Health Insurance! (130/365)

Day 130 Happy: Health insurance that actually covers something!

The last time I had to go to the doctor, it was sort of a debacle. I went in because I had a cold that ended up being bronchitis. The doctor asked me how long it had been since I had bloodwork. When I told him that it had been about 4 years, he told me that I needed to have bloodwork done. He asked me if I had breakfast that morning. I said no, he sent me down to the lab and that was that.

A few weeks later, we get a bill for almost $500! Apparently, they coded something wrong, making it look like I ASKED for bloodwork to be done. That was in March, and we are still in the process of getting it fixed. The doctor's office bill is okay now, but we are still waiting to hear back from the lab after everything was re-coded.

So, needless to say, I was a little hesitant about going to the doctor about my big toe that is causing me some trouble. It has been hurting for almost two weeks, and it just isn't getting better on its own, so I decided to go see the doctor.

The morning did not start off well. Marc is sweet, so he found my insurance card yesterday and put it in my wallet. When I went to double check this morning and make sure it was in there, I discovered that it was actually my dental card, instead. Not only did I need my insurance card to show my doctor's office, but I wanted the phone number off the back so that I could call and make sure I wasn't going to have any crazy charges for anything (like x-rays) that I would need to get done. I spent a couple minutes looking for it, but ended up just leaving without it because I didn't want to be late.

My good intentions went to waste, though, because I hit horrible traffic on the way there because of an accident. I called the doctor's office to let them know I was going to be late, and this horrible woman answered the phone and told me I had a 15 minute window to make my appointment or I was going to miss it and still have to pay.

Already frustrated, I started crying. After all, I didn't get up at the crack of dawn and rush around to MISS my appointment. I couldn't even call Marc for comfort, because he had jury duty this morning! When I knew I wasn't going to make it in time, I called back to see if I should just turn around and go home. A nicer lady answered the phone and offered to move my appointment back an hour so that I would have time to make it in. I not only made it, but had time to stop and get a (tall, nonfat, no whip, but still 200 calories) Pumpkin Spice Latte to make me feel a little better.

I got ahold of Marc's mom (also my HR person at work, in charge of all of the insurance stuff) and got the phone number to contact my insurance company. After that, everything was all better. I had x-rays done on my toe (not broken), only had to pay my $30 co-pay, and got a prescription for a steroid to (hopefully) make my toe better. It is so nice to be able to go to the doctor and only pay $30 to have so much stuff done, and make sure that I'm not broken! Marc even got out of jury duty early (he didn't get picked) and came to hang out with me in the waiting room while I waited (for hours) for my x-ray results.

Now I just have to get this foot better! For the wedding, I have to walk down the 'aisle' in the sand. I can't limp down the aisle!

No Work! (129/365)

Day 129 Happy: No Work Wednesday!!

After getting to work at 8 AM or earlier Saturday, Sunday and Monday and then working the evening shift on Tuesdays, I get really burnt out on work by Tuesday night. And in comes wonderful Wednesday! Even though I have three classes on Wednesdays (sometimes only 2 if we have a 'working field day' for Neighborhood News Bureau), it is okay because I have NO WORK!

In between classes, I can hang out, read a book, maybe even sit at the bookstore for a while and have some Starbucks. And on those lucky days when I don't have all of my classes, Marc and I get to hang out, because he's off work, too!

And then tomorrow, back to work. Boo!

Cooler Weather! (128/365)

Day 128 Happy: It's not AS hot!!

Florida is awful in the summertime. The heat could literally kill you.

However, it's worse in the Fall, when it is supposed to be beautiful, and breezy, and cool, and it's just not. This week, though, it's been almost bearable. It's cooler in the mornings and then doesn't heat up to over 90, which it has been doing recently.

I don't want it to get too cold, though, either. For the wedding, I need Florida to work with me, and give me perfect, not too hot, not too cold weather. We'll just have to wait and see!

True Blood! (127/365)

Day 127 Happy: True Blood on Netflix

I had forgotten how much I like True Blood. Marc and I got the first season on Netflix quite a while ago, but the second season wasn't out on DVD yet. Now that we've finished watching The Office, we decided to check out the second season of True Blood.

IT IS SO GOOD.

We upgraded to the two disc a month plan, so now we have True Blood coming every other time, and Everwood in between. It's funny to watch the sexy, almost raunchy True Blood one night and then the overpoweringly wholesome Everwood the next evening.

Good stuff.

Harry Potter World (126/365)

Day 126 Happy: Harry Potter World (again!)

Going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will just never get old. I don't even remember how many times we have been now, but I just always have such a good time. Today was even BETTER than normal, because it's a day we are supposed to be at work!

This morning, I woke up early in the hotel and finished my story about Sarah's race and turned it in, since it's due tonight. The only negative of the whole day: the hotel we were staying at didn't offer continental breakfast! They had a buffet, but it was almost $11 per person! Needless to say, I went hungry while I finished my story and we decided that we would get something in the park.

So, we stopped off at Moe's at Citywalk before going into the park. The register was having some problems when it was our turn to pay, so my quesadilla and Marc's burrito (plus our drinks) were free! It was definitely a good way to start our day!

After that, we headed into Islands of Adventure. Sarah didn't end up meeting us... she was too tired from the night before. Who can blame her? So we spent the day roaming around Harry Potter World, drinking butterbeer, riding rides, and rummaging through the shops for goodies. We decided to try the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride again, even though it made me so sick the last time. I found out that, if I look at the restraints and my tummy during the simulation parts, I'm okay! It's not the ride itself that makes my tummy hurt, it's looking at the stupid screen while we're "flying." I still enjoyed the ride, looking up at the parts that weren't in front of the simulation screen.

After what seemed like an extremely long day, we headed back home and are resting up for the busy week ahead!

Sarah's Race/Orlando Weekend! (125/365)

Day 125 Happy: Mini-vacation in Orlando!

I have been looking forward to this weekend forever! Tonight was so much fun. After a long day at work (Saturdays always seem to take forever... probably because it's a 10 hour shift with no break), Marc and I hopped in my cute little car and drove over to Orlando!!

Since Sarah's race didn't start until 10, and we wouldn't be able to see her (or any of the race) until she was almost finished, we decided to head straight to our hotel and check in. It is really cozy, with a king size bed (love!) and it's only about 5 minutes from Universal Studios, which is where we are going tomorrow. After we got all settled in, we headed out to try and find something to eat. I considered Subway for about two seconds (better for my diet, but overdone) and then decided that I wanted something tastier.

We ended up heading over to the mall (whose name escapes me at the moment) and walking around. Marc decided on pizza and breadsticks and I had Chinese food. It was okay... definitely not worth blowing my diet for. But then I found out that veggie fried rice and a spring roll aren't actually that horrible calorie-wise.

After dinner, we decided to go to Downtown Disney, since it is close to where Sarah would be finishing her race. We walked around, and ended up at the Lego store. It was so cool! I drooled and lusted over the Harry Potter playsets... you can build the Hogwarts Express, and Hogwarts castle, and the Burrow, and tons of other scenes from the movies and books. They do tend to be pretty expensive, though. We did pick up a few Halloween pumpkin kits, and I got a Lego Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and Marc got a Lego Darth Vader. They are so cute!

Unfortunately for my diet, we discovered the Ghiradelli store. They were giving out free samples of chocolate squares filled with pumpkin spice caramel. Could you just DIE? They were so amazingly delicious, we ended up buying some to take home.

Pretty soon, it was time to head over and find out where Sarah's race was going to end. After a few (by a few, I mean many) wrong turns, we finally found out that the race would be ending near the Disney Boardwalk's entrance to Epcot. Marc drove over there, we found a place to park, and walked over towards the Boardwalk. We didn't expect to see any of the race, and thought we would just be able to meet with Sarah for a few minutes after her race was done to congratulate her.

However, when we got to the Boardwalk, we realized that we could see people running across the little lake. We wandered over in that direction and, lo and behold, we were ON the race route. We found a spot to sit along the course just before the last turn, right before the finish line. We clapped and cheered for the runners who passed by, urging them on and letting them know that they were almost finished! I had been getting updates on Sarah all night via text message, so I had a pretty good idea about what time she was going to be finished, so I had about a 10 minute window when I knew she was going to be passing us by.

Although it was hard to see with all the lights shining in our eyes, and people were going by so quickly we barely had time to scan their faces, we saw and recognized Sarah. I yelled "GO SARAH!!" as loudly as I could and she raised her hand up in the air to show that she heard me. Marc even got a picture of her running!

After she was all finished and cleaned up, Sarah came out to show us the medal she got for finishing the race (in spectacular time for a first half marathon... 2 hours and 11 minutes!) and I got to ask her some questions for the story I was writing about her for school. We didn't keep her too long, since she got to go to the Food and Wine Festival in Disney, but we just wanted to congratulate her. I am so proud of her for doing such a great job. I am definitely inspired and Marc and I decided that we are going to start training to run the Disney Food and Wine Festival Half Marathon next year!

Halloween Season!! (124/365)

Day 124 Happy: The (official) first day of Halloween season.

Although I broke the rules and put up my Halloween decorations with my Fall decorations last week, I know that TODAY is the official first day of Halloween season (at least in my own mind). With that in mind, I got up early this morning before class, lit my pumpkin-scented candle and put in Hocus Pocus (which is tied with It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown as my favorite Halloween movie) and basked in the Halloween-y goodness.

That is... until I fell asleep! I guess the getting up early was just a little too early for me. Oh well, I fell asleep all cozy and happy that Halloween is almost here. And it's not like I'm not going to watch Hocus Pocus at least another 4 or 5 times before Halloween anyways.

Now I just have to find my Halloween socks and t-shirts...

Anticipation! (123/365)

Day 123 Happy: Looking forward to this weekend!

I am so excited for this weekend. I can't wait for it to finally get here!

Tomorrow is the "official" first day of the Halloween season. And then, Saturday, we are going to Sarah's race in Orlando. We are going to spend the night in a hotel (yay) and then get up the next morning and to go Harry Potter World (yay again!).

Marc and I haven't had a little vacation in a while, so it will be really nice to get away for the weekend, even if it is just to Orlando. The anticipation is killing me!! Why can't it just be Saturday already?!

Rays Game! (112/365)

Day 112 Happy: Free Baseball Game!

Today was awesome! The poor Tampa Bay Rays have had such poor attendance at their home games, that they decided to give away something like 20,000 tickets to tonights game, the last home game of the regular season.

It was (kinda) a tough decision. You see, I am SUPPOSED to be in class on Wednesday evenings. However, since the class I am supposed to be in is a Sports Journalism class, I decided to call the game a learning experience and go instead of going to class.

Marc and I got to the field around 4:30, about 15 minutes before they started giving out the free tickets. We waited at the end of an extremely long line, along with all the other cheap baseball fans. After about half an hour in the sun, we finally made it to the front of the line, and there were tickets left! Since the game didn't start until 7:05, we found out where our seats were and then explored the stadium.

Whoever planned this whole thing was very smart. You see, by giving away the tickets more than two hours before the game started, those of us who got in for free were already hungry before the game even started. Even though we had free tickets for our $15 seats, we spent $14 on two little pizzas, $8 on a drink, $10 on Rays cowbells from the team store, and THEN had an ice cream (in an adorable little plastic baseball cap) for dessert. So, even though we didn't pay to get in, the team definitely made some money off us tonight.

The Rays lost, which is a shame, but I had such a good time just BEING at the baseball game that I didn't really care. We had a ton of fun.

Sleeping In! (121/365)

Day 121 Happy: A few extra hours of sleep

Remember the summers in high school? Remember THAT kind of sleeping in? The kind where you would wake up, all cuddled up in your bed, around 1:30 in the afternoon with absolutely nothing to do all day?

I miss that.

After yesterday (when I had to be at work at 7:00) it was ridiculously nice to be able to sleep in until around 9:00 this morning. That is a really late sleeping in for me these days. I guess that's what I get for being a grown up now, with grown up responsibilities.

But, let me tell you, I appreciated those extra hours of sleep WAY more than I ever would have back on one of those lazy high school summer days.

Doing Just Enough (120/365)

Day 120 Happy: Getting By

I have a class this semester that I hate.

I don't just not like it. I literally hate it. And I'm not fond of the teacher. I'm even less fond of the graduate assistant, who is really getting on my nerves.

However, we had a story due today and, despite the odds, I did it! Was it my best work? Not in the slightest. But it's finished. Hopefully I will get a decent grade on it... at least enough for me to pass this class so I can graduate. Haha.

Finishing... a tiny victory, but a victory all the same.

Short Sundays (119/365)

Day 119 Happy: The Last Good Sunday

There have been rumors floating around for a few weeks that our hours at work are changing for Sundays. The gossip was that Sundays were going to change from being a 10-3 shift to an 8-3 shift.

Obviously, this is not a good thing.

And unfortunately, the rumors turned out to be true. The first weekend in October, we will be switching to the new hours, and I will no longer be able to sleep in and have a nice, easygoing morning on Sundays. Since I will be out of town next weekend, and Miranda will be covering for me, this is my very last easygoing, late morning Sunday.

I figured I would better enjoy (and appreciate) it while I still can.

Happy Birthday Daddy! (118/365)

Day 118 Happy: My Daddy's Birthday/Bull's Game!

Today is my wonderful Daddy's birthday! I wish I could be there to spend time with him, but since I can't, I celebrated by going to a football game... an appropriate celebration, I think.

Since I am graduating in December and have yet been to a USF football game, I figured that it was about time. Marc and I bought tickets a few weeks ago, and tonight we went and watched the Bulls play. It was so much fun... my friends Miranda and Archie went with us, and Angela and some of her friends came up from the student section to hang out with us for most of the game. It was a college experience that I wanted to have before it was too late.

Unfortunately, the Bulls lost. No worries, though. I love them just the same!

Home Time! (117/365)

Day 117 Happy: Getting to spend some time at home.

There are some days where nothing extraordinary happens. Today was one of those days.

It was just nice to be able to have some time after my Ethics class to just come home, watch TV and hang out with Marc. We got to eat dinner together, and spend the whole time just doing a whole lot of nothing. That's a pretty good happy for me.

Bonus Happy: I lost a little bit of weight again this week... it wasn't a lot, but every ounce lost is still a loss! Only a few more weeks until my dress fitting, so I have to do every little bit that I can to lose a couple more pounds!

Babies! (potentially) (116/365)

Day 116 Happy: Autum's Due Date!

Today is my cousin Autum's due date. She is pregnant with a little girl that they are planning on naming Selena Elaine. As far as I know, no baby yet, but the day is still young.

I haven't seen any of my cousins in a while, but they are all coming to the wedding, and I will get to see them then. Autum will have her little girl by then, and her brother, Joshua's, wife had a little boy, Terran, a few months ago.

It will be nice to see my extended family at the wedding, and the new additions to their little families!

FALL!! (115/365)

Day 115 Happy: The First Day of Fall!!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the day that I have been waiting for! It's the FIRST DAY OF FALL!!

Unfortunately, Florida didn't get the memo, and it's still hot outside. What can you do though? Tonight, Marc and I put up all of my pretty fallish decorations in the house... then I did a bad bad thing and hung up my Halloween decorations, too! I usually wait until the first day of October to put up my Halloween stuff, but I just couldn't help myself.

Either way, now my house looks and smells wonderful (thanks to my delicious Spiced Pumpkin candle and Pumpkin Patch scented oil). I can crank down the air conditioner and pretend that it is nice and fall-y outside, and that's good enough for me!

Biggest Loser! (114/365)

Day 114 Happy: One of my favorite shows' return to TV.

I love The Biggest Loser! It's so inspirational, especially since I'm not as healthy as I would prefer to be. Every season, I get all involved in each contestant's personal story. Marc makes fun of me because I end up crying during just about every episode, watching each person struggle and often identifying with their feelings. Generally, Tuesday nights are my best workout nights. Bob and Jillian just get me all motivated!

Tonight, The Biggest Loser premiered. I have already started picking my favorites for winners this year, and sure enough, I cried like a little baby while they were picking the contestants for this season's competition. I didn't have that great of a workout, since I've been sick lately, but I am looking forward to losing weight with all the people on TV ever week!

Bonus Happy: Tomorrow is the first day of Fall, so I had Marc pull out all of our pretty Autumn-themed decorations from the storage shed and we are making the house look and smell all Fall-y. I can't wait until September 30th, the day I have deemed acceptable to hang up all of my Halloween decorations!

Unhappy: We found MOLD growing on the AC vent in the bedroom this evening. No wonder I have been feeling so sick and cough-y lately... even my poor kitties have been sneezing! We are going to get ahold of the apartment complex office tomorrow and have them come clean out our air ducts. I'll keep you updated.

Eat Fresh! (113/365)

Day 113 Happy: Subway

Since I have been on my diet, I definitey haven't been able to eat out. I take one look at the nutritional information at Burger King, Tijuana Flats, Taco Bell... just about any fast food restaurant, and see a huge portion of my calorie intake for the day in a medium french fries or in a cheese quesadilla.

The only real exception is Subway. Remember that Jared fella? He knew what he was talking about! I can have a six inch veggie sub (WITH CHEESE) for just over 350 calories. That's not too bad for lunch, eh? Subway on Mondays has become sort of a tradition this semester... I am running around, back and forth from school to work, from 6:30 in the morning until 8 at night. Needless to say, it's not my favorite day of the week, but at least I have a short break in between classes to slow down, run to Subway, and gobble up some yummy food!

Sick Day (112/365)

Day 112 Happy: A cozy sick day

I feel awful.

I woke up this morning with a stuffy/runny nose, a case of the sneezes and a general all over crappy feeling. I had intended on getting up and working out before my shift, but ended up getting up when Marc left for work, shuffling out to the futon, and watching Twister on TBS until I had to get up to leave for work.

I survived work (and went through a whole box of tissues), and then came home to rest. About an hour after I got home, I plopped back down onto the futon with a couple of Amy's Cheese Enchiladas and the first season of Grey's Anatomy in the DVD player. It felt nice to just relax... eventually I fell asleep and was completely knocked out until Marc came home from work. I still feel terrible... just a more well-rested terrible.

Here's hoping that I feel better tomorrow... Mondays are my earliest, and busiest days. I will leave the house at 6:30 and not get home until around 8.

Monday Morning Update: I still feel like crap :(

Baby Birthdays and Kings of Leon!! (111/365)

Day 111 Happy: Hayden's First Birthday and the Kings of Leon concert

Today was a good day... well, after 3:30 it was a good day. Before that I was at work, and ... well, it was work. AFTER work, though, I got to go to little Miss Hayden Marie's first birthday party! Hayden is my friend Miranda's baby, and also the flower girl in my (rapidly) upcoming wedding. She was so cute, even when she started getting fussy after she got bored with opening her (ginormous pile) of presents and when she was smashing her little personal cake to pieces. Marc took a ton of pictures for Miranda, and they all came out so cute!

Unfortunately, we couldn't stay too long at the party, because (yay!) we had to head to the 1-800-ASK GARY Amphitheater (worst.name.ever.) to see KINGS OF LEON!! We bought the tickets for this concert in March, and I kept forgetting that we had them, so every time I heard about the concert and I remembered, I got all excited. We had lawn tickets (which were still stupidly expensive), but it was a beautiful night, warm but not too hot, and it felt so nice to sit in the grass and listen to some amazing music. There were tons of drunk fools to watch dance and act crazy; at some points they were even more entertaining than the bands on stage!

What a fantastic Saturday!!

"I Really Want To Lose Three Pounds!" (110/365)

Day 110 Happy: A good weigh-in

I lost 3.1 pounds!!

This is especially happy-making, since I worked my butt off last week and only lost .9 pounds! I even had a "bad" weekend while I was in Georgia, with the Chinese food and the Starbucks and whatnot. I worked really hard this week when I got home, though. I have really been watching what I eat and have been working out, sometimes twice a day! After being so disappointed last week, it is really nice to see a better number on the scale this week.

Since I don't have to take my dress in for alterations until October 15th (at the very latest) I want to lose some weight before I take it in. However, I can't lose TOO much weight because the dress is already a little too big and they can't alter it beyond a certain point, so three pounds is actually pretty good. Even better, my pants feel a little looser and I feel stronger!

I love a good weigh-in. Now time to start working again so that I get a good number next week, too!!

Workout and Diet Fun! (109/365)

Day 109 Happy: Good workouts and diet technology

I have been doing such a good job of working out at least once a day. I'm starting to feel a little thinner, and I definitely feel stronger! Not only that, but I have a ton of energy that I didn't have before. Since I do my weigh-ins on Friday mornings, hopefully all of my hard work will show up on the scale... then again, maybe not for this week since I had Chinese food with my Mom and sister at the mall in Georgia on Saturday and then I had a Pumpkin Spice Frapuccino at the airport on my way home... and I didn't work out Friday or Saturday this week. It was a little bit hectic. But I'm not just trying to eat better and work out week to week... it's supposed to be a lifestyle change... blah, blah, blah.

Also, I got the neatest (free!) app on my iPhone today. It is called My Fitness Pal, and it tracks all of your calories eaten and burned (through your exercise) throughout the day. It even builds a database from all of the other users and has nutrition information for tons of food already in the system. When you first download the app and use it for the first time, it asks you about your height, weight, age and goals and then tells you how many calories you should be at after eating and exercise every day. I'm supposed to have about 1200 calories a day, and as I enter in my breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, it tells me how many calories I have left. It's actually kind of fun and helps show you just how quickly calories can add up if you're not paying attention.

Just another reason to love my iPhone!

Bum Day! (108/365)

Day 108 Happy: No class!

Oh happy day! My class in the middle of the day didn't meet today, so I had between my morning class and my night class to just hang out. I came home, and since Marc was off work, he and I just bummed around for a while, had lunch together and watched some TV (still haven't finished The Office, but it's getting really good!). And (bonus happy) I got a good workout in, too! Between school, work and trying to work out at least once every day, I've been really busy lately, and it was just nice to have a day to just bum around the house, even if it was just in between other busybody things.

Fake Meat! (107/365)

Day 107 Happy: Veggie Meat!

It tastes just like chicken... but it's not.

Sometimes I'm a chicken when it comes to trying new things. This is the reason why it has taken me 3.5 months of being a vegetarian before I decided to try some of Morningstar's non-meat meat products. However, I'm on a diet and I want to make sure that I'm getting the right amount of protein and other nutrients, so I picked up some veggie chicken strips and chicken patties last night when we went grocery shopping.

Guess what... THEY ARE GOOD! The breaded chicken strips with ketchup on them taste just like regular chicken strips. Fried chicken strips are one of the only meat products that I actually miss eating, but now I don't have to miss them anymore. And, my veggie strips are baked instead of fried, and are only 190 calories for two, so they are (bonus happy) diet friendly!

Amazon.com (106/365)

Day 106 Happy: Amazon's textbook trade-in program

Once Marc and I realized that you can sell your textbooks back to Amazon for store credit, we started going through our books to find ones that we no longer needed. We also got some books that a co-worker was getting rid of and traded in the ones that we didn't want. We ended up with almost $120 in store credit!

We haven't spent it all yet, but today we made some pretty awesome purchases... one of my favorite shows from my middle-and-high school years was Boy Meets World. Until last week, it was not for available on DVD; the only way you could get it is by buying it used from somebody who bought it when it was available on DVD back in the day. The entire series was over $400! Now, though, it was apparently re-released on DVD and you can buy individual seasons for just under 12 bucks! So, we bought the first and second seasons, Big Bang Theory season 3, and two Harry Potter books for me... The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles and Harry Potter Should Have Died. They should be pretty interesting.

Can't wait until my order gets here next week!

Short Work Days! (105/365)

Day 105 Happy: Five hour work days!

I love Sundays. They are my favorite day of the week, since Sundays are the day of the week that I spend the least amount of time doing unappealing things like working and going to school. Also, I get to sleep in a little bit, since I don't have to be up until 10!

However, lately there have been some rumors flying around at work that we are going to be changing to an 8-3 workday for Sundays. Obviously, this is not a good thing. Of course I don't want to get up at 7am on a Sunday! At least if they are going to tack on hours, they are doing it in the morning instead of at the end of the day. Working 8-3 is definitely better than working 10-5; at least I'll still have some part of my day left over to enjoy myself.

So far, no word from the big bosses about whether or not all this is true, but I think I had better enjoy my short Sundays while I still can!

Wedding Dress!!! (104/365)

Day 104 Happy: I (finally) got my wedding dress!
While hanging out with my parents and siblings has been wonderful, the real reason I came to Georgia was to get my wedding dress. This morning, we got up and went to watch Jakie's baseball practice (since I never get to go to any of their games) and then went back to the house and took a shower so that I could be nice and clean for my appointment.

We went to a little bridal boutique called Bride Beautiful, which my Mom found online.

Let me just start this little story by telling you that I HATE trying on clothes. Just trying to find a pair of jeans that fits properly can make me break into tears in the dressing room. I have gained weight, and I hate it, and I don't want to look at myself in the mirror. Unfortunately, I have planned this lovely wedding and refuse to go marching down the aisle in my jeans and a t-shirt.

So, off to the salon we went. My consultant's name was Gail, and she was super nice. I told her that I didn't care about the size of the dresses that I tried on, and implored her not to tell me. She pulled a few things for me to try on, and three were worth showing my Mom and sister. Of the three, I liked the third one the best, and it was in the price range that we were looking at. It is beautiful, but I won't say much about it here, in case my fiance meanders over for a read.

It is too big everwhere except for the boobs and will need to be hemmed so that I don't trip over the extra foot and a half of material that is running around at my feet. I got my veil, too, and it matches the dress perfectly! I am afraid that it is going to cost a fortune in alterations, but that's okay, because my wonderful parents paid for the dress! My mom said that she was going to pitch in, but I never expected that they would pay for the whole thing. It was such a nice offer that I didn't cry until my Daddy told me on the phone that they were going to take care of it!

All in all, my appointment only took about 45 minutes, which was great! I didn't want to spend my entire day looking for dresses, and we had time to go to the mall and walk around and have lunch and then go back to the house to spend time with the boys before Mommy and Daddy drove me to the airport to come home!

Ah, the airport. What an experience that was! I don't think I have ever attracted so much attention as I did dragging my wedding gown (in it's pretty purple bag) through the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The lady who helped me check in even asked me to unzip the bag a little bit so that she could peek inside. The attention was nice, but trying to navigate my purse, carry-on rolling bag, the wedding dress and eventually the food that I grabbed (veggie burger from Burger King, yum!) was NOT easy. But I made it, and now I'm home safe and sound!

Now I just have to find out the absolute latest day I can take it in for alterations, and then as lose as much weight as humanly possible before then!

Georgia!! (103/365)

Day 103 Happy: A short little tiny trip to Georgia.

After a very long day, I am finally in Georgia! Yay! It has been an interesting trip so far. I had to get up early this morning and go to an interview for my Neighborhood News Bureau class, and then I had to go to Ethics (we got our Ethics Bowl cases... one of them seems really interesting, and the other one I am not sure about yet. We'll see.). Finally, Marc picked me up from class and took me to the airport. I'm a silly girl, and I know that I'm only gone for one night, but I sure do hate it when I have to leave him. I miss him!

My flight was uneventful... Marc downloaded a Christmas episode of the Office onto my iPod for me, so I watched that on the airplane and giggled as the guy sitting next to me kept falling asleep and leaning his head towards my shoulder, and then snap up without waking when he touched me. He smelled nice, though, so I didn't mind too much.

Mom and Lyndsey picked me up at the airport and we hopped in Lola (the drag queen Jeep) to head back to Cumming. On the way home, there was this stupid teenager girl from Tennessee who was swerving all over the road like an idiot. She had her mirror down on the visor, kept disappearing as she rummaged around the front seats of her car, and talking on her cell phone. We were convinced that she was going to run into another car (perhaps us!) or slam into the barrier that divided the highway. In an effort to get away from her, my mom sped up, which is apparently when a Georgia State Trooper decided to shoot his evil little laser at her.

He clocked her going 82 in a 65 (oh no!) and asked her for her license and registration. Unfortunately, my mom had gone to the race last weekend with my Dad. She asked him (like many girls do) to hold her drivers license in his wallet so that she could have it in case she got carded, but she wouldn't have to carry a purse (we find this out later... at this point, Mom just thinks that she has lost her license. Panic, induce!). So, she has to tell the cop that she doesn't have her drivers license. She tells him that it is a Florida license (she just keeps renewing it) and he goes back to his car. When he came back, he told us that, in his system, it isn't showing that she has ever had a license in the state of Florida... which is simply not true.

Mom called Dad to see if she could find her drivers license, and get the number of it... or there is a pretty good chance that we are going to be hauled off to the police station. In the meantime, I pull out my handy dandy iPhone and google "how to look up your drivers license number" and it comes up with this website. I typed in my Mom's information, and the database said that there was one record of a Gaynetta McClain with a drivers license in the state of Florida. When the cop came back, Mom gave him her drivers license number (which she got from Daddy when he realized that her license was in his wallet) and I showed the cop that I found proof that my Mom had a Florida license online. He took my phone and looked at the website, and went back to his car.

Curious, I clicked on the view link to see what other info they had come up about my Mama, and I see this picture:



I proceed to nearly hyperventilate laughing as my Mom (still on the phone with Daddy) tells me to shush. Unable to breathe, I show the phone to Lyndsey, who starts cracking up as well. Mom finally catches on and we are all in tears imagining the scenario if the police officer had decided to click the view button. We would have all been hauled off to jail for sure!

In the end, Mom got two tickets, one for the speeding and one for not having her license, and a court date. She is going to fight the speeding ticket, since she was only trying to get away from the little brat who doesn't understand that when you don't pay attention in your car, you can end up killing somebody. Too bad we didn't get her tag number.

It's been a fun start to my little vacation! Hopefully we don't have any more of this kind of excitement!

Wedding Stuff (for boys) (102/365)

Day 102 Happy: Shirts and stuff

Not only do we have bridesmaids in three different states for the wedding, but we also have groomsmen in three different states! Marc's best man, Justin, lives here in Florida, my brothers live in Georgia and John lives in South Carolina. Needless to say, that makes coordinating things a little bit difficult sometimes. My mom has been asking me what kind of shirts that they boys needed to wear. We didn't know where we were going to get them from, and since I picked ivory shirts (because I want to get an ivory dress) I didn't want them to all just get a shirt from wherever, because they would end up being different colors of ivory (does that make me ridiculously bridezilla? Maybe, but I think I'm pretty easygoing on most things, so just give me this one, okay?).

Today after work, Marc and I met Justin at the mall to pick their shirts and look for wedding shoes for me. They found their shirts pretty easily... they are ivory and stripey and look really nice. AND (bonus happy) they were on sale! Since they were at JC Penny, it should be pretty easy for all of the other guys to find the same ones. Just in case, I am going to take Marc's shirt with me to Georgia tomorrow (BONUS HAPPY) so that I can show my Mom and we can at least try to find shirts for the boys that are the same color. I didn't find any shoes that I liked for the wedding, so that was kind of a bust, but I have time.

I leave for Georiga after class tomorrow! I am so excited... not only do I get to go shopping for my wedding dress with my Mom and sister, but I get to see the boys and Daddy, too!

Edit 9/12: Since my bridal appointment took no time, we were able to go to the mall in Georgia afterwards to hang out and look around. We went to JC Penny up there and got the same exact shirts (still on sale!) for Jared and Jacob. Now all we have to do is have John get his, and we are all done with the boys!

Netflix! (101/365)

Day 101 Happy: Netflix (and the obsessions that accompany it).

I love Netflix on demand. We have it hooked up through our Wii, and we not only have an instant queue full of movies and TV shows that we have lined up to watch, but it has tons of other things available directly through the Wii to watch that aren't in our instand queue. It's like doubling your DVD collection, but everything is held inside of the Wii instead of taking up a whole bunch of room in your living room (and it's definitely a lot easier on the wallet).

While I have enjoyed expanding the movies that are available for me to watch at home, I really like having TV shows on demand. Marc and I are totally obsessed with The Office, and have watched four and a half seasons in the two weeks. It is hilarious! I feel like I finally know what everybody else is talking about. If you haven't watched The Office, I would definitely recommend it... just don't get discouraged after the first couple of episodes... it gets way better in the second season.

I think after I finish watching it, I am going to watch the British version, which is also available on Netflix instant.

100 DAYS! (100/265)

Day 100 Happy: The Happiness Revolution!

It's hard to believe that this is the 100th entry for my yearlong Happiness Revolution project. This also means that I am 24 years and 100 days old (gasp!). While this project seems a little daunting sometimes (I mean, there are just some days when it seems like there is literally nothing to be happy about), it is a lot of fun and has helped me to see the silver lining, if you will.

There are only 265 days left of the project, and I have a really good feeling that I am going to have a lot of happy things to write about, especially in the next few months. Between Halloween, the wedding, Thanksgiving, Christmas, seeing my family a whole bunch, and the honeymoon (which may or may not happen... I'll let you know as we come to more decisions), there is a lot of stuff to look forward to coming up.

Workout! (099/365)

Day 99 Happy: A good workout.

In general, I hate working out. However, with my wedding coming up, it's either do or die. I want to lose weight before I have to stand up in front of everybody in my dress, so I guess I don't really have a choice anymore whether to work out or not. So, I decided to man up and just do it... and it actually feels really good. While the actual workout itself doesn't feel amazing, how I feel afterwards is well worth it. Now, if I can just remember that the next time I try and convince myself to work out, I will be all set!

Wedding dress shopping is in less than a week!

Flowers!! (098/365)

Day 98 Happy: Wedding bouquet making.

Today, my lovely bridesmaids Angela and Sarah came over after I got off of work and we assembled the bouquets for my bridesmaids and myself for the wedding. Marc and I decided to get fake flowers instead of real flowers and ended up spending around $150 on fake flowers and supplies to make the bouquets (Bonus Happy, since real flowers would have most likely been $150 just for my bouquet!). Not only was it nice to get a wedding-related craft out of the way, but it was so great to be able to spend time with two of my friends, just sitting around and chatting and having girl time.

As of tomorrow, there are only two months until the wedding! I'm so excited I could barf!

Home. (097/365)

Day 97 Happy: Not being at work.

Today was the worst day of work I have had in a long time. It was ridiculous and I was cranky and I woke up 10 minutes after I was supposed to be at work, and I didn't get to eat anything until almost 3:00 and it was just BAD.

But now I am home, and not at work, and that's really the best thing ever. 

Nerdy-ness (096/365)

Day 96 Happy: Ethics Bowl

I like school. That may make me a little nerdy, but I don't care. I am really excited about my Ethics class this semester. It is really interesting, and half of our class participates in an Ethics Bowl in November. I signed up for the Ethics Bowl section of the class, and got in! Today we picked teams, and my team is awesome. I think we are going to have a lot of fun together (and maybe even win!). I signed up to be a presenter for the competition (gasp!) which will be hard, but it will help me to work on my public speaking skills, and it will be really good for a resume (especially if we win!).

Maybe it's just because it is my last semester, but I am suddenly really concerned with padding my resume. I am determined to get published for my Neighborhood News Bureau class, and I would like to try and get published for my Magazine and Feature Writing class ... and possible Sports Journalism, but we'll see about that one. I think Ethics Bowl will look pretty good on my resume... at the very least we will have fun!

Plane Ticket! (095/365)

Day 95 Happy: I'm leaving... on a jet plane!

The original plan for my wedding dress was for my Mom to come down here with my sister and go shopping with me. However, with my Dad being out of town a lot for work and the boys being ridiculously busy with school and extra-curriculars, she is finding it hard to find time to get away. So, she bought a plane ticket for me to go up to Georgia instead! I am only going to be up there for about 28 hours, but we will have enough time to go shopping and to maybe even go to a baseball game! Either way, it will be nice to be able to spend time with the family, and I'm always okay for an excuse to fly. And I can't WAIT to get my wedding dress. I definitely have to eat healthy and work out a lot until then. Haha!

Cancelled Classes! (094/365)

Day 97 Happy: (Almost) no school

On Wednesdays, I have three classes... Magazine and Feature Writing, Neighborhood News Bureau and my night class, Sports Journalism. Today, my Magazine and Feature Writing class class was cancelled because our teacher (who just happens to be the Food and Travel Editor for the St. Petersburg Times... BONUS HAPPY. She's the nicest lady ever and even edited a story via e-mail that I submitted to her) is out of town for a conference. Also, my NNB class was a "working field day" today, so we didn't have to physically go to class. I still had to go to Sports Journalism, which is a pretty interesting class, but it didn't start until 6! Marc had the day off, too, so we sat around all day, watching The Office, which I am kind of obsessed with right now. We started watching it less than a week ago, and are already almost done with season three. It is so funny! Overall, it was a good day.

Bonus (another) Happy: Today is the first of September, which is AWESOME, because it means that Fall is almost here. The first day of Fall is the 22nd, and I can't wait to get out all of my fally decorations and make my house look pretty then!

Wedding Stuff!! (093/365)

Day 93 Happy: Flowers and fun!

My bridesmaid Angela and I never seem to have time off at the same time to do wedding stuff. We have been trying to go to Ikea for at least three weeks now, but our schedules never seem to mesh. We planned our trip to Ikea for tonight, and we finally got to go. We picked out some really pretty fake flowers for the wedding bouquets. In general, I don't really like fake flowers. However, real bouquets start around $150, and that is just ridiculous for something that is going to die within a few days, agreed? We got really nice cream colored roses and little purple daisy-type flowers, and I even decided to go with the fake flowers and save a little extra money. With all of the flowers, plus some other random odds and ends, we spent less than $135, way less than that cost of one real bouquet. We are going to have a little bouquet-making party, maybe Sunday, and get them done and out of the way. Little things are coming together and the wedding is almost all the way planned!

Anticipation! (092/365)

Day 92 Happy: Next Monday

Today was only the beginning of the second week of school for this semester, and I am already tired. When I got my schedule for the semester, I thought that I wasn't going to have a day off until a few days before the wedding, but I forgot about Labor Day! I have next Monday off of school AND work! I get to have a whole day off! I get to have a day off in October, too. My friend (and bridesmaid) Sarah is going to be running in a Disney Marathon (or maybe half-marathon, I can't remember... some sort of race, anyway). She has spent the last few years getting into really good shape and looks awesome. It is in a night race, so we will be heading over to Orlando to watch her run, and then we are staying in Orlando until the next morning to go to Universal Studios with Sarah and her sister Taylor. They haven't been to Harry Potter World yet, so that will be really fun! Even though I don't get to have many days off this semester, looking forward to them makes them so much better. I literally can't wait until Labor Day. Marc and I are definitely going to have to find something awesome to do!

Early Work Day! (091/165)

Day 91 Happy: Marc coming home early!

Sundays are generally my favorite work day of the week. I get to go in for a short shift at work; I don't have to be in until ten and then I get off at around 3:30. I still have most of my day to go home and hang out for a while, but I usually have to do that all by myself. Marc had requested to get off a few hours early today, which was a surprise to me! We got to spend the afternoon together, which is kind of a treat lately. I made a delicious pot of chili and we just lounged around the house. I'm such an old grandma, but I love to be able to cook and hang out at home for an evening!

Dinner and a Movie (090/365)

Day 90 Happy: Making the most of a Saturday

Saturdays are usually one of my most exhausting days of the week. Today, I got to work at 7 a.m. and worked 10.78 hours, according to my time clock. Although I worked a ton of hours, I salvaged my Saturday by going home and taking a quick nap on the futon... which was wonderful, since it started to rain and thunder just as I was falling asleep. I absolutely love sleeping through a storm; it is so peaceful.

When Marc got home, we met my friend Miranda at BJ's, where I had a delicious snack... bruschetta and their brewed-on-site root beer. Then, we headed over to the movies to watch The Switch. It was adorable! I think Jennifer Aniston is so cute, and Jason Bateman is always awesome. It was actually a pretty good story, too.

Good thing I had fun tonight, because I have to spend tomorrow doing homework and preparing for the week!

Carleigh! (089/365)

Day 89 Happy: I (finally) got my car back!

Since I bought my car last week Wednesday, I have barely seen it. Thursday and Friday morning last week we had to take it into service (not for problems that it has since we bought it, but for minor things that we found wrong with it before we drove it off the lot and wanted them to fix for free). This Wednesday, we took it into the service department to get the dent that the detail guy put in it taken out. When we went back to pick it up, it was not "satisfactory" as pointed out to me by our super nice service advisor. He offered to send it over to the body shop to be repainted and put us in a rental car for the time we didn't have our car.

Today we finally got my car back, and it looks like there was never a dent there at all! It looks as pretty as it did on the lot when I signed the paperwork. I am happy to have my car back, and we shouldn't have to take it back to service (fingers crossed) for a while!

Boyfriend Time (088/365)

Day 88 Happy: Thursday mornings!

When I found out what my school schedule was, I figured my work schedule so that I could go in earlier on Tuesdays and Miranda would go in earlier on Thursdays. That way, I could stay home until 2:00 and hang out wtih Marc on his day off. Today was so nice! Marc and I got up decently early (but not too early) and hung out on the futon for a while before I had to go work. We watched that movie Signs (which I saw a long time ago, and Marc said that he didn't remember) and I freaked myself out a little bit, even in broad daylight. Then, Marc startled me nearly to death when he slammed against the shower curtain while I was taking a shower! It was nice to be able to spend the morning with him, though, since we don't get to have many days off together these days.

Wednesdays! (087/365)

Day 87 Happy: Hump Day!

I think Wednesdays are going to be one of my favorite days of the week this semester. I had my first class from 11-12:25, and then I had a break until 3:30. Marc is off on Wednesdays, so he dropped me off and picked me up from class and we ran around, doing errands, in between. We had enough time to go to the Men's Wearhouse and pick up the ties that we ordered for our groomsmen, Marc and my Dad for the wedding. We also got a book that I needed for my Sport's Journalism class, had lunch and went to go pick up my car from the Volkswagen dealership.

My car was "finished" but you could still tell that something had hit it, and that there was damage. I didn't even have to say anything... our service advisor asked if the repair that was done was okay, or if we wanted to leave the car for another day to go to the body shop and have the section repainted. I decided to leave it... after all, I want the car to be how it was when I looked at it on the sales lot, and they put me in a rental car (which is not as nice as my new car, even though it is a 2010) and I headed back to school.

I don't like one of my classes at all, but I actually enjoyed my Sports Journalism class! It is a lot of fun, and I think we are going to get to read and write some really interesting stories. It got me more excited for the beginning of football season (which starts September 9th, by the way... I'll be making a huge pot of chili at my house, if anybody wants to come).

Sleeping In! (086/365)

Day 86 Happy: A not-so-bad schedule!

When I signed up for classes, and knew that I was either going to be working or going to school (or both) seven days a week, memories of my five week internship came to mind. I was exhausted every single day, and ended up getting very cranky towards the end of it. Three and a half months of the Fall semester was sure to be worse.

What I failed to realize is that I actually get to sleep in a little bit during the week this semester! I have to do a lot of running around, but I don't have to be somewhere every morning by 9 am or earlier. Today, I didn't have to be at work until Noon! And tomorrow, I don't have to be in class until 11. Thursday, glorious Thursday, I don't have to go to work until 2 pm! I worked out my schedule so that I could go in a little later on Marc's day off so we could spend some time together.

I think I will make it (with my sanity) through this semester, after all!

Back To School! (085/365)

Day 85 Happy: The beginning of the semester

Okay, this is a little nerdy, but I actually kinda like school... most of the time. As this is my LAST. SEMESTER. EVER. I figured, I may as well do my best to enjoy it. Today was the first day back to school, and I had three classes. I am excited about one, okay with another one, and pretty sure I am going to hate the third, but it's only three months, right?

I have two more classes to go to... one on Wednesday night and another Friday morning. It is going to be a very busy semester between school, work and the wedding, but it will all be worth it when I graduate in December!

Productive Days! (084/365)

Day 84 Happy: Productive Sundays
I love when work is slow on Sundays. I get to use the time in between customers to get things done. Today, I have already written four posts for Get Up and Out! I want to get as many as I can all queued up so that when school gets really busy, I will have some ready to go. Here are some of the stories that I have written recently for Get Up and Out!

Menswear Done Right by Hackett London

"OMG, He's still here" Breakfast

Dating Dilemma: To Coupon or Not to Coupon?

Check them out and let me know what you think! It's only just after 2:30, so I am looking forward to the rest of my productive day... or going home to take a nap. We'll see.

Bonus Happy: Today is my wonderful Mommy's 25th Birthday (again)! I love you Mommy, and hope you have a fantastic day!

Vampires Suck! (083/365)

Day 83 Happy: Stupid funny movies

Being the silly girl that I am, of course I am into the Twilight saga. I read the books before the movies came out, and really enjoyed them. When the movies came out, I was a little disappointed at the quality, but watched them obsessively nonetheless. After all, they are fun.

When I saw that Vampires Suck was coming out in theaters, I definitely wanted to see it. Marc and I went with my friend Miranda tonight and watched it. It was actually pretty funny, (or as my little brother Jacob, who went and saw it last night, too, said "It was HILARIOUS.") The storyline follows the first three movies of the Twilight saga pretty well (in 1 hour and 20 minutes, mind you), but with much more hilarity.

If you are into the Twilight saga (or are looking to make fun of it) I would definitely go and see Vampires Suck.

Sidenote: I personally find the Edward Sullen of Vampires Suck to be cuter than Rob Pattinson's Edward. What do you guys think?

Bonus Happy: My wonderful fiance bought me flowers and had them delivered to my work today. They are absolutely beautiful. I am so lucky to have such a sweet man who wants to marry me!

Farewell to Summer (082/365)

Day 82 Happy: Theme Park Day!

Since school starts on Monday, Marc and I decided to use our last day off together until sometime in November to go to Universal Studios in Orlando. We had to stop by the Volkswagen dealership and get the door lock on my new car fixed first, and then we were on our way.

We started the day at Universal Studios, and rode a whole bunch of rides. Marc beat me in the Men In Black game, even though I got then 100,000 point bonus for hitting the red button at the right time. We rode the Mummy ride, and the new Rip Rockin' Roller coaster (or something to that effect), which was really awesome because you get to choose your own music to listen to while you are riding the ride. However, my poor tummy just isn't what it used to be, and we had to take breaks in between roller coasters so that I didn't barf.

After we got done at Universal, we headed over to Islands of Adventure. We got to ride the Dr. Doom's Free Fall twice in a row because there was nobody in line when we got done the first time. It is my favorite kind of ride... straight up and down, with not loopy-loops. It makes my tummy flip without making me feel pukey. We finished up the day by going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were so exhausted by this point, we just walked around long enough to visit a few stores and get a butterbeer from the Hog's Head.

It was an awesome day, and a great way to celebrate the end of summer. After this weekend, school starts and the countdown to the wedding really begins. I like the stress, though, and am looking forward to my classes and the wedding getting closer.

Babies! (081/365)

Day 81 Happy: Hayden Marie

Today after work, my friend Miranda came over to hang out and have dinner. She brought along her adorable daughter, Hayden, who is also going to be the flower girl at our wedding. It was so much fun to play with her! It's so easy to forget about a bad day when you are chasing around a little baby. We had a great time eating breakfast for dinner, and watching Arrested Development. It was a nice end to a stressful, busy day.

NEW CAR!!! (080/365)

Day 80 Happy: (It's a good one... get ready...) A NEW (to me) CAR!!

Today, Marc and I had to run a whole bunch of errands. While we were out in Tampa, we decided to run by the Volkswagen dealership to see if they had any used cars in our price range. The salesman was really nice, and didn't balk at my "Listen, I work in a car dealership, and I know how this works," speech. I told him that I wanted to look at prices first, and if he had anything that was in my price range, I only wanted to see those. He only had two that were in the range we were looking for, and one of them had previously been a rental car, so it was definitely not an option.

The second car was a little silver 06 Jetta. I was in love immediately. It is so adorable. After hours and hours of talking with the salesman, and talking with our insurance, and the finance guy, and the delivery girl, the car was finally mine! I decided to name her Carleigh (it's a German name), "Car" for short.

Opportunities! (079/365)

Day 79 Happy: (More) money!!

Today, my supervisor from my Graphics Tech internship contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in doing some freelance writing! They are going to start offering a copy writing service to customers who need somebody to write out the information that is featured on their website. I really liked working at Graphics Tech during my internship, and I'm glad that I have an opportunity to work with them again (and actually get paid this time!).

They don't have any clients yet who are requesting the copy writing service, but Mark (supervisor) said that he would contact me when they have somebody who needs my mad writing skills. :)

I feel like a real writer today, and that makes me very very happy.

Money, money, money, money.... MONEY! (078/365)

Day 78 Happy: A (paid!!) writing job.

So, I have been writing posts for Get Up and Out! for a few weeks now. I found out today that I get paid for them (a foreign concept to me so far, as most of my writing has been for this little blog, my internship and school). It's not a ton of money, but it means that I am a REAL freelance writer now. Besides, that extra little bit of money a month will be very nice when Christmas and my honeymoon come around.

Yay money!

Clean House! (077/365)

Day 77 Happy: A very successful cleaning day!

I love Sundays. Today, I got off around 3:30, and was home by four. I wanted to surprise Marc by cleaning the house and making it all pretty for when he got home from work. It looks so nice now. I love it when my apartment is all picked up, and everything is in its place. Now, I just have to keep it up. There are still some deep cleaning things to do (mop the floors, scrub the bathtub), but it looks nice on the surface at least.

Tomorrow after work, I'm going to keep up the cleaning. Hopefully I can get the whole house super clean and then keep it that way until the end of the year. With the wedding and the holidays coming up, we are going to have people in and out of the house all the time, and I'd rather not panic every time somebody says that they are going to pop over.

My very own website! (076/365)

Day 76 Happy: KelsieVosburgh.com!

Since I started writing for her Get Up and Out! website, my friend Kerry told me that I needed to get a professional website... something like an online resume. With help from her husband Joe (Thanks Joe!!), I started my own wesbite! My website is linked to my bio on the Get Up and Out! page, and if somebody reads something that they like (and potentially want to hire me), they can go and find out more about me.

It feels a little weird to be using my married name early (but only about 2 1/2 months early... it's coming up so quickly), but it would be silly to make a website that uses my name now, when it is going to change soon. So, I'm breaking the rules and using my married name before I actually get married. Shame, shame on me.

Now I have to get fancy professional business cards, that have my fancy professional website address on them!

Eat, Pray, Love (075/365)

Day 75 Happy: Movies that inspire.

I got an e-mail a few days ago telling me that, if I used my Visa card, I could get buy one, get one free tickets to the movies for today through Fandango. Since I have been looking forward to going to see Eat, Pray, Love, we decided to go see that one.

It was a beautiful movie, and Julia Roberts was great, as usual. Seeing the changes that the main character, Liz, went through made me want to re-evaluate my own life. I know that it is based on a true story, and I can't wait to get my hands on the book and find out more about the journey that this woman went on. I would definitely recommend the movie, even if only to get a glimpse into the three gorgeous countries she visits!

A nice, romantic evening (074/365)

Day 74 Happy: Meteor-seeking and stargazing on the beach with my fiancé.

Marc and I have such a nice evening! He met me at work as I was getting off, and we went out to eat... I had been craving Outback for months; that brown bread and a blooming onion were calling to me, and that's exactly what I had for dinner, plus a small side of garlic mashed potatoes and the yummiest mojito I have ever had. It was a blackberry or wildberry (or some sort of berry) peach mojito. Either way, it was delicious! So delicious, in fact, that I am going to tell our wedding coordinator about it tomorrow at our meeting to make sure that we can make some of those for the wedding!

After our nice little dinner (so not on my diet, but a girl is allowed to splurge every once in a while, isn't she?), Marc wanted to see if he could take some pictures of the meteor shower that happened tonight. We drove out to Pass-a-Grille beach (the same beach, in fact, that he asked me to marry him on) and we sat around and looked up at the sky, listening to the waves. It was dark, and quiet and very relaxing. The stars were beautiful, although we didn't see any meteors. Marc called it a bust, at least as far as pictures are concerned, but it was definitely a nice time! So romantic!

Get Up and Out! (073/365)

Day 73 Happy: Being published as the "Food Editor" on Get Up and Out!

Remember the research (aka making delicious pizza) that I did a couple weeks ago? Well, I'm officially the Food Editor of my friend Kerry's Get Up and Out website. It is a London-based website for the dating crowd, that has dating and fashion advice and recipes. I just make yummy food, and then write about it! It's a ton of fun, and I love the going to the website and seeing things that I have written on there, and reading the comments from people who read my little articles. 

Go and check out my "Food Love" section, and all of the other amazing articles on Get Up and Out!

Extended Family! (072/365)

Day 72 Happy: Seeing my (fake) family

Tonight, after work, I went and visited with my Grandma and Grandpa, since their daugher and son-in-law were in town. They aren't technically my grandparents, but they are as good as. My mom's mom died when she was just 18, and Grammie D and Poppy Ray have been her surrogate parents ever since. They live down here in Florida now, just about 20 minutes away from me. I'm a bad (fake) granddaughter and don't go and see them as often as I should, but I'm a busy girl.

I had so much fun visiting with them. They're a bunch of crazies (in the best possible way), and I love it! I hadn't seen Dawndeena and Donnie (their daugher and her husband) in forever. Since they were moving I didn't have an address to send their invitation to them, I decided to run over there and see them while they were in town and hand-deliver their invitation (and they're coming!).

Marc met me there after work, and we all just sat around and talked for a little while. It was really nice! Definitely a pleasant end to an otherwise crazy day!

Math Fun! (071/365)

Day 71 Happy: 05:06.07 08/09/10

Since my favorite time of the day (or night) is 12:34, it is no surprise that I was tickled to find out that at just after 5:06 today, all of the numbers in the time and date would be consecutive. I know that's extremely nerdy, and I don't even LIKE math, but you had to admit, it's kinda neat. And it won't happen again until August 9th, 3010!

Besides, nothing else really good happened today. Marc and I cuddled up on the couch and watched 2012, but that will probably just give me nightmares. I have had horrible nightmares since I was a little kid, and 99% of them involved one of my family members dying in some horriffic natural disaster, so maybe not the best cinematic choice on my part. At least I'm going to hop into bed and turn on a Harry Potter movie to fall asleep to. That might  help!

Harry Potter Cuteness (070/365)

Day 70 Happy: Harry Potter Internet fun!

I found this Harry Potter blog a while ago when one of Marc's pictures from Flickr was featured on it. I saved it in my e-mail for a rainy day. Well, it didn't rain at work today, but I was definitely bored, and found the e-mail while I was cleaning out my inbox. The blog is called Weasley Is Our King and is written by a 15 year old girl. It's actually quite amusing. If you have nothing better to do, I'd go check it out!

Here is one of the cute little things she links to. Enjoy!

Bonus (nerdy) Happy: While I was on vacation in Georgia, Marc ordered me a Harry Potter 7 poster, for the movie that is coming out this fall. It arrived today! It's so pretty (and sad).

Slow Days! (069/365)

Day 69 Happy: A slow day at work

For some reason, I wasn't really in the mood to spend 10 hours at work today (go figure). Luckily, it was nice and slow for most of the day. We didn't have any angry customers, and everything just seemed to go really smoothly. It was exactly what I needed, or I might have ended up very grumpy!

I got to come home, get some stuff done around the house, take a little nap and make some awesome vegan chili for Marc and I last night (well, vegan for me... he added cheese). Supposedly, going vegan is supposed to make you lose weight, so my sister and I are trying it for a week or so to see if it works. Surprisingly, I haven't felt like I am going to starve, or that I am missing out on anything. I would most certainly miss cheese, and chocolate milk, and cereal with milk and ice cream, though, so this will definitely not be a permanent experiment. All of those things I just mentioned are not excellent for losing weight, though, so I think it's a pretty good diet plan.

On a different, very sad note, one of our technicians at work, Tim, died last night of a heart attack. He was only 29. Rest in peace, Tim. We'll miss you.

Tim Aldrich

Free Day! (068/365)

Day 68 Happy: A (very awesome) day off!

Today was awesome! It was my first day off at home since the Fourth of July. I got to sleep in, hang out at the house for a while, get my haircut and then make dinner (homemade risotto) for Marc and I.

I suddenly decided yesterday that I needed to get a haircut. So, I called the Aveda Institute to get an appointment for today with Kayla, the girl who cut my hair last time. I was able to get in, and good thing, because Kayla graduates tomorrow! I wouldn't have been able to get her information to find out where she is going to work after graduation. She does such a lovely job on my hair, and is very sweet. She even said that she would do my hair for the wedding!

I'm excited for Wednesday, which will be my next day off. I could get used to this!!

No More Internship! (067/365)

Day 67 Happy: My internship is over.

I have had a really great time at my internship this summer. I really feel like it was worth it, and that I learned a lot. Besides, Mark and Andrew (our supervisors) were great! They were really nice guys. That being said, I am so glad that it is over. Finally, a little bit of freedom before school starts again! The next two weeks, all I have to do is work, since summer classes are over now too. It is going to be nice to get a little vacation before the madness begins again.

Since I have free time, I'm going to try and read the entire Harry Potter series before school gets started again. I have already finished the first one, but there is a lot left. Wish me luck!!

My Little Car (066/365)

Day 66 Happy: My car is less broken.

It would be premature (and, sadly, incorrect) to say that my car is fixed, but at least it is not overheating every time I stop at a red light. My sweet Marc took it down to his step dad's shop yesterday (on his day off, mind you) and waited around all day to get it fixed. Apparently, my thermostat was broken (?) and I was leaking coolant (??), but it was only like $160, so I guess that's not too bad. (You know... for somebody who works in the service department of a car dealership, I don't really know very much about cars. Shame.)

Bonus Happy: Angela got her bridesmaids dress today! Sarah and Taylor are getting theirs tomorrow, and Lisa is getting hers on Friday. I about had a panic attack when the lady at David's Bridal told me that if the girls order their dresses today or tomorrow they won't get in until October 27. What is that? Does it really take 12 weeks to make a little dress? I don't think so. What criminals. At least things are getting done, though.

Inception (065/365)

Day 65 Happy: Movies that make you think!

Marc and I finally went and saw Inception last night! I love movies that spark conversation way after you finish watching. Marc and I debated in the car the whole way home about what had actually happened at the end (I won't ruin it for all of you who haven't seen it yet). It's one of those movies that you feel like you have to watch again to see if you can pick up any clues that will help you figure it out, kinda like the first time you watched The Sixth Sense. I will definitely be getting it on DVD!




Bonus Happy: Who knew that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (one of the stars of Inception) was going to end up so hot? I remember him as the geeky kid with the long hair on Third Rock From the Sun. Not so geeky anymore!

Naptime! (064/365)

Day 64 Happy: Taking long naps.

Today I definitely had "Holy crap I miss my vacation, and I don't want to be at work" syndrome!" Even though I had to work yesterday, it was nice and slow. Today, it was busy, and I was tired from getting up at 5:45 to be at work at 7:00.

Luckily, though, on Mondays, I get to go home between 10:00 and 2:30 to hang out, have lunch, and take a nap. It was so nice! I came home and had a snack (Granny Smith apple and natural peanut butter. Yum!), turned on Harry Potter, and laid down on the futon to take a little cat nap. It was awesome.

Then, I got up and made a little pizza with the leftovers from last night's dinner. Coming home for several hours in between little shifts makes a nine hour day just a little easier.

Research! (063/365)

Day 63 Happy: Best research ever

Today I did research for my newest project. I'm working with my friend Kerry on her website, which has dating information for young adults in London. I'm the "food editor," and did my first little blurb about date night do-it-yourself personal pizzas.

Marc and I went grocery shopping tonight, and got all the fixings for our own pizzas. We made them together... which ended up being a very long process, since Marc took pictures every step of the way. It was definitely worth it, though, because the pizzas were delicious. Thanks to my little sister, Lyndsey, for helping me come up with the idea. Hopefully it is what Kerry is looking for on her website!

Our delicious pizza dinner!

Coming Home! (062/365)

Day 62 Happy: Coming home (to my actual home)

I flew home today. It was sad, but it is also nice to be back at home with my Marc, and my stuff and my kitties. I am relaxing on my futon, watching Sherlock Holmes and Marc is making me dinner... pasta with pesto. Yummy.

Bonus Happy: I still have all my fingers. One of the little ratties, Cracker (her actual name, not just what I called her) bit me! She nearly took off my pinky nail! There is a huge split in it, and I'm quite sure it is going to fall off. There was a ton of blood, but I still have all my fingers, so that's something to be happy about!

I'm pretty sure it's the white one on the left who did it. Meanie!

Being Home (061/365)

Day 61 Happy: Being at home with the family

I don't get to come home very often... between school and work and everything else that happens in life, I only get to visit my parent's house in Georgia a couple of times a year. I miss my parents, brothers and sister when I'm away from them.

We haven't done much while I have been visiting home this time. We didn't make any trips to Atlanta, or go kayaking or anything spectacular. It didn't matter though. I am completely content to watch movies with my brothers, help my sister unpack, go to the grocery store with my mom.

Being away from home makes it just that much better when you get to go back.

Lyndsey!! (060/365)

 Day 60 Happy: Lyndsey is home.

We finally got Lyndsey this evening from the airport. After an entire year in Italy, she is back home in Georgia. I was so glad I could be at the airport with the rest of the family to welcome her home, but it was quite an ordeal. First, we hit horrible traffic on the way to the airport and then the car was saying that it was having low oil pressure, and it was all very dramatic. We thought we were going to be horribly late, but we ended up being early and were able to greet her as she walked out of the arrivals gate.

Now we are all home hanging out like old times and I am helping Lyndsey unpack and looking at all her cool Italian goodies. It is really nice to have the whole family in one place again.

 

She either looks really excited, or really scared. 

Vacation!! (059/365)

Day 59 Happy: A Real Vacation.

Today has been so nice. Lyndsey's not home yet, and the boys are busy with ROTC, so we didn't do much. Mom and I went and got groceries at Wal-mart, but that's it. The rest of the time, we sat around and watched movies and ate dinner together. It was so nice and relaxing... definitely what I needed after the last month.

Now it's time to get ready for Lyndsey comes home. Less than 24 hours until I see my little sister for the first time in a year. I bet you all can guess what tomorrow's happy will be!!

Georgia!! (058/365)

Day 58: I am finally in Georgia!!

Today seemed to last forever but I am finally in Georgia. I had a pretty horrible day at work and was so happy when Marc finally picked me up from work to take me to the airport. We had a quick dinner at Burger King before he left me off at the gate. It was a quick flight ... Only about an hour. Now I am finally here with the family!

I am so excited!!

Packing (057/365)

Day 57 Happy: I am packing for my Georgia trip

I am usually an overpacker. Since I'm only going to be gone for four nights, Marc refuses to pay $15 (each way) for me to check a bag. So, I am taking a carry-on, and my purse and that's it.

I thought it was going to be difficult, since I always end up stuffing my HUGE suitcase totally full, even when we take the car, which always has random odds and ends stuffed in the back seat. Actually, though, it's not hard at all. I'm just taking what I need (plus a few odds and ends to keep me entertained, like my Harry Potter book and my Vanity Fair magazine... If I can manage to stuff my stuffed elephant, Ollie, in there too, I will. He's an excellent airplane pillow.) and my suitcase isn't even all the way full.

Who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Sundays! (056/365)

Day 56 Happy: Lazy Sundays

I love Sundays. They are the closest thing I have to a day off these days, since I only go in from 10-3:30. Today was my 21st day in a row without a day off, and I'm really starting to feel it, on top of being sick with a nasty head cold. I came home from work this afternoon, had a snack, changed into my jammies, put in Will & Grace and took a nap on my futon. It was so nice and relaxing! This is the first Sunday in a long time I have been able to do that (at least not without feeling guilty) since I had so much reading and homework this semester.

Two more days and I'll be on vacation in Georgia. I can't wait!!

Reading for fun! (055/365)

Day 55 Happy: Reading something that isn't a textbook!

I decided that I wanted to re-read the Harry Potter series before school starts again and I get too busy to read them before the next movie comes out in November. It has been so long since I read the seventh book, and I only read it once, so I don't really remember what happens. I want it to be fresh in my mind before watching the movie, and I'm pretty sure I won't have time to read at all once school starts! 

This afternoon, after work, I got to read some of the first book. I didn't get to read very much, but it was refreshing to read something that wasn't for school.

School's Out For Summer!! (054/365)

Day 54 Happy: I am ALL DONE with Summer classes!!

I just turned in my final papers for my Adolescent Literature class. I'm a super procrastinator. Like, the best one ever. My papers were due at 11:59 P.M. I sat at my computer and wrote my little butt off for several hours, put the finishing touches on them at 11:57 P.M. and sent the e-mail to the professor at exactly 11:58 P.M.

That's awesome.

And now I have to finish up my internship (after a week of vacation!!) which I don't really consider school anyways, and I will have two weeks after that until the Fall semester starts.

... and then the real fun begins.

Bonus Happy: I asked my lovely friend Angela to be a bridesmaid, and she said yes. We have become pretty good friends this year, and I am excited that she's going to be part of the wedding!

General Awesomeness (053/365)

Day 53 Happy: I am DONE with Criminal Justice

I am so close to being done with summer classes I can taste it. Today, I planned on coming home and studying for 7 or 8 hours after work before taking my Criminal Justice exam online. I ended up coming home early from work, because I feel like the death. I didn't feel like doing anything, much less reading ridiculously boring essays and four chapters in my textbook.

So I didn't.

Screw this, I thought (well, something like that, but this blog is generally PG), I am just going to take the test without studying. It took me about 36 minutes to take my test, and I got an 86, my second highest grade out of four exams I have taken in the class. And now I'm done. Yayyy happy.

Tomorrow I will finish up with my Adolescent Literature class and I will have an ENTIRE MONTH with no school!!

Featured! (052/365)

Day 52 Happy: Being featured on my friend Kerry's blog!

My lovely British friend Kerry (seen below on her wedding day, while I was helping her into her dress in the friendliest fashion) has featured my blog on HER blog. Blog happy! She is a very talented writer (and actually gets paid to do it. Lucky little brat) and I am very honored that she was inspired by my little blog.

Read Kerry's blog here. Then, follow her lead and join the Revolution. What is your happy for the day? Inspire somebody else and leave your answers in the comments.

Countdown! (051/365)

Day 51 Happy: One week until my vacation!!!

I will leave for Georgia a week from today! I will be at the airport when my sister comes home from Italy, get to see my parents, and hang out with my brothers for a few days. Not only will it be nice to get away from work, internship and homework for a couple of days, but I really miss my family and love it when I get to spend time with them.

 The day Lyndsey left for Italy, at the airport.

Now, all I have to do is make it through this week!

Staying In! (050/365)

Day 50 Happy: Having a nap, movies, and dinner at home.

I was so exhausted today. It was an extremely long day, and all I wanted to do when I came home from work was just hang out with Marc. I got to do just that! We made home made Chinese (vegetarian for me!) and watched some of The Lord of the Rings before I passed out on the couch. It was exactly what I needed.

Only about a week until my mini-vacation!!

Day Date! (049/365)

Day 49 Happy: Seeing my Marc in daylight!

Between my real job, my internship and homework, I don't get to see much of my fiance at all, especially not in the daytime. Usually on Sundays, I work from 10-3:30 and he doesn't get home until 8:30 in the evening. A couple of weeks ago, he requested to get off at 2:00 today so that we could spend the afternoon together. It was so nice. We ended up going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (again) so that I could pick up some trinkets for my brothers and sister to give to them when I go visit at the end of the month. We had a blast, rode a few rides and hung out for the entire afternoon.

Date Night! (048/365)

Day 48 Happy: Going on a date with my fiancé!

Today while I was at work, Marc wrote me an e-mail asking if I wanted to go on a date him tonight. I was having a pretty awful day at work, and it instantly cheered me up and gave me something to look forward to.

We talked about going to dinner (I have been craving a blooming onion and that brown bread from Outback for weeks), going to see Despicable Me, and going for a walk on the beach. When he came home, I was napping (surprise), and he let me sleep for a little while. I wanted to go see the movie, but I hate going to the movies on a Saturday, when all the little freaks are out running around.

We ended up going to Barnes and Noble (♥), and wandering around the bookstore for a while. Marc got the next book in his series, and I got a magazine to take on the airplane when I go visit my parents in Georgia later this month. It wasn't a "date" per say, but it was really nice to hang out with my fiancé... I feel like we never get to spend quality time together anymore.

Keane! (047/365)

I love Keane. They are pretty much awesome. This is definitely my favorite song by them. I listened to it about 20 times on my iPod today while I was at my internship, and it made me happy. I thought I would share the awesome with you.

Actually, while we're on the topic of my favorite things to listen to (and in this case watch... will you marry me Adam Lazzara??), enjoy this little nugget:

Lyndsey! (046/365)

Day 46 Happy: Getting to see my little sister soon!

My sister, Lyndsey, has been living in Italy as an au pair for the last year. I have got to talk to her on the phone, online and via webcam, but it's just not the same as seeing her in person. Our family spent the first Christmas this last year where one of the kids was missing, and it just wasn't the same. But, exactly two weeks from today, she is coming home! I am going to be flying up to Georgia to be with the rest of my family, and welcome her home at the airport. It is going to be so much fun!!

 My sister and I, right before she left for Italy.