On the Second Day of Blogmas....

your true love's giving you.....

a RED dress!

That's right. The first red dress I've evar owned. I loooove it! I wore it to work today for our Christmas party (which was really boring, lol). I'll be wearing it again next weekend for V's work Christmas party! Woo!

Happy weekend!

11 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS! I can't believe it!

First Day of Blogmas

I don't know if you noticed, but today marks the beginning of the 12 Days of Christmas! So I've decided to do a blog challenge – Christmas style! I just don't know what yet…I've tried Googling "12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge", but I'm not getting much. Maybe I can find something on Pinterest. If not, I might just make my own! Actually, I think I will just make my own! It'll be a photo challenge, of course, but all Christmas-ey!

I'll take some time in a bit to make it (after the other receptionist who sits right next to me leaves for the day).

I can't believe Christmas is in 12 days. I know I've said it many times before, especially lately, but this year is going by so fast! It's kind of ridiculous if you ask me. I'm going to be starting at UCF before you know it! I believe the first day of January 7^th, and my first class is on that day, at like 9am or something. I've got to work on getting back into school-mode so I don't get caught off guard with homework and shit.

This weekend we will be finding out what the sex of my future neice/nephew will be! I'm super excited to find out, and I hoooope it’s a girl! My sister is having a gender reveal party at my parent's house and there will be a good amount of friends and family there to celebrate with us!

Speaking of family, my grandpa is still in the hospital. He came off his ventilator yesterday and is doing good without it. I think his brain is still swollen, but at least he's breathing on his own again! The other day I heard that he had his eyes open, but wasn't aware of anything still. His birthday is coming up on the 19^th and I wish he didn't have to spend it in the hospital, but there's no way he'll be getting out within the next week, so we'll have to make do. Hopefully he's allowed to have at least some balloons in his room. I'm thinking of bringing a small fake Christmas tree up to keep in there too.

Back to my 12 Days of Christmas. I just started making it, and I can't seem to come up with anything clever! This is going to take a while. Good thing I have NOTHING to do until I leave work at 6. Lolz. Okay…I think I've decided to figure them out one day at a time.

So today, I have for you:

On the first day of Blogmas, your true love's giving youuuuu……

...my cheesy grin in a shiny ball ornament!

14 Days Til Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is in exactly two short weeks! Where has this year gone, blog?! I think I've asked you that before. I'm still kind of shocked at how quickly time is going by the older I get. What's next year gonna be like?! Gah!

Sunday we went to our first Christmas party of the year. It was at the owner of my yoga studio's house and it.was.awesome. The best party I've ever been to! (But I guess, considering I've only really been to like a handful of parties, it isn't saying much. Lol.) We went intending on staying for an hour...maybe two, and then we ended up staying for like the entire evening and into the night. There were a LOT of people there, and pretty much all of them were from OPY so they were all super nice and welcoming. She had a cake sculptor, face painter, cornhole, good food and good music! We got home around 10, showered and passed out for the night!

Have I told you that I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet? We're supposed to go this weekend after we both get paid. I think we pretty much have everything planned out with what we're getting everyone, except for maybe a couple. I got our Christmas cards made and printed yesterday and picked them up this morning so I'll be addressing all the envelopes at work today and mailing them out tomorrow!

Double Whammy!

Hey there! It's me again! Let me show you this video first off:

Now that that's out of the way, I'll give you yesterday's happenings.

I found this awesome hot yoga studio called Southern Om like 5 miles away from the hotel we're staying in, but it's not really fit for walking to, so I decided I would have V drop me off there and I would stay in that area for the day. It's in this huge Waterford Lakes-ish shopping plaza (but it's waaaaay nicer than Waterford, and a lot less crowded). I really just wanted to go to this yoga studio and check it out, not to mention I was craving some sweaty yogs! So he dropped me off around 8:30 on his way to school and I hung out at Barnes and Noble for like an hour and a half and then went to a couple other stores in the plaza before I headed over to get my yoga on. It was perfect. Very similar style to what I would have received at a noon class at my OPY, but this facility was waaaaay nice...(sorry OPY!). They have a big showroom up front and sell a bunch of yoga shit. The actual yoga room wasn't comparable to the one at OPY because their floors were not padded. But they did have mat AND towel rentals, which I was very thankful for because I didn't bring any yoga gear (aside from my leggings) along with me. Once I finished class, I took my time showering and getting ready to go back out into the 50 degree cloudy weather. I walked my happy yoga-ed butt over to Chipotle and had a delicious veggie bowl for one. After that, I went over to Ann Taylor Loft and found an adorable work-appropriate shirt that I just had to have! And it was on clearance!

Next I went to this store called Charming Charlie. This place was literally any female species dream! They had like 6, maybe 7 times more jewelry than Forever 21, but way better quality. They also had a small selection of clothes that were all super cute. And it was all organized by color, so it made shopping very easy! I ended up finding a really cute necklace to go with my Christmas party dress for only seven bucks! Score!

After that, I went back to Barnes and Noble and hung out there until V picked me up around 5:30. It was nice not to be in the hotel all day, but I was exhausted by the end of the day! But we needed dinner, so we headed to downtown Greenville and had dinner at The Green Room. They had some bombass meatloaf that V got, but I ordered a salad and was not feeling it. I didn't eat much, but I'm not big on sending food back just because I don't like it, so I didn't. But when the waiter came over to take our plates when we were done, he asked me if I wanted mine boxed up, and I said no thank you because I didn't care for it much and he took it off the bill! Super nice.

On the way back to the car we stopped to get cupcakes at The Chocolate Moose. We got a plain vanilla cupcake and a cinnamon swirl and the cinnamon swirl was SO GROOD. MmMmm! I wish I had another one right meow.

Anywaysssss...that's all for now. We're headed back home in about an hour once V gets back and should be arriving somewhere around 2 or 3 am. Yay. It'll be nice to be home for the whole weekend, but I wish we had more time here. I really wanted to go to the Greenville Zoo...maybe next time!

Oh! And I wanted to show you the shirt I'm wearing in my video but I forgot, so here's a picture!

Yet Another Case of Mountain Fever

I cannot wait until the day that we live here. I love this place. There are so many rural areas that are near mountains and have amazing views, but are still only like 15-20 minutes away from the city. I really want to look into moving up here when I finish at UCF. I would love love love love if it could happen. V could just transfer to MINI up here and I'm sure I could find a school to teach at. And I'm sure not long after we got here, V's parents would follow. His dad has always wanted to live up here, but his mom seems reluctant (and I think it's because her boys and her parents are here).

Surprisingly enough, I haven't taken many pictures since we've been here. None of the mountains. A few of myself with V, and a few in downtown Greer and Greenville. Honestly, we haven't really seen a ton of mountains, and when we have, it's too dark to photograph with my camera. We only went for one ride through the mountains and it was on the first day. Since then, it's just been too dark with the time change. By the time V gets back to the hotel and we leave, it's already dark. Way too dark. Lame, I know...I'm sorry!

Here are a few of the pictures I have taken though :)

The night before last we went to Shank's because V wanted to buy a t-shirt and hit some balls. It was the coolest driving range I've ever been to! The owner also lives there along with his three dogs who were totally adorable! One of them stayed inside so I didn't get a picture of her, but the other two were outside with us the whole time we were there.

I really wish it had been lighter outside so you could actually see all the hills. It was so awesome!

This little girl was sooooo sweet. Her name is Reese. When we first got there and were walking up to the door, she came over to me and laid down on her back so I could rub her belly. 

This handsome fellow is named Mulligan and he was SO HYPER. I swear he had springs in his feet because he jumped SO HIGH. I was surprised that he laid down for me to take his picture!

After we left there we went to The Mason Jar for dinner in downtown Greer and it was delicious! When we finished dinner, we walked up the street a bit just to check out the downtown area, but it was cold and sprinkling, so we didn't walk far. When we got back to the car and drove down a little bit, the rain stopped and we parked at city hall and went for a walk.

I love that there are Christmas lights up everywhere!

There was a nice big Christmas tree at the end of the walkway and I was hoping to get a picture of me and V for our Christmas card while we were here, but considering this was the best shot, I think I'm going to have to stick with a picture in front of the tree at our house. Oh well!

UpdateTime from SC

Oops...I haven't blogged since Sunday! So let me go back to Monday morning so I don't miss anything...

Monday morning we woke up and went to the hospital to visit my grandpa. We hung out at the hospital into the mid afternoon, went home to get some things done for the trip, and then went back late Monday evening. He's still in there, not doing too well, but also not too bad. He has a blood clot and some swelling in his brain, so he's gotten tests upon tests and we're still waiting to find out what exactly is going to be done to get him back to normal. He's currently sedated, with a ventilator doing most of his breathing for him...I'm just trying to stay positive.

Tuesday morning we woke up early and hit the road just before 7:30. We took our time getting to South Carolina, stopping quite a few times along the way, but we got here around 3:45 and instead of checking in to our hotel, we drove into the mountains for another two hours...as if we hadn't driven far enough already, but I absolutely freaking LOVE the mountains. We found this amazing street with mountain views and huge lots with beautiful houses spread far apart...exactly where I want to live one day. It will happen, I tell you...it will!!!

Anyways, after we marveled through the mountains, we came back to the hotel to check in, get our stuff inside, and then headed back out to dinner at a mexican restaurant nearby. We got some fresh made guacamole which was pretty good, but I have to say that my guac is better! I got some spinach and mushroom quesadillas as my main course and they were quite delicious. But because I ate so.many.chips and salsa and guac before, I only had room for like a quarter of my quesadillas, so now I have my leftovers for lunch today. After dinner, we went over to Walmart to pick up a few things and then came back to the hotel, passing out soon after.

Today V is at school and I'm planning out our night and my day tomorrow. There's a hot yoga studio nearby that I'm thinking about going to tomorrow, but if I do, I have to stay out all day because I don't have a car here! V would have to drop me off in the morning and then pick me up on his way home from class at 5, so I would literally be there all day. It's in a huge shopping plaza, so I'm sure I could entertain myself, but I don't know if I would feel safe out by myself. I'm going to talk to V tonight about it and see what he thinks. I would really love to go to yogs here though! This studio seems really nice, it's hot, they have reasonable prices, mats and towels to rent (good thing, because I didn't bring anything besides my yoga pants!). We'll see!

Believe it or not, I didn't take a single picture yesterday. I've got to remember to take one of me and V while we're out tonight or tomorrow night because I was hoping to get one up here for our Christmas cards!

This Girl Slept In a Tent!

And survived! Lets backtrack to arriving yesterday:

We got there around 10:30...

...and set up the tent.

This is the view from our campsite. We had two small campers parked about 40 feet from us on either side, but neither of them were occupied. V told me that people are allowed to park their campers at the campgrounds from the first day of hunting season, which is sometime in September, and leave them there until the last day of the season in March. So there were quite a few unoccupied campers around the campground.  

After we got the tent set up, we relaxed at the campsite for a little bit and then we ate some lunch. After lunch we headed into the woods for a hike.

V got us checked in, and we were on our way! We drove into the woods a bit, and then parked to go for a nice walk. 

This here is some hog rooting. They do it with their noses to look for food.

We walked to this sort of open area and sat on a fallen tree for a while. It was so quite out there...I loved it!

There were a few really awesome trees nearby.

Once we sat there for a while, we headed back to the truck to get some water and our chairs to take another walk, opposite of where we went before, and we posted up for the evening.

I don't know why I didn't get a picture of where we were because it was so cool. It was just inside the tree line, on this little island that was full of trees and palmettos. I was planning on taking a nap when we got there because while we were at the truck, reloading, I was so sleepy! But of course, when we got there and I got comfy, I couldn't sleep whatsoever. I tried and tried, but when I closed my eyes, I felt like my hearing multiplied to make up for not being able to see, so I swear I heard every.little.thing that was moving. Whether it was a bush, a leaf falling off a tree, or rain...oh yeah, we got rained on twice while we were on the island. It was a pretty good sprinkle, but since we were in the woods, we were pretty covered. My pants got a tad bit damp, but it wasn't bad at all. Before the sun started to set, we moved back outside of the tree line and posted up to watch the sunset, in hopes of seeing some wildlife moving about as the sun left for the day. 

While we were out here, I was super alert. I spotted something moving...hmm...maybe 100 feet away in the trees. I thought it was a turkey, and I told V what I saw. We scoped the area and saw it make a half circle around us, about a good 50+ feet from us, and then it wandered off. It was so exciting! It got my hopes up, so after I saw the turkey, I was really hoping to see something else...without luck. The sun got lower, and we decided to start walking back to the truck. I didn't want to walk in the dark at all. 

I saw more spiderwebs out there than I've ever seen in.my.life! Some of them were huuuuuge!

I love when the sky turns pink <3

When we got back to the campsite, I got into the tent to put on my pj's (because it was pretty much dark as shit at like 6:00). While I was in the tent, I blew up the air mattress so we wouldn't have to worry about it later, and V started cooking dinner. And then it started raining...again. For the third time. It didn't last long, but it was enough to get everything wet, including a few spots inside of the tent. When it stopped, I got out of the tent and found V cooking in a poncho. It stayed dry long enough for us to build a fire, enjoy it, and wait for what seemed like forever for the moon to make an appearance before we went to bed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the night. It was so dark and quite (besides the generators running nearby) and I could see more stars than I've ever seen. I looooved that part. 

We went to bed just before 9:00 and it wasn't long before V was snoring next to me. It took me quite some time to fall asleep however. Not that I wasn't comfortable, or that I didn't feel safe...I just couldn't go to sleep. I thought I was going to be annoyed by the generators running, but it turns out they were quite comforting (as was V's snoring, hehe). I finally started to fall asleep around what I'm guessing was 11:00 and then it started to rain. I woke up V and told him, but he didn't seem to care, lol. It didn't last long, but it wasn't long before it rained yet again. It proceeded like this, on and off, for maybe an hour or two? Some of our tent was dripping, and I found out in the morning that V's sleeping bag was pretty much soaked at his feet. Our tent is not waterproof. When I finally fell asleep, it wasn't long before I was woken up again, but this time it was from howling coyotes. I'm honestly really glad that I wasn't sleeping hard enough not to hear them because it was so cool. They were in the distance (V said he thinks it sounded like they were near where we posted up on that island), but they howled for quite a few minutes. I nudged V to wake him up so he could hear them too, but he didn't seem too interested because after I told him to listen, and then they stopped, we checked the time (2:36am) and it wasn't 60 seconds before he was asleep again. I, on the other hand, proceeded to lay in the tent and listen to the sounds of nature surrounding me. I'm pretty sure I heard some more coyotes howling, but this time they were waaaaay far away. I would have been able to hear them better, but this asshole somewhere to the left of us was running his generator ALL NIGHT. I feel asleep sometime later, and woke up around 4:00, as did V, and we blew up the air mattress because he said he was practically sleeping on the ground. I finally fell to sleep again, and we got up at 6:00 to drive to a good spot to watch the sunrise.

We sat there for a bit before leaving to drive around some more. We came to a side street that was closed to vehicles during this part of hunting season, so we parked the truck and went for a walk in the fresh morning air.

The street ended at Billy Lake, where there were quite a few canoes and small johnboats that belonged to hunters.

Another spiderweb.

My Sunday morning getup. Leggings under some long johns, a long sleeve shirt with a jacket, a scarf, a hat, my pack of necessities, rainboots, and my orange safety vest that is required of everyone in the woods.

When we got back to the truck, we drove the remainder of Bull Creek and visited the cemetery.

It was pretty creepy, as cemeteries usually are (for me anyways!). 

After we left the cemetery, we drove up to the check-in station to check out, and got behind a guy who had just harvested a huge hog. V went over to look at it, and out of curiosity, I went along. The beast was huge. 130 pounds (that's more than me!), long, corse back hair, and a nasty, freshly slit throat. (Yikes) I tried my best to avoid looking at his throat, and examined the rest of him. Big feet, ugly black snout, nappy ass hair, and some big chompers. It was nice to see that someone actually saw something other than a lone turkey!

Once we marveled at the dead beast, we headed back to take down our campsite. V and I both agreed that it was somewhat bittersweet. I kind of wanted to stay for the evening to watch the sunset again, but I wanted to go home more. We headed back around 10:30 and got home, unpacked and showered just before 1:00. We've been home since then and it has been just lovely.

Did I mention at dinnertime last night I got two texts from my mom asking me to call her immediately? Well I did, and she told me that my grandpa was in ICU at the hospital near him because they thought he had a stroke. I'm not really sure what happened (I don't think anyone is), but we do know that he was taking blood thinners and his blood got too thin, causing problems in his brain. He was supposed to go to the doctor to get his blood checked weekly, but hadn't been going. Both my mom and sister went up there earlier today and said he seemed okay, but I just got a text from my cousin and she said that he doesn't seem to be doing very well at all, and that I should probably go visit him. We're going up tomorrow morning. I really hope he comes back from this.