Happy Father's Day, Dad!!

This guy is by far my best friend. From teaching me the importance of good vodka, how to play blackjack, being the best spiritual leader (or leader in general) for our family, always always providing for us in every way, never giving up on me, teaching me to take responsibility, pushing me to always be better, helping me get back up every time I fall, and always carrying my many shopping bags (haaa)- you're the best!!!!

So, we're in West Virginia. It's just Dad and I- so I, being the golden daughter that I am, told him we could do whatever he wanted today. So, what did we end up doing?? Oh you know, started the morning off with fly fishing, came back for breakfast, church then a grilling demonstration/lunch. Although slightly manly (to say the least), it has been SO much fun! I now know how to fly fish (sort of) and how to smoke a beef tenderloin! Just call me Dad's favorite son :)


Happy Father's Day to all... and especially to mine- God blessed me with one of the best :)

WEDDING WEEKEND!!

I have a new sister in law! This past weekend, Rob and Katherine got married in Clarksdale. One of my favorite weekends all around!

Thursday, Rob and I drove up to Clarksdale. Our immediate family stayed at a great bed and breakfast, which was conveniently in the middle of town and three doors down from the Ross's. Thursday night I got to have dinner with my friend, Strohm, before she left for NYC. It was so good to see her! Friday was the bridesmaids luncheon, rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Almost ALL of our entire family made it for the wedding festivities, so it was a blast getting to see everyone :)

Another bonus, my friend Amanda was in town for the wedding and staying with Strohm. Amanda and Strohm were so awesome and came over to do my hair and makeup for the rehearsal dinner and wedding. It was so nice to have good friends with me! I sure do miss those two :)

Saturday, we went to the out of town luncheon- which, again, was conveniently right down the street. Then it was show time. We all began to get ready for Rob and Kat's big day! The wedding was absolutely perfect and VERY Katherine and Rob.

I couldn't be any more excited to have another sister in law. Rob found a good one, which, obviously isn't surprising to me :) I feel so blessed to not only have three amazing older siblings to look up to, but also three in laws as well.


On to other news, Monday Mama and I moved a bunch of stuff around in my apartment in Starkville. It's really starting to come together. Perfect timing, considering I start school on July 2nd! Tomorrow, Daddy and I head to West Virginia, where I'll be until it's time to start at the W. I will be taking a side trip to NYC to visit Strohm!! Exciting next few weeks ahead :)

Clarksdale bound :)

And now, ALL ready for nursing school.... I hope!

Eye of the Storm

I went on a walk with Dad the other night after dinner. While we were walking and talking, I told him I felt like I was in the eye of a hurricane. I had just gone through finals, a big move, and finishing up work. Now I have NOTHING going on and nothing to do. BUUUTT come June, my online class starts, wedding festivities really get going :):) and I leave for West Virginia for a couple of weeks then return just in time to start nursing school in July.

Everything has been so exciting and fun for me lately, and it's about to get exciting and fun again. But, for now, ya girl here is pretttyyyy bored. I'm trying to enjoy and relax (which I totally am!) but I've began to get creative when it comes to entertainment.

I have spent a lot of time with my sweet parents, tagged along with Daddy to some work things (again, I just smile and nod because I usually have noooo idea what they're talking about), and the best- spent time with my sweet friends from high school. There is something SO refreshing about being able to pick right back up where we left off.

But, one of my favorite things I've been doing during my "down time" is COOKING. Don't get too excited, I can't cook anything special... but I sure have made progress! So far, I've made lots of veggies, a pork tenderloin, and my latest- salmon!!! Next goal?... GRILLING. Yep, I'm making Dad teach me to grill this week. Stop right now, and say a quick prayer that our house is still standing after this lesson!

Just wanted to update while I'm enjoying time at home with no schedule and no schoolwork and no responsibility... it sure has been fun! Now bring on some more chaos, I 'm well rested!

I really moved out... I might still be in denial?

Doing lots of back yard lounging... I don't mind it one bit!

MY PORK TENDERLOIN!!

Salmon, mushrooms and broccolini. Typical, I couldn't wait and took a huge bite out of salmon before taking a picture :/ I was hungry...oops.







I'm off to do something really productive... like watch a movie or something. Until next time y'all.... :)

Flashback Friday (Saturday Edition)

MY COMPUTER IS FIXED! There is a miracle worker in the I.T. department at Puckett Machinery, I swear. I was so excited when he said he had fixed it. SOOO excited that I began rummaging through all of my folders of pictures, just glad that they hadn't been erased!

While looking at pictures, I got the bright idea to do a "Flashback Friday" and show a couple of my old favorites :)  ....... then I realized it was Saturday. Sooo... just pretemd it's not!

Hands down the best freshman roommate :)

This picture makes me laugh SO hard. Like it NEVER. GETS. OLD.

Just the BEST big sis I could ask for!! :)

Tacky Tourist Swap... and we NAILED the tacky look.

Last but not least, I just moved out of my house with these three girls, and man, do I miss them already!!

I hope y'all enjoyed my little blast from the past, I really enjoyed looking back at pictures from the past few years. I am so blessed to have the friends that I've made... and the PLENTY of fun times :) 

Andddd... My Computer Crashed

Yep, that's right. The night before my last final, my computer crashed. It was the end of finals week and I was TIRED. So, being the rational, non-dramatic person that I am (HAA) I burst into tears. Needless to say, that didn't bring my computer back to life. Anyways, I'm still computerless- hence my lack of posts lately!

I have finished at State! I have moved out of my Starkville house and its officially summer! What a weird feeling... a very nice one though :) I was so sad to leave my house in Starkville though. Maybe when I (hopefully) get my computer back, I'll post my favorite memories and pictures from there. I lived there my sophomore and junior year, and goodness I think we had some pretty fun times there!

Last Wednesday, Buck and his sons came to Starkville to help me move out. We were rolling and finished in no time! They were so sweet and moved everything heavy for me. I moved all of my stuff into my parents condo in Starkville (where I will live). Nothing is set up yet, but I suppose that's a minor detail. I had orientation for MUW nursing school on Thursday. It was so strange seeing my new classmates and school. I think my class is 65 of us so hopefully I'll make some friends that don't think I'm a total dork. I feel very informed and will be prepared as much as I can for July 2nd, when I actually start there.

Friday morning, I flew up to West Virginia to meet my family. A Caterpillar convention was in progress. I got to attend a few events and considering the fact that I'm SUCH a business whiz (again, HAAAAA) I kept my mouth shut, or tried :), and just smiled. I loved getting to see Dad, Hastings and Rob so in their element. I just dropped everyone off at the airport a little while ago. Mama and I catch another flight tomorrow afternoon. We're looking forward to some Mother's Day bonding time :)

Speaking of Mother's Day, shout out to the world's best, Mother Mary. This woman has seen me at my absolute worst (usually taking the brunt of it all) and somehow still loves me and takes care of me. Mama, I don't know what I would do without you!! Oh, and have I mentioned she's the BEST shopping partner (Sorry Daddy!) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MAMA :)

I'm Still Here!

Hello, strangers. It's been a hot minute (or one week) since I've updated. I feel like I've been all over the place lately. And as strange as it sounds, I'm loving every second of it! My little brain is going 90 to nothing with lots going on but man it's lots of excitement :)

Since I last updated: I have had my final days of class, I went to Jackson, Birmingham AND Oxford. I returned back to Starkville this afternoon exhausted and broke... but sure did have a blast seeing sweet friends at Double Decker this weeekend!

On the agenda this week is two finals, packing, then back to Jackson this weekend for my future sister in law's bridal shower. I can't wait!

On the subject of packing, anyone want to pack up my house and move for me? PLEASE?? I bought boxes today and haven't even gotten them out of my car. I feel like I've been planning and planning and planning and now it's here. It doesn't even seem real. In  a week and a half I'll be finished at State and moved out of my house. I am so excited about everything in the future, but it sure is bittersweet. The past three years here have been the best. I've made the best of friends, and had PLENTY of fun..... and that's an understatement.

I should probably go be productive and pack a box or two.... or do something wild like study for my finals. Whatever. Cheers to some big changes! Preparations and plans for everything have been made and it's time to take the step. I'm weirded out but excited. Happy week to all, and anyone in the Starkville area is more than welcome to come pack my stuff for me :))

Sunday Cooking Expeditions

Happy Sunday, everyone! Hope your weekend was a good one! Mine sure was.

Anyways, I went through a phase where I LOVED baking. I still love it, but due to a little unwanted weight gain, I haven't been in the kitchen much. Well, today I was on pinterest (of course) pinning up a storm- food for the most part. I then realized that I really miss my attempts to cook. So, I decided that just because I now watch what I eat, it doesn't mean that I can't find SOMETHING to make. I began searching for healthier options. I was in the mood for chicken and found the easiest, most delicious chicken breast!

Since I cook just for me (I don't trust myself enough to serve food to anyone else... any of my close friends remember the baked chicken incident of last summer?? yeaaahhh...) I only cooked one chicken breast, and am using the rest of it for the crockpot tomorrow. Just call me Martha Stewart (minus the jail stint....hopefully :)) I threw in some broccoli and red bell peppers and called it a meal!

The chicken recipe (found at http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478 ) is SO EASY and I didn't use as much brown sugar as it called for (and I used Splenda brown sugar blend). I didn't feel like I missed out by not using as much.

Anyone else have any good (EASY... baby steps here) recipes I could try?? I'm on a roll over here! Maybe I should skip out on nursing school and move on over to culinary school (Mama and Daddy, if you read this, I'm totes kidding).