Did you miss me?

I forgot to mention I went on a 3-week trip during the month of July. It was great!

- I flew to Tulsa, OK

- Drove to Mt. Vernon, MO

- Gambled in Oklahoma

- Took an RV to Wichita Falls, TX (and stayed the night on the couch of said RV)
- Continued the RV trek to Austin, TX

-Spent a few days in North Austin at my aunt's house (which is in the neighborhood that Dazed and Confused filmed it's popular car chase scene)

- Attended a cookout at my uncle's cattle ranch outside Austin and got to 4-wheel on their HUGE amount of land at sunset

--> Saw lots of cows:

- Drove to Lake LBJ to the famed G family reunion for nearly a week

... This family reunion is no joke. My dad has 10 brothers and sisters, of which he is the oldest. I have close to 50 cousins on just his side of the family. No joke!

- Drove back to Austin to stay at another aunt's house and floated in Lake Travis for a majority of the day. Very nice!

- Flew to Atlanta, GA

- Worked my first trade show. Stayed in a great hotel in the middle of Downtown ATL with an awesome view.
- I was officially greeted to "Hot-Lanta" by a man on the street on the last day of my stay.. and man, was it hot that day.
- Flew to Raleigh, NC and spent a little time with my folks.

- Drove back home to Greenville

- Went back to work at 7:30 AM the next day.



Phew! Exhausting, huh? It's good to be back. It took me a solid week to recover.

Happy Thursday!

Well hello again, bloggerverse!

Lots of changes have been going on this summer.

1. I graduated and earned my BSBA in May... WOOHOO!

2. I got a job that exceeded my expectations in what I would be doing after college. (Double woohoo!)

3. That job pays much better than what I was expecting. :)

4. Dora turned a year old a few months ago.. our adoption anniversary passed a month ago.

5. I'm still alive and kicking!


I have been cooking much more frequently, and I LOVE it. I try to cook (or discover) something new every week, though it's hard to find the time. It's a lot easier to go out to get something to eat, rather than decide what I'm making, go to the store for ingredients, and take twice as long as the directions say it should take to prepare.

Don't get me wrong.. I really enjoy cooking!

It's just lots easier to go out for 50-cent boneless wings with beer on special at the joint down the street... I'm just sayin'.


Anyways, just thought I'd post an update! Like always, I hope I can get back into this bloggin' biznuss. ;)

I Heart Faces - Pets

Hey folks!

So I ♥ Faces is a wonderful site that will certainly inspire you if nothing else! I learned about the website over a year ago. The nicest people you have ever met on the web go to that site! I have definitely improved leaps and bounds since my first entries to their weekly contests!

Anywho, this week's challenge is pets.. and man do I love my Dora girl. I know I posted this picture pretty recently, but I love it so much! So I'm entering it and gotta post it again. You don't mind, do you?

But don't let this picture fool you.. she's a total meanie. She loves her daddy way more than her mommy. And pretty much all of the pictures I take of her are when she is sleeping. Or when I accidentally awake her while I'm taking pictures of her (see above).

She's got devilish, fiendish eyes. And her teeth? Fuh-gedda-bout-it. I think she was a shark in her previous life. But she the sweetest little furbaby and she loves me.. when she's sleeping! ;)

So please head on over there to check out other awesome entries and discover lots of tips, tricks, and inspiration!

And you know what's kind of funny? I thought I had talked about her like this before.. and I had. I'm sure I do often, but this post from last December is pretty funny. Another I ♥ Faces challenge.. and pets, too!

Denver, here I come!

My brother is getting married this weekend, and I'm flying out with my boyfriend and parents this morning.. wahoo! It should be a fun-filled weekend full of great food and lots of extended family I haven't seen in a long time.

My brother and soon-to-be-sister-in-law are literally from complete opposite ends of the country.. so it's a little funny they met where they currently live, in Denver. I'm kind of glad they're getting hitched there, instead of Oregon.. although I wouldn't mind going to see the west coast! However, that would be a heck of a plane ride.. and planes make me a wee bit nervous.

What's been your worst experience while flying? (I promise I won't read anything until AFTER I return!) :)

Oh, kitty..

Every time I try to pack a bag or suitcase to go somewhere, she thinks she's coming along for the trip.

Oh, kitty, you're a trip!

Roller Derby

I decided a couple years ago that I wanted to join a roller derby (when I was of age and when I had the time). Well I'm 22 and I'm a college grad.. and still finding employment! Getting back on some wheels and exercising sounds like a wonderful activity to do in my downtime, right?!

So I've been searching around for a derby league in the area.. and of course some roller skates. Has anyone been a part of a roller derby team, and is it as scary as my boyfriend thinks it is? He said he doesn't want me coming back from practices/bouts with black eyes and bruises.. (aww.. thoughtful!) but I reassured him that I won't necessarily get knocked around like that.. right?

I mean, I'm not the biggest girl, so I'm assuming I could get rolled pretty easily. Unless I have good ducking and maneuvering reflexes.

However, I haven't really roller-skated since I was 13 and went to the roller skating rink every friday night with my girlfriends..

Didn't you hate it when your mom called your friends "girlfriends" when you were younger? I don't understand why I got my panties in such a wad about it.. It's not that big of a deal. I used to giggle when she said she was going out to lunch with her girlfriends, thinking "How many girlfriends do you have, mom?!" Oh.. immature mind.

Forgot to update you!

I wrote a little while back that I was nominated for an award this semester by one of my professors. Well, it was presented Grammy's-style at a banquet in April, and I won Second Place! It was (and still is!) such an honor, and I still feel humbled. The winner was the speaker for the graduating baccalaureates at my departmental graduation, and she will definitely continue on to do great things, as will the third place winner! It was such a rewarding experience, and I am so thankful for being given such an opportunity.

For those who missed it, it was for "The 2010 Most Promising Female Entrepreneur Award", given to a student at my university and sponsored by an area business-women's organization.

And my picture even made it into the paper! Right on! :)

Hi again Bloggerverse!

So things have been crazy busy the last few months, and now everything came to a screeching halt. I just GRADUATED from college last week (and lost my student job at the same time because I graduated..) so things have been a little boring! I got to go home and spend some time with my family and my nephews, and now I'm neck-deep in a massive job hunt. So the resumes have been flying, and the phone's been ringing, and I'm just doing what I can to get myself out there and hopefully get a bite! :)

I got an iMac a couple months ago, which was the best life decision ever. Next to buying my first digital SLR last year. And I found an amazing deal on a wii the other day that I absolutely

couldn't refuse (15% off coupon at Target.com + 10% bing cashback = $150!), so now I've just got to find a wii fit bundle at a good price. Haha!

Needless to say, I've gotta start making some money so I can pay for all of this! And get some awesome new photography equipment that I've been dying to get my hands on. :)

Just wanted to let you know I'm alive and doing great! I know I keep saying it, but I really want to start back blogging more often. I've missed it!

And here's a picture of Dora that I am LOVING! Took it a few weeks ago.. she's precious. Can you believe she loves her daddy more than me though?! Oh, those eyes.. !

I lied!

I lied! I'm sorry. I'm indecisive, and if you've hung around this blog for a while you might know that by now.

So for dinner last night, I ended up cooking this:

Homemade Chicken Strips

and Roasted Potato Wedges

Only my chicken didn't bread as easily so it was just very flavorful and yummy non-crunchy chicken, and my potato wedges were very crunchy and full of flavor and incredible. Oh my!

And they paired well with this pinot grigio I got from the store the other day... I can't believe I was so blind to not see that this delicious wine existed!

Thank you Ree (Pioneer Woman) for your AMAZING recipes and true talent in the kitchen. I will never go hungry again!

On a side note, why does it take me 1.5 hours to make dinner that should only take 40 minutes? I have a tendency to make cooking times double with any recipe I try.

My mouth is watering!

I've been on a serious recipe-hunting binge for the last few weeks. Have I had the time to cook anything except breakfast last Friday?

No.

But I swear, these websites will make you want to jump in the kitchen.

Please go visit and make your stomach envy your eyes. :)

PW COOKS

Also from PW, TASTY KITCHEN

And to hit your sweet spot, Bakerella

Yum! I'm off to make something delicious.. perhaps something to make me feel fancy, like Chicken Piccata?

Yum. Enjoy!

Oh, and please let me know if you'd like me to share some yummy recipes with you.. maybe a once a week feature? Because I'm on a serious kick right now. And I would love to share my hunger for deliciousness with you. Please comment and let me know what you think!