Today has just been one of those days where absolutely nothing has worked out as planned. I would go into details if they weren't completely boring and  didn't frustrate me to the core. I'm just glad it's over... or almost over. 

The new house isn't small but it's small enough for me to hear my mom's annoyed tone of voice from where she stands in the kitchen to my new room. I don't like it in here yet- it looks like an Easter egg. And I litterally mean Easter egg. Not the color, but the actual design- the pink and green mesh and mix to form a pattern that makes me feel like there should be a solid chocolate bunny at the foot of my bed when I wake up each morning. Anyways, back to my mom's phone conversation. If you're thinking of getting Comcast phone service... don't.

Last night, with some help from Beth, we managed to finish unpacking the boxes in the kitchen. We still have so much to do. I guess after dinner I'll continue my job in the den, stacking books on the shelves. At this point, I'm not too concerned about unpacking the boxes in my room. I don't really live here anymore and I'm not too worried about my stuff being in boxes. As long as my shoes and clothes are unpacked I can deal with boxes. If I can deal with Easter egg paint, I can deal with brown boxes. By the way, we are having my room painted- I just don't know when. 

I like having responsibility. I've never had a job so when I am asked to take care of something for my parents, I want to do as good a job as I can to show them that I am not completely worthless. I get so frustrated with people who have no responsability what so ever. (No names here- just frustration) No I can't just leave the dog and Peachtree Industrial wouldn't really have been faster. Please just go with out me this once. Note: People with no responsability should not be allowed to be frustrated with my frustration! 

I'll have to be home all day again tomorrow, waiting for various fucktards to come and play refrigerator repairman and cable guy. I'm hoping soon I'll be able to make it out of the house for a nice day of... whatever! Anything has got to be better than this. Hopefully, Jess and I will have dinner tomorrow night so that will give me something to look forward too. Plus the Hills which I have scheduled into my Palm Pilot each week so I won't forget it... sad really. 

We're going to get the new puppy on Saturday. I saw him today when I went to pick up Happy. He's precious. I'm hoping he'll be my little snuggle bunny seeing as my usual snuggler is MIA. Speaking of which, we're trying to work out a good date for me to go visit. He was just here for the long Memorial weekend and it was wonderful. But I miss him already- no surprise there. 

In regard to your current situation I suggest this. 
1. One pair of oversized sweatpants (grey is reccomended but not necessary)
2.  One oversized T-shirt or sweatshirt (depending on the temperature of the room)
3.  One spoon, partnered with a large tub of your favorite ice cream. If you do not have your favorite- go and get it. This is serious. Not a time to settle for less than the best since that is what we do every other day of our lives... isn't it?
4. A good movie: a comedy or even a sappy chick flick. (tears are again recommended but not necessary)

Pick a night to spend on the couch in front of the TV alone. This is your one night to let it all out: the sadness, the jealousy, the hatefulness (which of course you would never admit to being present but we all know is there). Cry, eat ice cream and vent. Once the movie is over, peel yourself off the the couch and climb into bed. Don't worry about the mess- you'll get it tomorrow. When you wake up in the morning, clean up the couch- fold the blankets and throw away the empty carton of ice cream. Then get along with your day. Move on: he obviously has. Why can't you? You're better, you're hotter, you're funnier and a whole lot more capable of finding something real than he will ever be. So get on it! Enjoy but remember, you only get  one night.

I hope this will help. It does for me now that I have matured a little bit. Everything is going to be alright- just give it a little push!

Thursday I went to Athens to spend the night with Beth in her new apartment. It's so cute! We brought back dinnner and ate dinner with her roomates Ashley and Erin. After dinner and chatting with the girls, Beth and I had some wine and watched a movie. Friday afternoon we went to Target and I finally got a desk lamp- I've only been looking for the past month. I guess it's because I'm really picky and I want our dorm room to look cute. I also picked up the complete first season of Laguna Beach. SO stoked to watch that. It was the only thing I left out while I was packing up my room so I could watch it before we leave.

I can't believe these are my last few hours in ATL for a while. We're leaving here at 3 to head to Alabama. Move in day is tomorrow and Rush starts on Monday night. NERVOUS! I hope all of my stuff fits in our room. I never realized I had so many things that I actually NEED!

I need to get dressed, put on some makeup and watch some Laguna to chill out.

EVERYONE KEEP IN TOUCH.

PS: I love Candace Wo

Even though my mind is thinking a million thoughts at once, I am going to attempt to update. Maybe a list will help organize my thoughts.

1. New York tomorrow! I am ready for 2 days of extreme shopping!!! The reason for this trip, besides a chance to take a family vacation, is to find my last 2 dresses for Rush. I still need a dress for Prefs night and an all white dress for initiation. (I'm leaving the tags on the white one because who knows... maybe I'm not the sorority girl everyone thinks I am.)

2. Just took Happy to "Doggy Prison". It's so hard to put him in the cage and then walk away with his little sad eyes looking at me. But he has friends in there (on the right side of the wall the cages are filled with Westies that look just like Happy and on the left side of the wall are the Norwich Terriers) so I don't feel like a totally neglectful mother/sister... whatever I am.

3. Beth is up in Athens for good now! She moved into her apartment last Saturday and is leaving today for good. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself next week. I know I'll be busy getting things packed up to move over to Bama but I wish she could be here to help me. Although, that might be a little too emotional.

4. I'm starting to get everything ready for Bama. I got my bedding along with other little things for my room like a trash can (a pink one!) and an alarm clock. I have so much packing to do but I refuse to do it any sooner than I need to. I'm so not ready for this...

5. Ben Came over last night for our usual movie watching. We watched Bad Boys II (which is really not bad and you don't even need to see the first one!) and then (I guess he sort of compromised since I sat through Bad Boys II) and watched Uptown Girls! He even watched part of a Golden Girls episode!!! Through his complaining about it he actually watched it for a few minutes. That has always been a dream of mine... It was a good night to say the least.

6. I'm having lunch with Jessica and our mommies today to discuss dorm things, for lack of better words. You know, like who buys the iron and ironing board and who buys the vacuum. It will be fun and productive!

7. Tonight we're having dinner with John and Margie and John C... church friends from California who moved out to the East Coast recently and are in ATL for a few days.

8. I have done a lot of shopping this summer but there are a few purchases that are just too good not to mention. I love clothes but as always, shoes are my fave thing to buy. My new favorites are sequined flats: one pair is silver and the other is multicolored. But my other more seasonal favorites are my Coach rain boots. I can't wait until it rains!!!!

I think that pretty much sums up the past few days. My thoughts are so scattered right now it's almost impossible to sit down and try to write this cohesively so excuse the list just for today. I'll be sure to update about New York!

<3SEW<3

I got back from orientation Tuesday night and I was exhausted beyond belief! So much was packed into those two days- it went from 6:30am-11:00pm the first day. I had an awesome time but it was good to get back home for some rest. I met tons of cool people, signed up for my classes, got involved in some on campus clubs already and got some inside info on a few things as well.

One thing did disturb me however. On the first day, a speaker came in to talk to everyone about time management and how to stay on the right path and blahdy blahdy blah. We were supposed to be filling out a mock resume about ourselves in the future about what we'd be involved in, what kind of job we'd have and stuff like that. Well at this point during the day I was tired and being the stubborn girl that I am, I didn't fill mine out. Then we were instructed to swap our resumes with someone that we didn't know and have them make it look more appealing to a business.

I felt awkward giving this nice girl a blank piece of paper- it wasn't fair for  her to have filled hers out and then give it to a someone like me who didn't take the two seconds it would have taken to fill it out. Now that I think about it, the fact that I didn't fill it out probably made me look like I thought I was too good to fill it out. I did as I was told and made hers look more fancy: changed her from member of the MDB Colorgaurd to the head of the MDB Colorgaurd, from cashier manager at Price Mart to store manager at Price Mart and so on. When I got mine back, I looked at what she had written: President of Sorority, Head Cheerleader for the Bama Cheerleaders and Internship at Saks Fifth Avenue.

My mom and dad looked over and laughed. They had seen me almost throw a fit about not wanting to fill it out only to have it be filled out by a complete stranger who as they saw it "knew me so well". To be honest, I was a little offended. Ok, yeah, it does sound a little bit like me but I kept wondering how she knew that. Was it written on my face? Or was it just seeping through my Polo halter dress and my matching J.Crew flip flops, my side bangs and my pearl earrings? I wanted to rewind and actually fill it out. Maybe I would have put that I was on the cheerleading squad or a member of a sorority but I also would have put that I was a involved with the school newspaper: The Crimson and White and that I was involved with community service around campus and instead of an intern at Saks, it would be an intern at a local newspaper or magazine.

I can gaurantee that this girl thought I was a bitch. Probably because I fit the profile of every girl she probably hated in high school. I'm not going to lie- I can be a bitch (most of you know that). But I learned that you have to give people a little more of yourself then you might want to in order for them to see more than just your Polo halter dress. It probably doesn't help my case that I'm using clothes as a metaphor but you get what I'm saying.

In a nutshell, I had an awesome time at orientation and I'm excited to go and have people get to know the real me.

So much to update on. It's been quite a while!
Well to start off, we got home from the beach on Sunday night- a day later than planned because of the hurricanes and tornadoes. Not like one more night was going to kill us but we should have left on Saturday. I've come up with the conclusion that you should never listen to a man because you'll end up driving 8 hours in a hurricane. We had fun on the way home though: books on tape (jk those are not fun), Cracker Barrel (my fave!), and I even found REGULAR Fun Dip! It is truly a rare find these days.

The beach was great minus Red Tide. If you are not familiar with Red Tide, 1. you are lucky and 2. it is a plant that blooms in the ocean every four years or so that sucks all the oxygen out of the water and therefore shit loads of fish die, wash up on shore and smell really, really bad. We couldn't lay out for the first few days because of the smell and because the plant-ness is in the air it makes you cough. Not a great way to get a tan. But things were fine by the 4th so we layed out all day.

The 4th was amazing! It has always been on of my favorite holidays and I especially love celebrating it at the beach. People were setting off fireworks all up and down the beach. We broke into "Proud to Be an American" and everyone cheered... it was an intense moment. haha

Basically, Beth and I just layed out for a few hours, hit the pool to cool down, headed upstairs for snacks and Golden Girls, took showers (maybe lol), went out to dinner, and then hot tubbed. We made it a ritual to go down to the hot tub every night. We were out there late every night even though it closed at 9. It was so nice to sit in the hot tub in the dark and listen to the ocean and look at the stars. The sky was so clear we could see shooting stars!

Since I've been back I've been to the doctor and the dentist and done a little bit of shopping. I'm starting to mentally get things ready for school since doing it for real would be a little too scary at the moment. I leave for orientation on Sunday and I'm coming back Wednesday. It's only two days but we're adding in two driving days as well. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. Jessica is going at the same time. We probably won't be in the same group but I'm excited to meet new people!

I had Daddy's convertable for the day yesterday. I took it to get an oil change and then ran some errands. It was nice so of course I had the top down!

Lilly came over last night to "night swim" and chill. We took a road trip to 3 different Starbucks and ended up getting free coffee from the last one. Thanks, Chris! But really thanks to Lilly because he thought she was flirting with him... sorry dude she was just seeing if you were listening but whatever. Then we took our coffee to the park in the  Branches (one of my all time favorite places for obvious reasons). We sat on the swings and finished our coffee. Good times with Lil the Thrill.

Beth is in DC until Monday with Sammy seeing the Allman Brothers and Lilly and Kim and Molly have work during the day so I guess it's just me myself and I until Sunday. I can do that. I haven't had me time in a while. Maybe I'll hit up the Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale. Oooh, now I'm excited. I just have to wait for the maids to leave and then I can go. I've been assigned "dog watching duty" while the maids are here to make sure Happy doesn't get out. Yippee...

Newsflash: I miss Ben. But.. what else is new?

<3<3<3

Ok, so I'm procrastinating right now on packing. I have all my stuff laid out but I still have yet to put it in the suitcase... I can't decide if I want to bring anything else. I'm not dressing to impress, that's for sure. I have a plethora of T-shirts and cheerleading shorts lined up for my weekly outfits but we are going to be going out to dinner quite a few times. Between Beth MacKenzie, Fashionista for the 21st Century and myself, I think we'll be ok.

Ben came over tonight and was lazy with me. The fact that we watch way too much television is made apparent by our constant quoting of commercials. I'm really glad I got to spend time with him before Beach Week (as I'll now be referring to my vacay as). Hopefully he won't already be gone on his business trip when I get back and I'll be able to see him before he leaves for that and HH. Otherwise it will be 3 weeks before I see him which, if you do the math, is extremely too long.

I feel very, very accomplished today. I got up at a semi-decent hour (11:45 ish), did 3 loads of laundry, folded 3 loads of laundry, gave Happy a bath (because he decided that it would be a good idea to lay down in a puddle of Red Georgia Clay), actually used a hammer and nails to nail a covering over an opening in our deck that leads to the infamous puddle of Red Georgia Clay, made dinner, watched Golden Girls, took a shower, straightened my hair, packed some more annnnnd spent time with Ben. Phew... What a day. Props to myself.

I should stop babbling and get to packing. Leave me some love while I'm gone! I promise to return with some good stories!
<3<3<3

Beach countdown: 1 Day!
We're leaving disgustingly early on Thursday morning. Not too excited about seeing 5 a.m. but it does allow for beach time when we get there instead of arriving at night.
I love the beach at night. When everyone is gone and the only sound is the waves hitting the sand, the only lights are the light of the moon and stars and boats passing in the distance. I think I even like the beach better at night than I do during the day. Don't get me wrong, I love the sun but there is something about sitting on the beach at night that makes you feel like you don't have anywhere else to be.

Once I get back from the beach everything will start happening so fast. Orientation, a weekend in North Carolina to see the Grandparents, my 19th Birthday all seem to be happening consecutively when I get home. I'm excited for orientation but it's just a little reminder that school isn't that far away. I feel like I have so much left to do. I've pretty much gotten things for Rush taken care of but what about my room? Sheets? Blankets? Pillows? Storage stuff? It's a little overwhelming. I'm the kind of person who tries not to think about things until you're forced to. I have to admit it bothers me a lot when people, especially my parents, start talking about college details. I just want to scream at them sometimes... Please, just let me have my summer- my pseudo-oblivious summer where I can put things off until it's crunch time.

To be brutally honest: I'm terrified. Yes, I'm excited to go to college and be on my own but I am so scared of what is going to happen with certain relationships I have with people. I only went to North Springs for 3 years. I feel like I've just started these friendships and now it's time to go. I'm terrified of people losing interest, and being far away from the only people that can help to heal a bruised or broken heart. It's going to be tough, I know. But I have great friends going with me to Alabama. (That, obviously to me, includes Ben.) It keeps me sane knowing that we are friends too and that no matter what happens we will always have that.

I'm hoping to hang out with Ben tomorrow night before I leave for a week. I'm going to miss him. A whole week without seeing him? It's hard for me. But I will survive... I will be at the beach and there are always phone calls and text messages.

I should probably make an attempt to leave the house tomorrow. Today was spent idly on the couch. I was exhausted and not feeling too well. I really want to get to the bookstore so I can stock up for the beach. I am almost done with The Five People You Meet In Heaven and I'll need something to read. I stopped reading He's Just Not That Into You because the chapters stopped applying to me: He's just not that into you if he's not marrying you. Well... I am definitely nowhere near marriage so I'll just resort to it when need be. It stopped applying to me a few chapters ago: He's just not that into you if he's having sex with someone else. Duh- good but blatantly obvious information to know. Let's hope that won't apply to me... ever.

Dare I stay up another hour and wait for Degrassi? Beth and I are hoping that we will have Noggin in Tampa because Friday is the first episode of the new season! Lilly said she'd Tivo it for us so there's always that. I don't think I'm going to make it to 2...

Random Thought: I am glad that Sarah Dessen is getting her long awaited and much needed vacation but... I miss her entries. For those of you who don't know who that is, I am terribly sorry and she is my favorite author.

Last week we had a girls night which consisted of seeing Bewitched (very cute-- I love me some Will Ferrell), birthday cake- flavored ice cream, "Never Have I Ever" (which can be a fun but dangerous game) and Degrassi.

Lilly got me hooked. I have to admit that Degrassi is probably the most awesome show since Golden Girls and The O.C. The " Degrass- Every Episode Ever Marathon" was on and it made for a wonderful weekend. I practically didn't move for 6 hours on Sunday. I think I may have gotten up once to use the bathroom. It's that good. Now my days of instant gratification are over BUT that also means a new season and new episodes are here!!! I am tres excited. It is however scary to "watch myself with blonde hair" on TV.  http://www.the-n.com/ntv/shows/cast.php?id=67&cast_id=1. Paige Michalchuk... is ME!

Thursday night was O.C. night with Ben. So much for him refusing to watch it! He's hooked! He's so jealous of my Season One DVDs he can taste it. Juuuust kidding. He says season one "doesn't look that good". Oooooh but it is my honeybee... it is. After O.C. we watched Serendipity- a good but frustrating movie. It reminds me of Candace because if I remember correctly, I saw it with her and it was one of her favorites. I miss her... a lot. She's over in the "home land" as she likes to call it aka Hong Kong. I can't wait until she gets back so I can talk to her. It's been too long. But whose fault is that? Mine. I admit it.

I also hung out with Ben on Saturday. We watched Hutch. I enjoyed it! He's got some crazy skills for getting women.

I leave for the beach in 3 days! I'm excited!!! I'm going with Beth and her family again to Florida. It will be nice to have some new scenery. Lately my backyard has not been cutting it. I want sand and waves! I can't wait for the 4th. It's one of my favorite days. :o) Everyone should experience fireworks on the beach at least once in their life.

<3<3<3

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY
1. SarBear
2. Monster
3. Rah/Barry

 THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD
1. SexySarah772
2. LeftCoastEnvy772
3. DuckyLove77

THREE THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. Sense of humor
2. I'm fun (right?!)
3. I am very loving

THREE THINGS YOU HATE ABOUT YOURSELF
1. I suffer from Only Child Syndrome
2. Bad at saving money
3. I also suffer from Jessica Simpson Syndrome

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE
1. Irish
2. Scottish
3. Cherokee Indian

 THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU
1. Snakes, spiders, bees... nature in general I guess
2. The future
3. Small spaces

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS
1. Watch Golden Girls
2. Hang out with Beth
3. Talk to Benji

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW
1. Pink Abercrombie pj pants
2. Pink spaghetti strap top
3. Victoria's Secret GRANNY PANTIES!!! (heck yes!)

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS (or artists(at the moment))
1. Keith Urban, Josh Gracin, Sugarland
2. Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson
3. The Starting Line, Something Corporate, Dashboard Confessional (sorry had to think of 3 for each catagory!)

 THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS AT PRESENT
1. Making Memories of Us- Keith Urban
2. Stay With Me- Josh Gracin
3. Behind These Hazel Eyes- Kelly Clarkson

 THREE NEW THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
1. Exercise more
2. Make new friends
3. Be accepted into a sorority

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP (love is a given)
1. Communication
2. Sense of humor
3. Affection

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE. (Don't say which is which)
1. I love to read
2. My hair is it's natural color-- even the highlights are real
3. One of my favorite movies is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

THREE *PHYSICAL* THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU
1. Eyes
2. Smile
3. Body/how tall they are

THREE THINGS YOU JUST CAN'T DO
1. Eat mushrooms
2. Live without my friends and family
3. Be ignored

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES
1. Cheerleading, dance
2. Going to baseball games
3. Reading and writing

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW
1. Be with Ben and Beth
2. Go to the beach
3. Drink strawberry lemonade

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING

1. Journalist
2. Writer for a women's magazine (like Glamour, Cosmo)
3. Event planner at a Senior Citizen's Assisted Living Facility (not kidding)

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION
1. California
2. Paris and London
3. Hawaii

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE
1. Get married and have a family
2. Go to Europe
3. Be famous for something

THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO TAKE THIS QUIZ NOW OR *[ELSE]...
1. Candace even tho she probably won't
2. Sharon cuz she's interesting
3. Whoever else... lol Not that I don't care about yall... really

Just finished having dinner with the lovely Kimberly B. It was supposed to be a girls night out- meaning more than just the two of us, but everyone else was either busy or working or out with their boyfriend for their anniversary. Party poopers really. Despite the no-shows, I enjoyed it just being me and Kimmy. Houlihan's has THE best strawberry lemonade... SO good.

Beth and I took a road trip to the Mall of Georgia today. Did some hardcore people watching. Even met "us" in about 20 years: two older women wearing Lacoste and carrying Coach purses sitting outside of Starbucks a table over from us. They were also people watching. It's kind of weird to look over and catch a glimpse of what you might be like in 10 or 20 years. Let me just say that there are some strange people at the Mall of GA... 5 words: Lion King T-shirt... Disney Store... oh yeah and how could I forget the black girl with ONE crutch and... heels on. COME ON SHANEQUA!! If you're hurt so badly that you need a crutch, chances are you shouldn't be wearing heels. But that's just me. In a nut shell, it was an interesting trip!

With the Monopoly board, filled with hotels and boardwalk houses, still out on the kitchen table wit from the night before, we decided to eat breakfast outside. We got all the food out, the eggs, the sausage, the bacon, the muffins and the sky opens up for a torrential down pour. Of course it would! Why not? Wet bacon is not fun.

The sun came out today. I'm not used to seeing it anymore. But of course it stormed as Kim and I were on our way to dinner.

Don't you find it funny when you finally find the words, you get no response? Irony is quite a mother fucker.

Words of wisdom keeping me sane on this night of one-sided conversation: once you hit rock bottom, the only place left to go is up...