life has been busy

Hey y'all! 

A lot has been happening since the last time I checked in. 

• I got a NEW JOB! I started my new job on September 1st. I am still at the university, just in a different department. I am loving it so far. I am in culture shock a little bit. My new office is so laid back and all of the people are super nice, completely the opposite of my old office. 

• My best friend (of 20 years) got an awesome new job and moved 4.5 hours away. Very bittersweet. 

• I have not mentioned this on the blog yet, but D is carrying on a tradition in his family. He has taken over his family's BBQ sauce business. He FINALLY got the last piece of the long and frustrating government requirement puzzle today ... inspection of his facility. The inspector wants a few small things changed. But D is one step closer to full production.  

• {Small Rant Ahead} I am sure it is all state governments, but trying to navigate Georgia bureaucracy to get all of this stuff approved is like moving through mud. They do not get into a hurry for anything and dealing with multiple offices has been a nightmare. D has literally gotten contradictory information for the same question from different offices ... multiple times. Ridiculous. But it is necessary to deal with them. So, you do what you have to do. I'll post more information about the sauce (probably a blog post by itself) in the next couple of weeks. 

• In other news, I found out that I have to get my wisdom teeth removed. The surgery is scheduled for October 2nd. Not looking forward to that.  

I am not going to promise that I will be around more often, because who knows. But I will update again soon. Thanks for stopping by! 

all because of work

Hey y'all! 

I am still here. 

Monday is my university's first day of classes. 

This is the busiest time of the year for my office. 

On top of that I have been recently given two major job duties in the office. 

Which means 10-12 hour work days for me. 

Sometimes it sucks to be salaried, 

think of the overtime. ;) 

I just wanted to pop in and see how everyone is doing. 

I promise I am reading everyone's blogs, 

but coming up with even somewhat coherent comments 

is beyond my brain capacity right now. 

Our office usually slows down in September. 

Look for more regular posts then ...  hopefully. 

Maybe I'll have a new job by that time. 

I can only hope. 

Fingers-crossed! 

adventures in atl

Thursday night I had a work reception in Atlanta.
My best friend had to work the reception as well and she had a work conference the next day in Atlanta.
Instead of riding the work bus, we decided to drive up and stay overnight.
Oh the perks of working with your best friend!

We got to Atlanta early and ate a late lunch/ early supper at the Cheesecake Factory.
Always a big hit!
Then we killed time by browsing around the mall.
We scored some fab finds at New York & Company for 50-70% off!

S'mores cheesecake ... divine! 

The reception was long and we were both thankful that we could go straight to the hotel and crash.
Well, The Varsity was on the way to the hotel and neither of us could resist stopping for a chili dog.

We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Indigo.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Atlanta.
It is super unique and has excellent customer service.

Friday morning it was freaking freezing in Atlanta.
I mean it was 15 degrees.
That is COLD for Georgia.
Of course, A and I could not find the building we needed downtown and proceeded to walk around for 20 minutes in the cold before finally finding the right place.
We were popsicles!

Before leaving Atlanta, a stop at Chipotle for lunch was necessary.
That's two weekends in a row.
A girl could get spoiled!

I am moving into a new apartment this coming week/weekend.
D and I spent all day Saturday painting at the new place.
I need to find a chiropractor pronto.

First meal in the new place ... look at that fortune

On a non-weekend related note, the forecast is calling for SNOW this week!
I know not to get my hopes up and it is still probably wishful thinking.
But I really want snow!

SNOW!

weekend recap

Last Week: 

Before we get to the weekend, 

let's recap last week. 

One of the fun things about working at a university 

is all of the fun events I get to participate in. 

This past Saturday was the 

Homecoming game. 

So, of course, the week before Homecoming is Spirit Week. 

Our office participates every year by 

having different dress up days. 

Top Left: Magical (Disney) Monday; Top Right: Twin Tuesday; Center: Superhero Wednesday; Bottom Left: Throwback Thursday; Bottom Right: True Blue Friday

Friday: 

Now on to the weekend!

D ran sound for a gig Friday night. 

The opener was a solo act. 

The main band was a mix between rock and rap. 

Not really my cup of tea, 

but the musicianship was amazing. 

D's soundboard 

Saturday: 

D and I went hunting with his family. 

We actually slept in a little Saturday morning, 

because we got home rather late Friday night. 

So, we missed most of the hunting 

but did get a little bit in. 

No one got a deer Saturday. 

We saw a couple but they were out of our range. 

Then, that afternoon, we sat around a fire. 

It was so relaxing. 

Nothing can really beat sitting around a fire 

with absolutely nothing to do but enjoy it! 

I hope y'all had a great weekend! 

chili cook off 2013

Yesterday, our department at work 

competed in a Chili Cook Off 

with the other departments in our division. 

I was on the team 

along with 4 other coworkers. 

Our theme was 

Chillin' with Sasquatch. 

A play on the Messin' with Sasquatch 

Jack Links beef jerky commercials. 

{If you have never seen one of those commercials, 

do yourself a favor and YouTube it} 

One of the guys in our office 

actually dressed up as Sasquatch; 

it was awesome! 

The rest of us had t-shirts made. 

We were the Southern Squatchers. 

We had a ton of fun and 

we won 1st place for our Chili 

in the Traditional Chili category and 

we won 2nd place for theme! 

{We were robbed, I tell ya}

Here are a few pictures of our set up! 

lazy beach days

The next two weeks at work will literally be

the busiest of the year.

So, the bestie & I decided to have

a lazy day at the beach this past Saturday

with a couple of friends.

Saturday was a perfect day for the beach.

It was not too hot and there was a constant breeze.

Now the couple, S&C, that came with us

knows how to spend a day at the beach.

When the bestie and I go

we usually just bring our beach chairs & a book

and we typically only last about 3 hours on the beach.

We are amateurs compared to S&C.

They brought a tent, a hammock, chairs, food,

& an Ipod docking station for music.

That afternoon I spent a lovely hour

swinging in the hammock on the beach.

Now that is the life.

If I had unlimited funds I could

definitely be a full-time beach bum!

I am now mentally prepared for the upcoming madness...I hope!

career girl!

Well, yesterday thoroughly sucked.

So, today I wanted to share some happy news!

The BFF officially has a "real" job.

Apparently. the jobs she had while she was in school were fake;)

She is now a processing counselor for the 

GSU Department of Financial Aid!

She has her own office, nameplate, and most importantly of all...

an actual salary!

No more getting paid by the hour.

I ♥ giving presents!

So, I got her a leather portfolio as a "congrats on your first real job" present!

She does not actually start until Monday.

But she has actually worked in the office for 2 years already as a Graduate Assistant.

Which is a real advantage for her because she pretty much knows how to do the majority of her job duties.

She was super worried about not finding a job after she graduated.

This is not the job she wants to stay in forever;

but it is really good experience and will look great on a resume!

For purely selfish reasons, I am glad she got the job.

I took over her graduate assistantship

and it is nice to be able to go to my BFF when I have questions!

pfft...presentation. piece. of. cake!

I had a group presentation tonight in class.

And let me just say...

We. KILLED. It.

I get so nervous before any kind of public speaking,

like to the point where my pulse is racing so fast I think I am going to faint.

But this was worse because we only had a few days to prepare

and we could not use note cards during the presentation.

Three groups presented tonight and I know I am a little biased

but I think our group was the best.

On a completely different note, today was an interesting day at Financial Aid.

We were crazy busy.

It was like the first day of fall semester.

The phones were ringing off the hook.

As soon as I hung up the phone it would ring.

I do not think the phone left my hand once in 5 hours today.

Even the counselors, who have worked there for years, said they had no idea why it was so busy today.

This week is going to be a super busy week.

 I had my presentation tonight.

I have a big assignment due tomorrow night.

{which I should be working on instead of blogging}

And I have a midterm Thursday night.

Ummm, yeah, grad school during the summer is trying to kill me.

{pics via}

first day

Today was my first full day

of working 2 jobs and school.

I think I am going to really like the new job.

Working at financial aid is not all that different from working in retail.

You have "customers" that want a "product."

The only difference is you are giving money away instead of taking it.

I just really have to get used to their computer system.

But it is not rocket science, so I am not too worried about that.

This class, Management Operations, is going to be crazy.

I already have to read 6 articles and the

first 3 chapters of the book by Thursday.

I am definitely going to have to make time to read.

I do not see me getting more than 5 hours of sleep at all this summer.

But I really think I am going to love it all!!

{pics via}

beach day♥

Today the BFF and I spent the day at the beach!

It was so relaxing to just lay there and listen to the waves.

I definitely needed some sun on my legs.

After riding the horses all week my face and arms looked pretty good,

but my poor legs were sorely neglected.

I am so not ready for classes and work to start back Monday.

I am starting a new job on Monday too.

I will be a graduate assistant in the Financial Aid office this year.

So, I will be working 20 hrs there and 20 hrs at my current job,

plus taking a full schedule of classes.

It will be interesting to see how this works out.

The good thing about the GA position is that it pays full tuition

plus gives me a monthly stipend.

Thank you Jesus!

And I absolutely love the people I am working for currently,

so I do not want to quit.

I am pretty sure I will be in a perpetual state of exhaustion.

But I would rather be busy than not.

And it is only for a year.

I can do anything for a year!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!