Contest Results!

Well, I have officially gotten SEVEN comments for my first contest! (seven? let's count 'em! ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN, ooh sha boogedy boogedy boogedy ah, and ah, and ah and ah and ah - WHOOOO!) Well, it was really 6 entries... so let's see what people had to say for the question: What is the one kitchen item that you can't live without or think that I shouldn't live without?!?!

Alex: wooden spoons, stirrer spoons, cake display, and fun glasses

Jennifer: potato peeler

Becca: toaster oven

Alexis: kitchen scissors

Kristin: measuring cups/spoons, cookie sheets

Anna: toaster oven, plastic spoons, cutting board, electric can opener

Okay, so to be cool like the Pioneer Woman, I decided to go to random.org and have it generate a number between 1 and 6, so as not to be biased! And since there were 6 entries, I used the random dice. (I could have rolled my own dice, but who has dice just lying around - especially when I'm in a moving frenzy!!)

Okay, well if you can't tell what that is, it's one little dot - little miss Alex Walker is our winner!

Here are some answers from others (mostly work friends) who didn't participate in the contest, but gave great answers:

Louise: KitchenAid mixer (oh wait, Sarah, you don't really cook... okay then-), good, sharpened knives

Rachel T.: KitchenAid mixer (see above comment), measuring cups where the numbers are on the inside (so that you can see them from above and not lean down sideways)

Megan: a thin metal flipper (like a pancake flipper), (she had several, but I can't remember them all...)

Rachel K.: stir fry skillet

Thanks for your comments - I keep forgetting things like kitchen scissors... so this was super helpful! Keep checking back this week for updates on the move!! :)

Getting Ready!

Hiya friends! I'm excited to see several posts about kitchen ideas!! Feel free to still post, or add something if you think of it!

Sunday afternoon I went to my Mamaw's and raided her cabinets for kitchen stuff, and boy did I get lucky!! She had TONS of great stuff to give me: knives, casserole dishes, mixing bowls, a Nesco (?? supposed to be awesome ??), a ladel, two pie pans, a measuring cup, a popcorn bowl and tons more. I feel very overwhelmed, but more ready each day!

Then last night mom and I got some paint to re-do my dresser. I wish I had thought to take a before picture, but at least I remembered to take a "during"! :) It was made by my great-grandfather and has been every color under the sun. It was plain white and has been since I've had it, except for the time I decided to paint multi-colored stripes on the drawers. Good times. (It actually looked cute!) So I got this "melted chocolate frosty" color to match one of the browns in my bedspread and I think it turned out really cute! I also painted 3 shelves and 2 canvases to decorate the living room area. (Don't worry - I WILL be posting before and after pictures and probably asking your advice on what should go where!!)



Okay, I'm a little embarassed to be putting this on here, but again - keepin' it real. This is the disaster area that is my room.



On the left wall was where the dresser was, so while it's outside drying, I had to just take all my clothes out and put them on the floor. Well, first the bed, but then I had to sleep, so then the floor. It's a total wreck right now, but check back for the sad/happy "This isn't my room anymore" picture soon!


COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS until MOVE IN!!!

My Very First Contest :)

Hello my good friends! I get so stinkin' excited every time I look at my last post! I can't believe that a week from tomorrow I'm going to be on my own (with Dash, of course). It's crazy and exciting and let's not even talk about all the packing I still have to do.

I was talking to my dad and said "How do real people move?" I mean, I can't even wrap my head around packing my closet sized room w/no closet and some people have a WHOLE HOUSE to pack! Like kitchen stuff and china and big pieces of furniture! I have great respect for anyone who has had to pack up their lives and move - you guys rock.

So here comes the potential contest (and I'd like to have more of these if this one gets a good response). I want to hear from you guys about the one kitchen item that you can't live without or think I shouldn't live without. As I prepare for my big move I'm having to buy a lot of new things - kitchen items being top on the list - and would love your input for things I might not know otherwise!! (Those of you who don't have an account, just post a comment as a guest but be sure to tell me your name!)

I'm going to leave this post up until Monday and if I get at least 5 comments from people, I will give the best answer a $5 Wendy's card (okay, it doesn't have to be Wendy's, I just eat there every day).

OKAY PEOPLE - What is the one kitchen item that you can't live without or think that I shouldn't live without?!?!
Can't wait to read all about it!!

Well, It's Official.

I know that you have been waiting with the greatest anticipation for the big news I'm going to share today! (haha - okay, well at least Jen has.)

I'M MOVING OUT and GETTING AN APARTMENT!!!!!!!!

WHOOO HOOOOO!!!! Okay, so to some, this may seem minor, but let me give you a little history.

I've lived in the same house since I was 4 wks. old (September 13th started the 23rd year we've lived there). I moved out my freshman year to live with my roomies in New Village for 2 years. I had a scholarship to school, so the money was used to pay for all of tuition and most of housing, but one day it just hit me that if I moved back home, they would write me a check every semester with the extra money! WHAT A DEAL! So my junior year, I basically got paid (a good chunk of money) to live at home and go to school.

Well, in May I graduated and in July I got my first "big girl job" at Chattem. I decided that it was time to move out, and seriously that day went straight home to my dad and told him all the reasons I needed to move. All this, and I hadn't started my job yet. Needless to say (well, needless if you know my dad), he said no. An emphatic no. (Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I posted about this traumatizing experience.)

So that was then. A couple weeks ago, the thoughts of moving out starting filling my mind again. I looked around and found an apartment complex that was quite a bit less expensive (try $300+/mo. less!!) and just as nice. I mustered up the courage to say these few words to my dad:
"Hey, uh, dad? Do you think at some point maybe we could talk about the possibility of me maybe moving out into an apartment, maybe? Sometime?"

I'm so smooth. Anyway, he said, "Sure." Oh, really? Well, then okay. "Go ahead and go look at that place and get all the information you can, and we'll talk." (I tried not to squeal.) Okay, dad, thanks.

So Bourke went with me--scratch that-- Mrs. Geyer went with me to check out an apt. at the complex and really liked it, but didn't love the location. It was closer to the front/the road, so there was another one that became available to look at last week that's at the back, waaay away from the road. Mom and I went to look at it Friday, I bought a couch and loveseat Saturday, and I signed the lease today!!! WHOO HOOOO!!!

And I'm taking this guy with me:

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Coming Soon!!

Well friends, some of you may already know that I've got something exciting in the works right now. No, no, no - it's not the most obvious thought you have. But oh so exciting!! I've been looking forward to this for a while. 3 years actually. Haha.. it's so funny because it could be so many things!! :)

Check back Monday (hopefully) for the full announcement!

They're Grrrrrrrrreat!!

Two words. Gee- and -rate. :) What a fabulous weekend!!
Friday: much needed time with the BF
Saturday: Tennessee game vs. UAB in Knoxville!! soooooo fun and sooooo orange!

Sunday: Sunday school, church, lunch w/J's family, lounging w/mom, dinner with friends, and... (drumroll please) the Shane & Shane/Bethany Dillon concert!!!!!!!!!!!!

So great. So so great. Did I say that the concert was GREAT?! Well, it was... great, that is. I didn't think I knew any of Bethany Dillon's songs (who is married to Shane #1, by the way) but I knew more than I thought (and went home and immediately downloaded like 10 songs). She was awesome and so humble - and oh yeah, I decided I wanted to be her. Not like marry a Shane and actually BE her, but I want her job. I want to go around the country (or the state.. whatever works) and SING FOR A LIVING. I mean, seriously? Can you even call that a job?

Anyway, "the Shanes," as they called themselves, were... what's the word I'm looking for? ...GREAT! (Sorry, I'll stop being like that.) Their music is so powerful and they sound wonderful on the CD but even more so to hear them live. (Shane #2 looks like Larry the Cable Guy... no really. Ask Emily.) So today I have had my Shane & Shane and Bethany songs on shuffle on the old ipod. The only bad part is that I have to keep reminding myself that I'm at work and I'm not allowed to sing!! :)

Bethany

Shane #1 (her hubby)

Shane #2 (aka Larry the Cable Guy #2)

"Oh Holy Night" from their upcoming CHRISTMAS ALBUM!!! WHOO HOOO!

How great? So great. :)

Wish I meant it more!

Have you ever said something where you wish you could mean it more than you really do? Here are some examples:

"Yes, Grandma, I love this reindeer sweater! Thank you so much!"
"Dad, you're right; we should keep looking for a car for the next 9 months." (okay, that one turned out okay!)
"Wow, Mrs. So & So, this dinner is wonderful. I sure love meatloaf."
"Everything's going to be okay, I just know it. You don't need to worry."
"It's not you, it's me." (hahaha! that's so bad...)

Anyway, so I was listening to a song this morning, "Simple Man" by Brandon Heath, and one of the lines is "Everything good in me comes from You." There have been times when I've said something similar to this, but do I really MEAN it? I want to mean it, that's for sure, because I know it's true. There's just that big 'ol stubborn part that doesn't feel like sharing that "good stuff". Anyone with me?

My homies and I (that would be the 3 of you that read this: B,A,E) have been doing a Bible study and I'm so bummed because I'm almost done. I've been really lucky that God has carved out 20 minutes in my day to devote totally to that. What started out as a chore is now one of my favorite times of the day. BUT now that I'm about to be done, what will I do next!? I've learned so much about myself and about my relationships (with God, friends, Jason, etc.) through this study. I definitely recommend it. (No Other Gods - Kelly Minter)

My coworkers should be happy that I spend 15 minutes doing the study before work everyday, because let's face it: I'm a big grouchy mess when I just come straight in to work and check email and get all caught up in the day after rushing around all morning trying to get there on time. It's even a nicer drive to work knowing that I'm just going to sit and chill for a little bit before the day gets started.

Do yourself a favor and let God carve out some time for you to spend with Him. And when you ask Him, REALLY MEAN IT!!! :)

my butt hurts... can I say that?

Last night E.Geyer and I utilized my "Elite membership" at the Rush and decided to work out together. What did we do, you ask? Well, there was a spin class at 5:45, but no, no, no - we did NOT go to that. We did, however, go to the BEGINNING spin class at 6:45. Beginning. As in beginner. As in I've never done this before. Just wanted to clarify that.

Em had been skiing the day before and was sore to begin with. I didn't have any excuses, other than I'm lazy and out of shape. So after 40 minutes of sweating more than I have in at least 5 years, I looked over at Emily and said "hey - this isn't so bad!" Then we kept going for 20 more minutes. Then I said "hey - I can't feel my legs!" But really, it's not my legs that are hurting so bad today, as you might have noticed from the post title. "MY BUTT HURTS!!!!!!" was the email I sent to Em this morning followed by "You wanna go again next week?" :)

Who says I'm not tough.

*To clarify: My butt hurts because when you ride standing up and then repeatedly come crashing back down on that ridiculously hard seat, you start to develop a bruise-like sensation on your booty. So far there are no alternatives to this butt-bruising.

Wait, wait - I forgot the best part!

So in all the excitement of the last post (and because it was getting long) I forgot TOTALLY about Sunday - which was the best part! We went to Sunday school, church, and then lunch with Jason's family. Then there was a shower at the church for Becca and baby Kate! It was so exciting seeing all the cute stuff and thinking that in a month or so, she'll be here!! :)

Then I went up to Jason's house and he drove me all through the golf course on the golf cart. Haha! Now, that may not seem like tons of fun, but for me, it's like a step below a 4-wheeler, so that equals safe fun. We had a blast just riding around in the beautiful sunshine, laughing and being silly. He even tried to teach me how to skip a rock. Tried. Because I can't do it. But at least he tried, right?

We had a yummy dinner, made peanut butter oatmeal cookies, and watched Dan in Real Life. It was fun and I already can't wait until NEXT weekend!! :)

Spend Some Time

This weekend was wonderful. That's the only way to describe it.

Friday afternoon right before I was about to leave work, Alex called. Well, usually I try to let her leave a message because she says she doesn't like to "bother me at work", but I answered. Frantically she spat out phrases like "Paul called", "she can't come", "wanna go?" and the all important phrase: "camp." That one word was really all she had to say. :)

So I call Jason, not exactly to ask permission, but to see how upset he would be if I totally blew off all the plans we had for that night... and luckily, he was totally okay with it! By this point I was experiencing that "OMGoodness - I'm gonna be at camp in like TWO HOURS!!" feeling - you either understand this feeling or you don't. No big. And I call Alex back to let her know I'm going too. (I also asked for details because you see, I zeroed in on that one word, and practically missed the rest of the conversation.) Turns out, the Mother-Daughter Retreat was going on and something came up for the girl who was supposed to lead worship that night, so Paul had called Alex to see if we could come and sing.

The craziest part of all of this is that Friday morning I had written out a prayer about how I really wish I had more opportunities to sing. Camp was such a special time for me for so many reasons, but a huge part of it was being able to worship through song. I just LOVE SINGING!!! Lucky for me, God answers some prayers quickly. (Kinda like when I met Jason... if you don't know that story, you should ask.)

Then Saturday was super fun too - Jason and I realized that we were spending less and less time together each week because of our busy schedules, so it was wonderful to just spend some time together. Quality time, sitting down, having a "smoovie", just looking at each other, and talking. About nothing, about everything, about anything we wanted to. Then we saw Death Race. Yeah, I know, how romantic. :) And it was good - gory, which I'm not a fan of, but the story itself was good. And we can't wait until Eagle Eye comes out on the 26th. Oh, and another movie that looks good (from the people that did Facing the Giants) is Fireproof. Needless to say, we love movies. And cherry coke. And mmmmm popcorn. So much so that we bought one of those giant Indiana Jones buckets, but they're a SERIOUSLY good investment - $0.50 refills until May 2009!!! YEAH BABY!!!!!!!!

Signs Point to 50!

So did any of you bloggie-readers out there notice that on the right side (where it has the montly archives) it only said like 48 when I posted that it was my 50th post? (You're thinkin', yeah right - like I pay THAT close attention to this thing...) Anyway, if you ever write a "draft" and don't actually post it, it makes it seem like you have more posts than you really do. So this is the REAL 50th post. I think. Maybe.

Apparently at some point near the beginning of the year, I felt the need to start a post about my zodiac sign and how it relates to J-dog's zodiac sign. (Okay, seriously?) Well, I don't believe all this stuff, but sometimes it just makes me laugh when God sneaks a little truth into these goofy things. I'll paste them below and bold the things that stand out to me. :)

LEO - The Lion (Me)
Great talker. Passionate. Laid back. Usually happy, but when unhappy tend to be grouchy and childish. A leo's problem becomes everyone's problem. Most Leos are very predictable and tend to be monotonous. Knows how to have fun. Is really good at almost anything. Very predictable. Outgoing. Down to earth. Addictive. Attractive. Loud. Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Not one to mess with. Rare to find. Good when found.

ARIES - The Aggressive (haha - Jason)
Outgoing. Lovable. Spontaneous. Not one to mess with. Funny. EXTREMELY adorable. Loves relationships, and family is very important to an aries. Aries are known for being generous and giving. Addictive. Loud. Always has the need to be 'Right'. Aries will argue to prove their point for hours and hours. Aries are some of the most wonderful people in the world.

No, you can't describe a person fully in a few sentences, but some of these things are really true about us. Jason is soooo funny, lovable, crazy about his family, generous (almost to a fault), and is always right... even when he's not. :) And I never stop talking, love being in long relationships, basically happy, but man, when I'm not, I am definitely childish and grouchy. (Just keepin' it real.)

Okay, that's all for now. Look for something a little more spiritual coming up soon. :)

August Birthday Celebration!

Here are some pictures from the August B'day Celebration at my house last Sunday!


The party people!! Everyone turned 23 during August (except me, I'm the baby.)

The yummy food!!

My beautiful backyard area with tons of wonderful friends!

Brandon brought his bocce set for everyone to play.

They were pretty hardcore!!!

Finally, Dash/Jason entertained everyone with the old "I can hold my dog up by a handle" trick. It was a hit. (He's just so cute!!)

We had a blast and only wish we had invited more people!!! :) There's always next year!

My A-Z List (from J.Martin)/my 50th Post!

A- Attached or Single? Well, I'm not single! I'm as attached as I can be without being officially attached. Make sense? Good.

B- Best Friend: Cara (HS bff), Emily and Samantha (college roomies), Alex, Emily, and Becca (NEW-cleus girls), oh, and Jason, yeah him too. :)

C- Cake or Pie: yellow cake with chocolate frosting (but dadgum - the BF makes some yummy peanut butter pies...)

D- Drink of Choice: trying to be water... Cherry Coke, Dr.P, Code Red, and sweet tea (oh, and cream with a little coffee in it at work)

E- Essential Item: cell phone

F- Favorite Color: hard question... greens and blues?

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: worms... my fav are those peach things though

H- Hometown: Signal Mountain, TN (next week we will have been living there 22 years!)

I- Indulgence: peanut butter m&ms... and chick flicks... together, if possible.

J- January or February: January because it's a blue month as opposed to red... (don't ask)

K- Kids: not yet!

L- Life, for me, is incomplete without: trying to understand Jesus' sacrifice, my family/friends, my Jason

M- Marriage Date: in the future...

N- Number of Siblings: 2

O- Oranges or Apples? mandarin oranges

P- Phobia/Fears: heights (big time!) and fear of not being liked (hey, I'm just keepin' it real.)

Q- Favorite Quote: "In the end it'll all be okay; if it's not okay, it's not the end."

R- Reasons to smile: being in love, having great friends, having a dog that gets more excited to see me each time I come home

S- Season: football :)

T- Tag Ten: sorry Jen, I don't understand what this means... :-\

U- Unknown fact about me: most of the time, I'd rather be doing something than nothing

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: I. Eat. Meat.

W- Worst Habit: biting my fingernails... yeah yeah yeah... tell me how gross it is, I know. I'm TRYING TO STOP!!

X- X-rays or Ultrasounds: don't like the doctor...

Y- Your Favorite Foods: hashbrown casserole, fried okra, zucchini, mashed potatoes, fried squash, asparagus, mac & cheese, anything my dad cooks on the grill, anything my mom cooks that has the word "fried" in front of it

Z- Zodiac: Leo