Wednesday Ramblings

A few life updates, then I'm going to try to finish all of these drafts I have! So many things to say, so little time.

-First of all, THE HUNGER GAMES. It absolutely lived up to all of the hype. It took me months to start reading them, because I knew I would get sucked in and not be able to stop reading until I finished them all. And that was exactly what happened. During Maisy's recovery was the perfect time to read them, since I refused to leave her side for days. I ended up finishing all 3 within just a few days, and I was SO sad when it was over.
(SPOILER: if you haven't read them and don't want to know how it ends, just skip to the next paragraph :) I had heard that a lot of people didn't like the ending, and I have to say I was surprised by it. Through the books, I thought she would end up with Gale, but I actually liked that she ended up with Peeta. I was surprised by how little of a role Gale had in the books, too...I kept waiting for him to have a bigger part! Before reading them, I was all the way Team Gale (hello, Liam Hemsworth ;) but after finishing the books I couldn't help but be Team Peeta!
After I finished the first book, I saw the movie and I LOVED it, minus one thing- it made me SO motion-sick. I can't handle those shaky camera movies, but I made myself watch the whole thing anyways. I'm really hoping they don't do that for Catching Fire! But other than that, I thought they stayed very true to the book and the casting was perfect (except for Peeta's height...why is he shorter than Katniss!? that bugged me) Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect Katniss. I really wish the Twilight movies used the Hunger Games' casting director!! Those movies could have been so much better.

-I experienced my first earthquake on Monday. It about scared me to death! I was at work, playing with the baby when the whole house started to shake. It took me a second to realize what was happening, then I grabbed the baby and started running! haha I have no idea what I was running to! It probably only lasted 20 seconds, and I found out later that it was a 3.9 (I have no clue whether that's big or not....probably not, since there was no damage at all!) Nonetheless, it freaked me out!

-We also went to our first Dodger's game on Monday! We met up with our friends from Georgia, Jeremy and Emily, to cheer on the Braves! Sadly, we lost (they won the next night!) but we had a great time anyways. And guess who else was at the game....CHANDLER BING! I flipped out when they showed Matthew Perry on the screen, since FRIENDS is my all-time favorite show. I then started spewing out FRIENDS quotes and probably driving everyone crazy. Could I BE more annoying? (Please tell me you all read that in Chandler's voice! :)

Monday Ramblings

-As I mentioned on my last post, I am throwing a baby shower. It is probably my favorite thing to do. I am OBSESSED with crafting right now. OBSESSED!

-Some might say that I also have an obsession with creamer. Too much?

I bought out our grocery store of the Peppermint Mocha, since it is only out once a year! :)

-I made this chore chart a long time ago and always forgot to post about it. I'm terrible at keeping our house clean, but this makes it a lot easier. Only a few things each day, so I never have to do it all at once when we are expecting company! It also helps with forgetful husbands :) (I need to buy white board cleaner...it looks a lot worse in pictures than in person!)

-I am LOVING my job. The baby is the sweetest thing, and she is also one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen. I don't want to post pictures of her on here without asking her parents, and that would be a pretty weird conversation if I did ask! haha So here's one that I can show you!

-I video-chatted with my 2 besties a couple weeks ago. We enjoyed using the features on google chat :) Love these two!

-I just bought the Hunger Games series...I can't wait to get started! But from what I hear, I think I need to choose wisely on when to read them, since I will mostly likely be unable to put them down!

-Has anyone had the Keratin treatment? It sounds pretty appealing to this frizzy-headed girl, but I don't want it to take the curl out of my hair. (I know my mom is screaming "NOOOOO!!!" while reading this....don't worry Mom, I haven't decided for sure yet!)

Wouldn't this be nice!

Twilight Re-Cast

As I mentioned last week, I bought my mom and I tickets for the Breaking Dawn midnight premiere. It would be an understatement to say I'm excited about this movie. I think this will be by far the best one yet. Wedding? Honeymoon? Vampire baby? Yes please. 

I've never been a big fan of the casting in these movies, and I still don't find Robert Pattinson very attractive (except in Water for Elephants...that hair worked for him). I recently found this post where Gina listed her picks for each role. I agreed with many of them, but here's my dream Twilight cast.

Edward: As much as I like his personality for it, the looks just don't match up to his description. I completely agree with Gina that this guy fits the bill.

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Bella: I was kind of torn on this one. When I first saw the movies, Kristen Stewart was not who I imagined Bella to be. I remember thinking that they changed her character the most...but I don't remember why. Now that I've seen the movies so many times, she's kind of grown on me. But I think Alexis Bledel is more of who I pictured in my head while reading.

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Jacob: I would definitely keep Taylor Lautner. In spite of the fact that I HATED his long hair. Thank goodness that didn't last long.
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Charlie: Definitely keep. He is perfect in this role.

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Carlisle: I just don't like his fake blonde hair. I agree with Gina...two words.  Paul. Walker.

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Alice: Definitely keep. Ashley Greene is perfect for the adorable pixie-like character.
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Esme: I'm having a hard time coming up with a replacement, so I guess I'll just stick with their choice.
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Rosalie: I think we need more of a bombshell for this role. Charlize Theron would be a perfect Rosalie.

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Emmett: At first, I was going to keep Emmett. And then I remembered Channing Tatum.

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Jasper: DEFINITELY change. I had a hard time thinking of who would be good for this role though. Zac Efron? Ryan Gosling? I think Gina nailed it with Chace Crawford. Hopefully he can do a better southern accent.

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So what do y'all think? Agree with my changes? Hate them? Who would be in your dream cast?

Friday Ramblings

• I am exhausted from unpacking and organizing. I'd say we have maybe half of the house done....not including wall decor and curtains. I'm too afraid to even start on that stuff yet!

• My sweet friend, Heather from Notes from the Nelsons, gave me a blog award! Heather is literally, the nicest person I know. Whenever my mom and I meet someone super sweet, we always say, "she's like a Heather!" Heather is semi-new to the blog world and is already a pro! Go say hello!

• I recently read Heaven is for Real and I looooooooved it. I had goosebumps the entire time! 

• I love Adele. I tuned into the VMAs on Sunday night and was a little disappointed by it. But then Adele sang and blew me away! She is so classy and obviously, extremely talented. 

• You know what really, really sucks? When you've wanted to meet your best blog friend for a year now, she is finally coming to visit, and you will be out of town! That's right....my good friend, Brittany, from Blogging Out Loud, is coming to visit her brother in California (about 45 minutes away from me) and I will be in Atlanta! Ugh! Again, Brittany's is another blog I'd highly recommend. She is easily the funniest person in blogland....go check her out!

• Did anyone else see the Pretty Little Liars finale? I L-O-V-E this show. I can't believe we know who the killers are now! But I reeeeeally just want to know who A is! Any guesses? I think it's Noel.

• Guess what! I exercised! It has happened once so far, but I'm optimistic that it could happen again soon. Doug asked me to teach him how to swim (I should clarify that he knows how to 'swim', he just needs help with all the technicalities, like breathing correctly, so he can do laps) So we went to our neighborhood pool the other night and I honestly don't know the last time I laughed that hard. Let's just say he makes some hilarious faces while he is swimming gasping for air and I plan on bringing my camera next time. You're welcome.

Road Trip Necessities

Our cross-country road trip was shockingly easy. A huge part of this success was that our pets were perfectly behaved. But here are a few other things that made this adventure a little easier for us:

iExit

This app is amazing! If you are on a highway, it will list what's coming up at each exit. You can also make a list of favorites and it shows you where the closest favorites are....so you can see how long you have to wait for a Starbucks!

GPS

This one's pretty obvious. A GPS is a necessity for road trips.

Cracker Barrel Audio Books

I think this was my favorite thing on the trip. Cracker Barrel has an easy way to get audio books. You can go to any Cracker Barrel and get an audio book for under $4 a week. We listened to Harlan Coben's mystery, Caught, and we both loved it. It was 11 hours so we finished it easily during the trip and dropped it off at a Cracker Barrel in Arizona! It really helped to pass the time and take your mind off of the never-ending driving.

Blogpress

Although this app gave me a little trouble on the second day, it was still great to have. I could write posts while we were on the road to keep y'all my mom updated :)

Sonic

We definitely ate here the most. When you have two animals in the car, you can't exactly leave them to go have a sit down meal. Sonic is very pet friendly so we could walk Maisy while we waited for our food, and they had water bowls out filled with ice water. Plus they have cherry limeades, so it's a win win.

Starbucks, of course

And what would I do without my favorite coffee!? A delicious way to start the day.

Those were our favorite things on the trip. If you've ever done a long trip like this, what were your must haves?

10 Things I Love

My friend Jessica over at Miss Southern Vol tagged me in this cute game, and I am happy to play along!

So here are my 10 things...

1. Animals

I love my pets the most, obviously, but I reeeeeally love animals. I'm that person who will chase a stray dog, no matter how long it takes (Doug and I actually did this last week, and we found Simba's home! Yay!)

2. Chocolate/food

I could easily make this whole list just about food. But to name a few, I love:

Moe's

Chicken fingers (and fries)

Brownie Sundae

3. TV/movies

I am an entertainment freak. A few of my favorite shows right now are:

(Rosie Pope is so adorable!)

(I was surprised by how much I like this show!)

4. Blogging

When I started this blog, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! I love it. It has quickly become my favorite hobby. I love writing (never thought I'd say that) about my life, and I love reading others' blogs. And I especially love all of the friends that I've made through blogging! I really don't know what I would do without it everyday! You can't really understand it unless you blog.

5. Family

I couldn't do this list without mentioning my family. I know this is supposed to be 10 'things', but family is at the top of the list for me. I love the little family that Doug and I have now, but there is also nothing better than spending time with both of our families. We are blessed!

6. Travel/Europe

If I won the lottery, there would be no question of what I'd do. I would travel all over the world, eat amazing food, and of course, bring Doug (and the fur babies) along with me. The first place I would go back to is Europe. I loooooove it over there!

7. Decorating/Planning

I had to combine these 2 because they are kind of similar. I love planning and decorating a home, a party, a shower. I am a very organized person so planning all of the little details is so fun to me! I've always dreamt of being a wedding planner...maybe one day!

8. Reading

Reading is definitely one of my favorite things to do ever. I can easily read a book in a day if time allows for it. I was doing great on my reading plan until April...I think I'm just going to skip April's book, South of Broad, since I've heard mixed reviews and read "The Help"...I've heard such great things about it and the movie looks so good!

9. Margaritas

No explanation needed. They are just goooooood.

10. John Mayer

I have loved John since the 8th grade, when I saw him live for the first time. Since then, I have seen him a total of 13 times live, and I'm nowhere near finished.

(I know it's supposed to be 10 things....but, it's my blog, so there will be 11 :)

11. iPhone
My favorite gadget EVER. I am hooked and there's no way I could ever go back to a regular phone. Thanks to everyone on here who convinced me to get it!



I'm supposed to tag people to do this, but I'm opening this up to everyone! If you play along, let me know! :)