30 Days of Blogging

Since I slack on blogging most of the time and most of the time it's because I can't find anything that I think you would find interesting in my life. This is a good way to find something to say and let you get to know a little bit about me! :) Here goes.


So beginning tomorrow I will start on this list:

Day 1 - your favorite song

Day 2 - your favorite movie

Day 3 - your favorite television program

Day 4 - your favorite book

Day 5 - your favorite quote

Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things

Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy

Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad

Day 9 - a photo you took

Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you

Day 11 - a photo of you recently

Day 12 - something you are OCD about

Day 13 - a fictional book

Day 14 - a non-fictional book

Day 15 - your dream house

Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Day 17 - an art piece (drawing,sculpture, painting, etc)

Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding ideas/past wedding

Day 19 - a talent of yours

Day 20 - a hobby of yours

Day 21 - a recipe

Day 22 - a website

Day 23 - a youtube video

Day 24 - where I live

Day 25 - your day, in great detail

Day 26 - your week in great detail

Day 27 - my worst habit

Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse

Day 29 - hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days

Day 30 - a dream for the future

I think you should play along and let us know a little bit about you!

It's that time again.

I feel like such a little kid. When I was younger my little sister and I would go to sleep in our new school clothes with our new tennis shoes on ready for that first day. Mama woke up around 5AM for the day and would be so surprised to see Sami and I on the couch dressed and ready to go with our book bags on.

I am starting my THIRD year of COLLEGE and it seems not much has changed! Last night I didn't get to sleep until after 1AM which isn't extremely late but when I got in bed at 11:30 to go to bed it's a long time to just sit there thinking. I felt just as I did when I was a child. I packed all of my new school supplies(I may or may not have a school supply obsession!) into my book back and labeled my tabbed dividers in my notebook and set my alarm for 10:45AM. I was awake at 8:30. Ready to get up and go!

For everyone out there in bloggy-land starting school today whether high school, college, or your first day of teaching(AHEM! Sami) I hope it's amazing!

A new beginning...

I have been promising pictures of my new apartment but wanted to make sure that I could get some somewhat

decent pictures of it halfway organized. I am sure that I will not be organized for a few weeks and my

room seems to still be lacking something, but I’ll figure it out.

 

I apologize for the mess and the crappy pictures and color quality! I left my

digital camera at Mama and Daddy’s house so I used my my phone. :( boo.

 

 

Our laundry room. Still need to clean the washer and dryer where smart boy, Zack, rode down the dirt road with my stuff on the trailer.

View of our dining area/living room area from the front door.

 

Dining area(junk on the floor needs to go back home because I don’t have room. That’s just where I piled it)

 

View of kitchen from dining area. Range and microwave.

 

Kitchen from same view opposite side.

 

Living room/balcony

Living room from hallway to bedrooms

 

Bathroom. It’s zebra and red even though it looks PINK and zebra. Thanks lovely phone pictures.

 

More bathroom(red and zebra)

 

My room IS pink and zebra. view of bed from my door.

a little farther over. Not too pleased with the TV situation but I’ll get it worked out.

 

My desk and TV(still cluttered)

Closed closet

 

Open closet

 

Sign on my door to my room

My getting ready station. Since our bathroom is so tiny we have agreed to do our hair

and makeup in our rooms so we don’t have to leave our straighteners, make up, hair dryers, etc. in the

bathroom.

 

My bed with matching laptop on my night stand. The green book bag has school books in it until I can

find a more appropriate place for them.

 

 

Here is an inside look of my apartment. Has anyone else moved into a new apartment recently?

Nate

Nate is the wonderful child that I got to spend all of my time with last summer. I fell head over heels in love with this 13 month old bundle of joy!Nate was born premature to the point he was on a feeding tube for almost 6 months of his life. He had several developmental problems related to eating, talking, crawling, walking, and most of all hearing. But physically he was a normal child. He is truly one of the most beautiful children I know!

With all of his developmental delays comes therapy. We did therapy 5 times a week. Feeding therapy to help him learn how to eat, audio-visual therapy to helpfully teach him to talk through working with hearing aids and visual aids, physical therapy to help him walk and crawl and use his arms and legs more, and we did sensory therapy to help him tolerate different textures. It was a lot of work, but nothing that we couldn’t handle. I enjoyed experiencing all of these things and getting to help him learn to eat real food rather than a bottle, and watch him learn to crawl and stand, and trying to help him talk.

Unfortunately, my time with Nate was short-lived. The summer break from school came to an end WAY to fast. I soon had to leave him after 4 short months. It was the most emotional time of my life. I had grown so close to him and his family and new that I wouldn’t be able to spend time from 8-5 five days a week with him. I visited on Fridays when I was headed home from school and enjoyed being able to see him for a little bit on those days but a few months after school started back Nate moved to Marietta where his mom is from. There are many opportunities and programs for Nate offered there that aren’t offered here in South Georgia. This was best for him. I think that has made it easier for me to think about not seeing him anymore.

 

I still keep up with him via Julia’s(his mom) facebook and get to see my booger growing! I really wish I could have quit college and become his full-time nanny all the time but I am halfway done with school and can’t do it. I hope to make a trip up there to visit him sometime soon!

 

Julia and Scott have been looking into cochlear implants for Nate. They are surgically implanted hearing aids that could potentially help Nate hear which will eventually help him learn to talk. He had his left implant done in early July. Yesterday, the activated the implant for the first time. Here is a video of his AMAZING response. I cannot wait for updates from Julia about Nate’s progress in the days, months, weeks, and years to come!

On the road again…

Mama, Daddy, and I had to make our trek to Valdosta to sign the lease on my new apartment. We left yesterday afternoon as soon as we finished up lunch at Zaxby’s(YUM!). We got a little over halfway there when I hit a tire that someone had lost in the MIDDLE OF I-75! There was no avoiding it because I had a vehicle beside me and one behind them and a car behind me. The Ford F-150 in front of me had just enough room to change lanes and avoid it. I unfortunately, did not. I got off of the interstate on the next exit and checked out my car. Fortunately, it only took a little bit of paint off of my bumper and put a dent in my rear quarter panel(which Daddy popped out) because I was able to move over a little as to not hit the tire head on. When I realized my car was still drivable and not very damaged I headed up the exit ramp to merge back onto the interstate. When I got to the stop sign on top of the bridge I saw a car with flashers on at the top. There was a younger looking girl taking pictures of the front of her car with her camera phone. I don’t usually stop for ANYONE because you just don’t know with the crazies out there today, but she looked harmless. I mean she was about 5’ with heels on and maybe weighed 100 pounds soaking wet. So I stopped and asked if everything was okay. She said no and that she hit a tire(THE SAME ONE I DID) on the interstate and that she was 5 1/2 hours from home. Mama and Daddy were wayyy behind me so I called them to see if they could help. They finally answered the phone right after they passed the exit we were at. See Daddy used to have an auto body shop when we lived in New Jersey and he works on cars a lot. He could at least tell her if the car was drivable or maybe rig it up so she could get it home. They got off the next exit only to find that due to construction they could not re-enter the interstate from that point. They found an alternate route and made it back to help this poor girl. He ripped her bumper off(which was barely hanging on and would have to be replaced anyways) and checked out the underside of her car to make sure there was no major damage. She busted up her air conditioning condenser and jammed a fan that cools the motor so he advised her to ride the rest of the way with no air conditioning and keep a check on her temperature gauge. Bless her dear little heart for having to make that ride with no AC in the blazing hot summer.

(See told ya it was minimal! Thank you, Jesus!)

We headed onto Valdosta and were almost late for our 2PM appointment to sign our lease. We got there signed the MILLIONS of pages of paperwork(okay, maybe I’m embellishing a bit!) and got our KEYS! I didn’t take pictures of the apartment because we were so eager to get our stuff in there but after I get all of our furniture in and get it like we want it I will be sure to post some pictures. On the way home I stopped by Tropical Smoothie and got a Strawberry Beach smoothie!Oh, how I’ve missed Valdosta!

 

Be on the lookout for apartment pictures next week!

Things I Love: Vera Bradley

I love, love, LOVE Vera! I would be swimming in Vera if I weren't a broke, jobless, college student(They even sell it at our bookstore at school. I think this is a way to tempt me to spend money!)

My favorite patterns, in no particular order, are  

Raspberry Fizz(also retired)

Hope Garden(Breast Cancer Awareness Pattern)

and one of the newest patterns, Very Berry Paisley.

(All pics from Vera Bradley.com)

 

 

 

 

Not only are their patterns SUPER DUPER CUTE their products last a while!

A few that I LOVE and own are

The Clip Zip ID Case. I think I have one of these in almost EVERY color that interests me in the least!

They are really great during the school year. I can throw my IDs and a few dollars for snack and I’m good.

The best part is that it goes on a keychain so I don’t have to worry about searching all over for my wallet

when I am rushing out the door to go to school. I just grab my keys and I’m gone!

P.S. It’s only $10! Totally worth it!

The Betsy is another favorite of mine. I own it in Raspberry Fizz and received it from my parents

for Christmas. It’s the perfect size for everyday and has a TON

of pockets inside f or storage!

I received my Vera from the little boy I babysat last summer as a going away gift.

He was 18 months old. It’s ABSOLUTELY awesome as a school bag.

There is plenty of room for my binder, a few books, the multitude of pens, pencils, and markers I carry(have I

mentioned my addiction to school supplies?), and whatever else I stuff in there and has

held up REALLY well the past year.

It’s machine washable(but you must hang to dry because of the plastic zippers) and cleans up perfectly.

The Zip Sunglass Case is pretty nice too. It’s big enough for nearly any pair of sunglasses that you can find.

I like to stuff this in my bag during school with a sunglass cleaning cloth in it

just in case my lenses get dirty or I just want a break from wearing them on my neck. It’s not a hard-shelled case,

yet it is sturdy enough for me to be comfortable

throwing it in there with my books and what not.

  

(All pictures from Google Images)   

 

These are only a few of what I own maybe next month some more

VB will be added to my collection…hmmm say for that special day

A.K.A my 21st Birthday!!! :)

 

 

 

Here are some items I would buy if A) I had a job and B) I didn’t have other

things to spend money on(I.E. Gas, groceries, etc.)

 

I JUST LOVE this hipster bag. It would be perfect for carrying my daily essentials like pens, pencils,

calculator, gum(haha I’m addicted to this too!). I’m loving the cross body bag style a lot lately.

 

For my Practicum at school this fall I am required to wear my school ID at all times

I am visiting elementary schools. Wouldn’t this be GREAT for keeping

up with my ID?

 

This laptop is TO DIE FOR! I love the print and it is very spacious. I just can’t get

over the price tag.(I have to really want something

bad to pay full price most of the time)

I can’t tell you how many times I have traveled with my straightener wrapped in a t-shirt because I didn’t have

time to fully let it cool before leaving on a trip. This wonderful tool would keep my straightener from

making everything in my bag melt!

  

Go here to check out more from Vera Bradley.

 

Do you have a fave pattern? Let me know what it is!

(P.S. I was not paid to write this. It was all my idea)

Hiding you ask?

Not hiding. TOTALLY busy.

-Zack and I washed my car Tuesday(maybe it was Monday, who knows with my bad memory!), Silvy, the other night. Have I mentioned how sweet he is sometimes? He gave her a good scrub while I fed the machine quarters. She was nearly spotless. I have had her since September and I do believe this was her second real bath. Sometimes I stop by the car wash station and rinse her off or allow the rain to do it for me(This is not my preferred method since the top leaks but in South Georgia afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon and they often come out of NO WHERE!)
Isn't she pretty?


-I have worked at the daycare all week with the sweet 2 and 3 year old children. I love working up there as a sub. If I lived in Ashburn I would LOVE to work there full time but I need to get this education out of the way before I think if ANYTHING full time!

-The kids I usually babysit for, J & R, have been at the beach since last Saturday so I have been going out to their house everyother to take care of things. I got their mail, watered their trees, flowers, bushes, and fed inside andoutside cats, and THE WORST...I had to clean out the cat litter box each time. Not your ideal job, but hey, it's money! Since they just moved into their new house in May they are still trying to get the landscape just right. The trees are small and require a lot of attention. They water the trees(6 of them) for 10 minutes EACH! That's an hour just spent on trees!

-Zack and I went to Albany to the mall on Friday night. We have been going so frequently lately that you wouldn't know how much I actually DESPISE Albany. We both didn't get off work until 5:30PM and we wanted to go to the mall so that was our closest option at 45 minutes away. We managed to get a little shopping in. We ran into his cousin and his girlfriend which was pretty cool being as we don't see them much.

-The highlight of the night was supper. WE LOVE THE HONG KONG CAFE! It's not your traditional Chinese restaurant. It's a nice little sit-down restaurant with the BEST food. It's pretty affordable and they portion size is HUGE! We love it. HANDS DOWN BEST EVERRRRR CHINESE RESTAURANT. If you live in the area you have got to check it out!

-Yesterday I spent the morning hitting up sales at JcPenney. I love JcPenney and since Goodys closed down thats really the only place I shop. I got two new dresses which were well needed and then headed back to Ashburn for a bridal shower for Zack's cousin's finacee, Hope. We had a fun and enjoyed playing games and eating our Hot Fudge Cakes.

-I also got a new phone this weekend! Well, it's new to me! My friend Thad, got a new Droid X and gave me his Blackberry Pearl Flip. I ended up giving him $25 for it since he met me halfway rather than me driving all the way to Cordele to get it and since it was in such good shape. It looked brand new. I am so excited to get to know all of the features and get used to it! I just hooked it up this morning. Here's a stock photo from google of my phone.

Next week should slow down. I am hoping for a more frequent posts at least until I start to pack to move. By the way...That's NEXT Monday! YIKES!