Monday, March 19, 2012

Happy Birthday Daddy-o!

Today is the greatest Dad on earth's birthday. That'd be my dad! I am probably the biggest daddy's girl you will ever meet. I'm also one of the luckiest daughters in the world because I have a dad like mine. He's super smart (book and common sense-wise), he's been extremely successful, worked hard for everything he has,  he has a great sense of humor, he's a husband of 30 years, and he loves his eldest daughter (as well as his other children...). That would be me!

I've always loved my daddy!

That's me in the middle and Amelia at the bottom.


Yes, he's always had the mustache!
My dad has always been there for me and gotten me through the toughest times of my life. He is my source of all life advice and always knows what to do. He has also taught me what a real man is supposed to be and set the bar high for any and all boyfriends. Luckily, Dt lives up to all of the hype and has many of the qualities I admire the most in my father. I know I'm lucky to have the bond that I have with my dad (as well as with my mom) and I thank God every day for giving him to me.



This was at my Clemson graduation, wish I didn't look like such a creeper! 

Happy birthday Daddy! I love you!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Really Ben?

We all know your brain wasn't the one who made that decision. Gross. So disappointing but at least Lindzi can find someone hot. Girl is gorgeous! And Ben? Well Ben looks like Francine from Arthur. Oh, you don't remember what she looks like? Here ya go.

Via
Your welcome.

You can have Courtney.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Nap Time

It's Monday. If you're anything like me, you feel like doing this. 

That's my sister Amelia on the right and our cousin Sarah on the left.  Passed the eff out.

Do you have a favorite nap spot? Or a place where you can lay and fall right asleep? Mine is this place.

That swing. The water. Gets me.
I'm also lucky enough to have a spot like this in my house. It is a lovely pink chair in our living room. It's a death trap for nappers.


And unfortunately, I'm the douchebag who takes pictures of the fallen. Karma is going to get me and I'm fully aware of it, but it cracks me up. Dt is the worst offender but this chair has been known to take down Russell (Dt's older brother), my good friend Kait, our friend Andrew, and many many others. I seem to have misplaced the majority of my chair-nap pictures but here are a few for your monday afternoon. 

Dt

Andrew. He was so pissed when this arrived on fbook!

And the latest victim, Dt on Saturday. It may look like he is reading his nook, but he is out!
I could go for a nap on that chair right about now...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

The ups and downs of being on a schedule again

While waking up at 6 am blows (every morning, even on Friday. Maybe it'll get better?), there are some upsides to having a job. First and foremost, that pay check that will arrive on the 30th of this month. How many days is that from now? Too many. But it's coming!

Another plus is that I'm finally getting back on a schedule. Since I've graduated my life has been extremely flexible and I've done what I wanted when I wanted. Which was obviously fab but I found myself wasting a lot of time and my days eventually became kind of boring. Having no schedule and having a strict schedule are two very different ways of life and I've been jumping from one to the other this past week which has made me realize that having a schedule isn't all bad.

There are some great things about having a schedule. You know what you are going to be doing throughout the week. I know that I have to wake up at 6 which means I need to be in bed by at least 10. This girl needs a solid 8 or she will get cranky. No one is safe when I am tired. You've been warned. I also know that I need to plan my lunch and dinner according to my schedule and what it will allow. Lots of planning, but I know what is coming. Yes, this takes the fun, spontaneousness out of the week but with the stuff my clients bring into my office, I'm sure I will be surprised on a daily basis.

So after a fully scheduled week, I woke up on Saturday with no plans and no idea of what the day would bring me. I've always been a morning person and when I'm up, I'm up. Once I get my solid block of sleep, I'm good to go. I also have an annoying internal alarm clock that will wake me at 6 am even if my real alarm clock doesn't go off, so thanks for that Mr. Schedule. But thanks to Nyquil (allergies have made me their bitch this week. I'm dying!) I was able to catch a couple more hours of sleep and was awake at 8 am to find that Dt had left to go to work for a few hours. Usually, Dt sleeps until about noon which is fine because I know he has to wake up early during the week so I let him sleep as late as he wants and I catch up with my DVR. He has been going in to work on the weekends a lot lately because he's trying to get his Ph.D. finished early so combine the two and I miss out on very valuable Dt time on the weekend which makes for a sad Emily.

Luckily, Dt was home by 9:30 and as we were sitting in the living room I realized I can't remember the last time we were both up, fully awake, and going at 9:30 on a Saturday, so I suggested we take advantage of it and do something like go for a walk. We decided to head down to Main Street, Columbia to take in the sights. It was nice and sunny but a little brisk. The streets were relatively empty but it was nice to be able to spend time with Dt. As you may know, I'm not a fan of Columbia but I do like Main Street. Parts of it are run down but there are some cute shops and nice buildings and it's one of the prettier streets in Cola, I think.

Via


Via
We stopped by the Mast General Store and bought some candy then made our way to the Vista for lunch. We went to the new Salsarita's which we had never been to but had heard good things about. I thought it was ok. The chips were good but it was like a step up from Moe',s so nothing too fabulous. Am I missing something? Any recommendations? It was kinda disappointing since people rave about it in Greenville but I didn't get it. I'd rather have Qdoba any day!

Via
Via

And by the time we got home, it was barely 1 and we still had the whole day ahead of us! Fabulous! So while it is hard to wake up early and eat dinner at the same time every night, if it means I get more quality time with my boy on the weekend, I'll take it. Oh, and I'll take that paycheck 19 days from now.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Recap

Hey, hey, hey! How's your week going so far? Mine is off to a pretty good start, I'm slowly getting into the swing of my job. It turns out, waking up at 6 am is pretty damn hard. Whodathunk? But I'm doing it and making it through til 5.

While having a job impacts most parts of my life positively, it definitely negatively affects my trashy tv watching. When am I supposed to fit in my beloved



and my future besties because I aspire to be a housewife (and to look like Gretchen, duh)


My DVR is filling up as we speak but I will have to fit in my guilty pleasures where I can. Luckily, over the last few days I've been able to catch up on the "women tell all" bachelor episode. This has to be a priority because we all know bishes can't keep their comments to themselves on fbook or twitter so I will inevitably find things out before I watch the episode which is the worst! So I watch the Bachelor first. And the ladies did not disappoint.

My faves were front and center! (well technically off to the left but they were focused on for the majority of the episode)


I love them and you could tell they weren't taking shit from anyone!

Did anyone think that they let Ben off easy? I mean I would have definitely brought up the skinny dipping or made him cop to being ignorant to Courtney's hot mess but no. He just sat there being normal, boring, Ben. Yawn. 

Then we have this one.


Did you believe it? Me neither? I think she did a good job of looking pretty while trying to get emotional but I think it was crap. I think she has probably hurt her family's feelings and embarrassed everyone who knows her but I think she was her real self on the show. You aren't bat shit crazy for weeks then all of a sudden let your "real side" come out when you realize that everyone thinks you're a bitch. Nope, doesn't happen. Also, did she let a spoiler slip when she said she "cared for Ben." I mean past tense means something right? If he doesn't pick her, I'll at least have some respect for his boring ass but if he does, then I hope he gets what is coming to him. Sigh...

Well, I'm off to eat the delicious enchiladas that Dt had ready for me when I got home from work. Love that boy!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

First day and lingerie

Well, my first day was a success! I didn't actually do anything... I met a lot of new people and promptly forgot all of their names (by the end of the day I could identify at least three by name and face so that is progress). I have lots of clients already lined up and I'll jump in feet first tomorrow morning. So far so good!

Last night I went to a bachelorette party for my friend Mary Katherine. Kat and I met in grad school and our group of girls grew to be pretty close because we saw each other all day every day. Since graduation we haven't seen each other as much so it was nice to get all of the girls together last night. We started the night with a lingerie shower, some hors d'oeuvres, and lots of cocktails. It was very entertaining and Kat got some great stuff that her fiancee will love on the honeymoon ;) As the drinks started flowing the raunchy, bachelorette games began. I'm talking pin the junk on the hunk, penis straws, the whole nine yards.

Keeping it classy.
Eventually we made it downtown to do a little bar hopping. Kat had a list of dares to complete and she was a champ and did them all. I give her major credit for having the guts to do some of those things and she maintained her lady-like demeanor throughout. The same could not be said for the guys who helped her out with those dares but it made for a very entertaining evening. I wish I could tell you I took any pictures but I didn't. I suck. But I'm sure some will make their way onto fbook soon where I will steal them and share the g-rated ones with you. Summer, one of the bridesmaids and part of our cohort, hosted the party with Kat's sister and she did a great job! She's been to quite a few of these things so she knew what she was doing and pulled out all of the stops. I had a blast, drank more than I should have, and loved seeing all of the girls again. I can't wait for the wedding in April, it will definitely be a good time with that crowd and their significant others. Very excited for Kat!

I'm getting ready for my first forty hour week tomorrow and its a little daunting. I don't know how I'm going to do with this whole 8:30-5 thing but I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. Unfortunately, it will negatively affect the amount of blogs I write but I'll try my best to update when I can. Have a great week!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

This is it!

Today is my last day of freedom until I get bitch slapped by reality when I start my new job tomorrow. OH yes, the day has finally come. Tomorrow, my unemployment ends and my employment begins! I have to be there bright and early at 8:30 a.m. and I'm definitely nervous/excited and I have no idea what to expect so wish me luck! While, I'm excited to finally have a job there are a few things that I will miss about unemployment...

What I'll miss about unemployment
-My couch
-My DVR
-No schedule
-Staying up late
-Sleeping in late
-No alarms
-Getting lunch with Dt whenever I want
-Being able to travel where I want
-Freedom
-Not having to put on nice clothes everyday (norts? yes please!)
-Reading on the porch
-Reading too many blogs
-Experimenting in the kitchen
-Being home when Dt gets home
-Going to the gym midday
-Daily naptime (you can judge but I know you're jealous)


What I won't miss about being unemployed
-Being broke
-Boredom
-Having no money
-Not being able to go shopping
-Hanging out by myself bc everyone else is at work
-Stressing about money
-Everybody asking if I have a job yet
-Everybody suggesting random jobs I could get that I have no interest in (don't do this people, it's annoying. If someone you know is unemployed, with an advance degree, they want to work in that advance degree's field. Not with your cousin at an accounting firm. The thought is nice, but it is zero help and just stresses them out more. kthanx.)

While being unemployed was great over the summer after being in college/grad school for 6 years straight, it got old pretty fast. I was in dire need of a break after school ended so the summer was used mostly for recharging. I enjoyed having down time, all the money I had saved up, and the freedom to go where I want when I wanted and to lay out all day long if I felt the desire to do so. But after August, and my family's vacation, things got a little more serious. I realized I had to save what money I had left because jobs weren't as easy to come by as I thought and I didn't know how long I needed it to last. This meant that while I had free time to do fun things and spend money, I could not do anything because I didn't know when my job would come along and I needed to save as much as possible.

via
I ended up getting a retail job during the holidays to pay for presents and bulk up my bank account but by the time the new year rolled around, I was still unemployed and losing hope. I kept applying for jobs, praying, and hoping and I finally got an interview! Then, within three weeks, I had a job offer and two more interviews! It was feast or famine, I'm telling you. I ended up taking the job for the first interview I had and that is what I will be starting tomorrow. After about 10 months of unemployment, I've found a job, in the field I went to school for, doing exactly what I want to do. I think it was worth the wait and I can't wait to see what this job has in store for me! I'll let you know how it goes!