A Guest Post: Great Book, Better Memory.

I would like to introduce my first ever guest blogger, Brian. Although Brian does not currently have a blog, I have a feeling he will be a frequent guest on mine. Enjoy!

Brian & Brie

                                                    

As I get older I seem to have more and more memories attached to books, music and movies that were a part of my life when certain events took place.  For example, I had just seen The Wrestler the week my Border Collie Charlie had a seizure and passed away when we were at the park.  Since that day, Bruce Springsteen’s song The Wrestler from the movie is forever attached to that memory.  Whenever I hear that song I think of Charlie.  

Luckily not all of these memories are as sad as Charlie’s.

My wife Brie and I had met in college and soon after graduation moved to California to start out lives together.  We had lived there for just over a year before deciding to move to Florida in order to plan our wedding with her family who live there.  We would need to drive our car cross country to make the trip.  This meant 3 days in a cramped 2002 Lincoln LS for two not quite newlyweds.  Neither of us had ever listened to a book on tape, so we thought now would be a good time to start.  It was 2007, and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls had been out for a couple of years.  Brie was dying to read it, I of course was not.  And like most things I soon found out, my better half was right.

This is not a review of the book, but let me just say that it is one of best books I have ever read or listened to.  I recommend it to every person I meet.  That being said, the smile I get every time I talk about the book is not from Jeannette’s incredible story.  The smile comes from thinking of the journey Brie and I were starting out on.  That trip was the beginning of the rest of our life. It would lead to our Marriage, our moving to current home and many more things along the way. Most of where we are today started on that trip.  Although our time together has been short, it has been exciting and full of love.  And I always think back to that trip from California to Florida, and inevitably to The Glass Castle, with nothing but a smile.

Miscellany Mondays v2

Oh hey, its Monday. So click the button above and head over to lowercase letters. It's awesome, I promise you.

-It's raining like woah but I'm excited for class tonight, yes that's right, 100% excited to be back in class. I love EKG.

-Boyfriend and I had a great weekend! We saw Just Go With It, went to the airsoft store to scope out some airsoft guns and just enjoyed the warm sunshine yesterday!

-I came into work late today because my neighborhood was a sheet of ice, I live on top of a huge hill. But, I still love my 'hood, especially in the summer.

-I'm so ready for spring, I cannot believe tomorrow is March 1.

-I'm excited to get some a new video game, called Homefront.

-I'm currently in the mood for iHop?!

-And Bff Brian's guest post is coming up next. Are you excited? I am. =)

ABC Post.

Cait over at Fierce, Fit & Fabulous is celebrating her one month blogger anniversary today. So head on over and check out her blog, you won't be dissapointed! She also did the ABC post, which I'm pretty excited about doing as well. It's a great way to get to know you guys!

A: Age: 24

B: Bed size: Queen

C: Chore You Hate: I hate vaccuming. I don't know why, I just really do.

D: Dogs: I don't have one but boyfriend does. He's a Boston Terrier named Mulligan.

Riding in the car

E: Essential Start to Your Day: My morning news, I have to watch the Today Show.

F: Favorite Color: Red & Blue.

G: Gold or Silver: Silver-I just don't really like gold.

H: Height: 5'2-I'm short.

I: Instruments You Play: Nothing right now, I used to play the clarinet in elementary school.

J: Job Title: Secretary.

K: Kids: None at the moment; someday soon I hope! (i just noticed i put someday soon, i meant just someday, not soon, im really not ready. i promise you.)

L: Live: Bristol, CT (home of ESPN)

M: Mom's Name: Shirley

N: Nicknames: Nick

O: Overnight Hospital Stays: None (knock on wood it never happens; except when I'm giving birth of course).

P: Pet Peeve: When people tailgate me.

Q: Quote From A Movie: "I love lamp"

R: Righty or Lefty: Righty

S: Siblings: Younger brother Kevin (21)

T: Time you wake up: 715 weekdays; 1000-1100 weekends.

U: Underwear: I wear them! hahaha.

V: Vegetables You Dislike: Ummmm...I have no clue.

W: What Makes You Run Late: When I'm watching a really good segment on the Today Show, haha.

X: X-Rays You've Had: Just at the dentist.

Y: Yummy Food You Make: Meatloaf, Brownies, Baked Ziti. (I'd like to think it's yummy, haha).

Z: Zoo Animal Favorite: Llama (okay so its in the petting zoo, close enough)

Now I want to hear from YOU!

Q: Quote From A Movie:

J: Job Title:

D: Dogs:

Guest For Monday!

On Monday I will have my first guest poster ever. Please convince him/her to come to the dark side, there are plenty of cookies and well blogging is awesome. So stay tuned Monday, cause you'll be meeting them!

It May Be Raining, But It's NOT Ruining My Spirits.

This girl, right here, yes me, is so unbelievably happy. Why you may ask? I got my car back yesterday. After 1 mnth and 3 weeks I finally have the love of my life back. It's pouring cats and dogs but I am still in a very chipper mood, which gets passed to boyfriend. What a lucky man. And I kind of go on a blab fest when I'm really relaxed/calm, poor BFF Brian, we were playing Xbox and I'm talking his ear off, at least we had fun though.



The Key to My Heart

 Besides that, nothing spectacular happening this weekend. Boyfriend and I are going to the Airsoft place after work. Then he has to work till 5 tomorrow (boo 6 day work weeks!) so I'll probably hit up the mall or something. Then boyfriend and I have a date night; going to Olive Garden and then to the movies to finally see my pick 'Just Go With It.'

Unless you live under a rock, or just have major disdane for either of these actors, you know this movie stars Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. I am a HUGE Adam Sandler fan. Plus, Jennifer Aniston is amazingly funny sometimes and Brooklyn Decker (that bikini clad lady in the background there) is a cutie. (haha) Plus, it stars Nick Swardson. I seriously have the BIGGEST crush on that man ever, he's a comedian and a pretty funny one and oh so sexy. So I am super duper excited for the movie and date night with boyfriend.

As of right now we don't have any plans for Sunday, it's supposed to snow 1-3 inches, so maybe we'll just bum around watching more Californacation (i have an odd addiction to that show) and maybe we'll finally watch Avatar. Call me weird, but I really have no interest in that movie. Maybe because it's 3 hrs long and this chick right here has the attention span of a .... what was I saying again? hahah.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Awkward and Awesome Thursday (via The Daybook)

Sydney over at The Daybook is the creator of Awkward and Awesome Thursdays. How does it work? Head on over to her blog (she has amazing amazing fashion taste, like amazing) and pick up her button and add your blog to her list. Then, blog about you're awkward and awesome week. Simple enough right?

Awkward

• finding olive oil in the bathroom at boyfriends house last night. im not even sure what his mom is using that for. i really hope shes not drinking it straight. (she has sleep issues, once she put broccoli in her purse)
• the fact that i sat in the bathroom thinking about this post. TMI, i'm not ashamed though.
• the fact i just told my online friend that i miss his face. ive never even met him, but thats just what i say when i miss someone.
• when my coworker, whos really the sweetest ever tells me that i have beautiful hair. it wouldnt be so awkward if he wasn't over 40.

Awesome

• that it's going to rain tomorrow instead of snow. i'm so over the snow. i don't even mind the rain.
• that i have class monday. yes, im excited. having it off last monday for presidents day was kinda sad. i love love learning about EKG.
• that my BFF Brian has a project going on that I am so excited and proud about. (see beaming bff!that would be me!)
• that i'm not AS poor as i thought i was, which means i can hopefully continue with my little project soon. and as soon as i do, then i can let you know what i've been up too.
• i'm going to h2o this year, no, ifs ands or buts about it. its just too good of a time. and i'm going with some amazing people, i hope!
• netflix. the end.

Reading Wednesday v.2

*Disclaimer: I have purchased all the books that I am reviewing. None of these books were given to me to review by any company. I just want to let people know what I'm reading so that maybe they will want to read these books as well.*

Welcome to the second installment of Reading Wednesday. This week, I read 'Matched' by Ally Condie. It is the first book in the three part series. Let's just say I cannot wait for the next two parts to come out!

Matched is the story of a girl named Cassia. She lives in the future, in a society where the rules are strick and technology is at a mininum. She has just turned seventeen, so it is time for her to be matched. The book tells the story of a girl who's torn between what is right and what is right for her. She defies a society and goes for what her heart is telling her to do.

I absolutely love this book! The story is great and throughout the whole book, the author keeps your mind going. That is what I look for in a book. I want to be trapped inside the story, imagine the landscape, the people, etc. I am so excited for Crossed, the next book in the series due out in November. This is def a must read!

This book was recommened to me by my bff Brian. We have a little mini book club. I will probably mention him on these posts often; because he knows the style of story I enjoy.

Charlie's Story.

I'm not sure if I told this story on my old blog, but if I did, old readers I'm sorry. =P

Once upon a time, I was driving a silver Pontiac Sunfire. I was coming back from lunch in the town I work in, on the busiest street when this lady in front of me suddenly slammed on her brakes. I ended up rearending her. I took the Pontiac to the Progressive Claims Center where they deemed him totalled. I was issued a check and suddenly I found myself on the search for a 2008 Vw Rabbit. My parents and I went to a bunch of dealerships but the price wasn't just right.

Finally, on our last stop 45 mins away from home, we found the winning price! Many of my friends referred me to this older guy who no longer cared about getting commission, so he was able to give us a great price. I had already test driven a Rabbit many months before. I asked what colors he had left and he told white and red. I decided on the red one, so we headed out to this field about a mile away where they kept extra cars.

I got out and knew that he would be mine. There he sat, missing a hubcap, shining bright red. I don't remember much, except that the salesman said his steel was amazing thick and I was excited that I had picked a safe a car all by myself. (my mom reads up on safety of cars like woah).

About two weeks, I was driving my baby home. I decided to name him Charlie after my friends Miniature Daschaund Charlie, who is low to the ground and slow, two things commonly associated with Vws. (hahah). Charlie and I had been accident free for about 2 1/2 years, literally the most amount time without an accident for me. My friends always made fun of me that I drove him like a grandma, but I didn't care, this was a big investment in my opinion.

On the evening of January 6, 2010 I was making a left hand turn into Dunkin Donuts. It's a two lane street that I had to cross, and the lady in the first lane was nice enough to let me by, I slowly creeped forward to check the second lane and it was clear. As soon as I began to cross it, this guy (or maybe girl, idk) came speeding down the lane, and didn't even try and stop! He(she) hit me on the passenger side with such force I'm surprised no one was hurt. He(she) backed up and promptly drove a way. Many people saw the make and model and color but no one was able to get his (her) license plate. I entered the parking lot & looked at my baby. His whole passenger side door was crushed in.


My cousin Kelly whom was with me and sitting on the passenger side was thankfully okay, she just had minor whiplash. Everyone was so surprised that she wasn't hurt. I believe she didn't get hurt because we were talking and she was facing more towards me then the door. I was given a warning for improper turns. They still have not caught the guy to this day and I don't believe they ever will.

I drove my baby to boyfriends house, which was literally a one minute drive away. He brought my cousin home and then later that night I drove Charlie home to my actual house. The following day he was towed to the body shop and they began work on him. I actually brought it to the body shop that boyfriend used to work at before they laid off. They've always done great work..

Fast forward to today. It has been 1 mnth & 3 wks since I've last seen my love. Unfortunately, we've had to wait for parts, for this and that. Frankly, I am pretty sick of it. I was originally supposed to get my baby back at the end of last month. But every week its been pushed back and back. Today I am supposed to get him back, but that's if everything goes smoothly. If it's delayed another couple of days, I might have to go to the Better Business Bureau. They're doing a great job I'm sure and paying for my rental, but this long hold up is kinda fishy. I think Charlie probably sat there about 2 weeks before they even started on him. Who knows. I'm just praying he comes home today. =)

Miscellany Monday

Oh hey, its Monday. And I have luckily found a new series to do. So click the button above and head over to lowercase letters. It's awesome, I promise you.

(1)Things haven't been going quite THAT well. I actually am sad I don't have class tonight because it's President's Day. I don't have my car back yet; because they need an airbag plug and it HAD to be ordered. Maybe Wednesday? Do I even own my car anymore?

(2)I really wish I had enough money to get this blog a pretty new design. I love the layout right now, but I wish I knew more about HTML to make my own buttons and have cute font.

(3)Boyfriend has this new obsession with airsoft, so much so he's trying to join a team that practices in the next town over. Usually I am completely on board with doing his guy things but this, well this I'm not. My friend Brian thinks that maybe subconsciously I am upset that Dan isn't making me number one and is pretty much going to ditch me every Sunday for 95% of his only day off. We'll see what happens there.

(4)I'm ready for spring. So freakin ready! haha.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday (via The Daybook)

Sydney over at The Daybook is the creator of Awkward and Awesome Thursdays. How does it work? Head on over to her blog (she has amazing amazing fashion taste, like amazing) and pick up her button and add your blog to her list. Then, blog about you're awkward and awesome week. Simple enough right? Don't forget to grab her button. It's there on the left yo.

Awkward

• getting scared to death yesterday by one of the project manager's. his name is steve, he's a year younger than me.(his dad is a project manager here as well) his work attire is a polo & khakis.apparently yesterday he forgot the tickets to the UCONN bball game he was going to so he came into work to get them and he had ripped jeans and a sideways hat on & it just scared the crap outta me.
• when i get to my boyfriends and his best friend's kinda sorta girlfriends' car is parked in the garage. i know what you're thinking, or maybe you're not...maybe? i don't know. he still lives with his mom. when she's gone his bff comes and stays till his mom gets back. well apparently his bff's g/f amanda, the heat was out at her house on Thursday. because of the snow, boyfriend told her she could park in the gargage because it was impossible to try and have all our cars in the driveway. he told her she could do that that one day. but she's been doing it ever since. not rude or anything. (she didnt actually stay the whole time, she just thought when taking her bf's truck out that it was okay to park in the garage.)
• when the insurance companies do three way calls with me. um, all i can tell is that one of our project manager's will give you a call. i always feel like bad. but we bascially just pass messages along to the guys.

Awesome

• finally getting my car back. =) i'll have to save that for the next post. the basic story is a guy slammed into my passenger side about a month and a half ago. ='( because Charlie (my cars name) is a VW, it's taken forever for his parts to come in but tomorrow we will finally be reunited!
• that it's Thursday. yay! I need some serious sleep this weekend, especially because I feel a cold coming on.
• that it's going to be 55 today & 60 tomorrow. I have never been so excited in my entire life for spring like weather. this winter has been brutal.
• that my little project is coming along nicely. probably nicely enough that I will make a post about it. i'm excited to have found a hobby that I'm actually decent at.

Giveaway by Chapters of Our Life.

Annie over at Chapters of Our Life is hosting her very first giveaway! She is giving away some of her favorite stuff that she has been collecting for her lovely blog readers. She is one of the newest blogs I'm following and reading about her family is such a delight!

She has up for grabs, a pen and noteblock set, a Vera Bradley coin purse and photo album, a Tyler candle, thank you cards from Hallmark and valentine chocolate covered sunflower seeds, a matching earring, necklace and ring set and a mini emergency kit for girls!

To enter, follow her blog, follow her on Twitter and either tweet about the giveaway or write a post about it. Then leave her some loving!

Reading Wednesday v.1

*Disclaimer: I have purchased all the books that I am reviewing. None of these books were given to me to review by any company. I just want to let people know what I'm reading so that maybe they will want to read these books as well.*

I've decided to start a new series on my blog called Reading Wednesdays! Every Wednesday I'm going to review a book that I have read in the past week or am currently reading. Want to participate? Grab the button over there in my sidebar and then link back to me so I can share with everyone what you're reading as well! (think of it as a mini book club of sorts!)

I should start by saying that I have a Nook. Oh I love thee. I only have the very basic, wi-fi, non color edition but that is enough for me. I took about two weeks to decide whether I wanted the Nook or Kindle and decided to go with the Nook because I've read a lot of reviews on how the Kindle has a tendency to freeze and never turn back on. Of course, Amazon allows you to return it for a new one, but many customers are complaining that they have had to return a couple times now, so I decided on the Nook.

I recently was browsing the Young Adult section in the bookstore on the Nook and came across "Falling Fast." The Nook allows you to preview the first 20 pages of the book, so I downloaded the sample and thought it was great.

The story is about a young woman who works for a feminist magazine, named Alexa. Alexa's boss decides that she is perfect to expose a tv reality show called "Falling For Mr. Right." Throughout her journey, Alexa finds out not all the women on the reality show are bimbos, and that Mr.Right may just be Mr. Perfect for her.



While the beginning of the book was great, towards the end it seemed the author sped through it. I really enjoyed the characters as they were well written. If you're looking for a quick read and a sappy story I highly recommend this.

Weekend Recap & Love Day.

This weekend was a pretty quiet one since Dan had to work his butt off. It's pretty much become the norm but that's quite alright with me. It means being lazy and watching tv all night; which isn't a horrible thing. =)

Saturday night we ended up going to Ninety-Nine for our Valentine's Day dinner and then went to the grocery store to get some stuff to make for breakfast the next morning since we were having a sleepover at his house.

Sunday morning we woke up and made some eggs and French Toast and then it was time for some xbox with my bff Brian who lives in Arlington, VA. Around 1pm, we left for my Valentine's Day present to him, tickets to Monster Jam!

It was pretty freakin cool I must say. I love the sound of the trucks as well as seeing the entire frame just twist when they were running over the cars. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed only because the venue was so small. It was at the XL Center where the AHL Hockey Team, the CT Whales play as well as the UCONN basketball program plays. So they couldn't do any really big things. But the freestyle competition was pretty cool!

After that it was off to spend my Valentine's Day present. While I was venturing around Blue Back Square waiting to meet my first bloggy friend in person, Jan from Struck By Serendipity (shes such a sweetie, and I had a great time!), I found this wonderful jewelry store called Charming Charlie.

Everything in the store is beautiful and all arranged by color. The best part is their prices are very reasonable, everything is between $4.00-$25.00. So I was in heaven when I finally got to buy some stuff. I bought these cute cubic zirconia rounded earrings, this heart necklace that I have to unfortunately return because it's too small and chokes me (haha), and this pearl bracelet with adorable hearts hanging off. I def. need to go back and buy a ring or two, because I'll admit I love big gaudy rings.



(i didn't take this pic)

After that, we headed home to relax for the night. I ended up falling asleep while trying to watch Family Guy and woke up around 11, just in time to head back home for this week to start.

We didn't do anything last night, since we celebrated this past weekend and plus I had class last night. We got to place leads on mannequin. I can now hook you up to an EKG machine, but we haven't learned how to actually work it yet. I hoping we do soon! So far I absolutely love the class and I'm actually bummed we don't have class next week due to President's Day, but that also means more time to study for the quiz on Chapters 1 & 2.

And it means I can still subject Dan to more stickys on his body. That's how the leads are connected. It's these tiny stickys with a tab at the bottom and it has gel based solution on the back to help the EKG machine read the transmissions. So Dan is like my mannequin. He's not a fan of it though, but maybe he'll become use it the more I do it. =)

The Boyfriend.

This is boyfriend. His name is Dan. He is 26 years young. He currently works as an area manager for Subway. He absolutely loves his job.


He was kinda just thrown into it. He went to school and worked as an Auto Body Tech. He thought he loved the job, but more and more he got stressed out about it. Then, they laid him off due to it being so slow. He couldn't find a job for the longest time, till his best friend suggested he work for Subway.


First, he worked as an employee, than moved up to manager and finally he is at area manager. He bascially does everything and anything. His job is tough and it doesn't just stop at work. Usually at least once a night, every night, someone calls him needing something.  I personally could never ever do his job, I like to leave my work at work.


Currently he lives with his mom. He is trying to save up enough to move out (possibly with me, but I'm pretty broke). He has the cutest pup named Mulligan. Mulligan is my little BFF. He follows me everywhere. He is 6, almost 7 and full bred Boston Terrier.

Here is he with his wittle bowtie on, haha

Dan and I met when I was a senior in high school. My best friend at the time introduced me to him via her coworker, who was his best friend. I thought he was so freakin cute. He had to be mine. We hung out for a while, but at point he told me that he wanted to be friends because he had an interest in someone else. My heart was sad.

A year later though he found me on Myspace and we reconnected. The girl he had interest in just dumped him so we got to hang out. =) 6 months later we were unofficially, officially together. I won't lie, we have had our hard times in life. We've broken up a couple of times, but always have gone back to each other.

We are currently saving money to move out, well he is. I need a better job first. I'm not sure where the road will take us, but hopefully after we move in everything will fall nicely into place. I'm not getting any younger, hahah.

What I Learned In Class v1.

This is my lovely EKG book. I was a little overwhelmed when I first received it, reading the first chapter there were so many keywords. I love keywords though. I know, I'm weird. For some reason it's easier for me to learn with keywords.


I got into class about five minutes before it started and my teacher introduced himself. He was an older man, probably in early 50's, maybe mid 50's. He asked me some questions about why I was there and what I do now. I set up my stuff and looked around the room. There were at the time three other women in the classroom and I realized I was the youngest one probably by about 15-20 years. We were waiting on two other people, only one showed up and she was probably around the same age as the other ladies.


Finally the class began. Our teacher was all sorts of jumbled because he pretty much got thrown into it last minute because the teacher we were supposed to have had an emergency. The first chapter and a half we learned everything about the inside and outside of the heart. I can tell you that I can officially name all parts of the heart and what they do. I'm pretty proud. I just wished we could doodle hearts instead of making them look all fancy, hahaha.


We also got a little bit into the world of EKG. We learned about P, QRS & T waves. We also learned how to count out between the waves, which I have no idea why we have to do that. I guess I'll learn that next week though.


I'm not gonna lie, its a lot for my brain to take in since our class only meets Monday for 3 1/2 hrs. But, its exciting. I mostly done with my homework, just a page or two left on the worksheets from the chapter. I can't wait to actually use the EKG machine.

Welcome to the New Me!

Hi there! *waves* 

My cousin's 21st birthday, Feb 09.

My name is Nickie. I'm 24 years old. I'm from Bristol, CT, a city in central Connecticut. I have been blogging for about three years now. I started out on Blogspot and then moved to Wordpress and now am finally back on Blogspot. I will not be moving any of my posts from Wordpress to here though because I want to start completely fresh. A lot of my older posts were about drama/and crappy life situations. I want to steer away from that and make this blog a lot more positive. I also want to start sponsoring as well as doing reviews. I just have to set myself up for all of that first.


My life is going through some huge changes right now. Tonight, I will be starting my EKG Technician class at the local community college. I am really excited. It's a 15 week program designed so that I when I'm done, I can
take the test, hopefully pass and then find a job. Unfortunately, they do not help with job placement.


If I can't find a job doing that (the demand is pretty low for that specific course) then I will take Phlembotomy (drawing blood), and see if I can get a cross-trained job in that. If I don't come across anything in that, I will go for CNA, which will ultimately give me a certification in Patient Care.


A few more things about me:

• I have a boyfriend. In my last blog I used a "code name" for him, but I've decided it doesn't really matter if I use his real name anymore. It's Dan. We have been together for a little over five years and are hopefully getting our first place together. It will most likely be a condo. 
• I drive a 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit. I was introduced to the "scene" when I was 16. As of now though, I have little interest for that. I rarely go to any shows and my car modification plans have taken a back seat, probably forever. My car is perfect the way it is. 
• I love xbox. I own/play a xbox. Most nights you can find me on Call of Duty: Black Ops with my friends. 
• I currently work in an office. My company does remediation for water damage, puffbacks, fires, etc. I am in charge of estimates for the insurance companies. It's not bad, but not something I want to do forever. I'm more hands on/moving around/busy kinda person.
• My blog's title represents my obsession with the South. I am seriously, seriously obsessed with it. I def. believe that I have a southern heart and am stuck in the wrong place. I love the warmth and the friendliness of the South. I have def. been leaning more towards moving to Alabama. I just love the countryness (i know its not a word) of it all. 
• I hate the winter. I am absolutely a summer girl, early fall places a close second, followed by late spring.
• I was born in May on a Sunday. Sundays are my favorite day. They just seem so peaceful & easy going, I can't really explain it.
• I love writing and reading. I own a Nook and have three books to read/finish. 
• I have a DSLR camera. I really don't know how to work it to well but I hope to learn more about it when I was time too.
• Country music is my new love. I love how every song is a story. It makes me envision the South, the big empty fields, the beautiful churches.
• I like a lot of random things. I love driving around. I have a passion for the little things in life.

So, welcome to my blog. Feel free to look around and ask me anything you may want too. I will be tweaking it every now and then. Let me know what you would like to see! And hello old followers from my old blog! Thanks for making the switch over.