Thirsty Thursday

I've always wanted to try a mojito because it sounds refreshing. We have lots of mint in the yard and rum in the liquor cabinet, so on the fourth I made a few.

They were very good, and I would have had an entire drink for myself, but I had a bad headache and figured I shouldn't drink too much.

I used the recipe from a Bartending book I got at Barnes & Noble.

12-15 mint leaves

half a lime

3/4 oz. simple syrup

2 oz. light rum

club soda

Simple syrup is easy to make, you just heat and stir 1 part water to 2 parts sugar until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat to low and stir until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes or so). Then remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.

Also, for the mojitos I made for Daddy and Connie I used 12 mint leaves, and when I tasted it was very good. I used 15 for mine and Steven's and it was a tad too minty. Next time I make one, I think I'll try 10 leaves.

So, you put the leaves, simple syrup and juice of half a lime into a glass and muddle the ingredients. Muddling is basically crushing the ingredients to release their flavor (in this case, the mint). I didn't have a muddler, but instead used a meat pounder. I pressed the pounder in the glass and twisted.

Then you fill the glass about half way with ice and add the rum. Stir well, then add more ice to the glass. Top the glass with the club soda. Stir again and enjoy!

You can google recipes and find lots of variations. For example, on the Bacardi website there's a recipe that actually sounds easier than mine, lol. It takes away the simple syrup and instead uses sugar and muddling the lime wedges, instead of juicing it.

Woo hoo, it's Friday (a day early!)

I don't really like Obama or McCain, but which ever one will mandate 4 day work weeks... I'm voting for him!

Even though we tend to cook out a lot at Mom and Grandpa's, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I always enjoy it and have fun. I'm lucky to be related to really funny people.

Hooray for OnDemand (c)

or is it (tm)? Eh, whatever.

One thing I've missed since I've started working full time is my daily dose of Sandra Lee on the Food Network. This woman is crazy and frankly her show belongs on Comedy Central.

I have learned what not to do in the kitchen. Watching her makes me feel like I have some mad knife skillz... that's right, with a z. I have never seen anyone hate food as much as she does!

Connie and I would snark on her daily and I thought it was only us. Then I found the hilarity that is the Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee thread on Television without Pity. These people crack me up! I need to be careful when reading it at work because I just want to LOL out loud (hee).

The new episodes come on Saturdays and theres an episode on Sundays that come on but sometimes I'm out, or forget that it's on then, or whatever. Then one day on TWoP someone mentioned how it was OnDemand. It's under "Home and Life" or something like that. And it's only a few episodes, but still.... yay!

The funny thing is that I turned one on and Daddy started snarking too! hahaha!!!!

I'm glad I'm from the 20th Century

Sunday we were talking about how we couldn't have made it "back in the day" when there was no air conditioning.

Well last night I came home to no electricity (stupid storms), and even though it was dark out, it was HOT. It's even hotter when you're trying to sleep with no covers but end up with a Jay and Cocoa on you.

The sound of the lights coming back on and SCE&G calling woke me up. I complained that they finally turned the lights back on "in the middle of the night", but when I looked at my phone to re-set my clock I realized it was only 12:15. Gah.

Time slows when you have no tv to watch.

We all complain about how time is flying too fast. Maybe we should turn the tv off one night a week. So okay, Monday is House night and Thursday is CSI. Lets see, I think new SVU comes on Tuesdays.... okay Wednesday it is. No wait, that's Top Chef night.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

*Big fat exhale*

Well, yesterday Steven was offered a job, and accepted (as if he wouldn't have)!

It's actually at his old job which is pretty funny, but good at the same time. It's good because he already knows just about everyone there so there's not that akward getting to know people phase. Also, he knows the products and the network so there won't be a long training stage either.

More importantly, he should be more enthusiastic about looking for an apartment since he knows what we can truly afford.

Yay!!!

Vote tomorrow!

In case you haven't been inundated with flyers and postcards from people running for election and therefore don't know, tomorrow is the SC primaries.

Find out who's running here.

25 Sundays to go!

One of my favorite lounges on Royal Caribbean ships is the Viking Crown Lounge. It's on every RC ship and looks out onto the pool.

On the Mariner it's divided into 3 areas: the Viking Crown, Ellingtons (which plays jazz at night), and the sports bar.

This is where the Viking Crown and Ellingtons meets. There's a piano on the platform area there and a little dance floor.

This is the sports bar. Just out side the doors is the sports deck with the rock-climbing wall, basketball court, and mini-golf course.

Steven and me in the Viking Crown enjoying a "Caribbean Cooler". That drink was very yummy and I can't wait to have another one. I can't remember what was in it besides rum, lol.

Happy National Doughnut Day!

I read on MSN.com today that it is National Doughnut Day.

First it was International Pickle Week and now Nat'l Doughnut Day... who knew these wonderful events took place??

Apparently it started in the 1930s during the Depression, I guess to lift spirits. The Salvation Army gave out free doughnuts on the first Friday in June. Or something like that... the article is here

So today Krispy Kreme is giving away FREE DOUGHNUTS!! Sweet.

Go NOW!!!

We jammin, and I hope you like jammin too!

As I was looking through free knitting patterns online, I found one for cat toys. This one looks like a wonton.

You use size 5 needles to get a really tight gauge so the loops are close together. Gauge is how many stitches and rows are in a 4" square. I don't remember what the number was for this, but when I saw there weren't any holes for catnip to get through I know I was good to go.

I knitted a square and then folded it in half and sewed up one side of the triangle. Then I added lots of catnip inside. As I finished the square Jay was in his "dead to the world" sleep. But once I opened the bag of catnip he was WIDE AWAKE! He was trying to eat through the bag.

Anyways, inside the toy I added some extra yarn I had left over when I made Addison's baby blanket. Then I added more catnip to the top and sewed the other side of the triangle. I then brought the two corners up and sewed it all together.

I don't think you needed a "tail" but since I had a long tail from cast on (when you put the stitches on the needle you should have a tail at the end), I decided to braid the pieces from sewing the corners. It's hard to explain. Anyways.

Jay seems to love it.

We may need to take him to rehab though...

26 Sundays to go!

Well, only 26 Sundays to go until the cruise.

Even though that's still a few months away, I think I've planned all of our (mine and Steven's) excursions. One of them is Stingray City in Grand Cayman. It's a 3 or 4 hour tour that goes to "Stingray City" where we pet, kiss and feed stingrays; and we go to a small reef and snorkel.

We booked with Moby Dick Tours for the day. We went with them last year and loved it. They were very professional and knowledgable. Also, we didn't have to give a deposit or credit card info. I just said "Amanda Watson plus 1 adult". But of course I can add on Erich, Jackie, Andy, and/or Jeremy if they want to go.

I like going with an independent company because not only is it more personal (not being herded like cattle), but it's also cheaper which translates to more drinks of the day! After we get back from snorkeling of course.

One of the main reasons why I wanted to do this tour again was because my camera didn't work when we went. I was so upset because there was some awesome pictures I took.

One of the few pictures I have from Stingray City.

Snorkeling is really fun, and pretty easy too! Of course we used the life jackets and just floated along, but anyways.

Who is it??

Cocoa has been acting weird the last week, week and a half. Maybe she's in heat.

She had been hanging out with her lion in Mama's closet, but since they've been gone this week she's been under my bed. Well today I noticed she wanted a cozier room.


Don't let Milenko find out she's in his room!

I'm Official!

Yay, I have a staff profile on our website! My page is here.

Not to toot my own horn, but I really like the picture. I just got the dress (and another one in gray) and wore it because I was going to an art show opening.

The art show is part of Spoleto and we participated by collecting the images and picking who was going to be featured. The show is called Vanishing Landscapes and based on environmental issues (hence our involvement). It was fun and something good to go to by yourself when your boyfriend doesn't want to be dragged along, lol.

You know what really grinds my gears....

Getting sunburned after slathering on lots of sunscreen.

I went to the beach yesterday and used enough sunscreen to justify using the verb "slather". I somehow managed to miss a few spots, though. Right near my armpits... you know, where the sleeves rub? Doesn't matter whether it's a t-shirt or a tank top.

I was good this time, too. I remembered to reapply and everything. But both times I managed to miss these spots. I also have little spots on my foot and knee that I missed too.

Where's the aloe?

Happy International Pickle Week!

I read in Wednesday's paper that International Pickle Week starts Friday and goes through next weekend. Who knew such an event took place? Is there a pickle eating contest at Boone Hall I'm not aware of?? But who would win.. Jackie? Me? Joshie?

Thanks go Google, I found some things about IPW, including e-cards. (If it's important enough for e-cards, it's important enough for me... but then again, we're talking pickles, people!)

I thought the link for Mt. Olive was fitting since, well.. that's the pickles I tend to buy. Though I also like Claussen.

It's just a tiny page stating that this week is IPW. It does indicate that IPW ends at what many view as the official start of summer: Memorial Day.

On the Mt. Olive website there's also fun facts about pickles, such as.... Did you know that pickle juice can help relieve muscle cramps? Athletes are using it for this reason. I wonder if it'll work on menstrual cramps? Also, it may help with hangovers! It doesn't say the amount needed, but I'm guessing maybe a cup. Because of all the salt & whatnot, too much can be bad for you.

Here's to you Mr. Pickle!

Big recap

Well I had quite a big weekend. I graduated from college (finally.. uh, I mean finnaly). Just when I thought the rehearsal was rediculously unorganized....

The music stopped when I was half way down the stairs onto the stage. Then the lady started to welcome everyone and the national anthem started when the whole other school was walking down. To make matters worse, most of them didn't have enough chairs!!

At least it didn't rain. But I would have preferred it if were cloudy, though. I was in the direct sunlight the whole time.

I'm so happy though. I ended up with a 3.69 GPA which means I graduated cum laude and got to wear a medal.

The party in the afternoon was a lot of fun too. There was good food, and a really nice champaign toast from Daddy. I wish Connie, Josh and Lexibean could have been there, though.

Christopher must think I'm so silly!

Mmm... yummy carrot cake!

I need order, people!

Well today I went to the most un-organized graduation rehearsal. I can't imagine how it ran with the entire class there.

We gathered at the Cistern and the lady spoke about how we shouldn't walk too close together, but don't have big gaps. And about how we'll go to the room for our major in Maybank Hall, and the flowers will be in front of Maybank... you know, all that stuff. Well most people were talking and not really paying attention, mostly because she was telling us stuff we already knew.

Then we went to the rooms where we will meet Saturday and after several minutes someone came in and told us to line up alphabetically. Well it was pretty chaotic saying "what's your name?" "R's over here!" and such. As we walked out of the room I noticed this one girl who I had a class with, whose last name starts with a T, was behind me! Ugh, hopefully it'll be better Saturday when we'll have our cards and can easily look and realize, oh I'm supposed to be over there.

Then we walked to the stage and sat down. I'm going to be stage right (so when you look at the stage, I'll be on the left). I'm somewhat towards the middle-ish. I'm one of the last Psychology majors, and then there's only Sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Then there's the School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs, which is basically the Spanish, French, etc majors... and there aren't many.

We didn't go through the whole ceremony like in high school. She only said to go to whoever if your name is difficult to pronounce so she can mark it. Then she reminded us to hold the flowers in our left arm and take the "diploma" with our left hand and shake with our right. Okay, most of us graduated high school 4 years ago, we remember.

Oh and the President won't be there because his son is graduating from U of GA at the same time. I've had the worst luck when it comes to graduations!

Dish rags

So I recently started knitting a dish rag. I'm working with size 7 needles and cotton yard. My last (and only) project I used size 15 needles, so these feel so tiny! They are as long as the size 15, but the size has to do with the diameter.

I'm working with a simple pattern, which makes a rib stitch basically.

By knitting one and then purling one across the row, you get these Vs.

The V pattern is called stockinette, which tends to curl, so you knit a few stitches at the beginning and end of the row, and the first few and last few rows to create a border. This also keeps it flat.

I started one, but somehow messed it up. I decided it was a good size and went to cast off. For some reason, when I knit the last few rows it gets very tight. While I was trying to cast off and I dropped a stitch, gah!

I did read on a few sites that when casting off, you should use a needle one size larger. Not sure why, but I am going to get some size 8 needles. It wasn't really a problem with the blanket I made, but maybe because it was size 15 needles and therefore bigger loops. I dunno.

Caturday: Hampton

Yay, I get to have a Caturday!

This is Hampton, he looks a lot like Tabby. Right now he's staying in the garage area since he's scared of the other animals and we haven't taken him to the vet. He looks fine, but I want to know he's okay in case he does scratch one of the other guys. Sometimes I bring him up to my room and all the other animals crowd around outside as if to say, "we know someone's in there!"

He's really sweet and just curls up on my bed and naps. He doesn't really care for most of the other cat toys, though.

We adopted Hampton since Aunt Cheryl couldn't take him to her new place. That always breaks my heart when I go to the Charleston Animal Society (formerly SPCA) and see on the card that they were given up by their owner because of apartment rules. I know sometimes you can only get into that one complex, and having three kids really restricts where you can live.

Anyways, luckily for Steven and me we're more flexible, don't have kids, and have plenty of time to move so we can find a good place that takes pets.

Stick a fork in me

I'm done!!!! Yay! **big exhale**

The bad thing was that I had a bad headache yesterday so I couldn't really celebrate.

Steven and I have gotten back in touch with friends from high school. Actually two of them (Braden and Melissa) live down the street from him, and have for a while, and for some reason we only just now started hanging out again. I'm not really sure why... it's not like we had a falling out or anything.

Anyways, at Braden and Melissa's was Casey, Shane, Arthur... and others but those are the ones I know. Since I had a bad headache I didn't want to drink anything (and since I was driving home I was only going to have 1). I was going to tell people that I was drinking rum and coke instead of coke and coke. Oh well, no one cared which is cool.

I told them I'd make up for it at my graduation party at Jackie's. (By the way, tell Erich that Steven was really talking him up! He kept saying, "yeah her brother in law is really cool... he's an ex-Marine... yes I corrected him, once a Marine always a Marine or something, lol). So yeah, I hope we're still partying because I invited some people.

Thirsty Thursday

Well I pryed myself away from the books to come say hi and that I only have 1 more exam to go!!!

So far they haven't been too bad. Well the Sensation & Perception one was pretty brutal, like I thought. But not harder than I thought, which is good I guess. Although I did answer one question by including, "and cAMP comes into the picture and somehow GTP becomes GDP". Seriously. I hope I'll at least get some points for mentioning names!

I did get my grade for the Psych. of Gender exam... which was 100 (well technically 50/50, but you know). I also ended the class with a 94! Sweet.

The Ethics and Accounting exams weren't too bad, either. But a lot of reading (and working through problems for accounting). Now I just have the Philosophy exam which will focus on animal rights, animal cruelty, assisted suicide... you know, fun stuff like that. Gah!!

Also, since it's Thursday I figured I'd mention how much I love Pepsi. I like Coke, too I guess... but there's something about Pepsi. Maybe it's psychological and has to do with the excitement of Grandpa coming home during the summer and we'd all run out to the truck and fling the cooler door open and dig in.

I also liked when he brought a watermelon.

My absolute favorite though is fountain drinks. Whether it's Pepsi or Coke.. it's always so crisp. Maybe it's because the carbonated water and sugar mix right then. Either way, it's good. I can sometimes down 2 glasses before my entree arives!

1 down... 4 to go.

Well I took my first exam today... Psychology of Gender. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't cumulative and the material wasn't excruciating.

Next up: Sports Ethics Monday, Sensation & Perception Tuesday (really NOT looking forward to this one), Accounting Thursday, and Philosophy Friday.

I realized the other day that this will be first first final exam in Accounting ever. In high school I exempted both Acct 1 & 2. And the professor I had for ACCT 203 & 204 allowed you to exempt if you had an A. This is very rare in college, and I was lucky. I guess it's good though that this is my first final (ironically my next to last exam ever). The problem is... I'm not sure how to study for it. Ugh.

Happy Earth Day

Well today is Earth Day, I've never really done anything for Earth day that I can remember. Maybe in elementary school we planted trees? When did I plant "Angel Oak"?

Anyways, I figured maybe I'd start to try to recycle more. And by more I mean actually starting. I don't know why we don't... but it's easy enough to put the cans and bottles in a separate bin and put it out every other Monday.

Something else I struggle with is the plastic bag issue. I wouldn't mind bringing my own canvas bags to the store. I understand that plastic bags take up room in the land fill and create a lot of gasses and whatnot to produce. But then what would I put in my little trash cans? I figure that's recycling, right? So I'll continue to get plastic bags as long as they are offered. Until they take over the house like they tend to do.


PS, Steven has a third in-person interview/test/observe what the other customer service analysts do on Friday. Woo hoo!!!

Fingers crossed!

Well tomorrow is Steven's second interview with Blackbaud for the customer support analyst position. It's another phone interview, this time with the hiring manager. I think it'll go well, but I'm sure he'll be nervous.

Think good thoughts around 10:30 am.

My First Plane Trip

As I was loading pictures from my camera onto my computer I realized I hadn't posted pictures from San Diego. I'm slipping!

This was my first plane trip and while I was a little nervous, I was also excited. I had always wanted to fly and even though I heard it can be a hassle, I also heard it can be fun. I wouldn't quite describe it as fun as I would uneventful... in a good way!

This is Mama and me on the plane in Charleston. It's hard to tell but we had enjoyed a big glass of wine just before boarding. I wasn't too nervous at this point, but I think what helped was knowing I got to see Connie and Alexis at the end of the trip. And the wine.

I really like this picture. This is somewhere near Atlanta. We were really high up there!

Alexis sucking her left thumb. We woke her up a little earlier than she's used to. Whoops. What can I say, we were on Charleston time.

I love this video, it's Alexis doing her low crawl.

This is the view near Connie and Josh's apartment. Look at those mountains! It really is beautiful out there.

More mountain views on "the 5". I don't think I could get used to that. I just don't see myself saying, "yeah and then you get on the 26 and go x miles until you get to exit whatever."

This is downtown San Diego, as seen from the tram. That is a fun excursion because you go all around the city and they tell you neat facts. You can get off on any stops and just hop on the next tram. We did this in St. Augustine and really enjoyed it. The bad thing is that we didn't have enough time to do or see a lot since we were only there 1 full day. I guess we'll have to go back.

This is the front of the San Diego Zoo. We didn't go in, but it is a stop on the tram. I thought this tree republican was so cute! Mama said, "oh take a picture for Jackie!" So here you go, Jackie Wacky!

Alexis having fun on the plane going back to Charleston. She does travel well and only got sort of fussy a few times.

The bad thing about the trip was actually a good thing to experience. Our flight was delayed leaving San Diego, but the flight from Atlanta was not. We got there with maybe 10 minutes to board. Oh did I mention we had to go from gate A to gate B? Gah!

The guy was slow getting the stroller to us. He was very apologetic which was nice, but it didn't stop the plane from leaving. Even the flight attendents from our flight missed the connecting flight to Charleston.

Luckily there was another flight... at 7:15... 3 hours later. We actually boarded around 7:45 and sat.. and sat.. and sat. Then a flight attendent came on the overhead saying they couldn't find the pilot. Seriously?! Isn't he the first one on? I mean really. So 45 minutes later we were off and got home close to 11 pm. We should have been home close to 5 pm.

Oh well, I experienced just about all the things that can go wrong in one fail swoop so next time I'll know.

All in all it was a good trip and I'm glad I went. Steven is ready to fly somewhere too. Maybe to Los Angeles when the Mariner moves?

Show plug: Barefoot Contessa

Barefoot Contessa on Food Network stars Ina Garten cooking for her friends and family. Connie and I tend to snark that her friends must be lazy because she's always hosting. But really, it is her show.

The thing I like about the show is that you can tell Ina really loves to cook and spend time making a wonderful meal for those she loves. That's how I feel too.

At first some of the things she makes seemed complicated, but when I want to put in the effort to make a great meal, her recipes are great. With that in mind I'm still a fan of Hamburger Helper and all-in-a-box meals, but you know what I mean.

Ina makes some awesome cakes, pies, and tarts. And what I like is she gets flour all over her kitchen. I don't like shows that don't get kind of messy because, well.. cooking can get messy. I mostly watch for her desserts, but there are some other dishes that look good. For example, Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic.

Thirsty Thursday

A drink I like to get when I'm out is the Seabreeze. It's very good and cheap because it's vodka, grapefruit juice and cranberry juice. If you want something sweeter a Baybreeze is the same, but with pineapple juice instead of grapefruit juice. I haven't tried it, but it sounds tasty.

I actually started to get that because during Jackie's company Christmas party we planned to go out to shoot pool. I told Erich I didn't know what drink to order since I don't drink beer. He said, "get a seabreeze... it's good and cheap". lol. So I did... and he was right!

I want to learn to bake too...

Not only am I wanting to learn to cook better, I also want to learn how to bake. Cooking and baking are two totally different animals.

With cooking it can be okay if you don't follow the recipe exactly or add more or less of something (with some exceptions like rice, it has to be 2:1 ratio no ifs, ands, or buts). With baking, if it calls for 1/4 teaspoon baking powder you better add 1/4 t... not 1/2 or 1/8. It is exact.

A few weeks ago Steven and I made cookies from scratch. They were very good.. and fun! I also want to learn how to bake a cake and make frosting from scratch. I'm sure it's not very hard. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with box mixes, but I'd like to try and make a cake myself.


So I'll get out my mixing bowl... but where did I put the measuring cup?



From LOL cats

Yum-O

I made one of my favorite dishes, Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli, last night for dinner. I don't think I really have a favorite dish because it wouldn't be fair to name just one. Anyways, it's not that hard to do if you chop everything before rather than during cooking.

This is from 30 Minute Meals

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound macaroni elbows
2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets


Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard


Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin
olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes
then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and
chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water.
Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is
cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and
melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until
roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a
little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add
chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so.
Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken
and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer
to a large serving platter and serve.

Notes on what I do: Even though the sauce is mentioned towards the middle, I start the sauce right away and let it simmer the whole time because it gets a little thicker. Also I don't use cayenne pepper.. I'm not a fan of spicy food, but if you like it by all means add it. Of course I get whatever chicken is on sale, not necessarily tenders. Cans of chicken broth are more than a cup, so I add the rest to the pan of chicken and onions to deglaze the pan.


The best thing about the dish is that it makes a lot and like most pastas it is better the next day. When I move out I plan to make the full amount (but I may invite others over to help some, lol).

I was told what my salary would be at work today. I know it's not proper to talk about money, so lets just say it's a little more than what I thought it would be. It's also a great amount for someone's first job out of college and for a non-profit.

The head of HR also gave me the insurance info and it is over whelming. How do I know which to choose? Also, if Steven's company's insurance (where ever that will be) goes up as much for couples from a single then we may just have separate coverage. Yowza it's a lot!

You shouldn't read insurance info with a headache (well it's difficult to do much with a headache, really). The first place I'll go with my shiny new card? Dr. Wilsons' for some migraine meds!

35 Sundays to go!

In 35 Sundays I'll be on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas. This is by far my favorite ship, and this is the second to last Caribbean sailing out of Port Canaveral before moving over to Los Angeles to sail the Mexican Rivera. I also want to go on that itenerary.

This will be my second time sailing this itenerary. I like how it has a day at sea at the beginning and at the end. The first one is good to familiarize yourself with this massive ship (luckily it won't take me too long since this will be my 3rd time on the Mariner) and the last day is good to relax before getting back to reality.

I'm excited because Jackie, Erich, Andy, and his friend Jeremy are joining Steven and me. This will be a fun sailing because it's filled with celebrations. First to celebrate my graduation. We're going in December rather than May because it's cheaper, and the more we save on the room, the more we have to spend on drinks of the day! Also we're celebrating Andy's return from Iraq the month before. I really hope he went ahead and renewed his passport before he left.


The Mariner in Grand Cayman. ETA: hopefully you can see the picture now


By the way, happy baptism birthday to Jackie and me!

Pictures

Here's my graduation dress, it's hard to tell with this picture but there's a lacy-type flowery design on it.

By the way, I'm holding my whole 4 tickets I get.

Here's Steven's graduation. No he isn't wearing hair gel, it had been raining for 3 hours. And I had no umbrella.

I can't wait to be in the Alumni club too!

Finally!

Yes I'm devoting a whole post to my finding a graduation dress.

It has been way harder than it should be. At College of Charleston, for the May graduation girls wear a white summer dress and men where a summer tuxedo, which means they have a white jacket instead of black.

Men have been so lucky. Prom, graduation, wedding... they get to just go out and rent a tux.

Us ladies? We have to buy a friggin dress that we (may) only wear once. Well, for the wedding dress it's once (hopefully). I've actually worn both of my prom dresses on several cruises on formal night.

The good thing about this dress is that it's casual so I can wear it to work, or on a Saturday afternoon, or where ever.

Now Steven and I went all up and down King Street, all around Mt. Pleasant Towne Centre, and Citadel Mall to find this dress. We went into department stores, big name stores (Old Navy & such) and local boutiques... nothing, or something not in my size. Gah! I was about to have to GAIN 20 pounds to fit into my dress!! Then finally... there it is.. my dress! Where did I find it? ........ Target! Go figure.

Alright you twisted my arm

Okay so I joined in the blogging. I enjoy reading Mama's and Connie's and will enjoy Jackie's new blog. I wanted to start one and I'm still not sure what it'll be about.. I guess I could talk about myself but that seems so narcissistic. But enough about me, lets talk about me.

I'm exactly four weeks out from graduating college (technically less than that because my graduation ceremony is at 9:30 am). Most people my age freak out over having to go to work and pay bills and all that, but I'm excited. I'm ready to get out there and be a grown up, worry about making rent instead of making an A.

I guess I should take this time to apologize in advance for my terrible grammer, spelling, and writing technique, if you can call it that. My talents lie elsewhere and I've accepted it.