Jenny and Chase

I am sooooo happy for my best friend, Jenny! She is getting married June 2008!! Jenny and I have been best friends since we were little..probably since we were three or four years old. She knows everything about me and has always been there for me. We grew apart a little when she went to college and I was still in High School, but I know, no matter what she'll always be there for me! I have seen Jen go through many ups and downs in her relationships. That girl has had to kiss a LOT of frogs to find her honey! I'm so happy that she has found Chase. Chase is the best thing that's ever happend to her. I'm so excited for the wedding and I cant wait! Jenny's friend Tara took their engagement pictures a few weeks ago and did a great job. These are a few of my favorites! :) I LOVE YOU JENNY!!!!!

8 days!!!

In 8 Days I will be heading up North to Minnesota! I am so flippin excited! I've never been in that region of the country before! I have been all the way to Canada, Ontario, and Niagra falls and Buffalo, Rochester, and NYC but never the northern plains in the mid-west. I flew over some of them when I went to Denver in 2000 which was also the last time I flew anywhere! 8 years! I'm excited..I love flying!! So, we're heading to North Carolina next weekend and flying out from Raleigh on Sunday! We're flying straight to Minneapolis where Lee's cousin, Nick,(the one who's getting married) Is meeting us with a rental car! According to Lee, he got us a great deal! Thanks, Nick! Once we arrive in Minneapolis we are driving 5 hours to his grandparents lake house in Crookston!! Its way up there next to Canada! We're staying there till thanksgiving and relaxing, snowmobiling (hopefully) and playing monopoly! LOL! Then, we are driving back to Minneapolis for Thanksgiving. The rehearsal dinner is Friday nite and the wedding saturday! We're staying in Minneapolis until Tuesday and flying back that day! Thank God I took Wednesday off! I will need a day to recover/do laundry! I'm just so happy to go meet the family that I feel like I already know face to face! Here is a picture of the town of Crookston!



This is where Nick and Jessica are getting married!!



and this is where they are having the reception!!



and I'm almost positive we'll be going here..everyone has to see it once right??



Who knows what all we'll do?! I'm sure it will take a lot of blogging and a lot of pictures/batteries though!! yay!

Roanoke goes Metro!

I wasn't too sure how I was going to feel about this new art museum in Roanoke. When they started building it, I thought It looked really stupid and didn't fit in with the lovely backdrop that is Roanoke. With the huge buildup of its opening I wasn't quite sure what to think. Lee's mom has been very excited about the Museum! Everytime she comes to Roanoke she's gotta ride by it and see that grand staircase all lit up. I'll admit..it does seem kinda exciting! Its actually a LOT bigger than I thought it was going to be. Lee got to go see it while they were building it, he says the building alone is impressive. The official grand opening was this past weekend. We decided not to go because we're waiting for his mom to come and go with us! The grande opening had over 13,000 visitors! I've heard nothing but raves about how awesome it is and how we MUST go see it! They actually booked 40 weddings there already..and that was BEFORE it opened! WOW! Here's the part that I love the most. There are a few pieces of art that have really gotten a few people talking..and a little worked up!

This is a very lifelike piece of art situated just above Williamson Road and interstate 581! NUMEROUS 911 calls have been made from people who were thinking this girl was suicidal and ready to jump. Another one that has people worried is this guy!

he lays in the corner of the art museum. Employees said people have been calling 911 and banging on the door thinking someone is passed out or that a homeless person is lying there. Interesting!
Of course both of these pieces of art are to attract attention to the art museums opening! haha..LOVE IT!
They are also doing a monthly Coffee and Movie nite! Next friday nite is the first one..they are showing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory!

I doubt we'll go to that one..but we'll probably go to others in the future!
Another thing that I am really excited about is.. "Chocolate Paper"!

I found this little store last year down on 419 near Brambleton! I fell in love. It's the perfect place to buy any gift your little heart desires! Lee knows how much I love the store!He even purchased some of my gifts for our one year anniversary there! Well, a new Chocolate Paper opened downtown, right down the street from one of my favorite restaurants, Wasabis, and right across the street from my other favorite store, "Linens and Ladles". Or..it might be "Ladles and Linens". OH well either way..I was happy to see its so close to me! The original location is still on Brambleton, but they had so much success there that they opened this one, which is also doing well. I love getting gifts in there. You can find almost any gift for any occasion! I love being able to walk from home or work to get there. I got Lee a couple of fun little things for Halloween and bought some cute wrapping paper for Christmas and weddings and everyday things!

Roanoke goes Retro!

I'm very excited to say that today is the first day of the Roanoke Star Line Trolley! The Trolleys have been a topic of discussion for a few years now! Roanoke has always had that nostalgic hometown sorta feel and I think the Trolleys are a great idea. There are currently four of them and they run up and down Jefferson street from The Market to Carilion Roanoke Memorial. I know employees there will be excited because the trolleys will run every ten minutes and they can come downtown for lunch! The best part..is that its free! Carilion is doing most of the funding for the trolleys! Hopefully this will bring a lot more business to Roanoke..especially if people are discouraged from parking downtown! They have those lovely authentic wooden seats! Unfortuneatly the cars do not run on rails..yup they're all diesel. Roanoke has talked about making the rails again, only it will be an 80 million dollar project..I don't know how the taxpayers will feel about that! I say "again" because a long time ago Roanoke did sport its own trolleys. This is back in the 1920's or 1930's when Jefferson St was Roanoke's "Main Street".

The last trolley in Roanoke ran in 1948
Its true that a lot of major cities across the country have their own form of trolley system but its nice to see it move into our little city. It adds a nice nostalgic feel for the Noke :) The trolleys are only running Monday thru Friday for now, but if its successful enough they will make additional routes and maybe additional hours. I dont know about you but I think I would like the idea of maybe a drunk trolley...a Drolley if you will..for all those drunken idiots walking the streets of Roanoke every weekend. haha..maybe not.

Teachers have more class :)

Hey everyone! I'm gonna be in school forever!! ..literally! I'm very excited because I just signed up for my spring classes! I can't wait to start some fresh new stuff..this whole math thing is getting old! Thank GOD the math is over in a few weeks!! It's been a year now that I will be in school and I've only got a few credits under my belt but I know its going to take some time. Right now I HAVE to work until they approve me for financial aide..looks like I'll be working full time for one more year and then after that I can go to school full time and work part time! I'm so glad that I have Lee who is willing to help and support me through all this! So far I've done very well and have A's in all my classes! I know that this will all be worth it in the end. I don't want to settle all my life for just making enough money to get by and to have a job that is unfulfilling (LIKE THIS ONE!). I love working with kids and I'm so happy to be doing the teaching thing! Its great that Jodi and Jen and a couple of other friends are teachers so I can get all the 411 from them! I wuv you girls! :) Speaking of Jen, I hope you had a great birthday! It was so much fun going out with you and Chase a couple weeks ago! Only a few more months and you'll be Mrs. Ferguson!! OMG! I LOVE YOU!
I got the last of my stuff moved this week..I'm officially a Hancock resident now! WITH the best roomate in the whole world! (not as good as hope of course :) We have officially started decorating for Christmas..minus the tree! How exciting! We even got some fun lights for our big windows! I cant wait!!
Well thats all for now...have a great week everyone! :)

I can't believe...

I FORGOT ELF!!!

I love this elfin' movie!!!

haha..remember last year when I got really Elfed up??

classic.

And who could forget??

All those zany Christmas TV specials.. I thought about buying these on DVD..but its more fun waiting for them to come on every year!! My dad and grandparents STILL look forward to these specials every year..I have to include a thanksgiving one too...not that I'm jumping ahead or anything.. haha..I swear this is the last one!
Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. My dad and I watch this together EVERY Thanksgiving..it usually comes on that nite on TV :( I'll be so sad not to watch it with him this year!

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. My whole family used to watch this together. We love it! It's classic

Frosty the Snowman. If I'm not mistaken this used to air a lot around the same time rudolph did. I think it's a little harder to find on TV..I do believe it makes an appearance on the 25 days of Christmas on ABC family.

Charlie Brown Christmas. What can I say? I dig some Charlie Brown! I don't know why! I have to watch all three specials every year..including the Great Pumpkin. (THAT ONE I ACTUALLY BOUGHT and haven't watched it yet!!) If anyone else remembers and great TV shows or Christmas movies or anything of the sort..let me know!! :)

ok maybe not! I love christmas tooo much!

So when it gets close to Christmas I like to whip out all my Christmas movies and have them on hand to watch! Here are a few of my favorites...and a little bit about why I love them soooo much!
Well This..is a classic movie and I don't know anyone who doesnt love the Griswolds!!

Home Alone. This was the first movie that I ever saw in the movie theatre. It holds a special place in my heart!

The Santa Clause. My dad took me to see this when it first came out! We made it tradition to go see all the Santa Clause movies...this is the only good one as you all know!

Miracle on 34th street. This movie so soooo sweet! and nothing says christmas like NYC

One Magic Christmas. In second grade my teacher made us watch this movie. I loved it immediately. It came on the disney channel a lot when i was younger but now I never see it on TV..what ever happend to the disney channel of the old days?! SO much better..with the exception of High School Musical! lol :)

The Grinch. I think what I like about this movie is that its so colorful and whimsical. It really puts me in the Christmas mood and makes me think of snoozlephones and pumbrasellas!

Santa Clause The Movie: Some of you may or may not remember this one! My grandaddy rented this for me every christmas when i was a little girl! Most people when I mention it don't know what I'm talking about..except for good ol' Tyler Trumbo..he and I share in the joy of this movie and have gotten together on a couple of occasions to watch it!...this would be the same time he tried to show me how to burp Dr Pepper..this will never happen. Anyway..if you havn't seen this one..be warned it is not the original Santa clause by disney...this is just and old christmas movie the happens to be called santa clause... I LOVE IT!..and bought it this year!
The Family Stone. This is a newer movie based at Christmas. I absolutely heart it! It is funny/tense/christmasy!

The Christmas Story. BTW I HATE this movie. I also hate the TBS thinks its so great that they play it for 24 hours straight! What a nightmare! If you get in the mood to cozy up on the couch and watch christmas movies..call me..i have all of them! All the ones that matter anyway! :)

Ya betta watch out...

I can't believe its only 48 days till Christmas!!! are you kidding me?? I love the holidays! This will be our (lee and myself) first christmas together..well..last christmas but we didn't spend it with each other! So I'm already getting into the Christmas spirit. A few weeks ago I went shopping for a dress for the wedding and rehearsal dinner. I found a dress for both, but only purchased one because I'm waiting for the other to come in. It had to be ordered because they didn't have the color I wanted. Anyway..I had a little extra money and I was off with Hope on a shopping spree to pamper myself. I found all this stuff that I wanted in hand..and EVERY time I put it back! I ended up spending all my extra money on Lee!! Well..it was a good thing because I got most of my Lee Christmas shopping done! I still have a few odds and ends to pick up for his stocking but other than that, there's not much left! I was waiting on one particular item that I ordered to come in and I had it sent to the old apartment. It came in yesterday..finally! I went over to pick it up and had all the other gifts in hand and started wrapping them! I can't believe I'm wrapping Christmas presents! I love wrapping...bags are for lazies, people! Anyway, while I was there I packed up the last of my stuff :( I'm going to miss that apartment..so big..so much space..and most importantly my wonderful roomate!! :( I'm going to miss Hope so much! Fortunately she got an apartment just a few blocks away so HOPEfully I'll get to see her more often! Once we get all the stuff moved I'm going to start decorating! I know its a LITTLE early..I normally don't do it until thanksgiving but since we'll be in MN from Nov 22-Dec 2 it would be nice to get everything up before we go so we can come home to a nice little cozy christmas apartment..with the exception of the tree. Lee wants a live tree this year so we'll get that when we come home! Im sad that I will be spending Thanksgiving away from my family (for the first time ever!!) I will probably be very emotional on that day and call them 20 times..and Lee's family will probably think I'm crazy! On the other hand Lee will spend Christmas Eve and morning with MY family so it kinda evens out! My family doesnt really know how we're doing Christmas this year. We've always done the same thing. Christmas Eve at Grandma pat and Grandma Frankie's and Christmas morning at my parents with a huge breakfast the we just eat all day LONG! Well, this year my parents (mom and grandaddy for those of you who have trouble following) decided it would be fun to go to Florida for Christmas..just the two of them! LAME! My mom says we need to start new traditions for when she and grandaddy aren't around anymore?!?! are you kidding me? When she told me that I said..um are you waiting to die or something? Why not spend the christmases that you do have with us?! Ugh..im pretty upset about as well as some of the rest of the family..including my DAD but he'll never admit it! As far as the rest of christmas goes..Lee's fam is coming in from Minnesota to Winston-Salem so we will be heading down there that afternoon! I can't wait! The weekend after we come back from MN is Lee's office Christmas party..that will be fun! AND the weekend after that I think we're going to do our annual tradition of eating at the train station and going to look at christmas lights..only this year we will have my parents and his mom in tow. A MUCH better combination!! :) Ok..im done blogging about Christmas..it is afterall only November 7th! Have a great weekend!!

Just remember..

TEN PREDICTIONS NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.
ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL?
(Amen!)

the results are in!!

First of all I just want to say "thanks" and "YAY" to everyone who voted for Obama. This was probably one of the craziest elections I've ever witnessed or been a part of..this is my second. When making my decision to vote I did hear out both parties. Yes I was raised VERY liberal and have always leaned somewhat to the liberal views of certain things..however there are a lot of liberal views that I disagree with. And being that the country is in such a horrible state right now I wasnt going to vote strictly liberal just because thats what I'm supposed to do! I gave each canidate a fair chance, I watched the debates. I read news articles. I had discussions with my peers. I'm very happy with the decision that I made. It bothers me that a lot of people in both parties will vote democrat or republican just because thats what they've always done and will never give the other party a listen. That's fine. But I'd rather have people just NOT vote then have uneducated people vote for obama because he's black, or mccain because he's republican or palin because she's a woman. The issues at hand are that our country is dealing with 2 wars, and a huge financial crisis! That's hard enough for anyone to handle alone! When we went to war I was a proud American. Everyone was hit so hard by 9/11. We were on a misson and I was behind Bush 100 percent. Now almost 7 years later, we're still at it..and honestly what has been accomplished?? Obviously we're taking the wrong approach. What America troops have done in iraq and afghanistan has brought a lot of good..but not enough to change our country. All the money that we're using to fight this war could be going to our countrys own problems. after all, we need to think of ourselves before the rest of the world..yes america for the past 200 years has been a very dominant country but it can fall just like any great empire..we have to take care of ourselves and we're not going about it the right way. There are going to be many people who will disagree with every policy or decision made and thats a given. Government cant solve every problem. Baracks honestly and loyalty sets him apart. Obama vowed to be a president for all America even the ones who voted against him and we now all need to come together and be patient so that he can take time to address the war and the finance. Have an open heart and welcome that change, how do we know it wont be better for us all? It could be a new movement. It could also be a huge downfall but we'll never know unless we try something new right? Instead of focusing on the election and being pissed off about obamas win..get over it. There's nothing you can do to change it now. The only way any good can come out of this as if you try to do the best with what you DO have. I feel very strongly about all of this and I wanted to share..I did not say anything negative prior to the election nor did I try to persuade people to choose who they needed to vote for. God gave us this president for a reason and we need to come together and stand as one nation.
To those who voted against him he stated: "I will be your president, too."

Drinking blood is NOT a good idea

Hey guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!! Well..let me just say that with everything going on..our recent trip to Louisville, our trip to Minnesota, Christmas, my move..I didn't have the extra money to spend on a halloween costume this year. To be honest, I didn't even want to go out this year. I was REALLY looking forward to staying home and watching scary movies. Well...on Halloween morning before I went to work Lee informed me that we were in fact going to a Halloween party. I most certainly did not want to go but I gave in and got our costumes together while I was at work. Yes, they were extremely simple..I surely wasnt going to go buy one. Lee's idea was that we would go as an E-mail and an attachment..lol. I thought it was dumb but everyone else seemed to think it was pretty creative so I went with it. I made a large E for Lee to wear on his shirt. For me, I made a large paperclip and a paperclip bracelet, earrings, and necklace. Yes, this is how I made the costume at work! Haha.
Lee usually gets off work early on Fridays so he decided to go hunting and didnt get home until after 8:00. He was exhausted and decided he didn't want to go to the party which was absolutely fine with me but I didn't make these dumb costumes for nothin..so we went to Macados..just to have a few drinks..and hang out and look at the costumes. It was fun. We ordered a pitcher of Miller lite to split and they dyed it red with food coloring to make it look like blood. I got a little buzzed but not drunk at all..I wanted to go hit another bar but clearly Lee was exhausted and we headed home a little after midnite. I know we didnt do too much but I was very satisfied with our Halloween. Next year we will go all out!
Meanwhile at 4am I wake up with a terrible terrible headache. I thought it to be rather strange to have a dehydration headache after only having a few beers (which I've done MANY times before, especially at Macados) so I got up and took some medicine and drank a ton of water. When I went back to bed I couldnt sleep because my head was pounding and I drank so much cold water that I was getting heartburn. Ok you shouldn't read this next part if you have a weak stomach. I started to get that famous salty taste in my mouth. I really didnt think I was going to Vomit..after all it was only 4 or 5 beers. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I didnt even have time to kneel down or pull my hair out of my face. I threw up everywhere. I couldnt stop. And it wasn't your normal vomiting..it was projectile vomit! I know Im sorry Im telling you this...but its so crazy to me because of the million times I've been drunk/sick I've NEVER projectile vomited! It was crazy..all over the walls, the back of the toilet and I couldnt stop! I just kept going! I couldnt believe I was sick! I blame the food coloring..it had to be the food coloring, right? I mean I know I don't drink that much anymore but still. There's no way! Needless to say I felt A MILLION times better after that..but I had to spend a good 45 mins cleaning the bathroom and that was NOT fun. UGH...i know..I always go into great detail but again I thought this was CRAZY AND i like to remember stuff like this...weird i know.
Anyway, Saturday was a much better day. We got up and went over to my parents house and stayed there for awhile. I had to go get my suitcase for the Trip to Minnesota. I wanted to try to be able to fit my stuff and Lee's stuff all in one suitcase. Its going to be a stretch I think. The suitcase is huge! You could fit a body in there! My grandaddy cleaned the mason jars for me! They're even prettier than I thought they would be! I'm so excited..now if I'll ever get a chance to use them.. :) I need to once again apologize to Lee..actually it's a continuation of the last apology. ANYONE who knows me very well at all knows how anal I am about cleaning. I don't know why or how this started but its a fact..I am over the top for cleanliness. All day yesterday I've been moving into the apartment. I had to pretty much reorganize the bathroom cabinets, all the kitchen cabinets, my closet, lee's closet..I mean its ridiculous! Its a small apartment..but dont worry, I'm going to make it all fit. I cant focus when there's dirt or clutter around. So, I've been bugging Lee to no end to clean up after himself..which he has yet to learn how to do..very well. It annoys me to no end when someone can walk over to the sink with their plate and set it next to the sink but not in it, or spill coffee all over the counter in the morning and not clean it up, or rarely throw away any of their trash...etc etc. It gets to a point where someone like me wants to yank my hair out!! SO naturally yesterday..when I worked my butt off ALL day cleaning/organizing..im going to be livid when he walks in grabs a snack and goes and sits down to play video games..he's been out shooting his gun all day..and I've been here cleaning up after him! I know that I need to be a little more leniant and meet him in the middle..and im trying SOOOO hard but it really takes two. Don't get me wrong, I love him unconditionaly and love living with him...I just wish he'd respect what I do for him a little more. I'm sorry Lee for yelling at you yesterday..but can you imagine my frustration? I love you I love you I love you!!!! :)
Anyway..I suppose you can say my weekend was rather busy and laid back at the same time. Oh yes, I forgot that Hope came over Saturday and we hung out and watched a few movies..one in 3d..that was hilarious. Here are some pictures from the weekend! Have a great week everyone! :)