Free at last! Free at last!

This past Tuesday was my last class of the semester! Yay! Our final draft of the paper is due by midnight tonight, so we all know what I'll be doing tonight. I just can't wait to be finished with it!

We all know I love the snow, but ice? That's a whole nother story. Ashley and I barely made it down our hill this morning. My car had a solid sheet of ice on it, so it took us awhile to get it cleared off enough to see through the windows. I'm just hoping I can make it back up my hill after work. Walking up the hill was no fun before I was pregnant, but now? I can't imagine. I get winded walking up our steps! haha!

Kevin and I did some of our shopping for our nieces and nephews last night. We have gifts for four of them down, and three to go. I know what we're getting them all, except Emma. The child has tons of toys and loves Dora. I thought about getting her some clothes with Dora on them. Whitney told me Emma saw a gift wrapped in Dora wrapping paper and just went nuts over it. I would have loved to have seen that!

What about you ladies? Have you all finished all of your shopping?

Apology?

I've realized that a lot of my posts have been quite depressing lately and, for that, I apologize. I know its my blog and I can write what I want, but I don't want to lose what little bit of readers I do have b/c I'm complaining too much.

Saturday there was a trend going around on Facebook. Everyone was putting on their status a memory game. Everyone was to leave a memory of them and that person, good or bad. And it was so fun reading what everyone had to say! Me and my high school buddies had a lot of fun growing up together, despite all the times we cried "I'm not your friend anymore!". One of my favorite teachers from high school happens to be on my Facebook and her memory made me laugh out loud. Sadly, the memory she chose to put down was me skipping her class to go on a "picnic". It was Daniel's, my best guy friend at the time, birthday. So, me, his best friend, Michael and my best girlfriend, Denise, decided to check out of school and take Daniel to lunch. We all had permission, but we had to be back by third period English. Well, once we got the taste of freedom, we decided to just take the rest of the day off. We had a blast! I still have pictures from that day. And the next day when we got back to school? We'd been snitched on and all four of us were in trouble! haha! The only time I ever skipped school, aside from the two Senior Skip Days we had, and I was in trouble. I just don't get how people get away with that on a regular basis! She did go on to say that she can remember my laugh and how much she liked it. She said that I was always happy and that I seemed to spread that happiness to everyone around me. That made me sad and it got me thinking. What happened to that girl? I used to be so happy and was always ready to go out and have a fun time. I know a lot of it has to do w/ growing up and being in the real world now. I actually have important things to worry about, instead of what half time cheer we're doing at the basketball game or what I'm going to wear to the dance. All through high school, I couldn't wait to grow up. I couldn't wait to get to college. Once I hit college, I kept thinking "man, high school was easy!" and I couldn't wait to get out. And now that I'm out? I keep thinking "man, college was a lot less stressful than this!". In college, I couldn't wait to get married. Now that I'm married? I can't wait to have kids. Its ridiculous really. I've wished my young life away. I know it natural to plan for the next step in your life, but why can't I enjoy the stage I'm at right now? I need to stop worrying my life away. I need to enjoy it while I can. I want to get back to that person that my teacher was talking about.

So, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to work on getting back to that happy, carefree person. Life is hard enough as it is without being miserable on my own all the time. So what if my life hasn't turned how I planned? It rarely does for anyone, although there are a lucky few out there! I'm married to a wonderful person, we have a roof over our heads, stable jobs and food to eat. I'm a lot better off than a lot people. I need to remind myself that every chance I get!


Now, change of subject! :) We got the snow they were calling for, but luckily, it wasn't as damaging as the last one! We didn't lose power and neither did anyone in our family. It was really nice. I went home Friday evening and I didn't come back out until this morning. Kevin commented last night about how this has been the most relaxing weekend we've had in a really long time. I agree. I think it was the first weekend we've had since the beginning of October with absolutely nothing to do. I think I could get used to weekends like that, but not too many of them! haha!

I hope everyone had a safe weekend and have a happy Monday! :)

Ding, ding! Round 2!

We're in for yet another blizzard this weekend! I'm looking forward to it though. I just don't want to lose power or another tree fall on my parents' house! They still haven't gotten it fixed from the last time!

Kevin and I had to go to the store last night on our regular shopping trip. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be! They were almost out of milk and some of the shelves were a little bare, but we didn't run into the crowd. We stocked up, put gas in my car and we went home to gather the candles, blankets and flashlights. Just in case. The one thing I didn't think about was all of our frozen dinners. Since being on the diet, we've been buying Lean Cuisines and SmartOnes like crazy! If the electricity goes out, I really don't want to set them all outside. It'll be pretty easy for those darn cats to get into them!

I know people are tired of the snow and the cold. But, to me, this is what Winter is all about! Its about running to the store when snow is in the forecast, its about bundling up in peacoats, scarves and toboggans! Its about being out of school for a snow day! Growing up, I loved when snow was in the forecast. Mom would pick my sister and I up from mamaw's after she got off work and we'd run to the store w/ the rest of the town. Mom would always get us pizza snacks, pizza and all kinds of junk food to have while we were snowed in. The sky was always cloudy and gray, but the snow hadn't started yet! We'd go home and when we'd pass mamaw's house, she'd have her coal stove going and smoke would be coming from the chimney. Mom would always say that you could tell if it was going to snow or not by the way the smoke was rising. There's a house next to our townhouse now and they're constantly burning wood. When I see the smoke, it makes me think of mamaw's house and the snow! Mom would fix us something to eat, we'd prepare for school the next day, just in case. But, usually around 9:00 it had started snowing and mom would say "well, no school tomorrow!" And 9 times out of 10, she was right! We'd play outside the next day until we were numb! One time, mom bundled us up so much that we looked like the little boy from The Christmas Story! haha! The snow was almost 2 feet deep and I remember getting stuck in it! Dad had to come dig me out. Whit and I still laugh about that. One time we were sledding and we tried to put our puppy on the the sled with us. Now, that was funny. That poor dog flipped out! Needless to say, he never came around us and our sled.

What about you guys? What is your favorite childhood memory from snowdays?

My Morning Chuckle

Yesterday evening, I was watching the national news and they were talking about the Americans who are donating to Haiti. They were telling different stories, but the one that stuck out to me was about the University of Kentucky Basketball team. Through "Hoops for Haiti", the team has raised $1 million for relief efforts. And to give them recognition, President Obama called them yesterday to thank them. The first thing I thought was, "what are the conservative fans going to say about this?", but I dismissed it b/c that was me assuming things. Yeah, right. Sadly, UK lost their game last night. Until this point, they were undefeated. So, what do I see this morning on Facebook? Two different people blaming UK's loss on Obama's phone call. Good grief.

However, I did see something sweet on the news last night. This couple was already in the process of adopting a 5-year-old from Haiti when the earthquake happened. They went to get the little girl from the orphanage, but when they were leaving, she and her best friend both were having a hard time leaving one another. They returned to the US, but this was still bothering the parents. So, what do they do? The file to adopt the little girl's best friend! The US and Haitian governments have already let them bring her home because of "humanitarian parole". They showed a clip of the little girls playing football in the backyard and they were having so much fun! I love seeing stories like this. It makes you realize there is still good people in this world!

I've seen a lot of support for Haiti relief efforts, but I've also seen a lot of criticism. Critics are saying that we should take care of those here in our country first, before we take care of those in Haiti. Also, they're upset about the money the government is spending because we're so far in debt with it. I straddle the fence on this one. Seeing the pictures of the devastation and those people who are homeless, my heart breaks. It makes me even more grateful for what little bit I do have. I've actually thought of donating $10 or $20 to UNICEF, but I haven't done it yet. To me, if you want to donate money, that's your business. Its your money and if you can afford to do it, go for it. Every little bit helps! But, I can see where the critics are coming from. Its a very difficult situation.

 Its supposed to snow a lot again this weekend. I know I've said I'm ready for Spring, but I'm actually looking forward to this snow. I'm in a really bad mood this week, so I'm ready to be snowed in w/ my sweetie. I do want it to hold off until late late Friday night. I want to go hear FSR play! haha!

Well, I hope you all have a good day! :)

Blizzard '09

When I was younger, we had two blizzards: 1993/4 & 1996. I was only 10/12 years old, so to me, it was fun. It meant I got out of school and got to play in the snow all day. Our power went out, but it was fun b/c we had a fire place, kerosene heater and a bunch of blankets. It meant that I got to snuggle up under a bunch of blankets w/ my family. We drank tons of hot chocolate and played in the snow for hours a day. Those two blizzards are why I love snow so much.

Now, fast foward to 2009. I'm 25 years old, married with a job. And, I still loved snow. I was so ready for this snow storm to hit, but I was pretty skeptical that we'd get any at all. Usually, the weatherman will predict snow, but we won't get anywhere near what was predicted. This time? Ole' Dave Dierks hit the nail right on the head.

Friday it started raining around 11:00 and around 2:00 or so, we saw the first signs of snow. By 3:30, we were in a full on blizzard. The main branch called and told us to shut the doors at 4:00 and get home. Ashley and I made it home safely. I was really concerned about making it up the hill that our townhouse sits on, but we made it up the hill with no problem. Her boyfriend, Jay, was here when we got home and said he'd take us back out to the store in his truck. He was so nervous! He kept telling us to hurry and that we had fifteen minutes to get what we needed and out. Well, fifteen minutes was almost too long. We barely made it back up the hill! Thankfully, we did and made back in to Ashley's warm apartment. In all of the fuss, I happened to lock myself out of our apartment. Kevin was having to work late on a leak and wasn't home for me to get in. We headed over to Ashley's sister's apartment b/c they had a kerosene heater. They live in the apartment next to us! We ate and just waited for the power to go out. It kept flickering and around 8:00, the transformer outside blew and we were in the dark. My hubby made it home five minutes later, but had to catch a ride from a co-worker who had a truck and had to walk up the hill. I was so glad he was home! When he got home, we packed up the eggs, lunch meat and cheese in his lunch box and put it on the picnic table on our patio. We packed snow all around it. We also sat our milk out there, too and then I put chairs over top of them so the Devil Cat and his buddies wouldn't get into it. Ashley had an empty fire pit, so we put things in it, as well. We put the screened lid on top of it and packed snow all around it. We were quite proud of ourselves!

Our makeshift fridge!

The firepit fridge!

The next morning, we had 7.5" of snow! I called my parents to let them know we were okay and that we still didn't have power. Dad told me that a tree had fallen thru their roof and that they didn't have any power either. :( I was so upset. I hated being so far from them! Whitney had taken Emma to a friend's house that still had power, so I had some relief, but not much. We spent the day tubing down the hill and boiling a pot of water on the kerosene heater to make hot chocolate! We headed over to Ashley's once it got dark and played poker. Around 8:00, our power came back on! Thank God! We were all so excited. Jay said we should turn every light in the house on! haha!

This is what it looked like when we fell asleep!

This what we woke up to!

Me & my hubby out in the snow!

My parents are still without power and my mom is all to pieces. Whit still has Emma at her friend's and mom says she isn't eating well and won't stop crying. :( I'm trying to tell them to get the baby and just come down here. We have room for them to stay here and its warm. It may not be comfortable, but it will do! Mom said that when she called the power company they told her that there are 10,000 people in the area without power. :( Plus, she can't get in touch with the insurance agency to file a claim until tomorrow. There's no emergency number or anything.

This was the first "crisis" I've had since I've been out on my own. It has really made me feel grown up, knowing that I can handle things as well as I did. I learned that, although snow was fun as a kid, as an adult it isn't so much fun. It was nice watching it snow, waking up to the beautiful view and enjoying the quality time with good friends. But, having no power, not being able to get ahold of my family that's an hour away and not knowing if my other friends are okay wasn't so nice. I never realized how much my mom and dad had to worry about when it snowed. I also realized how much we depend on cellphones, tv and the internet! Its scary!

I hope everyone is okay and that you're warm out there! Please pray for those who aren't so fortunate to have their power back on!

This is the view from our front porch.

I've yet to use the panoranmic setting on the camera correctly. It is still pretty though!

My first day...

...and post as his wife! :)


Today is our first day home from our honeymoon...and I guess my first official day as a wife!

And guess what I woke up to?





The first real snow of the year! I found it rather neat...my first day home as his wife and the first real snow, all on the same day! I love snow, so I was super excited! I even woke Kevin up to look! haha! The snow has since stopped, but it was a nice way to wake up!


We haven't done much today. We're worn out from the eleven hour drive back yesterday. Until our honeymoon, I had yet to drive through a state I hated. That is until we entered Alabama. We spent six of our eleven hour drive there and believe me, I was never more excited to see Tennessee! Mapquest got us lost on the way there, so here we were, driving around in the middle of nowhere in Alabama. This place had nothing on the small towns we have here!


However, we have had a chance to hang up a 5 piece Sconce Set from Bed, Bath & Beyond we purchased w/ a gift card we received as a wedding gift! I was so excited! I have never been in that store b/c its totally out of my price range, but once we got in there, I was in Heaven! I love all things dealing w/ decorating our tiny apartment, as well as anything that has to do w/ the kitchen. My goal in life is to be Martha Stewart (aside from serving prison time, of course). The walls in our apartment are wood paneling (which I despise) and its so dull looking. Our poor bedroom didn't have anything in it, so we thought the sconce set would be perfect above our bed.




I didn't get the bed in the picture b/c I have yet to make it up. My mother would say "Now, Tiffany, I didn't raise you to be that way", but I hate making up our bed. haha!


We also need to clean. Does anyone want to come clean our living room for us? It isn't that bad...see?





Okay, so maybe it is. But, Kevin says he's going to help me. Anyone wanna take bets on that one? Haha!


Well, I better go get started! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! :)