I'm Baaaaccckkkk!

No I did not die or get taken or disappear...I was taking a much needed break for a while. I had a very bad week (just lots of drama with family, work and the boyfriend) followed by a really amazing week (this past week and Memorial day weekend). This past week was so relaxing and enjoyable because I had a lot of time off from work and also got to spend a lot of time with my family and boyfriend which was exactly what the doctor ordered!

My week started with just pure relaxation. My boyfriend had the stomach flu on Monday so I went to his house and took care of him while also just pretty much laying around all day. I did have time to do my nails though :) I have recently become obsessed with Sally Hansen's Nail Effects. They are easy to put on, super cute, and stay on a long time!

         

   

On Wednesday I had a wonderful date night with my boyfriend. We had Japanese food at our favorite restaurant Sho-gun followed by a movie night at his house. We watched the movie, The Rite. Scary scary scary movie! Oh and on Wednesday we had a technology-free night. It was so nice to have my boyfriend laying next to me rather than on the computer or his cell phone. It was so relaxing.

    

        

On Wednesday night we also sang "Happy Birthday" to my boyfriend's little brother, Sam. My boyfriend was cracking jokes right before the picture was taken so of course I look ridiculous because I am laughing hysterically.

On Friday night the boyfriend and I went to see The Hangover Part II. Yes it is very inappropriate but if you are looking for a good laugh, go see this movie!

    

On Saturday, Rusty and I took Sam out shopping for his birthday gift. He ended up picking out some new video games that he really wanted. My boyfriend and I worked Saturday night and I worked Sunday but we both had yesterday off for Memorial Day! We did some gardening in the morning and then went out to eat with his family at my dad's Mexican restaurant. It was such a productive and relaxing day and the perfect way to end the week.

Oh and during this entire week I have been addicted to watching the Casey Anthony trial. I am watching it right now as I create this blog post. I just find it so fascinating and it's weird that everything that happened took place here in Central Florida. I hope that justice is served and that if she did murder her daughter, she gets what she deserves.

    

 

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Tuesday and yay for this short week!

A Break Among this Craziness

I woke up early today so even though it's my day to sleep in, I figured I would post some cute pics that I have taken lately.

My cousin Ryan has been in the Army for the last two and a half years and he finally got back to the U.S. after being deployed in Afghanistan. He hasn't seen my family in a few years so he decided to use some of his time on leave to spend in Florida with my family.

It was so nice to have him here and he hit it off great with my boyfriend :)

       

I only have about two more weeks left of school so I am very excited to say the least.

Happy Wednesday :)

Miscellany Monday

Okay I have realized that until the end of this semester, I am just going to be too busy to post as much as I used to. Mondays are really the only days I have time to post because I have such a huge break between classes so I might just be posting miscellany on Monday for the next month and half of school that I have left. Sorry!

   

Go link up! Love the new button :)

one. Praying for Japan! It's so sad to watch the news. A family friend of ours has family living in Japan and she still has yet to hear from them. It's so scary and I really hope she hears from them soon. 

two. Last week was my Spring Break and yesterday I was depressed that I had to come back to school today. I loved sleeping in however I wish I had taken more time off from work. Even though I didn't have school, I wish I was able to enjoy my time off more rather than work constantly. Definitely learned my lesson for next year.

three. During the week it was work, work, work but this weekend the boyfriend and I accomplished so much. After many visits to The Home Depot, we finished transplanting all of our germinating seeds to the beds. It was a lot of work but we got it done in one day and tanned a little while doing so :) We are so happy to have it done and we can't wait 'till we have lots of veggies to enjoy!

  

  

Tomatoes will ripen soon! (From last season's batch)

        

four. I just got a third job! My boyfriend's parents own a wedding videography and photography company called Rhodes Studios and I am their newest videographer. One of their videographers quit on them and they need a replacement so they offered me the job and I gladly accepted. I begin training this Sunday and I think it will be lots of fun but I am a little worried that I will be stressed out. In addition to working as a waitress, I still have my bridal assistant job and now have a new videography job. That is a lot of working but his parents assured me they would be understanding of my schedule.

five. Tomorrow I have a parade presentation for my Entertainment Event class. We are focusing our parade on hometown heroes and I represent the education/teacher float. Our group leader wanted each girl in the group to have a guy counterpart so my boyfriend is taking off work to be there for me. I am also bringing my little brother to represent the students in education. It's going to be so cute and I hope I can get pictures of the parade!

six. I am so excited for Wednesday because that is when I am going to cook my Irish feast :) I would do it on Thursday (actual St. Patrick's Day) but my boyfriend and I both work at the restaurant that night. I plan on making Shepherd's Pie (thanks Ty for the suggestion!), baked potatoes with lots of toppings, possibly a salad of some sort, and still working on the rest of the menu...BUT I decided on the cupcakes I am making and I am going with a chocolate cupcake that has a chocolate ganache Irish cream filling and an Irish cream buttercream. They are going to be so good so I can't wait.

Happy Monday everyone and Happy early St. Patrick's Day if I don't have time to post!

Helllooo Spring Break!

I am so very sorry that I was absent like all last week but to say I was busy is an understatement. Teachers love to give midterms right before Spring Break so studying and working was what I was doing.

But today marks the first day of my Spring Break :)

And I am beyond excited.

        

one. Yesterday I didn't have work or homework to worry about so it was an amazingly productive day. (This was my planned beach day but it was not beach weather yesterday.) I woke up early and helped my boyfriend start planting the garden. We planted all the beets and cucumbers and have to wait just a little bit longer to plant the other fruits and veggies.

two. We also made a trip to Target because my boyfriend needed to buy sheets for his bed. While we were there, we bought a garlic herb marinade because we were going to make dinner. We made chicken and mashed potatoes which I thought turned out really good but of course the picky boyfriend didn't approve.

three. Wednesday I am going to Rock Springs with some co-workers of mine. It should be lots of fun and I never chill with them outside of work so I am eager to do so! Spring water is usually freezing though so hopefully it's a nice warm day here in Florida.

    

four. Saturday I am planning to finally go to the beach. I have to go to the beach at least once during my Spring Break right??

five. Since my boyfriend is Irish and St. Patrick's Day is coming up, I am planning on cooking an Irish dinner and maybe baking some St.Patrick's Day cupcakes. I am thinking beer frosting. I just need to find some good recipes.

Happy Monday!

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday y'all!

one. This week is a tough week for me because I have lots of work and tests going on. I am so eager to get it over with because next week is Spring Break!!

two. Overall I had a wonderful weekend. Relaxing with the boyfriend on Friday night was much needed. But before relaxing, we went to The Home Depot and purchased the items needed to start up our garden again. I am so excited to do this again because it's actually the right season and I know we will be successful this time around.

The first step in our process is to germinate the seeds so we are patiently awaiting the arrival of some sprouting!

three. I was able to lay out in the sun twice this weekend! It feels so good to be getting less and less pasty as the days go on haha.

four. Speaking of which, I am planning a beach day on Sunday with the boyfriend and I ended up buying a yellow two-piece swimsuit from VS so I am totally prepared for Spring Break to just be here already :)

five. My mom is on a business trip in California (lucky her) so Rusty and I will be helping my dad out a lot this week. This on top of of school and work will be kind of hectic so I apologize in advance for my lack of blogging!

Have a great Monday and a wonderful week!

Miscellany Tuesday

Okay it's another Tuesday that I am going to pass as Miscellany because yesterday was President's Day. I did NOT have school off however everyone else and their mother (boyfriend and my family) had off from school and work so I may have skipped my second class of the day. Alright I did skip my second class of the day but it's the very first time I have skipped a class this entire school year! I do feel rather guilty for it but I have a friend in that class that is willing to let me copy her notes :)

one. I had some goodies waiting for my boyfriend after he worked on Friday night. I baked him oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (YUM) and bought him a 143 T-shirt. He says it all the time...his way of saying "I (1) Love (4) You (3)".

two. I spent my extra time yesterday tanning. I am starting to get my color back! I am hoping to go to the beach this Sunday to get some more.


three. On Valentine's Day I made an amazing chicken recipe and it's been quite selfish of me to keep it to myself. It tasted good and was very easy to make! The link is right here. I substituted Mozzarella cheese for Fontina and it was still wonderful. Even my picky boyfriend loved it so I would imagine it's kid-friendly.
     

  
four. I am so looking forward to Friday! The boyfriend and I have the night off and we are going to have a date night at a new local Japanese restaurant that I went to this weekend which was amazing. My family had been wanting to try it and the food was delicious! Can't wait to introduce Rusty to it.  

five. I really need to go swimsuit shopping. I am thinking of getting a yellow one. I would love to get a new one sometime before this weekend!

Happy Tuesday everyone :)

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday everyone!

one. I had to work on Sunday morning and when I went to my boyfriend's house after work, he had these babies waiting for me...

Four little mini cupcakes from Sweet! By Good Golly Miss Holly. It's a local cupcakery here in Orlando. He got me two banana and two red velvet, my two favorite flavors! YUM.

two. One of my classes this semester is driving me crazy! It's my Hospitality and Tourism Marketing class. It's a hybrid class which means it's half lecture and half online. Because we only meet in person once a week, I feel like I never know what's going on in that class. I hate feeling lost.

three. My brother has moved out of the house and now I get his bigger room! I am so excited! This means I get a bigger bed with a new bedspread and everything. I can't wait to have more space. My tiny room is so cluttered with stuff because I have outgrown it. I have been looking at bedspreads online and everything but haven't found one I love yet. I will be posting more in the next few weeks about my room transformation!

four. This weekend I have another bridal show to work! I think it's so much fun to interact with future brides :)

five. On a sad note, please pray for my boyfriend's grandfather. He was just diagnosed with colon cancer and it's been hard on both Rusty and his family. Rusty and I went to visit his grandparents on Saturday and that is when his grandfather told him the bad news. His grandfather is being very stubborn about treatment and refuses to stay overnight in the hospital so please pray for him.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Five Question Friday

 1. Where did you meet your spouse boyfriend and did you instantly know it was love? I have kind of mentioned this before but I'll go into detail for the first time right now. When I was in the 7th grade, I met a girl named Jessica at my middle school. She later became my best friend and we were inseparable! We were best friends through middle and high school and even my freshman year of college. Now Rusty is Jessica's step brother. Of course through the seven years of being Jessica's BFF, Rusty was always at her house just being Rusty. When I was younger, Rusty was just the annoying older brother that used to antagonize us girls. It was probably when I became a sophomore or junior in high school when Rusty started seeming pretty cute and a little crush developed :) Rusty is three years older than me though! Even though we liked each other, we never pursued anything because of the age difference and the fact that it was my best friend's brother. I know three years isn't a big deal but when a girl is 15 and a guy is 18, that's a whole 'nother story LOL. So after I graduated high school, Rusty and I became close. We were just friends but we talked to each other about life and relationships. It's kind of weird for Rusty and I because we have seen and met each other's past boyfriends and girlfriends. He has met all of my past boyfriends and I have met all of his past girlfriends. Kinda weird huh? Welllll we had been friends for a while and then it got to a point where we really wanted to give "us" a chance. I went to my friend and told her how I felt about Rusty. Let's just say she was not thrilled about it. To this day, I don't know why I couldn't have been friends with her and been happy with Rusty. I used to balance my time with each of them...when I was at her house to chill with her, I paid no attention to Rusty and vice versa. I thought it was very selfish of her to say that I had to choose either her or Rusty. Both meant a lot to me so I refused to make that decision. Jessica ended up making that decision for herself and moved out of her house last April. She hasn't spoken to me since. Their family was totally understanding of the situation but no one understood what her problem was. She still sees her dad (Rusty's step dad) occasionally but she distanced herself from both me and her family. It's sad to talk about but I know that I am lucky to have Rusty and his family in my life. Was it instant love? NO! LOL not at all. There was a point where I couldn't stand him. It took time for us to fall completely head over heels for each other :) I am so sorry for how long that turned out! I don't expect anyone to read all of that... 2. What is your favorite room in your house? Probably my bedroom. Only place to get some peace and quiet! 3. Can you wiggle your ears? I totally wish I could but sadly I can't.  4. What is your evening ritual? Well after work, I take a shower and then lay in bed while watching television and doing homework in my PJs.  5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? Probably 5 hours to function however I work best with 8 hours.

Happy Friday everyone! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Miscellany Tuesday?

Okay it feels like Monday to me because yesterday I had the day off so I am just going to pretend it's Monday :)
   

one. Although I was sick, the bridal show I worked on Sunday was a success! We had tons of happy brides visit our booth and it was fun to watch a little bit of the bridal fashion show :) I love all things wedding which I guess is a good thing because that is my future career choice...
    
two. Last night the boyfriend and I went to Sho-Gun and let's just say I was about to burst afterwards. We both ate soooo much food. It's incredibly tasty! Our chef's name was Wasabi. This made me laugh.
  
three.  I feel a million times better! I am still a little congested but I don't feel like a zombie anymore. Thank God!
   
four. Sadly I did not have time this past weekend to get crafty :( There is always this weekend though.
     
five. I have to take my acrylic nails off for my cooking class! I truly don't know what I am going to do without them. We can't even have nail polish or anything...I will just have to give my nails a break I guess.
      
six. Have you all signed up for MJ's "I Heart Accessories Swap"? If you haven't, go do that right now!
    

  
Happy Tuesday friends!

Day 7 of 11 in 2011 Blog Challenge: Favorite Memory of 2010

Goodness it's hard to just pick one memory from 2010...there were so many good ones!

As corny as this is going to sound though, my favorite memory has to be when my boyfriend gave me my promise ring for Christmas. It is a promise that will go into 2011 as my boyfriend and I work on our second year together. I am so excited to see what the future will bring in 2011 :)

P.S. The boyfriend and I went to see Blue Man Group at Universal Studios on Wednesday night. It was amazing! I would highly recommend it to anyone!

A Late Christmas Recap

Sorry my recap is late! It's a long post to make up for my absence :)

My Christmas Eve was amazing! I went to the boyfriend's house before the Christmas Eve service at my church and that is where his mom gave me my new Betsey Johnson bracelet. I love it so much!

Later that night after church, I went back over to the boyfriend's house and this time I brought the little brother and sister with me because Santa (boyfriend's stepdad) was going to be there! My boyfriend's family always has a big party on Christmas Eve with their family.

 

Kloe

and Braden

And as it is tradition, pretty much everyone had to sit on Santa's lap...

The boyfriend

 

"Mrs. Claus" aka boyfriend's mom

 Once everyone from the party left, we exchanged gifts with his immediate family.   





I have to say my favorite gift from Rusty was the promise ring he gave me! It's black and white diamonds....ahhhh :)

Now that was just Christmas Eve! Christmas day was spent at my house with the family.



Cutest stocking stuffer ever?



Cupcakes galore! My mother just encourages my obsession :)

Please excuse the lack of makeup!

 

My dad looks so fly in his new leather jacket

   
And then Rusty came later to open his gifts from my parents and eat Christmas dinner with my family.

     

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and have a wonderful New Year's!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Go link up!

I am loving that Friday is Christmas Eve!

I am loving that tomorrow my boyfriend took the whole day off :)

I am loving that the boyfriend and I are going to see Blue Man Group for our one year anniversary. I have always wanted to go because it looks like it would be interesting and entertaining!

     

       

I am loving these cute little cupcake key covers I got from Fredflare! I put them on my keys yesterday and my boyfriend even let me put them on his too (hehe).

       

I am loving that I have wrapped all of the Christmas gifts I can. I am still waiting on some to come in the mail though...I wish they would hurry up!

I am loving my family and boyfriend. They are always there to pick me up when I am down.

Happy hump day!