Soco-licious

This blog will be a shout-out to my beautiful girl. She is literally the best dog I've ever known. She is sweet, gorgeous and hilarious. Eric and I adopted this beauty when she was still just a lil puppy with her 11 brothers and sisters. She had the cutest lil white toe and we both fell in love with the same pup. We called her "toe" for a lil while, but Soco just fit. And when Eric moved away last October for his job down in Charleston, I was heartbroken because I now was in a long distance relationship with my bf and our puppy. But luckily, my bf is a sweetheart, and has let me keep her at my place for the past few weeks. It makes life a little harder, but so worth it.

Everyday when I come home for lunch or after work I start sayin "how's my girl? how's my little princess?" and she gets all excited in the cage. When the door opens she weaves in and out of my legs and I give her a good rub down while she stretches. She is so funny. We have to buy her the industrial toys that are not easily broken otherwise she ends up eating them, literally. But her all-time favorite toys are actually Tiger's cat toys. So far the "catnip mouse" has lost his ears & tail, the goldfish was removed from the string and his eyes were eaten, and she ate the little white cotton ball. Sorry Tiger, she makes it hard to keep your toys stocked.

And, of course, she has a new obsession with peanut butter. I can put a lil swirl of it inside her Kong ball and she will lick it for hours. But the funniest thing Soco does when she plays is knock her ball under a couch/table and when she can't get it out, she sighs and whines a little. Its not an obvious cry. Its that sigh you make when you're upset with your bf, but you want him to notice and ask what's wrong before you reply "nothing."

She's a good cuddler, smart as a whip and has made new doggie friends at my complex already. She's spoiled rotten, but I love her. So for lunch today, I'm takin my pbj and popcorn and headin to the dog park to give her a little roaming time.

Punxsutawney Phil was wrong . . .

This weather is fabulous. I hate being cold, but there are other reasons I would never live somewhere cold. When the days are shorter and its dark and cold, I'm not a happy person. On sunny days, I just feel better and I'm much happier. Its weird, but I've always been that way. My dose of Vitamin D from laying out Sunday afternoon was enough to get me through this week with a smile on my face.

So, as an addition to my adventurous streak, I decided to participate in the Krispy Kreme Challenge this past weekend at NC State. This endeavor meant running 2 miles, eating a dozen doughnuts, and running two miles back. I woke up at 6:30am on a Saturday by choice. I'm not exactly sure why I wanted to sign up for this. I don't like running and I don't particularly like doughnuts . . . but as I lined up with 4,999 other people to race to Krispy Kreme, not gonna lie, I got a little excited. About 5 minutes into the run, I immediately regretted this decision. But with huge encouragement from my friend, I made it to Krispy Kreme. And as glorious as 2,400 calories sounded, I could not eat the 12 doughnuts you're supposed to. But I did meet my personal goal of 4 doughnuts, and my daddy was proud.

Even though I was nauseous and pretty miserable the whole run back to the bell tower, it was a very cool experience. People were in costumes and I kept stride with a group of doughnuts that chanted while they ran. My favorite was a man in full army gear (pack and all). He was so inspiring and everyone that passed him said something along the lines of "That's true army right there. Thank you for all you've done sir." . . . . I love America. But, when you have people eating a dozen doughnuts, you also have people that can't keep those doughnuts down. Dodging regurgitated doughnuts is quite a feat, and hearing others lose it and keeping my doughnuts down was a personal victory. The 800 calories I consumed probably didn't balance out with the 4 miles I ran/walked. But it was for a good cause and it was actually fun.

planning

... and so it begins.

With a whopping $173 in my bank account, today I bought a plane ticket to visit my best friend since 6th grade in New York. Good thing I get paid at midnight :)

And future endeavors are already in the works. After discussing finances last year, my boyfriend and I decided we probably couldn't afford to go to our friend's wedding in Maine this April. We both wanted to go, but moneywise it just wasn't in the cards for us. And the Vegas trip we dreamed of is seeming a little far-fetched (for now) as well. So, since his mom offered to buy his ticket and hotel in Vegas for his birthday, a trip to Maine might be back on the table. I found a flight for two for just $185 roundtrip. Plus, we'd have a free place to stay courtesy of our friends that would love for us to make an appearance. Jackpot.

I'm not stopping there. A trip to some sunny beach in Florida with my lovely ladies is already forming in my increasingly imaginative mind. I pick Florida because its obviously warmer there than here, and its a straight shot down. So who's with me?

My brother leaves in a little over a month from Charleston Harbor for an amazing bahamas cruise with his friends for Spring Break. Oh to be young again, and more importantly, to be on Daddy's tab. Those were the days right? My senior year of college I decided I was done with that life and I was going to pay for my entire Spring Break by myself. I got a huge group together, booked a cheap fabulous (albeit clothing optional) hotel and got everyone's money in advance. But when we arrived, the price didn't include taxes. So I was short a few hundred. I called my dad in tears to "borrow" the money. $300 was nothing to him and he was happy to help out. But I was so upset, because to me, that $300 meant I hadn't funded my own trip anymore and I had been so proud of that point. It's amazing how much satisfaction you can get when you work to earn money and then buy something yourself. Yes I struggle daily with how much money I am NOT making, and I still have to call my dad on a few occasions for help but for the most part I'm making it. Its not a fancy lifestyle, but its mine. And that is what really matters. :)

I guess this blog is turning into an adventure planner and a way to hold me accountable for that. So let the next adventure begin. Its off to Charleston to see my boyfriend (and my brother!) after an excruciatingly long month of separation. I know thats not long to some people, and some of my friends have to wait months before they can see their loves again, but either way long distance sucks.

Weatherman, tell me some good news cause I want sunshine and warmth alllllllll weekend long

cubicle

I'll be honest . . . I completely forgot I created this blog for a class. It's pretty entertaining to look back on my previous life as a junior in college and see what aspirations I had then about how my life was going to turn out after college.

You know those people who say "Enjoy college! Its the best years of your life!" Well, I don't know if that is necessarily true, but as I look around my blue and tan cubicle decorated with ad sizes, fonts, extensions and calendars, I realize this. is. my. life. I spend every day staring at a computer screen in a cubicle. How funny is it that in 2006, I said "I also don't want to sit in a cubicle all day working with graphics" Ha, I just have to laugh at myself here because that is EXACTLY what I do. How ironic.

The thing that has saved me is that I love my coworkers. We all get along fabulously and since all of my friends graduated and my boyfriend moved 4.5 hours away, they are the people I call for a big night out on the town. I live life for the weekends now when I used to live it for every day. And now that I pay all my own bills, those big nights out are few and far between, so my idea of a big night is $3.99 wine and a good book I borrowed from a friend. Pathetic, right?

I was thinking the same thing. So, I think its time for a change. I may not be able to change the fact that I work in a cubicle every day because I'm still living paycheck to paycheck. I also cannot change the fact that I'm still in Chapel Hill, even though I graduated over a year ago. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Chapel Hill. But I'm ready to get out of my comfort zone. Go somewhere new, live outside of North Carolina, get back to living life in the moment.

That's not gonna happen overnight. Or maybe even in the next year. But, never underestimate how changing your attitude can change your life. I am constantly worried about money and having money in my savings for emergencies. . . . So I'm declaring a state of emergency, my life has become mundane and half of those funds are now available for adding a little excitement in my life. I'm gonna plan a trip to NY to visit my best friend, and a trip to Vegas to celebrate FINALLY being able to go to the bar legally with my love and lastly, I want to go on a Bahamas cruise, so I'm doin it. I'm breakin out of the business casual, and trading it in for a hot dress and stilettos. (Obviously not at work, but definitely for those rare nights out)

Bring it life, I'm ready

welcome to my life

Ok, I never really wanted to create a blog. Some of my friends do it but I thought it was a waste of time and didn't feel like I needed strangers reading about my life. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, here's all you need to know about me. I'm a junior Journalism and Mass Comm-Vis comm major with a concentration in art. I've always been passionate about art and photography but I never really knew what I could do with that. I don't want to be a struggling artist or be one of those people that has their art hanging in Hardee's. My dream job would be working with National Geographic and traveling all over experiencing amazing things. I kind of enjoy being in college though and not having a "real job," but I guess that won't really last forever.

I decided to major in Journalism but I definitely don't want to work at a newspaper. I love graphic design and could literally stay up until 4am just playing with Photoshop. I also don't want to sit in a cubicle all day working with graphics. So, I don't really have any clue what I will end up doing but I hope this class will help me come up with ideas.

Anything else you want to know, just ask me. I'm very outgoing and maybe a little crazy, but definitely in a good way . . .

im out