Starting the Day Over

Today is one of those days where I am just frustrated at the world.  I've wasted the morning spending money and time on things that should other people should have taken care of or redoing work I've already done. 

Everything that frustrates me today is little: small hidden costs and little fees, bad drivers, people being late, files being destroyed, dealing with everything else and not what I had planned for the day, etc.  It is so hard for me not to let little things get under my skin.  I know its stupid to be in a bad mood because in 5 years (or even a week) these things aren't going to matter. I feel whiny and petty right now, and I'm not happy with my own outlook today.

So, I'm devoting the afternoon to getting into a better mood. Once I finish up my work for journal, I'm planning a bubble bath while watching Dexter to start my day over.  

In a completely unrelated note, I would love your advice and input. I am working with Lexington Habitat for Humanity and we are doing a online auction called "Bids for Builds" to auction off things with all proceeds going to Habitat.  We are currently collecting items, so I need so item suggestions.  What do you think people would bid on that we can get donated? Also, we would love to focus on more "experience" type items rather than tangible items as we think people would pay more for an experience than just a product.  Any experience ideas? A few of the ones I've thought of (but haven't gotten yet) are: 

-having a local chef cook a dinner for 6 at your home. 

-Have a distillery tour/tasting with the master distiller. 

And, if anyone wants to donate something (and get the tax deduction) or has connections to locals, I'd love to talk to you about it--just email me at bluegrasslove@gmail.com.

Lobster Claws and Crab Legs

Look's appetizing (to you carnivores), right? NO. IT HURTS LIKE HECK. Yesterday I forgot to put sunscreen on the tops of my hands and behind my knees and the back of my calves, so I've got a bad case of fire red lobster claws and crab legs. 

So I'm sitting at the Charlotte airport, counting down the moments until we can take off so I can get home to put more aloe on. Any good at home remedies for removing a sunburn? 

And, Cam and I *fingers crossed* will have a new member in our family tonight :)

All Aboard the Plane to Hell...

 Our flight yesterday was absolutely the flight from hell. 

Thanks google.

I should have known it was an awful sign when they tell us to use the restroom before we board the plane because the flight will be extremely bumpy for the supposed hour to Charlotte. The plane is basically a puddle jumper and we didn't have a smooth single moment. I fly rather often and have never once before have I had to place my head between my knees to keep from getting sick.  We were flying through a thunderstorm that was literally red on the weather map. I have never understood why they put a vomit bag in everyone's seat until that flight. Absolutely awful.

We were unable to land in Charlotte because of bad weather and had to widely circling the area, until  they tell us we are running out of fuel are going to have to unexpectedly "recovery" land in Columbia, SC. 


Let me just tell you, nothing good in my life has ever come out of Columbia, SC. 

We sat on the plane in Columbia forever, waiting for fuel, doing paperwork and just general hassle because of our unexpected recovery landing. We spent 5 hours on what should have been a 1 hour flight.  Because of this, we missed our connection but the stewardess told us we were automatically being re-routed.  I called anyway to confirm we had seats on another flight. I am so thankful I did--US Air had no idea our flight had been diverted to Columbia and that we were not Charlotte.  Did I mention this encompassed dinner time and they did not have any food--not even peanuts--on board? Needless to say, everyone was very grouchy.

We finally take off and get to Charlotte. Thank goodness the last flight out had also been majorly delayed and our call from the Columbia runway secured us the last seats on that plane.  We didn't get in to FL until 3 AM, but at least we are here. And alive. 

Let the vacation begin! It can only get better from here, right? 

and of course, let's get some revenge boys today over the Vols. GO CATS! 

I Must Mistreat My Mouth

Today I went have been trying to churn out papers! I have finished my Equine Law outline for that paper and worked on editing my submission for the Law Journal. Last night I was selected as an Articles Editor of our law journal, which is so thrilling and an real honor--but, it also means I will have a lot more on my plate. I am just trying to get all the things looming over my head finished right now--I have the ethics portion of the Bar in two weeks (eek!), two papers this semester, and, of course, the dreaded finals.

I still can't believe the semester is already halfway over as of this Friday. CRAZY. Seriously, 2L year is flying by a lot more quickly than 1L year.

Had a dentist appointment today and I realized just awful of a human being I am to my mouth.
Bad Sign No. 1:Your dentist looks at you when you walk in the door and they say, "Long time no see!" Confession: It had been I swear it thought it was one two years.
Bad Sign No. 2: the hygienist asks which flavor fluoride you would like, and your selection makes her say, "wow, you really must be a sugar-holic." So what if if cherry cheesecake sounded better than grape?
And the Worst Sign: After your dentist examines your mouth, he says, "well the good news is you don't have oral cancer." WOW. that's something I have never thought of, but I guess it's relieving. But, then promptly follows it with "but you do have two cavities. On opposite sides of your mouth."

Ugh. But, he did convince me of the next thing I just have to have: the Sonicare toothbrush, which even makes a whitening version that they sell as duo so Cam and I can have matching white teeth.


Doesn't the couple on the box just look so happy? In all seriousness, it does look pretty awesome. And, I pledge now that I will attempt flossing on a regular basis and give Cam complete permission to hold me accountable to this.

The day did get better when my dear friend, Lauren, owner and event planner extraordinaire of Lauren Chitwood Events, stopped by before her meeting in town with a bride. All that Lauren juggles and does makes me feel like my life is sane and downright boring!

Love always,
Lauren

Monday Blues

Today is a rather boring Monday. I am in the "blah" February stage where I am beginning to hate the dreary weather and I haven't slept well so I'm rather tired. It probably doesn't help I have an oral argument tonight and really just don't want to do it. At all. Blah.

I finally broke down and got a new driver's license today and--of course--I hate my picture. My hair looks too poofy and I realized when I have to look up at the camera my face looks substantially chubbier than it should. Compare this picture to the last license picture (taken only two weeks ago) and you'll see what I mean. Oh well, at least I don't have to take my passport out to the bars with me anymore...


BUT, we did have a great, relaxing weekend. Cam and I have something big scheduled every weekend from now until the weekend of March 26th, so we decided to take advantage of the fact that we had nothing scheduled this past weekend and just took some time to relax! On Friday my wonderful surprised me with Gigi's cupcakes (they just opened in Lexington this weekend).


He brought home a Peanut Butter Cup and Chocolate Strawberry. We both agreed the Peanut Butter Cup was substantially better than the chocolate strawberry. The icing literally tasted like peanut butter fudge. Now that I think about it though, maybe this is why I looked fatter in my license picture....hmmm..
Cam also had stopped at Liquor Barn and picked up a few different beers neither of us had tried so we could do our own at home beer tasting. He picked up Chimay and Old Engine Oil. We absolutely loved the Chimay.


Then on Saturday we went to the AllTech Brewery tour (who brews Kentucky Ale). It is a great, local brewery who currently brews three beers: Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Ale Light, and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Kentucky Ale was actually the local beer we served at our wedding. The tour was very nice--short, informative, and included a tasting of all three beers. Right now, Kentucky Ale is only sold in Kentucky, but AllTech hopes to expand it worldwide after a "debut" at the World Equestrian Games.

And, we found one of the best deals in town: you can purchase a "growler" (a 64 ounce jug) of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (Kentucky Ale that has been aged in bourbon barrels). You can then bring the empty growler back to AllTech or Liquor Barn and get it refilled anytime. It is one of my favorite beers and it is much cheaper to do it this way than to buy it at the store. Cam and I are definitely thinking this calls for weekly refills. I forgot to take a picture of our growler before we drank it, but here is one I found:


And, of course, on Sunday we went to church and then watched the Superbowl. It was fabulous just to relax all weekend--especially with the busy weeks ahead!


And tonight: LET IT SNOW:)

Much Love,
Lauren

Everything I Touch...

...apparently gets lost. I already lost my brand-new license I JUST got made. Yesterday, I managed to wash the sheets and lose not one, but TWO pillowcases somewhere between the first and second floors of our house.

Seriously, I think I have a problem. I did manage to find the pillowcases, but the driver's license is absolutely gone. I even looked underneath the beds and dressers on the off chance our cat had stolen it. So, my new best friend is going to have to be:

Saint Anthony finder of lost things. I'm glad no one else has been around the house because I look crazy, walking around mumbling the good old Saint Anthony prayer as I flip the house upside-down. I even found this Novea online to mix it up a bit:

Saint Anthony, perfect imitator of Jesus, who received from God the special power of restoring lost things, grant that I may find [name of lost item] which has been lost. At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind, the loss of which has afflicted me even more than my material loss. To this favor, I ask another favor of you: that I may always remain in possession of the true good that is God. Let me rather lose all things than lose God, my supreme good. Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure, eternal life with God. Amen.

It's good and puts everything back into prospective, but not as catchy of a rhyme as the prayer I grew up with.

Also, class ranks came out today, so I'm satisfied to move onto this semester finally. I hope all this hard work ends up paying off with a job!

In other news, Cam and I went to Louisville this past weekend and hung out with our wonderful friends, Nick and Lauren, to watch the UK game (GO CATS! #1 IN THE NATION!). After the game, we went to Mojito for dinner.

It was Cam's first time at a Tapas restaurant and he loved it. The wait was outrageous--close to two hours and that was with the call ahead. But, we had a pitcher of mojitos, a complimentary appetizer, and had such great company that it was well worth it!

Check out Lauren's awesome wedding/event planning business--I am so proud of her and that she is doing now!

Well, I am off to clean the house a bit and work on evidence homework so I can cheer on the CATS tonight! I hope everyone has a great week. Say a little prayer please that I find my driver's license--I can't afford to keep buying a new one every week!

I HATE RECTOR HAYDEN.

I am so frustrated and angry right now.

The stupid realtor with Rector Hayden who is listing our dream home knew we had our house on the market for that specific home. We talked to her on Wednesday and she promised to keep us in the loop about the home.

Of course, today a family asks to see our house again tomorrow and Cam and I get so excited. I go on MLS listing and see that our dream home is PENDING sale. The woman at Rector Hayden never called or bothered to tell us that she got an offer, and didn't even apologize once. This is the same woman who did not want to even take our contingency bid to the seller (which she is legally required to).

i am beyond frustrated with her and the situation and will not recommend Rector Hayden to a single person now....

Cam and I are planning on pulling our house off the market tomorrow.

Bummed

So, within about a hour of having our house listed, our dream home got an offer. Just great. Cam and I can't afford two mortgage payments, so we are going to have to wait......Ugh.

Dear Facebook,

I understand your advertising strategy of looking at a person's interests and status to determine what ads they see. However, being married does not equal having children. While pregnant women are beautiful, I would appreciate if you would quit cramming babies down my throat. C does not get this sort of advertising, so stop trying to turn me into a baby machine and show me only ads of large bellies and babies, such as:

Erase Stretch Marks

Fertility, Pregnancy Help

$2500 Cute Baby Contest

Free Diaper Bag

Join CafeMom

A mass of cells?

Are you a mom-to-be?

Are you a mom?

Free $10,000 for Moms

Even a few are fine, but all of these? Geesh.

Sincerely,
A happy, not pregnant newlywed

Why Can't I Just Be Me?

I am giving up on changing my name soon. Ugh, honestly it is the worst process in the world. The social security office let me drop my first name and keep my middle, my maiden and my new last name. I got the name changed with the bank. I went to the drivers license renewal place (its the shadiest place, I swear..) and they won't let me get a license period because apparently I can't just drop my first name, only my middle or my last. I have to legally change my name. I am so frustrated with this whole lengthy process. I actually am fine with my picture, and might as well keep my license.

It is not that bad, right? So now I either have to go back to the social security office and hypenate my maiden and last name legally or schedule a court appearance (it takes months apparently) and legally drop my first name.

Ugh. Another reason to NEVER call your child by their middle name....

Sales-children

Apparently, you are no longer safe in your own home. As a rule, I tend to love children and like living in a neighborhood with lots of them. However, enough is enough.

The little girl next door had set up a lemonade stand Monday (which was my first day off work). I am a firm believer of supporting small children so I walked next door and bought lemonade the first day I saw her out there. It cost a quarter and she seemed so happy to make a sale.

However, yesterday she was more persistent and proactive, yelling as soon as I got out of the car that she was selling lemonade. I scrounged up another quarter to pay her off. She informed me that the lemonade is now $1. I quickly realized I don't have enough money to keep this up every day so I told her that I didn't have a dollar and went inside.

Today is a whole new story. I literally went inside and hid all day from the 7 year old. I felt beyond pathetic but I refused to give in. She took a much more proactive approach. She stood on our property line and screamed: "LEMONADE". It was cute, for the first hour. My dog went crazy every time she screamed and between the two of them I now have a dreadful headache that extra strength Tylenol will not cure. I turned up the TV to drown her out. About two or three hours later, my doorbell rings. I ignore it. It rings again. My poor dog is going insane. I finally go answer the door. "Would you buy some lemonade from me?"

I understand that we live on a small court and most people are at work during the day. But door to door lemonade sales?? I gave her a dollar, feeling very defeated.

Ugh. This is going to be a long summer.