Thursday 13

Everyone I know, including me, is crazy busy these days. I guess cooler weather brings motivation to get out and do those things that it was too hot to do a month ago. Here are 13 things I have done this week or plan to do this weekend:

1. Packed up my entire apartment in boxes, plastic bags, and paper sacs and put it ALL on a UHAUL truck.
2. Went to the grocery store for the 1st time in 2 weeks! I can't wait to cook again!
3. Made an A on my anatomy test!
4. Unloaded the UHAUL into our new house, into one room pretty much.
5. Unpacked a gazillion boxes and still have a few hundred left to unpack (or at least it seems that way).
6. Cleaned my whole entire new house on Sunday.
7. Clean it again this Saturday, yep it was that dirty. (The man who lived there before wasn't the cleanest man on the block).
8. Got our new refrigerator and range yesterday!
9. I finally have my bike at my own house now, so I plan to ride this weekend!
10. Go to the Hub City Farmer's Market in Spartanburg on Saturday.
11. Hang my prints and pictures on my wall.
12. Watch the Grey's Anatomy season premier tonight!
13. REST...get some much needed REST, I haven't gotten much of that lately!

Happy Thursday, thank goodness tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Happy Day!

Today is a day to celebrate and be thankful, for a couple of reasons!

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with the work load I have put on myself. Once we returned from Las Vegas I had to work hard to finish painting inside the house so we could move in this week. At the same time, my work load at work had almost doubled due to the time I missed while in Vegas. Not only did I have work and moving to think about, I also I had a test yesterday that I had to study for in the mean time.

I wasn't able to study at work because I had lots to do, then when I came home I had so much packing to do that I didn't find much time to study there either. I started to rethink my decision to go to school because I just didn't know if I could handle everything all at once.

Well today I am thanking God for my family and for Hal. Hal is taking all of his time off today to get us moved as much as he can. My step-dad is leaving straight from work to go help Hal load all of the big furniture on the Uhaul, and my mom is taking her car to load more small stuff. Hal's family really pitched and helped us get a lot of painting done, despite their busy lives. Our families will never understand how thankful we are for their help!

Yesterday as I got in my car to go take my test I said a prayer, asking God to give me guidance and strength while I was taking the test. I didn't get to study nearly as much as I would have liked, and I was really worried about what the outcome would be. After I took my test I felt really positive about it. I got my grade this morning and it was an A! I think that was God's way of telling me he would provide strength for me even when I thought I had none left!

So today, I celebrate our new house and my good grade!

Our 1st House!

Finally, here are some pictures of our house! We are so excited about it, and we have been working around the clock on the weekends to get it ready to move in this week. Wednesday is our moving day. We still have a few finishing touches that we want to put on, but for now, we love it just the way it is. I will post some before and after photos after we move in!

I love our front porch!

Isn't it so cute?

My first fall decoration. Turn your head sideways and you will see its a beautiful wreath!

Our out building that we are so thankful to have!

Vegas

We just got back from Las Vegas on Thursday night and I wanted to show a few pictures. For those of you who have been, most of my pictures will be uninteresting being that they are the usual tourist photos.

Hal and I had a really good time but we just could not get over how expensive everything was. It was $8 for a bottle of water, $200 per couple to see a show if you want the good seats, $18 per person just to ride the elevator to the top of the stratosphere. Those are just a few examples. Crazy, I know!

I do have to say, the shopping is FABULOUS! Ladies I am not talking JCrew and Banana Republic fabulous, I am talking Manolo Blahnik, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Harry Winston, Chanel, Fendi, Dior, Jimmy Choo, and so many more! Of course I don't have millions in my bank account, so I could not afford to shop. It was awesome just to see these fabulous things in person, though!

Another fantastic thing about Vegas is the FOOD! We had some awesome food while we were there! The buffet in our hotel was the best buffet I have ever eaten! We also ate at Spago, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, which was so so good! We really didn't have bad food the whole time.

We went to the Ferrari dealership in the Wynn, which was so cool. We got our picture taken (see below) in a Ferarri that was selling for around $200,000. That was one of the cheaper ones! The Wynn hotel is absolute astonishing. If you ever go, definately stay at the Wynn!

We had a great time, but I was glad to be back home in sweet South Carolina. The more I leave the more I realize just how much I love it here!

Hal in the Ferrari. He thought this was the greatest part of the trip!

Hal is trying out some skateboard toy in FAO Schwartz, the greatest toy store in the world!

The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. It really felt like you were outside, and when you walked the clouds looked like they were moving. Beautiful.

The water show at the Bellagio, probably one of my favorite things in Vegas.



The view from our room, pretty cool!

Standing in front of the Bellagio, waiting on the water show!

Vegas in the day, not near as pretty as Vegas at night!

Home sweet home!

We are finally back and I cannot put into words just how glad I am to be HOME!

We had a great time in Las Vegas, but I was ready to get back home! We spent 12 hours traveling yesterday (which was supposed to only be 6 hours) because of delays. We didn't get home until after midnight last night and I had to be at work this morning. Needless to say, I am SO tired!

We got closed on our house on Friday afternoon, HALLELUJAH! Yep, we are officially home owners! We spent the entire weekend, last weekend, painting and KILZing every inch of the house. With the help of my parents, Hal's parents, and Hal's sister Celeste we got A LOT of work done. We start again this weekend, hoping to have the job as close to finished as possible by Sunday evening.

I left my camera cord at home so I can't post any pictures today. I promise I will bring it on Monday and post lots of them then! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I will post more about our trip and house on Monday.

This is not goodbye, its SEE YOU LATER!

Well girls, I must sign off for about a week. We are leaving for Las Vegas on Monday morning so I won't be on or posting for about a week. I can promise as soon as I get back I will post pictures! I hope you all have a fabulous week!

After today at 5:30 we will be HOMEOWNERS!! YAHOO!

Have a great weekend!

Pictures?

Can everyone see the pictures on the slide show below? My mom said she couldn't see them, I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong.

Pictures!

These are recent pictures I haven't been able to post because we don't have internet at home.

Viva Las Vegas

We are leaving on Monday morning, heading to Las Vegas for the annual Prosthetic Conference. I am so excited! We have been planning this trip for more than six months now. Hal and I have never been, so I can't wait to see and do all of the things that we have only heard about from our friends. Here are the 13 things I hope to do and see while in Las Vegas:



1. I am going to take Hal up to the top of the Stratosphere. Hopefully, if Hal's fear of heights doesn't get the best of him, we can eat at Top of the World Restaurant.

2. See the Bellagio fountain show. I have heard it is one of the best shows in Vegas, so I hope to see it at least 2 times.

3. I have to go shopping at Caesar's Palace. The Forum Shops at Caesars are world renowned as the best shopping in Vegas. I'm there!

4. I can't wait to see the Ferrari dealership inside the Wynn Hotel. I know Hal will love it.

5. Speaking of Caesars, I really want to eat at Sushi Roku there. They have a great happy hour I hear and fantastic sushi.

6. We are staying at the Treasure Island hotel. They have a great Japanese Restaurant there that I would love to try called Social House.

7. Since the weather is still over 100 degrees out there, hopefully I will get some time by the pool!

8. Watch and bet on Monday Night Football. The Philadelphia Eagles (Hal's favorite team) are playing Washington Redskins this Monday night.

9. Like Meredith, I am not a big fan of buffets, but I hear great things about them in Vegas. I will give them a try while I'm there.

10. I want to see the Palms Hotel and the Playboy Club. I always see these on TV and think they look so cool, I hope I get time to see them in person. I know the Playboy Club might sound weird, but I want to see those bunnies in person!

11. I would love to see Phantom Spectacular but I just don't think we have alotted enough time for that. Maybe.

12. This trip will give me a chance to spend some quality, uninterupted time with my husband, just the two of us. I can't wait.

13. As much as there is to do, I know that I will need to sleep, at least a couple of hours a night. I am there to attend a conference, so sleep will be good. ;)

** Any great advice on things to do and see in Las Vegas would be greatly appreciated! Thank you Meredith, for all of your great advice already!

A little brag

I had my first lab test in Anatomy last night. The test was on the general body plan, the skin, and all tissues. I am proud to say that I made a 100!

I hope its okay that I shared my success, I just feel really proud of myself!

Listen

Like Annie, I have included a playlist on my blog. I included three of my favorite songs that I thought would appeal to all.

The first song is one of my favorite songs of all time. Its called "Baptism" by Kenny Chesney and Randy Travis. I have always loved this song because it really expresses how I feel when I remember when I was baptized. I hope you enjoy the serenade!





*Update: We were cleared for closing today so now we are closing Friday afternoon at 5:30! HALLELUJAH!

Bad News

Well I called our mortgage company this morning to find out exactly what time our closing would be tomorrow, and guess what? There isn't going to be a closing tomorrow. The broker told me that they had sent a form to Michelin (where Hal works) to be signed and it hadn't been returned. She claims they can't do ANYTHING more without that form. I find that a little on the CRAP side.

The worst part is, the broker blames Michelin for dragging their feet. How do you send an international company a form to be signed on Friday and expect to get it back in 2 days? I don't understand! Its definately the mortgage company that has not handled things in a timely manner, and now we are having to pay for them being so slow!

The closing date is now set for Friday afternoon or Saturday morning contingent that they get that precious little form that they so desperately need. Please pray for us that we will get our closing in before we leave Monday! UGH!

Another weekend over...

Here it is Monday again and I desperately want it to be Friday! We had a great weekend, but I am still so tired from it!

Friday our apartment complex finally decided to have APEX Pest Control come out and spray for pests (spiders). I can't tell you how thankful I am for that! Although we live in "luxury" apartments we have a TERRIBLE spider problem. Girls, I am not talking about tiny little things, I am talking about the size of my palm spiders! I can actually sleep with both eyes closed now!

Saturday we got up really early and went to the Georgia-Carolina game in Athens, GA. It was a blast and the Gamecocks WON!! I am still hoarse today!! :D One note I must make, I don't like Georgia fans! They are mean, rude, and hateful! We still had a great time, and the fans didn't have much to say when they LOST!

Yesterday my mom and I got to go shopping. Being that we are about to close on our house AND go to Las Vegas next week, I really didn't have that much money to spend. I did buy a couple of things that I LOVE!

I got these really cute Boy Cut Jeans from J. Crew. I am the girl with the "American" thighs and these new "skinny" jeans that are the latest trend just don't work for me. These boy cut jeans are more loose fit and they really flatter my body the way it should be!

I also went looking for some cute cowboy boots to wear this winter. I went to Cowboy Xpress on Woodruff Road and I got these cute Durango boots that are distressed brown leather with a slightly rounded toe. They are exactly what I was looking for! I am so excited about my cute new finds!

This week is going to be a crazy busy week for me. I have my first 2 tests Wednesday and Thursday. We close on our house Wednesday and are going to try to paint Saturday and Sunday. Our friends Kyle and Sarah are getting married Saturday, and I have to pack for Las Vegas on Sunday! Say a little prayer for us this week!

I hope y'all have a great week, I will post when I get a chance!

Jaime's contest

Jaime has a really fun contest going on and I really want to win. Per her request, here are the answers to her questions:

1) 3 fun things you have done this week
-spent the day with Hal
-went to the Carolina-Georgia game
-went shopping with my mom

2) 3 prayer requests you have
-that God will give me will power for my diet
-that our house will close on Wednesday without a hitch
-that my family will be blessed

3) 3 favorite songs
-Hang - Matchbox 20
-Goodbye - Hootie and the Blowfish
-Remember to Breathe - Dashboard Confessional

4) 3 blogs you check daily
-Stephanie
-Terri
-Natalie

5) 3 websites you would choose if you could only use 3 websites for the rest of the year-
-hotmail
-my blog page
-bank of america online

6) 3 people you last emailed
-my mom
-Loren
-Courtney

7) 3 non-family members you could call at 3am if you needed something
-Philip Burns
-Stephanie
-Loren

8) 3 favorite authors
-Dan Brown
-Dean Koontz
-Pat Conroy

9) 3 favorite posts ever at bbbbrowns
- Why Not?
- You know you are in seminary when...
-Guest Blogger, Auntie Lib (because I love hearing from Libby)

10)3 people you hugged last
-Hal
-my mom
-Tony - my bosses brother

11)3 things you wish you never had to do again
- dishes
-work full time
-budget money

12)3 things you loved at 10
-the golf cart
-The Limited Too
-Barbie

13)3 things you loved at 15
-my 1987 Blazer
-Abercrombie and Fitch
-my "brothers" on the baseball team

14)3 people you last spoke to on the phone
-Hal
-my boss
-Drew Shoe sales rep.

15)3 TV shows you watch
-Grey's Anatomy
-Friends
-The Hills

16)3 things you wish you could do or do better
-exercise more often
-run instead of walk
-save more money

17)3 things you would buy for $20 each if you had $60 of free money to spend
-a meal at Lieu's Chinese Bistro
-a cook's tool from Williams Sonoma
-gas for my car

18)3 favorite foods
-Kung Pao Chicken from Lieu's
-Chocolate Swiss and Kit Kats from Marble Slab
-Key Lime Pie

19)3 things you do if you have free time
-sleep
-study
-read blogs

20)3 nicknames you have
-Haley Bug
-Haler
-Sweetie (from my sweetie)

Superman

I got this by email from my mom, I felt the need to share with fellow Clemson fans.

No one should EVER pull on Superman's cape!

If you watched the game Monday night, you know that James "Thunder" Davis scored on THIS play!

Advice to the young ones

My friend Jessi wrote a fantastic post yesterday about memories of high school and how thankful she was that God allows us to grow up. I thank God for that everyday actually! There are many days that I wish I could go back to my high school and give those young innocent girls advice on life. From my own experiences, here is what I would say to them:

- Be a TRUE friend, its hard to find those these days.

- Boyfriends will come and go, true friends are forever.

- In most cases, true love in high school is not REAL love.

- Don't give yourself to peer pressure or pressure from boys. No matter what anyone says, its NOT cool. It will only get you in trouble.

- Don't get caught up in the gossip and petty things. It is a waste of time.

- Dressing inappropriately only draws boys for the wrong reasons.

- Don't try to grow up too fast, ENJOY being a kid. Life gets a lot harder after college.

- High school and college years are probably the most fun years of your life, enjoy every minute. Get involved, make lots of friends, participate in lots of activities. It will go by so fast, enjoy the years while you have them!

Now that I have a wonderful husband who really loves me for who I am, no matter what, I look back on those high school days and wish I hadn't spent so much time trying to be "cool." As adults, we all now know there is really no such thing as "cool" at 16 years old.

I never really succumbed to the peer pressures at that age, but I saw so many of my friends spiral downward because of pressure from others. Its not worth ruining your life at such a young age!

I think about high school now and just laugh at all of the silly, crazy things I did. I did make some mistakes, but I made some great memories in the process. Those memories will be with me forever!

Thursday 13

Thirteen out-of-the-ordinary things that make me extraordinarily happy:

1. Smelling all of the pumkin spice candles this time of year. It makes me long for fall and cooler weather.

2. Wrapping up in my MaMa's handmade afghan when I'm cold.

3. Knowing that I can go to Costco and buy a beautiful bouquet of flowers for $14.99.

4. Edwin McCain and Hootie and the Blowfish, live in concert, together!

5. Me, Hal, and a good bottle of wine.

6. Reading Southern Living magazine and finding future house plans :D

7. Cuddling up in my Citadel sweatshirt that used to be Hal's.

8. Warm biscuits and homemade apple butter

9. Free shipping on online ordering

10. Shopping at Lowe's

11. When restaurants have Key Lime Pie on the dessert menu - I almost always order it!

12. Watching my IRA grow and grow! :D

13. Going to bed really early and sleeping really late with my hubby

What a GREAT weekend!

As I sit here listening to Corey Smith's "Every Dawg Has His Day" I am thinking about what a wonderful weekend I had!

We dogsat for Hal's parents while they went to the beach. It was fun, but exhausting. I have a new respect for ALL mothers out there! (Steph, how do you do it? A dog was hard enough!) I will post pictures as soon as I can get our internet at home working again.

Hal had to work ALL day Saturday so I sat home flipping channels between football games and studying. My anatomy class is really kicking my tail and I have only been in class 2 weeks! The Gamecocks won, so that was something to celebrate!

Sunday Hal was off (YAY!). We went to Tiger Shag at Clemson with my parents and had a great time! We did a little bit of tailgating, and shagged A LOT! Chairmen of the Board are AWESOME!

Yesterday we got to take the dog home, so Hal and I enjoyed a great day to ourselves. We just hung out together all day, which was great, because we don't get to do that very often anymore! Last night we watched the Clemson game until Hal had to go to work. It was a pretty exciting game, and Clemson WON!

The first weekend of college football was a great one! We are so excited about this weekend when we go to Athens to the Carolina-Georgia game!

Its going to be a crazy week, but a fun one!