Thursday, March 28, 2013

Let's hang out?

I've decided to share mine and Christian's little story in a series of posts so I have something to write about on those writer's block days and those days when I miss him a whole bunch due to this long distance stupidity. If you didn't catch the first one, here's how we met. Now, we finally get to hang out.

The first football game rolls around in September and we went with the rugby team. Per usual, we left around halftime to head over to the bar. After a couple hours, Kristin, Christian and another player decide we're hungry and head to Subway. From there we decided we wanted to go to the hookah bar. We played games and such there and Christian invited us all back to his place (which is in the same complex as Kristin) to watch Office Space.

Apparently, the entire time we were flirting. I, of course, knew I had a crush on him, but in no way believed he would even think of me that way. As Kristin and I headed back to her apartment and got ready for bed, she was very adamant about it. After that, we became Facebook friends and there were some wall posts and messages before we made a bet to see who could get the other's number first. The idiot had his on Facebook so I obviously won that one.

From then on, we were constantly texting (he tricked me into thinking he was good at responding to texts which I now know is not true at all). Finally, I told him I needed help studying Biology, which I really did, but it was only an excuse to hang out. So he and Kristin came over for dinner and the ice was broken!

After a few weeks of flirting. chatting and somewhat awkward hang outs (we're REALLY awkward people), I was still a little unsure of how he felt about me. I knew I liked this kid a whole lot and I knew I wanted to date him. But, even though he seemed like he liked me, he didn't really make a solid move to let me know for sure.

October 3, 2010. I finally figured out that this was a real thing. We were at Ruktoberfest all day (a rugby tournament thingy ma jig) and that night there was a social for all the teams involved. So there was are just hanging out with friends and drinking some beer soda in a bar parking lot. And I basically told him that I had a crush on someone, he asked who it was, I acted awkward and stared at him like he was dumb and then he kissed me!

I'm sure you're all just on the edge of your seats now... ha! 

But until next time.. Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Happy Birthday, Little Bro!

My little younger brother turns 17 today. YIKES.

I am in no way okay with this. Not one bit. 

Andrew and I are 5 years apart. I was ridiculously excited to have a little sibling. My parents said I used to sit in the rocking chair in his room before he was born with my baby dolls "practicing rocking my baby brother". I was obsessed with that guy when he was born. I always wanted to hold him, rock him. help mom bathe him, feed him, etc. 

Then he started speaking.

It was all downhill from there. We bickered constantly. Being 5 years apart, we were just always in different life stages so we never understood each other. Even thought we argued constantly (my poor parents...), I would do anything to protect him. The only year we were ever in the same school, he was in Kindergarten and I was in 5th grade. Some older kids were picking on him for being little (he really was a tiny squirt then) and I took care of that one realllll quick. 

Terrible quality, but he was ADORABLE.

This arguing lasted pretty much all of my "growing up" years. He constantly tried to get me in trouble and usually succeeded. And if we weren't fighting, then we weren't speaking. 

Side story: See that teeny, tiny motorcycle up there? He was about 4 years old and that's the smallest bike they make. One day we were riding in my grandfather's field and there's a smal trail. I was following him on a four-wheeler and he stopped quickly which caused me to run over him. I literally ran over his bike, touched his helmet and rolled back down. I begged him not to tell dad and he promised not to. Before I even got back to the house, dad knew. SURPRISE, SURPRISE.

Then everything changed. My family went through some things and Andrew and I really had to learn to get along. Plus, with me being out of the house and him getting older and experiencing more things, we could relate to each other much better. He had a serious relationship around the time I started dating Christian, so we could talk about that kind of stuff together. 

Now, he knows he can always come to me when he needs to talk and mom and dad just won't cut it. And I know that he'll always have my back no matter what. 

I still drive him absolutely crazy and I'm sure he wants to just smack me sometimes. For example:


He also races dirtbikes and it scares me so badly knowing that he can get seriously hurt every time he goes into the woods. It's also very nerve-wracking that you can't see him while he's racing. You only get to see them as they pass by every 15-30 minutes. But, he's great at it and he loves it so I try not to freak out as much as I can. 

Last weekend's race. Stopped twice because of mud and still got 4th!

So, happy 17th birthday little bro! Enjoy it, because you're not allowed to age anymore!




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Memory Lane

Let's take a trip down memory lane and poor little high school Leslie. Mostly, I just want to make fun of the ridiculous pictures I thought were cute. Please, laughing is encouraged. 

Freshman and Sophomore year.

I was a cheerleader. Oh yes. My entire life was consumed by cheerleading practices, games and competitions  All my free time was spent with cheerleaders. Apparently, I came of as a little b*tchy but really I was just super shy. Even as a cheerleader. So here's a little bit of that.

Last competition ever.

Headed to a cheerleading function so of course we posed on diving board.

15 year old Leslie going put put.

15 year old Leslie in an astronaut helmet.


Cheer banquet

Junior Year
 I worked at a coffee shop at my house and had phenomenal friends. So I spent a TON of time working and a TON of time goofing off.

Squashing milk cartons

Painting for football


I was basically in love with Mr. Flash up there.

New Years Eve 2008. Help.
More NYE 2008


Prom in DT Athens, GA

I just wanted to show the back of my dress. LOVED it.


Date :)


17th Birthday! Cute pose, I know.
Senior Year

I started to get it together. Sorta. I still worked a TON. But I fit in some fun and tried not to be as awkward. But, I'm not sure if I succeeded.

Ok, I'm still weird. 

Definitely, still weird. 
Trip to LA for a DECA competition

Prom time again. 


Show choir boys. 

Yep. I'm just weird. 

It never gets better... (I'm in green)

Show choir!
Headed off to college with my best friend. 

So there ya have it. I was weird. Honestly, I'm still pretty weird. I hope you were able to laugh as much as I did at the ridiculous faces I made. 

Happy Tuesday! 







Monday, March 25, 2013

Weekend (non)Shenanigans.

Totally not a word,  I know. And it barely makes sense. But, my weekend was ridiculously uneventful. But that doesn't mean I won't link up with Sami so I can have something to write about on this snowy Monday. Yes, you're eyes are fully functioning. I said SNOW. AGAIN. IT IS SNOWING AGAIN. Nope, I'm not bitter at all...

So Friday, I had a job interview in Charlotte. So I woke up nice and early and drove my little butt down to Charlotte, yet again. The interview lasted from 12-4p so it was a long, long process. I wasn't terribly excited about the position, but now I'm really considering it because of how well it went. The second interviewer just loved me and really put me at ease. So of course, after leaving a great job interview with lots of potential, little Leslie gets herself all worked up and stressed out about the future and whatnot. So she then drives to Christian's house and proceeds to be mean to him for 15 minutes before leaving and putting herself in time out (also known as a Chikfila reading Catching Fire) until she could stop freaking out and be nicer.

Saturday, we slept in and some sweet boy made me some delicious pancakes for breakfast. After a late breakfast, we headed out to watch the Charlotte rugby team play. I basically spent the entire time complaining that it was cold and I wanted a snack. So we yet again got Chikfila for lunch (I might be obsessed). We chilled most of the day before grabbing dinner and then going to see Olympus has Fallen.

We need to live together just so I can be spoiled like this.
So that movie. Wow. Um. It really was a pretty interesting movie. But there was SO much violence, as I should have known, that made it sometimes difficult to enjoy. And then I freaked myself out about what would happen if terrorists really took over our White House and tried to blow us all up. Christian thinks I'm insane and I can't blame him.

Sunday we slept in again. Boy, do I love not having to work weekends anymore! Then we grabbed On the Border for lunch. If you've never had the Baja combination, then you need to go right now. It's a fried whole avocado stuffed with cheese and shredded chicken covered in sour cream sauce and a chicken enchilada. Heaven.

Then I drove back to Boone and about 30 minutes from Boone the fog was so bad that I had to drive a solid 12 MPH and could barely see 3 feet in front of me. Fun times. It was straight to the library for multiple group meetings and studying for tests. While there, the snow started falling. In the first hour we had a few inches and I'm really hoping for a snow day. I've got senioritis and two tests to study for. I just don't have time for class tomorrow. Or ever, really.

Told you I was boring this weekend....




How was your weekend?

Friday, March 22, 2013

Well, hello.

Originally, I wanted to do a whole long post about how Christian and I got where we are today. But then I decided that breaking it up over a few posts/weeks would be more fun. And I've been missing him a lot and I'm so excited to see him this weekend that I want to reminisce! So this is how we met...

Senior year of high school

My best friend was away at school in the little town of Boone, NC at Appalachian State. Familiar? Anyways, towards the end of the semester her roommate starts dating a new guy and they are always hanging out with him and his roommate so I hear a lot about all the fun they have. I tell her how adorable it would be if she started dating the roommate and they could all double date.

Freshman year

April 2010 I decided it's high time to visit Kristin in Boone on my way to Charlotte for Easter. I was considering transferring from Young Harris and decided I would use this as a campus visit before applying to App.

By this point, I had heard TONS about "the roommate" and I thought he was one of the most attractive guys I had ever seen. I was constantly telling Kristin to date him. I was always met with an "EW GROSS ITS CHRISTIAN". Yes, obviously "the roommate" is Christian. I know I'm not good at the mysterious thing. So she was set that it was gross and it would never happen.

So we get ready and head out to pick up the boys at their dorm room and head to the bar.

I liked to stalk Kristin while she dresses.


The second I saw him, I became so shy (well, more shy than normal). He was so attractive that I really just didn't know what to say to him. And apparently, he didn't want to talk to me either because he just kind of stared at me. Once we got to the bar, I talked to a couple different guys and one in particular latched onto me. We'll call him M. M sat right across from me and flirted all night while Christian was sitting next to him. I occasionally tried talking to Christian with not much luck. 

When we head to a player's apartment to hang out more, M and I have definitely hit it off (I really think this was a liquid courage situation, because the next day I wanted to hit myself), but I still kept moseying over to Christian. I finally asked him why he wouldn't be my friend. His response: "Move here and maybe we can be friends". So there's that. 

I was then bothered for the next 6 months by M - hence why I wanted to hit myself the next morning. He texted me all day, everyday without responses from me on most days. He finally stopped texting me once he realized I was off the market. 

All in all, I LOVED Boone and had one of the best weekends with Kristin. So I immediately drove to Charlotte and started my application process for App. I visited another weekend when Christian wasn't there and loved this place even more and knew this was where I was supposed to be! 



By the end of May, I had been accepted to App and was fighting with my parents over if I could really go or not. In the beginning of June, I accepted and put down a deposit and started the apartment search! I knew that Kristin was going to help me survive here since I knew no one and I knew I would be seeing a lot more of Christian. 

So even though I thought he was gorgeous and would have LOVED to hang out with him, I was still constantly trying to push Kristin to date him. And I always got the "ew" response. 

After moving here, I talked to him once when he drunkenly stole the phone from Kristin who had called me from a party. Then, the first football game rolled around and we, of course, went with the rugby team to tailgate and all those shenanigans. This was the first time we got to hang out and it was an absolute blast. 

I'm going to leave it here for now and pick up sometime next week :) 

Have a great weekend, everyone!



Thursday, March 21, 2013

Ch-ch-changes

Last night, I worked my last official shift at the Barrel. I really can't even explain how happy I am right now. You wouldn't think that a simple part time, retail job would be so stressful but it seriously was. I think it had a lot to do with how good I was at it. Okay, let me explain because I in no way want to sound full of myself.

I am afraid to fail. I am afraid to let my boss down. To let my co-workers down. To do half ass a job. As a result, I work my ass off. I have gotten along with every single boss I've had and every one has begged me not to quit. Not because I'm just the best person in the world but because I try too hard (seriously, I try way too hard).

At Cracker Barrel, myself and another girl spent almost every shift re-doing what everyone else half did or lied about doing on top of our own assignments. I was always called in early, on my days off or asked to stay late. And in a year, I probably said no twice. I didn't spend Valentine's with Christian because my boss wanted to go on vacation that weekend. When I needed to go to Charlotte for things, I always had to leave late Fridays and come back Sunday mornings so I could work at night even if I asked off for the whole weekend. One minute I was being told how awesome and helpful I was and the next being yelled at for not doing enough. My boss and I get along fine but with all these things piling up and only having 8 weeks left in Boone, the time came to say bye.

I was so thankful for this job and without it I would have had to drop out of school. I also learned so much and this job has helped me SO much in the job hunting/interviewing process. Everyone has been intrigued by the responsibilities I took on and how much I learned when dealing with people/co-workers.

Basically, I'm happy for the experiences and the things I learned but I am ohsohappy that I have 8 weeks to enjoy being in college and drinking on any day of the week I choose (sorry I am not sorry). I also have a ton of fun plans coming up so let's get a move on! :)

Do you have any big changes going on in your life right now?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

I can't believe...

Today, I am really struggling with a blog topic so I thought I would participate in my second link up ever! I'm linking up with Robin from The Sunshine Diary! I'm not sure yet if I'll make it  a weekly thing, but I'm loving the idea so I just might :)

I can't believe... all of this

I can't believe... tonight is my last official shift at the Barrel. 

I can't believe... I get to spend the entire weekend with Christian with absolutely ZERO plans. 

I can't believe... how much I eat every day. Seriously, this is a real problem.

I can't believe... how close my sweet friend's wedding is. I am so excited and happy for her! And the excuse to wear a pretty dress and dance all night. 

I can't believe... how much I really enjoy this whole blogging thing. No matter how many people are truly reading it!


Now your turn! Link up and tell me what you can't believe!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Back to the grind

54 days. 8 weeks.

That's all the time I have left in this semester. In Boone. At Appalachian State. As a college kid.

I can't believe it's almost here and I have ZERO motivation to finish out this semester. There's still so much to do to get the grades I want and to actually have a job I want by the time I graduate, yet the motivation to do these things is gone.

I am so tired of these stupid group projects. I'm so tired of dealing with professors being ridiculous. I'm tired of exams and papers and lectures. I'm just tired.

I'm tired of researching companies. I'm tired of interview prep. I'm tired of waiting around to hear back from jobs. I'm tired of having to drive back and forth to Charlotte for interviews.

Now, these job hunting related gripes are just because I'm tired in general. I'm very thankful that companies want to interview me. I'm thankful that these companies like me enough to send me on to second and third rounds and hopefully hire me. But, I just wish it involved less travel. But, this was my choice to move to Charlotte and everyone else is doing it too and I know they're all as stressed as I am.

I just want to have a job I like at the end of all of this. I want to know that I will be okay moving to a city on my own (well, not with my parents, at least).

I also just want to enjoy my time in Boone, but I'm not. I'm so unhappy right now. It's mostly stress from all this I mentioned. And I know that I am going to have a blast the next two months but I also know that most of that won't be in Boone.

The next three weekends I will be in Charlotte and Athens. Then two weekends in Boone. Then a weekend in Charlotte. Then my birthday weekend and then graduation weekend.

I have 2 full weekends left in Boone and I'm sad. I wish I had planned better. I wish I hadn't spent the last semester and a half being so stressed I can't function and enjoy this time.

This is seriously just a bunch of word vomit and I apologize for that. It's all ending and beginning so fast and it's scary. There's so much to do in the next 8 weeks that I'm just freaking out.

So.. there's that. I hope everyone else is having a less stressful day!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Bachelorette Weekend Shenanigans

What. A. Weekend. This weekend was definitely filled with shenanigans and I'm already missing all the girls! So I'm linking up with Sami to share my weekend shenanigans with you! I'll try to keep this as short as possible (mainly, because I'm still a tad hungover whoops.. ).

Friday

I drove down to Charlotte early in the morning and spent some time with Christian, grabbed lunch and picked up my bridesmaid dress! Once 2pm rolled around, it was time to pack up the car and get on the road. The road from Charlotte to Wilmington is SO boring. There's nothing to look at and it's just one straight shot. We did stop at a peach stand and get amazing ice cream to make the ride go by quickly. After a pretty fun ride down, we waited on everyone to get to the hotel and then had some of the best pizza I have ever had. Then it was time for beach bars. We had an absolute BLAST and the bride had some really great quotes (although she would probably shoot me if I posted my favorite one).


Saturday 

Saturday was for recovery mostly. We woke up just for free breakfast at the hotel (obviouslyyyyy) and everyone headed back upstairs to nap. Yes, we're cool. Around noon, we headed out to the beach and it was a GLORIOUS day outside. I was so happy to see some sunshine instead of snow like we had in Boone last Wednesday. Although, once we got down to the water the wind was a little bit chilly so we didn't stay as long as we wanted to. 


After the beach, we headed to a restaurant to sit outside, drink a couple beers and I had the most amazing salmon gyro! After lunch, it was nap time again... sorry bout it. Then we rallied for dinner. And by that I mean our goal to leave the hotel was no later than 7:30p... we left at 8:40p. So we rushed through some Mexican and more beers and headed back to play some fun Bachelorette party games before grabbing a taxi to downtown Wilmington. 


Downtown was a very interesting experience and I'm not sure if any of us really want to do it again. There were 9 of us, so we kind of stood out everywhere we went and we got a lot of awkward attention at the first bar. It was mainly military guys trying to creep and find girls to go home with them.  The second bar was AWFUL. Without going into too much detail (mainly because this story would be a post in itself), there was a bar fight in the bathroom. We were involved. 

Now, let me clarify before you think we're trashy. Two girls in the bathroom were drunk, angry girls already yelling when we walked in. One of them got in Kristin's face and then started wailing on two of  the other girls with me. So I guess it was more of a jumping. When the bouncer got her off my friends, we all went into a stall to regroup and calm down and make sure everyone was okay. They girls come back and rip open the door and try to do it again. It took 3 of us holding the door shut and the bouncer getting her again before she left. The cops ended up taking them out of the bar and we're not really sure what happened after that. But we, of course, left feeling like we were on an episode of Cops or Jerry Springer. We found a relatively calm rooftop bar to finish off the night with a couple more beers/shots and grabbed a cab home. 

I also developed a sunburn from those 2 hours on the beach even though I wore sunscreen. And I've got a small goose egg on my head from where I very soberly walked into a metal door in the hotel with my temple.

It was definitely an eventful, fun, scary, crazy, awesome weekend. But now I'm in need of a weekend to recover from my weekend... 





PS. There were obviously more girls there but no one has uploaded pictures yet, so I only had a couple on my phone to upload. I'll show some good ones later this week!

How was your weekend? No fights I hope! 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Let the shenanigans begin!

I'm currently finishing up packing and getting ready to head down the mountain to Charlotte. In Charlotte, I'll be hanging out with Christian before heading down to the beach for this girl's Bachelorette party:

Her and her sweet fiancé
With this group of ladies:


And reuniting this foursome: 






Yes, we do know how to take good ones. 

I'm sure there will be some sort of epic recap on Monday morning. Or maybe Tuesday, it is going to be St. Patty's Day in Wilmington... 

Hope everyone has a fun weekend! 



Thursday, March 14, 2013

Second post of the day...WHAT?

This one is pretty straightforward though. Pretty simple link up to get everyone's new BlogLovin' pages out there. I know we won't lose Google Reader and GFC until July, we might as well move on over and start understanding how to use BlogLovin'!

I'm linking up with two lovely ladies Lauren from Style Elixer and Nadine from Back East Blonde to help everyone's names get out there!


This is a post about my cat.

Okay, so I'm mildly obsessed with my cat. For proof, see my Instagram (and feel free to follow!). Anyways, I'm always wondering what this guy is thinking. He just does the weirdest things (for proof of this, check out this picture at the end of the post).  So, I decided he needed a little post of his own. 

Meet Zuko. Named after Danny Zuko from Grease. My first dog's name was Sandra Dee (Sandy, for short, of course) and I had to carry on the tradition. Christian has been informed our dog's name will be Kinickie, Rizzo or Frenchie.


I love animals of all kinds. But, my landlord doesn't allow pets. So I decided a kitten would be the easiest thing to hide from him (bad, Leslie..). I considered not adopting one until this May when I moved out, but Christian and I went to the Humane Society and I walked out with this guy.




He was tiny! He and his brother had been found under a house. They said he was the weight of a 6 week old but the length of an 8 week old, so they placed his birthday at May 15. Little guy was mostly bone, but he loves to eat so that changed real quickly. I also had to keep him at my boyfriend's for a week and then go home for a week so my old roommate wouldn't find him and tell the landlord. So that's his ugly blue furniture, not mine!

It's been pretty stressful having to hide him whenever my landlord comes up and he did catch him right before Thanksgiving. So, I left Zuko in Georgia with my parents for about a month but I just couldn't take being away from my little baby so I brought him back. When the landlord comes, I board him or take him to a friends. But it's only happened twice and I've only got two months left here!

His favorite activities include:

Sitting on his scratching post instead of scratching it
Helping mom pack
Laying on/under his favorite blanket
Wrapping presents
Laying awkwardly on mom. And putting paws on her face.

Sleeping in weird positions

Sitting in windows
Cuddling with mom

Other notable mentions:

- Sitting on mom's computer while she does homework
- Ramming into her books while she reads
- Stealing her pens while she writes
- Standing on her chest while she tries to sleep
- Waking her up by running around and knocking things off surfaces at 6am
- Biting her nose to wake her up (honestly, I just thought this was kind of smart)
- Knocking his water bowl off the table multiple times a day so mom puts fresh, cold water in it

This little guy was definitely more of a handful than I thought he would be, but it is totally worth it (and one day I'm sure I'll say that about babies, ha). All I wanted in a kitty was a little guy to snuggle with and I definitely got that. He loves sleeping right on my chest or between my knees at nights. And currently he's laying behind the computer with both paws resting on me.

So, if you hate cats (SHAME ON YOU :) ), I'm sorry for this terribly long, obnoxious post about my kitty. But I spend more time with this guy than any one person right now, so he deserved his own post in my opinion! 

Do you have a pet? I'd love to hear about him/her!