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.

A Little Bit of Random

• I treated myself to some fro-yo at Menchie's after work today. I went in thinking I would be good and get a few fruit toppings, and I walked out with a cup full of chocolate...I just can't resist their brownies!

• I'm reading Water for Elephants right now and I love it! And I also love reading books after the cast has been decided for the movie so I know what they should look like in my head...does that make any sense? So many times, I have read books way before the movies come out and then the actors just don't look like what they should to me! I'm loving Robert Pattinson and Reese in these roles!

• Ashley H. looked like Snooki last night...it was disturbing and I'm not excited that she is (SPOILER ALERT!) the new bachelorette. She is like a hyper little hamster...now a hyper guido hamster.

• My favorite app so far is Sleep Cycle (thanks Bridget!!!) I am not in the least a morning person, and I have a very hard time waking up every morning. I snooze for 30 minutes. Yes, it's ridiculous. But this cool little app tracks your sleeping patterns/REM cycles and wakes you up in between so you won't feel like you were hit by a bus as much as you normally do. This morning was the first time I tried it, and I could definitely tell a difference.  

• Doug's favorite app is Boggle. It's definitely fun, but he steals my phone for hours to play this little game. I'm thinking he might need an iPhone, too!

• Our new favorite song is "Hey Na Na" by Katie Herzig. Download it. And I dare you not to dance. It's impossible when this song is on. There have been many a dance parties around here lately to it! If I worked out, this would be what I would listen to.

• It's my brother's birthday today! Happy birthday Matt! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of us...

What can I say, our family likes animals.

Happy Birthday/Tuesday/Glee Day!

12 Days of Christmas: Day 8-11

Day 8: Least favorite thing about the Holidays

When my cat decides that the tree is a play house and decides to climb up into the middle of it, which causes all of the ornaments to fall off and the branches to bend, which leaves big gaps in the tree. It's frustrating but also hilarious because you can't see him in there and the tree is shaking. It reminds us of the scene where the Grinch is stealing Cindy Lou Who's tree. 

Pep also loves playing with the balls at the bottom of the tree, so he smacks them off and chases them all over the apartment. I still can't find a few.

This was last Christmas at my parents' house.

Day 9: Favorite Holiday recipe

 Cheeseball! My family looooves this appetizer/heavenly treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 12oz Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 small jar of dried beef
• 1 onion

Cut off the edges of the dried beef, then chop the beef into small pieces.

Chop the onion to taste (usually about 1/8th of the onion)

Mix all three ingredients together and press into a ball!

Serve on Ritz crackers

Day 10: Favorite Christmas Songs/Caroles

My favorite Christmas song is Oh Holy Night. The best versions I've heard are: Celine Dion, Martina McBride, Josh Groban, and Lea Michelle's on the new Glee Christmas CD.
These are a few of my favorite Christmas CDs!








(Don't judge....'Merry Christmas Baby' is awesome)

CDs that I am really wanting:

Day 11: New Year Resolutions

1. Get a job

2. Mix more healthy foods into my diet (I am a firm believer that you can eat whatever you want...just in moderation! Sometimes I ignore forget the moderation part...)

3. Join a small group at our (hopefully) new church

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 25

First 10 Songs on Ipod Shuffle

1. Young at Heart- Frank Sinatra
2. Spice Up Your Life- Spice Girls
3. Hard Knock Life- Jay Z
4. Comfort Me- Tim McGraw
5. Open Your Eyes- Snow Patrol
6. Dry County Girl- Rascal Flatts
7. Somedays- Matt Wertz
8. Less- Ben Harper
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love- Michael Buble
10. I Don't Trust Myself- John Mayer

As you can see, a very eclectic mix! :)