A Few Updates...

So, I haven't written a blog post in a while, so I figured I have to mention something this week. Well, nothing extraordinary has really happened. Being Rob's roomie has been great, and we haven't had any fights about designated space yet ;-) I'm currently trying to talk him into rearranging the bedroom furniture to create a more open floor plan, so we'll see how that goes. Apparently if we move the bed we need to move the TV, but it’s mounted to the wall, so we would need to buy a swivel mount, and by then we might as well upgrade the TV. HAHA! So, what seems like a pretty simple switch-aroo might turn into a home makeover. Stay tuned!

This past weekend was Jamie & Jessica's Couples Baby Shower. It was so much fun! We decorated onesies, played bingo, had prizes, food, and they got some really great presents for their baby boy. He's due at the beginning of April, and he had better not arrive before I get back from Europe. I'm ecstatic for them!

As for work, I can't complain ;-) I've been putting in some extra hours so I'll have extra cash when I leave for Europe. Which, by the way, is in 17 days!! Holy crap! Bambi, Abbey, and I are freaking out! We've been watching travel videos of the places we're visiting, taking notes, and shopping like crazy ;-) I'm just praying for good weather. That's all; I don't care if it’s cold or overcast, I just don't want rain. The temperatures between the two cities are a high of 60 degrees and low of 40 degrees. That's awesome! Now, just give me some sun, Dear Lord!

This upcoming weekend I'm visiting my older sister in Nashville to make some jewelry, and then hit up the Flea Market. I love making jewelry now! Abbey hosted a jewelry-making party a couple of weeks ago, and now she has me totally engrossed with this newfound hobby. I love that I can pick whatever color and design I want, and it looks so professional when I'm done. I went out after the jewelry party and bought like $100 in beads and tools to start my own kit. HAHA! I feel so crafty ;-) Mom and I have already made some great pieces, so I know Christine will love it.

I'm starting to realize that my "melodramatic" life isn't so melodramatic, more so just fun to write about ;-)

A pearl set I made

Mom and the jewelry she designed

The earrings I made at the party

Unhealthy Eating...

This past week has been crazy hectic and I'm ashamed to admit that I've been eating out way too much. I'm the type of person who usually eats a small breakfast, followed by a lean cuisine or salad for lunch, a sensible dinner, and a few snacks throughout the day. Don't get me wrong, I do have a piece of chocolate after lunch and occasionally stray from my normal eating habits, but I pretty much stick to this routine. One week ago (last Thursday), Rob and I ate at Chili's for a quick dinner before we did some grocery shopping. This past Friday, my favorite girlies and I had dinner out at Olive Garden, followed by watching Eat, Pray, Love and Investigation Discovery. Word to the wise, don't watch this show late at night when you are by yourself, have no weapons, and are easily scared. Anyways, on Saturday Rob and I ate at Soups and Scoops for lunch, although it’s like a home-style family-owned business I still consider it 'eating out.' Then, we traveled to Cherokee, N.C. where we ate at the casino buffet for dinner. This was after Rob won over $4500 on a slot machine! HA! It was awesome, and I couldn't have cared at the time where we ate dinner. The next morning, we ate at Paula Dean's Kitchen for breakfast, which was great but heavily stuffed with all sorts of carbs and unhealthy-feeling foods. This is when all of the eating out started to catch up with me. I felt sluggish and just generally unhealthy. The food was so heavy on my system I didn't even eat a lunch. For dinner, we went to Lauren and TJ's house to watch the Superbowl and had homemade petros, which is the most normal dinner I've had this week. Monday night was Jessica's birthday and we all went and ate at Wasabi. Tuesday night, I met up with my good friend, Nikki, and her baby boy for dinner at Applebee's. I hadn't seen her in like four months, so I was really just there to catch up with her, but of course I ate. Last night, I had my Europe-traveling buddies come over to watch videos on the locations we'll be traveling to, and Rob brought home a pizza from Pizza Hut. Ok, so basically I feel disgusting. It's not so much I feel guilty, or that I'm gaining weight (surprisingly I'm not....at least not yet), but I feel gross and sluggish. So, starting tonight I'm getting back in the swing of things. Rob and I need to get back to making more dinners at home. I enjoy his cooking much better than any restaurant we've gone too anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard. We've even planned this year's Valentine's Day meal at home, our own homemade fondue dinner. Yummo!

When in Rome...and Paris!

I just have to say I am super-pumped about my trip to Europe in 35 days. HOLY COW...in 35 days I will be flying to Paris and Rome with my two girlfriends, and I will get to see some of the most historically significant architecture/monuments on the planet! Up to this point, I haven't really considered myself as having been out of the country. Yes, I've been to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico, and some of the Virgin Islands, but I haven't really been out of the country. This is because I haven't slept in another country, ate several meals in another country, or experienced the culture in another country. I have only taken cruises out of the United States, and been on foreign land for eight hours at a time only to return to the safe haven of the boat. So, this trip to Europe is technically my first real experience traveling out of the country. Anything can happen. I could get mugged. I could get food poisoning. I could be sleeping in a dangerously-located hotel where they don't change the sheets. Sure, all of these things might possibly happen. Even Rob says, "You know the movie, Taken? If you get abducted and sold into the slave trade, I don't have the skills to get you back like Liam Neeson." I'm pretty sure my girlfriends and I are alittle old for anyone to want to put us in the slave trade, but we'll be smart and safe all the same. I like to think of all the lifelong memories I'm going to create just by taking a single eight day trip. In Paris, I'll sip a real cappuccino at a corner café. I'll see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Château of Versailles where Marie Antoinette resided, the Arc du Triomphe, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Le Moulin Rouge, and I'll cruise on the Seine River. I'll try new things, like escargot and real champagne from France. In Rome, I'll see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, the Piazza de Spagna and Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, St. Peters Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo famously painted the ceiling. I'll have real, genuine, authentic pizza, gelato, spaghetti, and so many more things I can't pronounce. I'll probably gain a ton of weight from all the food I'll be eating, but I'm excited about it all the same.

In the United States, the oldest man-made architectural monuments you can visit are around four hundred years old when explorers first arrived. In Paris and Rome, monuments and historic places have been around for centuries, and many places pre-date the time of Jesus. When put into perspective, it just makes me realize how much of the Old World I haven't seen. Matter of fact, I haven’t seen anything! As an anthropology major, there is nothing more exciting than studying the archaeological remnants of mans past. It's mind-blowing to think that the Colosseum was built in 79 A.D. and it's still around for my viewing pleasure. I'll see where gladiators once fought to the death just to entertain the Roman citizens! I’ve been researching each city, and the more I read the more excited I get. I might seriously stroke out. I recently learned if you dig three feet under the surface at any place in Rome, you will find ruins. Well, I say to my fellow travel buddies, be sure to pack a shovel!

The Eiffel Tower

Musée du Louvre

The Arc de Triomphe

The Roman Forum

The Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

Real Italian Gelato!

The Sistine Chapel