Shattered Memento

Have you ever lost something and you felt really silly for being so upset that you lost it?

Last week when I was decorating our Christmas tree, our first tree in our home as a newly married couple, I dropped the one ornament that I was saving for the very middle of the front of the tree ... right at eye level. You know the place you save for your most treasured or beautiful ornaments?

I always get a souvenir of some sort whenever I go somewhere new. It's usually a t-shirt paired with something else. When David and I were on our honeymoon in Virgin Gorda, I bought a t-shirt and took a good bit of time thinking about what one souvenir I wanted to take home with me.

I knew it had to be locally-made, because what good is a souvenir of Virgin Gorda if it's made in China? The problem I kept running into was that everything was so expensive, so I wanted to be sure I picked the right thing that would be both useful and treasured.

My decision came down to a beautiful picture frame made of locally found shells, put together by a local artist (it was much more sophisticated than it sounds) or a Christmas tree ornament. They had several different designs on the ornaments, but I picked out this beautiful glass ball that had a palm tree with a winter scene in the background. It had some of that smooth, bubbly-type stuff that was "painted"? over it to make it shiny and glossy.

I was so excited about the ornament because I knew it was the right choice. David and I both love Christmas, and we love ornaments. His mom gets him a new Hallmark ornament every year, and I've always been a huge sucker for super-cute ones for the tree.

So as I pulled the price tag off of the ornament to hang it on the tree, it slipped, fell to the floor and shattered into literally hundreds of tiny pieces.

I stood there for a second and then just started repeating "Oh no!" over and over again. David ran into the kitchen asking if I was OK and which one had broken, but by the time he made it to me, I was in tears. I told him which one, and he knelt down and hugged me as I cried it out.

He told me that he'd call the resort the next morning and get them to send us a new one. That consoled me a little, knowing it would at least be here by Christmas.

He called, but they're so hesitant to send us one because with the distance it would travel, it would most assuredly break considering how fragile they are.

I know this sounds ridiculous that I've written this long and am this upset about losing it. But I just can't help but be devastated that I lost that one, because it just had so much meaning to me. That ornament, along with two others that David had specially made for me as part of my wedding gift, were the three most important things to be on that tree.

Maybe getting this all out on here will give me some sort of outlet so I can try not to be as upset by it now.

I'm fairly certain there's something amiss with me, considering I broke that ornament, bumped my head on my shelf containing all 30+ small Yankee jar candles and 5-6 sets of plates and shades which caused the shelf to fall and break all the plates/shades and several of the jars; not to mention the fact that I've consistently been breaking so many things at the store recently. Thankfully I'm not a waitress or I'd lose my tips in paying back the restaurant.

Maybe it's because I've been watching so much "Ghost Whisperer" recently. Maybe something's following me around ...

So this post took an odd turn at the end. But now that I think about it, I do feel better having gotten it out. I just so wish I hadn't broken that one. I guess I just have to keep in perspective that it really was just stuff. :-/

***I promise there will be a post about our wedding soon!***

Where's the palm tree?

Every time I tell someone that I work in retail, I inevitably get asked, "Have you ever had anyone steal anything?!"

My answer as of Monday morning was "No."

This woman didn't just swipe a tiny jar candle or a car jar.

This chick took the giant palm tree:

She walks in with a kid in a stroller and two older girls (maybe 7 and 8ish?) in tow. She asked me if the giant snowman ...

was for sale.

Me: "It is, but we're not allowed to sell the holiday props until after Thanksgiving. And unfortunately, it has already been claimed by another customer."

She responds, I suppose, but it wasn't memorable. She went towards the back of the store, and I moved on to help two other ladies who were trying to pick out some candles for a coupon. As I was ringing one of them up, or helping them somehow, the woman yells at her daughters to hurry up because they need to leave.

You know how some people stick in your mind because they just give you a super weird vibe? As she was walking out of the store, the woman just stared at me. Her face was super red, and she looked oddly guilty and weird. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but I remember being slightly weirded out by her as she left.

Anyway, after the ladies I was helping left, I looked over and the palm tree was ... gone. It was just gone. I mean, you can't misplace a 2.5-foot tall palm tree.

When my manager got off the phone, I told her it was missing. After scouring videotape footage, we saw her.

She wheeled the stroller around behind the display, picked up the palm tree, looked at it for a few seconds, walked around to the front of her stroller, picked the baby up out of the stroller and put the palm tree inside the stroller. During this whole time, her oldest daughter was moving things around in the back of the stroller.

Who does that with their children watching. Not only watching, but helping her!

So now when I get asked if I've ever seen anyone shoplift, I can honestly say that I have. Go figure that she'd take the palm tree.

The Ace, new friends and the Sox

David and I went to Baltimore last Saturday. He took me to my first Red Sox game! It's much cheaper than going to a game in Boston. :)

When we first got into town, I had to visit the Ace. The Ace of Cakes.


I watch "The Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network all the time. It's about this baker in Baltimore named Duff (he's the Ace) who runs Charm City Cakes. It's a super fun show, and I definitely wanted to see the bakery while I was in the city. We drove for about 20 blocks or so once we got off the highway and found it right in the middle of the hood.

They black out the windows with paper so you can't see inside since it's such a tourist place, I would imagine. Anyway, you should watch the show. :)

Unashamed of my mini photo shoot outside of the bakery, we headed back towards the ballpark and the inner harbor to meet up with David's friend Becka from college at Ithaca.

I experienced the most delicious dessert I have ever had at Pizzeria Uno. Sadly, I don't have a picture of it, but they baked this chocolate chip cookie in a wrought iron pan. It was super moist and they put ice cream and whipped cream on top of it. I'm fairly certain that and the pizza we ate contained more calories than I should've eaten in a month, but it was totally worth it.

So I made a new friend in Becka. I totally get why David's stayed so close to her since college. She's awesome, and we all had so much fun hanging out that day! Her sister, Emma, came and joined us at the end of lunch and then we walked around the city, killing time until the game.


We had so much fun! It was beautiful on the harbor that day. It was hot, but the breeze felt wonderful. Becka spotted a carousel, so of course we had to ride. David stood with the dads and took our picture.


Then it was GAME TIME!


We changed into our Red Sox gear. As an aside, I would like to point out that there were far more Red Sox fans than Baltimore Orioles fans there. I felt kind of bad for them considering it was their home. The ballpark was beautiful! We sat behind home plate in the third section above the field. It was far away, but the vantage point was actually quite good. We could really see all of the action!


Obviously, the Red Sox won! We had a fantastic day in Baltimore! It was so much fun spending time with David's friends, seeing the Ace and watching the Sox beat up on the Orioles!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered — They're yours!

The invitations have been mailed! Hours and hours after starting to address and assemble them, the invitations are finally sent!

Our guest list definitely grew and grew and grew. 244 people (not including children) and 127 invitations. We originally planned on 180-200 people. Ha! I know everyone won't come, but we'll definitely have more people than we planned. :)

I'm SO excited to start getting the RSVP cards back and finally have confirmation that people are coming to see us get married!!! I'm stoked to start my little collection of RSVP cards. :)

(That wasn't a plug-in to send in your RSVP cards, because I'm doing that now. If you got an invite, please let us know if you're coming! :) Thanks!)

We're getting married in 46 days!

"I wish I could have known you better."

Along with "I love you," these were the last words that David's grandfather said to me.

Me too, Pops. Me too. I wish I could have known you better, too.



From the first time I met you, you made me feel completely at ease and like a member of the family. You told me your stories from the war days. With such pride and a heart full of love, you told me so many stories about David and the times he spent with you growing up.

In the short time I knew you, I grew to love you like a grandfather. I saw in the first moments I spent with you how much you loved your family, especially your wife.

I'm glad your passing was peaceful today, but you are already missed. I know how much David loves you, and that makes it hurt even more. I'm so sad that you won't be there to see us married in October. I know how much you wanted to do everything you could to be there celebrating with us on that day. And on that day, you will be in our hearts. We are honored that you wanted David to wear your ring. Every time we look at it, we will remember you and how much you meant to everyone you knew.

I love you. I miss you. And I wish I could have known you better.

Smelling sweet

I'm working at Yankee Candle again. But this time, I'm one of the store managers! I'm still in training right now, and there's a lot to remember. I had no idea there was so much involved in being a manager. It's going to be great experience, though, and I'm really excited about it!

I'm at the same store that I worked at in college — The Streets at Southpoint. You should come visit me sometime at the store and smell all the nice, new scents! :)

The company is encouraging employees to find out people's favorite scents, so they have a small hutch in each store with the employees' favorite candles on it. So there is a Lemon Lavender candle up in our store with my name on it. :)


Do any of you have a favorite? :)

I'll be in training for another week and a half or so, so that means I'm working a lot of closing shifts. Closing the store is much more complicated than opening it, since you obviously have to count the money in both registers and make sure everything adds up and is ready for the next day.

Come visit me at the store! You know you want to. ;)

A beautiful start

Our new house is absolutely gorgeous! We're so blessed to have such a wonderful home!

I haven't posted pictures yet for two reasons: I wanted to get things straightened and set up a bit, and I also just realized my camera is broken. The screen on it is shattered, so I'm taking it in tomorrow to find out if it's worth it to fix the screen or if it would be more cost efficient to just get a new one.

Anyway, all of the web sites online have taken the photos of the house off since it's off the market. So Google maps is all I've got at the moment ...


That's our beautiful house!! :) If you can't tell, it's a pale yellow color. I wasn't crazy about it at first, but it's grown on me — I LOVE it now!

We were afraid we wouldn't be able to close on time because our mortgage lender was not cooperating! The night before we were supposed to close, they wanted "one last thing" that we provided for them at 9 a.m. the next morning. At 11 a.m., the closing time, we were at the attorney's office with our Realtor, and our packet of information hadn't arrived yet. No one bothered to call and tell us it wouldn't be on time.

Anyway, after about 45 minutes, we finally hear from our contact at the lender. He wanted "one more thing." So we drove to David's office, picked up the info and drove it over to the lender's office. We kind of tried to rush him along a little bit, but he didn't seem to be in any hurry.

At 2 p.m., there was still no packet. The lender said it might be by 2:30. We gave up about 2:45 and headed to the courthouse for David to close a case. At 3:15, the lender called for "one last thing." As David tried to explain to him the misleading meaning of "one last thing," the lender was still very unsympathetic.

It turns out that was actually the one last thing, since they got the closing papers at 4:30. We booked it down to the attorney's office and were able to fill out the paperwork by 6 p.m. Go figure! It was a day full of "We're closing!" "We're not closing." "We're closing!" "We're not closing." But in the end, everything went well, and we were able to get our perfect home!

I have been a painting fool in the past week! I have painted the large guest bedroom, primed and painted the small guest bedroom, painted the guest bathroom and primed the downstairs half bath.

Today, I tackled the impossible master bedroom! I am exhausted, but I finally made it through the walls in that room. The bedroom is huge, first of all. But second, the ceiling vaults from a standard 8-foot ceiling to a 12-foot ceiling. There's also a ledge about 11-feet high that I had to paint. We're still not sure what we're going to use to decorate it. This photo is similar to our ledge (this is not our house, just something similar) just to give you an idea what it looks like:



The room looks beautiful in the gray-blue paint to match our bedding set:



I'm so excited to set everything up! There are tons of boxes everywhere, and we're still not sure where all of our furniture will go, but we'll figure it out. As soon as I get a working camera, I'll take a few more photos of the rooms that are set, clean and ready to be seen! :)

I can't wait until after the wedding when I can live there, too! It's hard setting everything up all day and then leaving in the evening. :) David's staying in the house before the wedding.

We can't wait for you all to come see it!

A quick thank you

I know that I've made a big deal about this on Facebook, but I thought it deserved a blog post as well.

Nicole and Kelsey threw me a lovely bridal shower on July 18! We had 10 people there, I think. Nicole's parents were in town, so her mother was able to come. Her sister-in-law also had just arrived back in the States from a while on the mission field.

Despite already committing the day to her friend, Lindsey was able to come as well, since she was already up this way.

David's mother was there, despite getting some sad news regarding her father's health on the way there.

My mom, grandmother and one of my aunts (Karen), also came!

The girls did such a great job, and everything was so cute! They had everything laid out in pink, orange and brown, the three wedding colors! The punch was delicious, and there was a ton of yummy snacks!


I love these girls! I'm so thankful for my bridal party. They have been such a huge help considering I frequently need help deciding things about the wedding and trying to figure out what to do for certain things. Kelsey provides a unique perspective considering she just went through this herself last month. Lindsey got married a couple years ago, so everything is still very fresh for her, too. And Nicole knows me better than I probably know myself, so that's a huge help! Thank you ladies for all of your help and for the shower. I love you so much! And for the girls who weren't able to come, I missed you and can't WAIT to see you soon!

Anyway, there has been a lot going on the past month. David and I just bought a house, so there will be more on that just as soon as I can grab a picture!

Which house should we get?

David and I are trying to decide between two houses at this point. We're going back to see them both today, and we need to make a decision this weekend so we can move on one of them Monday.

Here's the deal with each of them:

David's favorite is in the Raleigh city limits, so it's closer to friends, family, jobs, etc. It's smaller than the other one, and our furniture won't fit quite as well. But the neighborhood is beautiful (it's a golf community with gorgeous homes), the home is on a corner lot and the equity in the home would be pretty good, we're thinking. It has brick on the outside, which is a huge plus. This house is a resale.

My favorite is in Fuquay-Varina, about 20-30 minutes south of Raleigh. It would be a longer commute to friends, family, work, etc. But the home is larger, and our furniture would fit very well. It's on a cul-de-sac lot that backs up to a wooded area and a greenway, which you can't actually see. The neighborhood is nice, but it's not amazing like the other one. It also doesn't have any brick. But this house is new, so there's a possibility we could get the builder to add a few features here and there (i.e. a refrigerator).

Any thoughts?

BY THE NUMBERS: Moving style

So in the spirit of Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette style, I think my move back to North Carolina can be summed up in a "BY THE NUMBERS" box, which is a graphic element the paper uses to pull out important numbers from a story.

BY THE NUMBERS

7
Hours it took to drive a 4.5-hour drive with the truck back to Raleigh

8
Total family members, including me, it took to move

9
Total hours it took just to load and unload the truck

16
Total hours from beginning to end that the move took, including drive time (8 a.m.-midnight)

10 x 20
Size in feet of my storage unit, which we filled to the door

26
Length in feet of my moving truck (and yes, we filled the entire thing to the door)


I'm so grateful to my parents, David, Nicole, my future father-in law, Uncle Rich and Cousin Bryant for helping me! I love you guys, and you all really came through for me. I cannot thank you enough for helping me!

Home, sweet home!

David and I are going to look at houses this weekend! We are so blessed that we're going to be able to get a house, especially since we'll be able to take advantage of the tax credit.

We're just starting the process, so we won't be buying anything for a couple of months. We definitely will want to buy it before the wedding, though, so I'll be able to jump in there and fix everything up in time so we won't have to worry about it too much after the wedding. We've got about 10 or so houses that we're interested in, so we're going to look at the first four this weekend. We've hired a Realtor, so they'll be working with us to find us the best deal and the best home for us.

Want to see the ones we're looking at Saturday? Here they are, in order of my favorite to least favorite:

1. 2204 Water Spray Drive — This one is immaculate. I love the stonework on the outside and sheer elegance of the house inside. When I picture the home I'd live in, it looks very similar to this one on the outside.

2. 3421 Opequon Drive — I love the stonework mixed with vinyl siding. Also, the kitchen is beautiful. This is, by far, the best kitchen of any of the ones we're seeing. It's very modern looking.

3. 161 Longbay Street — I like the kitchen and dining room areas. I think we'd have to add an island in the kitchen with this one, though, since the kitchen is a bit small. I've got a tiny kitchen in my apartment now, and I will never live somewhere with a lame kitchen again.

4. 3209 Octawa Trail — Imagine, if you can, that none of the walls are painted the hideous colors that the current homeowners have painted it, and you will see a unique, pleasant home underneath. The kitchen isn't huge, but it has an island, which is key. (I love black or stainless steel appliances, by the way.) I'm also not crazy about the outside color of the house, but I think I could get used to it. One downside to this home is that we'd have to spend a fortune in paint just to cover up their horrible choices. But I'm going to paint anywhere we live, so I guess it's not that huge a deal. ;) Check out the orange room. Orange? Seriously, guys? Ew.

Anyway, all of these homes are great. We won't really know for sure how we feel about them until we go in them, obviously. Our favorites could become impossibilities after we've seen the inside of them, and the ones we liked so-so could become favorites!

I can't wait to start looking on Saturday! It's definitely a buyer's market out there right now, so we're going to be homebuyers at a perfect time!

"Me, a name I call myself"

Andrea J. sent this YouTube link to me today. It pretty much gave me a happy Friday.

I want to be one of those dancers.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."

I gave in to the Twilight obsession after numerous friends and family members encouraged me to read the books.


Stephanie Myers strikes me as an odd sort of writer. I was quite disturbed how, despite the loads of errors in the books that made me want to take a giant red pen to it, I was still captivated enough by the story to love it.

I know there are so many different opinions out there on the books, and that many people who do like the series favor either Edward or Jacob over the other. I guess I just wanted an outlet for my new-found obsession.

I suppose it's a bit like Bella's obsession for Edward — she just can't help loving him. I can't help loving these books, and I don't know why. Her books are filled with errors, it's completely unrealistic and several parts of the books I actually despised just to get to the good parts. It's very odd.

Many people suggested I watch the movie after I read the book, because, of course, the book is better. I, however, watched the movie first at the behest of Nicole. I'm very glad I did. Because I saw the movie and then got even more storyline when I read the book. I know a lot of people were upset that there was so much left out in the movie. But movies can't all be like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which Peter Jackson kept very literal to the books. I understand why they left many things out. And the next movie is supposed to have a new director or something, so maybe that will help a little.

The moment Robert Pattinson came on screen, I thought he was ugly. I didn't get it. I mean, the books, so I had heard, portrayed him as this god-like figure who was more beautiful than words could describe. Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen? Eh, not so much.

But after I read the books, Pattinson grew on me. And while I still don't see him as being more beautiful than words, he's much more attractive than I originally felt when he came on screen.

Kristen Stewart, on the other hand, is a perfect Bella. She's beautiful, but it's not so striking as it is with some women. I can't wait to see what they do with her in the Breaking Dawn movie! And by the way, her hair is gorgeous — I'm jealous.


All in all ... I love these books. I know, I know — vampires, true love, destiny, blah blah blah. But they're so good! And I'm not ashamed of loving these books. :) Now I just need to get the 2-disc movie as cheap as I can find it ...

Crisis of ... career?

That likely will be the last time I post about a potential position online, as I did not get the job at Misys.

While I've been turned down a lot in the seven months I've been searching (and the six months prior to getting my job at the Packet), I thought this was a slam dunk. I'm no 6'8" basketball player, but I considered myself to be, if anything, overqualified for the design position.

I didn't ask why I hadn't been chosen — I just wanted to get off the phone before she could hear me cry. I'm lame, aren't I? One of the many reasons why I was so disappointed was they had apparently made the decision some time last week and not bothered to tell the rejected candidates.

Don't get me wrong; I understand that's a fairly common practice, but I guess I assumed since I (and the other candidates who had gotten through to the final phase) would be contacted about their choice of another person.

If my dad's 25-year position there, my graphic experience and my resume were not enough to convince them I was fit for the job ... what in the world are they looking for? What else can I do?

This has all left me with a crisis of career, I suppose. What do I do now? One reason I was so excited about this position was that it didn't require me to be so creative because I'm burned out. It didn't require me to be the ultimate designer. I'm not so sure I'm qualified to be a graphic designer, as I'm really not as creative as I originally thought I was.

I have to figure out what to do now. There are so many unknowns that I don't even know where to begin.

I have to move out of my apartment. That's the one thing I'm sure of. The paper has cut the entire staff's salary, and I can't afford to live in my apartment anymore. I've already given my landlord my 30-days notice.

So where do I go? Do I potentially move in with a friend where the rent is much more manageable? Or do I go back home where my heart is and end this awful 18-month distance it's put between David and me?

If I go back home, do I just look for any old Joe Shmoe job?

Since I'm not all that psyched about my abilities as a graphic designer, do I try to figure out what else I want to do? Should I try to rethink what I want to do with my life, which, in turn, might require me to go back to school? *groan*

I'm lost. I don't have any insight as to where to go from here. I really thought the Lord was leading me right into that position at Misys, but now I have no clue. I'm devastated.

You might say, "But it's just a job. You'll find one — just keep looking. It'll come." While I realize this is true, it's frustrating because I don't know what to do now. I know that everything's going to be OK, and I'll find something. The Lord's going to work it out for me somehow. But I have to figure out what to do — and He hasn't told me that yet. And frankly, I'm a bit concerned I'm not understanding Him at all right now. I'm not angry or anything — just confused as to where He wants me to go, and how I go about figuring out what that is. I thought I knew.

I'm blue. I apologize if this is depressing or if I'm being a Donna Downer. I also understand that my day hasn't been even close to as bad as some people's ( jennibugg.blogspot.com/ — Please pray for this family if you will).

But what do I do now?

Anxious like whoa

Due to a few interesting turn of events, and now that I know I won't lose my job if the world knows this, I can now proclaim to the ... three? ... people that read this (and already know) that I'm looking for a job.

I had an in-person interview Thursday with AllscriptsMisys, the company my dad worked at for 26 years, though it was called a few other things throughout that time. The position is in their forms group. You know when you leave the doctor's office and he or she gives you a form with tons of conditions on there and the one applicable to you is checked? AllscriptsMisys makes software programs for doctor's offices and hosiptals, and the forms group makes the forms that work with those programs. So I'd be designing those forms.

Sound boring to you? Well, considering I love filling out forms (except for tax return forms because the government terrifies me), designing them sounds even more fun.

I made it to the third round in the interview process, as I've already had two separate phone interviews with the company.

I was, theoretically, the last in-person interview, but the supervisor told me that one more resume had come through. If that person doesn't get very far in the process, they will be making their offer to the chosen candidate by the beginning of this week. If that last person gets to the in-person interview, it could be the end of the week.

I'm beyond anxious for this position. I realize that it if isn't the right position that the Lord wants me to get, then I don't want it. But it's very difficult to keep that in perspective when I'm living five hours from my fiance, my best friend and my family, when I'm planning a wedding and when I have to get out of a city that is eating up every extra cent I earn through cost of living.

Palmetto Electric, my electric company, raised their rates to attrocious proportions. I literally will not be able to afford to live here during the summer if I run my air conditioning. And, as most of you know, it's ridiculously hot here, and I don't do well in really hot temperatures.

I know that if it's meant to be, I'll get the position. It's just really hard for me to get my mind off of it. I mean, at this point, I've done all I can do, impressed (or haven't) everyone that I have to and name-dropped all that I can. (Thanks, Dad!)

I have a very good feeling from the last interview, but I don't know if that's the Lord giving me peace about the fact I'll get it or me wishfully thinking. All I know, is that I love my job right now, but it's sadly time for me to go, especially with all the turmoil going on at the office right now. If someone can get their job back by my leaving, I really want that to happen.

I really can think of nothing else other than this job, and I know that's not healthy, especially if it's not the right one for me. I'm just praying with all of my heart right now that it's the right position. And if it isn't, I'll then have to ask God for the grace to accept it. But right now, I know that everyone I know is praying I get it! :)

Anyway, this is really just a post for me to get this stuff out of my head, so I can hopefully not worry about it quite as much. I'll keep you in the loop!

I'm picky, but it was good

I just tried a Stouffer's Southwest-Style Chicken Panini. As most of you know, I'm such a picky eater. But I decided to be brave and try it. Plus, it sounded delicious.

It's got cheese, chicken and bacon with a semi-spicy southwest sauce. I love it, because the bread is kind of crunchy, but the inside of the sandwich is juicy and tender.

I've tried another kind of panini from them before, but I really didn't like it. The bread was really the only good thing about it.

I apologize for the quality of the photo, but this was the only one I could find.

Bottom line: It's delicious, and you should try it.

Prom dress donations

My friends in the features department at The Island Packet published a short story in today's (Friday) paper about a group that is collecting gently used prom and bridesmaid dresses and the accessories to accompany them. Read the story at http://www.islandpacket.com/lowcountrylife/story/760472.html

I thought this was a fabulous idea. It's designed to help teenage girls that can't afford to buy their own prom dresses.

I was fortunate enough that my family could provide those dresses for me, and I remember each dress and the magical time I had wearing them. I cannot imagine how heartbreaking it would be if a young girl could not afford to look like a fairy tale princess on her special night.

The group in Bluffton, S.C., is collecting these dresses and then providing girls in the community with a chance to go "shopping" March 1. Unfortunately, I will be out of town that weekend — in the city where all of my dresses happen to be.

Does anyone in the Raleigh area know of an organization that is doing this there?

I decided just to post some photos of my time wearing each of my beautiful dresses. Ah, memory lane ...

This beautiful purple dress is from Belk, I think. I wore it to my first Junior, Senior Banquet at North Raleigh Christian Academy in 2002 my junior year of high school. Pictured with me is my date that year, my then-boyfriend, Jamin Peck. I loved this dress. It has little flowing ribbons down the back, and I had ballet slippers dyed to match the dress.


Looking back on these photos now, this teal dress is my favorite. It's so beautiful. I got it from David's Bridal. I think I wore silver flats to go with it. I wore this dress to the Junior, Senior Banquet my senior year of high school in 2003. Pictured with me is my date that year, Steven Pearce, the brother of my friend, Amy.


I actually bought this dress for an event with a campus organization at UNC my freshman year. I wore it to that event, but I don't have any photos from that; and I think I only had it on for a total of about one hour. I think I got this dress from a department store as well. The quality of this photo is not very good, but the bodice is beaded with black shiny beads, and the skirt of the dress is black matte satin — though it blends in with his tux. Shown in this photo, I wore this dress to the prom of my then-boyfriend, Thomas Boyd, my freshman year of college in 2004. Thankfully I already had it for another event, so I didn't have to buy a new one!


This beautiful crimson dress was from David's Bridal. I was the maid of honor in my friend Amy Pearce's (now Amy Moseley) wedding. I had gloves and shoes that were dyed to match. It was a wonderful dress, and it was quite similar to the teal one I bought for my senior year prom. Amy got married in December of 2005.

So most of you probably don't care about my dresses, but most of you know how much I love fashion. ;) Each of these dresses carries wonderful memories, which is why I've kept them — well, that and I'm a pack rat.

I guess every girl keeps them thinking, "What if I have an occasion to wear this again?" I've reached the point, however, of being able to give them away. I mean, if I were to ever go to an event where I needed such a dress, I'd of course want to buy a new one, right? ;)

Besides, it would mean the world to me if I could make a young girl's special evening that much more special if she could wear them. So, please, if anyone knows of another organization that's collecting gently used prom or bridesmaid dresses, let me know. I want so much to be able to give them to a good cause.

Why was six not enough?

I've had trouble understanding why a woman who has no money, no husband and no job wants children in addition to the six she already had.

Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks the death threats against Nadya Suleman are appropriate or anything. That is, of course, terrible, and I think people should at least treat her with civility. But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why she decided to undergo in-vitro fertilization when she already has far too many children than she and her mother can care for.

While her mother, Angela Suleman, recently said her anger at her daughter's decision was softened by the sight of her newest eight grandchildren, she has gone on record as being very upset by her daughter's actions.

Angela Suleman's entire retirement check goes towards helping Nadya and her children each month. Why would someone be so selfish as to pay more money to get a procedure done to bring even one more child into the world when your family is struggling to support you. Had Nadya gotten pregnant through natural means, I would never think the child should be aborted; but this woman paid to have this procedure done.

Nadya Suleman said in interviews that she went through a period of time where she was depressed after an injury during a riot at a mental hospital where she worked in 1999. She said the birth of her first child helped her spirits, and that she wanted a large family to make up for "certain connections and attachments with another person that I really lacked, I believe, growing up."

It is not a child's responsibility to provide some sort of connection that you lacked as a child. It's your job to make sure the child doesn't experience the same thing. Trying to make up for your childhood by having 14 children is selfish and is not at all thinking of their welfare.

In these dark days of economic recession, why would you want to use your mother's money to finance a procedure which would enable you to have who knows how many more children that you will be responsible for caring and providing for? Those poor children will have a difficult life, just because she wanted a large family.

I just don't get it. It's not fair to the children. It's not fair to her mother. And it's not fair to the taxpayers that now will have to pick up the slack for raising her children.

I'll leave you with one last thought: Even if none of this makes sense, why would you want to do this to yourself?

Ouch. Also, ew.

That was a vaguely terrifying fiasco

So Tuesday afternoon, I was lying on my couch watching Friends before work. I hadn't gotten very much sleep the night before, so I fell asleep.

I realize some of you have already heard this story, but it was actually quite frightening. I just feel like getting it out there and off my chest.

I woke up about 3ish or so. I realized I hadn't had lunch and was walking to the kitchen when my neck felt a bit sore from the nap. I must have slept on it funny. So, as most of us do when we feel a bit sore, I stretched.

And something in my neck ... popped. Not only did I hear it, I felt it.

It was a little unnerving, but it didn't really hurt.

Then I turned my head to the right. I practically crumpled to the ground in pain and lost my breath because it hurt so badly. I realized that for some reason, I couldn't straighten my head, nor could I turn it to the right without experiencing that gut-wrenching pain.

I tried to stretch my neck out a little and rubbed it a bit, thinking maybe I'd just turned it funny and it would ... pop back into place? I'm not quite sure what I was thinking, but I guess I figured it would just go away.

After about five minutes of this, I started to panic. I called my dad in tears because I didn't know what to do. He told me I should try to find a general practitioner (maybe one that my co-workers used), or try to find an urgent care facility.

It turns out there's an urgent care facility about five minutes from my apartment. At this point, it's about 3:30. I had to be at work at 4:30. I called both of my bosses and left them voice mails explaining the situation. I was hoping the doctor would know what it was and be able to fix it so I could make it to work.

Have you ever tried to drive a vehicle and not been able to turn your head to the right to check for traffic? I don't recommend it. It was painful and very scary. Every time I turned my head slightly in the direction that induced said pain, I immediately took my foot off the gas because it was one of those pains that shot involuntary movements throughout your body, and I wasn't interested in ramming into anyone if my foot involuntarily floored the gas pedal.

I called David on the way and he was able to calm me down enough so that I wasn't crying. I mean, not only was I in pain with my neck tilted to the left, but I was freaking out, thinking I'd ripped, torn or strained ... something. I'm sure I looked quite odd to other drivers.

I got to urgent care without any incidents and was able to see the doctor within 15 minutes of my being there.

She was very nice and she wanted to know exactly what had happened.

With no warning, she calmly comes close to me, takes my head in her hands and begins to twist my head in different directions while putting pressure/rubbing the area I told her was hurting. She said she could feel how tense the muscle was and told me I had severe muscle spasms.

Now, while she was moving my head in all kinds of directions, I was bawling. I wasn't crying so people could hear me, but my jeans were tear-soaked by the time she was done. She was turning my head in the directions that hurt the most.

She was, however, able to relieve some of the tension, because I had more range of motion in my neck than I had when I'd gotten there.

She gave me two prescriptions: pain medications and a muscle relaxant. She also told me not to go to work, but to go home and take a bath and rest. It's definitely a good thing I didn't go back to work like I'd planned. I was loopy from the medicines, and there was no possible way I would've been able to hold my head up for eight hours in front of my computer.

I mean, I went back Wednesday (one day sooner than the doctor told me to, since she didn't clear me to go back to work until today — Thursday), and I was so out of it. I was afraid I had made some huge errors on my pages because I felt awful, and I was doped up on pain meds. Steve sat down with me last night to make some corrections, and he asked me if I was OK. I told him what had happened and he said, "But you're on something now, aren't you?" I said, "Yes." He laughed and said, "I bet you're feeling high as a kite because you have no pupils at all!"

Yikes.

So that's my terrifying adventure to urgent care. I'm still on the meds, and my neck still hurts a little, but it's definitely getting much better. I hope I never do that again. I've not felt pain like that since I tore my ACL in high school.

They saw it coming almost 30 years ago

This is why the news industry is dying:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCTn4FljUQ

It's kind of like my dad said when I was little, "I guess the Internet thing might catch on." It did, which is why I haven't gotten a bonus, why people aren't getting raises and why some people are being laid off.

Well, that, and the fact that we're in a recession. :(

Highly unexpected recognition

So I won an award. Me. I don't win things. Ever.

I didn't think I was going to win this time, either!

The South Carolina Press Association gives out awards every year for different categories, including page design. Both newspapers I work for (The Island Packet — islandpacket.com — and The Beaufort Gazette — beaufortgazette.com) submit entries in various categories each year.

I entered pages in three categories for each paper: Page One Design, Feature Page Design, and Page Design. For Page One Design, you pick three of your best front pages to submit. For Feature Page Design, you pick three of your favorite feature fronts. But for Page Design, you can pick any single page you've ever done.

So the copy desk gathered all of their submissions and turned them in to the editors for each paper. The editors then chose a certain number of entries to submit for the contest. The papers didn't have enough money to submit everything — each entry costs $8 or something like that.

Anyway, the Packet didn't submit anything I did. The Gazette only submitted my Page One Design, which was, by far, my weakest category. So, I assumed I wasn't going to win anything. It was really unfortunate that so many of the copy editors didn't have any of their entries chosen for the contest. Our desk has some really really talented designers. I guess I kind of felt like I was in the same boat they were considering my worst work was submitted. I just knew there was no way I was going to win anything, so I kind of took the approach that nothing I had done was entered.

Much to my surprise, I won third place for my Gazette Page One Design. I only remember two of the pages that I submitted, but here they are! If you click on them, you can see them much better.

I heard the SCPA was cutting back on their costs, so I hope they're still giving out plaques like they have in the past. It'd be nice to hang mine up next to David's award!

I feel really badly having won, knowing that so many other deserving people from our copy desk should have won something, too. It's hard to be as excited about my finish when they didn't get a chance. I guess that's the bad thing about contests like this — they really are quite subjective. But our copy desk is fabulous, and I'm so proud of all the work they do. I really am in the midst of great designers every day at work.

A much-anticipated visit

I found out last night that Nicole is coming this weekend. I'm SO excited.


(This picture was taken in 2007 on our way up to North Carolina to celebrate my 23rd birthday.)

We haven't been able to spend an awful lot of time together in quite a while. She went to Missouri for Christmas to visit her parents and then went to Hong Kong to visit her brother and sister-in-law. Her nephew was really sick, so she went over there to lend support and to help them take care of their daughter. But praise the Lord that Caedmon has fully recovered!

Anyway, with me living 4 and 1/2 hours away, it's really difficult to get a lot of quality time with her. When I see her in Raleigh, it's usually only for a few hours since I also want to spend time with my family and David.

But I'm beyond excited that she's coming down for an entire weekend! YAY! Let the good times roll. We don't really have any plans, but that doesn't matter. :)

The Reader should wear more clothes

I just went to the theater and saw "The Reader." It stars Kate Winslett as Hanna Schmitz and Ralph Fiennes as Michael Berg. Although, I'm fairly certain you see more screen time of young Michael Berg (played by David Kross) trotting around Hanna's house naked than you do of Ralph Fiennes.

If you have yet to see the movie and eventually want to see it, then there might be some spoilers below — just a warning! :)

I'm not a fan of nudity in movies, but some movies don't bother me quite as much with a tad bit of it in there.

This film, however, seemed to use about a third to a half of it's time as "nakee time." I'm sorry, but I do not want to see Winslett's chest 4,890,365 times; nor do I want to see Kross' naked form from the front. Ew. I realize that the two of them were having an affair and he read to her while they were lying in bed. But it doesn't mean they needed to have that much nakedness in there. There are ways to shoot films where you know they're naked, but you just don't show it.

I'm not trying to be a prude, I'm just saying it's unnecessary. Take, for example, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." I went to go see this movie with Casey, and she and I both agreed we likely would have enjoyed the movie much more if the nudity and sex scenes hadn't been so graphic. It's just not needed.

Aside from the g raphic parts of this movie, I suppose it was OK. It's one of those come-full-circle-spanning-characters'-lifetimes type of movie. It was sad, though, and we all know that I'm not a huge fan of the movies with sad endings. It's not to say I can't appreciate them, because I do. It wasn't an awful movie, though, and I don't regret going to see it.

Overdraft "protection"

Does anyone else's bank charge them for overdraft protection?

I realize this is the first post I've officially made here, so it's not a thrilling topic. But I'm upset, and I needed to vent.

I didn't transfer money from my savings account last week because I knew my paycheck would go into my account Friday. I also knew that some of the purchases I made wouldn't be deducted from my account until after my paycheck went through.

But apparently, Wachovia freaked out that I would have "insufficient funds" in my checking account and transferred just enough money from savings to checking to cover the negative balance.

I theory, this is a good thing. However, they also charged me $10 to do this.

So, I'm looking at my account today, and I had like $200 something in there. But they transferred $22 over from savings because I had "insufficient funds." I'm not a math whiz, not by a long shot, but I am well-aware that $200 covers at least $22.

I called the bank since I'm now out $10. The woman, of course, tried to explain to me why they did it. I told her I understood what she was saying, but that I didn't actually have insufficient funds, so I wanted her to credit me the $10.  

She, again, tried to tell me why. I told her I wasn't really interested in their "why" anymore because it wasn't relevant since I had the money in there. She was courteous, as I was trying to be, but I realized she clearly was not going to credit my account.

So I'm out $10. I'm well aware that in the grand scheme of things, $10 is not a lot of money. But it's at least a whole meal and 1/2 at Wendy's or a small pizza from Papa John's. Or it's even a couple of groceries!

Banks stink. I think I'm going to pull my money out and tape it behind my toilet tank.