Through the Years...

Nostalgia sets in for me around Christmas time. As I helped my Mom take down our Christmas tree last night, I was reminded of so many specific times in my life. Each ornament had a past and a story to tell. Since I wasn't home when the tree was being decorated, my time to reflect came as it was coming down.

There were a few ornaments that represented my first dog who passed away two years ago this April. There were the horrible handmade ornaments I made in pre-school that my Mom still feels the need to hang on the tree (and in all honesty, I'd miss if they weren't there). My Grandmother had started a series of ornaments for us years ago, and as much as I've complained about finding the right box for each of them over the years, I'd give anything for her to be here continuing that series. But as quickly as they went up, they are now coming down to live another year in storage.

This Christmas was wonderful. I love spending time with my family. I love visiting my Meme and Papa in Charlotte. I wish I could bottle the feeling I have on Christmas day and save it for the times throughout the year when I need a pick me up.

However, for the first time every, I realized my Meme and Papa have gotten old. This may sound strange, but the mind plays tricks on you, and in my 24 years, I've always seen them the same way I did when I was young - energetic, lively, etc. Now don't get me wrong, they are still that way. For their age, their doing well above average, I'm just not ready for that to change. My Meme hair is almost completely white, but she's still beautiful. My Papa, however, is who I'm most worried about. His memory is going and it scares me. The doctors say "oh it's just old age" but when you have to remind someone to put on their shoes, it's not old age. He is also becoming increasingly negative - to the point that people don't want to be around him, and it breaks my heart. He has to be told the same thing over and over again, and if he doesn't write it down or do it right then, he'll forget again. I can't even make myself discuss what the problem might be - I just can't. My Meme doesn't know what to do and breaks down in tears just talking about it, and she doesn't cry very easily. They have been married for 53 years and have the kind of love that I hope to find one day, so watching her deteriorate with him is even harder to watch.

Now that the tree is down and the decorations are put away, it's time to focus on the new semester and the New Year. I'm ready for it all. I'm ready to start something new and get back in the swing of things back home. The strange thing is the longer I'm away from Alabama, the more I want to get back there....my how things change.

Let it be Christmas!

I can't believe it's only 3 days til Christmas!

We're leaving tomorrow for North Carolina to spend the holidays with my Mom's parents and family - my Meme and Papa. I love going there! Since each side of my family lives so far away from each other, we alternate years. For instance, this year we went to Thanksgiving with to my Grandfather in Alabama and next year we'll go there for Christmas, and go to NC for Thanksgiving - make sense? Point being, I won't be blogging again until after Sunday, so MERRY CHRISTMAS a few days early!

I just love Christmas! I am truly one of those people who would rather give than receive. Now don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of getting gifts, but there is just something about seeing the expression of a gift recipient that makes Christmas special for me.

Going along with that, I don't make out a Christmas list - much to the dismay of my family - because I would rather get something that that person saw, thought of me and wanted me to have. I usually cave and rattle off about 3 things that I would enjoy but I'd much rather be surprised. Yes, this leads to some "out there" gifts, but it's fun. This year I'm particularly excited because I got my Dad tickets to see the Eagles. He's been a fan since he was a little boy but has never seen them live - something I've been told you have to do in your life. He has no idea, so I'm most excited about that gift this Christmas! Mom is a different story. She's not your typical woman - doesn't really care about jewelry, doesn't think she needs anything, etc. - so she's hard to shop for. She's more than happy just having me home for the holidays. However, this year I got her a hand painted picture frame and had it personalized with our last name and the year. With that I also got her a package for us to go get a family portrait made, since the last one we had made was when I was 8! I've changed a little since then, so it's time to update! I think she's going to be excited! These are their main gifts, i.e the non-asked for gifts and I can't wait!!!

Didn't mean to bore you with my Christmas shopping - I'm just so ready for Christmas I'm getting ready to bust and I had to tell someone!!! But back to the main purpose of this post:

Merry Christmas Blogging Friends!!

Quick Update

Thank you all so much for all the sweet comments on my last post! You all really made me feel much better about the whole procedure!

The nurses were very nice and the last thing I remember was the nurse telling me I was going to feel like I was drunk. Fast forward an hour and I was waving at my ex-co workers at my Dad's business as I got my milkshake and tea (oh how I've missed that). Don't really remember eating my milkshake - remember looking at it and then hitting the bottom of the cup - but not anything in between.

The rest of the day I laid with peas on my face and dosed in and out of consciousness. There was very little swelling on my right side, but the left is a different story! I look like either Chip or Dale, and while chipmunks are one of my favorite animals, I have no desire to look like one :)

So that's that - I no longer have to dread going to the dentist and hearing him talk about the day the wisdom teeth have to be removed. Now I can finally look forward to Christmas!!!

What is your purpose?

Yes, I'm talking to you wisdom teeth!

That's right, ya'll - this time tomorrow I'll be sitting in a dentist chair, doped up and having my teeth yanked out.

I.Am.Terrified.Terrified.Terrified.*

I've been dreading this day for years. Over the course of my life, my parents have spent a small fortune on my teeth. Teeth are very important to my Mom, probably because hers are perfect. Like neither one of us have every had a cavity perfect. Because of this fortune, the Dentist recommended that the teeth come out so that they don't push the other teeth together making the three years of braces, basically a waste of time.

So here we are, 24 hours from my fears - needles and pain. I've done everything short of pulling a Plaxico Burress and shooting myself in the leg to get out of this, but alas tomorrow morning I'll be in the chair. Prayers and positive thoughts needed.

*I respectfully request no stories about pain, scalpels, needles and the like, however pleasant stories about ice cream, pain killers, and mashed potatoes are welcomed and even encouraged :)

Tags, Tags, and a Giveaway!

After an incredibly long drive home yesterday - a 5 1/2 hour drive that took close to 8 - I'm back and ready to catch up on my tags and tell you about another fabulous giveaway!

First, I was tagged by Whitney at That Girl! She's so fun and her blog sings one of my favorite Christmas song when I head over there, so check it out!

So here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.

Now, about me:

1.) I love the Soup! You know the show on E! on Friday nights. I laugh...out loud...very loud...and I sometimes cry I laugh so hard.

2.) I'll watch any Reality T.V. show that's on. Well, nothing like the MTV shows, but Hell's Kitchen, Survivor, American Idol, Biggest Loser, etc.

3.) Like many of you I'm sure, I stress shop. I have to make sure I have extra money in my checking account around exam time because I'll run out and buy stuff to relieve stress/take a break.

4.) I really, really, really, want to go to Egypt and ride a camel around the pyramids. I've wanted to do this since I wrote a report on Egypt in 4th grade.

5.) When I have down time, I love to read! Sometimes I get in moods where I just fly through books one after the other. In fact, I'm getting ready to start a new one later!

6.) I have a terrible fear of needles. When I was younger they would have to hold me down to give me a shot. I'm getting better, but I'm still not where I should be for my age. Oh well...

I was also tagged by Newlywed Hostess. Her layout is way cute - Circles = love!! She a Bama fan too and just an overall good read, so head over there too!

For this one I have to tell 5 obsessions - this could be hard to narrow down :)

1.) Well let's just start with the obvious. I'm obsessed with college football. I think that pretty clear if you've been reading me for past few months.

2.) Disney. Disney. Disney. Anything that has a Disney princess on it - particularly Belle from Beauty and the Beast - I have to have it. I love going to Disney world and I want to go on another Disney Cruise so bad I can't stand it!

3.) Flip-Flops. Since I love the beach, I love the idea of beach things, i.e. flip flops. I don't even know how many pairs I have, but it's quite a few.

4.) You've Got Mail - the movie. It's my second favorite movie ever (after Beauty and the Beast) and I do believe there was a time a couple of summers ago when I watched it every day.

5.) Going along with number 4, I'm obsessed with mail. E-mail, regular mail...I can't wait for the mail to run, and I have to check my e-mails hundreds of times a day.

Now I have to tag 5 people in return!

Miss Anne from Indefinitely definite

Kimmie from Living in Dallas and Loving it

Preppy 101 from All Things Southern and Preppy

LyndsAU from All Things Fluffy...Fashionable...& Famous

Classy from Dancing Backwards in High Heels

And speaking of Preppy 101's Go check out her blog, All Things Southern & Preppy for a way cute giveaway in honor of her 100th Post! Being a huge fan of anything monogrammed, this giveaway is exciting!

Oh, so close...

24 hours from now I'll be sitting at my home-home in front of the fire staring at my Christmas tree! To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I take my last final at 10 am tomorrow morning and then begin the 7 hour drive home, but even that doesn't bother me. Why? Cause I'm going HOME!!

This break is going to be filled with family and friends, as well as not so fun things like getting my wisdom teeth out (more on that later) and getting my car fixed.

Speaking of my poor car: I finally got a hold of the idiot truck drivers company and spoke to their insurance representative. My goal was to have all of this cleaned up quick, fast and in a hurry, however, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. When I spoke with her, she said that I needed to get an estimate (which I knew) but then she said that since we had differing ideas of what happened, she wouldn't be able to do anything until she got a police report and did some investigating.


This statement lead her to ask this question,

"So it's your position that he was backing up when he hit you?"

"No, it's not my position, It's what happened! His reverse lights were on, he was beeping and coming backwards! He was backing up!!! There were two witnesses that can testify to that and I might add that if this isn't cleared up they will be testifying to this in court."

Now, as I've said before, I don't do confrontation, I don't like being mean, etc. But this whole situation is so frustrating. They are trying to jerk me around until I get frustrated and give up on the whole thing, but little do they know, I don't give up!

Really I'm just annoyed that the truck driver didn't tell the truth. I mean, it's very cut and dry. He reversed into me - where is the wiggle room in that!? Just tell the truth! This is Ala-freaking-bama! You know like the song "Down Home" says, "where a man's good word and a hand shake is all you need..." :) Apparently he didn't get that memo!

Okay, jumping off the soapbox, but fair warning: I don't see this being resolved anytime soon, so you'll probably get these "venting posts" periodically.

Anyway, I'm going HOME tomorrow!!!

Make-up anyone?

Who doesn't want free make-up? Well, Lipsmacker over at Lipstick Diaries is giving away a stocking FULL of great make-up just in time for Christmas! Head on over and tell her your favor lipstick brand and color for a chance to enter and be sure and tell her Island Girl sent you!

Say it ain't so Kenny!!

This is what I get for procrastinating....

I decided to crawl out my Constitutional Law book and waste a few minutes and this is what I found -

Kenny Chesney is dating!

Now I know that I shouldn't care, I mean he is almost old enough to be my dad, he's 5 or more inches shorter than me, etc. But still if I can't have him, no one can. Selfish yes, but do I care? Not really.

The thing that really kills me is that 1.) she's younger than me and 2.) she lives about 10 minutes from me! 10 minutes! I was so close, except, you know, that whole she's a beauty queen thing :)

Refreshing Afternoon

I didn't know how starved for conversation I was until this afternoon! When I don't have class and don't have any where to go, I can very easily go all day without talking to anyone except my parents. After I while this starts to take it toll on you!! I can only keep quite so long before I want to scream!

This afternoon I decided to head on over to my local Starbucks for a skinny vanilla latte and study time outside of the apartment. I'd been sitting there for about two hours when a man walked in, probably late 50's, and took the only open chair next to me. We both had our cell phones on the table in between the chairs and it wasn't long before "Yea Alabama" (UA's fight song) started playing from one of them. We both reached for our respective phones, it was his and he answered. When he hung up, we laughed about how we both had the same ring tone and, yes that's because there is only one university that matters. Well this started off a 45 minute conversation about Alabama football (my favorite subject at the moment...who am I kidding, my fav subject most of the time), families, where I'm from, where he's from, etc.

It was so nice to just talk and get to know someone! He reminded me so much of my Dad. When I left, I wanted to go find someone else to meet! Lately, I've been thinking about how much I want to meet people outside of school. Now I'm not talking people to be my best friends, I've got that covered, but just some people to hang out with every now and then. The guy I met today was great and apparently he hangs out there everyday around 3, so I can always go back there, but I would like to find some people closer to my age :)

Either way it was nice refreshing afternoon, even if I didn't get that much studying done.

What part of that did you think was a good idea?

How do I even begin?

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving, except that I spent less than 48 hours with my family as I had to come back here to continue studying. So when I left my family today I was already upset and a little ill that my first exam is scheduled for the Monday after Thanksgiving.

So there I am, driving, trying to get back to the interstate (my grandfather lives in a small town that you have to take all kinds of little back roads to get to) and on a fairly busy two lane road. I see an 18 wheeler up ahead of me -stopped-getting ready to make a left hand turn. There I sit waiting on him to turn when all the sudden I see his white reverse lights. What? On this busy two lane road you're backing up! Yep - he even had the beep so that you knew he was reversing. After I come to grips with the fact that he is REVERSING, I too, throw my car in reverse, but there are people behind me and I really can't go anywhere. I laid on my horn, but it wasn't working, the woman behind me was laying on her horn but that didn't seem to matter either! What was I going to do, nothing and he hit me! HIT ME!! He had gone too far up and couldn't make the turn without backing up slightly, so instead of going up and turning around, he decided he owned the road and would just back up in middle of the busy street. Smart.

Now let me explain, my dog and my car are my babies. Mess with either one and the normally non-confrontational Island girl, becomes pissed off Island girl and is ready to fight. Okay, so there he is, finally realizing that I'm back there, and he stops. I jump out of my car, look at the lady behind me in disbelief and slowly make my way to the front of my car to survey the damage. Yep, right there on the front of my bumper - deep, black scratches on my beige paint job. My poor baby :(

The man gets out of his cab, comes back to where I am and says "Did I hit you?" SERIOUSLY!? Okay, so I'm livid and about ready to hit his man when he turns and goes back to his truck. The woman behind me was yelling that he better not drive away, and that we should move into the parking lot of a conveniently located gas station adjacent to this fiasco. So we do. ~Please keep in mind that his is like small town America and so news travels fast and everyone is stopping "to get gas" and see the goings on~

I call my Daddy, she called the cops and then I have round two with moron truck driver. I don't know where he was from originally, but he didn't speak English very clearly and his name had about 50 letters in it, so communication was difficult to say the least - didn't help the anger level, let me tell ya. Once in the parking lot, he comes over looks at my bumper and says, "Oh, just needs some paint." At this point the patience level is non-existent, so I respond,

"Are you kidding me? This looks like it just needs paint? Really? I don't know how many people you're backed into but this is not just a paint job. It's going to need a new bumper, and you better have insurance to cover it because if you don't, we're going to have a serious problem. And since I have witnesses that saw it was clearly your fault the police should have no problem writing a report that says so."

I don't like being mean to people, I really don't but he had been so nonchalant about the whole think that I just couldn't take it. When he found out we had called the police he got really nervous and asked "Why'd you do that?" That made me even more suspicious of the whole thing.

As if I didn't have better things to do, I sat in the parking lot of the Jet Pep for 45 minutes waiting on the state trooper. He finally arrived took all of our info and witness statements, and 45 minutes after that he came over, explained all the forms I had to fill out and told me I was free to go. I asked him, per my Dad's request, what the accident report was going to say in terms of who's at fault (I mean I didn't see how it was me, but it's always better to clear these things up before the cop leaves). He said, "Well, I'm writing it as he backed into an unidentified vehicle. (Hey, I'll help you out there - it was ME) and that he should have gone up and turned around instead of reversing in the street." Hold on though, here's the kicker:

The idiot's official defense: "I didn't actually back up, I didn't go in reverse."

WHAT THE HECK?! YOU'RE FREAKING REVERSE LIGHTS WERE ON AND YOU WERE BEEPING! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T BACK UP? WHAT DID I DO RUN INTO MYSELF?

Now, it's a very good thing that he didn't give me that piece of crap story cause I would have gone nuclear. Anyway, I'm home now, with a scratched car and homework. All you can do is laugh...

"Getting to know you....

Getting to know all about you"

First, thank you all for nice comments on the last post. I'm better - it's not life threatening and I'm pretty much back to normal :)

Second, I've been tagged by NeedSleepy and I now have to tell 8 things about myself. I'm going to try and think of 8 new things so that I don't bore you with the same ones from my previous post a few months ago.

1.) Most of the clothes I own are Brown. I think that I look the best in Brown. Like Black, it's slimming and when combined with my blue eyes, I get my two favorite colors together :0)

2.) When I was growing up, like 4 and 5 years old, my Mom would take me to the shoe store to try on shoes instead of going to the playground, because I found that to be more fun. I wouldn't try on my size, though I wanted to try on "big girl" shoes and so I would "walk" around in heels and dress shoes way too big for me.

3.) I regret that I never saw Alabama in concert. If they ever do a second Farewell Tour - I'm there! Even though the ticket prices will be through the roof! Side note - Jeff Cook (one of the band members) lives three doors down from my Granddaddy, so maybe I could just go knock on his door and ask for some tickets. Two Thanksgivings ago, I saw the other band members at this house too, so maybe I'll luck out again this year!

4.) Going along with that, I have a fascination with meeting celebrities. It's like a game for me! If I know they're around, I have to figure out a way to meet them - I swear I'm not a stalker! As a result, I've met *NSYNC twice and gotten Kenny Chesney's autograph, though, sadly I've never actual met him, as he signed my CD after a concert as he was leaving the stage. I've also met Kurt Warner (Cardinal's QB), Jason Alden, KC from KC and the Sunshine Band, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, and a few members of the group O-Town (remember them?) There's more, but at the moment I can't think of them.

5.) I can't sleep in. I have to be up by 6:30 and on a good day, 7:00. I can't help it, my internal clock is just set there.

6.) Peanut Butter is one of my favorite things in the entire world!

7.) I'm a Disney freak! I love the place, the movies, the music - if it's Disney I'm all about it! I named my dog after my favorite princess. My dream job is to be the corporate attorney for Disney one day!

8.) My favorite flower is Gerber Daisies. I would rather have a bouquet of those than roses, seriously.

Ok, I'm supposed to tag 8 people, but as I'm also supposed to be studying, I'm going to skip that. Sorry, I'm a slacker! I promise I'll play along with all the rules in about two weeks. So, if you haven't done this or want to: Steal it!

"Oh, okay, great! Well, Is there something I can get over the counter for that?"

A few posts back I mentioned that I was getting sick. I don't get sick very often; I can't. If you fall behind in law school, you're done - pack up your things and go home for the semester done. Therefore I try to eat right, exercise, get plenty of sleep - all the things you're supposed to do to stay healthy. Nonetheless I felt bad, but was convinced it was a "woman thing" and would pass quickly. Well...

Follow me to last night.

I wasn't feeling any better and decided to go the 24 hour Walgreen's less than a mile from my apartment. I don't know why I went, I'd already bought all the over the counter meds that fit my symptoms, so I guess I was hoping that walking through the rows of boxes and pictures of smiling, satisfied users, I too would feel better. Once I got there and confirmed that I had no idea what to get I decided I needed to speak to the pharmacist for her recommendation.

BIG MISTAKE!

I have nothing against pharmacist! They have saved me quite a bit of money in doctor's visits over the years, but last night was not one of them. I approached the big sign that said Consultation and was very relived to see a female working, as I didn't want to discuss these particular symptoms with a man. She was counting pills and didn't actually move over to window, thus requiring me to lean in to see her. As I began to tell her what's wrong, she seems like she could care less - I on the other hand need her to help me cause I think I'm dying! As I continue to list my mountain of issues, she becomes more interested, I think I was a challenge. She asked all kinds of question; all of which I answered in a way that led her no closer to a "diagnosis". At one point I told her that I imagine this is what it feels like to be pregnant, but that there was NO chance of that to which she says, "Why is there no chance?" Um, lets go back to 5th grade health class Ms. Pharmacist - Because there is no chance!!! Apparently that wasn't clear enough for her because I actually had to spell it out for her - nice.

After I explained to her where babies come from, she says, and let me preface this by saying I'm a huge hypochondriac - if it's out there, I have it - anyway, she says,

"Now this would be worse case scenario stuff but it could be X (I'll spare you), and in that case you would need to have a procedure because it could be life threatening."

Wait, WHAT!? If this is worse case scenario stuff, can we start with some easily correctable ideas? It's 9 o'clock at night, the only place to go is the emergency room, it's on the other side of town, I don't know anybody in the city well enough to make them sit there with me all night and now, apparently, I'm in a race against the life clock!

As she continues asking me if I feel faint or have a fever, the room got really hot and she started talking to me from a tunnel and I knew that if this conversation didn't end soon I was going to pass out on the floor of the Walgreen's, the Ambulance was going to come, and all of this would have been over and someone could actually tell me what was wrong, thus fixing all the problems from above - and at this point I pulling for this scenario!

Finally she takes me to her over the counter recommendations, tells me drink lots of water, sends me on my merry way, but reminding me that if I'm not better by today, to get to the doctor immediately cause again, "it could be life threatening" - thanks I remember that from earlier! The last thing she says though - "Good luck"!

As I was paying way too much for this medicine, I felt like I was walking the Green Mile or something. Needless to say I didn't sleep well last night, but I do feel better today, thus putting the doctor's appointment off til tomorrow as that was the first time they could see me.

Sometimes my life is so unreal, I can't even comprehend it!

Are we really debating this?!

Just a quick thought:

On Sunday NFL Countdown this morning they were debating whether or not it was a good idea to take away PacMan Jones' personal security detail so that he doesn't get into anymore trouble. Now, I'm not going to pretend I've followed his situation, but what I do know is that he is no longer a part of my Tennessee Titans and was picked up by the Cowboys. Instead of taking the opportunity to play in the NFL and make exuberant amounts of money, he decided to party, drink, fight, and get arrested numerous times, leading to his suspension and subsequent release from the Titans. After coming back from his initial suspension, he was given extra personal police security - like they don't have better things to do - in order to keep him in line, I mean heaven forbid he use self control. Did that help? NO! What did he do? Assault one of them!

So, now, for some unknown reason, the NFL Commissioner thinks he should be allowed to come back sans the personal security detail, and people are wondering if that's a good idea. My thoughts: If he isn't mature enough to be in public without his own personal police force he might not be the kind of player the NFL needs! Don't know, just a guess.

This whole situation reminds me of a line from Liar, Liar where Jim Carrey is on the phone with one of his perpetual law breaking clients and the guy has just robbed a bank and needs legal advice. When asked what to do, Jim Carrey answers:

"Quit breaking the law a@@hole!"

I think that would be proper response to whether or not Mr. PacMan needs his own security!

It's my lucky day!

There are two reasons for this:

First, I received an award from Tiff at Organized Chaos!



The award says: "This blog invests and believes in 'proximity' (meaning, that blogging makes us 'close'-being close through proxy)." I must now bestow this glorious award on eight bloggy friends.


I think most of the people I read already have this, so I'm not going to do 8.

Bama Belle at Bama Belle in the Big City

Tova Darling from the Secret Life of Tova Darling

Mama at Daily Nonsense

The second reason it's my lucky day is based on this article regarding: FREE DR. PEPPER! Until today I didn't realize I like Guns N' Roses! Yay for them getting their act together and finishing this album! Is it bad that I'm benefiting based on something I didn't even know was happening, hmm?

Defeated

It's that time of year again - exam time! My last day of class is next Monday and then I have the Thanksgiving break to study for my exams that kick off December 1. Thanks school! That's exactly how I wanted to spend my break!

Last year, the supposedly harder year, I had already been studying for four weeks, however this year, I have zero motivation, my body is revolting against me and the winter weather has hit me harder than usual in terms of the seasonal depression thing. I feel completely defeated.

I feel like my body is quiting on me three weeks too soon. I haven't been sick in a really long time, but now I can tell it's coming...perfect timing! I have four classes worth of material to learn and about 9 days to do it,and write a 10 page paper. This wouldn't be that bad except that our grades are completely dependant on our one exam = screw up= fail - YAY!

It's time's like these that make me question the path I've chosen...

Another Fantastic Giveaway!

MonogramChick is hosting an amazing giveaway! Go check it out and make sure you tell her Island Girl sent you!

Rammer Jammer!

Hey Dogs!

Hey Dogs!

Hey Dogs!

We just beat the hell outta you!

Rammer Jammer, Yellow Hammer give 'um hell Alabama!

Where do you even begin with a weekend that was packed full of football, food, and family? As you might remember, this was my weekend to attend the Alabama vs. Mississippi State game! Despite the fact I've been a fan my entire life, I hadn't been to a game in like 15 years - sad times and I had never been to a game in Tuscaloosa; I'd only see them play in Knoxville and Birmingham (when they used to play at Legion Field). Okay, so in order to get the full experience we need to start with Thursday night. Coach Saban gave a tiny rant on his coaches show about fans getting on their feet and cheering for this team no matter who they are playing, since MSU wasn't supposed to be that great of a team. Therefore, the fan base was fired up and ready to go by game time late Saturday night! It's posted below - it's definitely worth a watch - it's a very good "Nicky's Nugget"!



We got to T-town on Friday afternoon and walked around the Strip - I picked out a new Bama hoodie that I'm getting for Christmas - then left, went to the mall, yada, yada. We had some amazing BBQ for lunch while watching my favorite sports talk radio personalities do a live remote. Killed some more time. Went to have yet more BBQ from Archibald's = amazing! Are you seeing a trend here with the BBQ...yeah, I'm going to be running from now til New Years!

Alright, fast forward to Saturday! Game Day! There is nothing like being surrounded by tens of thousands of people cheering and supporting the same team. We decided to line up for the "Walk of Champions" and see the coaches and players walk into the stadium, cause I wanted to see Coach Saban and our cutie pattootie QB, John Parker Wilson! Pictures below, but I can guarantee that they don't do him justice! If any of you reading this actually know him, you can let me know...

By game time I was freaking ready to take the field myself! After, you guessed it, some Dreamland's BBQ nachos, I was in my seat pompom in hand! The first half was sluggish and I was slightly nervous, all the while keeping hope. The second half was much better despite some terrible officiating. As a result, I have no voice today. Coach Saban's Thursday rant seemed to work because he walked around the field giving us the thumbs up at the end. I personally am taking responsibility for MSU jumping offsides at one point - it was all me ;)

Now it's time to start another week; my last full week of class. Exam start in about two weeks and I'm not ready for them. If I could have a "Groundhog Day" type moment, this would be one of those times?

Breath in, Breath out...

I'm not a fan of change. At all. So, I'm trying to be okay with changing my blog around. I think I just needed a creative outlet to get away from all this boring reading! Anyway, the background was free at The Cutest Blog on the Block. So what do ya think?

Alright, enough time wasted...back to work!

What are you doing tonight....

Cause I'm going to be watching the Country Music Awards! As my Facebook status says the moment, "I'm so excited about the CMA's, you'd think I was nominated for one!" I love award show, and when you combined that with my other love, country music, you get one great evening of live performances, pretty dresses, and, of course, the awards themselves!

In honor of the CMA's I thought I'd share the other country music love I have! Now we've already discussed Kenny, but the other artist that speaks my life is Sugarland! I can't tell you how many memories I have that include them, well their music anyway! Whether it was driving around with the top down singing at the top of my lungs with Classy, crying as I left home to move here, being completely ridiculous at their concert (if you get the opportunity - GO), they have been there! Numerous times I've said, "Yeah, me too!" or "I can totally relate to that!" while listening to their music!

In fact, the title for this blog came from one of their songs! I can sum myself up in four lines from their song, Take me as I am:

Slow to trust, but I'm quick to love

I push to hard and I give to much

I ain't sayin I'm perfect

but I promise I'm worth it

So there you go, a little more insight into the world of Island Girl! Watch tonight, both Sugarland and Kenny are nominated for a boat load of awards!!

Thank a Veteran!

I don't know how many, if any, of the readers of this blog are currently or have served in the military, but if there are any, I want to Thank You for all that you do or have done for this country. This should be done more often and we, as Americans, shouldn't have to wait for a specific day to acknowledge the job these men and woman do for us everyday.

I don't embrace war, but I do embrace the soldiers who fight them. I realize that all the freedoms that come with living in this great country, come with a price, and I thank God everyday that there are citizens willing to fight for my rights. My grandfathers, great grandfathers, great-great grandfathers, uncles, cousins, all have served this country and continue to do so. The experiences they had and the things they've seen, I'll never be able to comprehend. My Great-Grandfather received a Purple Heart for his injuries in World War II, but he wouldn't talk about it. All we know is that he was trapped in a fox hole for three days while Germans walked around right above him, all the while his best friend lay dead right next to him. I can't even comprehend what that must have been like. I can see why that generation was referred to as "The Greatest Generation".

While I realize this country has problems, and that it may not be "perfect", I think we all need to realize how blessed we are to live here. This truly is a great country and we have our Veteran's and current military to thank for that!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Interviews, Football, and Awards, Oh My!!

I'm going to go in reverse order from the title so that we start with the more fun of the three! One of my new favorite finds, 'Bama Belle in the City, gave me this award - if you haven't been there, you're missing out! Anyway, I'm really flattered! Ready for the rules? Here goes!

1. You have to tag 5 people.

2. 4 of the 5 have to be dedicated followers to your blog.

3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and must live in another part of the world.

4. You must link back to whomever gave you the award

So I tag:

Chitown Meg from The Randomness of Meghan

Classy from Dancing Backward in High Heels

Holly from In My Over Active Head

Tova Darling from the Secret Life of Tova Darling

Tiff from Organized Chaos

All of those blogs are wonderful and I enjoy reading them, so go check them out!

Second and I'm not going to go on about it because I'll be spending next weekend actually AT the game and there will be extensive posting about that, but Alabama won and is going to the SEC Championship! 'Nuff said and moving on...

Finally, I had an interview on Friday for a summer internship and I think it went really well. I'm kind of nervous because while I think I would learn more there than anywhere else, I also feel like I would be in over my head for most, if not all of the summer, but I'll wait and see if I get an offer before I worry about it.

Hope everyone has a wonderful start to the week!!!

And yet I still go back....

Why is it that once something or someone hurts us, we go back to that thing or person. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I tend to do that, and seemingly more so now that I'm so far away from my "core" group. Maybe I'm afraid of breaking the links in a chain that keep me connected to my "friends," I don't know, but there are those times when I just want to ask, "Why would you say that to me?" However, shortly after I ask myself "Why did you let her say that to you?" It might be helpful to illustrate this with an example.

Recently I was on the phone with my college roommate (CR) of three years. When she calls, we talk for about an hour each time, even though I'm not much of a phone talker. During these convos, she talks mostly about herself, ever so often stopping to ask me "what's new" with me. Then we talk about the endless weddings that are happening - most of which I don't even know the people involved - but regardless we discuss every detail down to guest list.

On this particular day, she told me that a mutual friend of ours was probably going to be getting engaged, well, anytime now. This friend had called CR to ask her an engagement question, seeing as how CR is a newlywed herself. The conversation progress like this:


CR: So she called and wanted to know if a year engagement was too long. I told her that...well let me explain seeing as how you don't know what it's like to be engaged...You really only need a long engagement in order to book the church and reception site...See those fill up quickly.


IG: ................


This may not seem like a big deal to you all...you might be thinking, "Yeah, well she's right, what's wrong with that?" Given that we lived together for three years, she is well aware of my fear of being an "old maid" and never finding "the one". Yeah, she knows; we've met. She, on numerous occasions, saw me cry over having my heart broken and then heard me confess these fears to her. Which is why the statements made and the tone of voice used - the condescending, let me explain like your 5 years old voice - made this exchange hurt even more.


The CR and I had a rough patch in college; we fought quite a bit and yelled numerous times, but things had gotten better now that we weren't living together. However, I'm beginning to believe she makes these comments and talks about all these weddings in order to twist the knife in my back deeper. According to her, when you get married, you're "grown up" and finally "an adult". So what am I, huh? I think it's part jealously, part enjoyment because she knows it stings, but really, why? Why do girls have to hurt their "friends" in order to feel good about themselves?


The ironic part of this story is that within our group of friends, she is the saintly one and I'm the one everyone thinks of as the conniving witch? Funny huh? If they only knew...

Is it Friday yet?

I'm going home this weekend for a job interview and yet another big game! I'm ready to go but alas it's only Wednesday :(

However, Chitown Meg over at The Randomness of Meghan has made this Wednesday particularly exciting by giving me an award! I really appreciate being thought of! Here are the rules:

1.)Post the award on your blog
2.) Link me for giving it to you

3.) Link the originating post here

4.) Pass the award on to 5 more deserving people

5.) Post these rules for your recipients

I pass this award along to:

Classy at Dancing Backwards in High Heels

Roxie at Baby, When the Sun Goes Down

Sarah at Classy and Fabulous

Meika at Meika Musings

Amy at Chapters

Number 1!

Those of you who have been following my blog for any length of time know that I love football. No surprise, right? I think I can tell you which team I'm on, while still maintaining the anonymous nature of this blog. Are you ready for this?

I am an Alabama Crimson Tide girl! I didn't go there, my parents didn't go there, but the crimson tide tradition has been running through my family for years. In fact, I came home from the hospital in Alabama attire. I grew up in a state that was huge rivals to us - to this day I will NOT wear a certain color for that reason. My allegiance to this team has been one of my defining characteristics. So much so that I was the token 'Bama fan in my group of friends and kind of still am. It's a title I wear with pride!

For those of you who don't follow football or this team very closely, you wouldn't know that we have been through some SERIOUS issues to say the least over the past decade. After having the best coach in college football history, while there were one or two along the way after him that were wonderful, the majority just couldn't get it together, and that coupled with sanctions, leads to several years of mediocrity. However, this week for the first time since November of 1980 we're ranked number 1 in the regular season polls! I wasn't even born the last time that happened!!!!!

Even though it may not last (keep your fingers crossed it does) I'm so glad I stuck with my team through the "dark years" as my family calls them, it makes it so much sweeter now!

Roll Tide!!!!

You Wanna Piece of Me!?

Classy's most recent post put me in a mood today. Listening to that song one, two, twelve times while getting ready with do that. I decided to ditch the hoodie and jeans I was wearing and "dress" it up a little bit - heels, some "bling" - nothing over the top, but just a step up from the usual. I mean, I was feeling empowered, I might as well dress the part, right? Needless to say the clothes change also helped and the combination of all these things has given me a certain "swagger". By the time I left the apartment, I was ready for whatever life could throw at me. Bring it on world! I wouldn't say I was looking for a fight, but I was a-okay if one found me!

I'm not sure where this "over it" feeling came from...I have a couple of ideas though. One being the time change has put me some kind of depression. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the extra hour of sleep and the fact that the sun wakes me up in the morning instead of the street lamp, but it gets dark at 5 o'clock and by 8 I feel I should be in bed. Not good for the studying that needs to be happening. This happens to me every year, and this year I'm determined to not let it get me.

The other would take far to long to explain, but it'll suffice to say that I'm over the men (or lack there of) in my life being morons. You know that moment when something you suspected was going to happen actually happens and all the puzzle pieces fit together, well this weekend brought that for me....again...in regards to the same person. Why I care? I don't know! I'm moving on - for real this time - I don't deserve this and I'm not going to take it anymore! Again, Bring it on!

As a normally reserved person who hates confrontation, I'm pretty fond of this new feistyness and hopes it sticks around for awhile!

Island Girl's PSA

*Public Service Announcement*

If any of you are spending the day shopping or if you need an excuse to do so, and you love New York & Company as much as I do, then you need to go - now!

Not having class on Friday and needing clothes to deal with the incredible cold temperatures of my office, I headed over there myself yesterday. I love there store because you can find some really great deals and they didn't disappoint! They are currently running a sale on pants - buy one get, get one 75% off! My second pair was $9! Plus as a "trendsetter" I got a $20 off coupon in the mail, so it was even better.

Plus if you go in now, you get $15 in "city cash" for every $30 you spend! So, if you're in the need for new clothes (who isn't) go there!

*I don't work there...Promise...I'm just a huge fan of cute clothes at low prices :) I mean, what kind of Island Girl would I be if I didn't pass along this info!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween in an apartment is just not the same as it is at my house. I mean, I don't dress up for Halloween, but I love to see all the little children in their costumes! But here my apartment complex has a "Halloween Bash" on the night before Halloween so the children can get candy and not "bother" the residence on Halloween, therefore making the children go down the road to the more affluent neighborhoods on Halloween (which I'm sure they don't mind - better candy), but I miss out on seeing everyone, as I don't attend the "bash".

At my home-home, as I like to call it, our neighborhood goes crazy for Halloween. It's not a big subdivision, but people come who don't live there and drop their kids off - it's a very small town, so the crime risk is low and one of our four police officer patrol streets too, so the kids are safe. Anyway, the residents get their lawn chairs and sit in their driveways. My parents love it! My mom makes huge Halloween bags for the neighborhood kids and then smaller treat bags for the other kids. This year I think the final count was about 150 bags and they usually run out. It's insane! Another neighbor hooks up his four-wheeler and makes a hayride, and so on and so forth. I've never actually been there for one of these - I was in college when we moved there and then I moved down here, so I've only heard stories, but next year I might go home to witness it for myself.

Since I'm not going to be giving out any candy today, I thought I would share with you my Favorite Halloween candy EVER! Yum!

It's complete sugar, which is why I don't buy said candy, but yesterday at work, some saintly woman had brought Autumn mix - you know with candy and indian corn and those cute pumpkins - and put it right next to the coffee maker. It seriously made my day!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

My Love :0)

It's going to come as no surprise to you that Island Girl's favorite artist is also obsessed with the islands, but really I was a fan before the island theme started. Yes, Kenny Chesney and I go back a long time. I just love him, and yes, I think he's hot too!

I'm the type of person that could tell her life story or how she's feeling at the moment in song lyrics. Some people can quote television or movie quotes, but for me it's song lyrics - they define my life. For those of you who don't know, Kenny's new CD, Lucky Old Sun, came out last week and it's pretty amazing.

I've tried to post my favorite song as a youtube video but it won't let me and I'm way to exhausted to fight with this tonight, so I'm just going to give you the link and hope/beg you to go listen to it :) I've repeated this song over and over again today and then I found out that he is releasing it as the number 2 single on Monday. I believe my fascination with this song stems from the fact that I grew up in a small town where something like this could actually happen. I'm an only child, yada, yada, you'll understand once you listen.

Anyway, I highly recommend this cd! Enjoy!

I'd like to thank...

Classy for passing along this award to me!


Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences...The CLOSEST BOOK, NOT YOUR FAVORITE, OR MOST INTELLECTUAL!

Now, if you read my previous entry, you know that I cheated. I didn't use the book closest to me because it was lame - I mean, I don't want to know about criminal procedure and I'm sure you don't either :0)

My warning with this paragraph is that I since I haven't started reading this book yet, I have no idea what he's talking about, but I can't wait to read it to find out!

My mind pictures him coming up quick and throwing his fist against the back of my head. I feel my heart speed up and adrenaline pumps through my arms. Still, I keep pace and don't turn. The van sits miles across the parking lot. It seems like it was half as close when I walked in. It feels like the thing is getting farther away, for heaven's sake.

- Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts

Now to pass it on! I pass this award to:

Patrice from Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman

Agent Elle from The Devil Wears Epix

Mama from Daily Nonsense

Tiff from Organized Chaos

*I know that's only 4, but I think most people already have this*

It's called a heater...

I don't like the cold. Period.

I'm the type that will/can/has worn flip-flops 24/7/365. Yes, my feet get cold and yes, my toes have turned slightly blue on occasion, but it's part of who I am. My choice of footwear is a direct link to my love of the beach and the island. Nothing says "summer fun" quite like a pair of flip-flops.

So imagine my disdain this morning when I had to put on real shoes to go to class. I don't know what has happened to me! I've always been able to push through the pain, but this year I'm so cold I physically ache! The place where I'm volunteering all of my free time as evidently never heard of a heater. As many times as a adjusted the dial on the thermostat yesterday, it should have been 150 degrees in that office - I'm convinced it wasn't attached to anything inside the wall.

So here I sit, cold and in real shoes. Sad day. To top it all off my feet are still cold.

Is it summer yet?!

*I'm not ignoring the award bestowed upon me by Classy...I'm just having a moral struggle between following the rules of the post and choosing the first book near me, which is lame, or waiting til I get home and getting the book out of my nightstand that I was reading once upon a time....decisions, decisions :0)*

Confession....

I feel I need to confess something to the blogging world. It'll make me feel better - you'll probably laugh, but that's okay, I laugh at myself most of the time. Okay, here goes!


I sometimes act like a 13 year old girl.


Yes, it's true. I love NSYNC and secretly wish they would have a reunion tour. I dance around my apartment singing and dancing to the radio more often than I should. Basically, I sometimes leave the land of *gulp* 24 year olds and revert back to middle school. Today was no different.

One of the things I love about birthdays is that you get Facebook messages all day long telling you people wrote on your wall. (yes, I know this is sad - but I love mail, even the electronic kind). So today I pushed the refresh button over and over and over again from 8-5 while at work. They came and came and by the time I left work I was feeling very loved!

Then I got home and saw where Mr. M, the hottest guy I know, whom I worked with for four summers and who currently still works for my dad, wrote on my wall! This is a big deal because he doesn't really "facebook" - he doesn't write on anyones wall, he doesn't friend people - you get the picture. BUT, not today! Today he wrote on my wall! (See the 13 year old is coming out). In my mind, he decided to log on today only to wish me a Happy Birthday. Finding that this had occured, I giggled and danced around my apartment as I cooked dinner. The only thing missing from this reversion back to tween-hood was the incredibly awkward looks and bad clothes that plagued my middle school days. :)


Shew I feel better now! *Don't Judge* ;)

Jingle Bell, What!?

It's not even Halloween and yet walking into the mall you would think we were in the countdown to Christmas! Imagine my surprise when walking around in PetSmart last week I heard, Here Comes Santa Clause, Here Comes Santa Clause...over the loud speaker! Can we not get past Halloween first?

Don't get me wrong, I love the Holiday season! I mean who doesn't like a time of year when you get great food, presents, time with family and friends, and parades, I'm just not sure I want to start dancing around the Christmas just yet.


Now, that being said, one of my missions in life is to go to New York during the Christmas season and see all the decorations and look around in Macy's! I have a Macy's here, but it's not the same - great clothes, but not the same, I would imagine as the real one in NYC.

I digress! I'm not going to get hooked into Christmas mania just yet! I'm going to wait until at least November!

Weekend Update!

As a step back from the 15 year old rant from last week, I realize that the weekend was not as bad a previously feared. I was able to do pretty much everything I wanted, which as it turned out, wasn't much and we actually ended up looking for things to do on a rainy and cold Friday afternoon, as shopping didn't last as long as anticipated - I'm not sure why.

Friday night we went to high school football game for a school that neither I nor my parents nor anyone that we actually know goes to but it's a fairly famous high school because it was featured as a reality show on MTV. The college we support gets players from there also, so we went on a "recruiting mission" of sorts, even though the coach could care less who we thought was a quality player or not.

This weekend also provide the good food that I was craving, in fact probably more than needed, thus I'll be spending the week trying to work it off....actually it will probably take more than a week, but it was good! :)

The trip that I was so unhappy about turned out to be not so bad, but that also might be because my team won their game, which can take any event from completely terrible to super fun in 2.5 seconds! I think I was dreading it so much that the actual event couldn't possibly even live up to that level.

However, now it's Sunday afternoon and I'm preparing for a very long week. I can't seem to motivate myself to get started on my to do list, but hopefully that will pass.

I like to wander...

and when I do, I find really cool blogs! I love to people watch, so when I travel from blog to blog I think of it as people "watching" and I mean that in a non-creepy way :)

Here's a for instance! I've been thinking about what I want to do for my 100th post. (I never thought I would keep this up, so if I make it to 100 it will be a milestone) I know it's a looonnnggg way away, but I like to plan ahead! So when I ran across Mojito Maven's blog Make Mine A Mojito, I was excited to find her on her 100th post! She is doing something very cool for her 100th - a giveaway of some beautiful jewelry from Stella & Dot!



Hop on over, check it out and enter! You have until October 30th!

I Want it NOW!

I'm feeling like Veruca Salt today. My morning phone call with my mother put me in that mode and I haven't been able to shake it. While I would never actually jump up on the scales and burst into song, mentally I've been screaming all day about how I want what I want and I want it now.
In less than a week I'll be celebrating a birthday.

Now I'm not one to get over excited about birthdays. I mean give me a few friends, a night out and some presents and I'm good, but this year looks to be lacking in two of those areas, and I don't think I'm okay with that.

My parents are coming this weekend to celebrate with me. I've been excited about this because we were going to do pretty much whatever I wanted to, including but not limited to going shopping and eating lots of good food. Not to mention this weekend marks the biggest football rivalry of the year for me, I mean my world revolves around this weekend (I realize this makes me sound lame), but it's the truth. So while I wasn't going to be going out with friends, I was, at least going to get stuff.

Now back to this mornings conversation. While my parents are still coming, we're not going to be spending the weekend in the city where there are actual places to shop/eat/entertain oneself, but instead we're going to visit family in the small town in which they live. So much for getting to do what you want on your birthday!!

When my actual birthday rolls around next week, I'll be working all day and then competing in a law school competition leaving no time to go out, even though there is no one here I want to celebrate with.

I'm coming across really selfish, but I swear I'm not. I just feel like when it comes to these particular family members, I always lose to them. They get their way and I'm left doing what they want. I've come to terms with these, but I really thought that at least on my birthday, I could get my way!

Overall, I'm having one of those days when I feel like a good cry would be helpful. I'm talking one of those good cries that Dane Cook talks about, you know, "I did my best!"

On the positive side, my campus coffee shop's favor of the day was pumpkin spice. At least the coffee shop cares what I want.

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Mama AND Classy

Here are the Rules:

1.Link to the person that tagged you

2.Post the rules on your blog

3.Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

4.Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5.Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6.Let your tagger know when your entry is UP.

Okay, Here goes!

1.) My favorite weather phenomenon is when it's sunny and raining at the same time. Now I'm not talking like a downpour, but when it is lightly raining and it is completely sunny also. It doesn't happen all that often (at least not here) so when it happens I get really excited!

2.) I get very upset when people are in the right lane and going straight when I could make a right on red if they weren't in my way. I have bad road rage and this brings its out in the worst way. If by some chance I'm the one breaking my own rule and someone comes up behind me, I'll turn right and then make a U-turn to correct the situation...yeah, it's that big of deal to me!

3.) I tend to cry quite a bit. I mean happy, sad, frustrated, confused, excited, when something is incredibly sweet, when someone does something nice; it doesn't matter, I'll cry. I like to think that my heart is too big for all the emotions I have, so it has to come out somewhere - some would agree with this, some, however, wouldn't.

4.) I know more about college football than some of the men I know. I can call penalties before the officials and if it's a Saturday in the fall, I'll be camped out on my couch all day. I feel like I'm part of the team and after a stressful loss or even a stressful win, I have been known to cry (see #3). I get ill when a girl acts stupid trying to get attention by saying things like, "what does he do?" or "Why's he doing that?" I mean really, get in the game or get out!

5.) I ease drop. Big time. Even as I type this I know it makes me seem like a bad person, but I find that you learn more that way. I don't talk very much, but I listen a great deal. In college my roommate would get so mad because she would tell me something and I already knew about it. Why? Because I listen. I like to refer to it as listening because it sounds less intrusive and more positive.

6.) Lifetime's morning line up is my life. If I don't have the Golden Girls, Fraiser, and Will & Grace in the mornings, it's going to be a long day. The problem is that I have class early three days a week and miss them most of the time. Lifetime did disappoint me by taking Designing Women and The Nanny off the air, but overall, it's still a great line up!

Ok, now, I don't know who has done this yet, so if you've already done it, I'm sorry!

I tag:

Miss EM from ...can you point me to the bar?

Leetid from Life of Leetid

Holly from Holly Grande

J-Money from The Typing Makes Me Sound Busy

Mme. Fabuleux from Toujours Complexe

Bekah from Country Mouse

Ok, Enjoy!

Lets give em something to talk about...

And boy did we! In fact, I can almost bet we're still the topic of conversation in the cafe at lunch! Homecoming 2008 was a success!

Classy pretty much captured the weekend, so I'll just refer you there, and then add that while I wasn't directly involved in the circumstances of last year, I'm hated by association and clearly, I'm not losing sleep over it :) Classy was, well, classy and rose about the childish-ness of those few that can't seem to grow up. They were the negative, as we suspected they would be, but in spite of them we still managed to have a great time!

There definitely were some key players missing from the equation, and some that acted differently than I would have liked, but overall it was a great time! Being around my classmates again made me realize that there are three categories of people: those that will be my friends for the long term, those that I can talk to and catch up with just like we did in college but won't see or talk to again in between those meetings, and those that just say 'hey' in passing. I can see people in terms of these categories and I'm okay with it.

Today was rough having to come back down here with people that don't really understand me or where I come from, however the job search took a positive turn today, and I'm going to be interviewing in my home state next month! I'm way excited! In fact, I squealed at the mailbox! This was a much needed boost in the morale, let me tell ya!

The Nickel

Isn't it funny how the smallest things teach or remind you of very important lessons? Today, for me, it was a nickel. That's it - 5 cents! So here goes:

I arrived on campus today and really wanted a Diet Dr. Pepper from the machine - DDP is my weakness. In order to get the 23 flavors, however I needed $1. That's it: one dollar. Now, I'm not the kind of person to carry cash; I'm a debit card girl. Having just changed purses, all the change that normally accumulates in the bottom of said purse had yet to materialize. Ok, fine. I looked in my cup holder in car and found several dimes and nickels plus one quarter. By this point I'm almost positive I have enough. I begin counting: 5, 10....75, 85, 95...and that was it - 95 cents. You've got to be kidding me!


All was not lost, however I still could look in the backseat. Now my car is already packed for the imminent road trip to see Classy, so digging around in the floor board for a nickel is tedious work given my car is two doors and thus I have to crawl into my car. I'm telling you, this DDP was very important! I looked and looked (almost being late to class) and sustained several cuts on my hands from reaching under the seats, and yet NO NICKEL! Not anything! Realizing that I have to get to class, I give up - defeated. I grab my books and laptop out of the passenger seat and then walk back to the drivers side to close the door. Then there it was - a nickel! On the ground, just for me, right next to my car wheel.

For those of you who read this blog regularly know that I've been semi-stressed and upset about several things lately, namely having to leave my dog with my parents, who live six hours away, for a couple months while I finish up this semester, and that with the economy the way it is, I can't get a summer job, which is almost certain death if you're in law school. For those reasons, this nickel was WAY more than a nickel; it was a reminder that God always watches out for us if we let him. He is in control and will provide for us if we just look for it. Some of you probably think I'm crazy, because it is just a nickel, but I'm going to choose to see it as a much needed reminder that I'm not in control and that everything I need will be provided if I let it.

So here I sit enjoying the highly sought after and lesson teaching Diet Dr. Pepper!

I Need a Drink!

It's one of those days, actually almost two days. Now I'm not suggesting that everyone alleviate their problems with their drink of choice, but sometimes that is all that hits the spot. Lets recap:

Yesterday a representative from the internship I applied for called to set up my work schedule. However, the semester is almost over, so while I'll be working some this semester, most of it will be next semester. The problem with this is that I'll be gone from 8-5 on Tuesdays, and then I have class all day on Mondays and Wednesday, and I'll be interning on Thursday morning before I go to class and then I have class until 8. This is not a problem for me; I'll make it work. The issue is that my dog will home all this time by herself. She's a puppy, thus she needs extra TLC, and that I cannot give if I'm not there. Therefore, I've decided that for the remainder of this semester and possible next semester, she will be staying with my parents. I'm devastated. She's all I have here and now she is going to be gone too. Needless to say, I woke up with a headache this morning from crying myself to sleep. I wish I could go back two months and now apply for this internship. I mean it's essentially volunteer work, as I'm not getting paid nor am I getting credit hours. Okay, so there is drink needing issue #1.

Also yesterday I went shopping for the outfit. The outfit for Homecoming - refer to Classy's post for an understanding of why it's so important this outfit be amazing! After looking everywhere, I still don't have an outfit I like. I've actually got about 4 that I'm kind of in favor of but I don't really like any of them, but I none-the-less have them. I'm going to take the rest back, but it's frustrating. I think the main problem is that it's supposed to be freaking freezing there, but here it's still like 90, and the stores aren't exactly unloading the fall clothing line just yet. Buh!

In spite of these things and the fact that I've got way too much to do before I leave tomorrow, the drink isn't going to happen. So, I decided to change up my page a little bit to give me some 'spice' in my life. What do ya think?

Save the ta-tas!

Yesterday marked Island Girl's first big accomplishment in a very long time. Yesterday I completed my first 5k run -without stopping for even a second, and in fact I even past some very physically fit people. I understand that this may not be much to the experienced runners out there, but to me it's huge! I guess I should state that I would not have been able to do this a year or even six months ago; but alas I can now mark this off my list of things to do in 2008. I would say mark it off of my life goals, but the life goal list consists of either a 1/2 or full marathon, which we're not close to as yet :)

Not ony was the race fun, but it was for a great cause, the Susan G. Komen Foundation supporting breast cancer research. My run was in celebration of my french teacher from high school, Katie Ledford, a close family friend, Jamie Love and my great-grandmother, Nannie - all of which faught and survived breast cancer! The entire event raised close to $800,000 and brough much needed awareness to the issue! (I also got a t-shirt, which I'm excited about because you can never have too many)

I'm going to chose to laugh about this

We all know the economy is in crisis. We all know that jobs are hard to come by. We all know that stocks are down and credit is freezing. We know this is a scary time in America. Now for what we, well I, didn't know or didn't fully think about...

I'm not going to have a job this summer or next year when I graduate because no one is hiring.

You might think I'm exaggerating. So let me clarify with some examples. While talking with a couple of third year law students today, the ones getting ready to go and hit this issue head on, I found out that both of them are having trouble in the job market. This didn't surprise me, however the next part did and still does. One of them, D, said he worked for a firm all summer, and as explained previously, expected to get a full time offer from them this semester. Well here's the kicker. They called him today and said, "D, I'm sorry to make this call because we were going to offer you a job, but with the market the way it is, we are cutting back and we can't do that now." Wow. Nice.

Let's talk about the other one shall we. We'll call him N. N wants to get a job working for the government in the state I'm from and trying to get back to. The judge he wanted to clerk for said that, get this, the state, the STATE, doesn't know if it's going to have money to function, so he would probably not be able to hire anyone and would be doing all the work himself. (This in and of itself is crazy, cause judges never do anything by themselves) So again, wow.

Thus I have a choice. I can, 1) cry, give up and throw things, or 2.) I can laugh, because laughing makes everything better, and keep the faith that the economy will turn around in time for graduation and I will be able to get an even better job than I would otherwise. Yes, I'll chose the second!