A Wrap on 2010

Merry Christmas from the Standridge's! Ok, that's a little late but I was lazy on Christmas and wasn't on the computer much. I cooked our dinner at lunch and we ate and then passed out for a few hours for a nap. It was awesome!! I convinced hubs to see Black Swan with me and after that we walked around the Christmas Village's here and enjoyed the lights. Our families in the south were blessed with a White Christmas. The first one since the 1800's. We were very excited for them but I was a little sad that we were here in Utah and had no snow whatsoever. We were pleasantly surprised the next day when we walked outside and were covered in snow.

I can't believe tomorrow is New Years Eve!! 2010 has really flown by. 2010 for me did not start out that well. I endured yet another heartbreak but it ended up being the best thing for me because it made me soul search and reach out to the now hubs. I am so excited to see what 2011 will hold for us. We're already planning a couple of trips and a possible move in the spring.

I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Years and that 2011 brings you health, happiness and most importantly, love. I look forward to all the new blogs and sharings of great adventures!

Christmas in Dixie

I've been listening to all the classic Christmas tunes for a few days now and Alabama's Christmas in Dixie came on and I just started to cry. For many reasons,

1) It did make me a little homesick. I haven't spent a Christmas with my parents in 7 years

2) I miss my dad like CRAZY this time of year. He has been gone for almost 13 years, but every Christmas I think about him constantly. It was his favorite time of year. If it stood still long enough, it had lights wrapped around it. And don't get me started on the baking!! He purchased a BHG Christmas Cookies cookbook in 1985 and every year we baked out of it. It was just our tradition. People still talk about his goodies and it makes me feel so good.

3) I took a moment to just stop. I know this is going to sound sooo cheesy but it's all true. I have never felt more blessed than I do this Christmas. Even though we're far away from our families, I am finally with the person I love most. My true soulmate. I would've never thought that I met him at 15 years old, but I did. And now we get to spend this Christmas as husband and wife and I couldn't be happier. I have a beautiful, healthy son who is growing into quite the little man. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table, presents under the tree, and jobs to get up and go to everyday. We truly are blessed.

This Christmas, I hope everyone takes a moment to just reflect on all you have. Maybe you were like us and couldn't afford all the fancy gifts you wish you could give/receive, but there is so much more to be grateful for. I spent a grand total of $50 on my husband and am incredibly proud of my resourcefulness and can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning when he opens the gifts I put more thought than money in to.

I made everything that we gave to my new in-laws. It's all cross stitches that we framed and wrapped and mailed. Pray they make it in once piece!! Lol. It was incredibly time consuming, but I'm so proud of how they all turned out. I hope they enjoy getting them as much as I enjoyed making them.

I probably won't get another chance to blog before Christmas so Merry Christmas to everyone!!! I hope your holiday is filled with love, laughter, and great food!

We're Married!!!

Well, we did it!! We tied the knot! Nothing spectacular, but we enjoyed it. And my coworkers surprised us with a cake, wine and engraved glasses. I got my Christmas wedding and my best friend even got to attend via Skype! Gotta love technology!

Lots of News

Ok, so I've been a horrible blogger lately but I have a really good excuse. I've had a TON going on. It started with our awesome company Christmas party. The next day boyfriend and I went down to Salt Lake and did a little shopping and came home with something COMPLETELY unexpected. Cute boyfriend is now cute fiance!! He tortured me by holding on to the beautiful ring all the way home from Salt Lake and even stopped for dinner! Then when we got home and it was just the two of us he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes!!

The next week I ended up in the ER with the worst stomach virus. That was on a Tuesday evening. I made it back to work on Friday for a few hours to take care of a Chrysler meeting and then I was back at home on my couch bed with my stitching. I finally started to feel really well Saturday so Sunday we went back out and about and did some more shopping. We got a grill and fiance made us steaks for dinner.

I've been back and work and busy busy busy. Oh, and the biggest news yet. WE'RE GETTING MARRIED FRIDAY!!!!! We decided to just do it. So we're getting married at my beautiful dealership on Friday afternoon on the showroom floor in front of the huge Christmas tree. Just a very simple ceremony, but I couldn't be more excited! I'll post pictures after!

Hope everyone has a great week and weekend and is enjoying the holiday season!

Christmas Kick Off

Last night we had our annual company Christmas party. I went all out this year. New dress, got my hair did, and booked us a hotel room so we could both enjoy the benefits of free booze. My adorable boss gave me a hint that there was going to be a big announcement made at the party so as to make sure I was there to hear it. I was, and luckily I had already had a few drinks so I took the news with a happy face. I now have ANOTHER new car franchise to take care of. We are adding Mitsubishi to our Suzuki store. Thanks to the alcohol, here is me and my adorable boss after the big news!

We continued to party on and I even got boyfriend to dance with me. We did have some party crashers in the form of a bride and groom, but in true Greek fashion, our owners welcomed them with open arms and even danced with the bride!

We also had some fun raffles and giveaways and a crazy Christmas sock contest! One of our VW sales managers and his wife made their creative socks and won the contest

All in all, we had a great evening!! I work for a wonderful company that really takes care of their employees. I hope everyone else had a fantastic weekend and I look forward to hearing about everyone's Christmas activities!!

A Little Shutterfly

So, I read a blog the other day telling me that bloggers can get 50 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly this year, so I decided to check it out. Boyfriend and I are having some outdoor pictures done soon and I thought it would be really nice for all our southern family to receive a card with pictures this year. I have to say, I am super impressed with Shutterfly. They have a ton of cars to choose from and I already see it's going to be difficult. I've spotlighted a few and when I get the pictures back, then I'll choose based on how it comes together. Definitely think I'm going to do a black and white photo though. Those are super classy and elegant looking in my opinion.

But its not just the cards! Shutterfly offers a huge variety of other products as well. I think I'm going to compile my favorite pictures of my mom and son and make her a calender of him! I might include a pic or two of her other grandchildren as well. LOL

You can also just print photo's at Target, CVS, or Walgreens. That is super exciting to me because I never print pictures anymore because it's a pain in the butt to put them on the thumb drive and take it down to Walgreens and then have to go back to Walgreens to pick them up. Hello!! I'm a busy woman here! Now I can just handle everything from the touch of a keyboard. LOVE IT!!

If you want to investigate and take advantage of this offer like I did, just click this link and be on your way!! Happy creating everyone!

Some Self Promotion

Ok fellow bloggers, some of you know this, but most of you don't, I am a business owner. For the last 5 years I have operated a little online website called A Lil Bit of Everything. I make and sell mostly military family merchandise and apparel but I can do anything custom. Please check out my site and share with all of your friends!! Also, look me up on Facebook as from time to time I will be giving out coupon codes for purchases and even some giveaways if I can get enough "Likes".

http://www.cafepress.com/albe

Day Late

Ok, I'm a date late with my "Thankful Thursday" but definitely didn't want to not to do it!

I am thankful for my job this week!! Even though it has been driving me INSANE, in this economy I am grateful everyday that I get to come here. I even work for an amazing company that really takes care of it's people. Next Thursday we will be having a Thanksgiving dinner where every single employee will be taking home a 20lb turkey and most of the items needed for their own Thanksgiving dinner.

I am also thankful for my incredible friends. Erin, Sam and Lauren, you guys ROCK!! You are always there when I need someone to talk to and make me laugh. I cherish our friendship and look forward to even more good times in 2011.

With all the craziness going on at work and home I may not get another chance to blog until after the holiday so if that is the case I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and great football!

Making an Attempt

I know, I have been down right horrible about blogging lately. That is really just because nothing fun and exciting has been going on here.

Boyfriend is working so that has been great. Not that I need his paycheck, but getting him out the house and keeping him from being bored to death definitely helps retain my sanity.

I have been working nonstop. We have finally gotten our Chrysler franchise back and our new cars/trucks are starting to arrive daily!! I love it!! The excitement of being apart of this is just incredible. We all get tickled everytime one of those 2010's pulls up the driveway.

Most heartbreaking news, my laptop died. It's gone. Complete motherboard blow out. I have yet to purchase a new one as A) I have absolutely no idea what I want B) with it being so close to Black Friday I'm holding out to see who has the best deal and hopefully score a good one super cheap.

Other than that, we are excited to spend our first "grown up" Thanksgiving together. I'm going to be preparing all the fixin's for just the two of us. Can't wait!!! And I've already discovered Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel which only gets me more in the mood for Christmas. Now if mother nature would just cooperate and give me LOTS of snow, I'd be all set!

Hope everyone has a great week and I look forward to reading what everyone else has been up to and I'm open to all suggestions on the laptop!

Thankful Thursday

Well, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon a little as I see some of my favorite Army Wives have already blogged about today, but I just can't help it!

Today, I am so very grateful for the Veteran's in my life, past and present. My father served as an Officer in the USAF for over 20 years and raised me to respect our country and our service men and women in a way I've never seen from anyone else.

My brother was in the USMC for almost 10 years and served in the Gulf War. I'll never forget the day he shipped out as I lost my very first tooth. Deployments were alot different back then. No emails or phone calls. We literally went weeks and months without hearing from him and having to stalk the mailbox everyday.

I was previously married to two Airman as well, one of whom I survived a deployment and countless TDY's with. Being a deployed spouse and constantly living with the fear of the unknown but having to put on a brave face taught me a whole new love for this country and the families who have gone through that alot more frequently than I do.

I am now currently back together with my high school sweetheart who after graduation joined the US Navy. He only did a short tour but was privileged to be a member of the USS Roosevelt.

My life has always had numerous veterans, young and old, in it and they have all taught me something unique and special. My Godfather was a Ranger in the US Army and received a purple heart in Vietnam. I can remember sitting in his lap as a child and feel his tears on my face when he would tell me about the friends he lost.

I saved my very special Veteran for last, Ben. Ben was in the US Army stationed at Fort Gordon in Augusta, GA when we met my senior year of high school (2001). We only got to briefly date, but today and always he carries a special place in my heart. He deployed to Afghanistan just before all the exciting events of one's Senior Year start to play out. The night of my prom I received an email from him telling me he bet I would be the prettiest girl there. It meant the world to me that worlds away and in a dangerous war zone, he remembered something as trivial as my prom. He was always good at remember the little things that were monumental events in my life. My senior prom, graduation, 18th birthday. Then, Christmas of 2002 Ben was killed in action. To this day I can close my eyes and remember exactly how cold it was and how the wind felt stinging my wet face standing on the tarmac with his mother watching his flag drapped coffin come off the plane. Today especially, I tell his story because he was an incredible man and I hope he is never forgotten for the sacrifice he made for his country.

If your out tonight and see some of our wonderful military members and their families enjoying a free dinner provided by one of the fabulous establishments who chooses to do so, thank them. It may only be with a smile or a handshake, but just take a moment to let them know their service doesn't go unnoticed. And before you go to bed tonight, pray for them and their family and all those who aren't here tonight to enjoy this holiday. I know I will.

Before I sign off, a huge thank you to my very best friend, Erin, and my new e-friend, Sam, who have husbands in the US Army and continue to sacrifice by seeing off their loved one for extended lengths of time and live that military life.

Happy Veteran's Day

Thankful Thursday

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I have decided to turn Favorite Things Thursday into Thankful Thursday for the season!

To kick off, I am thankful for my family. Even though we aren't as close as most families, I know they love me and would be there for me if I needed them. I have a wonderful support system who has stuck by me when I have made some awful decisions in life.

That family also includes the worlds most wonderful little dude who has been my whole world for the last 6 years. I could not ask for a better son and I never knew my heart could hold so much love as it did the day they put him in my arms.

Take a peek next week at some more of my thankfulness and always remember the real reason for the season!!

Holiday Kick Off

Well, we have officially spent our second first holiday together! Boyfriend definitely does not get into the holiday's like I do, but I did get hime to enjoy a few Halloween things! We carved pumpkinsHis turned out much better than mine! (The wolf)

Made creepy eyeballs for a Halloween party, which would not have happened without loving boyfriend because after the pumpkin carving I was not so gentle trying to peel eggs and he saved them from my wrath of anger

And attended the party as Bonnie and Clyde

All in all it was a very successful first holiday together and I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas with him!!

Favorite Things Thursday!

Well, I have a few things that I'm obsessed with this week. I couldn't choose just one to blog about!

1) Halloween!! I LOVE Halloween. It is seriously one of my favorite holidays. Tonight boyfriend and I are going to carve up some pumpkins. I get all into this craft. Bad like. It will be completely perfect, no stray strings here! He, on the other hand, has not carved a pumpkin since he was a little kid so I'm excited to rub off some of my Halloween spirit on him!

2) With Halloween weekend comes the BIGGEST SEC game of the year for me..... UGA vs UF. I will tirelessly be rooting on my Dawgs all the way out here. Screaming at my tv and all. We have not had a very good season this year, and we notoriously never win against UF, but each year I enter this game with the same optimisim and excitement. We could just possibly win!!

3) It has officially started to snow here. I am STOKED for this winter. More so than any other because I get to share it with my sweet southern boyfriend who has never experienced a Utah winter. And, it gives me an excuse to wear a hoodie every single day. Who doesn't love a hoodie??

Hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween weekend!! I look forward to reading about everyone's trick or treating or partying or whatever!

I Heart Fall

So, fall and winter are my favorite times of year. I love all the cold weather, the beautiful scenery, and yes even the snow. I love to spend these few months buried away in my kitchen cooking and baking yummy creations! In my quest to impress boyfriend with my extreme culinary skills I was googling recipes with pumpkin and came across my new obsession Our Best Bites. I poured over their site for awhile and decided on two of their recipes for the weekend.

First up, the Hot Corn Dip. I have NEVER cooked with an actual onion, much less the peppers they want you to use in this recipe. I am a fraidy cat. But I sucked it up thanks to encouragement from boyfriend and I did!! I cut up my first onion and peppers and followed the recipe exactly.
It came out absolutely fabulous!!! We both loved it! I could not believe I actually ate something and enjoyed it knowing there was peppers and onions in it. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe and will definitely be using it more often.

After munching on that for the afternoon and some yummy potato soup for dinner I tried out another recipe from my new obsession, the Easy Apple Dumplings. My house smelled AMAZING when this was baking!

Before

After

And even better!

I was so impressed by how easy both recipes were but they came out looking and tasting like they took a ton of time! Boyfriend and I pigged out all weekend on all the yummy goodness and I can't wait to try more recipes out!


If you love to cook and bake like I do, then I definitely recommend popping on over to Our Best Bites to check out what they have to offer. They are always introducing new recipes as well. I already have my eye out for my next adventure in the kitchen with them!


Other than my kitchen experiments, our weekend was relatively boring. I agreed to a Halloween movie marathon and have now seen almost all of the lovely Michael Meyers movies. Go figure that we watch 4 of them only to find out there are 3 more we missed. Yay. Hopefully, he won't make me watch anymore of them after I scared him with my screaming and freaking out Lol.

Just to end, here is my awesome helper in the kitchen who not only enjoyed the yumminess with me, but also did the dishes!
Hope everyone has a great week!!!

Huge Changes Going On

Happy Saturday all!! So I have had quite the changes since I returned home to Utah.

First, I came home to see that my Chrysler store is almost completely up and running!! I'm very excited about this. The front facia of our store is getting painted next week and our arches should be up. After that we can officially start to receive our cars in. This will obviously be very good for my bank account as winter is upon us here which equals truck season!!

Second, as of this past Thursday boyfriend is now a Utah resident!! After 8 days apart he got to talk to the proper people and was told it was ok to come out here and live with me!! On the 9th day he was here! I still can't believe it. Having him here to actually FINALLY get to be a normal couple is amazing. We've already made trips to walmart, cooked dinner, and gotten to just enjoy coffee and tv on the couch. Today we're going to my friend's son's birthday party. I'm also going to take him up the beautiful mountains here to see what this great state is all about!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I'll catch up with you all next week!!

Seven Days

I've been back in Utah almost a week now and finally getting around to blogging about my trip. I got to spend 7 days with boyfriend FINALLY!!!! I have waited 10 long years for this moment right here I surprised him at work as soon as I got to town on Tuesday and it was priceless. We both kept smiling and looking at each other in awe. That night we hung out until 1am and I can't even describe how magical it was. We got to spend every single night that I was there together. We even got to actually spend the weekend together. Falling asleep and waking up in his arms was THE BEST!! I am holding on to those feelings as tight as I can until I get to have them again.

Monday night was obviously the hardest. Saying goodbye was emotional for both of us. We both cried and held each other for hours. Boyfriend spent a few years in the Navy and Monday night he gave me his dogtags and asked me to take very good care of them. I have worn them every day since I left him and I plan on wearing them every day until he and I can be together again.

Even through our tears we still take cute pictures!!

Ironically, while I was shopping with my mom on my last day in town I heard a Kenny Chesney song off his new album called Seven Days and it fits perfectly for my trip. If you haven't heard it, check it out on YouTube.

All in all, the whole trip was so much better than either of us expected. I am more in love with him than I could've ever imagined being. I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

We have a big day coming on Wednesday and without going into details, if everyone could please send up some prayers for us they are greatly appreciated!! Hope everyone has a great week!

At Last

I finally made it home to the love of my life...


And things could not be better.

Just a couple quick pictures to keep everyone posted. I'll blog about the entire event once I return home to Utah.

It's Finally Here

Yep, there it is. The only thing left to throw in my bag is my laptop and tooth brush. I'm all packed and ready to go.

In 38 minutes it is officially Monday (at least on the East coast) and tomorrow night I will finally begin my journey home and into the arms of my amazing boyfriend.

Today has been a complete emotional roller coaster and I can only imagine that will get worse as it gets even closer. We have been thinking about and planning for this day for over a month and now it's finally upon us. If you can't feel my excitment, there is something wrong with you! JK

I probably won't blog while I'm gone for lack of time, but if I can sneak one in to update everyone on how it's going I sure will. I hope you all have a great two weeks and I'll talk to you later!!!

Favorite Things Thursday!

With my upcoming vacation (I know, everyone is sick of hearing about it! Lol) I wanted to blog about one of my favorite places which is also the kickoff to my trip home and to wonderful boyfriend.... VEGAS! If you've never had the opportunity to visit Sin City, I suggest you do! This was actually where ex-hubs and I spent our honeymoon on our journey to our new base here in Utah. We stayed at the Aladdin which is now Planet Hollywood

What we didn't know on our arrival that day was that this was the last night the Aladdin would be the Aladdin. The next night was the grand reveal of Planet Hollywood. Anyone know who owns PH?? Sylvestor Stallone along with some other big name celebs. We got to see him across the casino floor and for a small town girl from small town GA, that was huge!

After that we ventured to Vegas a few times a year and have enjoyed some of its beautiful perks such as the Bellagio Water Show

And the Treasure Island Sirens of TI show

Vegas is home to many things to see and do from free to pricey. We stuck with mostly free and would spend our time wandering the various hotels and scenery. Just going in and out of the casino's is fun! They each have unique themes and specialties among them. One of my absolute favorites is the Venetian and I was lucky enough to go on a romantic gondola ride with my (ex) hubs. Too bad it wasn't all I ever dreamed about with a drunk husband and his friend almost tipping us out of the boat. Good and bad thing about Las Vegas, alcohol is literally sold in excessive gallons on street corners!

This trip to Vegas I will be staying at Circus Circus and I hear it will be quite entertaining. I've never been in this particular casino before but I look forward to something new. Lets just hope there aren't any clowns around, or I'll get no sleep. Me = deathly afraid of clowns.

I won't be blogging while I'm away but I look forward to catching up with all of you once I return and hopefully having a romantic (EEK!!) reunion story with boyfriend!! Love to you all and have a great weekend and upcoming week!!

Math = Happiness

NEVER thought I'd be so happy about numbers but lately I sure am!! 8 days 17 hours and 31 minutes until I am back in GA and in the arms of my love. That number gets smaller every minute and I LOVE it!! I can't wait to see him and wrap myself in his arms for 7 days. It cannot get here fast enough. I am also really excited to get to spend some time with mom and attend my best friend's wedding.

Nothing very exciting here this weekend. A little laundry and cleaning. Today I went for my run and completely overestimated the weather and was no properly hydrated. Will never make that mistake again. It took me way too long to recover.

Hope everyone has a great week! I know I will on the last leg of my countdown!!

Favorite Things Thursday

Ok, so my favorite thing today is a wonderful thing but brought about because of a sad situation. The favorite thing I want to blog about today is my family. I was going through some baby pictures of my little man and this was our last family photo (its still only half of them)

I have six brothers and sisters and several neices and nephews. My dad passed away almost 14 years ago. He was my world. I love my mom, but I was the epitomy of a daddy's girl. Look it up in the dictonary, you'll see my picture. The sun rose and set with that man and I miss him every single day. They say time heals all wounds, but this one hasn't happened yet. It's like that scar on the back of your elbow you never notice until you touch it accidentally. Always there, but not always noticeable.

My mom lives in GA and I'm excited to see her and my stepdad in a little over a week now. Unfortunately, I won't get to see my siblings because they all still reside in FL. But I do love them alot.

I got the idea to blog about my family because boyfriend's uncle passed away this morning. I've spent the day talking to him, his mom, his grandma and if one day I am fortunate enough to rock his last name, I will be entering into one amazing family. His grandmother made me cry this morning. I called her to comfort her on the loss of her son, and instead she tells me how excited she is to see me. I love this family as much as I do my own. Some of them possibly more. JK

Even though my family is far apart, we all know we love one another and would be there for the other one in a heartbeat. I've watched my neiecs and nephews grow into beautiful young men and women. I would lay down my life for any one of them at any given moment.

Tonight, when you go to bed, please send up a little prayer for boyfriend's sweet family. They need it now in this awful time. And hug your loved ones a little bit closer. Or call up mom/dad just to say I love you. I know I sure did. Life is too precious and you can never tell someone you love them enough.

The Little Things

I was sitting here tonight having my nightly chat with my BFF Erin and watching Letters To Juliet and we both were on the subject of love. We are both getting ready to have homecomings with our loves and it brought on a talk about the little things we are both looking forward to. If you read my previous blog you'll know I'm very excited about holding my boyfriends hand. To me, its the little things that give a relationship its most special memories.

It's about those simple things. A text to say I'm thinking about you. An I love you out the blue. Sitting on the couch watching TV and not even having to say a word to each other. Passing notes in the hallway in between classes. Exchanging that look and knowing exactly what the other person is thinking.

When I look back on the past relationship that boyfriend and I had a lot of memories come back. But some of the strongest are of those little moments. Our prom photographer captured a photo of us. It's of our backs and I'm sitting in boyfriends lap looking at him and I have this huge smile on my face. This perfect stranger captured one of the best memories I have and to this day ten years later I can still tell you exactly how I felt at that moment. It's one of the few moments in my life I remember feeling truly loved.

Whenever we were together we were constantly close. We were either holding hands or he'd have his arm draped around my shoulders in that casual way. It was never anything forced or thought about or over analyzed. It just happened whenever we were together. I remember riding in his '88 Camaro snuggled in his camo jacket with his hand on my thigh and if I close my eyes I can still feel it and remember the smells and exactly how it felt. Those little moments are forever etched in my memory and I'm grateful for it.

Today I was at work stressing about trying to get everything done and right in the middle of all the madness my phone beeped and I looked down and it was from boyfriend and all it said was "I love you Angie". Even though we are 3000 miles and two time zones apart it was like he knew that was exactly what I needed to hear at that very moment. He calms me in a way no one has ever been able to do. Its the little things like that simple text that can absolutely make my whole day.

I can't wait for the next two weeks to fly by so I can experience the little things with him again. Because at the end of the day, I would rather fight with him than make love with anyone else.

Two Weeks!

Happy Monday all!!!

Yes, I am a little bit happy about a Monday. Tomorrow I am officially two weeks away from being back in Georgia and reuniting with wonderful boyfriend! This is a day I am dreaming about. I was talking to my BFF this weekend about the little things couples take forgranted of. One of the biggest things I am looking forward to is just being able to hold his hand. Sounds silly I know, but it's something we used to do all the time. It was just natural. We never thought about it. It just was that way. If we were together, we were holding hands. I know, I know, we were dorky. We were 15!! Lol.

This week is also a big week at work. The dealership I work for was only the third one in the nation to win arbitration against Chrysler and receive our franchise back. That is officially (finally) happening on the 15th. We are SUPER excited and proud and can't wait to start receiving in our products of new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.

Not really anything else exciting to report. Had a pretty lazy weekend. If any of you are movie fan I do recommend Killers with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Hiegl. Hilarious!!! Hope everyone has a great week!!

Favorite Things Thursday!

On this rainy Thursday here in Utah I just have to come right out and express my love for the internet. Yes, the internet. Without it I would be completely lost. What in the world did we all do before this crazy invention?

Thanks to the internet I have met some really amazing people and some are my fellow bloggers. One in particular who has been there for me through some of the worst times of my life. Over the summer we actually got the chance to meet in person and she's just as amazing as I always knew she would be. She will definitely be a lifelong friend of mine. And its the internet that keeps us connected through PCS's, moves, and whatever life brings our way.

The internet is also what allows me to do my job. It's the basis for it actually. I sell cars over email. The internet has become to play a huge roll in the way car dealers do business now a days. In the last month I have taken several classes on this new way of selling and it is fascinating to me the way social networking has impacted the car business.

Last but not least, the internet just provides all around GREAT entertainment!! We can shop online, book trips, see photo's of friends who are thousands of miles away, and even reconnect with long lost loves or find new ones. It's amazing the things that are at our fingertips each and every day.

Enough of my random internet rant. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! Gooo Dawgs!!

Traveling Blues

Ok, so I'm a little irritated. With my upcoming vacation plans I've been trying to figure out how to avoid paying $25 each way to check one stupid suitcase. So my mom and I came up with the genius idea to mail some of my stuff and just take a carry on bag. I dug out my luggage set yesterday to figure out what I need mail and pack and get organized. In doing so I found a duffel bag I had forgotten about. After researching Delta's website it came to my attention that my unused, expensive duffel bag is 3 inches too big to be considered a carry on. WTF?! Why? Why does everything have to be so expensive and difficult? I could easily manage everything I need for 8 days away in this duffel bag but instead I have to stuff clothes into a box and mail to my mom to save $20. Doesn't sound like much, but $20 to a single girl living on her own is a tank of gas, a pedicure, hell that's two months of my gas bill! It's just very annoying to me that I paid $269 for a roundtrip ticket to see my parents and on top of that in order to take one suitcase I would have to pay an additional $50. What happened to the days when you paid for a ticket and got to take your suitcase with you for no additional cost?

Enough of my rant about the airlines. I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! UGA won 55-7 in their season opener so that kicked off a wonderful weekend for me! And today is exactly three weeks until I'm in GA.

Favorite Things Thursday!

Well, with the arrival of Fall just around the corner, I thought this weeks Favorite Thing should be an ode to summer and one of my favorite things about it..... flip flops.

I LOVE flip flops. I have over 10 different pairs. I wear them everyday. I got married in flip flops. I even sneak them on in snowy winters just because I hate closed toed shoes. The exception to that is of course, the hooker boots, but a girl can only take those so many days in a row.

But seriously, I might have a problem. Snow or not, I would wear my flip flops religiously if I weren't afraid of frostbite. Being a Florida girl, I was practically born and raised in them or shoeless. It's how we rolled back then. But of course it was safe to walk around without shoes on when I was a little kid. Nowadays you have to worry about germs and drugs and other crazy things.

Flip flops are also convenient! I love that I can just easily slip them off everywhere. The airport, work, movies, the car, etc. They're just versatile and convenient. Maybe that's why I love them so much. Either way, I heart my flip flops for many reasons. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

I'm a slacker

I have totally been slacking on the blog front. I spent my weekend with my noise buried in the best book I have read in a while. It's called Driven and is the autobiography of a Utah man named Larry H Miller who is a big entrepeneur here. I highly recommend it to EVERYONE. His story is very inspiring.

Currently I am enjoying my coffee before I have to go to work and start the chaos that I know is going to happen. We're getting a new system, which none of us know how to use, and it is not transferring our customer database from the old one. Guess who gets to input all those customers by hand, by herself?? Yep, I won!!! I got the Golden Ticket for that prize! Thankfully there is a three day weekend in sight and my BFF has promised wine and Edward!

To close it is FINALLY September. The weather is starting to cool off a little here and I am excited about fall. I love all the things that come with fall. Cooler weather, football season, beautiful scenery in the mountains, Halloween. Oh yeah, and I get to see the boyfriend in 27 days! It's gonna be a great month!

Favorite Things Thursday

Before I run off to work I wanted to blog about one of my favorite things that is also related to my job... the 2011 Audi S5.

Yes, this is one very expensive car that I will never be able to afford, but I do LOVE IT!! I had the amazing opportunity to drive this vehicle before we placed it on the showroom floor and I was in heaven. This car comes equipped with a sport suspension, xenon headlights, bluetooth, dual exhaust and the best feature.... 354HP and top speeds of 155MPH!!!! Now, before I worked here I knew nothing about Audi, VW, or any German engineering. Now that I have had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of some of the models that Audi produces. I am in LOVE!!! (And no, I am not trying to sell anyone a car) This is just my personal opinion of this amazing piece of machinery. If you ever get the chance to drive anything made by Audi, I highly suggest you take the opportunity. It is the most fun and smoothest ride I've ever driven.

Countdown time!!!

There are two very important countdowns going on in my life right now that I just felt the need to share. We'll start with the short one first.

11 Days 2 Hours and 23 Minutes

Until UGA kickoff against Louisiana-Lafayette in my beloved Sanford Stadium

This means the official arrival of fall in my world. I work extra hours during the summer to afford my new UGA wardrobe to last me until next fall. The hardest part is deciding which UGA shirt to wear. And I always sport my red and black every single Saturday in support of my team even from thousands of miles away. For my friends who have yet to see this side of me, yes I become one of those true Southern women who hosts huge "tailgate" parties at home and jump up and down and scream at the tv. For those who don't understand, please visit Lola's blog about the 7 Deadly Sins.

34 Days 18 Hours 46 Minutes

Until I land in great state of Georgia!!! This has three very significant meanings for me. One I do get to see my adorable parents

Two I get to drive my incredibly sexy Trans Am that is the best thing that ever came out of marriage #2. She is my sassy redhead named Hillary.

And I saved the best for last, I am going to get to see the man I have now come to believe is the love of my life. If you read my previous blog, TMI, then you will know that this is my very first love from 10 years ago. We recently rekindled our relationship and even miles apart, it's better than ever. I am coming to believe more and more everyday that all of the awful relationships I've had in the past have only taught me the lessons I needed to know to make a future with this man. And in 34 days I am going to get to put my arms around him for the first time in a VERY long time. I dream about this moment ALL the time LOL. My military wives will completely understand this feeling. Its that nervous-anxious-happy-thrilled-gonna puke-feeling when Homecoming has become a reality. Getting on that plane cannot get here fast enough for me. I am just hoping that the next 34 days go by very quickly. I might be blogging alot to get out my frustration!!! LOL

Science 1, Me 0

In the name of science, I now live in the worlds stinkiest apartment. I made rice crispie treats this morning and didn't have a pan to place them in so I grabbed a spoon and ate the gooey mess right out of the bowl. I know, healthy right? It was so yummy though that I had the bright idea to put some of it in a smaller bowl and place them in the microwave to see if I could recreate the gooey yumminess.

FAIL. EPIC FAIL.

Had I not left it in there for such a long time and left the apartment to get my ipod out of the truck, it would not have been such a fail. But I came back to a God awful smell and smoke EVERYWHERE. I set the marshmellows on fire in the microwave. I am a super genius.

Three hours later the smoke has all cleared, the microwave needs to be scrubbed and the apartment smells like burnt plastic. And I had to throw out one of my favorite bowls on top of it all.

Science 1, Me 0

Favorite Things Thursday!

Still new to the blogging world I've noticed a trend with bloggers that they set aside one day a week to talk about the same topic. I have chosen mine after much debate and struggle and have decided on Favorite Things Thursday!! Each Thursday I will share and talk about one of my favorite things.

To kick off this awesomely amazing Thursday I'd like to talk about one of my favorite breakfast foods: eggs. If you've seen the news recently you've probably heard about the 338 Million eggs being recalled for salmonella. Yes, unfortunately, I had one of those cartons.

Tuesday morning I got up earlier than normal to make myself my favorite thing with eggs, eggs benedict. I recently read on a health website that this is actually one of the better breakfasts you can have for yourself when trying to lose weight, such as I am. Unfortunately no more drowning it in hollandaise sauce :( Nevertheless, I made my scrumptious breakfast and proceeded to get ready for my day.

After about an hour at work I was definitely not feeling so hot. This lasted well into the night and I was pretty sure I would've taken death over to continue feeling so miserable. Yesterday morning trying to recover from my post-puke hangover I logged on to check my email and read the story covering the Yahoo homepage. There it was in print, the name of the only type of eggs I buy. Took myself and my eggs down to the health dept, got tested and put on antibiotics and seriously debated eating eggs (which I love) ever again.

Tune in next week for hopefully a more positive Favorite Things Thursday!

Jewelry is always good

My birthday was last month but sweet boyfriend has been working with my friend to get me exactly what I wanted. It finally came in yesterday!!! I am now the proud wearer of a gorgeous three stone sapphire ring. No, its not an engagement ring. But it is a beautiful representation of our past, present and future. Just had to show it off a little!! Lol

TMI

Ok, so I know I'm still new to this blogging thing but I really just need to get really personal about some stuff that has been going on because if I don't let it out I might A)explode B)punch someone in the face C)get fired for cussing someone.

A couple months ago I actually rekindled a romance with my high school sweetheart. Yes, that was 10 yrs ago. He was my first love, first kiss, first boyfriend, first THAT, first everything basically! Lol. He (we'll leave it at B) actually broke up with me after almost two years together because he thought he wasn't good enough for me. I had goals and ambitions and at the time he wanted to smoke pot. Wasn't a big deal to me. I was devastated when we broke up. Nevertheless, over the last ten years he has contacted me a few times at random, the last time being about 5 yrs ago right after the birth of my son. I was married at the time and our contact did not last very long.

On Father's Day this year I was feeling nostalgic and put on the sappy cd, got out the wine, and dug into my chest through all my old pics. I came across one particular album full of pics of me and B. It made me really think and reevaluate the relationships I've had since our breakup. I held said pictures in my hands and cried for hours. It really dawned on me that I didn't even marry a man who loved me as much as B did when we were kids. It made me very sad and by the end of the day I had made up my mind to contact him. After some stalking searching on FB I found B's older brother and messaged him asking if he could put us in touch. After a couple messages the next day back and forth my wish came true and I held B's cell number in my hot little hand. Called him right up!! No matter that it was midnight in Georgia. Left him a voicemail and prayed for the best.

Long story semi-short we ended up talking the next day and as soon as I heard his voice a ton of emotions hit me like a brick. I had alot of unresolved feelings for him. It did lead to us getting back together and both of us still had alot of love for each other. We have now been back together for almost two months.

SO the point of this whole actual blog. B has not been the perfect person. No one is. I don't expect it. We all make mistakes. Last Thursday I get a call from his roommate on my way to work telling me that the DNR (dept of natural resources) has picked up B and hauled him off to jail. Yes, you are reading this right, I said it, my boyfriend went to jail. Not something either of us is proud of, but just wait until you hear why.

B and I are from a small town in GA so since we all know everyone I was thinking I would at least be able to find out why he was taken off to county lock up. Not so much. I bet I seriously made 20 calls to people and no one could seem to tell me why my boyfriend was sitting in a jail cell. Did find out however that he wasn't alone. His father was with him. Finally late in the evening B is finally booked and charged. Are you ready for this one. His big charges that have kept him in jail ALL DAY.... Hunting without a license and Hunting on Private Property. He was being charged with something that happened November 2009. No, I cannot make up the stupidity of the situation. It gets better.

The next day B finally see's the judge and gets a $5,000 bond over these charges. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!? I was furious. After talking to an incredibly nice person at the county jail I find out the reason behind this is because dear 'ol dad had a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to appear and like father/like son, B is being held accountable (with no actual reason) and deemed a flight risk.

I finally got a phone call from B and he was stressed and upset. Call lasted all of 6 1/2 seconds. Not what I was hoping for after my full blown panic attacks while trying to figure out how to get him out of jail. His mom was being of no help. Due to bailing him out of jams in the past she wanted to leave him there. Now, I love this woman just as much as I love my own mother so it really upset me to hear those things from her. I was really coming close to a full blown nervous breakdown by Saturday morning.

By Saturday morning (and talking to every bondsman in GA) I was lost and had no idea how I was going to get him out of jail. Maybe by the power of love or prayer, my phone rings and its his mother. She is willing to bond him out. THANK YOU GOD!! She has plans for the morning that she's going to go ahead and do, but then she'll get him out. Boyfriend will not spend another night in that awful place. I could not have been happier. I call the jail and luckily bribe ask nicely and get him allowed to call me again. We finally get a real conversation. Boyfriend realizes that I'm trying to get him out. He is relieved and once again optimistic. Finally at 10pm B walks out of the jail!!!!! I was about to cut cartwheels I was so happy. I seriously did not feel the sort of emotion that I felt when ex hubs came home from Iraq. Guess that goes to show how much love I have for this man.

Saturday night was one of the most amazing nights in our relationship. Even though we are seperated by miles (temporarily) this whole experience has somehow strengthened our relationship. He has said several times that now he realizes just how much I really do love him and how much he loves me. After all his time to think he knows that we are meant to be together. I am his very best friend and he wants to grow old along side of me. (Sorry for the gushing!!)

I finally get past all that stress and then work comes into play. People are cranky, mean and downright rude. I'm really tired of it. I work so much that when I take a day off during the week and don't work to make it up, when payday rolled around I still had all my hours plus hours of overtime. How is that possible when I literally skipped out on an full 8 hr day?? I work WAY too much. My job has become my life. I am surrounded by negativity when we just came off the best selling month we've had all year. WHY?!?! Why is everyone just not on top of their game because we all sold alot of cars and we all made alot of money? Whey does everyone have to go right back into being in crappy moods and fighting with each other? Yes, I'm going to say it, why can't we all just get along?? Never gonna happen. Can I work at Disney World? Surely the happiest place on Earth would at least be a positive environment to work in???

Ok, its quite possible that this blog will not make sense to anyone but me and I guess that's probably ok. I just really needed to vent about the idiocy that locked my sweet man up for three days and the crappiness that has become a job that I used to love going to everyday. I know we all have off days/weeks but it's just become a little overwhelming this week. I feel very angry ALL the time. I have prayed for more patience (I must be at my max), and for some positive energy to come into the lives of my coworkers. I'm hoping that the next two days can hurry by so that I can have some relaxing time in my home with wine and my other boyfriend, Edward. (Hello my name is Angie and I'm addicted to all things Twilight). Maybe that can give me some peace to move forward and get through the next few months until I can get back to GA and put my arms around the man I love.

Until next time, I am sending you all an E-hug for those of us who are all in the boat of just needing our man to put his arms around us and make everything disappear, but can't due to seperations. I admire you all. You are strong women that I look up to every single day.

Take Care,
Angie

Ode to a three day weekend

Well, I officially have a three day weekend (unexpectedly). I have decided to follow in the footsteps of my inspiring friend, Erin, and start running. Being as out of shape as I am I am starting with walking then working my way up to jogging and hopefully participating in a half marathon with her next March.

I started yesterday with a nice walk in the morning that was almost 2 miles surrounding my apartment complex. I felt great afterwards and was very much so looking forward to repeating this process every day but Sunday. (Gotta have a day of rest somewhere) Then after about an hour or so at work I noticed this incredibly sharp pain in my heel. Putting any sort of pressure on it just about made me cry. I thought it was just soreness so I ignored it and continued on with me day. I woke up this morning and couldn't hardly even walk. Got in to the Dr and after X-rays found out I have a bone spur on my heel. Therefore I earned myself a three day weekend and 48 hours off my foot. Obviously, this is not completely possible as a single woman having to care for myself. Its times like these, I do miss having a husband. :(

On a quick side note, what in the world did we EVER do in waiting rooms without cell phones? Granted my wait was not very long in the small, square room waiting to hear the results of my x-rays but had it not been for my lovely Iphone and the Yahoo Messenger App that allowed me to chat with friends I would've been crawling the walls!!! We have become a completely technology reliant society and it amazes me to think that not that many years ago we didn't even have text messages.

Popping the Blogger Cherry!!

Well, this is my very first blog and I figured since I have so many e-friends on here, I would test the waters. I am a 26 year old former Air Force Wife. I have an amazing 6 year old little boy who is about to embark on the wonders of 1st grade.

I was born and raised in the south and am a complete Southern Belle!! I love the fall for SEC football season, cooking, reading, cross stitching, and taking care of my loved ones.

After my divorce I stayed put here in Layton, UT due to the amazing job that I have for a local dealer group. Most days, yes I do honestly love my job. I get to drive awesome cars (AUDI!!) and meet tons of new people each and every day. I am a complete people person so my job fits my personality well.

Not so sure that everything I have to blog about will be super exciting, but for those who choose to follow me, thank you and Welcome To Mi Vida Loca and my adventures in car sales, Utah, and (eek!!) pushing 30 and dating!!