My Sister is Getting Married in a WEEK!

So, everyone that knows me knows I'm not a huge fan of weddings. However, my sister is getting married in a little over a week and I'm stoked! I have only attended a few weddings in my entire life and I have definitely never been a PART of the wedding. This time, I am.

 

When my sister asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, I reluctantly said "yes". However, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! Recently, I have learned that accepting the invitation to be a bridesmaid automatically means you are accepting many responsibilities that come along with it. Showers to throw, gifts to buy, planning to do... the list keeps going! It's a pressuring, stressful, yet exciting job all at once!

 

My main concern is making sure I do not let my sister down. I already failed to attend her bachelorette party in Nashville last weekend because I had so much homework that I just simply didn't have time. My sister, Natalie, is getting married November 10th and I want to make sure she has the best wedding a girl could ever dream of! I really need to make it up to her and step my game up when it comes to helping out at the wedding. I have been putting school in front of so many important events/people lately, I need to make sure that day is all about her- NO excuses!

P.S.- here is a photo of her ring... isn't it beautiful?! :)

I Think I Hit That Lady's Car...

 Two days ago I was leaving Panera Bread in Madison after eating a nice lunch with my mom when I got in an accident. A small one, but an accident.

I was sitting at a red light with one car in front of me waiting to turn right. She started to hit the gas and seemed to start pulling out so I started going and looked to my left to observe traffic when... BOOM! I hit her bumper with my car! It all happened so fast that I was just in shock for a good 20 seconds or so. Finally, I got out of the car, asked the lady if she was okay, and started to assess the damage. The front of my Xterra was practically scratch-free, but the bumper of her car had a few scratches and cracked paint. We decided to move our cars to the nearest parking lot to where we weren't blocking traffic to discuss the situation some more. That's when we discovered we had not only the same insurance company, but the same agent as well. We got each other's information and decided we would be in touch.

Later that night, her husband called my dad to tell him that he thought his wife would not only need a new bumper, but possibly new shocks- Oh, and the frame might be messed up as well! Ok, I completely accept responsibility for the accident, but I BARELY hit that lady's car! There is NO WAY it could have that much damage with a simple bump! Plus, her car seemed brand new and well made. My dad responded with, "Just get an estimate". It really seems to me that these people are really trying to take advantage of the situation and get more money than the damage is worth. They have yet to call us back with an estimate, but when they do I can guarantee it will be expensive!

Online Classes

I got lucky with my schedule for classes this semester. I really like taking online courses but at the same time, there would be no point in me paying for a place to live in Florence if all of my classes were online; I could be living at home for free with my parents in Madison. So my schedule ended up consisting of 3 online courses and one face-to-face class, which I was happy with. This schedule has worked out really well for me so far this semester with the one on campus class giving me a bit more structure and reminding me not to fall behind.

At the beginning of last week, my on campus teacher announced he would be going to China to teach for several weeks. This meant our class would change to online temporarily until he returned. Needless to say, I was super stoked that I didn’t have to be anywhere any certain time- that I could be halfway across the world If I wanted to and still get my work done. Well, it has only been a week and I feel like I have begun to slack off, forgetting about small assignments and due dates. My time has not been managed well. I’m especially afraid that when my teacher returns from China and we have to return to campus, that it will seem like much more a struggle than before, although I’m really hoping this is not the case. I will definitely remember this situation when I schedule classes for next semester! It seemed like such a great idea to begin with… not anymore!

Caviar Nails

I came across the coolest idea for nails in a long time; it’s called “caviar nails”. The reason for the name is because when you are done with your manicure your nails resemble fish eggs! (Sounds gross, I know). But it is actually very pretty and cool looking! This is what the finished product looks like:

 

The “fish eggs” are actually microbeads that have been sprinkled over a base coat of polish. The way to achieve this look is as easy as 1,2,3! First, apply a base coat of polish (a color that matches your microbeads you will later apply). Second, twist a piece of paper into a cone shape and pour your microbeads down the funnel onto the desired nails. Third, press the microbeads down gently with your fingertip and finally apply a top coat to keep it in place! What makes this look even cooler is that you can buy these microbeads for extremely cheap either on ebay or I just went to my local craft store Michaels and bought several colors for just a few bucks! Now I can play around with a variety of colors and designs and not have to worry about having to run out and buy some more since the packs I bought will do my nails many times over. Some people may think this look is ugly but I think it’s creative!



Gross Snacks

My boyfriend Troy has two huge dogs- one Japanese Akita and one bull mastiff that weigh 120lbs and 150 lbs. They look quite intimidating but they are secret sweethearts. For the past several weeks they have been oddly barking at the grill in the front yard as they circled and smelled it. Troy looked inside the grill to see if there was an animal trapped inside or figure out what was triggering them to act that way but found nothing. The dogs continued to bark at the grill for several weeks. It was kind of hilarious, actually.

Finally, one day this past week Troy had had enough of the barking and opened the grill and removed the racks to find a whole FAMILY of MICE!!! I was on the other side of the backyard at this point so I had no idea what he had found but Troy was freaking out which made me freak out! The parent mice fled the scene and the babies were left behind. The dogs started going insane; the Akita ate them, the Bull Mastiff just gulped them like a quick snack! Even thinking about it now makes me sick to my stomach so if you're reading this and feel sick, I apologize! Just something out of the ordinary that happened this past week, that's all. Here is a photo of the culprits: