January 2012: Update

Hello friends! So it has been a while since I last posted. School + Work + Homework + life in general has kind of consumed me over the passed couple weeks. It has been hectic and will continue to be hectic until this semester is finished!

So I wanted to think back to January first, when I posted my new year goals, and see how I've been doing! Just to refresh, here are my goals & how I have been doing. 

1. Get straight A's while taking 18 credit hours this Spring - So far so good. Today was the first day I didn't go to class. I have just been exhausted from so many things going on and just needed to take a breather. I made sure nothing was going on and I have friends in all my classes to keep me up to date.

2. Save mulaaa $$$ - Yah!!! For successfully saving money! Matt & I are both doing this and are actually doing very well to our surprise! We have almost completely cut out going out to eat and fast food. Its crazy how much money you spend just on food. We do going out on occasion but honestly us being so busy has kind of helped us to just eat at home. 

3. Take a Road Trip (Go somewhere I have never been before) - I have not done this yet but have talked to friends about it, so its still in the works and I def want to do this by the end of the year! Maybe Spring Break!

4. Graduate school in the Fall with my degree in Hospitality Management - SOOOoooo close!

5. Attend more live performances (Concerts, plays, ballet) - As of right now, FAIL. This will be hard since we are trying to save money, should of thought of that!

6. Blog and film on a regular basis - Fail. I have a couple that I need to finish and post but it is so time consuming and school takes my first priority!

7.  No Chick-fil-A Waffle Fries for one year! - I have done so well on this one and have changed it to, NO FRIES AT ALL! I have successfully gone one month with no fries at all. Yah me! Feeling good!

8. Drink at least 4 glasses of water before I have any other beverage - yah, not gunna happen. I have cancelled this goal. Instead I am drinking at least 5 glasses of water a day. I have come to the realization that I NEED my coffee. 

9. Run/work-out at least three times a week - At first I was doing ok at this. I was running about 2 times a week. Nothing fancy. I joined a gym recently and since I have been going about 4-5 times a week! So excited to get into better shape!

10. Loose weight  Get healthy! - Same answer as above! Yah for eating better and being more active!

11. Find a church Matt & I both love - After trying out several churches we have found one that we both really like. Updates on that to come!

12. Move out (again) - This will probably be happening during the summer when I have time to think.

13. Figure out what I want to do exactly once I graduate - in progress

14. Pick up more skills in the kitchen - I'm really trying to incorporate this more buts its been really difficult.

15. Read at least 5 books that aren't school related - fail. I'm trying to get through The Help, but I have no time.

16. Get hitched - ????

Anyways, I think I am actually doing a decent job. So decent that I have decided that I am going to add a new goal or 'resolution' at the beginning of every month! This goal must be health related. So for February I have decided to give up sweet tea! I am a southern girl, born and raised so sweet tea basically flows in my blood but I know how bad it is for me. I recently began drinking half&half tea but I want to completely cut it out. I haven't decided if Splenda or Truvia counts but my main concern is just normal Sweet Tea. 

I will be posted a blog soon and maybe even a video full of pictures from January.

Talk to y'all soon! <3

Carrie C.

January 10th, 2012

Time to play catch up! I'll have to update you on the past couple days since I have been super busy getting ready for school and such. This past weekend was such a blast but slammed packed! So try to keep up with this super condensed version of my past couple days.

Friday and Saturday I worked all day long which was super exhausting. After we closed Saturday night David (another manager) and I had to stay late (midnight & beyond) to change & fix a couple things. Since minimum wage went up to $7.67 earlier this month our prices went up (chain wide) and I was the lucky gal to change them all  while David fixed the grille and a register. But it wasn't that bad just tedious.

Sunday I woke up fairly early to meet Darius & David for breakfast at Ihop before we headed to Universal Studios for our Chick-fil-A Group Christmas Trip. Around 1:30 I left Universal and met up with Matt, Jordan, Sara & Kaley at Disney's Animal Kingdom, which was a part of Kaley's Christmas gift! We spent the rest of the day park hopping and actually visited all four parks! At the end of the day I was exhausted!

Work came all to soon on Monday. I worked 11-7 which isn't bad but I was groggy all day from walking around all day on Sunday. Probably should have found a day before school to rest, oh well. Live and learn. Had many people upset about prices raising but what can ya do? We had no control over it... We also rolled out our new Kids Meal Options! Grilled Chicken Nuggets and Apple Sauce! Both yummy and healthier alternatives. After work stuck around a little bit and registered Darius for classes and then went home to help Jessica, my sister, register for classes. Afterwards I ran to Walmart with Matt to pick up some last minute things for school. Can't start school with out paper!

Today was my first day of school and that start of my Senior year! woohooo! Very long day, especially 17 credit hours, but I am determined to get straight A's!! I can't remember if I have shared my classes with you but here they are!

1. Managerial Accounting - 3 Credits
2. Hospitality Law - 3 Credits
3. Tourism Management - 3 Credits
4. Theme Park and Attraction Management - 3 Credits
5. Guest Services - 3 Credits
6. Guest Lectures - 1 Credit
7. Internship - 1 Credit

All of my classes are being spread out between Tuesday and Friday, which is the most amount of days I have had classes since I began college, so I can't really complain. I didn't even have to buy all my books!! Which is super exciting if you know how much books cost! Two of my books a friend gave me since he already has taken the classes (THANK YOU TIMMY), one class doesn't require a book, and two classes I found the books on Amazon for way cheaper! SO yeah for free to cheap books!

Picked up Jess on my way home (it was her first day of college classes at Valencia) and we grabbed lunch at Tijuana Flatts. Stopped by Goodwill on our way home and then I went and hung out with Matt for just a bit. Had dinner with the family and reviewed all my class work for this semester.

January 5th, 2012

After a restless night of sleep I ended up sleeping in a little later than I had planned. Woke up and sold back one of my texts books to Amazon! Made about $40 on a book  I was gunna give away, so I can turn around and pay for the two books I haven't gotten yet.

Which by the way, two books are costing me over $130. I know that is semi-cheap when being compared to other majors books, but come on, hospitality classes should be more hands on learning, not so much text book definitions. The hospitality industry isn't about terms and definitions its about quality service and good experiences. People aren't going to learn that from a textbook. Just saying. Now that I am done ranting about how I think Rosen College should teach I will move on..

Rachael & Kurtis got sent home early because of a virus that is going around their school, lucky dogs. So Jess, Rache & I went to Panera Bread for lunch and then to Target, Ulta, Goodwill & K-Mart. Had a fun day hanging out with my sisters, I don't get to do it that often and when we do its always a good time. Dinner with Matt & his family at Italian Garden. They have some yummy garlic knots and stuffed pizza!

January 4th, 2012

So my original plan when I made the resolution to blog more wasn't to blog everyday, but somehow it has turned into that. I don't plan on being able to keep up with it as easily once school starts. I am very excited about knowing exactly how my next couple months are going to play out when it comes to my schedule. 


I have such an awesome work family and boss who are all super flexible with my school schedule, I couldn't ask for more from them! I will hopefully be able to have Saturday nights off so Matt and I can start attending Saturday Night church again. School will consume me from Tuesday through Friday morning, so no work any of those days. Mondays, Fridays & Saturdays are the only days I will be working, which is a scary shift from my usual Monday - Friday schedule. 


I am excited about signing up for a photography class that is 9 weeks long. I have taken photography classes before but I seam to learn more and more with each intro/beginner class I take. This class should be a nice outlet for me during this crazy semester! If anyone is interested it is completely FREE and is offered by @littlefashiondiary (from instagram). The class is online and she is actually a high school photography teacher! Also, check out below, in the photo challenge part of this post, the boot toppers @littlefashiondiary made! She was selling them in the month of December and I couldn't pass them up!


http://www.littlefashiondiary.com/ <-- Sign up for the class & let me know if you do :)


Today I woke up and knocked out a big portion of my laundry I have been putting off. Worked from four till close and work went pretty well considering we were on our toes waiting for Corporate to show up. Came home, blogged, crashed.

January 2012 Photo Challenge: Day Four: Letterbox

Today's photo challenge was to take a picture of your letterbox, but since we are in 2012 I took a photo of my email inbox on my phone, which I use way more than my actual mail box. I also included in the picture the boot toppers I got in the mail today! Aren't they adorable??







What am I listening to while writing this blog? Boyce Avenue, Katy Perry & Gym Class Heroes. 


What did I watch on YouTube today? SHAYTARDS, CTFxC, Ellen, Justin Bieber, Moms View, Grid      
               Monster, Luke Conard, Shane Dawson, Brittani Louise Taylor....


Random Question of the Day: Who made the last incoming call on your phone? Matthew, my bf.

January 3rd, 2012

 Happy third day of the year! I woke up to a text from my boyfriend, Matt, and it was a picture of his thermometer in his car. 37 degrees?!?!?!?! Florida, whats going on? I had friends who were at the beach on Sunday and now that its Tuesday you want to go all freezing col don us? Rude. 

Today was all about school for me. I spent the day reviewing what I needed for my classes, searching for the best deal on text books and even trying to plan out my next 1-2 semesters of classes that I need to graduate. Pretty surreal to think about graduating, being 'thrown' out into the 'real' world.



After spending the day slaving away over school, before it even begins mind you, I decided to make dinner with my sisters for the fam & Matt. Learning more about cooking was one of my New Year Goals so I am very proud of myself for getting off on a good start! Don't worry, I will continue to post about the food I find myself creating, good or bad.

Rigatoni Pasta Pie

First time making Garlic Knots and they were so yummy!

Jessica made the appetizers, which didn't end up being ready until the rest of the food, but her fried raviolis were delish and worth the wait! I made the main course, Rigatoni Pasta Pie & Parmesan Garlic Knots, nommm noommm noomm! 


After dinner Rachael made us Mini Hersey Kiss Pies, which were so yummy I didn't take time to get a picture!  But I will post the link to everything below! 


The family & Matt decided to watch the new Planet of the Apes, which turned out to be pretty good surprisingly! We enjoyed the delish dessert with some hot coffee getting all toasty by the fire while watching a movie, pretty perfect if I do say so myself!

Cozy fireplace <3

Kurtis enjoying the movie from his bean bag.

January 2012 Instagram Photo Challenge: Day Three - Something You Adore

   

I have been doing this photo challenge on Instagram that has you post a photo of something specific everyday and it is really interesting what everyone posts and everyone's different take on it. Today was, 'Something You Adore' & I most definitely ADORE this promise ring my boyfriend gave me. <3 Follow me on Instagram --> countrywildflowers

What am I listening to while blogging today???

     Beyonce mix

Pasta Pie

http://noblepig.com/2009/03/18/when-the-moon-hits-the-sky.aspx

Easy Parmesan Garlic Knots

http://realmomkitchen.com/609/easy-parmesan-knots/

Fried Raviolis

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/12/22/fried-ravioli/

Hersey Kiss Pies

http://picky-palate.com/2010/12/20/kiss-pies/

Cold Lazy Days

Cold Lazy Days by countrywildflowers featuring cable knit socks

January 2nd, 2012

Ahh, today is the second day of the year and it feels good!!

Today I worked from 8:30 until around 6:15. Long day at work but since I have tomorrow off it was worth it. I posted a new video to Youtube tonight which made me feel productive & I plan on going and sitting around a bonfire with my man as soon as I am done typing this.

Today was a tough day and for reasons I will be able to share soon, I have to keep my mouth shut for now about the details.

I haven't told many people about my Youtube channel just because I haven't really put 110% into it and I don't like people to see things that I didn't put my all into. But this year I vow to make more videos because I enjoy sharing tips and tricks when it comes to beauty, fashion, thrifting, etc. If you wanna check me out let me know and I can share the link to my page!

The video I uploaded this evening was one that Jessica (my sister) & I filmed a couple months back while we were in West Virginia. Its just a Goodwill & Antique store haul but its our way of sharing our finds with everyone! The quality is kinda bad just because of the location we were in but hey, its about us bonding...right? More videos need to be edited before I post any. Honestly, that's the longest part, editing. It  takes forever!!! But I kind of enjoy it!

I hope you all had a fabulous second day of the month! <3

January 1st, 2012

Happy New Year to all of you lovely people!

This year is going to be a year of changes for me and I am super excited about that. I have so many things that I want to accomplish and overcome this year! So I figured I would kick off the new year by posting a blog of what my 2012 New Year Goals/Dreams/Aspirations are. 

1. Get straight A's while taking 18 credit hours this Spring
2. Save mulaaa $$$
3. Take a Road Trip (Go somewhere I have never been before)
4. Graduate school in the Fall with my degree in Hospitality Management 
5. Attend more live performances (Concerts, plays, ballet)
6. Blog and film on a regular basis
7.  No Chick-fil-A Waffle Fries for one year! <--- I am rather concerned with this one
8. Drink at least 4 glasses of water before I have any other beverage
9. Run/work-out at least three times a week
10. Loose weight  Get healthy!
11. Find a church Matt & I both love
12. Move out (again)
13. Figure out what I want to do exactly once I graduate 
14. Pick up more skills in the kitchen
15. Read at least 5 books that aren't school related
16. Get hitched


I am sure that I have more that I could add but I figured I should stop before I overwhelm myself. I know that New Years Resolutions usually fall through for many people, but I am determined to fulfill mine! I will be blogging on a regular basis to keep you all up to date! 


I hope 2012 will be super wonderful for all of you! 


Until next time! 


Carrie <3