Excuse me for ranting..

This has been long time coming. I'm sure all my friends will be thankful that I've chosen to vent on my blog instead of to them. This is because, all of my close friends have naturally straight hair. They don't understand the challenges of naturally curly hair. Before I decided that I cared more about the look of my hair than the health of it & bought a Chi straightener; it took a good hour to straighten my hair. I only wish I was exaggerating. So, here it goes..

First; I have exhibits A & B:

Of course, I choose two photos that were captured on "good" hair days. It was sad that I had to look through six facebook albums to find four options. To help my ranting, I am going to use Curly Hair Problems.

Let's start with:

Believe me, I'd love to not have to take a shower four hours before I have to leave, but:

Blow drying is NOT an option, period. At least not for me. There would be the option of leaving the house with my hair wet, but that can't happen for a list of reasons:

 In summary:

There's only one problem with sticking to the same routine:

This ticks me off more than anything! Garnier Fructis "Wonder Waves" mousse was my miracle in a bottle, keyword WAS. I am now completely out of it & can't find it anywhere! I have been boycotting wearing my hair curly (like that's going to help anything) because I am tired of spending way too much money on products that don't work!!

So, there is the option of straightening it; and it only takes about a half an hour with my Chi, but (you felt that one coming, huh?):

Which basically means I wasted that half hour of my life. 

A few more reasons:

Here's the bottom line:

For those of you still here; thanks for listening. I'm better now!

Sundays In My City

Today I'm linking up with unknownmami for Sundays In My City. If you've been keeping up with my posts, you already know that I spend most every Sunday with my family. It's my favorite day of the week! It just so happened that today we celebrated two of my cousins birthdays. 

My cousin Ryan turned sixteen on the 9th. My cousin Lacy turns twenty on the 14th.

Talk about a fire hazard! Ha! By the way, this simple looking chocolate sheet cake is the best you could ever eat & so simple to make! I'll have to get the recipe from my mamaw and share it sometime.

This has nothing to do with my birthday theme I had going; but was too cute not to share :).

Friday Confessional

I confess..

..I have an apartment that I use as a storage space.

In my defense, it's rent-free. That said, it still seems ridiculous even to me.

..I don't spend enough time with my mother.

We don't have the mother-daughter bond that most do. Sometimes I feel guilty, but I try to remind myself that it's not entirely my fault. I'll probably explain this in a later post.

..I'm twenty-one & scared of the dark.

Not so much the dark; but the scary un-see-able things in it.

..I miss having a job.

Most of all I miss the paycheck. Unemployment isn't horrible & I am thankful that it's available, but living off $109 a week isn't easy. I won't lie and say I haven't enjoyed this time I've had to sit back & go to the mailbox to get my cash, but that's just not me. I'm way too independent for this & I miss my fast paced life. So, I have come up with the solution that I should get an internship! I need some experience in the big girl world of business.

..I refuse to accept that one day my 
mamaw won't be here.

I hate to even talk about this, really I do. But, it's true; and maybe confessing will help me deal. This woman has practically raised me. She is my rock. I couldn't tell you how old she is; because I refuse to think about it. When I was little, merely the thought of losing her would send me into tears. This is something about me that hasn't changed, so it's time to move on.

..I miss going to church.

I didn't grow up with parents that made me go to church every Sunday. For awhile after my parent's divorce; my dad got really into church. But sadly; his alcohol addiction overcame him and our church days became a thing of the past. I would still attend church with one of my aunts, by choice. This continued until high school, when I took a wrong turn and ended up in a bad place. It took me five years to get that far from God; yet only one church service to get me closer than I'd ever been. My aunt ask me to attend a Revival with her at her church. The preacher of the night was one I had always loved; and who had tugged at my heart years before. My aunt later told me somehow she just knew that it was my time to get back with God, and she couldn't have been more right. I was baptized when I was eighteen. I don't believe that my relationship with God has changed since I have foregone church; honestly I just miss the feeling I get from going. I have always enjoyed attending church; which is why I'm unsure of why I have slacked off in my attendance. I plan to change this in the very near future. Like, the day after tomorrow. Brittany, I will be seeing you Sunday!


You know, I think this is going to become a weekly habit. I feel so relieved.

We Want to Know..

So, I'm starting to see a pattern. I love a good link-up. Ha! Today I'm linking up with Mamarazzi, Queso, & Crazymama for:

{1} What is for dinner tonight (bonus for sharing the recipe)?

..And crumbs at that. Good thing I don't have kids; right? In my defense; I have snacked all day while working on homework, so I wasn't that hungry!




{2} Share something you are currently looking forward to.

Graduating in December.. and (hopefully) getting a job! Then I can go back to eating full meals, maybe :).




{3} What are your thoughts on re-gifting?

Exhibit one is a re-gift given by me; and exhibit two is a re-gift that I received. So obviously, I'm all for it!

{4} How often do you rearrange your furniture?This one's easy; I don't have any. Ha; well actually I do, but since I live with my boyfriend & his dad, its not really mine to move.
{5} Share a picture from your cellphone or camera.This is Zaiden, Chelsea's son. I'm here visiting them & wanted to share this adorable face with everyone :). Check out her blog for plenty more!

What Made My Day..

So, today I decided to do this link up, even though it's going to say its Tuesday by the time I get it posted; it is totally still Monday in my book. And, since its MY blog, what I say goes; right? Ha, moving on; what made my day today was..
Getting the Liebster Blog Award! Thanks, Brittany! Okay, I can't lie. I technically got the award last Tuesday; so I guess what made my day is that I finally found/started following five lovely blogs with less than two hundred followers to give it away to! I decided I couldn't just give it to people who I knew had already received it, I mean where's the fun in that? So, after a week of long searching; here it is; and those I'm passing it onto!

This award is for bloggers who have less than 200 followers and are newer to the world of blogging and have a FANTABULOUS blog that needs a little noticing!!

Here is how to participate in this nomination/award giving fun!

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog

2. Link back to the blogger who awarded/nominated you

3. Copy and paste the blog award to your blog

4. Reveal your top 5 blog picks!!

5. Drop by your top 5 picks and let them know you chose them by commenting on their blog!

In no specific order; my choices for blogs deserving of this award are:

Crystal @ Savings Made Simple

Jennifer @ I Wanna Feel That Fire

Vanessa @ A Randomlicious Blog for the Soul

Yana @ Before I Blink

 Bunnie @ My Life Comes With Fine Print

Everyone should check these ladies out! The blogs listed are very random, just like me. Most importantly, they all are very deserving of this award.

two days & five hundred miles later..

Home again. I feel like I've been in a car for days. Oh wait, I have. I enjoyed myself though. To recap; the first stop was Premium Outlets.

Ha, actually I was proud of myself. I spent under one-hundred dollars; got a pair of slacks, a sweater, and a Coach wrist-let! Then it was on to Dave & Busters. Julia had never been, so it was definitely a must.

If I wouldn't have been starving I might have thought to take a picture of my humongous, delicious meal before hand (that bowl of onion "frizzles" was full and there were potato skins). And yes, that is every bit mine! I couldn't decide. But.. being the savvy saver that I am; ALL of that cost under fifteen dollars. I know right, look at me! Too bad immediately following this I wasted twenty-two dollars playing games for.. a shot glass that looks like a mug. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. Then it was on to Sam's cousin's house.. and my turn to drive.

I hope you can feel the sarcasm. That's like my biggest pet peeve EVER. And, it happened like ten times in the forty-five minutes that I drove. So we finally make it to Sam's cousin's. We're pulling in and Julia gets out to open the gate. Sam and I are just making a little small talk (and I quote)

Me: The house looks really nice.

Sam: Look at the one on the hill, its humongous (okay I don't think that was her exact choice of words.. but moving on)

Me: Umm, Sam I think that's your cousin's house.. and that's the barn. (what I thought was the house)

Okay, that really doesn't do it justice. It was hilarious. Once we made it past the barn to the house; we had the tour. Their home may have been the closest I'll ever get to my dream home, but I'm hopeful. Anything short of beautiful would be an understatement. They were the sweetest people. We talked with them for awhile, then it was off to bed. We woke up and it was snowing. Which meant, it was time to head South.

This was pretty much how we all felt coming home. I guess Geoffrey Garmin (the GPS) decided we needed to take the scenic route, which in my opinion wasn't too "scenic". We didn't see an interstate until we were back in Kentucky. Having a lead foot doesn't even begin to describe Julia's driving habits; and I was pretty much convinced I'd be meeting my maker before we hit the state line. But here I am, alive and well; and for some reason still awake. I really need to start working on my sleeping habits. I guess there's no better time than the present.

Change of Plans.

Sadly enough, the Florida road trip had to be called off. One of my fellow road tripper's uncle died and she wouldn't have been back in time for the funeral. Hopefully we'll be able to get something together for Spring Break. We decided we all still needed a mini-getaway though; so we'll be traveling to Cincinnati for the weekend. It's not Florida; but I still think we'll have a blast.

Today I've thought a lot about my family. This was probably brought on by the family outing I attended yesterday. I really feel that my family is the greatest blessing I could have ever received. My dad's side of the family is so close. Throughout elementary school, my weekends were spent with my then three cousins and my sister. Whether we were at my house or at theirs, we were together. We have a bond that I feel some sisters and brothers aren't lucky enough to have. As we've grown up we've went our separate ways, but that's not kept us from staying close to one another. In middle school two more cousins were added to the mix; and that completed my grandma's seven grandchildren, her pride and joy. I predict you'll be hearing a lot about her in later posts; so be ready. For now, I'll tell you just one of the ba-gillion amazing things about her. She cooks every Sunday for her entire family; that includes her four children, seven grandchildren, her four great grandchildren, and whoever we decide to bring along. No, we all can't always make it; but that doesn't stop her. So most every Sunday, I get to spend time with the people I love most. It's such a great way to start the week. I won't lie, I look forward to the food too :). 

I guess that will be enough rambling for today. I've got packing to do!

Tomorrow I think I'll..

..go to Florida!

There's nothing better than a completely unplanned, spur of the moment road trip! Especially with two of my favorite people :). I am pretty pumped, which is why I'm not sleeping and it's after three a.m. This is my fourth or fifth (it's said how often my memory fails me) time that I've been to this part of Florida; and it is my absolute favorite! It's not a tourist attraction like the other parts I've been to, just a little town called Ellenton; that just happens to have a humongous outlet mall. Hello retail therapy, goodbye school refund! The one and only, and I mean only downside is that we can never get our internet at the house to work on any laptops we take with us; so I probably won't be doing any assignments making any posts. But, I'll be back soon enough. By the way, Chelsea, I think it's safe to say.. I'm hooked! But, I'd give up blogging forever to see this out my window every day..

what i'm loving wednesday.

As promised, here's my link-up! 

Jamie at This Kind of Love

I'm loving my new niece, Abigail Elice! She came into the world on January 16th :). In her two weeks and two days of existence, she's already gained 9 ounces! How amazing is that?

Actually, I'm loving all my nieces and nephews; not just the newest addition! These kids are my world. They are the funniest, craziest, most loving children I know :).

Everybody loves money. I'm loving that I finallyyy got my school refund check! It's kind of sad that I'll only get this greatness once more.

I always have; and always will love Mexican food! It's my favorite, hands down. Specifically, I'm loving that Chris & I are going grocery shopping tomorrow; and somehow I always convince him we need to eat at El Camino so we don't "shop on an empty stomach".

Oddly enough, I'm loving my International Marketing class. Since I'm a Business Management major, I am expected to know all the aspects of business. I have never found a class so interesting. I was skeptical about the class at first; since I'd heard mixed reviews. But, I actually enjoy reading the text (it's an online class, so there's no skimming by without reading). It's not the marketing concepts that make it interesting; its the examples using countries that I know basically nothing about. I know, what a nerd. But seriously, I would recommend this class to anyone going into the business field!

Last, but certainly not least.. I'm loving tax time! I just received my last W-2 yesterday and I almost passed out. I had no idea that I had paid in so much in 2011; but I couldn't be happier that I did!

I guess that sums up what I'm loving this Wednesday.. and my first-ever link-up!!