Veterans Day

Veterans day is one of those days that means a lot to me.  A lot of my friends and Family have served over seas and I think it is important to remember what they do and what they sacrifice for our freedom and for our country 

and some give the ultimate sacrifice

Army Staff Sgt. William Allers 3rd - Sept. 20 2005

Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge. 

Billy was my Dad's closest friends son.  He was KIA in Iraq in 2005 saving the lives of two of his fellow soldiers when an IED hit his humvee.  He left behind a wife and two young boys.  He is a true American hero.

I believe that veterans day is one of the most important holidays that we celebrate because it reminds us of how much it really costs to be free.  I was more than happy to work all day serving the veterans in my area with free meals today at work.

Thank You for all that you do!!! 

 We are the Land of the Free Because of the Brave <3

Country?

First, I would like to say: GO VOTE!! You have the right to participate in choosing your Government, take advantage!

Now for a rant

The other day I was on pinterest (bored because of the hurricane) and I wanted to find some good pictures of the country.  Just fields, farms, horses ect.  I just wanted pretty pictures.   However, all I kept coming up with was lyrics, and stupid hashtag crap saying #realcountrygirlproblems or #rednecksomething or other ... annoying.  And now I have to rant about it.  At Sunday in the Country (which was not a hugely popular event until a few years ago, I know, I've been going since high school) my roommate, Lori came up to me and was like, do you ever feel like half these people in their plaid, camo and boots are totally fake?  She hit it dead on,  I mean half the people there have never seen the country in their lives.  Now, I am not saying you have to have been born and raised in the boonies to be "country" but I mean really, you have to at least have been to or lived in the country at some point in your lives. 

Things I've noticed on pinterest:

1.  All the "I want a cowboy" things.
a.  Just because a guy works on a farm or knows how to ride a horse, does not mean he is a cowboy.  Also, just because he owns a hat and boots does not mean he is a cowboy.  I can prove it:

Cowboy (n):  a man who herds and tends cattle on a ranch, especially in the western U.S., and who traditionally goes about most of his work on horseback.

I know how to ride horses, very well, in fact, but I am not a cowgirl, thanks.

b.  I am pretty sure you don't want an actual a cowboy and have no clue how much work is required to tend to cattle on a large ranch.  

2.  Listening to Taylor Swift does not make you country.  I don't care what the media says, she is a pop singer.  Country is: Alabama, Hank, George Strait (old stuff), Chris LeDoux, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn (old stuff), George Jones, Jason Aldean (sometimes), Tim McGraw (old stuff) and Brantley Gilbert (sometimes, though he is more rock-ish but that is waaaay better than pop-ish).  Sorry but Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Eric Church, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band are not country (not saying I think they suck or anything, they're just not country, they are pop). 

3.  Driving a truck does not make you country.  Period.  I know plenty of people in cities and suburbs who drive trucks.  So please, spare me the "I'm so country, I drive a truck" crap, thanks :)

4.  Redneck and Country are not the same thing ....
Redneck (n): 1. an uneducated white farm laborer, especially from the South.

2. a bigot or reactionary, especially from the rural working class.

So please stop referring to yourself as a redneck just because you own a camo jacket or something.  Did you go to school? Yes. Do you work on a farm? Probably not.  So please stop.

 5. "I was country before country was cool."  Probably not, you are trying to hard. Also, I bet you don't know where that phrase is from.

6.  Owning a pair of boots does not make you country.  Especially if the heels are higher then maybe a half inch.  

Ok, I think that is it for my rant.   It's just something I have noticed and has been getting on my nerves.

Harry Potter

It is absolutely no secret that I LOVE Harry Potter.  I mean seriously, I want to be Hermione Granger.  Anyways, the other night I was telling Josh about some books that I had read and told him they were great but nothing beats Harry Potter, I mean Harry Potter is just superior to all, right?  Josh didn't agree, so began our 30 minute argument over HP vs Star Wars (obvs. HP is better).  I mean, 10 minutes of that was debating between Yoda and Dumbledore ... like that is even an argument (sorry, Dumbledore is totally more badass than Yoda).  This argument got intense (and I had to question whether I could actually marry this guy!) .... in the end I won (in my head, anyways). Since I began re-reading the books (I'm already almost done the first!) I decided to do a post on why HP is the best!

1. J.K. Rowling's dedication to creating this world.  I mean really, she wrote all 7 detailed HP books then went and wrote the Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, and Quidditch Through the Ages. 

2. In the words of ....well I'm really not sure who actually said this, for now we'll go with, n the words of Pinterest .....

3.  Lets be honest, Albus Dumbledore is a badass.  Also, he is the wisest man you could ever come into contact with.  I wish we could be friends. 

4. Hermione Granger.  I want to be her.  She is such a great (even if she is fictional) role model for young women.  Yeah, she ended up with Ron, but she was a strong, smart individual that did not depend on a man for her happiness or safety.  That girl could hold her own, I wouldn't mess with her.

5.  The life lessons to be learned from Harry Potter.  I have never learned so much about life in one series as I have from Harry Potter, and its a fantasy series!

6. The dynamic characters, especially in the books.  The way JK Rowling develops these characters is amazing.  I feel like I truly know each of them.  It's not just a surface skim of the characters.
 My favorite (or one of them), Luna Lovegood!  I also love the development of the relationships between the characters, I can not say enough about it.

7. Last, (for this post) I love that you can always go back to Hogwarts :)

Unhappy Halloween

This was not the Halloween I expected.  I ended up working in the A.M. which was 100% fine by me because I missed work on Monday due to Hurricane Sandy.   

After worked I ended up freaking out about a paper that I thought was due today but its not due til Tuesday!! (At least it is done)!   

Then at around 6, I headed to Mom's house to hand out candy to trick-or-treater's so that she could go out with my brother.  (Since we're in the middle of nowhere and get no trick-or-treaters).  P.S. Charlie does NOT like Halloween!

Mom's House Decorated

Watch Doggie

Again

Jason as Captain America

So, around 7 I'm sitting out front and Charlie is in the house having a shit fit, so naturally I start getting annoyed.  Then I notice the neighbor's dogs across the street start doing the same thing, then the ones behind the house too, so I'm like dude, really?  So I sit there for like two minutes and then start hearing sirens.  First it is police, so I'm thinking it is a bunch of kids fighting or something.  Then comes a few more (like 10 total) then here comes and ambulance, then a few fire trucks, all going to the street that runs perpendicular to Mom's and they are stopping relatively close to the house.  Obviously, I'm like uhhhhh, WTF.  So I get up off the porch and start walking to the corner and start seeing smoke!!  A house was on fire, big time! 

This was taken from the corner. 

I watched from the corner so that I didn't get in the way, then I see a Schwan's truck pulling up. (I worked for Schwan's for about a year up until September of this year).  And then I see the truck park and a guy Paul that I  worked with starts sprinting towards the house.  Then it hits me that we had a conversation about how he lived right by my Mom.  So instead of staying where I was, I went down towards the fire to see if it was his house and if everyone was OK.  Thankfully, it was not his house, it was next door to him, and his neighbors were able to get his pets out and his wife and kids were not home.

I have a friend who works dispatch for our area so I texted her to make sure that everyone that was in the house was OK.  She said one person was transported for CO inhalation but it was not emergency and that everyone else was OK. 

Not exactly the evening that I was hoping for, but I am glad that the family and everyone involved is OK!  I have never seen a house on fire (that wasn't set on fire on purpose), and it was a very scary experience!

Josh's Birthday and the Weekend

Welp, I completed something on my Day Zero list without even realizing it.  

Josh and I couldn't figure out what to do on his birthday (10/17), so we decided to go for a walk at Mariner Point Park.  We ended up taking our leftover peanuts from Texas Roadhouse the other night and feeding them to the squirrels!  They came right up to us.

Since Josh is not a big birthday person and I have no money since I haven't worked in about 2 months, we decided to go mini-golfing (on my list).  I am a mean person an didn't let him win (he did almost catch up)!

A praying mantis came out of nowhere at one of the holes.  Good luck?

Friday, I spent the morning watching Harry Potter then I finally got back to the gym and got in a decent workout.  Then went home and went on a cleaning spree.

Saturday, most of my day was spent in the library studying for two midterms and doing an outline for my long range paper in my English class and doing reading for Chemistry.  Once the library closed I headed for the gym again (YAY) and then continued my cleaning spree.

Sunday, I went to church and the sermon was great, mainly because I really don't like the 50 shades series for many reasons, and the pastor totally just bashed it.  That obviously wasn't the whole sermon, it was just used to prove his argument, but still
Then I went to Mom's for my brothers birthday party and watched the Ravens lose horribly. But it was good to see some of my family that I haven't seen in a while. :)
 The evening was spent doing some reading and watching the last 2 Harry Potter Movies :)

Happy Birthday/Wedding Wednesday/WILW

1.  Happy Birthday to the best fiance, ever! I love you, honey :)

 
2. WILW/Wedding Wednesday

a. I am Loving that it is my honeys 29th birthday (though he doesn't love it very much)

b.  I am loving that he happens to have off work today so after he gets his car fixed I get to spend the whole day with him :)

c. I am loving that my sister and I are going to get matching tattoos on her 18th birthday in November.  These are the ones we are considering.

d.  I am loving all of the pinterest ideas for the wedding that are going to bring the cost down, big time.  I love all the DIY things :)  These are some of the ideas that we are 100% sure that we are going to use.

Table numbers.  I already have six wine bottles, need 4 more.  And the numbers will be lavender instead of pink

Cute and way less expensive then traditional baskets. 

I can make this with the burlap from the table numbers!  Also, instead of the twine bow I am going to get lavender ribbon.

Josh is soo not a suit and tie guy, we agreed that this is much more him.

If I can find mason jars without all of the writing on them, this is what we're gonna do for favors!

e.  I'm loving that I got offered two jobs this past week!  One seasonal at Kohls in early morning receiving (which I'm hoping will turn into regular) and one at Applebee's as a host

f.  I am loving this book that we're reading at Church

Happy Hump Day, Everyone!

WILW and Wedding Wednesday

WEDDING WEDNESDAY

On Friday Josh and I had an appointment to view a venue that we found on wedding wire and really liked.  After an hour of sitting in lovely Baltimore traffic we finally arrived.  As soon as I met the even coordinator, Kate I knew I liked her!  She was very professional and very nice.  She took us on a tour of the reception place and pretty much answered all of our questions before we could even answer them!  The reception hall is huge!  There is also a downstairs bar for people who get to the wedding early and for cocktail hour before the reception!  She also said that they have a backup plan in-case it rains.

The reception will be upstairs ... the building is ugly outside but I'm not concerned with that. 

This is the reception place (set up for a wedding that was taking place the next day).  I love the fireplace!

It fits 300ish people

Buffet area

Door leads out to the balcony ... Josh talking to Kate in the background

There was a rehearsal going on out side at the ceremony site, so while we were waiting for them to finish up Kate took us to see pictures of past weddings, see different linen options and to answer any of our questions.  When the rehearsal finished, she took us to the ceremony site and showed us how it usually works.  That is what sold us on the place.

So, we will be getting married here on May 24, 2014 :)

WILW

This week, I am loving:

1. That we officially have a wedding venue!!  And because we booked so early, we get the date that we wanted!!

2. We got out of classes right in the middle of Trig yesterday due to a tornado watch! (I don't love that I missed Chemistry though).

3. I have so far been able to keep up with and even ahead of my school work so far.

4. We are having a party this weekend with our friends!  That is always good times and we haven't had one in a long time.  We are also all having a game night/dinner date on Thursday.

5. My amazing Fiance

Weekend Fun

What a weekend!!! Josh and I were going non-stop from Friday afternoon til 1130pm Sunday night!

Friday:  We had an appointment to tour a venue for our wedding.  The appointment was at 3:00, we didn't get there til right around 4 (Thank you Baltimore traffic!).  We got there and knew the place was for us!  I will give more details on that on Wednesday but for now I'll just say, the price is right, the reception place is huge, the event coordinator is AMAZING and the ceremony spot is beautiful. So, we now have a date and a venue :)

Saturday:  RENNFEST!  My friends and I typically go down to the Renaissance Festival every fall (for the past 5 years)!  This year, once we got there, the girls and guys split up until about 330.  Us girls went and played some games, ate some food, saw the joust, saw a few skits and chilled for a bit.  Around 330 we went to the bar and found the guys and hung out there until it was time for a show that everyone wanted to see called Fight School.  Those guys are hilarious!  The last thing we did was get a group picture taken at this place where they dress you up in costumes.  (I will post the pic as soon as copies are made). After that the guys went for one last beer while us girls went and waxed the roses that the guys bought for us.  We decided to leave after that in order to beat out all of the traffic. 

After the Rennfest a bunch of us met back up and went to the bars in Bel Air because it was John's birthday!  Him and ended up getting pretty drunk but we had a good time!  John ended up getting kicked out around 1 so we went to McD's then back to Kristin's where Josh had to come drive me home. 

 Haha Kilduff on the way home from Rennfest

Josh and I 

Sunday:  I think we should have just stayed home! haha!  First Josh and I were running a little late, we were supposed to get to Nick and Sam's by 9 but left 20 mins late.  Then when we got to Wawa I realized that I had forgotten our tickets so I had to drive 20 mins back to the house!  We got to Nicks around 10 and didn't get to Merriweather (where the concert was being held) til 1130.  Once we got there we set up our beer pong, played, met up with friends and had an all around great time tailgaiting.  Once we got into the show, Kristin and I set out to find the Ravens game.  We got there in the middle of the third quarter and watched a very disappointing and frustrating second half.  After that we watched the show for a bit and left that before the last act (we had no interest in Eric Church).  So, Kayla calls me about 5 mins after we get on the road and says something is wrong with Kristin's truck.  We pulled into the parking lot at the Columbia Mall to check it out, the break line had rusted out.  We ended up walking over to PF Changs while we waited for her dad to come and take them home.  Then when we got back to Nicks I realized I left my purse at PF Changs.  Yeah, we should have just stayed home.

Beer Pong

Josh's new hat

John and Josh in their new hats

So that was my weekend!