Spring Break 2009

It's almost time to get muy loco, because Spring Break is right around the corner! This year, we're Orlando-bound. Ash, Jamey and I will be making the long drive down next Wednesday night (returning Sunday). We're going to visit Ben and hopefully do some activities a little off the tourist-beaten path. So unfortunately for me---NO DISNEY! :( I'm a little bummed, but there wouldn't be enough time to do everything in that short of a trip anyway. Hopefully, the above picture might inspire a night of Mexican food and margaritas. There's mention of going to a firing range...but hopefully that precedes the margaritas.
Until then, I'll be stuck in my Accounting books. So, Spring Break, please hurry!

Snowy Sunday Weekend Update

So it could not have worked out more perfectly. We have been planning for months now to go to Snow Mountain, and our trip has been canceled two times due to bad weather. We were supposed to leave out Friday morning, but thunderstorms caused them to close everything down.
Saturday morning was plagued by tornado warnings and sirens. We went to Jim and Teresa's house around noon and worked on our taxes. Saturday night we reserved a table for ten at Outback to celebrate my birthday. I got lots of sweet cards and money! Teresa and Jim got me the coffee pot I wanted so badly, and Grams painted a beautiful picture of Lake Martin to hang over my mantle! After dinner we went to Bass Pro Shop. It is so neat in there! I could sit and watch the huge fish for hours! After that, we somehow ended up at WalMart--it's just what my family does! Ha! I bought Crystal a little something as a Congratulations gift. I was so excited about that. I love giving gifts--especially when they are unexpected!
We had heard rumors of snowfall for Sunday, but we were skeptical, as usual. My family and I had said if it did actually snow, we were going to have a snowman competition. My family is super competitive, so it's only fitting! Since we all live in different cities, we had to take pictures and email them. I guess the winning prize is just bragging rights, but I think Jim and Teresa's awesome Beach Babe Snowwoman won, hands down!
If you've seen our front yard, you know it's perfect for sliding/rolling down--so, sledding was a must! We used a plastic container and lids to slide down. It was soooo fun! So, it definitely made up for missing Snow Mountain!
Joey and Crystal came over, and we made chicken salad sandwiches and watched reruns of The Girls Next Door in our PJs.
So we had a fun weekend. Now, I'm looking forward to Wednesday, because yours truly will be turning the big 23! This will be a big year for me. I will be graduating and (hopefully) starting my career. I look forward to what's ahead of me!

Valentine's Day Weekend

Friday seemed to be a semi-productive day. I didn't get as much homework done as I would have liked, but I finished up my Cost project.
For dinner, Jamey and I had a change of pace. We got steamed shrimp from the seafood counter at Winn-Dixie. We made corn on the cob, red potatoes and salad to go with it. We topped it off with a glass of wine. It was fun to have a nice quiet dinner at home, just sitting and talking at the kitchen table.
We also decided to rent two movies-- Nights in Rodanthe & W.

So, Nights is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, which I read and LOVED! The movie is good, but still doesn't hold a candle to The Notebook. Which is odd to me, because the book of Nights in Rodanthe was better than the book version of The Notebook. Anyway...it's definitely a 'chick flick', but I cried even though it was the second time I've seen it. So, ladies, it's definitely worth a watch!

W.- I don't really care for George Bush........well-- let me just say that I don't like him based on the way he presents himself in the media. He often sounds ignorant and always at a loss for words. This is basically the whole point of the movie. I found myself interested more in the extras on the DVD than the actual movie itself. Perhaps if I had watched it during the day, it wouldn't have seemed so bad; however, it was late and I was fighting sleep to watch it. I guess I should have made an initial disclaimer stating this is an Oliver Stone film. That might give you an idea of the tone of the movie. Josh Brolin did an incredible job of acting the part....but the movie itself was just plain boring.....




So on Saturday, Valentine's Day, we slept late. It was so nice to not have to get up early to do school stuff! Pops and Grams came down around 10:30 to bring some furniture to us. After they left we were just lazy--we watched Family Feud, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune for about three hours. (I know we're lame.)
We finally managed to get showers and get ready to go out for dinner. We went to Longhorn, only to find there was a 2 HOUR wait. We decided we could have a fancy dinner at the cost of two wasted hours of a Saturday night, or we could just go with a not-so-romantic sit down option. We ended up at Durango's. We had burritos and talked for over an hour after we finished dinner. I think I enjoyed that more than I would have enjoyed a stuffy steakhouse dinner. Jamey wrote me the sweetest letter that made me cry. It is definitely frame-worthy.

We dropped back by Video Warehouse on our way home and picked up two more movies-- Zack and Miri & Hancock.

Zack and Miri- was crude, raunchy and somewhat gross; but definitely funny. I usually don't like Seth Rogen movies (like Knocked Up), but this one was pretty entertaining. This is definitely not a movie for mixed company.

Hancock- didn't really entertain me. It was something worth watching one time, but nothing I'd buy. To me, it was one of Will Smith's worst performances. The whole premise of the movie is far-fetched, and I knew that when we rented it. It was just kind of stupid and predictable, but I'd watch this over W. again any day.

A Birthday wishlist item!

Wow..and second post for today. So I've been asked "What do you want for your birthday?". I have really been in dire need of RedBull lately, but I realize it's not very healthy to consume them often. The next best alternative is coffee, which I love; however, I do not love making it and worrying about having to clean it (the pot). A perfect to solution to my problem is this....

http://www.target.com/Toastess-International-1-Cup-Coffeemaker-TFC326/dp/B000FQX150/qid=1234331605/ref=br_1_5/176-5914762-8937620?ie=UTF8&node=13385421&frombrowse=1&index=tgt-mf-mv&rank=price&rh=&page=1

All in a day's work....

So I had my Marketing exam this morning. I studied a ton for that stupid thing. I thought I was pretty prepared, but let me tell you....that thing was ridiculous. It asked some of the most detailed questions about random, seemingly unimportant, topics. Then it would ask simple generic easy questions about some of the more major topics. I was really pissed when I left that test..to say the least. Dr. Lett just posted grades, and I scored an 80. I'm not complaining about making an 80. I'm complaining about what it took to make that 80. RIDICULOUS!
On better terms--I got back my score for my Finance test, and I managed to pull a 92 on it! I was super pumped about it. I literally couldn't stop smiling. I was worried about it. It was 25 questions and accounts for about 30% of my grade. This leaves me some room to wiggle later in the semester.
Well I've taken an exam, gone to 2 other classes, completed a load of laundry, read some Cost/ABC stuff and worked on our ABC project that's due Monday. I'm about to go to bed because I have to be at school early to work on the project with Natasia (my partner).
I really want to hurry up and get this project completed so I can breathe. I hate having assignments that loom over my head for days. Once I turn it in, I can enjoy my weekend!

Oh yeah-- I also managed to hit up the thrift store on my way home. I snagged a couple of new Auburn t-shirts. I like going and finding oversized (new) tshirts because they are perfect for sleeping/studying/lounging. So, overall I have been pretty darn productive. It makes me really tired, though.
Goodnight!

The end is drawing near....

So, I wanted to take a few minutes away from my being a slave to my textbooks to post an update. I haven't been on here in a while because I have been busy with school. This is, by far, the busiest semester for me yet. I can't seem to stay on top of things. For instance, today I started studying around 3:00. It's now 10:00, and I am nowhere near completion. I have a quiz tomorrow in Cost Accounting. I have an assignment due tomorrow online for my Information Systems Mngt course, for which I must first read two chapters. I have a major Marketing exam on Tuesday morning, which is what I am currently studying. .....Oh, and I also have an assignment due on Wednesday that must be done with a partner. Neither of us has really gotten a start on it. So.....
I feel like I'm being tugged at both ends. I don't really know how to prioritize at this point. I hate to put down my Marketing book to study for anything else because this test is worth 33% of my grade. I can drop my lowest Accounting quiz, but who's to say this situation won't come up again. I need to do well on it.
My online MIS assignment is due by 9am on Tuesday morning....I might can convince the hubby to do it for me, although I'm sure he'll protest against it.
I just downed a RedBull, so maybe I'll be good for another 2 hours.

I'm sure nobody is reading this boring post at this point, but if you are, thanks for sticking with it.

I was going to read and study more yesterday, but I've done nothing but study for days on end. So, Jamey and I went to Mikata with 'Jim and T'. We thoroughly enjoy spending time with them. They always make us laugh. The came over and watched 'Righteous Kill', too. If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a watch. After Jim and T left, Jamey and I stayed up to watch 'Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'.
If you like Juno, you'd probably enjoy this one. We definitely enjoyed it!! I guess I shouldn't have stayed up so late, but it was fun to just enjoy my Saturday night.

Well, I guess I've killed too much time on this already, so I'll get back to my neverending chore!
-Raylan-

P.S. I filled out my graduation paperwork on Thursday. So everything should be set for December. The end is near!! (haha) FINALLY....

Move over, Beethoven!

So I've always wanted to learn to play the piano. I started playing flute in the band in 7th grade and played until graduation. In the past few months I have realized how much I miss being "musical". It's a creative outlet that is almost therapeutic. Granted, it is frustrating to learn a new instrument, but it makes it easier when you have someone to teach you. Since I'm not in school anymore, and since I don't have money for piano lessons, I have decided to resort to a new method of learning. I consulted YouTube for videos on 'How to Play Piano'. I found this guy (user name Lypur) that, although annoying, is really helpful. I am watching refresher videos on how to read music, time signatures, note values, etc. I haven't looked at this stuff in over 5 years, but it's kind of like riding a bike.
Last night, I how to move my hand up and down the keys to play different scales. So, I may not get very far in my endeavor, but I hope I stick with it.

:)

Happy Birthday, Jimbo!
Love you!!

Shut Up, Steve!

Yesterday afternoon I decided I wanted a snack. I open the pantry door and scan my options. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice something on the side of my Special K cracker box. Below the nutrition facts, neatly written in a black sharpie...the box said, "Shut up, Steve". Obviously this was the work of my husband, but I still got a good laugh out of it. What really made me laugh was the fact that there was a box of Cheerios sitting right beside it...so why in the heck did he choose the crackers?
(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's from the new Cheerios commercial.)

By Request...

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes (2 large ones)
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
48 square wonton wrappers
2 large egg whites, beaten until foamy
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) Butter
1 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. thyme

Preparation
-Pierce potatoes w/ fork and cook in microwave until soft throughout. Cool Slightly. Cut in half scoop 2 packed cups into mixing bowl. Mix in brown sugar and nutmeg. Season w/ salt and pepper.
-Line large baking sheet w/ plastic wrap. Place a wonton wrapper on work surface. Brush egg white onto wrapper.
-Place 1 tbsp. filling into wrapper and top w/ another wrapper. Press edges together to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat using all wrappers.
-For sauce: Melt butter over medium heat. Cook until butter begins to brown, about 4 min. Remove from heat. Mix in vinegar and thyme.
-In batches, boil ravioli for about 3 min. With slotted spoon, transfer raviolis into butter sauce. Coat w/ sauce completely. Repeat until all batches are coated.
-Serve hot!