Liebster Lovin'

I got a lovely e-mail from Whiteny from A Blessed Southern Tarheel,  informing me that she nominated me for the Liebster award! When I started blogging almost 2 years ago (WOW!), I never imagined I gain 'readers' and honestly, I didn't care. I started this blog for myself as an outlet---to tell the truth, I can articulate my feelings in writing much better than I can vocalize them. Sometimes, I wonder if I I'm too honest, but then I think 'hey, this is my blog and I'm allowed to!'

Anyways, on to the award that I was nominated for! "The Liebster Blog Award is given to bloggers by bloggers. It is a way to acknowledge each other and say “you’re doing a great job”. It is for blogs with 200 followers or less, so it’s also a great way to spread the word about smaller blogs and get them more readers and followers!"

The Rules:

When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you. You pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions. You’re not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you. (To get the button, right click the picture on my page and save the picture to your computer. You can then upload to your blog.)

  First, y'all need to go check out her blog. She is recently engaged and loves to eat and run, which is why I started following her. :) Thanks again Whitney for this nomination!

 Now onto the fun part...

Introducing 11 Random Facts About Me:
1. I'm not sure why, but I'm mildly obsessed with severe weather like hurricans, tornadoes and bad storms. Now, I don't like the devastation they bring, but I guess I'm just fascinated by how mother nature can do so much damage. Today during school I had the weather channel on my computer all day. You can call me weather women Kristen :)

2. I cannot and will not sleep with socks on. It doesn't matter if its 100 degrees or 0 degrees. End of story.

3. I am a terrible speller. Yes, I'm a teacher, so sue me.

4. My biggest pet peeve is people reading or watching over my shoulder.

5. I'm always 15 minutes early or EXACTLY on time.

6. If I wasn't a teacher, I would be a real estate agent or party planner. I dream of the day I can have my own Friday night cocktail party at my house or dare I say even Sunday football game days with The Boys and his friends.

7. I have more mild health conditions that a person my age should. You can read about my stomach condition here and my skin condition here. Those are just some! 

8. If I don't have some sort of list going, I feel lost! I need my lists!!

9. I sleep with 3 pillows---ALWAYS!

10. I over-analyze everything. I need to stop.

11. The Boy and I went to the same high school, but didn't know who each other were. That's probably a good thing though. Look at us now, 2 1/2 years and counting.... :)

*If you want to know some more weird facts about me, you can read that here.

Now onto the 11 questions Whitney has for me:

1. What was your childhood nickname? What is your current nickname?

My nickname growing up was given to me in 1st grade by my best friend (and 17 years late-still great friends!) and it was Krickin -pronounced Cr-ee-k-in. Don't ask- I'm not sure how I got it, but it stuck until Jr. High. Now,  I just got by my name or Kris for short.

2. Do you have any strange phobias?

I have a fear of driving in the dark. I don't know if that's strange, but I don't like it. I'm also terrified of strangers. I just never know what they'll do. Oh, and I'm also scared that my shoes laces will get caught in an escalator. I saw that happen one time when I was little and it terrified me...to this day! 

3. What do you do for fun in your spare time?

Well, if I were still living in Chicago, I would go out for a quick lunch with a girlfriend or I would go run. Since I moved down here, I'm unfamiliar with this area and don't trust the people yet to just go out running in a neighborhood (see questions #2). So here, I bake, cook and blog!! :)

4. What would you do if you had a million dollars?

First, I would pay off my student loans. I would then go back to school to get my masters. I would also open up a dog rescue. I love dogs so much and if I had the space, I would totally try to save every single dog!

5. Do you save old greeting cards and letters or do you throw them away?

It depends who they're from. I've saved notes from high school from my girlfriends and cards from The Boy, but other than that, no not really.

6. What are the top three qualities that draw you to someone new?

1- Easy to talk to, 2- Sense of humor,  3- Friendly to people new

7. What is one guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up?

Does blogging count? :) I would say Teen Mom and bad reality TV. I can't put it down. Money wise, I love my starbucks drinks in the morning...even if I only allow myself one a week.

8. If you could eliminate one weakness or limitation in your life, what would it be?

Wow! Great questions Whitney. It would be my fear of failure. It's my worst fear. I don't want to fail at my career, in my relationships, life, etc. I would also like to eliminate money. It would make everything much better! :)

9. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes. Because I can still remember where I was and what I was wearing when I met The Boy! :)

10. Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, as what? If not, what is your favorite Halloween costume from the past?

No. We can't dress up or celebrate for Halloween. :( But my favorite halloween costume was probably 4th grade I was a 50's diner chick. In college my favorite was a beer can made of duck tape---don't judge me! 

11. What is your favorite part about blogging?

Meeting new people. I love the friendships I have on here and the people that give me advice when I need it. It's so uplifting and positive. I also love that it's all documented. I keep thinking how much I will love this once I start a family or take the next big step in my life.

Now, my 11 4 blog friends I'm nominating for this award:

Anna at A Day in the Life...

Anna at A Pair of Kings

Sarah at A Dash of Sarah

Kyndal at Bralys in the Burgh

The questions I have for you are:

1. If you could meet one person from the past who would it be (famous or not famous)? 

2. What is the earliest memory you have of your childhood?

3. Are you a (diet) Coke or (diet) Pepsi gal? 

4. If you could change one thing about your life currently (small or big) what would it be?

5. What is your dream job?

6. If you could travel anywhere for 100 days, where would it be?

7. Are you a more passive or assertive type of person?

8. Who or what is the most important thing to you right now in your life?

9. Where did you go to college and are you working in a job (career) where your degree is being put to good use? (These days, I feel like it's more important to just land a job-so I'm interested!)

10. What is your favorite dessert? 

11. Why did you start blogging?

Have fun y'all!! :) And don't forget to nominate your favorite new bloggers as well! :)

5 For Five week 3

I'm linking up with Jessica and Jenn for 5 for Five today! Join in the fun!

Link up with us at the start of the work week to set five goals that you want to accomplish in the next five days!! 

Green are things I accomplished and the ones in red are the ones I didn't do- opps!

Last week's goals:

1. Work out 2 times this week (let's see if a that makes a difference) No excuses here :(

2. Figure out my after school plans for the rest of the year

3. Deep clean my apartment before The Boy gets here Thursday!! :) (Hopefully I can find the time to do this!) I did this Friday after school as he was cooking, so I'll take it! :)

4. Don't buy ONE thing this week. (Except for my ONE Starbucks drink!)---Yes, that even means going into Target without getting anything-ahh!!!! This will be hard! Went to Target. I had to get a coworker a present.

5. Pick out my outfits for the next day, the night before. (When I do this, I notice I save like 15 minutes in the morning. That is 15 minutes that I can eat my breakfast at the table, rather than in the car, as I'm driving---I know that's not good, but I have no other time) Yes!! I did this and will be continuing it this week.

This week's goals:

1. Figure out my after school plans this year

2. Do not buy ONE thing this week---I really want to accomplish this!

3. I want to start reading a new book. That is one thing I miss the most- I just never have time :(

4. Make meal plans for the next 2 weeks (trying to use everything in my refrigerator and pantry)

5. Be confrontational when it's necessary. 

I'm hoping this week won't be too stressful. I'm already counting down to Thanksgiving break---22 days!!!

The Perfect Storm

I thought that title would be fitting because of Hurricane Sandy coming, yet I had a perfect weekend with The Boy. I hope everyone on the east coast stays safe! Here is a little of what we did this weekend. It wasn't much, but it was just the perfect low-key weekend for us.

Thursday night The Boy made ME dinner! It was fantastic. This doesn't happen a lot, but he insisted he wanted to, so I didn't put up a fight. Shrimp and broccoli pasta! YUm!!

Friday, he came to school for a half day. The kids loved him and they want him to become a teacher. :) It was sweet. He is great with kids, which is always an attractive thing.

We did a lot this:

Had some adult beverages and watched football.

Trying to get him to take a picture with him is a challenge. Silly boy.

 Saturday, after a day full of football, football and more football, we went to eat at Blackhorse! We then met up with some of my friends and their husbands! I live for night with good friends and a couple of drinks. I think that's how I know I'm getting old lol. I prefer drinks in a booth, rather than shots.

Half of the 1st grade team! :)

Sunday was MORE football. I'm NOT complaining because I got to cuddle (in between profanity and fist throwing) with The Boy the whole day. I also made this buffalo chicken dip! Yum! This is simply the easiest thing to make. It's a staple for football Sunday's around here.

I just got home from dropping off The Boy at the airport. :( I miss him already and yes I cried. I couldn't help it! It was such an amazing weekend- I didn't want him to leave! We talked a lot about the future, which made me giddy! :) I sometimes wonder how I landed such a great guy. I am so incredibly lucky to call him mine.

I'll be posting tomorrow for 5 for Five. I'm scared to look at my goals from last week. Anyone feel the same? 

I hope everyone has a great Sunday!

My Spider Story

Is about this little guy...

Easily, the biggest spider I have ever seen INSIDE somewhere. I've been told the south has many large insects, but this was just plain gross!

Now, let me say this... I am not one of those "omg a little ant is on the floor, lets freak out and run in the other room!" I prefer to pick up the insect with a piece of paper and let him go back outside in his real habitat. As you can see in the picture above, the white toilet paper was there because I thought, "Phst, I can do this! I'll just put him on this toilet paper and let him back outside." Hmmm....NO! 

You see, I was at Mrs. D's house doing laundry. She had left to go have dinner with her dad, so I was just hanging out doing schoolwork and playing with these precious pups by myself!

They were taking a cat nap, when I see Tucker (the one sitting so nicely in the picture) run over to the wall trying to figure something out. He was very quiet. He came back and laid down. I see this black thing crawl (super fast) across the floor and couldn't believe my eyes! I said some bad words (because I realized how big it was) and then tried to figure out what to do with the 'lil' guy. As he is laying there, this spider comes nose-to-nose with him!! All while this was going on, I was trying to decide whether I should have Tucker kill him, but I didn't want Tucker to eat him because I thought maybe he's poisonous. 

Here is a video of what happened last. (Side note: Bailey, would not leave my side, so the whole time I'm filming she is like on my lap. She also had REALLY bad gas that day, so you might hear me ask her if she farted-poor girl! And yes, I do talk to dogs like they're humans... ALL the time!)

By the way, I'm doing so well on my goals this week!! Makes this girl happpppy! I'm even happier because The Boy comes tomorrow at 2:30 pm!! Yahooo....so, I might be MIA these next couple of days. I promise to update Sunday. Until then...have a great week y'all!!

5 for Five!!

I'm linking up with Jessica and Jenn for 5 for Five today! Join in the fun!

Link up with us at the start of the work week to set five goals that you want to accomplish in the next five days!! 

Green are things I accomplished and the ones in red are the ones I didn't do- opps!

My 5 goals from last week:

1. Work out 3 times this week.(no excuses here)

2. Finish all the leftovers in my fridge this week without buy ANY more groceries.(except for milk-yay!)

3. Be in bed by 9 pm every night this week. (I caught myself blogging at 9:09 one night-darn it!)

4. Go home by 4 pm one day this week. (I left Friday right at 4!!!)

5. Try calling an old friend this week. (I did- success!!)

This week's goals:

1. Work out 2 times this week (let's see if a that makes a difference)

2. Figure out my after school plans for the rest of the year

3. Deep clean my apartment before The Boy gets here Thursday!! :) (Hopefully I can find the time to do this!)

4. Don't buy ONE thing this week. (Except for my ONE Starbucks drink!)---Yes, that even means going into Target without getting anything-ahh!!!! This will be hard!

Salted Carmel Mocha's and Pumpkin Spice Latte's are just too good to pass up at 6 am!

5. Pick out my outfits for the next day, the night before. (When I do this, I notice I save like 15 minutes in the morning. That is 15 minutes that I can eat my breakfast at the table, rather than in the car, as I'm driving---I know that's not good, but I have no other time)

Weekend in Pictures

This past Friday, our school had a vocabulary parade. Our school district does not celebrate Halloween (insert sad face here), but we do this vocab parade where every student (and teacher) dresses up like a vocab word. Some examples this year were; backwards (they put all of their clothes on backwards), blustery (they attached leaves to themselves and carried a blown back umbrella) and comical (they dress up like a clown). Well, us teachers dressed up as well!! Since we teach 1st grade, we wanted to incorporate 1st place, winning type of words. There are 5 of us that teach 1st grade, so we were all a different 'winning/athletic' word. I was competitive. Here we are! :)

This weekend was low key. Just what I needed! Because next weekend The Boy will be here!! :)

(I did this to my hair Saturday morning. I found quick 5-min up dos ((on Pinterest-of course)) and this one actually worked! I need to work on getting more volume up by the crown though)

Anyways, Friday night I went out to Blackhorse for dinner with one of my friends (we'll call her Mrs. D) and her dad. It was a great night around good people!

One of the dogs I love on while I'm down here!

Saturday I slept in until 9:30!!! This is unheard of! Waking up at 5 am everyday really wears you out by Friday night. I went to the local farmers market in the morning and then ran some more errands.

Our farmer's market by the river!

In the afternoon my very sweet friend, Mrs. D (who I also work with) let me do laundry at her house. I got to play with these silly pups for awhile and I definitely got my dog fix in!

         Aren't they just the cutest???

  

Funny story about this huge ass spider to come sometime this week. EWWWWW!!! Kristen does NOT like spiders this big!

Today, I went to church with Mrs. D. It's a very fun, outgoing, upbeat type of church service. Which is what I prefer. :)

On Thursday this fine young man is coming to visit me!!! I never thought he'd be able to with his work schedule, but I am beyond excited!! 4 more days!!

5 for Five tomorrow morning. Be there or be there!!!  I kinda like blogging in the morning before work! :)

5 for Five Update

I'm linking up with Jessica and Jenn for 5 for Five today! Join in the fun!

Link up with us at the start of the work week to set five goals that you want to accomplish in the next five days!! 

Yay---here we go...these are ones I did (or didn't do) this past week.

1. Work out 3 times this week. (I only worked out twice-darn )

2. Eat more vegetables and fruits.

3. Blog at least 3 times this week. I have so many posts floating around in my head. :)

4. Be IN bed by 9 pm (on school nights---so maybe this will start next week?! lol) It will start this week. lol

5. Finish my (mandatory 3-day) sub plans. I was supposed to have this finished 2 weeks ago...opps!

*So, 3 out of 5, not too bad for me.

My NEW 5 goals for this week:

1. Work out 3 times this week.

2. Finish all the leftovers in my fridge this week without buy ANY more groceries.

3. Be in bed by 9 pm every night this week.

4. Go home by 4 pm one day this week.

5. Try calling an old friend this week.

Let's see how well I do. I like crossing things off my list, I feel so much more accomplished! :)

Also, look what I made this weekend!! It's called Pumpkin Better than Cake!!

I found this picture on Pinterest so I just had to make it! (I love anything pumpkin or fall)

Source: somethingswanky.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Hope everyone has a great week! Hopefully it goes by fast! :)

So What Wednesday

Yes...another post. I just love all 3 hops and I have the time today so I said "Why not?"

I'm linking up with Shannon for So What Wednesday.

-So what if I've gone into school on my week off. I'm getting a lot done, so get off my back.

-So what if I still don't feel like I fit in down here. I'm not sure if time will tell, or I really just belong in the midwest.

-So what if I've been thinking about my future a lot... I love day dreaming of all the possibilities my life has!

-So what if I've been looking  at jobs for The Boy. He needs a better job- end of discussion!

-So what if I miss home. It's not the same down here all by myself

-So what if I'm getting my eye lashes tinted. They're white and I spend too much $ on mascara. I'll keep you posted. My appointment is tomorrow at 11:45! YES!

Now it's time to go read everyone else's "so what if's". LOVE this!

Oh, How Pinteresting...

One of my all time favorite hops! It's probably because after subscribing to Pinterest over a year ago, I am still obsessed. Anyone else feel the same way?

I just made a board on Pinterest called, "Yes...My Christmas List." I made it because as I'm getting older there is not much I want, except those more expensive things that I need. Almost everyone in my family is on Pinterest as well, so what a better idea to help them with what things I could actually use! :) Here we go...

Source: buzzfeed.com via Kristen on Pinterest

No one told me the nats are HORRIBLE in the south. My apartment had (no joke) around 75 at any given time. After the exterminator came, a few were still lingering. I did this and poof. Gone! AMEN!

Source: lifessimplemeasures.blogspot.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I made these last week. GONE! So good! Highly recommended.  

Source: runnersworld.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Source: chef-in-training.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I hope to make some of these soon. But first, I need friends down here. lol

Source: thesweetestoccasion.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I want to do this with my co-workers baby shower in a few months!

Source: turtlewoman.hubpages.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Source: itsthelife.typepad.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I made this drink---DEFINITELY A KEEP! It will save me tons of $$$!!

Source: etsy.com via Kristen on Pinterest

First, I need a pair of brown boots. Then, hopefully I can add a pop of color! :)

Source: stevemadden.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Like these!

Ok, that is all! Take a look at my other post today and one more to come! That's what happens when you have a fall break for one week! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Oh, how I miss blogging! Since I'm on break, what a perfect time to get all my blog hop fixes in :)

So, I'm linking up with Jamie and This Kind of Love for WILW.

I'm loving that in 15 days The Boy will be visiting me in in Tennessee! 

I'm loving that I found the recipe for Starbuck's Passion Iced Tea lemonade. It seriously tastes like the exact same! (Here it is if your interested)

Source: itsthelife.typepad.com via Kristen on Pinterest

I'm loving all the fall/halloween decorations I just bought at TJ Maxx. I will be that house mom who decorates for every holiday! I love all holidays!

I'm loving all the food that my mom made for me while she was here this past weekend. I don't have to cook for weeks it seems! :)

I'm loving that everyone is getting engaged or pregnant these days. It's so wonderful to see friends/people so happy in their life.

I'm loving the fact I finally have the time to work out.

I'm loving the true and honest friend I still have back home, even though I'm hundreds of miles away. It's tough making good friends, but once I find them, I hold on with all I can. :)

Keep your eyes out because I will be posting 2 more posts today as well. I can't help myself!

Catch-Up

I am currently on fall break and it couldn't have come at a better time. My mom and sister came to visit me for the weekend and I wish they could have stayed. :(  They left this morning and so I went into school today. Yes, I went into the school on my fall break. Got a lot done and left at 1:30! Anyways, this week I hope to get a lot done. I need to catch up on my favorite blogger's post that I'm so desperately craving. Speak of bloggers, Jessica is one of my favorites. I've been following her for quite sometime now and I am so excited for her that she is now at 100 followers. Anyways, I was reading some of her recent posts that I've missed and she is currently hosting a Erin Condren give away AND starting a new link-up party starting next week. I feel like she read my mind because today I was just thinking about how I should be writing down some weekly goals, so I feel accomplished at the end of the week, rather than overwhelmed and unproductive. So, introducing Jessica and Jenn's link-up party...

Starting on Monday, October 15th, link up with us at the start of the work week to set five goals that you want to accomplish in the next five days!! 

It starts next Monday, but I thought I could do a practice round today. :)

1. Work out 3 times this week. 

2. Eat more vegetables and fruits.

3. Blog at least 3 times this week. I have so many posts floating around in my head. :)

4. Be IN bed by 9 pm (on school nights---so maybe this will start next week?! lol) 

5. Finish my (mandatory 3-day) sub plans. I was supposed to have this finished 2 weeks ago...opps!

My coworker, T and I at her house last weekend with her babies aka pups!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday. Just think 2 more days until hump day! :)