Mac Daddy. Or Why I'm Stuck At The Empo.

Well hello there long lost friends,


It seems like it's been forever. Although, I think it has only been a week or so ;). Still too long to be away!


Sadly, my beloved Mac has bitten the dust. Something about the motherboard. And it costing $800 dollars plus labor to fix. Aka, I will be getting a new computer sometime soon. I may end up using Momma and Daddy's for a while but I have to make it through this week first! I have two tests and multiple papers and assignments due, and no computer! However, Tech has something known as hell on earth  the Math Emporium, which is open 24/7 and has multiple computers. So instead of sitting on my cozy couch, I will be spending LOTS of time here sadly. Maybe it will make me more productive? Obviously, as I am blogging, haha!


Anyways, this past weekend S, my roommate, her fiance and I decided to go away for the weekend :). We ended up choosing a little town a few hours from here that is nestled in the mountains. Friday night, Coley and I drove up and got things set up and dinner made before the boys arrived. Needless to say we spent most of our time in the hot tub!


We ended up heading to Luray Caverns on Saturday before coming home, watching the UVA basketball game and playing some games. The boys decided to cook a nice dinner for us Saturday night and we all got a little dressed up. Sunday came too soon and we all parted ways but had a great relaxing weekend behind us!

 Roomies!

Boots and I :)

 The group!

:)

I hope to check back in sometime this week before we head to Florida on Saturday for SPRING BREAK!!! So excited :) I have been reading but commenting on my phone gets tricky so my apologies if I don't get a chance.

Have a great Monday!

Sometimes and Always

I just found this adorable link-up over at Mackey Madness and I thought it might be a perfect blog for a Tuesday afternoon. Plus her name is Megan, and it is spelled the RIGHT way (in my humble opinion haha), so it must be fate :)

Sometimes... I think I might give up Diet Coke,
Always... I end up drinking one!

Sometimes... I over analyze EVERYTHING
Always... I know who is in control of my life. Big thanks to the Big Man Upstairs!!

Sometimes... I think I might watch something else before bed. 
Always... I end up watching Friends :)

Sometimes... I dread the drive to Charlottesville.
Always... I end up going because Stuart is worth all that driving ;)

Sometimes... I think saving money is a good idea.
Always... I end up finding something on sale I have to have ;) 


What a cute link-up. Y'all head on over!

Finally!

I have been waiting for this since November. Since the Christmas movies brought back memories and the songs sang about the joy that it brings. Yep folks, that's right... THERE IS FINALLY SNOW IN THE 'BURG!!!

This is my lovely view from the couch this morning while drinking my coffee and watching The Parent Trap (original version is the best!). So happy! :)

One of my favorite things about living in the mountains is the snow that I get to experience (well, usually). Growing up at the beach, a flurry or two would call us out of school but there was not nearly enough of the fluffy white stuff. Being in the 'burg has allowed me several winters with cozy candles lit in the fireplace watching the snow fall. Love it!

Well, mostly. Tech doesn't like to cancel classes for snow, so I can pretty much guarantee you there will be class tomorrow. But for today, I am enjoying the peace and serenity that the snow brings. Reminded of how good God is and peace he brings to me.

Have a great Sunday y'all... and stay warm!

Plan, Plan, Plan

Right now I am at a point in my life where there isn't a whole lot I can plan, which is kiilllliinnnggg me! I am a planner by nature and I love my lists and having things in order. Right now, I will graduate, complete my field study and then WHO KNOWS? God definitely is the only one right now. Ahhhh.

However, I can plan for little things, which is so nice :).

Things I am planning for...

• This weekend! Nicole and I are going to spend some time in cburg, maybe catch a movie and grab some dinner or do some shopping :)
• Next weekend! We are going to a little cabin a few hours from here and I couldn't be more excited. It has a hot tub and a fire pit and we are going with my roommate and her fiance. So nice to have some down time in a cozy cabin playing games and cooking and spending time in the hot tub!
• Spring break! I think we have finally narrowed down two houses next to each other in Florida for spring break! We are going with S's roommates (all five of them!) and their significant others/friends. I think all in all there will be twelve or so. We ended up finding a pretty good deal for the two houses anddddd they are beach front. So happy!
• Speaking of planning for spring break... I am TRYING to lose a few pounds/shape up before I spend a week on the beach next to S's skinnaaayyy roommates (yes, he lives with two girls. No, I don't care. I love those girls and they both have boyfriends anyways ;) ) But look what showed up on my doorstep (via momma) today:

      THIN MINTS! They are my absolute fav! I am having to ration these puppies ;)


Anyone else a planner out there? I found this on a blog ( I can't remember where, if it was yours let me know!) and it is my computer background right now. Love this verse and the message :)

Have a great weekend!!

It's Okay Thursday!

I thought I'd link up with Neely and Amber for another round of "It's Ok" Thursday :)


It's Okay:

• That I woke up and threw on yoga pants and a sweatshirt for class, then came home, showered and put leggings and a sweatshirt on, it's a yucky day!
• That I thought I had brownie mix in my cabinet when I invited my little over to watch movies and then discovered it was cake mix and I had no icing... I ended up making them into cookies!
• That I want one of those cookies so bad right now but I am trying to eat well and lose a few pounds before spring break!
• That I start each of these sentences with "That I" and end them with an exclamation point. Clearly I like having a system!
• That I have spent the day watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix with my roommate instead of doing anything productive... at least I made it to class?
• That I am super excited about having a girls weekend with Nicole! We are going wedding dress shopping, we might see a movie or two and will just hang out. We haven't done this in forever and I am so excited!
• That I look forward to my devotional every night and spending time with God, but I fell asleep last night during my prayer... I did wake up at some point and finish it, haha.
• That I have a ton of stuff fun coming up but I have no money currently... at least I have a fund at home that I can pull some out of for fun stuff. :)
• That I haven't blogged much this week... sometimes you just have an off week.

Happy Thursday y'all!

My Funny Valentine

I got home from a long day of work and class and look what was waiting for me!

After a weekend of putting up with me, supporting me and a great afternoon walking around the mall and looking at albums he still thought he should send me some flowers. So lucky!

Now I get to do the single girl thing and watch movies and bake brownies with my little whose boyfriend also lives out of town.

Thankful for all of the LOVE in my life, from Stuart to my amazing family to my wonderful friends. 

Two quotes from two of my favorites sum it up:

"And now these three remain, faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love."

Corinthians 13:13

"All you need is love, love is all you need."

The Beatles

Brrrrr and Grateful

Y'all, I'm gonna be honest for a bit. It has been a rough week around here. I haven't been feeling like myself and I have spent a lot of time down on my knees praying and a lot of time wrapped up in Stuart's arms trying to figure it out. I'm still not sure if I have it all figured out, but I am feeling more like myself today. Praise the Lord. But seriously. I have been begging to feel "normal" since about Tuesday.

Point being, I know Valentine's Day is coming up, and I am fortunate to be spending my weekend with my valentine. My view right now?

Him jamming it out with his roommates/best friend's in the basement of their house. I love to watch him play, because he is totally in his element. And it makes him happy, which makes me happy. He is always happy, which is such a balance to my sometimes serious nature. I need that happy, I need that goofy in my life.

He drives me crazy more than anyone I know. His constant need to be picking at me whenever he is bored makes me more nutty than a pb&j. But I love this man. I love that he has picked the pieces up of my life this week, he has let me talk through things that weren't easy, he's asked me what is going on and he has held me while I cried and told me that we would figure things out. He has prayed with me and reasoned with me and held my hand. And while the mushy gushy love stuff is nice; it is the real stuff, the hard stuff, the "we can make it through anything" that makes it worth it. He loves the ugly me, the crying me, the mean me and the broken me. I am so lucky to have him.

I gave him a devotional we have been doing for seriously dating/engaged couples and I am learning a lot from it. I hope he is learning a lot from it. We have been talking a lot about it, and God's role in our relationship and where that will bring us. He is so science minded and he has a hard time with the reasoning for things. I'll admit, I do too. But I am so glad this is something we are talking about and working on together. With the two of us and God wrapped around us, I know things will be okay and turn out the way they should.

I know this was a little deep, and random, and honestly that has been my head lately. Any prayers you have, just for some peace and calm would be lovely. I am a huge control freak and someone who makes rash decisions, and lately God has been telling me to "wait". I'm not sure what I'm waiting for, but I know he is teaching me lots of patience. And I need that lesson.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend! Stuart's going to play with his buddies for a while, and we may go out to dinner, which was our original plan, or we may stay in and do something more low key. He is letting me decide. Love that man. I especially love that he showed up yesterday with a rose and a cookie and this morning with another single rose and some pretzel M&M's. Told ya'll he knows his woman ;)

Happy Saturday!

Dear Nickelodeon

Dear Nickelodeon,

I have always appreciated your show choices, from my younger years enjoying Clarissa Explains it All, Double Dare 2000, Are You Afraid of the Dark and others to my transition to only enjoying your Nick at Nite selections of I Love Lucy, Full House, The Nanny, ect. When you started playing Friends, I became a Nick at Nite devotee for life. 11pm to 1am is the PERFECT time for you to play four episodes of my favorite show of all time. I go to bed between these hours and drifting off listening to Monica, Chandler, Joey, Rachel, Ross and Phoebe is the ideal lullaby. I could not have been happier.

But this week, you decided to change things up on me. Instead of showing my beloved show at the usual block of time, you broke it up into two different hour segments, one from 9-10 and one from 11-12. Considering I usually finish my bible study up around midnight, this will not work for me. That 70's Show is not even a close comparison to the hilarity, warmth and comfort provided by Friends. Neither is George Lopez. I don't even know why you carry these shows. If you were going to show anything other than Friends, bring back The Nanny. I love Fran Drescher almost as much as I love the cast of Friends. Allllmost. But not quite.

Nickelodeon, you are ruining my sleep. You are ruining my lullaby. Yes, I have all of the seasons on DVD and yes, I can put them in my DVD player and watch them all night if I so desire. However, it is not the same. I enjoy being surprised by what episodes are playing and choosing a DVD takes away all of that joy.

I know I am not the only one who feels this way. Claire is another faithful who is up and arms about this, and I would be willing to say there are many others. We are the generation that brought you into existence. We remember your original programming and taught our cousins, siblings and friends to tune in. We bought the toys and dress up clothes you advertised, keeping your sponsors happy. We kept you in business. The least you can do is rearrange your schedule so we can get some sleep.

I will be happy to give you a week or so to straighten everything out. But I need my sleep in order to function, do well in school, graduate, get a job and generate money in this struggling economy. If you won't do it for me, do it for the economy. We need Friends back in its original spot, every night from 11pm-1am.

Thank you,
A concerned former viewer. Who wants to be a current viewer.

What's Your Love Story?

Happy Tuesday y'all! We are a week from Vday (although I will be celebrating this weekend) and Becky at From Mrs. to Mama  is doing a link up. If you are single she has questions for you too! I thought this might be a fun way to kick off the Valentine's Day spirit :). Although I feel like I show Stuart I love him everyday and Vday for me is about the chocolate, haha ;). I will do a reveal of what I got him just because I want to have it for my own memories but I will have to do that after this weekend!!

Taken Ladies

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
Just over 2 1/2 years.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

The short version: We actually met in high school but he was dating one of my good friends (don't worry, before anything EVER happened I got the okay from her!). I ended up inviting him to a Corey Smith concert I was going to with one of my best friends and her boyfriend and it turned in to a double date/our first date! A week later he kissed me in the rain on the beach and the rest is history. ;)

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry? {do tell}

I am not married but it is definitely something we are talking about right now. I would be incredibly lucky to marry this man. 

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?  If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?
We would probably get married in our hometown at my parents church just because that would be the easiest, although I doubt we will be living there at the time! And big, definitely. My family alone is over 100 people!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
I know I have shared this on the blog before but we call each other Boots. I have no idea where it came from! We have been doing it for a while.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

He is incredibly open and friendly to everyone he meets. Seriously, he is the nicest person and is such a good influence on me. He is a hard worker and is good with money (which I am NOT) and he knows how to "deal" with me when I am being crazy or goofy or any variety of emotions. I could go on and on. Sorry, that was probably more than three. ;)

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?
My ideal proposal would be just the two of us (mayyybbee a photographer hidden in the bushes) at one of "our" places. I have never wanted to be asked that in front of a bunch of people because I want it to be an intimate moment and I am not a cute crier haha. Plus I want to be able to call and tell people because I feel like that would be so exciting to do!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?
Definitely flowers and teddy bear (and chocolate cause he knows his woman ;). 

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Definitely pop in a movie and relax. Although I wouldn't turn down a sunset beach dinner ;)

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I want to travel across the United States. I think it would be such a fun road trip and we would probably want to kill each other at some point, but I think it would be an incredible journey!

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
We are going to see Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy. So us!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
Not really. We are going to see the show and go to dinner together and that is fine with me :)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
Be open and honest. Our relationship suffers so much when either of us is trying to hide something from the other.

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.
This is so us and so our relationship. Laughing at each other being ridiculous. Love.

Thanks for letting me share this and I will be impressed if you made it all the way through!

The 3 F's

Food. Fun. Friends. That is pretty much what our weekend consisted of and I couldn't be happier!

Stuart arrived around 3am Saturday morning and scared the bejeezus out of me! He wasn't supposed to come until 10am or so but instead of sleeping he just drove through half the night. Needless to say I was shocked and happy to see him :).

This weekend was chilly and rainy so we spent most of our time indoors. We headed to the mall and grocery store Saturday morning where he ended up with more than I did for once! Love that our mall has a Gap outlet. I experimented with avocado grilled cheeses and we loved them!

We came home and hung out for a while before getting ready for dinner and happy hour at Sharkey's with Lindsay, Tyler, Heather and Josh. Sharkey's seriously has the BEST sweet potato fries. Love them! We had a blast out and then headed back to my place to play the Newlywed Game since we had three couples and had so much fun doing that too. We even ordered the "Big Ass" which is a HUGE order of Pokey Sticks (cheesy bread) and demolished it. Needless to say I need to get back on the Spring Break bandwagon!

Stuart and I (love Instagram!)

The whole group (and my Day 4 for the Photo A Day challenge with Fat Mum Slim). There are tons of strangers in the background ;).

We spent most of the day yesterday laying around until Heather and Josh came over to watch the Super Bowl. They seemed to enjoy the French Onion Soup and I got a cookie cake and made mozzarella and tomato appetizers and Heather brought over hummus and veggies. SO YUMMY!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Waiting

I am probably the most fun college student ever tonight. I'm spending it watching the Big Bang Theory, deep conditioning my hair, reading Cosmo and Glamour and working on my nails. :) Stuart is supposed to get here late late late tonight so I have the evening to myself!


Last night Lindsey, Nicole and I baked these cookie brownies from a mix I found on clearance at Target while wedding chatting and watching Grey's. Such a fun girls night! Linds' boyfriend Tyler (who I adore!) came to pick her up and somehow convinced Nicole and I to go out with them ;). We ended up going to TOTS where I saw people I hadn't seen in FOREVER! So. much. fun! My bff Jim's younger brother, Dan (who also just became Pike president!) was celebrating his 21st so Nicole and I had to get a picture with him. Here we are!

I've also been participating in Fatmumslim's  photo challenge for February and while I didn't post yesterday I did take my picture!

February 2nd: Words

I say these words more often than I'd like! Hence the tagging on Pinterest of my bff's ;)

February 3rd: Hands

These are my hands after using Jenn's awesome method for nail biters. This was so easy and I love how they turned out. Thanks again Jenn!

Have a great weekend y'all!

Yummy Pinterest Recipies (I hope?)

This weekend I am grabbing the supplies to make a few recipes I found on Pinterest. Where else? Stuart will be arriving sometime Saturday Morning and will be here through Monday morning. :) My little and her boyfriend are coming over Sunday night to watch the Super Bowl with us and I have to be careful with what I fix because Heather is a vegetarian (for the most part).

Anyways, here is what I found! Let me know if you have made any of these/how they turned out. I still haven't been to the grocery store yet ;)

Avocado Grilled Cheese found here. Stuart adores anything with avocado and I think this will be a good lunch/dinner for us when he gets here. I love that it is a little more grown up grilled cheese!

Crock pot French Onion Soup found here for Super Bowl Sunday. No meat (it is made with beef broth but she can tolerate that I think ), warm and yummy! This is another one of S's favs and I'm hoping I can pull it off and this will be come a staple since it seems to be so easy! Plus I can use some left over french bread from our grilled cheeses :). I LOVE that this can be made in the crock pot. Easy peasy. 

Low fat chocolate cupcakes with glaze from here. Yes, after all that cheese I think we will need at least sommmeeethingggg low fat ;). I love how light these are and the glaze is such a good alternative to frosting. :)

I also have lots of fresh veggies and apples for sides to the sandwiches and salads to go with the soup. I am so excited to dive into these recipes and I will let y'all know how they go!

View From the Top

Ah, we are almost to Thursday :). I'm thinking the Groundhog may not see his shadow tomorrow because of the super mild winter we have had!

Claire and I have both dedicated ourselves to this February Photo a Day Challenge over at Fat Mum Slim and I think it is going to be so much fun!

Today's photo was "your view" and since I spent most of my day on campus and a majority of that time at work, this was my view from most of the day. Sitting at my desk in the Architecture office looking out into students viewing an exhibit and out into studio. I have this view most days of the week! I love the glass doors and design, even though it is not always the most practical!

Right now I am working on a list of groceries for some pinterest finds I am making for Stuart when he comes this weekend :). Should be a low key weekend in with a fun double date for the Super Bowl on Sunday! Can't wait!!