Oh HI!

Life has been such a blur lately...working 7AM-3:30PM is pretty freaking great, but it takes so much out of me. My days are essentially work, gym, dinner, bed (with some fun mixed in, of course...otherwise, I would lose my mind and go back to my old schedule).

Last night Hubby coached a game (they won - yesss!) and then we met up for dinner. We went to a local Italian restaurant and ordered two small pizzas (buffalo chicken and Philly Cheesesteak...OMG yes). We saw one of my co-workers there with her family. She stopped by our table and then they left before we were done eating. Well, when the waitress came by after we were finished eating, she said, "Your bill is taken care of...the lady that was sitting at that table over there took care of it." Written on the receipt she gave us was, "Paying it forward. Have a great weekend! -Christine" How nice was that? Don't laugh, but I almost cried. I was just so touched by her kindness. She even took care of the tip. We left the waitress an extra $10, though, just to pay it forward a little, since our meal was completely free other than that!

Today Hubby had to get up at 6 to coach a game two hours away. I got up with him and made him coffee and a lunch and started his Jeep and then retreated back to bed after he left. I'm a little embarrassed by this, but I stayed in bed until 11:30. It was just so nice to be able to do that, though, since I get up every day at 5:45!

And that brings me to now. Tonight was Mexican night - Taco Bell and 'Ritas. Yummy. Hubby and I are just relaxing and will probably be in bed soon, since I think that we are secretly 81 (we went to bed at 8:45 last night...).

BLARG

I had a stomach bug on Friday (I went home after an entire hour of work) and it was gone for the weekend and now it's back. Apparently it's going around work. Watch, there are probably multiple strains and this will go on for weeks. I feel so freaking crappy! I started feeling like garbage right before lunch and I've have had sharp, stabbing stomach pains ever since, accompanied by a pounding headache (which is gone, though, thanks to ibuprofen). I came home and went right to bed and watched Unsolved Mysteries (I didn't even know that it was still on!). Then, after Hubby got home and snuggled with me, I decided to man up and go to the gym with him. I did 30 minutes of really light cardio (think exercise bike on a very not challenging and borderline embarrassing level) and then lifted some weights. I felt a little better after that, but I just ate chicken noodle soup for dinner and durrrrr. Hopefully I don't feel like blowing chunks tomorrow morning because I only have one hour of sick time left! And I'll be damned if I waste my vacation time on this.

Anyway, enough of that. I apparently like to complain!

In other news, I got a very awesome belated Christmas gift from my friend Leah (who is one of my besties; we've known each other for over 12 years and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding) today, which made my day: a Philosophy gift set with Brown Butter Cookie shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath, Coconut Macaroon body butter, and Pink Frosted Cookie lip gloss. Holy yum. I just hope that she enjoys Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California (yes, I am a Food Network freak), which I sent her for Christmas, half as much as I plan to enjoy my Philosophy goodies!

Okay, time to go dry my hair and be in bed early. I lead an exciting life...I know.

Livin' the good life...

I have to say that I'm really enjoying myself right now! I'm cooking brunch for Hubby and myself - eggs scrambled with extra sharp cheddar cheese with maple chicken sausage on the side - and watching Giada on the Food Network. And the best part? That would be the mimosa that I'm drinking. I was laying in bed this morning and remembered that we had a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator; on our honeymoon, we had mimosas every day with breakfast, so I decided to make today a little bit like our honeymoon. I ran to Stewart's and picked up some orange juice and we were ready to go!

It's extra cozy in here because it's snowing outside. Love love love.

Just another manic Monday...

Well, I did it! I worked from 7AM to 3:30PM! And I have to say, I love it. It was really cool that, by the time 8AM rolled around and most of my other colleagues were just coming in, I was already an hour into my workday. And, with no distractions, I was so productive that first hour. What really I love is the fact that, when I leave in the afternoon, I've put in a full day, but I still have afternoon left.

So what if I came home, got the mail, found my way to the recliner, and took a nap. We hit the gym shortly after Hubby got home and then ordered a Tuscan pizza (meatballs and eggplant) from Angelo's, our second favorite local pizza place (our absolute favorite, Gino's, is closed for the season, unfortunately). There's nothing like eating pizza after a good workout, ya know.

Okay, time to feed my addiction to Airport Mania 2 (a Christmas gift from Hubby) before bed.

Hi from Margarita Night!

I'm enjoying a yummy (and well-deserved) margarita...I vacuumed the stairs to the basement this morning (essentially torture, in my opinion...probably my least favorite chore, other than folding sheets) and I told myself that if I completed the task (and vacuumed the area in the basement where the washer and dryer are...and did four loads of laundry), I would treat myself and the Mr. to margarita night tonight!

Hubby made my favorite steak (marinated in Spiedie Sauce...OMG, best marinade ever; if you haven't heard of it, it's probably because it's local-ish - from the Binghamton, NY area...I had never heard of it until I moved here) with his garlic mashed potatoes (which are out of this world; he doesn't follow a recipe, so they are a little different every time...but always outstanding).

Speaking of Hubby, I think that he thinks that I've lost my mind...he's DJing for us tonight (using Grooveshark) and I've asked him to play "Electric Feel" by MGMT five times. That's probably my favorite song ever, next to (or maybe tied with) "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of" by U2.

Tomorrow I start my new schedule at work: 7AM-3:30PM (my company is generously letting us try out "flex time"). I am so excited. Not about the getting up at 5:30 and leaving the house by 6:15 part, but about the being done with my workday at 3:30 part.

We just got done playing our twice weekly online poker game with our friends (something that we decided to do when Fantasy Football was over). So, about poker...I used to think that the idea of it was so boring. Before I met Hubby, I had no desire to ever play. I mean, the way poker players sit around a table looking at cards always looked about as fun as watching paint dry to me. When Hubby and I met, he tried to teach me about poker (since it's his thing; he's played since college and he is really good)...he even took out a piece of construction paper and ranked the different Hold 'Em hands (in pink Crayola crayon, no lie) and none of it made any sense to me. However, after we had been dating for a little longer, I decided that I wanted to learn how to play...I mean, if he likes it so much, there's gotta be something great about it, right? So, I bought Poker for Dummies off of Amazon and asked him to teach me to play. And surprise...I LOVE it! I love the psychological aspect of trying to figure out what cards people have based on how they play them. And I also love that people think that I will play a certain way just because I'm girl...it can be very helpful!

Quote of the Day: "Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff."

Happy 2011!

January 1st. What a perfect day to start something new, right? I've been meaning to start a blog for some time (mostly since I got married just over six months ago), but never got around to it. However, with it being a new year, why not? Along with the more typical resolutions - visit the gym six days a week, pay off credit card debt, and stop procrastinating - I resolve to blog! Both to keep my far away family and friends up to date on what's going on in my life and for me to look back on one day.

So, first things first. I'm a 27-year-old gal from upstate New York (well, not originally from...I moved here from Athens, Georgia a little over two years ago, graduated from high school and went to college in the Atlanta area, grew up in Washington State, and was born in South Carolina...oh, and I also managed to live in Illinois and California for brief periods of time!). I'm a newlywed; I married my best friend last June 19th and I couldn't be happier! Married life is so much fun and I love experiencing life together.

I love my husband, family and friends, shopping, traveling, cooking, cats, coffee, the color pink, University of Georgia football, sushi (with tons and tons of wasabi), playing poker, and a good book. I love trying new things (for example, my husband and I went to a Brazilian steakhouse in Burlington, Vermont for dinner last night and one of the many things we ate was chicken heart, something that neither one of us had ever tried before!). I'm all about the simple things (something like a phone call from a friend or a Diet Coke will make my day). I know that I'm blessed beyond belief and I am so thankful for all of the amazing people in my life!

I'm so excited about 2011 and all that it has to offer. Happy New Year!