3/11

Many people remember 9/11...but I will never forget 3/11. Last year, this was the night my neighbor decided to leave frying chicken nuggets unattended- and caught her apt on fire. I'm blessed that the apt complex has sprinklers because they saved my stuff from burning up, but the water damaged almost everything in my old apartment.

While a major major stressor in my life at the time, it helped me be a stronger person and be grateful for the friends that I have. So thanks again to Kylie, for taking me in for a MONTH, and all of my friends who helped me pack, wash my clothes, clean, move, etc. I have not and will not forget anything you did to help.

Much love. :-)

my lbd

I've blogged in the past about how well things are going with my personal trainer, but I haven't updated in a while...so.......

As of today, in 2 months, I've lost 16.25 inches off my body and 11 pounds. I'm really super excited. I feel the best I have felt in a long time.

This past Saturday, I went out clubbin in Atlanta and I bought the cutest lbd (little black dress) from Express and the cutest black patent leather peek toe stilettos. And I looked hot. So hot. And my confidence was through the roof (obviously) :-).I have never had that much fun at a dance club before-EVER. Now, maybe it was the company I was with, but I think it has much more to do with my self esteem. I feel gorgeous in just about everything I own. Such a wonderful feeling. Love it.

snow day!

So I know it's been awhile...but the most exciting thing (well, 2nd most exciting) thing that has happened lately is"

We had a snow day!!!

To all my Ohio friends- no I didn't get geeked out like everyone else, but it sure was exciting to see kids play in the snow and have an excuse to stay inside all day (people in ATL can't drive when it's sunny and 70).

It started snowing Sunday afternoon and didn't stop until late Sunday night. School was cancelled around 8pm Sunday for Monday, so I was able to stay up and watch some movies. I spent most of the snow day at someone's house and actually got stuck there and had to spend the night...but that's ok :-).

By 10am Monday, most of the snow had melted, so really it was just like a day off. I think attempting to get to school Monday AM would have been a nightmare, so it was worth it.

San Diego part 2

Tuesday, Feb. 17th- Kari and I got up and went to La Jolla (La Hoya) to see the seals on the beach. It was so awesome! The seals were moving around and it was funny to watch them try to lift themselves...kinda reminded me of myself at the gym!! The Pacific Ocean is absolutely beautiful- it's so blue and the waves were huge. I was looking for surfers, but I didn't see any...oh well...

Then it was off to LA for what we planned to be an overnight trip. LA is huge and of course, Kari and I just wanted to do some shopping, see the Hollywood sign, and other touristy crap like that. We started out on Robertson Drive (which is similar to Rodeo Drive- just for the younger crowd) at a store called Kitson that Paris Hilton and other famous people have been spotted at. And what do we see when we pull up, but...

The papparazzi (God only knows if that is spelled right)!!!!!!!!!!

So, Kari and I start freaking out about seeing a famous person...but it was no one we knew of...she is a British star named Katie Price (we think)..she is absolutely gorgeous and can afford the $90 thin tees you can get at Forever 21 for $5. Since I had to buy something from Kitson, I got a star necklace that was $18...lol :-)

We kept walking around Robertson, a little depressed because we couldn't afford a Kleenex to blow our nose in, so we checked out the Beverly Center...a THREE STORY MALL...you know I was in heaven. I got a cute Cali dress for the Hotlanta summers and a tank top from H&M.

Now, trying to find somewhere to eat in LA is difficult, because I didn't have lots of money to spend, so we ate at this place called the Newsroom, which I would consider a juice bar. Nothing was made with fat it seemed...very healthy. Now, I will say that I heard some stupid ass try to talk Southern and make fun of Southerners and I just glared at him. Seriously- not all Southerners are dumb and at least we're not pretentious snobs like the LA crowd.

Kari and I drove around looking for the Hollywood sign because we decided we did not want to stay in LA because we didn't like it very much. We got lost and nearly went off a cliff...LOL. So we ate at Pinkberry and decided to go home to San Diego. Best choice ever!

Wednesday, Feb. 18th-

Today we went to Temecula because it's WINE COUNTRY!!!!!!! On the way there, we were stopped by border patrol and had the drug dogs sniff our car out. Yes, we were close to Mexico, but it was like an hour from where we were...Weird.

Anyway, we went to 3 wineries- Baily, Wilson Creek, and Keyways. Baily was my favorite and in my suitcase I brought home a dessert wine that even you would love Chas! I can't even begin to describe how tasty this wine is...yummy...

Wilson Creek was just ok...until we tried the Almond Champagne, which was just as good as the dessert wine from Baily's. Kari bought 4 mini bottles and gave me 1, so I have a little sampling of that to enjoy (sorry Chas- not sharing this one with you!)

Keyways was my favorite overall- I would have bought 2 or 3 bottles from there, but unfortunately, I was afraid of the weight of my suitcase.

The most amazing thing about wine country is the scenery. It was sunny and 65 degrees yesterday and yet in the mountains, you could see snow. The pictures don't even do it justice!

My last night in San Diego, my sister and I ate at Fred's Mexican restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter, which was yummy and we went shopping at Urban Outfitters and then went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic, which is fitting considering the amount of shopping I did in San Diego. Of course, I loved the movie.

I'm very very very sad to be leaving San Diego- but I'll be back!

San Diego part 1

Even though I'm still in San Diego, I want to blog about what I've done so far so I don't forget anything. Pictures will follow later in the week...

Sat. Feb. 14th- All of my flights departed and arrived on time, but my layover in Denver was interesting. I had 30 minutes between my flights and I had to walk from Gate 44 to Gate 20. Doesn't sound far, but when you haven't had anything to eat in 7 hours, it was a long walk because I had to stop for food. Frontier Airlines is a great way to fly if you ever come out to the West Coast. On my flight out of Denver, I sat by 2 travel nurses, which is what my sister does.

So, my sister's place is awesome- right in downtown San Diego about 6 blocks from the Gaslamp quarter. Of course, I had to take a nap when I got here before we went out because of the time difference. We went out to this bar called The Field, which is an Irish pub. Lucky for us, there is a rugby tournament in town and so there were lots of hotties with accents...and I even snagged me a cute one from Denver to be my Valentine. :-)

We got home and I was in bed at 2:30am- which is 5:30 am East Coast!

Sunday, Feb. 15th-
I thought I had slept forever, but when I looked at my cell it was 7:45- 10:45 Eastern Time...lol...so after more sleep we got up and went to Little Italy for lunch. I had some yummy gnocchi, but the most intriguing part of the lunch was the lady with her small purse dog behind us. She held it like a baby and made her husband go to their car to get a blanket for it because it was pretty chilly outside...SERIOUSLY!?!?!!?!?

Off to the San Diego Zoo, which is awesome. I got some GREAT pictures, but I was a little upset that we didn't get to see more of the animals. I can't believe how huge the Zoo was.

After we left the Zoo, we headed to Coronado Island and I actually saw the Pacific Ocean :-). No swimming- it was too cold! We also saw this amazing hotel- Hotel Del Coronado. It reminds me of the Don Cesar, which is a pink palace located in St. Petersburg, FL. The Hotel is not pink but so massive and just as beautiful.

We went back out on Sunday night to a place called the YardHouse, which reminds me of an upscale Taco Mac. We met more rugby players, but they were 19, so we kind of ditched them :-). When we got back from the bar, Kelly (my sister's roommate) and I went in the hot tub and got yelled at...and we weren't even being loud. OOPS!!

Monday, Feb. 16th-

Kari had to work today, so I spent the day with her roommate Kelly. We went shopping and I got a shirt from BeBe for $30, which is amazing because most of the things in there cost like over $100. I also got a tie dye scarf that I'm obsessed with. We then went to this place called the Seaport Village and walked around. It's a neat little touristy place with some cute stores. And while we were eating dinner, this woman decided to breast feed her baby with no blanket. I'm sorry to those of you that have kids, but I don't want to see your boobs- buy a damn blanket please.

I still have 2 days left in San Diego...so stay tuned...

Wii!

So, I'm officially obsessed with Wii. Last weekend, my friend Dave had an impromptu picnic because the weather was so awesome. While we all enjoyed the weather, we really enjoyed the Wii more. I had never really played before and let me tell you, I'm so hooked. I played bowling for 7 hours and made some new friends that I hope to hang out with more. I played for so long, I almost made pro status (I'm like 25 points away), but I decided that the hot tub would be more fun.

So, once I've lost all the weight I want to lose, I am buying myself a Wii. Hopefully I will lose all my weight before I move back in town so my suburban friends (who I love) can have a Wii party at my place. And if not....I'm sure my potential roommate won't mind if ya'll come over. :-)

mean girl

So, I haven't blogged in forever, so I thought I'd put a lil rant up here...

There is this girl that I know who is making life miserable for the people she is around all day. I would just like to know how someone could be so evil and just downright mean? It really does fit together- she can't work with anyone and she doesn't seem to have many friends. Did I feel bad for her at one point? Maybe. But now it's so apparent that she quite possibly is the most ugly person I've met- no matter what her outer appearance is (and it's not all that great either). How do people get like this- that they have no friends?

I am very thankful for my friends who deal with my crazy, moody, and occasionally bitchy self (ok, maybe not occasionally :-) ). I hope I never ever become like the mean girl who I am talking about.

Look for the upcoming West Coast edition of Life in the Fastlane when I visit San Diego in 10 days!!!!