Where did the month of June go?

So it has been a month since I last posted and I’m a little disappointed in myself for letting it go that long. In all honestly I have been crazy busy but still. I enjoy reading everyone else’s blogs, so I should at least try and contribute. So here is a little run down of my life recently:

* I’ve been working tons lately. We have had a religious convention in the arena for the last three weekends which requires me to be in the arena from 7:00am to 6:30pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It’s not hard work, but it makes for a very long weekend. Plus I don’t get to do anything fun for the weekend of the 4th of July because I’m at work. :’(

* However I got to skip last week's convention because Andy and I went up to Maryland. I love going home with him. I love his town, his family, and his friends. Andy was a groomsman in his best friend from high school’s wedding. It was a beautiful event and I was so happy I could go. (I don’t know about everyone else but I feel like everyone I know either got married this month or went to a wedding. I guess we have hit the age where there really is a wedding season. Yay for being grown ups; bring on the free cake!) We also went to an Orioles game, which was my very first major league baseball experience. We went with a couple of Andy’s old friends and we had so much fun!

*I’m getting excited about the family’s trip to Germany this month. I can't believe I'm leaving in two weeks!

*Andy has officially moved back to Columbia, which makes life ten times easier. I loved Charleston but I missed being able to see him during the week. Andy moved into a huge old house with a couple of friends from college and will start grad school in the fall. I can’t believe we have been together for almost a year now. Part of me feels like it was only yesterday and part feels like we have been together forever. It’s been wonderful no matter how long it’s been.

*I take back a little bit of my statement from above, that I am not going to have any fun for the 4th. Andy and the guys are have a housewarming party/Independence Day party on Friday the 3rd. All the guys that we hung out with during college are coming into town and we are having a mini reunion. It’ll be great to see everyone again.

* One last gem from my life, I saw the movie Public Enemies last night and it was so good! I little "shoot 'em up" for my taste in parts, but over all very entertaining. Plus both Johnnie Depp and Christian Bale are gorgeous and there are plenty of quotable lines.

And to end on a traditional note I’ll update you on what I’m reading: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. I saw a trailer for this movie that will be coming out the month and thought it looked adorable. I found out that the movie is based on a book, like usual, and I am determined to read the book before I see the movie. I also started reading Bless Your Heart, Tramp by Celia Rivenbark. It is hysterical! If you want a good look at how Southerns think, this is the book for you.

Summer is here!

It has been an embarrassing long time since I’ve written, especially since interesting stuff has actually been happening to me. Clearly I’m too lazy to write in paragraphs so I’m reverting back to list format.

• My family is officially planning a trip to Europe now. We had a few factors that the trip was resting on but they all worked out so we are going! The majority of the trip will be in Germany but we might have to steal over to another country of two if time permits. If you have been over there and you have suggestions of what to see please let me know. (Amber we are coming to see you so your thoughts would be great!)


• Andy is finally moving back to Columbia this month!!!!!!! Clearly I’m ecstatic. We didn’t plan out our relationship very well since we didn’t start dating until after he moved to Charleston, which is an easy hour and an half drive but inconvenient to say the least. I think he and his roommates have found a house and will be moving in around the middle of June. Yay!


• I’m so excited about this upcoming weekend. Andy is going on a family vacation and I was wondering how I would spend my free weekend when my lovely friend Celia said that she would be in Charleston over the weekend. I’m totally stoked about the potential beach time, catching up with friends, and a trip to Hyman’s. (I’m a little embarrassed to say that I already know what I’m going to order.) I don’t think I could ever get sick of that place.
  
• I went to the Outer Banks a couple weekends ago for the first time and I was very impressed. My problem with a lot of the beaches in SC is that they are always full of people. I much prefer the feeling that my group is the only one for miles and the beach is completely ours. In the Outer Banks the only people on the beach are the ones who are renting the houses next to you and that’s it. It was wonderful! There really isn’t anything to do on the island which was awesome too. Why go to the beach to do anything but go to the beach! (Although we did go through a Brew Thru and bought t-shirts because it’s tradition and the shirts are collector’s items.) I’m hoping to make my way up there again soon. If you haven’t gone before I definitely recommend it.


• I have becoming rather obsessed with my reading list. No really, I have a problem. The list is about 15 pages long in Word and every time I look through it I want to read every book right now. I don’t have anywhere near enough time in my life to devote to reading but I really think I’m going to start making time because I thinking I’m a calmer person when I do get a chance to read some during the day.

On that note I hope everyone had a great weekend and you have a wonderful week!

Currently I’m reading: Life Laughs by Jenny McCarthy, which is very funny and I was surprised by how normal her life was considering who she is. I’m also reading Don’t Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoe by Dixie Cash. This series is really cute and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for pure click lit books.

It's All About Relaxing

I had kind of a crappy day yesterday. Nothing terribly bad happened, just a lot of little things like I slipped in the rain and busted up my knee on the asphalt and dropped a huge bowl of pasta salad on the floor at lunch and the list just kept going. So after work I went to the library and found the cutest books ever and all of a sudden my day was better. (Although the long phone chat with Andy probably helped the most.) I really have enjoyed over the last couple of months exploring the world of literature, or chick lit rather. I’m heading to the beach this weekend (YAY!!!) so I had to get some good reading material. They are by an author named Dixie Cash, clearly a southern writer, and I picked up Since You’re Leaving Anyway, Take Out the Trash and Don’t Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes. I know they are totally girly but they are sound wonderful and just want I need to relax.

I’ve also been working through the book Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. It was recommended to me by a friend and while it’s not really my taste I’m going to finish it, if for no other reason than because she liked it. It covers a large range of taboo topics but the story still has an innocence about it too. It is an Oprah recommended book, plus it won a Pulitzer Prize. If you are interested in opening your mind definitely give this one a try.

And now time for a few of my random thoughts. I heard the song Forever and Ever this morning and it got me thinking. I’m very picky about the country songs I listen to, I’m more of a poppy country fan if any, so I was surprised that this song held my attention this morning. I want a love like that song. It’s not flashy or exciting all the time but a pure love that is simple and true. (Trust me, I’m doing my darnest to find that.) It just sounded so sweet.

As a fun office outing we are all going to a USC baseball game this afternoon. How fun is that? It’s just a fun way for us all to bond and relax outside of the office. We all went to the movies last week too. If your office needs a little relaxation time I would definitely recommend coordinating an office outing.

One last thought, I went to the movies last week, I saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past which was totally cute, and I saw a really cute movie trailer. It’s called Julie & Julia. It’s about a girl, named Julie, who decides to cook ever recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook and then blogs about her experiences doing it. It looks really fun and it kind of encouraged me to keep up with my blog. I won’t be able to publish it one day but it might be nice to read later on in life and see what I was up to. Plus this is my way of remembering what I’ve read already.

Have a great week!

Summer Can't Come Soon Enough

Spring is here and summer is right around the corner. Yippee!

This is really the first summer that I remember being truly excited about it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved not going to school for a couple months and the random trips to the Midwest to see the family but we rarely went to the beach (my parents didn’t swim) or did anything exciting. During college I usually just worked and took classes so it wasn’t much of a summer. This summer is shaping up to be truly exciting though. Both Andy and I are planning to move; him back to Columbia, me into a new house with Miss Erin Egnot. We both have a ton of trips planned: everywhere from Myrtle Beach, to Maryland, to maybe Germany (for me and the Olsgaard clan). Any weekend that we don’t have plans, or I’m working :’(, I’m hoping to take trips around the state and visit all our friends who we don’t get to see very often. There are the Greenville girls, and the group sounds like its numbers will be growing again soon, Justin at Wofford, and the ladies in Charleston. Maybe we can even swing down to Florida for a long weekend to see Miss Celia!

P.S. We are having a mini SPTE/college reunion this weekend. Lots of people are coming into town and I’m so excited to see everyone! Of course I only get to see people sporadically because I have Disney on Ice at the arena this weekend. And I have to be here for all SEVEN shows of it! Are you kidding me? Oh well, that’s the price I pay for having a big girl job.

I’m currently reading: Second Chance by: Jane Green. It’s a little sadder than what I usually look for in chick-lit but I’m pushing through it to see if it gets better. The story is a completely knock off of the movie Big Chill, which I do like. (Best soundtrack ever!). I also just started reading Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier. I’ve always wanted to read it, so I am.

I Like Lists

So I don’t think I’m very good at writing in paragraph form, also I’m just too lazy to write in that format so I’m switching to a list form instead. If you dislike the style, so sorry, but too bad. Hehe I love you. ;)

*I spent my second weekend at the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament this past weekend. I’ve never been much of a tennis fan. (I mainly compare it to watching paint dry actually.) But it was surprisingly entertaining. I think the fact that watching anything in person makes everything more fun and the fact that the players were very good also helped. A completely random girl ended up winning which was cool. The winner was only 19 years old and the runner up was only 18! Wow do I feel slightly unaccomplished at the old age of 23. I guess I can always blame my parents for letting my have a wonderful childhood instead of forcing me to become a world class athlete.

*I think everyone I know got engaged over Easter weekend. Okay, not everyone but a bunch of people did. Congrats to all the happy couples. It is kinda funny how these events seem to come in spurts though.

*Somehow I became Facebook friends with people my brother goes to high school with a while back. Well they all had prom over the weekend and I had a good ole’ time looking through all their pictures this morning. It’s crazy to think that my last prom was FIVE YEARS ago! The taste in dresses and hair styles have changed only slightly since I went. It still feels like yesterday that I was shopping for the perfect dress. Both of my proms went very smoothly, no crazy or embarrassing stories. Anyone out there have any good prom stories????

P.S. I’m still reading the same books I mentioned last blog but I thought I would add that Dan Brown, author of the Da Vinci Code, will be coming out with a new book called The Lost Symbol on September 15th. For all you lovers of Brown’s work, get excited!!!!

Chicken Fried

So I thought I’d share my new favorite band, the Zac Brown Band. Chicken Fried is such a great southern song, even if it is about Georgia, it still works for SC! Something about the lyrics just speaks to me. Toes is pretty fun too!

You know I like my chicken fried

Cold beer on a Friday night

A pair of jeans that fit just right

And the radio up

Currently I’m reading: Something Blue by: Emily Giffin. I’m hooked on this series. Giffin is a great writer and makes you feel like you know all the characters so well. I’m also reading Society Girls by: Sarah Mason. I haven’t gotten too far in it yet but I think it’s going to be really cute too. I’m really enjoying my girly books but I think I’ll switch it up to someone of substance next time, we’ll see though. ;)

Here is a funny little survey that I thought some of you might enjoy. Once you get to the end copy it either to the comments or an email, then erase my answers, fill in yours, and send it back to me. Yay for procrastinating!

Two - by - Two
Two names you go by:
1 Foot Foot
2 Mama O
Two things you are wearing right now:
1 The necklace Andy gave me
2. Heels
Two things you love to do:
1. Travel
2. Sit on the beach with a good book, a good drink, and good friends
Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To be in Charleston
2 Be outside to enjoy the sunshine
Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. I’ve never really had an pets, just fish :(
2.
Two people who will send this back completed:
1. Andy
2. Rebecca
Two things I did last night:
1. Drove to Charleston and back with the family
2. I got to sit in the corporate box and watch Caroline Wozniacki play from the first row. Pretty cool stuff.
Two people you last talked to:
1. Andy Sipes
2. My mom
Trips taken in the last five years:
1 Maryland for New Years
2. Fargo, ND to see the family
Two favorite Holidays
1. New Years
2. Thanksgiving
Two favorite beverages:
1. Water
2. Ginger Ale, I know I’m a dork

Ramble On

I’m so excited, one of my favorite shows has started again, GREEK!!!!!! I know it comes on ABC Family and all but I love that show. It is nothing like my experience in the Greek System, although ESA wasn’t really a greek sorority, but I find it entertaining.

On a completely different note, I read about the weirdest thing yesterday. I’m reading Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot, who also wrote Princess Diaries, and the main story revolves around these kids who are supposedly elevator surfing. It’s when people climb on the top of an elevator car and ride it up and down. Apparently they can also hop from one moving car to the other. Isn’t that the craziest thing you’ve ever heard?!?! Anyway the book is interesting, not exactly what I was expecting though from the title, but then again I didn't realize it would be a mystery.

Also my Erin Egnot is back in Columbia, SC for the next couple of days. I’m so happy. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Can you tell that I just learned how to insert pictures? Plus everyone loves a visual right?

Currently I’m reading: Size 12 is Not Fat by: Meg Cabot as mentioned previously. I’m also reading Something Borrowed by: Emily Giffin. Its super cute and just what I was looking for, a perfect girly beach book.