Surprise Birthday Dinner

Tomorrow is my birthday.

My 23rd Birthday and since I have to work my roommate (B.) planned a surprise birthday dinner for me last night.

I had no idea where we were going.

All I knew was that I needed to be dressed and ready by 6:15.

B. & I had had a wonderful day we went to church and listen to an awesome message.

We came back had a small bite to eat for lunch and then went and meandered around Target & World Market.

oh and pets mart where she bought her 3rd fish since August.

(this time its a gold fish)

We played Tennis.

which she told me a look like I'm trying to hit a home run every time I swing.

(softball born and bread.)

I will have to say I was better than I thought I was going to be though!

Back to dinner.....

before I finished getting ready there was a knock at the door.........

 and when I opened the door it was.....

yes you guessed it...

Ms. S

I was sooo surprised and so excited to see Ms. S!!

It really meant a lot that she took the time away from her family since she just lost her Great Aunt a few days ago.

So we set out for our adventure.

This is where we ended up!

then a few short minutes after we sat down. J showed up!

=) I was so excited to see here because I thought she was working!

B. did a great job of letting me think that this dinner was just going to be her & I.

(pardon my hair in this picture I'm not sure what happened....)

Ms. S got me my favoirte bottle of wine and a super sweet card!

This is what the walls looked like it was sooo awesome!!!

J got me this beautitful bead to go on my pandora!

B. Said i had to wait for my real birthday to get my gift.

even though all the work she did for the dinner and the bill was WAY MORE than enough!

now that im older i realize its not about what you get from people its the realtionships and the time you spend with them that makes it all worth while!  Having us all together for my birthday is all the gift I could have ever asked for.

Even though we were missing one of us.

Ms. Bizz.

we still talked about her and how much we wished she was with us.

Love you BIZZ

Here we all are at the end of the night!!

The food was SOOO good and I would recommend this to anyone!!

Oh it was worth every penny!

 I have such great friends and I am so thankful for everything they do for me!!

I am so thankful that these girls are such a big part of my life!

B. You did a GRRREAATTT job!

Thank you for making my birthday dinner super special!

You're the best!

LETS GOOOO RACINNNN

This is where B. & I went yesterday.....

The NASCAR Hall of Fame

It is relatively new to the Charlotte area and yesterday they let the public in for FREE!

So... since we are no longer imprisonated by school we decided to take off and see this new attraction.

I would have to say it was pretty cool.

It had a lot of interesting things about the drivers and NASCAR itself. 

But there were things like hydraulics and car parts that well to be honest I had NO idea what the purpose was.

They have simulation rides and all kinds of fun things to do.

You can see how fast it would take you to change a tire and fill a car up with gas. 

Its really pretty sweet actually.

We were not able to do a lot of the stuff well because it was FREE admission in Charlotte.....need I say more.

I wish I was able to take more pictures but no camera and the phone died after only a few pictures. =(

So most of these are taken from google.

And of COURSE I have got to show a picture of the 43 car....

I just love what the Petty's have done to honor Adam....

The Victory Junction Gang Camp

(which I WILL blog about at a later date)

And of course NO trip to the Nascar Hall of Fame is complete without the number 3 car!

(Bill France, Bill France Jr.,  Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson)

These are the FIRST 5 Members of the Nascar Hall of Fame.

How Awesome!

This is what the Nascar Hall of Fame looks like from above.

Pretty Sweet looking huh??

This was a good first place for B. & I to start our Monthly outings in order to appreciate and embrace where we live!

A Dinning Room Table Created.

B. and I moved into a new apartment in August.

It was a tad bit different than our old apartment because with this one WE had to furnish it.

This was exciting.

I had a lot of goodies from where I had already lived in an unfurnished apartment my Sophomore and Junior year.

But there was one thing I nor B. had.

and that was a....

DINNING ROOM TABLE

I don't know about you but I think dinning room tables are a tad bit over priced.

I found NOTHING of good quality that I liked under $400.00

Which is CRAZY!

My mom called me one night telling me about this table she saw in a Pier one imports magazine.

she sent me a picture of it and I was in love. 

I had to make this MY dinning room table.

So... this is where the challenge began.

My mom, grandma and I all set out to looking in consignment shops for tables and chairs I could fix up.

my mammaw came across this beauty. for $25.00

I painted the legs and body with a white paint that I had used in a previous project that I will blog about at a later date.

And it turned into this =)

Already looking better!

We and by that I mean my mom found some chairs on Craigslist for $40.00

They were sturdy and unique and full of potential

I loved them.

So I sanded them and as directed by Lowe's hard wears painting center painted the chairs with a grey primer.

(you do this so you do not have to paint as many layers of red and let me tell you it worked!!! I know this because my parents bedroom is a beautiful red. But it took a BAZILLION coats of paint to get it just right)

Here they are after one coat! Looking pretty good I thought.

I ended up painting 2 coats just to be safe!

Grey primer $6.00

Red Paint $11.00

(both only a quart)

Another not so appealing thing about these chairs were........the seat cushions.

can you sayyyy U G L Y......

So off to hobby lobby B. and I went.

After about 45 minutes of deciding we choose this pretty fabric.

It is navy blue with flowers on it. super country looking... but I loved it!

$12.00

(and I even had enough to recover a foot stool too!)

Here is the final project next to the inspirational magazine set up!

I think it turned out pretty well! and ALL for UNDER $100.00

(take a look at how much it would have been out of this magazine!(around $570.00)

I think we did a pretty dang good job!!!! 

(sorry for the poor picture quality I am currently without a working camera and these were all taken on my phone.)

 

Oodles and Noodles.

Growing up... we ate these a lot.

Because Shaye, D & I loved. LOVE them.

We always have.

And they are still on our lunch menus today.

Well.....

There were sometimes Shaye and I would not cook them as directed.

There were some days we would break off the pieces.

Like this picture and just eat the oodles an noodles hard and crunchy right out of the pack.

This is something I have not actually done in a while but last night I wanted a little something to snack on and

well oodles an noodles were the only thing in the bare cabinets.

And to be honest I forgot how GOOD they were just plan and crunchy.

*I know this sounds weird.

and I know this because B. just looked at me and asked.

"you're going to cook those right??"

I simple said "no I'm not, they are SOOO good like this, Shaye and I use to eat them crunchy when we were younger!"

she then said. "wow, I'm not sure why I'm surprised but I have NEVER heard of ANYONE eating ramen noodles like that."

I said they're  "oodles an noodles.  Not ramen noodles."

(which I know this is what the package says and I know it's technically oodles of noodles. But WE call them oodles an noodles.)

Then she tried them and said "humm not to bad!"

So try it you might just be surprised!!

 =)

Introducing the cast & crew...

Today I am going to introduce my cast & crew.....

Starting with Me....

I just graduated with a B.S. in Psychology.

Yeah so what if i B.S.ed my way through Psych.

haha just kidding. Like dad says...

If it were easy everyone could do it!

now lets go on to my wonderful parents lets call them.....

well...mom and dad.

these two are amazing and have hearts a 1,000 times too big.

They always put us first and never think twice about it!

They have set a great example for all 3 of us and love us unconditionally no matter what!

p.s.  Thanks for my education!

Then lets meet the siblings...

Shaye and D

Here is a view we get quite often from D. just with clothes on. ha

He is the youngest.

A lover not a hater.

the funniest & craziest person i know.

and always has a way to warm your heart.

and loves his sister's more than words could ever explain, which is why he doesn't say it.

Here is my beautiful sister again....

you read about her in my previous post. 

She is beautiful, Smart, Crafty and sooo talented in so many different things.

She loves music and knows just about every artist and song known to mankind. its actually Kinda sickening. 

she sometimes just draws organic compounds on paper just because. (Nerd)

but i love her anyway.

I know she will exceed all of her expectations in life!

 In this picture She is with her boyfriend who she likes to call 'sam'

Sam has been around for a while.

He is smart and funny and laid back.

and he is wonderful for my sister.

Then lets move on the the grandparents.

This is my papaw and mammaw!

(These 2 are the wonderful parents of my amazing mother)

This is my Mema and Papa.

(These two are the wonderful parents to my wonderful daddy)

I love all of my grandparents and I am so thankful that I have been blessed enough to have the all be apart of my life.  They all are so important to me and I could not imagine my childhood and even now without them.  They support us in so many ways and for that I am forever grateful!

This is KC.

She is my person.

I met her my sophomore year in college all the way in Charlotte even though she lives 12 minutes (according to her)  from my house at home! 

She is sooo funny and crazy i don't know how I would have survived my sophomore and junior years without her!  We spent many a nights quizzing each other and studying and many a days laying in the bed watching ANTM and gossiping about everything under the sun. She has just recently gotten married and I couldn't be happier for her!  Z is a luckkyyyy man!

She is such a great person inside and out! I know she would do anything I needed her to! =)

I miss her.

This is Darla.  we spent many a hours in bed watching ANTM, Greys && Sex and the City.  We spent many a hours in the library and she was always so encouraging to my sturggles! We all (KC, her & I) lived together for 2 years and those 2 years were the BEST!  I dont know what i would have done without her.  She is so funny and we have some amazing amazing memories.  I am sooo excited that she has moved back to char-town and i cannot wait to get back into the swing of things like we were before she left! =)  Darla would do anything for me and is an amazing woman one who i would love to be my nurse ! =-)

   Steph.       Ms. S.        B.     ME.      Ms. Bizz.

.Charlotte Girls.

Four of us have been together since Freshman year.

B. she was suppose to be my suite mate freshman year. Well. she met one of the roomies and bailed and you better believe i didn't let her get to far without me tracking her down because not only did I have one weird one. I had TWO!

She is my roomie now and you will be hearing a lot more about her!  She just graduated too and is on her way to becoming a wonderful wonderful Nurse.  (she is starting a blog soon too).

B is super sweet and does wayyyy too much for me at times!!!  She is maybe a bit of a food horder but thats ok because i know we will still be alive while you are starving! ;-) and NO you may not have any.   I am soooo grateful that after living with me for 2 years she can still stand the thought of being my friend! ha. 

But 2 good things about her ditching the crazy room and rooming with normal humans were....

Ms. Bizz. 

and

Steph.

Ms. Bizz. would give you the shirt off of her back without even a question.  she is such a great Godly woman and anyone is lucky to be in her presence.  The Bizz loves to let go and have fun and when she does its a party! She is soooo funny and is just a happy happy person! Beautiful inside and out.

Even though Steph came into their room later (which was when i really got to know her) we all were in the same classes and just clicked from day one.  Steph is a true southern lady, sweet as cherry pie.  She too would give the shirt off her back and is just so full of life! you never see anything but a smile on this girls face!! EVER.

Isn't it just funny how things work out???

I didn't meet Ms. S. for 2 more years when she moved into the apartments with B and Ms. Bizz.

Ms. S.  is Hilarius, smart and sweet too! She can always have a good time and finds the good in any situation.  the ugly sweater party.  She is so positive and for that I look up to her.  

There is never a dull moment with this one in the house!!! =)  
Peel banana peel peel banana

She fit right on in with the club!!!

There is one person missing from this picture and her name is J. 

 J has a big girl job as a gemologist and couldn't make it to graduation day.  But J is pretty awesome and values her friendships!  She is sweet as pie but about as blunt as they come.  which is why I loveeee her even more! 

I also like to refer to her as my 'art buddy'

we love to do artsy things together =)

All of these ladies are awesome and have made my college experience nothing short of amazing!  I love each and everyone of them for different reasons!

They are just awesome!

Then we have my childhood best friend. lk.

We have been friends all the way from elementary school to now.

She is someone we can not talk for a while and when we do we can pick up right where we left off!

she is sooo crazy and has so many great talents!

you cant help but to love her!

Then...

we have my cuz.  BL.  She is like shaye, D and I's little sister. 

Our handful of a little sister ;)

We love her to death!

And last but certainly not least. 

C.

C. is the daughter of one of my very best friends Sam.

Sam and I have been friends well... we have pictures of us in our car seats together.

So for a very very long time! =) She such a great friend and is just an all around awesome person not only as a friend but as a mother too! =)  Sam has my back and I have hers. 

and C. is very lucky to have her as her mom! 

C. and I share a few of the same things. 

A name. the love of coloring/painting. loudness. & . the love of talking.

How about one more picture...

This is my family at my college graduation!

These are the crazy people I like to call the cast & crew in my crazy life.