I'm Right Back at it Again.

"If you're too cool for school, I ain't here to make no friends."

This week has been my first week of the Spring semester for school. I decided to only take 3 classes this semester, and I'm already beginning to regret not signing up for another one. Yeah, I know that technically I still could, but then I'd be entering a class late and I just don't want to do that. At least I know for next semester if I have the option of these teachers.

Though I didn't want to, I'm taking a day class this semester. With working full time, I didn't want to have to take off work time to go to class.. luckily my boss (my Dad) was willing to let me off work to go. Last semester I took Accounting I from a professor who I did well with. After getting a 96% A in his class, I decided it would be best to take Accounting II with him as well. Sadly, the only time that he was teaching the course was Monday and Wednesday from 1-2:15. So this semester, that is when I have him.

The first day of class I was quickly reminded why I shy away from taking classes... I like the smaller class sizes and the older range of students. I felt like I walked right back into my high school class room and you didn't have any personal space. Literally, all but one seat was taken in the classroom. This will be the last day class I take! However, I feel good about the class, seeing as how I know what this teacher expects from us and the types of quizzes, tests, and assignments he produces. So here's to hoping I get through this semester without waiting to slap someone!

Literally up until a couple hours before my Monday night class(Organizational Behavior), I wasn't sure I was going to have it. On the class schedule, it said I was enrolled but there were only 4 students and there was no class number assigned. Luckily, everything got figured out and I headed off for class. When I arrived, half the class was already there... so we were waiting on one more person to show up. After the teacher and the other student showed up, the teacher started to get everything ready for class. Next thing I know, he's cursing the overhead projector for not working correctly... this is when I knew the class was going to be alright. Later on in the class, he was taking about stress and stress in the work place. He then proceeded to say that due to stress, that's why Bourbon and Cigars were invented.

Last night was my last new class of the semester. A couple days before the class started the teacher emailed all 6 of us students and told us that instead of meeting at the normal class time (7:15), we would meet at 8:30. Me, being and old lady and all, hated the idea of going to class that late. We got there and literally talked for 15 minutes and we were out of there. Evidently TCC scheduled my teacher for two different classes at the same time... at two different campuses! My teacher, being the smart guy he is, decided he can do both... just make them every other week. So now I only have my Thursday class every other week. Work load is still super easy, so it should be a breeze.

Overall, I'm really excited about school this semester! Can't wait to keep getting these classes out of the way and see it all pay off for me in the end!  Is anyone else is school this semester? How are your classes going?

The City of Brotherly Love

I woke up before the sun came up Saturday morning, to a bunch of rain... but that didn't dampen my mood. Usually when I'm being woken up at 5 am, I'm not too happy... luckily it was so I could head up to Philadelphia. After getting up and getting myself and the dog ready, we headed over to my parents house. Jonas got to stay the day with his puppy brother, while my Dad and me set off for the City of Brotherly Love.

If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with hockey.. and more specifically, the Philadelphia Flyers. I even have a tattoo on my leg. Anytime I get to take the 5 hour trip up the Eastern Shore, I never hesitate! Especially when there's free tickets involved, and a promise to see Mr. Mike and Mrs. Barbara. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend much time there, but any time is better than none. 

Dad and I got everything ready to go and set out on the road to Philly. My Jeep got broken in for her first road trip, as well. I've done the trip to Philly a million times, but some how we got to talking and completely missed our exit to continue up 13. Things started to look pretty unfamiliar to us, so I whipped out the phone and pulled up google maps. Sure enough we were headed up 50 instead of 13. But no biggie, thanks to technology I just plugged in the arena address and we were well on our way. I think, however, we found a new route to head up.. to us it seemed a lot easier of a drive. Higher speed limit, less traffic lights, and fewer little towns to go through. I think we made a great find! 

We got up to the arena and parked, then headed in to get some Chickie's and Pete's. If you haven't had crab fries from there, you're seriously missing out. It's always a must have when I go to a game. After devouring some delicious chicken and fries, we set off to find our seats. I absolutely loved our seats! We were sitting behind the goalie (which is where our season tickets are at Admirals games) and 12 rows up off the glass.

The name says it all.

Cutlets and Crab Fries.. && of course cheese sauce!

Though the Flyers didn't win the game.. I couldn't be upset. Being here in Norfolk with an AHL team, you see a lot of players come and go and Saturday was no exception. A good handful of guys that won the Calder Cup here in Norfolk, were playing against the Flyers on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though I definitely would have liked to see the Flyers win, it's always a great time seeing the boys of the past doing really well in the show. 

After the game was over we fought the traffic and the rain to go get a delicious cheese steak from Geno's. Yes, you can get a great cheese steak in a million places around the city.. but the two most famous are Pat's and Geno's. They are on opposite corners from one another and no matter what time you go, there is always going to be a line and lots of people. The pouring rain didn't stop anyone that day, that's for sure. I've had both Pat's and Geno's and I definitely prefer Geno's... but that's just my personal opinion. I never go to Philly without making a stop at Geno's. If you're ever in the area.. come with an appetite and try them both and see which one you prefer. But be sure to order right... or you will get kicked to the back of the line. Me... I prefer mine to be, "Whit Wit". Gotta learn the lingo before you go. 

I got my fat girl on with this one! Delicious.

After saying goodbye to Mr. Mike and Mrs. Barbara, we hit the road again to head back home. We made sure we paid attention to the roads and came back down the planned route (13). Everything was going along just dandy and we were pretty much traveling alone, no cars around us. Randomly my Dad looks in the review mirror and here comes an SVU barreling down the road. By the time I looked in the side mirror, I see the car swerving straight towards my back bumper and at the last second swerve back the other way and drive past us... inches away from my car. I was completely freaked out! I was screaming and trying to climb out of my seat. After he went past us, we saw him swerve all over the road and we were sure we were going to see him splattered across the road way, but thankfully we didn't. 

After making it home in one piece, I headed home to bed. I don't know why... but something about being in a car all day traveling makes me exhausted! I was just happy to be curled up with my dog and not sitting in the seat of my car anymore. 

Now I'll leave you with some pictures to look at since you've now read a novel! Hope you enjoy! Sorry the quality isn't that great, I forgot my camera... rookie mistake. I have tons of pictures of the game, but there's too many to post!

Going through some of my Flyer's jerseys.

I look horrible, but this is our drive up!

Chickie's and Pete's.

Our seats! Not too shabby right!?!

Mr. Mike! Love this man!

Look! He has a Flyer's jacket on!!

This made me giggle... Gudas and Downie!

Snow... I don't do snow!
Glad it was all melted.

Mayhem! But the glorious Geno's.

Told you it's crazy down there,
but here is Pat's.

Mrs. Barbara and Mr. Mike! 

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar.
I just thought the sign was funny.

Rocking my new Hartnell hoodie!

It's Finally Friday!

Why, oh why, do I find it so hard to clean out my closets and donate clothes. I seriously have so many clothes that I don't even wear, but I still hang on to them. I have heard the trick about turning hangers around to help you get rid of stuff you don't wear within six months... but it won't work. I even keep clothes that I don't fit into anymore, in hopes that one day they will fit. It's such a horrible habit. I really need to tackle this whole getting rid of clothes thing, and quickly. I'm starting to run out of room in my closet and dressers.

Goodwill, I hope you're ready for all these bags of clothes... cause it will be quite a few. Are there any tips that help you to throw out clothes? I could sure use some helpful hints. And it's not just clothes sadly. I just need to go through my whole house and get rid of things that I don't really use. The place I live in is up for sale, so eventually I'm going to have to move... I'd rather not have to pack and move stuff I don't need. Sadly though, that hasn't even motivated me much.

On a brighter note, my Mom and Sister are going to help make my goal of cooking more become a bit easier. My lovely sister Beth had the fantastic idea to set up a board on Pinterest where the three of us can share recipes. Seeing as how this is where we all mainly find our recipes, it seemed like a brilliant idea. When I went to start pinning to it, I realized I really need to get out of my comfort zone. I easily have about 200+ recipes.. and I could only think of 4 that I have tried off of Pinterest. So, now it will be new recipes from here on out. Send well wishes my way, I will need them!

If you have any awesome recipes on Pinterest that you would like to share with me.. PLEASE... by all means .. do so. This is my Pinterest link. Cleaning tips, DIY projects, recipes... I welcome it all! 

Tomorrow is the big day and I can't wait! If you read my last blog, you already know I'm headed to Philly. Even though it's only a day trip, I will try to take as many pictures as possible. Driving up at 6am in the rain won't be fun but it will all be worth it! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

One of my favorite places on earth.

Starting the New Year off right.

It's only six days into this new year... and already it's looking good. I'm just saying.. I ate my black eyed peas on Wednesday, and Thursday I was going through to make sure I got all the money out of my Christmas cards and guess what I found!?!  A $100 bill. Usually I take the money out of cards right when I open them, but for some reason I didn't. Thankfully I looked in the card before I threw it away! If this is what happens when you eat black eyed peas for New Years... then I'll be sure to eat them every year!

As everyone is making different resolutions for the year, I am just thinking about things I want to improve upon. I think the three things this year that I really want to work on are finances, happiness, and cooking more.

I've been doing much better when it comes to handling money and starting to save up instead of just blowing money on stupid stuff, but it's something I think I can improve on much more. Seeing as how cooking more is on my list, that will also help with not spending unnecessary money. If I don't cook dinner, I usually go out and by lunch, which wastes more money. I'm usually only cooking for myself, so when I cook.. I definitely have leftovers for lunch. I have a few basic recipes that I know really well, so I tend to just do those over and over. Broadening my recipe base is definitely something I'm looking forward to! If you follow me on Pinterest, I apologize in advance for all the pinning of recipes. If you don't follow me... check me out here!  I tend to find tons of great recipes and DIY projects that are fun to do! 

The third thing on my list of things to improve upon is happiness. Don't think I'm all depressed and sad all the time, because that's not the case. I love my simple, laid back kind of life. I tend to let things that I can't control affect my happiness though and I'm done dealing with it. My goal is to hold no grudges against anyone, for anything and just live the life I want. The only person that will be in charge of happiness from now on, is ME! 

This weekend is definitely going to be a good jump start on the year, seeing as how I'm headed to Philly. My Dad and I are taking a day trip up to Philly for the Philadelphia Flyers game vs the Tampa Bay Lightning. I can't tell you how excited I am for Chickie's and Pete's, a cheesesteak from Geno's, a good ole hockey game! 

Unless you've tried these... you will never understand how amazing they are!
Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries!

What are you guys' resolutions, or what are you trying to work on!? 

Here we go again.

It's that time of year again that everyone goes crazy making their New Year's Resolutions. Of course you have the most popular one... to lose weight. I can admit that I have had that resolution before as well. In fact, that was this past year's resolution. However, I did not accomplish what I had set out to do... but I'm happy with myself and that's all I can ask for.

As 2013 comes to an end, I can honestly say, it has definitely been a year with tons of ups and downs. Luckily this year has helped me to figure out a lot about myself. One of the things I've been wanting to do for a long time was to get serious about school. This year I got back in school and finished my first semester with 3 A's and 1 B. I was pretty proud of myself for putting school first, even though that meant putting my social life on the back burner. Hopefully the people who really matter to me understand my determination and don't take the lack of time spent with them as a slap in the face. I've also realized this year that I don't need anyone to make myself happy. Friends, boyfriends, etc..  If I'm not happy with myself.. I'll never be happy with anyone else. I would DEFINITELY say I'm in a better spot in my life now, than I was at the beginning of the year.

I already know that 2014 has some exciting times ahead for me. This weekend starts it off with some more Christmas family time! Saturday will definitely be a day of great eating. To start it off I will be having brunch with my Aunt and her husband, along with my parents and Grandmother, at Freemason Abbey. If you haven't had brunch there, you're missing out! I can already taste the delightful Mimosas! Saturday evening my parents and I are heading down south to Elizabeth City to see my Grannie Faytie! It's sad I don't get to see her very often, but excited because that means dinner at Montero's! If you're ever in E.City... you have to go there. I'm excited to get to finish up the holiday festivities this weekend!

Some other things to look forward to in 2014 are my third god child being born, my trip to Philly to see the Flyers take on the Lightning, and 3 more semesters of school down!

Want to know what my New Years Resolutions are this year? Check back later this week to see what kind of shenanigans I plan to get myself into.

I hope everyone holidays were fantastic and that you got everything you were hoping for.

My Weekend Went Out With A Bang...

... And when I say "bang"... That's the sound the tow truck bed made as it hit the ground to tow my car back to the dealership.

Yea, you read that right. My brand new Jeep, that I have had a week and a half, had to be towed back to the dealership. I swear I have the worst luck. Hopefully today we figure out what is wrong with it. Everything was fine and dandy when I went to have lunch with my life long best friend. However, when I came out to leave... things started going down hill. Here's a list of the depressing moments from yesterday...

My Philadelphia Eagles lost to my Dad's Minnesota Vikings.

My Philadelphia Flyers lost to my Dad's Washington Capitals.

The Norfolk Admirals lost to the Charlotte Checkers.

&&

I had to see my baby towed away.

... Luckily the Anaheim Ducks beat the Edmonton Oilers and that made me happier than it probably should.

Let me tell you, a brand new car that still has temporary tags does not look good on the back of a tow truck. I am not a happy camper right now. Luckily the dealership is trying to make things right and gave me a new car off the lot to drive until they figure out what's wrong with mine. Hopefully it gets fixed the first time and doesn't happen again.

I'm just excited that for the next few weeks I don't have to worry about homework and tests! I finally get to relax a little bit and enjoy the holidays. Other than yesterday, the rest of my weekend was great! But, instead of getting all down on myself about my horrible luck... I just gotta try to stay positive! :) I'm almost done with Christmas shopping and I get to spend the holidays with my family! I can't believe Christmas is so soon!

Well, time to go get this work day started! Here's to hoping the week turns around for me!

Such a sad sight!

At least the sky was pretty! No filter needed here!

Almost There

A cold and rainy day makes for a slow day at work. However, jamming out to some Christmas music is the perfect way to help this day inch on by. I'm talking about the good stuff like N'SYNC, Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, etc... Pandora saves the day!

These past couple weeks I have been unbelievably swamped with school work and studying. Seeing as how this is my first semester back, I'm totally stressing over this whole finals deal. Luckily I have two classes out of the way already and two more to go! Luckily things are starting to slow up seeing as how I only have one more paper, one presentation to make, and one exam left. I am happy to say that I came out with A's in both of the classes that I have already finished, hoping to get A's in these last two classes. 

Instead of signing up for 4 classes next semester, I only signed up for 3 just so I don't overwhelm myself. Luckily my Accounting class is using the same book, so I didn't have to purchase a new one. Thinking that I only had to purchase two books, I was excited. I got to the bookstore and found out that I could get both of them used, so I was incredibly enthusiastic. I saw that the first one rung up for $44 dollars, so I was thinking I could get out of there under $100. BOY WAS I WRONG! The total ending up being $213!!! WHAT!?! Yes, that's right for my second used book I had to pay $169. I would really hate to see how much that book cost new. Screw you Human Resource Management, I hate you already.

Forgetting all the headache of school now, let's talk about something exciting. Last week, Santa came to see me a little early! He brought Jonas and I a new sleigh, and we absolutely love it. I traded in my Ford Focus for the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee! I've been waiting for that thing to come out since June, so I'm glad that it's finally in my possession. If you are in the Hampton Roads area, I would highly recommend that you go check out Southern Chrysler, Dodge, & Jeep on Military Highway. I'm pretty sure I had the best salesman! If you are looking for a new car go talk to Mr. Bill Womble. Bill is a great guy and easy to get along with. He doesn't try to sell you something more expensive just to get more money, he puts you in something that you are comfortable with. The dealership was incredibly easy to deal with and the whole process was pretty painless! I will definitely be going back to them for future purchases, though I don't plan on getting rid of this beauty any time soon. 

Isn't she beautiful!?!

Time to go work on this last paper and start studying for my last exam!!