A Ghostly Encounter

I’ve never been one to believe in anything paranormal, so to speak.  But a week at my Mom’s house may have convinced me.  Now I still don’t believe in crazy scary movie type stuff but I do believe in spirits.

My sister thinks everything is haunted, so when her and my Mom and brother moved into a new house I was obviously rolling my eyes when she said the new house is haunted.  She called him Sarge because my Oma’s boyfriend whose house it is fought in Vietnam so she thinks it’s either a friend or someone he killed.  They were in the new house for almost two years when they asked me to stay with Charlie for a week while they went on vacation.

The first weird thing was: I was playing with Charlie one night and he just stopped in his tracks and started growling at something in the dining room.  He kept inching closer, then crouching away the way dogs do when they’re in trouble and he did this several times.  He also scooted his way into the kitchen and was sitting there growling, too.  This went on for nearly a half hour.  It was really creepy.

for reference, the living room is in front and the dining room is where the red wall is and then where Charlie is, is where the kitchen starts.

The second was:  I was getting ready for bed and Charlie wanted to go out.  I opened the bedroom door and saw a ball of light go from the living room to the dining room.  I didn’t think much of it at the time.  I figured it was just a car passing by the window.  But it was a condensed ball of light.  I told my Mom about it and she said she’s seen the same thing, but the light usually goes into the fire place.

 

Charlie also won’t go into the basement at night.  They say animals have a sixth sense and I officially believe it.

To top off all the creepiness, there was one night when the electricity went out.  I had to go in the creepy basement at night into a dark corner where the fuse box was.  It turned out that there was a fire which somehow affected the transformer box for that area.   But it was super creepy and I was soooo not wanting to go down there.

Maybe I should have shared this story around Halloween ...

Life Lately

Post around here might be a little slow in the month of May!  We have so much going on, I hardly have time to breathe!

- For the next few weeks, we have several people on vacation at work, so I'm just racking up those overtime hours!  Plus we have a trainee coming in that I'm training on one of our posts, starting next week.  Josh and I both hardly have any time off until our wedding

- I have my hair trial today for the wedding :) My appointment is at 3pm so I'll probably Instagram a picture when it's done :)

- I have my final dress fitting tomorrow night at 8pm.  I'm so excited to see what it looks like now!  It was a little loose before and the corset didn't look right because of that.  Also, they added a bustle.

- I helped save a goose at work!  It was so sad, the little guy was walking up and down the street for 8 hours just honking and limping.  His one wing was broken.  I put a facebook status up about how sad it was making me and one of my coworkers from Wawa said that her brothers girlfriend works for a wildlife rescue and that she could come get him!  She was there within an hour and the little guy is recovering!  :)  He confirmed my idea that his wing was broken when he was trying to get away from them.  He tried using it but it wasn't working.  I was thrilled to hear that he's doing well!  It was making me so sad, I actually cried at one point because I went outside and could hear him honking and I felt so helpless.  The power of the internet y'all.

- We're moving!!  We're so excited to move closer to work (the hour drive is killer) and to have a place of our own.  We're renting a townhouse that my Dad's friend owns.  It's two bedrooms, fully finished basement, full bath, and it has a decent backyard with a shed.  We'll definitely miss the area we live in now but we definitely wont miss the drive!  We move in on June 1st.

- Because we're getting a new place, we decided to get new furniture!  The furniture we have now is from my parents old house so we wanted something newer and nicer.  We're keeping our old living room furniture at the old place so our roommates can use it in their extra room.   We found this set purely by luck.  We went to a place called Gavigans and we happened to go during their anniversary sale - we got 60% off plus they paid our sales tax!  We're waiting for the next sale so we can get a new dining room table.

- Mom and I made our center pieces and table numbers and I really like how they turned out :)

- My flowers arrived yesterday!!  I checked them to make sure they were good and I absolutely love them!  The girl did such a great job!  Below is the photo she sent me before she shipped them :)  It's mine, the bridesmaids, the throw away, and the mothers corsages.

- I am getting a massage tomorrow after work and before I pick up my dress!  I could not be more excited!  My friend Sam is a massage therapist and Josh got me a gift certificate to get a massage where she works :)  My back has been killing me, so I hope to God that this helps!

- Our ceremony and vows are done! and so is our playlist!  and our time line for the day is just about mapped out!  We have less than one month y'all!  Shit is getting real!

Top 5: TV Shows

I used to not watch much TV, especially when I lived with my parents.  But now I am a boring old person who can't afford to go out, so I watch a lot more shows.  These are my top 5:

NCIS

This is one of my all-time favorite shows and definitely my favorite crime show.  I honestly don’t know what I’d do with my life if this show got cancelled!  Gibbs and Abby are definitely my favorites and I totally want to be Abby!  Ducky is another favorite.  I cry every time something happens to Ducky and I have no clue why.

BONES

Bones is a close second to NCIS.  I love the science in this show and I love that Kathy Reichs makes sure it’s accurate.  Also, the characters grow and change so much during the course of the show, especially Bones.  I love watching that and watching relationships grow.  Plus, Booth is hot!  I mean, let’s be serious!

GILMORE GIRLS

This is the first show I bought seasons of and watched from start to finish.  Although the characters annoyed me to no end at some points, this show will always have a place in my heart.  And I’m still mad that Logan and Rory didn’t end up together.

 

FLASHPOINT

Canada for the win!  I love our neighbors to the north for bringing us this fabulous show!  It came on during the writer’s strike a few years ago.  It’s essentially about a hostage rescue team.  There is a lot of psychology involved and I love it!  I love everything about this show and even though I’m sad it ended, I think they ended it fabulously.

Pretty Little Liars

This is my guilty pleasure, for sure.  I’m a season behind and I want to stop watching it but I just can’t!  I know some information from the books but there's also a lot I don't know.  I need to know everything!

If they keep it up, Chicago PD may bump PLL out of my top 5!  I am loving that show so far!  Also, I have a total girl crush on Sophia Bush.  Can I please be her?  I also love that they do a lot of crossing over with Chicago Fire.  I also just started watching Numbers on Netflix, great show!

Where I'd Live: International

Living abroad has always been a dream of mine.   Whether it happens or not, only time will tell.  I’ve definitely thought about where I’d like to live if the opportunity presented itself.

IRELAND

Ireland is the number one place on my list of must visit countries.   It is also a huge part of my heritage.  I think it would be amazing to live here for a bit and really get in touch with my Irish roots.

LONDON, ENGLAND

London is second on my list of must visit places.  This is one of the few cities I think I’d be ok with living in for a few years.  Plus, the language barrier wouldn’t be so bad.

COSTA RICA

I would give my left arm to go back to Costa Rica.  It is my favorite country that I’ve visited to date.  I would love to learn a bit of Spanish and spend some more time there!

NEW ZEALAND

Hello paradise!  There are a million reasons why I’d love to live in New Zealand, but the main reason is because it’s every outdoor lovers dream!  Oh, the hiking and camping that would be done there!

GERMANY

This is another heritage one.  Josh was also born here, so it’s probably the place that would be easiest for us to move to.  Also, I remember some high school German and would love to brush up and put it to good use!

If You Want to Annoy Me

If for some reason, you decide one day that you want to annoy me, be one of the following people.  (PS I'm just in the mood to bitch, so this is what we get).

People Who Go Into Checkout Lines While On Their Phones

OH...MY...GAWD!!  Like, for real, this is one that actually makes me want to deck people ... in the face. In my opinion, it's one of the rudest things you can do.  No conversation is that damn important that you can't tell the person on the other line to hold on for a minute when you complete your transaction.  If it is that important maybe you shouldn't be having the conversation in a store?  If you must have the conversation in the store, don't get in line until you are prepared to hang up or ask the person to hold on a minute.  That or just use the self checkout lines.

I actually go into it with a customer at Wawa over this.  He was holding up my line because I was asking a legitimate question regarding his debit card and couldn't finish the transaction without the information.  He was too busy on his phone to pay attention to me so I put his stuff behind the counter, suspended his transaction and moved on to the next (annoyed) customer.  He was not happy at all.  I told him why I did what I did and we definitely argued a bit.  If any other manager had been there that night, I probably would have lost my job.  The one that was there could barely deal with him because she was laughing so  hard.  Anyway, the point of this story is don't be on your phone when you're checking out from a store (or when you're in a restaurant where you will be served, for that matter) ITS RUDE!

People Who Tailgate

 I am not a slow driver, but I also don't drive like I'm at Daytona.  The "main road" that leads to my street has a speed limit of 50mph; I usually go about 60 (unless it's rainy or something).  The road is pretty hilly and curvy so I wouldn't feel safe going much faster than 60.  This is my biggest pet peeve - when I am going OVER the speed limit and people tailgate me!  I am not one to slam on my brakes and try to cause an accident; I value my car, and my life.  What I'll do is gradually slow down until either they get off my ass or I reach the slowest speed I can legally go.  There is no safe or legal place to pass, so unless they're really stupid, they're stuck.  

Moral of the story? Tailgating is stupid, annoying, and unsafe ... don't do it :)

People Who Try to Talk to Me When I'm Reading

...and these things are not important.  I talked about this here.  Josh is also bad for this one.  He gets the stink eye a lot. 

Germophobes

Not like people who just wash their hands a lot (that's just sanitation) but people like the lady at Wawa who wanted us to change our gloves every 10 seconds.  HELL NO.  This lady, let me tell you.  She asked me to put gloves on while making coffee ... coffee!  Our hands never touch the coffee .. like at all.  I flat out said no and she didn't get a coffee.  Then she asked the guy making her sub to change his gloves, I kid you not, three times!  The third time he got pissed and walked away.   Nobody else would touch it so the manager had to come out and make it (and changed her gloves twice).  That's just a little stupid.  Also, studies have shown that Germophobes are more prone to serious illnesses because their immune systems haven't been stressed and are therefore, weak.

People Leaving Shoes on in the House

This is a weird one and I don't know why it bugs me so much but it does.  Maybe because growing up, at my house and my friends houses, we were required to take our shoes off by the door.  Josh has a hard time with this one but I am adamant about it because he tracks so much shit into the house.  

Now, I have told you how to thoroughly piss me off ... but please don't.

Savannah, Georgia and South Carolina

Savannah may be my favorite of cities that I've visited so far - at least in the U.S. 

Josh and I visited Savannah after our cruise in 2012.  Our friend Heather was studying at SCAD, so we decided to stop in for a visit on our way home.  We technically stayed in Bluffton, South Carolina, which is where she was living, but spent our two days touring Savannah.

The first day was rainy but it worked out because I left my ID in my car in SC so I wouldn't have been able to enjoy any of the bars.  We went to a place on River Street for lunch and then headed back to Bluffton.  We ate dinner at a local restaurant (I really need to start writing down restaurant names!) in Bluffton and called it an early night. Oh, and we also went to the Piggly Wiggly which Josh was way too excited about.  Warning: this is a major photo dump!

The next day we began by eating breakfast at the IHOP in Bluffton.  Let me tell you, Bluffton must have some strict building codes because EVERYTHING looked really nice.  After breakfast we headed into Savannah with no real agenda.  The only thing I really wanted to see was the Juliet Gordon Low House because I was a Girl Scout for 10 years.   We also wanted to see Forsyth Park and River Street.   We had some amazing Ice Cream at Leopolds and just enjoyed walking around this beautiful city.

After spending the day in Savannah, we headed to  Cameron, South Carolina for Heathers sisters birthday party.  She usually lives in MD with their Mom but spends a chunk of the summer in SC with their Dad.   After the birthday party we actually headed back to Savannah to wander around River Street, I decided to leave my camera at home.  We started out at Moon River Brewery and then just wandered.  We ended up finding a good bar and hung out there for a while.  When we left, we totally forgot where we parked and wandered around Savannah for a good 45 minutes before we found it!  

I absolutely adored Savannah and would highly recommend a visit to anyone who has been thinking about it.  It's such a charming city and so laid back!  I love it!