No...

This is not my house, but I wish it was. My friend, Sarah, is selling her house in Weatherford. I LOVE everything about it, including the HUGE kitchen. Check it out!

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I'm finally getting to see Donny this weekend. Tonight I'm going to his game, tomorrow I'm going to his Junior High tournament and to a Tarleton basketball game. Think that's enough basketball for one weekend?

Bummed

Donny was supposed to come visit today after I got off at Macy's. We were going to hang out tonight and we were excited about going to Brayden's baptism tomorrow. But...his "Check Airbag" light came on on his truck. He called a Chevy dealership and while they said it is highly unlikely that his airbag will deploy, there is still a chance. They also told him the more that he drives his truck, the riskier it gets.

We decided that we weren't willing to take that risk, so I'll have to wait to see him until next weekend - Just another day in the life of a long distance relationship!

Macy's

As most of you are aware, I have been working at Macy's since August. I began the Dave Ramsey program and decided that I would get a 2nd job to help speed up the process of getting out of debt.

5 months later, I have been able to pay off 4 significant debts, but have had NO time to myself. I've worked 15 hour days, missed many of Donny's basketball games, and have neglected to keep my apartment as clean as I'd like. A lot of changes have also taken place at my full-time job. In October, our career-change recruiter left unexpectedly. As a result, I took over her duties. Fortunately, because of my willingness to do so, I have been adequately compensated, therefore allowing me to quit my job at Macy's. I put in my two weeks notice last night.

I am excited that I will once again experience what it's like to go home and do nothing. I'm more excited that I will get to see Donny on a regular basis. Until now, we've had to work our schedule around Macy's. Bless his heart, he's been so understanding throughout these last 5 months. I am so thankful to have him in my life!

Weekend in a Nut Shell

9:00 Saturday Morning

-Called AAA to arrange car to be towed to AAA approved mechanic.

-Tow truck arrives and off we go.

9:30 Saturday Morning

-Arrive at said mechanic.

-Mechanic is very nice and remembers my name from our phone conversation.

-Two points for him.

10:30 Saturday Morning

-Evil Mechanic (formerly known as Mechanic) tells me my alternator is shot and it's going to cost $600 to replace it.

-Calls ensue to various people verifying that it is RIDICULOUS to be charged $600 for an alternator.

-EM (formerly known as Evil Mechanic) says, "Oh...you have AAA? It's going to be $450 in that case."

-Inform EM I will NOT be paying anything over $200 for an alternator.

-EM becomes defensive and says it's impossible to find an alternator for a 2 year old car on a Saturday.

-Not true!!

-Calls to AutoZone and O'Reilly confirm alternators cost $130 and require an hour's worth of labor at most ($70).

-Unless I'm mistaken, $130 + $70 = $200

11:00 Saturday Morning

-Mom and Mario begin calling their friends.

-Friend who owns alternator shop agrees to check the alternator and promises to only charge $35 worth of labor.

-Inform EM I will be towing my car BACK to my apt.

-Sit at home contemplating my options for the rest of the day.

5:00 Sunday Afternoon

-4th Driver from Imperial Towing arrives to pick up car.

-Ride with driver and friend to Cleburne.

-Get invited to 4th of July party and BBQ by driver.

-Drop Car off at shop.

-Watch Cowboys lose.

11:00 Monday Morning

-Shop calls.

-Alternator is fine.

-Battery is not.

-Problem solved.

11:30 Monday Morning

-Complaint is made to AAA about EM.

-Account is credited two roadside assistances.

-AAA is great.

-Imperial Towing is great.

-City Garage and EM are not.

Amazing...

My roommate won a free wedding yesterday...a FREE wedding. I am so excited for her!

More to come on my car. It's too long to write right now and I'm on hold with AAA.

Car Issues and Awesome Friends!

For a couple of months now, my car has been idling pretty hard, to the point where I feel like it's going to die. Well...twice in a period of two weeks, it did die - once at a stop sign and once as I was turning using a median. When my dad heard this, he of course wanted me to get it fixed ASAP. We took my car to Pep Boys on Christmas Eve so that they could do a diagnostic, hoping that it was only the battery that needed to be replaced. Sure enough it was the battery, not the alternator. The man at Pep Boys proceeded to tell me that it was going to cost $146 to replace my battery. Why, you ask? Because I have a car that requires you to remove the tire in order to replace the battery. What in the world were they thinking when designing this car?? This is also the car that requires you to unscrew the fender just to replace the headlight. Now I know at least two more things to look for when purchasing a new vehicle! My dad and I decided that $146 seemed a little (okay, a lot) high to charge for a battery replacement so we went to Wal-Mart which was right across the street. They replaced my battery for $37. I know three things as a result of this incident - 1) I will NOT be returning to Pep Boys, 2) I will continue to shop at Wal-Mart and 3) I will NOT be purchasing another Dodge.

Today, 3 weeks later, I got in my car and turned the key. It dinged for a millisecond and then completely went dead. My lights don't work (no...I didn't leave them on all night), my locks don't work, and not a sound comes out of the car when I turn the key. Thankfully I was able to get my friend Sarah to pick me up. Everyone that I've talked to said it sounds like my battery may have become detached. Thanks to Mike, I have AAA and will be contacting them to help me with my battery issues (hopefully that's all it is).

My friend Diana called me as she got to work and said she wanted to come by my office. She brought me a chicken biscuit from Chick-Fil-A and a sweet tea because she felt sorry for me. What an awesome surprise!!

URGENT - Opinions Needed

I am going back and forth on whether or not to leave my hair short or grow it back out. Based on the pictures below, please leave me a comment on what you think I should do.

Restylane, not Botox

I realized on my way to Donny's game yesterday that I meant to say "Who needs Restylane when you've got braces to do the trick?" Obviously I haven't had any work done or I would have figured that out sooner.

Last night was Donny's 100th Career Win as a coach. I picked up Pam and Melody and we made our way to Cranfills Gap. Pam made some awesome banners that we held up with 30 seconds left in the game. I spent the night at Pam's and was treated to coffee and a breakfast bar at 5:00 this morning. Here are some pictures from the game.

Donny in action. Why is he looking at the opposite end of the court than everyone else? Well...except for the little boy, that is!

Back Row: Mr. Hirsch, Wesley, Zach, Jacob, Derek, Matthew, Andrew, Caleb, Donny

Front Row: Tillman, Cody, Eddie, Drew

Post Game picture - Please disregard the extremely shiny face!

As I left Pam and Rebel's this morning, I heard a knocking sound coming from the left side of my car. I thought a rock had gotten stuck in my tire and decided not to worry about it. When I got to Fort Worth, I stopped at Sonic to get breakfast for the new interns. The lady that brought out my food informed me that I had a cord dangling on the outside of my door. Apparently, when I stuck my curling iron and straightener in my car this morning, I didn't get all of the cord inside the car. Amazingly enough, the cord is not damaged at all, even with it hitting the pavement as I drove. Crazy!

Who Needs Botox, when you've got

braces to do the trick?

Love is in the Air!

My roommate, Erin, and her boyfriend, B.J., got engaged over the holidays. They went to Colorado and B.J. proposed in the middle of a snow-filled clearing. They are planning on getting married sometime in October or November. I can't wait! Here are a few pictures of the happy couple (and the ring of course).