A 2014 Review

Here's a brief summary of what 2014 was like for me.
I have high hopes for 2015! (It HAS to be more exciting than last year.)

January  

I went to my first Duke Basketball game.
It was all very exciting. Cameron Indoor really IS as crazy and loud as it looks on TV. And, guess who made an appearance?
President George H. Bush.

The video footage below is pretty horrible. I scrambled to grab my phone when the announcers mentioned he was there, but he stood up and waved so quickly I didn't have time to prepare. 

Myrtle Beach had an extremely rare ice storm. 
(There were two storms, actually. The first and larger storm hit during the last week of January, and a smaller one showed up like two weeks later.)

I found myself stuck in the house for DAYS. It was a total disaster... A DISASTER, I tell you!

I sympathize with those of you who deal with that kind of weather, year in and year out. I honestly don't know how you do it. It was gloomy for days on end and depressing as hell.

Trees fell down all over the place. There were 902735847 car accidents. It was really crazy stuff. 

February - May

Life was uneventful for the first few months of 2014. It rained. A LOT. So, I stayed at home A LOT.

I watched marathons on Netflix and spent much of my time doing one of my favorite things in the world... coloring! (I'm such a 5 year-old.)

I also spent a number of days organizing (and reorganizing) my house. One day, I even dumped out all of the change in this jar and counted it. 

  

& I found the state quarter for all 50 states!

+ a bunch of national monuments and Puerto Rico.

It was a really exciting time.

May 

I got new bangs. (See: wedding photos from my last post)

June

I turned THIRTY-THREE.
YIKESABEE!

The busy wedding season I mentioned in my last post also kicked off in June.

July 

Here's a basket I put together for Baby Emery and Nikki's baby shower:

August 

Braces were attached to my teeth. I never wanted to leave the house again.  

September

Ashley & I spent Labor Day in Savannah with James & Wendi. We spent most of our time shopping and walking around downtown. We also went on a walking ghost tour/bar hop. FUN. FUN. FUN. (I can't wait to go back!)

October

I saw Jason Derulo at the House of Blues. Tara works for a local radio station and gets free tickets fairly often. She's kind enough to invite me sometimes.

It was my first time experiencing fancy light shows and backup dancers at the HOB (& I've been to quite a few shows there). It was mesmerizing.

Ashley and I attended a party at a friend's house for Halloween. I dressed up as a Voodoo Doll and he dressed up as Freddy Krueger (again, sigh!)

November 

(The Voo Doo Doll I made to accompany my costume must have worked its magic because Clemson finally beat South Carolina. All was right with the world again.)

I quit my job after the school district offered me a new one.
[ANGELS REJOICED]

Leaving was bittersweet. My coworkers gave me an awesome sketch journal when it was time to say goodbye. I'm still getting to know my new family, and I miss my old one terribly. Change can be hard sometimes. I know I made the right decision though. AND... I LOVE my new job!

December

I attempted a project I found on Pinterest and it turned out beautifully, for once! I was really impressed with myself.

And...
that's all folks!

Playing Catch Up

I thought I'd post about everything going on in my life over the past few months since its been nearly a quarter of a century since the last time I did.

My summer was crazy busy with weddings. I think there was a total of five consecutive weddings. I was a bridesmaid in my friend Tara's wedding (& I'm sure I need not remind you of the many obligations that go along with that--the bridal showers, bachelorette party, hair, makeup, etc.), and my boyfriend Ashley was a groomsman in another. It was exhausting but a lot of fun too.

The first wedding was for James and Wendi. James is a good friend of Ashley's and he was a groomsman. The festivities were held at DeBordieu--a swanky golf community near Pawleys Island. It was an outdoor wedding and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. EVERYTHING about the wedding (and the weekend as a whole) was phenomenal. 

The view from our hotel room in Litchfield Beach

James & Wendi

Can you tell that Wendi is a news anchor?

She looks so polished and perfect! :)

A few weeks later, I was a bridesmaid in Tara's wedding. She got married the Saturday (which was also one day) before the 4th of July. The traffic was kinda nuts in Myrtle Beach, but everything was great other than that. 

Tara's coworkers hosted a "Beach Themed" & this is the caddy I put together. 

 Bachelorette Fun

(We kept it low-key and rented a room at a local hotel for a "stay-cation" bachelorette!)

Me & Mrs. Harder

Another wedding we attended this summer was for one of Ashley's coworkers, Jake. He and Andrea were married at North Beach Planation in North Myrtle Beach. It's wild because I live here and I didn't know this monstrosity of a hotel even existed because it's so secluded. 

CRAZY! It looks like it belongs in Dubai or something. I must say... it is every bit as nice as it looks. If you are debating about a wedding location here at the beach, you should check it out. The appetizers that were served during the cocktail hour were freaking delicious. Some of the best food I've ever tasted. NO JOKE. Mini crab cakes. Chicken Cordon bleu. Coconut shrimp. All of it. Exceptional. 

This is Jake from State Farm.

& this is his beautiful bride, Andrea.

In addition to the thousands of weddings over the summer., something else pretty awesome happened. My brother hosted an orphan from Latvia for six weeks. It was such an awesome experience for both my brother and his family and "Fly Girl" (which is the nickname my brother gave her because she's into hip hop dance).

I'm unable to post her real name or any pictures of her (for legal reasons and whatnot), but she was really great. She's an older orphan (although, I hate using that word to refer to her) at 15. She was the perfect age in my opinion though. She helped my sister-in-law out with my younger nephew (3) and niece (6) a lot, and I think that really made her feel needed. She fit right in with them, and I know my brother was really sad when she had to leave. 

In other news, I made the decision to get braces again and had them put on in August. It's been quite the adjustment... to say the least. They were extremely painful for the first week or two and I hated them so much. I felt like my teeth stuck out like a beaver. The braces felt so foreign and strange in my mouth. My gums and the inside of my cheeks were cut up like a turkey. I literally wanted to rip the braces off my teeth during that time. 

Even though I spent a year with braces on my teeth in the fifth grade, and again when I was 19 (third time's a charm, I promise), I don't remember my teeth being as sore as they have been this time around. Maybe they are more painful because I'm older now or maybe it's all in my head? I'm not sure.

I lost close to 15 pounds in two weeks because I couldn't eat anything but soup or mashed potatoes or apple sauce. I'm used to them and they feel like any other part of me now... but I've only gained five pounds back and I still don't eat anything I can't eat with a fork. Initially, the orthodontist told me I would need to wear them for a full year. But then at my appointment last week, he said my teeth are shifting back into place so quickly that he doubts I'll have to wear them that long. Three months down and counting! YES.

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Halloween

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, folks!