thing was HUGE! when i went to the grocery store i had to park in the farthest space away from the store bc i couldn't fit my sweet ride in any of the closer spaces that were available.

the whole reason i had to go to the grocery store is...I COOKED FOR KOTR'S FAMILY. kotr thought it would be a great idea if i made chicken stew for his family...so i did. i made 25 darn cups of it. it must have been a miracle bc it turned out really good and pretty much his whole family liked it!

the last night i spent there we had a wedding to go to [sidenote: every time i turn around another one of kotr's friends is getting engaged or married!]. we got all dolled up and we even matched! i had pictures uploaded to my computer so that i could eventually upload them to the blog, but once again i had to have my computer reimaged, aka wiped clean to remove some nasty virus. i lost the pictures. i guess that's a hint that i should try to upload pictures in a more timely manner. the only good thing that came out of the computer incident was: i got windows 7! so far, so good. i really like it!

the past two weeks have been a blur. i've had so much work to do it ain't even funny. i finally got a break and i was able to go to supper with the girls [+one girl's bf] at bandido's for half price ladies night! and to top it all off, grey's anatomy is new tonight!! yay!

i'll wrap it up bc i know my life is super boring. until next time....

[which knowing me will be in 2 weeks HA!]

toe tapping thursday.

toe tapping thursday.

yes, i know i've been m.i.a for quite a while, i promise to update later today!

it was so pretty today in chapel hill, so i haven't been able to get this song out of my head!

i need a break.

i've been studying all day and right now i want to rip my eyeballs out bc they are hurting from looking at the computer screen for the last 6 hours. [i guess blogging isn't really the best way to fix this problem]

i need to refocus bc my mind is in a million different places right now. [i know blogging is a great fix for that!]

i will be so darn happy when tomorrow at 4:45 rolls around. my week will finally be over and i'll be able to do something that had begun to feel foreign to me: sleep. for those of you that know me, you know that i love to sleep. kotr says he has never met anyone that can sleep for as long as i do, and he's not the only person that's ever told me that.

the reason i haven't had much sleep is because all carolina professors are trying to make spring break seem as far away as possible even though it starts friday afternoon i've had what feels like a million midterms this week. i'll be taking my last one tomorrow at 8am. i'm not too worried about it, but i guess we'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

kotr will be coming on friday afternoon!! he typically comes down on thursday afternoons, but he was lucky enough to get a long-term substitute position in a 6th grade science class. [he told me he gave out lunch detentions today and i couldn't help but laugh when i pictured him actually trying to be mean.]

for spring break i had originally planned to go to the beach and work at medieval times. that didn't go as planned, so now i'll be going home with kotr for a week. i'm a little worried bc his family has never had to endure me for more than a couple of days at a time! wish me luck!!!

okay, i guess i've stalled long enough......................

......back to studying. :-(

sick.

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toe tapping thursday.

i think i've finally recovered.

as i've mentioned in previous posts, this past weekend was the UNC Dance Marathon.

i was up for over 40 hours straight and on my feet for most of them. in the end, it was all worth it! these banners required us to get up on lifts in order to hang them...and this one fell at 5:30...less than an hour before the dancers were going to arrive. talk about a stressful 30 minutes!

the treasure chest (note those beautiful pearls that i spent the entire super bowl cutting out)

some of the 1600 dancers standing on their feet FOR THE KIDS!

more dancers

when the end of the 24 hour marathon rolled around the overall committee revealed the total amount of funds rasied.....$421,851.32 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. some of the families that had previously benefited from the FTK fund were there when the final total was revealed...and seeing those children made all the pain and fatigue so worth it!!! after all, 24 hours is a really short amount of time in the long scheme of things, so why not help those that are less fortunate than me?!

i got home around 10:30pm on saturday night and i hadn't been home since 9:45am on friday morning, so needless to say, i was exhausted. i sat down on my bed and called kotr and after we'd chatted for a few minutes i looked down and noticed i had dried up liquid that had leaked from all the bags of trash i had carried on my legs. i told him that i'd have to call him back after i got out of the shower. once i hung up the phone i tried to stand up to walk to the bathroom and i literally could not stand. i know it's super gross, but i had no choice. ...but don't worry, after i woke up on sunday (at 3pm) i immediately washed my sheets! :)

i CAN'T WAIT for dance marathon 2011!!!!

where did the weekend go?

as most of you know kotr came to visit this past weekend. it went by entirely too fast.
while he was here, we did a whole lot of nothing and it was wonderful.

he got here on thursday soon after i got out of class. earlier that morning i had started taco soup in the crock-pot so luckily we had something warm to eat [and it was quick and easy...always a plus]. i also somehow found enough courage to attempt making some cornbread. it turned out great, but then again, how hard is it to mess up a box of jiffy cornbread mix? i had a meeting i had to be at for DM, so we didn't get to eat until almost 9:00. for those of you that don't know me, the hours between 9:00 and 11:00 on thursday nights are sacred. if there is a new episode of grey's anatomy or private practice don't call me because i won't answer, and if you text me i'll more than likely wait until the commercial break to text you back. whether kotr likes to admit it or not, i've got him hooked on grey's, so as soon as we noticed we were cutting it so close to 9:00 we had the bright idea of slightly rearranging the kitchen table and the tv. i'm glad kotr was there bc the tv in our apartment is pretty heavy. he got it turned around and we were able to have dinner at the kitchen table and watch a new episode of grey's all at the same time!

on friday we had leftover taco soup, store-bought vday cupcakes and rented public enemies. it was pretty good, but i feel asleep wayyyyy before it was over [imagine that].

saturday we slept in and then drove to greensboro to watch stretch play volleyball. we went to supper with my family at ham's and let's just say that i won't be going back there anytime soon. the hostess ruined the whole experience, she was rude, loud and obnoxious. the service wasn't that great either...oh well. we came back to chapel hill and called it a night.

sunday, aka vday, possibly one of my least favorite days of the year. i'm just not big on doing elaborate things on valentine's day. kotr and i decided to have dinner and see a movie. we started out the night by swinging by the movie theater to pre-buy tickets for dear john. we ended up going to carino's and got great service [like good enough to make up for the night before]. like dummies we bought tickets for the 9:40 movie and we were done eating supper at 7:00. since it was a sunday the mall was already closed, so there was basically no where to go. eventually we ended up ordering dessert to-go from the cheesecake factory. kotr ordered a piece of blueberry cheesecake and i ordered the red velvet cheesecake. both of them were wonderful. since there was no where to go, we still had nearly an hour to waste before the movie started. so we had a little photo shoot in the car.





and the sad thing is...those were the only pictures we took all night! i really wish we had gotten someone in the restaurant to take our picture. we both looked so nice and we even matched! ...i guess there's always next year! :-) and as for dear john....wayyyyyyyyyyy better than public enemies, but i'm sure kotr would disagree.

also, check out what kotr gave me me for valentine's day:
they used to be his grandma's. the picture doesn't really even do them justice. they're the most pretty pink pearls i've ever seen!

thank you kotr for a great valentine's day. i love you and look forward to many more!

toe tapping thursday.

also, KOTR will be here in 3 hours!

the next two weeks will be killer.

ahhh! i'm going into stress mode starting....NOW.

i just finished putting my assignments, meetings, work schedules, etc. into my day planner and got increasingly more overwhelmed. i'm not usually one to get too stressed out about things, but these next two weeks are a slight exception.

i have my first exam of the semester on thursday. i'm worried about it because it's for my western civilizations class....and i have absolutely no interest in ancient Greece or Rome. i really don't have any prior knowledge on the subject...which is definitely not normal for me in a history class. the professor emailed a study guide over the weekend, but there's so much material on it i almost think it would have been more helpful if she didn't give us anything at all. oh well...i'll get it done and i'll take the exam and it'll be over with by 12:15 on thursday.

dance marathon, the largest contributor of my stress will not be over until around 9:00pm next saturday. for those that don't know dance marathon is a 24 hour stand for the children of the NC children's hospital. [yes, that means that i will be standing up for 24 hours straight] i know i can stand and stay awake for 24 hours because i was a dancer last year, but this year is different. the committee that i'm on requires us to handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff that actually makes the marathon function. i'm worried that i'm not going to be rested enough and i won't contribute to the committee like i should. i'm trying to get as much sleep as i can now since i know i won't have any time when it's marathon time. next thursday i have to help set up for the marathon from 6pm until 2am...and then be back at the site by 2:00 or 3:00 on friday. the marathon actually starts at 7:30, so all the dancers will start arriving and that's when the stress will really set in. at 7:30 pm on saturday all the dancers will be able to sit down [and i will too!!], but we'll still have to clean up...which i have a feeling will be a lengthy process. i'm nervous and excited all at the same time!!

on a better, more positive note, kotr will be here this thursday!!!!

however...a large chunk of my weekend will still be dedicated to DM. we have a meeting on thursday at 6:30, a date auction at 11:00, and i have to assemble decorations for the marathon on sunday. oh well though...it's FOR THE KIDS!

rain, rain, go away, come again another day.

that goes for wintry mixes too.


as you can see, the southern part of heaven has already had it's fair share of snow. we got a good amount of snow last friday night/early saturday morning. all of us in the above pic had spent a good part of the morning sledding down the hills in the parking lot of our apartment complex.


the snow was a lot of fun, until i actually had to go to class. monday morning the university canceled classes until 10. that's great for everyone else, but i don't have class until 2:00. the part that stunk the most was my professor didn't even show up and didn't even send us an email. oh well. it's not like i had anything better to do.

as you know from an earlier post my tuesdays and thursdays are no fun. my apartment complex has chosen not to scrape the sidewalks and the parts of the parking lot that i have to use to get to the bus stop, which would be fine if i was a little more coordinated. luckily i didn't have any problems within the complex on tuesday morning. i had on my boots and trekked through the snow and ice like a champ.

thursday was a different story.

i got a little too confident and decided to wear my sperrys yesterday. as most of you probably already know...sperrys don't have ANY traction. as soon as i step down into the parking lot [on what i thought was a pile of semi-melted snow] my right leg started to fly right out from underneath me!! i had to grab onto the cars that i was walking in between and i nearly lost my coffee and granola bar i was in the process of eating. had i not made that excellent recovery i probably would have given up and attempted to ice skate my way back into the apartment because i would probably have had a concussion and a broken tail bone.

i spent the rest of the day walking around on campus like i was 80 years old because i didn't want to risk wiping out in front of the entire campus.

needless to say, after my near-death experience [ok, ok, maybe i'm being a little overdramatic] i decided that i really don't like snow, ice, or anything else that comes along with winter. it was so pretty and so much fun to play around it when it first got here, but now it's just causing problems....and what do you know....THEY ARE CALLING FOR A WINTRY MIX ALL WEEKEND. that's it, i'm transferring to the university of hawaii.

PS king of the road will be here in 6 days!! yay! [so i'll wait to transfer until after he makes his trip down here ;-)]