What I'm Loving...

I'm joining in with Jamie for WILW!

1. Safe Haven

BY FAR, the BEST Nicholas Sparks' book I have ever read. I read this book in 3 days. If you love Lifetime Movies, you will LOVE this book. It's unlike anything he has ever written. I stayed up wayyy past my bedtime to finish it :)

The book gives this description:

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

Go read it. I swear you will not be disappointed.

2. Over due Massage

This Friday, I'm going to get a one-hour massage that my boss bought me for Christmas :) I am so excited and cannot wait. It's been a year since I've had one! I wish I could afford to have a custom massage every month.

3. Baseball

I just found out that M & I will be going to the opening day game of the Orioles! He bought us tickets in a great section. I am so excited for this because I've never been. It's a huge outing for the entire city :) I just hope the weather behaves because some years it has snowed while others it's been sunny and warm. It's in the 1st week of April so I'm hoping it's warm out!

Hope your week is going well! What are you loving this Wednesday?

It's Top 2 Tuesday Time

Today's Top 2 Tuesday is Top 2 Strange Addictions.

I don't think I have any strange "addictions"

but I do have some strange habits.

1. Chapstick & Water

I must put chapstick on before bed EVERY night. If I don't, I honestly cannot sleep. My lips feel naked without it, haha. I use it throughout the day as well but it must go on before bed. I also have to sleep with a water bottle right next to my bed on the floor. For some odd reason, I become extremely thirsty throughout the night. It happens after I brush my teeth. I think it's strange that this happens but having water next to me solves the problem.

2. Pillows

As of right now, I have 5 full size pillows and one small pillow on my bed. And yes, I sleep with all of them. I have to hold at least one pillow while I'm sleeping too. Whenever I stay at a hotel, I have to go to the front desk and ask for more because there are never enough on the bed. The more the better :) I just like being comfy.

Other strange habits:

- The volume on the TV and radio have to be on an even number.

- When I'm on a cardio machine, I have to burn an even number of calories, it cannot be 514 or anything like that. I drive myself crazy over it haha.

- Putting lotion on my hands right after I wash them.

- Making sure all doors are closed and locked before sleeping.

- The blinds have to closed a certain way.

- Having a diet coke once a day :) Bad, I know.

Okay, now that I just made myself seem like a crazy person,

what are some of your strange addictions or habits?!

Come on, tell me :)



Weekend.

Every winter, it seems like my weekends are always so laid back. Friday night, I literally did nothing but relax and paint my nails, haha. It was so cold though and who wants to go out in that? Not me. I think when I get older, I'm going to invest in a beach house, possibly in Hawaii or something to escape this cold. I'm just not cut out for it.

On Saturday, I went to the gym and picked up a bunch of pictures from Ritz. Getting pictures developed really is expensive! I'm in the middle of transferring all of my pictures, including loose ones, into new photo albums. They are just so disorganized and need to be taken care of. Later that night, I had to babysit the little girls I watch during the week. I told my boss I would watch the girls for free as a Christmas present because she and her husband also had a gift card to a very nice restaurant. They had a wonderful, free night out :)

On Sunday, M had a basketball at 8 AM. Talk about early! He plays on a local league just for fun. After that, we came home and relaxed for a little while before we went to our friends house to watch the Raven's game. Of course, M wore his Redskins jersey haha. I'm glad the Raven's won. They have a tough game ahead of them though against the Steelers.

Today, I'm off but I'm off every Monday. School starts soon so I'm soaking up all of my free time while I can :)

Tomorrow we're supposed to get some snow, about 2 inches or so, which is basically enough to cause a mess haha. NOTHING compared to last year though, thankfully. We have really dodged some snow storms this winter so I'm fine with 2 inches.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

New Year's Recap

New Year's was wonderful! For the first time in our relationship, M and I spent the evening with just each other. Usually we hang out with a group and go out the bars or a party. This year, he surprised me with a romantic dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant in the city! I didn't know where we were going until we got there. He really has been too sweet :)

When we arrived at the restaurant

The bottle of wine we ordered. It was delicious.

The name is hilarious though - The Ratbag - haha!

Our dinner was delicious - M ordered Penne with vodka sauce and grilled chicken and I ordered Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken. It also came with house salads and warm bread. Yum!

After dinner, we came back to my house to watch the fireworks on TV and celebrate with some more wine and noise makers :)

haha

 I am in love with this picture :)

looking a little glossy eyed huh Britt? haha

first kiss of the New Year!

The next day, Jan 1st, was my dad's 50th birthday. My stepmom invited family over for dinner and cake. My dad didn't want anything big because he didn't want to turn 50 haha. But who would!?

getting ready to blow out the candles

Happy birthday dad!!

notice his age isn't on there? lol

I think I look a lot like him?

I hope everyone celebrated the new year in a fun way!

What are some of your resolutions?

Some of mine include:
- Get healthy and stick to it!! I turn the big 2-5 this year so it's time.

- Continue to stay on the Dean's List

- Blog more! (as much as school allows)
- Continue to have a close relationship with friends & family

- Continue to have a fun and healthy relationship with M

P.S - I have had this blog for one year on 1/1/11!! I never thought that would happen. Thank you ALL for following and becoming friends of mine. I appreciate you all and think you're great! I can't wait for another year :)

Christmas Recap

Is it just me, or did Christmas come and go faster than you can blink?? I know I spent time shopping and wrapping gifts, but I can't believe it's already January!

Christmas this year was great. On Christmas Eve, I went over my dad's to visit and watch It's a Wonderful Life with him and my step mom. I've never seen the movie but I actually liked it.

On Christmas morning, my brother D and I always go to my dad's to open presents early, about 7:30 AM because our brother B is still young and wakes up early. Plus, he still believes in Santa so he is always excited to see what Santa has brought him. We've had this routine since B was born. Doesn't make my mom too happy though because she doesn't see us until 10 AM in the morning on Christmas.

Dad's tree - an artificial tree that has been

around since I was young, probably 4 or 5 years old.

lots of presents

Buster loves to open presents!

My dad and step mom gave me some great presents:

- Columbia rain jacket

- Columbia fleece zip up (I'm over The North Face)

- gift cards galore

- money

- jewelry

A $10 gift card to Starbucks to the FIRST person who can tell me this:

- name of the movie on the TV

- the little boy's name

- what is going on in that scene

- what the little boy is saying

(This is my ALL TIME favorite movie in the world.

I could recite it word for word haha)

My brother and I got to my mom's around 9:30. (This is why I went to my dad's on Christmas Eve so that I could spend more time with them since I knew I would be leaving early Christmas morning.) She was ready and waiting for us to open our gifts. My mom and her fiance spoil us to pieces but I am more than grateful and she knows that. I always tell her to stop buying me so much though! haha.

Mom's Tree - small compared to what we usually buy!

some of the presents

Snugs also loves opening her presents

haha, look at the paper in her teeth



Mom and her fiance also gave me amazing presents:

- new laptop

- clothes

- money

- Vera Bradley bag for school.
I'm in love with the pattern!

I went over M's house around 1 that afternoon. This was the first time in our relationship I have been to his house on Christmas. Crazy, I know, but usually he comes over my house. It was nice going there though. His mom had a ton of food and I enjoyed spending time with his family. I also was able to give them the gifts I had bought for them. M was so sweet and got me an beautiful Coach watch. I am in love with it! He has great taste :)

Overall, my Christmas was wonderful. I got to spend time with all of my family and that's what matters most to me. Seeing them smile when opening the gifts I gave them is what makes me happy. Not the gifts I receive. I always tell my mom I'd be happy with one gift, and that's the absolute truth. In NO WAY, am I boasting or bragging about what I received. I just want to remember for the future. I hope that everyone was able to spend time with their family over the holiday and that Santa did give you a little something :)

Wow, I'm REALLY back this time!

I swear I'm not lying. First, I want to say that I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I know I posted like a month ago that I was going to give an update, but I swear that life gets in the way. Oh yea, if you EVER plan on taking a break from blogging, take my word for it and DON'T DO IT! It is so hard to get back into it. I made a promise to myself to post what I've been up to, not only for you ladies who care about what I've been doing, but also for myself so I can remember what I did. Soo, where do I even start?!

By the way, I plan on clearing out my reader and starting from tomorrow because there is no way in the world to read everyone's posts from the months of November and December - I would go insane! I apologize and hope you ladies had great things happening then.

I finished my first semester of the Elementary Education Program with 3 A's and 2 B's. I was proud of myself :-) When the semester was over, the girls in my cohort had a little Christmas party and played secret Santa. There were only about 12 of us there but we had a blast.

Also in December, I went with my family (minus my 2 other brothers) to see the lighting of the community Christmas tree. It's literally 2 minutes down the street and afterwards, they serve cookies and hot chocolate in a restored home. It's cute and my little brother enjoys watching it light up.

Matt and I went to his aunt's mom's 60th birthday. We only planned on staying for about an hour, but we made a night out of it and had a blast hanging out with the oldies :) haha. The food was amazing and the music was fun to dance to. A random but fun night.

so he is cheesin' way too hard and

my face looks like I swallowed an elephant.

I could really use a tan as well.

Whatever.

I've also gotten back into the gym, not that I ever stopped but I have stepped my game up, haha. I gained about 3 lbs. during the semester. I know it was from stress and I'm determined to get it off. I even bought some cute new workout clothes today to get me going :-) Folled over yoga pants and tanks from Old Navy. I love their workout clothes.

My old phone, the LG Dare, died on me about a month ago and I finally became a big girl and got myself a smart phone :) The Droid Incredible. Basically, the same thing as an iPhone except from Verizon. (so my brother says who has the iPhone) I love it and all of the free apps :) Oh, and it didn't hurt that I got it for FREE when Best Buy was having a special. Thanks BB!!

That's what happened for the most part in December.. Then Christmas Came...

I'M BACK!!!

LADIES I'M BACK!

I finished school yesterday at 10 AM :-)

I feels SO good to be finished and have no school work to worry about.

I will be posting a long post on Monday with pics and updates!

I hope you're all doing well and have a great weekend!

Now I'm going to check out my reader with over 3,000 blogs to read haha.

If I don't comment on a lot of posts, PLEASE forgive me. I may just clear out my reader and start reading your posts from this weekend. Either way, I'm back and I will be reading and commenting from this weekend on!

WOO HOO!