12 Days of Christmas Challenge Day 3

Day 3: Most meaningful gift/best gift you've received
Every present I receive, either big or small, is meaningful to me. If someone feels that I am special enough to get a present for, then it means the world. 
One present that means a lot to me is a necklace my mom got me last year. She is not a fan of jewelry and therefore has never really bought me any other than maybe watches. Last Christmas she bought me a necklace with a star pendant that says "shine like a star". Not only is my favorite thing or shape a star, but the saying itself made me smile. She's always supported me with whatever crazy plan or non-plan I've had. When she gave it to me she said that she wanted me to have a piece of jewelry that she gave me :)
Also, my Opa (grandfather) always sends the best cards for my birthday, I look forward to them every year. There is always a handwritten poem or a Bible verse along with a nice note to me. It makes me smile every year :)
I look forward to reading other people's responses!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope tomorrow is a funfilled day spent with family and/or friends. I will be going to my Oma's where my aunt's family and my Opa will be joining us. It will be a lot of people, stress, and food, but it will be a blast.

...participating in my first ever blog Challenge!

I am a day behind, so forgive me! I will do day 1 and day 2 today to catch up.

DAY 1: Christmas/Holiday traditions
My holiday traditions consist of a couple of things. Being that my family is German and I grew up in Germany until I was 6, we do things the German way. We celebrate Nickolaus Tag on December 6 in my family. Basically this is when you'd find out if you've been a good girl or boy. If you get coal, you have some time to straighten up before Christmas!
Then we celebrate on Christmas Eve. When I was younger, this would be when all of the kids and adults (except 1) would go for a walk and when the porch light was on, you could know that Santa had come and left the presents. My uncle (who is my age) used to try and hide to get away from having to go for a walk so we could see Santa, but it never worked (we were the only kids!).
DAY 2: Black Friday/Gender Shopping Tips & Tricks
Working in retail I do nothing but work. However last year, I learned a little trick. Have my boyfriend and his little brother, who already plan to stand in line at Best Buy, purchase my items for me. Last year I wanted this NICE computer, but I had to work and so they stood in line and bought both my boyfriend and I one.
This year will be no different. I work 2 pm to midnight, leaving no time to shop if I want to get sleep. I am really eying this TV they have for 700 on Friday at Best Buy. I don't think I'll ask him to pick one up for me though. Last year I was awake every 10 minutes worried about weather or not there were enough computers in the store for both of us to get one!
I wish I had useful tips and tricks. My biggest one would be: HAVE PATIENCE. Also, go into the experience in a good mood. I do not like working and having grumpy people shopping in the store. Just come in with a smile or stay home and enjoy left over turkey :)
I look forward to reading everyone's posts!

Yumm-O

I always have a hard time coming up with what to have for dinner. I'm rarely craving anything specific, so then when I look at recipes, I have a hard time deciding.

Well, today (Friday), I did have a craving. Pizza! I didn't want to order Papa Johns (or well, I did, but knew it wouldn't be a good idea). Homemade pizza sounded amazing, so that is what I had tonight. It was very simple: Pizza Sauce, fresh spinach, tomatoes and Mozzarella.

Before

After

Dessert

My camera was being stubborn for the dessert picture... Raspberries, Strawberries, Kiwi and Blueberries.

Everything was very good! Tonight I'm making brownies from Jillian Michael's cookbook. I've made them in the past and they are really good.

This weekend has been very uneventful. Friday I was off and was just lazy, because I had been on the go all week. Yesterday, I worked 130-10, so I didn't do much after that. I did go for a walk in the park in the morning though. Today I went to the gym and did some grocery shopping.

Tonights To do list:

Make Jillian Michael's Brownies

Carve Pumpkin (Still deciding what to carve) --Picture will be posted

Maybe watch a movie (Letters to Juliet)

Watch Next Iron Chef

I love Sundays, especially when I don't have to work!

Where does the time go?

I have been MIA lately... School/Work life is getting busy. However, this time I'm not letting my workouts slack.

This week has been more fun than work,which might get the best of me when all of my assignments are due for the week. It was worth it though.

Monday I had lunch with my best friend at Panera. We don't see each other often enough, but we both know we can come to each other with anything at anytime. Panera is amazing. The closest one to me, is 45 minutes away, which is near where she lives, so I just met her there. 

Their French Onion soup is AMAZING!

So is their Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (on Tomato Basil Bread mmm)

Tuesday, it was my boyfriend's quarter of a century birthday... He doesn't like me calling it that :-/ Mine comes next year. We went to Dave and Busters, which happens quite often nowadays. It is a lot of fun and as long as he enjoyed it on his Birthday it is all that matters! For dinner he wanted Longhorns. I am not a huge fan of steak, but it was good and the dessert was great! Probably 5,000,000 calories, but that's okay on someone's birthday, right?!

Then tonight, I'm hanging out with my best friend again, along with her younger sister to go to a concert. I am not as big a fan as they are of the group, Circa Survive, but I'll enjoy myself. It is sort of like old times. During undergrad, we would go to concerts 1-2 times a month. It was fun, but I'm kind of over that faze.

So, last month was my birthday and on September 27, I went to see the SYTYCD season 7 tour! :) It was a lot of fun. This post has gotten long, so  I will post more about that next time.

Birthday Week

Well, my birthday is Saturday. I am a very big birthday celebrator! Not just for me, but for everyone. I just love birthdays! They are fun and unique for everyone. I can make my family and friends feel special! Obviously I try to do that all the time, but this time comes with gifts J

I will be 24, nothing too exciting!

I think I'm starting to annoy people with "It's my birthday week!". But that is okay, because they will have theirs.

Friday, my mom is taking me to lunch at my FAVORITE restaurant (Thai Heaven). I am also going to my best friend's house for the night. We are going to dinner with friends and my boyfriend.

Saturday I will meet my mom at the gym and then probably spend the day with family.

Sunday will be my birthday celebration with my boyfriend. I already know what he bought me, because he wanted me to pick out the charms to my new PANDORA bracelet. Spoiled, huh? I'm very excited! I don't get the gift until Sunday though, so I still have it to look forward to! J

Then it will be done until next year L It is okay, I will just spoil other people. I'm thinking of getting my boyfriend Falcon tickets for his birthday, but not sure yet.

Do you go all out for birthdays or is it just another day?

...Is it Fall yet?!

So, today is:

• The first day of September
• The first day of my birthday month (I celebrate all month ;) )
• The first day of the month in which FALL, the best season, starts
• Wednesday (which actually means halfway to the weekend for me, for once!)
• Weigh in day (I only lost .2, but I forgot to weigh in and ate breakfast :-/ )

What an exciting Wednesday. I love September. Not only because my birthday is halfway through, but because of fall. I love Fall. Leaves changing, less hot days. Light sweaters/long sleeve shirts. Living in Georgia, I think a lot of people start to yearn for fall after such a hot summer.

I am feeling much better than my last post. It was so hard to do anything. I'd try to work on homework and just stare at the computer screen. Then I'd get tired and just want to lay down. Needless to say, I had A LOT of homework to do the day it was due.

I've been going to braves games more this year than usually. By that I mean, 2 games :) 

I have 2 more to go to on September 10 and October 2 (Bobby Cox's retirement game). The Braves are doing pretty awesome this season! It would be exciting to see them win the World Series for Bobby Cox!

I have also been going to Dave and Busters with my boyfriend a lot. I don't think he (nor I) should ever go to Vegas! Haha, we have too much fun! I wouldn't say we go crazy with spending money though. We put a certain amount on our power card and usually don't even finish. The time just goes by so FAST. However, we've been saving our tickets and I finally got to cash some in and got this:

I am so excited about this blender! I can make myself a smoothie in one of those cups and just take it with me! So hassle free! It only cost 9,500 tickets! We are 300 tickets away from John getting himself one as well. Very exciting!

For today, that is all!

Who can tell me how to make a super cute signature for my posts!?!

Thankful Thursday

While I am not feeling well, I want to think of the positive things in my life.

I am thankful for my family, especially my mom who has always been there for me no matter the situation.
I have a very small group of friends, but I'd rather have a few great ones than just plain friends.
My boyfriend always knows how to make me smile.

I have the best cat:

and the best dog:

I have job and am finishing up my MBA in 6 months.

I have so much to be thankful for. There is more and more, but I've said enough for now. I am also thankful for the little things that make me happy, because I am easily amused ;)

For instance. I went to Publix yesterday and I saw this duck eraser in a gumball machine and decided I had to have it....

I WON IT :D Yes it is a blurry picture, but it is proof.

I love ducks.. what can I say.

Other than that, things have been somewhat uneventful. I have a cold coming on that I am hoping will not get worse. I have drank the town out of orange juice. Not really, but I feel like I have!