Top 10 in 2010

I saw this on a blog and I thought it was a great way to remember how wonderful this year was for us! (These are in no particular order!)

1. Marrying Doug

Obviously, this was my favorite part of the year for many reasons. I married the love of my life, and I also had the wedding I dreamt of since I could talk. And I just love being married to him!

2. My Bachelorette Party

Oh my gosh, this might have been the most fun night of my life. I love these girls!! My MOH, Brittany, did an incredible job of planning all of it!

3. Getting the perfect job

I am just amazed by God's timing on all of this. I was so frustrated for months, and then I finally let go of it. Once I did that, I found the perfect job for me! I can't wait to get started! My mom and I went shopping a few days ago, and I got the cutest lunchbox, a matching thermos and water bottle! And shockingly enough, they aren't pink! I made myself get a more professional look, black and white, but they are still really cute :)

4. Volunteering for Bliss Animal Haven

This might be the best thing I have ever done. It feels so great to find something that I really care about, and there is nothing better than finding homes for these sweet dogs.

5. Organizing Pins for Pups, the bowling fundraiser

This event made me so happy. We were able to raise enough money to buy a new transport van to take the dogs to adoption events, and it was so rewarding to see how we could make a big difference for these innocent animals and the directors of Bliss.

6. Graduating from UGA

See how happy I am? I waited a looooooong time for this. Well, I was only there for 4 years but I am just not a school person. I loved Athens and the experience, but class = no fun.

7. Having Pep finally come live with us

Pep is Doug's first cat, and it makes me so happy to see how much he loves Pepper now! He didn't really want it to happen, but Pep kind of stole his heart! :)

8. Sending Christmas cards and decorating for our first married Christmas together

If you haven't noticed by now, I love Christmas. It is such a happy time, and it has been so wonderful to spend it with my new hubby!

9. Visiting Charleston for the first time

I adore this city. I had always wanted to go, and my parents were going there during my mom's spring break. The night before they were leaving, I made a quick decision to join them (best decision ever). Of course, I missed a lot of class that week, but it was totally worth it! I would love to live there someday.

10. Our honeymoon

Our honeymoon was incredible!! We think it's very important to just escape from our lives every once in a while and just enjoy each other. The resort was absolutely perfect, and we are counting down the days until we can go back!

A Perfect White Christmas

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with your families! I couldn't have asked for a better first married Christmas with Doug!

Georgia had its first white Christmas since 1882, and it was the most beautiful snow I've ever seen! Usually when we have snow here, it's more of a brown slushie. But this was a gorgeous white blanket that made my year! It actually stuck around and there is still a lot left.

Despite me being unable to get around well, I was determined to get some pictures with my new camera. So we bundled up and Doug held an umbrella over my head as I snapped 200 pictures out in the snow. I have only learned a few technical things about my camera, and I have a loooong way to go. But I was playing with the ISO here and I was very happy with the results!

It was so beautiful and I just stared out the window for hours. And look what I saw out of my window this morning!

This icicle is at least 2 feet long! I've been watching it all day, just waiting for it to fall. Oh, how exciting my life is!

Doug just left to go back to the real world (Covington) to work, and I miss him already! Lucky for me, I will have him back on Wednesday night for another long weekend! :)

Recovering Rudolph

Thank y'all so much for all of the sweet comments and thoughts! I love my bloggy friends, y'all are just the best. So I just wanted to update y'all on the surgery! It went really, really well and I feel a lot better this time around than I did last year. Obviously, the surgeon knew what he was doing this time!

I do have a little more pain in my nose this time, but that's a good thing because that shows us that he actually fixed it. It hurts towards the back of my nose where he reduced the turbinates, it especially hurts when I talk or swallow. No bueno.

Doug is an excellent nurse, and he just makes me so happy because he is so dang sweet! It makes the whole thing a little easier to have him with me.

I'm not nearly as loopy as I thought I might be. I'm actually pretty awake and perky most of the time, but then all of a sudden I get so tired and just pass out!

And ya know how I mentioned the nurse wanted to dress me up as Rudolph? Well, it happened! She got a medical sponge and colored it red with a sharpie. My mom brought the antlers. So apparently when they wheeled my bed out from the OR, I was still unconscious but I had my red nose and antlers on. It was a big hit with the nurses :)

And when the volunteer came with a wheelchair to get me out to the car, he looked EXACTLY like Santa! It couldn't have been more perfect. He was a big man with grey hair & beard, wearing a red shirt and a santa hat. And the wheelchair was red! So I kept my little costume on, and we strolled through the hospital looking like Santa, his sleigh, and Rudolph! We have lots of pictures of it, but they are on my mom's phone and I have no idea how to put them on a computer. Plus, I look pretty terrifying so those might not make it on here! When we got home, Pep was kind of terrified of me when I had the antlers on! Ha!

On the way home, I was in the front seat and was feeling pretty good, so I wanted to freak some people out on the road. I just stared and them and smiled, with my red nose, antlers, and black eyes! :) We got some good reactions and lots of double-takes!

And one more exciting piece of news- I got my big Christmas present from Doug last night. He got me the Canon Rebel T1i!!!!!!!!!!!

He knows me better than I know myself. He knew I was torn about which camera to get (that or the Xsi- which doesn't have video) and he definitely picked the right one!! It's awesome and I can't wait to learn how to use it. He is such a good hubby, I am so lucky!!!

I hope this all made sense, I could be pretty loopy and just have no idea!

Y'all keep the posts coming, I need some good entertainment while I'm stuck in bed! :)

A Wonderful Weekend

We had such a wonderful weekend. Friday night, Doug took me out for a celebratory date in honor of my new job! Of course, I chose Chili's (probably my favorite restaurant...is that sad? haha!) I had my favorite salad of all time, the boneless buffalo chicken salad, and my favorite margarita, too! And of course, lots and lots of chips and salsa. It was a perfect feast.

Afterwards, we walked around the mall until it was time for our movie! (I love going to the movies...it just makes me really happy!) I chose to see Tangled, because I wanted a really happy movie for this happy day. And we both LOVED it. It was hilarious and adorable, and you all need to see it. Yes, we may have been the only adults there with no children, but it was a great movie.

Saturday was also a wonderful day. I headed up to Snellville to volunteer with Bliss at a holiday adoption event, but Doug sadly had to go to school (I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Doug is getting his MBA). I probably had a lot more fun than he did, because I got to play with adorable faces like this.

This is Penny, my twin. I was holding her and someone pointed out that we were matching! What fashionistas we are :)

 These little guys were brothers, and they were about the cutest things ever. They played all day together, and then they just flopped down on top of each other and snuggled.

It was a great weekend- we adopted 6 dogs out!!!

Saturday night, Doug and I drove into Atlanta to go to the Thrashers game! (Atlanta's hockey team) It was an incredible game of 7-1, and we had a blast. Afterwards, we drove around Decatur, writing down names of apartments we passed :) We want to move to Decatur sooner than later, so does anyone know of any good apartments, townhouses, or houses for rent? We want to stay right around Emory.

Sunday was more of a "get stuff done" day. I cleaned. And baked. And cleaned. And baked. When I go out of town, I like to leave the apartment pretty spotless so 1) it will be easier on Doug and 2) he will have a harder time getting it messy. So I made sure he had clean clothes and dishes, and I was off to Atlanta!

My former boss at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club, Rob, invited me to their annual Christmas party, so I was happy to attend! I brought my brownies (and I decided this would be the last batch for a while....I've got to control myself!) and saw all of my old co-workers, which is always fun and entertaining. One of my favorite people ever is Lance, our Autistic dishwasher. I. Adore. Him. He is so sweet and absolutely hilarious, and I can just talk to him for days. He has recently taken on a new hobby- throwing knives. I did my best to talk him out of it, but he seemed determined!

This is Lance and I several years ago when we all took him out for his birthday.

And this is me and Lance at our reception. I told him in advance that I wanted to dance with him, so he brought a nice sweater to change into :)



I went to my parents' house afterwards since I had my pre-ops on Monday. Those went well, and then I headed over to my in-laws' for our Christmas celebration, where I received one of my favorite gifts this year. Doug's brother and sister got me GIGI'S CUPCAKES! I was soooo excited. They are the best. Markus (my BIL) had sent me a picture message of one a few days ago that he was eating, and I was so jealous. So this more than made up for it! They are almost gone, and I'm trying to savor them!

Tonight, I am seeing two of my best friends from high school, Suzanne and Rachael, and I am so excited about it! We don't see each other as often as we'd like, but it's always so fun to get together. We are cooking dinner and renting a movie!

And then Doug is coming into town tonight to be with me for the surgery tomorrow! I'm a little nervous, but mostly just ready to get it over with. At my pre-op, a PA saw me and he was shocked to see just how deviated my little septum is! He said it's basically pressed up against the side of my nose, which makes sense since I can never breathe through that side. So let's just get it over with!

The nurse was joking that she is going to color my nose brace red and buy me reindeer antlers, and my mom jumped on board. So I will probably be leaving the hospital as Rudolph!

I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging afterwards. It would probably be hilarious if I did, since I will be on plenty of pain medication :) Doug says he might write a post about how I'm doing (mainly all of the funny/embarassing things I will say and do!) so we'll see if that happens!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

Employed!

I GOT A JOB! I GOT A JOB! I GOT A JOB!

Can you tell I'm excited!?

I not only have a job, but I have a job that I think I will love. I am the new receptionist/administrative assistant at a law firm downtown. As I mentioned in my last post, I had an interview yesterday. It went really well, and I left feeling that it was the perfect job for me. I loved everyone I met. The daily routine of the job sounds wonderful. And....there is a mall/food court at the bottom of the building! HELLO, PERFECTION!

The timing of it couldn't be more perfect. This summer, I really struggled with being unemployed (I was NOT a fan). It was a difficult thing to get over, but once I finally started believing that it will happen when it should, it did! And I am so glad it happened this way. God had plans for me that I couldn't have imagined, and it, once again, reminds me that I need to trust His timing with my life. I am a planner, so this can be hard for me! 

I start January 3rd (to give me enough time to recover after my surgery!) and I am just so excited to get started. This is my first, real grown-up job! HALLELUJAH!

Ornament Exchange Gift

I'm linking up with the rest of the ornament exchange participants to show off our new ornaments! (If you want to see more, click on the button to the right!) I was paired up with Heather, who is the mom of two absolutely adorable kids! If you have a little girl, you should check out Heather's blog for amazing party ideas! She just threw her daughter's 1st birthday party, and I am definitely referring back to it when we have kids! It was incredible!

Heather sent me this lovely ornament! It matched our tree perfectly :)

Obviously, Heather has the same love for Pier 1 that I do :)

You can see the ornament I gave Heather on her blog!

The Ornament Exchange was such a fun idea, and a great way to meet bloggers. I believe that they are going to make this an annual thing, so y'all should join in next year!

My Favorite Ornaments

An exciting note before I get to the ornaments:
I HAVE AN INTERVIEW TOMORROW!!!!!!
Normally, I wouldn't tell a lot of people until I knew that my chances were pretty good, but I'm just too excited. This is my first real interview since I have graduated, and it's for a receptionist position at a law firm in Atlanta.
I bought a fancy new suit today- and I was so proud of the deals I found! I started out at Express. Their jackets alone were $100. I left. Then I went to Kohl's.
I found a $60 jacket on sale for $35, and $45 pants on sale for $25. Since I have a Kohl's card, I had a coupon for 20% off the entire purchase, meaning....
$105 suit for $48!

I am trying to be realistic about my chances. I know that there are other people interviewing who might have more experience that I do. However, I can't help but be excited that I am finally starting to interview. Even if I don't get this job, it's still a start! But if you wouldn't mind, say a little prayer for me at 10:00 tomorrow :)






Anyways, this week's theme is Trim the Tree! 

I am a day behind, but I still want to share some of my favorite ornaments!

You can't see the words, but it says "A Whole Latte Cheer" :)
I love my coffee!

I LOVE our His and Her Santa boots!

I love how our Mr. Pepper ornament looks exactly like him! (Thanks Mom!)

I got this sparkly star from Walmart for $2, but I just think it is so pretty! It matches a lot of our decorations perfectly.

And this is my new favorite ornament! My sister-in-law (and brother) gave it to us this past weekend, and I was SO excited! I have been looking for a cute "Our 1st Christmas" ornament, but most that I found were a little on the tacky side. But this was exactly what I wanted and more! I love that even the flowers are pink :)

Merry Mint Brownies

Y'all, I am OBSESSED with these brownies. They are the perfect thing to bring to a Christmas party, to give to neighbors and friends, or just enjoy all by yourself :) I found out about the recipe from Laura, and I tweaked them a bit and now I'm addicted. It's a problem.

I made a batch for Doug's office Christmas party, then a batch for our Thanksgiving/Christmas celebration with my family, and I'm making another batch today for my mom's school Christmas party. And I always make sure that the baker gets to eat a few :)

Oh, and I've also renamed them from Glazed Mint Brownies to:

Merry Minton Brownies

(much more festive I think!)

Ingredients

Brownies:
1 box of brownies and required ingredients for those (usually eggs, water, and vegetable oil)

Mint Filling:
(I doubled what it called for since I use a 13x9 pan instead of a 9x9. Add powdered sugar if necessary to get the right consistency)
6 tablespoons of butter, melted
3 cups confectioners sugar
3 tablespoons milk
Around 1 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract (to taste)
6 drops of green food coloring

Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Bake the brownies. I usually let them cool before I put the mint filling on so it will set faster.

2. Mix together all of the filling ingredients and spread evenly onto brownies. Let the filling set (I stick it in the fridge for about 15 minutes)

3. Melt the chocolate chips and quickly spread it evenly. Again, I stick them in the fridge so it will set.

4. I added this step, and it is optional, but I think it adds so much flavor and beauty! I saved some of the mint filling to drizzle on top of the chocolate layer. It makes an easy recipe look a lot more fancy :)

ENJOY! 

Day 12: Christmas Decorations!

Day 12: Show us your decorations (indoor/outdoor)

I finally got around to cleaning and vacuuming, so here is a peek at our decorations! The color scheme is red and gold. We have limited space in our humble apartment, so there isn't a lot to show! (I am so missing a fireplace this year!) I didn't take pictures of the outdoor decor because, well, I kept forgetting to at night. But we have lighted garland on the railing, a wreath on the door, and a beautiful gold star in the window!


The front door

I love our tree. I stare at it for hours.

This is one of my favorite things!

Our chairs are missing because I had just vacuumed and forgot to move them back!

Of course, Pep had to match our decor. Here is the Christmas Kitty all decked out for the holidays:

Striking a pose

Doug and I couldn't stop laughing as Pep tried to chew off his festivewear. He was not a fan!

We are headed to Marietta this weekend to have my family's Christmas/Thanksgiving celebration! Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!