Day four- Seven Wants.

*Day Four : Seven Wants*

Well well well, I must admit...today's theme will probably be much easier than the others, being that there's so much going on in my life right now and money is so tight with me just starting a new job. Things will be pretty stable in a few months, but for now- it's tough! So, here goes..

1. A new bedroom suite, big sectional couch, & 'couple' themed bedroom decor.

   - As you know, the mister and I are moving into our first house in two weeks, and we're in the process of combining furniture again and deciding what to keep and what to toss. We're pretty much set with furniture, but, we really do need bedroom furniture and a pretty bed frame. For example, meet our dream room featured below:

2. A career within my field of study. 

    - My AA, BS, & MS are all in Criminal Justice. Criminal Justice is my passion, and it's what I want to dedicate my life to. (In addition to my family, of course.) But I know the time will come when it's meant to happen, and right now I need to make the best of the job I have and give it my all. 

3. For my favorite tv show, Pretty Little Liars to never ever end.

   - Yes, this may be cheesy. However, I've been absolutely hooked on this show since day one and still cannot get enough of it. I love the cast, the story, the quirky lines, the cheesy unrealistic scenes, the whole shabang. 

4. A golden retriever. 

   - Ever since I was a little girl, my dream dog has been a Golden Retriever. I love my dogs more than anything on this planet, as we all know. But when I have a backyard and a family- a Golden Retriever will certainly join us. Her name will be Layla, and she will be perfect :)

5. More hours in a day for sleep. 

   - I don't get near as much sleep as I would like/need. End of story.

6. To get healthy.

   - This is something Josh and I have agreed to work on together for obvious reasons. We've both gained some weight since we started dating, which happens.. but now it's time to get it off. I definitely want to lose a significant amount of weight before I get married..and I think between moving around 8 hours a day at my job, going back to the gym, and us moving in together (meaning cooking much more) - it'll be more than feasible. 

7. Wedding bells, anyone?

  - Yes yes yes.. probably shouldn't admit to this one. But I'm 26 years old, it's only natural. And it will happen eventually, and I plan to enjoy every moment of it! 

Day Three- Eight Fears

1. The Burger King Man.

 First and foremost.. he gets slot one here. I am pettttrified of that creature, and am SO happy they retired his creepy self to the dugout where he belongs. My level of fear for him is intense..and my friends have enjoyed toying with it over the years, by doing kind things such as dressing up as him and popping out, putting in DVDs or video games of him, playing the commercials while I sleep, well..you catch the drift. He's not my friend.

2. The following: Pit Bull, Nikki Minaj, and Little Wayne. (Or Weezie, or Weezer, or whatever he calls himself this week.)

  I don't know what is with today's 'music' industry and their extreme need to be more obnoxious and out of line than the others, but it's not cute. I miss when music actually meant something, and lyrics were actually written from a soul. Not a lad with diamonds in his teeth and swinging hair down to his exposed buttcrack slurring obscene words about things that make no sense.

3. Cockroaches.

  I shuddered just typing that. Ick ick ick. I'm not a rodent or bug (or anything unfluffy, while we're being honest)  person..at all, but- roaches are the one thing that will cause me to absolutely loseeeee it. I cry every time I see one. Yep. Commence eye rolling now..but it can't be helped.

4. Strange meats. Especially: theme park turkey legs.

  I'm no vegetarian, but, I'm pretty selective on what I'll consume as far as meat goes. Anything out of the ordinary (or some things 'in' the ordinary as well) freaks me out and I won't go near it. On that note, my number one yuck factor within this category goes out to those barbaric, large, carnivorous turkey leg things. I may be in the minority with this, but, they just completely gross me out and I want to vom every time I see someone carving down into one all caveman like. 

5.  Car accidents in movies.

  After being in a really bad accident a few years ago, I can no longer stomach any form of them in scenes of movies, shows, etc. I literally shake and get chills and feel nauseous and start having vivid flashbacks of my own. Not fun.

6. Creepy crawlies: 

  Snakes, lizards, frogs, and spiders certainly make this list. Ick ick ick.   

7. Not being able to have a family.  

  Not going into details on this quite yet.. but this is something that haunts me every day. 

8. Being cheated on.

  I'm dating one of the most faithful guys on the planet, but this has always been my one relationship fear. I dream about it constantly. Not my finest quality, but, no one's perfect.

Ten Day Challenge : Day Two.

Day two :: Nine Loves.

1. I love that after a long day of work and going out of town for my close friend's engagement party last night, I was able to have today off work. How am I spending this unexpected day thus far? I can tell you. I'm curled up on the couch with my dogs, catching up on this blog, drinking an Arnold Palmer, painting my nails, and watching Michael Jackson's Moonwalker while waiting for Josh to wake up. It's our only day off together for a few weeks, so, I plan to make the most of it! 

2. I love the people in my life. Each and every one of them. After leaving St. Pete last night, I had such a warm feeling inside from seeing everyone out of town that I don't get to see near as much anymore. Seeing Brittany and her fiance so happy together and their supportive family and all of our friends celebrating was truly all anyone can ask for in a night's event. 

3. I love all things Disney. Yep, I've become one of 'those.' Disney movies, shows, characters, parks, merchandise, the wholee shabang. Hannah Montana is my hero and Magic Kingdom is close to being one of my favorite places on the planet. When I have kids, they will grow up watching the old school classic Disney movies..and I secretly can't waittt to have an excuse to watch them all the time again like we did when we were little! ;)

4. I loveee nail polish. I have tons of it. Buying a bottle of nail polish, whether it be $12 or $1, is easily one of the most exciting things I can do with my day. 

5. I love that we're fixing to move into a house within the next month. (Date is TBA. Could be as soon as this week!) I LOVE home decor, and am thoroughly excited to be able to decorate our house together and start little projects to fix it all up. Even though we're only renting for now, it's our first 'home' together and I cant wait to make it ours...because we're planning to stay there until it's time to buy one. The dogs will have a backyard, and mamma has a wholeee 1700 square feet and a huge amazing back yard to play with! (Actually, that's not completely true. I won't be able to play with it all..because it so happens I decided to date the ONLY man on the planet who has a strong opinion on home decor and has a massive collection of odd paintings he's accumulated while traveling that he loves and I hate. So, details on this obstacle soon to come.)

6. I love that although I've been waking up at 6am for work everyday, I've made it a routine to immediately make a pot of coffee and put in a vinyl while I'm getting ready. I find extreme joy in the smell of brewing coffee and the sound of any vinyl, so, why not combine this and try to make the best of being half asleep while dreading going to work? 

7. I love winter. It's my favorite season by a million landslides, and it makes me super sad that we don't have much of any of it in Florida. But I love everything about winter...the smells, the music, the theme, the decor, the white snow, the warm feeling everyone gets around Christmas...it's amazing. And I LOVE skiing. I would ski everyday if I could. 

8. I love reading, and I hate that I haven't had time to do much of it lately. My book collection is another asset to my home that makes me super happy every time I look at it. I've been a book nerd my entire life..and I need to get better about squeezing that hour or two in a day to read more again! 

9. I love all things pertaining to crime. It's completely fascinating to me, hence why I chose it as my career path. I find myself trying to solve every single crime scenario I come across..whether it be on the news, a tv show (real or fake), something I drive by, or one I hear about. I can't wait to dedicate my life to it, and give it 110% of everything I have and continue to learn more about it at each chance I get. 

10 Day *You* Challenge

Sorry I've been slacking, I've been crazy busy. But I stumbled across this 10 day challenge, and figured I'd give it a go! 

*Day One: Ten Secrets*

1. My dogs are my world. No really, they are. I know people say that- but, I'd be lost without them. Due to medical reasons, they may be the only children I will ever have- and I see them everyday as exactly that. When I'm having a terrible day, or feel like there's nothing in the world that can help what I'm going through, I just look at them.. and I smile. 

2. I started my job two weeks ago, and I'm scared I'm going to hate it. I'm working as a guest services team leader...and they've been training me at their district store instead of my own, which has been nothing short of chaotic. I only have two days of training left, and then I start at my store Sunday bright and early. I'm trying to hang in there and remain positive, I just don't know how long that will hold up if things aren't different once I'm out of training. I sure hope it gets better, because a) I can't afford to quit, and b) I turned down a strong job prospect in my field of study for this one. Commence salt in wound now.

3. A close 'friend' has really disappointed me lately. But she has made it crystal clear that she doesn't at all understand why this would be, so I don't even find it worth trying to discuss at this point. 

4. My boyfriend and I applied for a rental home yesterday. We've been house hunting for months now after making the decision to move back in together, and agreed 100000% that the only way we'd do it is to find a house. We lived together for a year in college in a tiny little apartment, and nearly killed one another and it actually resulted in a 3 month break. Not making the same mistake twice. Anyway, back on point- we've spent hours upon hours every single day searching online, refreshing realtor listings, and met with realtor after realtor to be shown house after house and have not seen one single thing in our location that we've fallen in love with. However, after going to see a house yesterday that I was pretty sure I'd love because it had a pool- and we yet again hated it, we decided to just go back to one of the first houses we saw a few weeks ago and look at it again. It was the ONLY house we both liked, and the rent went down this week. So, I'm hoping it works out. It's not something I'd want to purchase or stay in long term, but I really really like it as a starter home for us. It's a little older, but in good shape- and gives us a few fixer upper projects to work on!

5. On that note, as excited as I am to try combining households again, I'm also really nervous and sad to leave my little one bedroom condo. I moved in here last year my last semester of grad school, and it's the first time I've lived by myself. After having roommates for 6 years it was a huge change, and I hated it at first..but have grown to love it. I love coming home after a long day and feeling like I have an 'escape.' I'll miss getting to come home to my quiet little condo, but, everyone has to move on. 

6. I'm afraid I may kill Josh during football season. I don't know what it is about men and football season, but it's like a bunch of caged animals getting released into the wild for the first time. I swear. It's quite terrifying, really. And combining houses the MONTH of football season starting I feel could lead to some pretty compromising situations. I used to just evacuate the home every day Sunday and each Monday night, but with working full time I think I'm going to have to come up with a new plan. Details to come.

7. Highlight of my week thus far? Purchasing a Hello Kitty lunchbox that I HAD to have, and finding a cute dress on sale for my friend Brittany's engagement party Saturday. Nothing is more exciting to me than cute things on sale, or things typically made for 5 year olds that I must own.

8. I really miss school. I know, I know. Who SAYS that? I'm wondering the same thing. But once I got my shit together and really let myself enjoy college and everything it had to teach me, I really loved learning. Grad school was an amazing experience for me and it completely flew by. But I'd much rather be up writing a term paper right now than training for this not so thrilling job I landed, I can tell you that.

9. I cannot pick out a diamond. Josh and I have obviously been ring shopping a lot more lately, and he's been doing a lot more research and trying to get my feedback on what I like and don't like as far as engagement ring settings go. Every time I think I've fallen in love with a ring, when I go back a second time.. I don't like it anymore. What IS that? You'd think a ring would be the easiest thing in the world to pick out, because they're all so amazingly gorgeous and sparkly and breathtaking. But nope, not me. I've walked through jewelry store after jewelry store and tried hundreds on, and still can't figure out what I really, really want. I think at the end of the day, I honestly don't care. Which surprises me about myself..because I thought I of all people WOULD care. But, I'm a few rings away from throwing my hands up and saying 'Honey, you pick. I'll love whatever you decide.'

(Although, I'd certainly be happy with any of these!)

10. I miss my family. I havent seen much of them the last few months, and it's starting to sink in with all these stress and tension. I really want to move out of state, but at the end of the day- I don't think I could leave them. 

(My sister, Kendall and I!)

Well, this post turned out much longer than expected..sorry! And I have to be up in four hours, so, that's my cue. Night all! <3

Did someone say bachelorette?

As some of you know, my best friend, Kelli of 10 years is getting married in a month (to a super awesome man, might I add). 

(The happy couple!)

Therefore, this weekend = her bachelorette party! This has been the one and ONLY thing getting me through this crazy first week at work. 

(Us at senior homecoming!)

Since her hubby to be and his buds are going out of town for the weekend, she decided to just keep it simple and recruit all the out of town girls to Orlando and cause some trouble in our own sweet city. 

(So excited Brittany is coming into town to attend!)

(...and yes, that's a cut out Twilight poster in the background.

And yes, we threw a Twilight dvd release party. Haha.)

So, Friday we're renting out the movie theater in her complex and just drinking some wine and watching silly girlie movies all night to fully prep for Saturday. 

(Girlie nights are the best nights!)

Saturday begins early with a day at the pool. We reserved the grill/lounge area and will be soaking up some sun, drinking lots of booze, eating some snacks, and did I mention the booze? 

(Although we may not be able to get our hands on some

moonshine shots as featured in this photo, I'm sure we

will find something else to get into)

After that, we're hopping in the cab and going to happy hour and this fancy little wine/dessert bar downtown called The Dessert Lady around 6ish. From there, the night is young and ours to conquer. It will be one crazy filled night downtown, no doubt.

(Us at a pub crawl downtown a few years ago)

So excited, and so happy for my best friend! <3 

xo,

Getting to know me Tuesday!

1. Sexual orientation
Straight. Very straight.


2. What I'm really bad at
Controlling my emotions


3. The one person who's arms I'd like to be in
My mister's!


4. My best first date
In high school, this chap picked me up with roses and ordered Chinese takeout and set up a picnic under the stars. Very nice beginning to a 3 week romance. Haha.


5. A description of my self-esteem
Much better than it used to be.


6. Who my best friends are
Those who have been there.


7. My favorite book
Anything and everything by Sophie Kinsella. Literally.


8. Biggest turn offs
Cockiness


9. Description of my best friend
Amazing <3


10. My favorite animal
Dogs and horses


11. Someone I miss
Tyler, Sally, and my grandfather. They all left too soon.


12. The reason behind my last break up
He wasn't ready.


13. What I did yesterday
Had lunch with one of my best friends, looked at houses, visited Josh at work, caught up on tivo, went to bed pretty early.


14. What my greatest achievements are
Getting a masters degree, discovering who I am.


15. A description of the person I dislike the most
No one's coming to the top of my head.


16. My favorite songs right now
Marry Me- Train 


17. How my last kiss went down
Probably on the couch, or before bed, or saying bye. Who knows. Haha.


18. What I find attractive in the preferred sex
Humor, patience, romance, smile


19. All the pets I've ever had
Oh geez.. rabbits, hamsters, cats, dogs, horses, birds..anything remotely furry I'm sure.


20. Favorite ice cream flavor
Strawberry


21. The one place I want to be right now
On a cruise with a cocktail in hand.


22. The meanest thing anyone has ever said to me
You can't do it.


23. Where I have lived before
Just Florida! Boring, I know.


24. I'll love you if..
you're sincere and kind.


25. What are my future plans
Too much to fit in one sentence, that's for sure.


26. An internal conflict I have with myself
Letting things happen as they come. 


27. What I'm doing tomorrow
Working.


28. What I want to be when I get older
A wife, a mother, and a success.


29. Most embarrassing moment
I can't even think of one. I don't really get embarrassed easily.


30. Two insecurities
Hm..


31. What I'd do if I won the lottery
Buy a house and go to law school


32. Description of the boy I like
A grumpy, impatient, sweet, funny, amazing man. ;)


33. What I love most about myself physically
My eyes and smile


34. My biggest pet peeves
Not sure if it's appropriate to include here, lol.


35. What bands I've seen live
Oh lawd, there's been hundreds. I can't even begin to name them all.


36. Who my  best friends are
Already answered this one.


37. How many kids I want in the future
2.


38. My idea of a perfect date
One without technology.


39. What I'm really good at
Understanding others.


40. Most traumatic experience
A really bad car accident a few years ago and losing 2 close friends. (on separate occasions. Not in the car accident.)


41. Where I'd like to live
Orlando is fine for now. 


42. Nicest thing anyone's ever said to me
There's been many :)


43. Do I like where I am right now
Yes and no


44. What I can hear right now
The Eagles on vinyl


45. Relationship with my siblings
My sister's my best friend


46. All the pets I've ever had
Named already


47. My biggest worry currently
Finances and finding a house in the next month


48. Something I've repeatedly wished for
Everything to fall into place.


49. My relationship with my parents
Amazing.


50. What words make me the best about myself
Wait what?


51. Something I should have said a long time ago
I'm sorry.


52. What my last text message says
'It was on the couch when I put it down last.'


53. What I hate most about myself
How easily I cry.


54. Biggest turn ons
Romance.


55. What words upset me most
Negative ones.


56. What I hated most about school
Math, no doubt.

Miscellany Monday!

Found this fun little linkup through Whitney.. so I figured I'd give it a go! I'm still new to this public blogging, so, bare with me :)


1. My upcoming week..in a breakdown.


    I started training in my job last week, and the training continues on! Today was my day off this week- which was spent looking at some rental homes and talking to realtors, having lunch with Whitters, and catching up on tivo, of course!
   If I can make it though the rest of the work week, this weekend is my best friend's bachelorette party!! Bring on the girl time, booze, sun, and night out on the town!


2. House hunting..speaking of.


    My boyfriend and I are looking for a house to start merging our lives together yet again, and it's been nothing but difficult trying to find something to meet our (not so picky) criteria. We currently both live alone, and his lease ends at the end of September, while mine is month to month..so we need to find something soon. 


3. Engagement ring dreams, oh my!
    
    Oh, the dreaded dreams. I've managed to escape them through most of this two and a half year relationship, but they've found me as of late...and they don't seem to be going anywhere! Sigh. Well, they were bound to come eventually, right?

Sunday mornin, rain is fallin..

Actually, that's just not true at all. It's sunny as can be, perfect day for the pool and some cold ones no doubt. Too bad I have to go to work soon :/ But I shouldn't complain, because after 8 months of a job search...I will happily go to work on a weekend. 

After doing some laundry, making a grocery list for my day off, and doing some house hunting- the mister and I are relaxing for the next hour or 2 before I leave. 

Hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend! 

<3

Happy Saturday!

Sleepy puppies!

Okay, so, I may have a slight obsesh with taking pictures of my dogs..especially when they're sleeping! Nothing is cuter than a sleeping pup, lets be real here. So here's a few from my creepy 'I take too many pictures of my dogs' gallery. ;) 

<3

Hi, it's me.

Hi blogger!! I've finally decided to start posting, even though I made this about a month ago. But one of my dearest friends, Whitney has started blogging recently and is addicted.. so it inspired me to go ahead and get on mine, too! 


I'm a mid twenty something Orlando girl fresh out of graduate school with a new career. My boyfriend, Josh and I have been together 2 1/2 years and we have a little family of fur babies...no human babies yet! Or anytime too soon, for that matter. We're fresh in our careers and in the process of house hunting to combine our lives into one, cute, little starter home..and see where life takes us from there!

(Hi, boyfriend!)

(Hi, Dakota and Aspen!)

(And this little one is our joint baby, Starfox!)

I've always been a writer, blogger, scribbler, poem writer, anything that can help me express how I feel onto a piece of paper. (Or as of late, a Word document or private journal website) But never have I blogged publicly, so bare with me. Although my life isn't too far out of the ordinary, I figure while we start our house hunting process while trying to keep up with work and life, why not write about it? And whatever else comes to mind, of course :)