Snow and Weddings

Whoops... disappeared for a quick second there. Sorry! At least it wasn't three years this time? This past week totally got away from me, between the crazy winter weather and the wedding planning. I tell ya, there is nothing like spending an entire weekend on wedding crap. Who needs time to relax?

So last week they were calling for the snowpocalypse here in Charlotte. They were saying 8-11 inches of snow. 8-11 inches of snow would have probably shut down the city for a week. Luckily, the weathermen were wrong per usual and we only got a little bit, most of which melted in a couple of hours. However, just to be safe, I decided to go to the grocery store to stock up on all of my necessities.

Salad, wine, coffee, and Reese's cups are all that you need, right? I am pretty sure those four things are the "emergency situation" staples. Luckily, I am allergic to bread and don't really drink milk- those things were long gone by the time I got to the store. 

Ironically, the "snowpocalypse" event melted by morning, but earlier in the week, the "slight chance of flurries" that we had turned into this:

Don't worry. We were at a dead stop in the road because people were scared to drive on the snow and there were 8 million wrecks. And yes, that is a school bus. Gotta love winter in the South. 

Anyway, then we spent the weekend working on wedding planning (or "wedding crap" as I affectionately refer to it). It is amazing how much planning you can do without really getting anywhere. I think all we really got done this weekend was halfway stuffing the invitation envelopes and deciding on how to do our seating arrangement. Oh, and coming up with stuff to put on the programs. Good times. 

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And then last night I watched the Bachelor. It was that special episode where they get all the girls together and put them in a room and they all scream at one another. I am sort of sad that he dumped Britt. She seems really sweet and genuine compared to the other girls, and somehow all of her makeup stays on even when she cries. It's impressive. Most of us get that sniffly red-eyed scrunchy-face thing going on, but not her. 

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She also looks a little bit like a baby deer. Darn her and those perfect looks. Chris is totally losing this "Bachelor" game. He got rid of miss perfect and then dumped the playboy model. What is wrong with him??!

Okay, on that note, I guess that's all I've got. Time to go do nothing for a while.

Love it, Like it, Hate it

Hello, everyone! What are you doing to celebrate Monday night? Zach had a client meeting, so me and the dogs are having a girls' night in. We are eating salmon, quinoa, vegetables, wine, and watching the Bachelor. Toby and Flynn seemed more interested in the salmon than the Bachelor, though. I can't imagine why.

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Anyway, I thought I would share a few things with you guys. One thing I am loving lately, one thing I am liking lately, and one thing I am hating lately: thus the title "Love it, Like it, Hate it". 

Love it:

One thing I have been obsessed with lately is Stitch Fix. The clothes are a little pricey, but I seriously love not having to go to the store and get all ADD and walk out frustrated because I couldn't find anything. My Stitch Fix stylist has done a great job of finding things for me that challenge what I would normally pick out for myself but still look great! The cardigan and scarf below are two of my favorites:

Like it:

Anna Kendrick's dress at the Oscars. Probably my favorite of the night, if you don't count Adam Levine. He is not a dress, but he was probably the best looking thing there. Haha! Maybe this should go in the "Love it" section...

Hate it:

Wedding planning. Y'all, this is for the birds. I am so excited to get married, but I am so burned out on trying to plan all this crap by myself. I need a hired wedding planner, a bottle of wine, and about 72 hours of sleep before I will feel better about it. Unfortunately, however, the only one of those things that has happened is the bottle of wine, so I will just have to make due. 

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I guess if I ignore it for long enough, it will all fall into place, right?

What are you guys loving, liking, or hating lately?

Ice Ice Baby

The great southern metropolis of Charlotte got its first winter event of the year this week, which mostly included ice. I had an adventuresome drive into work on Tuesday... okay, full disclosure- I made Zach drive me in. In the three years that my blog has been dead, I had a particularly nasty wreck involving me trying to drive on ice, so I have been a chicken ever since. Zach, however, would drive up Mount Everest and not think twice.

Anyway, the one thing that I learned from this experience is that dachshunds hate going outside to pee in ice even more than they hate doing it in rain/snow. Also, people from Charlotte can't drive. But I knew that already. 

Before all of the winter weather, my dad and I took the dogs for a walk, although I should actually say that Flynn took him for a walk because that would be more accurate. Then, I posted this picture on Facebook and about 100 women commented on it:

Clearly, my dad needs to borrow the dogs so that he can pick up more ladies. Flynn is an expert with the ladies. Toby, not so much... he lacks charisma. And he wears his harness on the outside of his sweater...who does that? 

I have recently been trying Quest bars because they seem to be all the rage, especially if you heat them up. People say they taste like cookies, but to me they mostly taste like warm protein bars. They are okay, though, considering they have 20g of protein and are relatively low calorie (and gluten-free, so I can't complain). I am not really sure where I was going with that, but if you were wondering about those, you're welcome. Try the chocolate flavor- it's the best. 

In other nutritional news, tonight we made this awesome and easy recipe- bacon wrapped chicken! I loosely followed some recipe that I found online (this one?), but basically what you do is this:

Ingredients:

-3lbs chicken tenderloins

-pack of bacon

-garlic powder

-salt

-pepper

-other seasoning to taste (but don't taste the raw chicken)

-1/2 cup brown sugar

Coat the chicken tenderloins with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and whatever other spices you like. Wrap the chicken tenderloins with one piece of bacon each, then roll the whole thing in brown sugar. Bake at 400F for about 30-40 minutes. You can't go wrong with bacon. 

Told you guys I was a grade-A food photographer. That was about half the chicken. It makes a lot of food, it is quick and easy (for lazy people like me), and it is sooo good. Go make it! 

Back in Business

Well hello there, everybody. It's been a while... like what, three years? THREE YEARS. That is crazy. I can't believe I let my blog die for three years. I am officially the worst blogger ever.

So what has inspired me to resurrect my three-year-dead blog, you ask? Well, not much really. I was just sitting here waiting on some ribs to bake in the oven, watching HGTV (because let's be honest- best channel ever), while there is some unusual winter weather going on outside. And then I suddenly thought- hey, why not blog? I still read other people's blogs, but for whatever reason, I just dropped the ball myself.

So what has changed in three years? In a few words: a lot. When we last spoke, I was a fresh college graduate, nervous to find my first job and get my life started. So here's the basic story: I got a job in the mountains where I worked while Zach finished school. Then, he got a job offer in the great metropolis of Charlotte (my hometown), and so we moved. I found a beaker-y job as well that I love.

Then, (drum roll) we got engaged!!! And the last year has been one big whirlwind of wedding planning logistical nightmares. But happy logistical nightmares. Sort of. Anyway, we are due to wed in May, so get ready for some wedding talk!

Also, we got another chocolate dachshund. I know what you are thinking- wasn't one enough? Do we really need to see more pictures of chocolate dachshunds on this blog? Well, may I introduce you to Toby (hint: he is the one in the back):

He is very sweet (although very annoying), and he is about a year and a half old now. As you can see, it is hard to be a dog at our house. PS: look at how fat Flynn got! The vet put him on a diet, but that is not going so well, aka Zach still sneaks them food.

In not-so-new news, I am still an active person (or try to be). I never really got my knees 100% fixed, so they are still duds, but I do what I can. I have really been into pilates and taking classes like kickbox cardio, zumba, etc. at our gym. I have actually recently been thinking of getting my personal trainer certification so that I can torture people in the way my fitness instructors torture me. Also to help people, but mostly to torture. I have gone so far as to get my CPR/AED certification, which is a pre-requisite. Did you know that CPR is shockingly difficult? I had no idea how much was involved or how hard it is to do. Everyone should take a class just in case, because that is some valuable knowledge. Anyway. Moving on.

I am also still allergic to gluten (shockingly) and have to lead a very hipster lifestyle in that regard. Which is fine because about a million people jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon and so now I have a lot of choices and options that I would have never dreamed I would have three years ago. It's fantastic. So keep on with the fad gluten-free dieting, people. I love it.

SO. What can you expect to see in this new-and-improved blog? Well, I will probably occasionally post workouts, especially as I dip my feet into the world of personal training. And you might see some killer recipes that I find and just have to share. But be warned- I am not one of those super ultra-healthy food bloggers. You won't see professional photographs of kale-quinoa-kombucha whatever. I try to live healthy and eat healthy, but I am not that strict with my diet. I can still down too much wine and chocolate with the best of them (gotta live a little). You also won't see a schedule of my work-outs because this isn't my personal exercise journal. I like exercise, but I think that everyone has their own limits for what they can do. I can't work out 6 days a week. It is not practical for me. I can't run 50 miles a week or bike 100 or do Crossfit every day. I think it is fantastic that some people can, but I also recognize the importance of knowing what you, your body, and your lifestyle can handle and not to compare yourself to other people (because there are a lot of "perfect" people in the blog world, and it is easy to fall into that trap). But what you definitely will see are gratuitous amounts of dachshund pictures, my boring life events, and some other general eclectic nonsense. Now that I have typed that out, it sounds like the most lame blog ever. But stick with me, okay?

Okay.

Long Time No Blog

Hey there kids, it's been a loooong time since I've blogged! I am proud to report that I did actually graduate... never thought I'd see that day! Now I am just doing my best to find a job, which is hard to do in this economy, but I have landed some interviews and am hoping for good results. Anyway, that's a boring topic, so let's move on to the pictures:

I am so suave in my fancy hat. 

I was a little short for the glorified trash bag gown that
I ordered. 

Posing with one of many bouquets.

So. many. flowers.

Zach was a good sport and put up with
a million pictures.

My physical therapy was going well, but then I was left high and dry and without a gym membership when I graduated (favorite thing about college = free awesome gym access), so I am kind of in an exercise rut. My normal workout routine has been replaced with cupcakes and playing fetch with the dog. Oh well... could be worse. I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day Weekend! 

Finals Week

Man, where have I been? Oh yes, I have been working my little butt off to get all of my lab reports/ tests/ finals complete. I graduate on the 12th, so I will definitely have a graduation recap ready after that. Until then, have a nice couple of weeks! May you not be as stressed as I am.

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Whiny Wednesday

1. It has been pouring here since yesterday. I am not sure where our beautiful 70-degree blue skies weather went, but it has been replaced with 40-degree monsoon season. It is really helping me with  my horrible case of senioritis. Really. Anyway, I was walking back from class when this nice gentleman in a giant pickup truck drove through a puddle next to me going 50 miles per hour. I ended up looking about like this:

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And yes, I did look just as beautiful as that cat there.

2. My physical therapist retired this week...I didn't even know he was retiring until he told me my session yesterday would be my last with him. It made me irrationally sad. I guess when you trust someone with your recovery and then they disappear, it makes your recovery feel much farther away and less definite. I haven't run in 3 months now, and I am going crazy.

3. Speaking of physical therapy, yesterday I was allowed to do the walking machine for 10 minutes and then the bike for 10, but something apparently didn't go over well with my knees because they were both extremely swollen last night... as swollen as they were three months ago. Once again, really feeling like recovery is not going so great.

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4. Okay, onto more interesting topics... like this guy who decided to take on the TSA by...getting naked? I mean, granted, that is pretty much what they do to you. But still.

"When interviewed about his actions, Mr. Brennan stated he flies (sic) a lot and had disrobed as a form of protest against TSA screeners who he felt were harassing him." Read more...

 I guess that's one way to stick it to the man. And get arrested and categorized as a sex offender for the rest of your life.

5. This is not whining, but I think for graduation we are all going to decorate our hats as elements of the periodic table. Mine will naturally be Ag (silver) for my initials. Also, I really like silver (hint hint, Zach).

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It even weighs the same as I do... except that minor discrepancy in the units. See? Me and silver have a lot in common. We both also have the same number of valence electrons (okay, now I am just making things up).

But enough of the nerd-talk. In all reality, I am just super excited to be graduating, even if it is very likely that I will face plant trying to walk across the stage in heels. And possibly fall off the stage, depending on how lucky I am. Be prepared for copious amounts of cap and gown pictures in a few weeks.


If you were an element, what would you be? And for those of you that aren't total nerds, did you decorate your graduation caps too?