Ch-Ch-Changes!

It was getting down to the wire, but this Monday I signed the lease on my new apartment! In a couple days I will living here:



FIrst and foremost, it's pink (eeeee!!)! The space is a lot bigger than my current apartment, has tons of light, is in an adorable neighborhood, AND has a walk-in closet. Yeah.. I know.

In preparation I have been going through ALL of my belongings and purging everything that I don't need/want any longer and have accumulated an overflowing pile for my yard sale this weekend! Ms. Carley and I will be hosting one of the best yard sales of the season; a can't miss event!

My excitement to change my scenery is overwhelming! There will be so much room for General to run around, and so much room to spread out.

Exciting things ahead!

Double Star Birthday!

I am now a 24 year old. Weird.
On the days approaching my day, people kept asking, "what are you going to do for it?" "What do you want to do?"
Answer: Dunno, sleep?

I am EXHAUSTED!
Luckily, the people who helped me ring in my own personal new year recognized it. On Tuesday, my Dad came down and took me to Kuba Kuba and then out to see True Grit. Such a good time. Dad and I caught up, and spent some quality time relaxing. The next morning I woke to the sounds of Facebook notifications on my phone from friends wishing me a happy birthday. I'm so blessed that that many people thought about me!

On my big day, Carl, Dad, and I went and got birthday breakfast burritos. Best decision. After that we went and bough a strap for the camera my Dad gave me (will elaborate on this later). Then it was coffee with the lovely Bernedette, and saying goodbye to my dad. The rest of the day Carl and I watched Mad Men, and snuggled up while I tried to get my energy up. That night he took me out to a very very nice dinner at Mamazu's. I had never been there before, but now i see the hype. It was so cozy, and the food was indescribable. Such a sweet man.

The end of my day some friends came over with birthday brownies! I couldn't have asked for a better day. I got to see all of my favorite people, relax a bit, and eat some amazing food and goodies.

Now, what to do with that camera...
I've decided to start my own 365 project. I will soon be uploading my pictures on Flickr soon. i've decided that the theme of my project will be "It's the Little Things." I am running with the idea that life should be lived one day at a time, and it is the little things that make it special. It will be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it.
Once i've gotten things sorted out with my project I will post the link here!

Why Hello There, 2011!

A new year, a new start!
I rang in this new year with a quaint gathering of good friends while kissing my love and hearing the numbing drone of bagpipes and fireworks. Yes, that's right folks, I celebrated New Years at Penny Lane Pub downtown, and boy was it a sight. With minutes to go in 2010, over a hundred bar patrons were lovingly shoved into the streets, spirits in hand, whilst accompanied by two bagpipers belting "Ol' Lang Syne" while Penny Lane workers darted about setting off Carolina's finest illegal fireworks from any piece of ground they could get their hands on. Dumbfounded, and somewhat paranoid, customers huddled together awaiting a countdown that was consequently lost in the nights events and was hinted at when about 30 ballons drifted down from a nearby balcony.

The night was hilariously fun, and I was so thankful to spend it in the company that I did. The tone has been set, 2011 will be a great year!

Now, for that self-renewing tradition that we love so dear, the New Years Resolution-otion-otion-otion...(that was an echo, just FYI, for impact)

I have a few, i'm feeling a little ambitious in my old age. So, here we go:

1) Get Healthy, all over- Continue with cooking at home and adding more veggies to my repertoire, drink more water, get ahold of my stress, and get mentally healthy. In 2010, I made a lot of discoveries about myself, and have got the ball rolling to a better life, now I just need to keep up the momentum!

2) Continue to search for my career- Realizing that most of my stress comes from my type A personality's ability to drown out my personal life with the perils of work, I've decided if I'm going to be passionate about my job this much, I want to be doing something that I truly love. I have been working the floor of retail establishments ever since I was 14 at my Mom's store, and my feet are TIRED! Off we go into the land of informational interviewing!

3) Enjoy the little things- As previously mentioned, being a type A I tend to be very forward thinking and always a step ahead of most people. It's about time I slow down, and realize what I have around me. It's time to live in the moment!

I'm feeling optimistic about you, Mr.2011, verrrry optimistic.

New Meaning for Happy Holidays

The hustle and bustle of the holidays is almost over, and I can thankfully say that I have survived my first holiday as a store manager. And, I'd like to think that I did better than survive considering my store made it's month with 3 days to spare! I'm one proud boss lady.

In between my nine and a half hour shifts, things have been pretty hectic. Baking, sewing, and shopping trying to make Christmas perfect for my friends and family. And it was. Absolutely perfect. I enjoy giving gifts more than receiving them, so I searched hard to everyone's perfect gifts. As for my loot, my Dad really outdid himself this year. It has been a couple years since I have actually spent more than 2 days with my Dad, and I've been missing him more than usual with everything that has been going on in my life. So, his gift to me was perfect- in February we are going on a cruise! When I opened the card I broke down with tears of joy. I have SO needed a vacation and to spend time with my Dad. It was the perfect gift, and I can't wait! I may have already started packing :)

While among family, I can really judge how I'm feeling. The past few times I've gone home I felt down, under the clouds, and wanting to be nurtured back to health. But it was different this time. I came in and felt like myself, or my perception of myself at least. It was then I realized that I've felt above the darkness for a couple weeks now. I'm not sure what exactly is leading to my success, but I have a feeling it is one or a combination of the following:

Busy bee: I haven't had time to think because of how busy i've been the past few weeks. My world has been absorbed by work, Christmas, and planning. As in my last post, I stated that I need hobbies to fill my free time with, and these couple weeks have been one of the variables that have shifted to prove this hypothesis.

Work Satisfaction: I hate being last, or even worse- not reaching my goals. I aim to be number one, and I'm good at being number one. And the past few weeks my store has been on top. We have been churning out great numbers and my store is feeling more like my own. It is a great feeling, and I'm proud of what I have accomplished.

Carl: All I can say is that I'm very, very lucky. It's not easy to sorting through my messy life, but the nice thing is that he is the one inspiring it in me. He is wonderful and such a great person, I can only wish to be on the same level as him. I could be having the worst day, and all he has to do is look me in the eyes and everything goes away. He puts things in perspective without having to explain, he has been so patient- a truly perfect partner. I have laid out this self-betterment plan for myself, but a large part of it is so that we can make the most of the time we have together.

These holidays have been the best I've had in a long time. I truly feel blessed.

Here's to already starting the year off to a good start!

'Tis The Season

Last night I hosted my first party. Being that my house became a winter wonderland overnight, I decided to share it with a bunch of my friends!

After rushing home from work I started my "running around like a mad man" routine. First step,: put baked brie in the oven, step two: clean the house from last nights movie marathon, step three: panic because there are 23 other steps! Luckily I work best under pressure, so by the time Carl showed up most everything was done. I was then placed on the couch with a Shirley Temple while Carl and Oliver took out the trash and put the finishing touches on the cheesecake bites.

Around 7:15 my guests started to arrive, and I was so proud of how my house looked! My dinning room table was filled with yummy things, paper chains flowed across the ceiling, my tree shown in the corner, while my fake flame crackled away on the TV. It was a really cozy atmosphere.

Soon my house was filled with about 13 of my favorite people, and after a vote we all settled in with our plates of cookies and watched Elf.

Later in the night the crowd dwindled down to a good core and we watched Home Alone, one of my favorites, but I was so embarrassed when I didn't make it all the way through and sleep got the best of me. All in all, it was a wonderful night that went off without a hitch. I am so thankful for all of the great people in my life, and I'm so glad I was able to share this with them.

After my first party being a success, I will definitely be having more. SO fun!

Lazy Day 2010

For months now, Carl and I have been wishing for a day that we could just lay around all day instead of doing all of the things that keeps apart throughout the day. This past Sunday, that day happened.

In the morning we went and had breakfast with the Sidekicks, who had stayed at his house the night before. After an 821 breakfast burrito and a quick stop at Blockbuster we nestled in for the day. We rearranged some furniture and turned my living room into a blowup-mattress filled, cozy fortress. After getting settled and popping a Cheerwine, we began our Star Wars marathon. Boy was it glorious. The past few weeks we haven't really been able to see each other, so a day dedicated to all the things we love was one of the best days ever. I am still relaxed from our lazy day.

I hope there will be a few more lazy days in our future, possibly involving Indiana Jones or Harry Pottter!

Best Day Ever 2010

Last weekend, being the last weekend before I'm chained to my store until January 2nd, Carl and I took a little trip to Natural Bridge! Natural Bridge, VA is about 3.5 hours away from RIchmond, down hilly highways lined with quaint towns and cud chewing creatures. At about 9am we hit the road, armed with hoodies and bagels, and a vague idea where we were headed. The weather was absolutely perfect, 65 degrees and a tiny bit overcast- perfect driving weather.

We rode into town around 12:30, and first stop was Foamhenge. For those of you who remember my DinosaurLand post, this was built by the same man. Seriously, he is brilliant. Here we discovered that the creator had two different theories about how Stonehenge was built: 1) many tired, muscular men dragged the stones up the hill and arranged them as such, or 2) Merlin waved his magical fingers and the stones flew in from all over the planet. We chose to believe theory 2, considering there was a full scale Merlin sculpture at one end of Foamhenge to help with the imagery. So fun, and so delightfully tacky.



A few miles down we found Natural Bridge. Meandering down close to 200 steps and down a short walkway the bridge almost smacked us in the face, and it was gorgeous. For a few moments we really couldn't find the words to explain what impact it had, just "Dude...whoa." Walking under it you can't even imagine how tall it is. The idea that water and the elements crafted this amazing piece of art blew our minds. Still can't find any words, just go visit one day.

Onward past the actual bridge, the park had a habitat set up depicting how a certain indian tribe lived way back in the day. Here, Carl learned of my fear of historic actors/townies/people with too much of a grip on the past. Spooky. No likey. Yes, I admire enthusiasts, but how do I know that they aren't just crazy people who don't know what year it is! Buh. Anyways, moving on. The rest of our time in the park we walked around enjoying nature, taking in some fresh air, and enjoying a little peaceful time together.

After a grilled cheese and Mr. Pibb lunch at an Elvis themed diner called the 'Pink Cadillac,' we drove to Lexington, VA. Lexington is a small town home to VMI and Washington and Lee University, and boy was the town adorable. Almost everything was closed except for an ice cream shop (which had amazing pumpkin ice cream!) and a used book store that looked like it broke close to every fire hazard. Chock full of historical books, poetry, and first editions, Carl (the english major) and I geeked out and spent about an hour unearthing some treasures from the boxes and stacks of books strewn around the store. Apparently there was some method to the madness, but we never quite caught on to the organizing the 21 year old store had in place. I managed to find a recipe book put together by the womens choir in the 1960s, filled with some amazingly homey recipes by the way, and a post card from Natural Bridge from 1940! And Carl of course left with a stack of about 6 books, but he could of definitely left with about 12 more if we had the time to stick around.

That night on the drive home, as the highway became dark and the little farms studding the country side faded away, I really started to feel the stress leave my body. All I needed was a little time away from everyday. After we got home, we met up with some friends to catch Scott Pilgrim at the Byrd. Which has quickly become one of my new favorite movies.

Seems that lots of fresh air and a nice drive filled with pretty scenery and sing-a-longs does a body good! :)