Late night: Walmart!

After working a 12 hr shift today and knowing that I've signed up for tomorrow's night shift, I am purposely trying to stay awake until 3 or 4 am so that I can sleep as long as I can tomorrow. That being said, the exhaustion is starting to hit me, but in the midst of fighting it off I have learned one way of staying awake: taking a late night trip to the all-wonderful Wally World.

After getting over the fear of running into the creepy bums, this worked out great being that 1) I needed groceries, and 2) I needed necessities. Starting out with the latter so as not to have melting frozen foods while perusing the shampoo section, I headed towards deodorant. After picking up a few items in this aisle and the ones surrounding, I decided to leisurely stroll towards the clearance section (my favorite). Here I looked at things from dental flossers, to discount wedding champagne glasses, to everyday planners. While I thought about clearing them of their half-off stickers for scrapbooking, I begrudgingly chose otherwise.

Next, it was off to the silverware as ours is getting rusty and its time for new (sadly, it's only been 2 years!). At this point, I start to catch myself dazing at products, and have to snap myself out of a trance so as not to let the poor dutiful workers slack on the job by staring at me thinking I needed help (in more ways than one). Deciding I have not shopped and compared enough in this area to narrow my choices down to one, I leave this section empty handed.

Next stop, books. I picked up a soft cover copy (to match the others I have) of Eclipse so that I can finally return my dear friend Missy's. The best part of this is it was $8.97. Yay! Can't beat that! Though, no Breaking Dawn was to be found, which saddened my mood slightly. Poo. Enough of books. Magazines! Yes! A little gossip never hurt anyone, right? Oh, what's that...Jessica Simpson is having a baby with ex football player Eric Johnson? Oh, the scandal. lol

Now, 30 min have passed and I'm starting to notice they've downsized the checkout lines from 4 to 2. Hm, maybe I better pick up the pace just a bit. Oh wait, I don't care how long I take. I'm tryyying to stay awake, remember? This is strange, this not rushing kind of atmosphere. (random thoughts from late night Tandra's brain, I apologize.)

This time of night is great since there are fewer shoppers, but the one downfall is that there are pallets of boxes full of stuff in every aisle, making it practically impossible to get around (or not bump into...hey I can't walk straight even if I'm not lacking sleep. don't judge!) This posed yet another embarrassing scene, I'm sure. At this point I'm giving free entertainment away. Even if I didn't look younger than 40, I'm sure they would've carded me just for my weaving in the aisles had I bought liquor.

Anyway, once I got to the food section, I really seriously did need to stop dragging my feet so that I could get the milk and sour cream home. Choosing the shorter of the 2 checkout lines, I chose wrong, as usual. Judging poor Granny who was checking out the customers, I got frustrated. How hard can it be to run a handwritten check through the machine?! Seriously. Oh well, may as well make the most of it. More magazine time!

But then as my turn finally came around, I set my purse on the counter and asked her how she was doing and she scanned my items. She then replied, "Probably better than I deserve to be," with the sweetest, ever so genuine smile on her face. Oh man...how do you respond to that? Of course I reassured her that she certainly did deserve to be doing that well. Another smile. Aw. What a doll! I just wanted to take her home with me now!

Though I refrained from stuffing Granny in my Coach bag on the way out, I soon realized that the majority of my purchases were junk food. Great job, Tandra. Your bank account and your tight jeans will not thank you later!

Last thought on late night Walmart runs, do not go on an empty stomach.

My Ride

Yes. I got it...my dream car! I have been riding (lol) on cloud nine ever since I signed the papers yesterday. My very own car!! I have wanted a Mustang since before I learned how to drive, so I'm very pleased, to say the least. :)

So, without further ado, here she is.

And yes, I am thinkin' it is a she, just not too sure what I'm gonna name her yet. A friend suggested Marilyn, cause she's blonde, fierce, and sexy :) We'll see.

Got it bad

Oh man! I've got it bad...fever, car fever, that is. It has been brewing for a while now - ever since I graduated really, but its worsened just recently. My guilty conscience just wants to say, "No Tandra, you've got too many school loans to pay off," but the devil on my other shoulder sure is making it hard on me. He's dangling that new car smell, smooth ride, stick shift, wind in your hair (well, if convertible) feeling right in front of my nose. Thoughts like, "I'm only young and single for a few years," or "your loans will still be there even if you don't indulge," pop into my head.

The reason that it's become increasingly difficult on me is that I'm getting a pretty good chunk of money back from taxes. I also know that my car is getting up pretty high on mileage and won't be worth a whole lot if I don't sell it soon. All that being said, I can sort of, just maybe justify wanting a newer one. Maybe?

My brother and I went out looking today with the intention of test driving a few I've been interested in. Unfortunately, the dealerships were closed (why they would close on a Sunday when most everyone is off is beyond me), but we did find one used car lot open, and another that left all their cars unlocked (guess they're not worried about theft?). I test drove a 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The convertible was perfect, especially on a day like this, but I was not in love with it.

Ever since high school, I have wanted a Ford Mustang. My urge to drive one was not fulfilled today, but I'm hoping to go tomorrow and test one out, if not for anything else other than to rule out liking them.

Of course, being the chick that I am, I would be sufficiently satisfied with the above. My brother, on the other hand, is drooling over things like extra horse power or having a V8 engine with extra torque etc. I think he's just living vicariously through me, since he can't afford any of the like yet.

But my other top 3 option, and probably the one I'd definitely get if I were to go brand new, is the 2010 Chevy Camaro.

Oh so sleek, and all I want to do when I see it is go Vrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Who decided this anyway?

I have not blogged in a long time. I would think about it every now and then, but talk myself out of doing it for no apparent reason, other than feeling it had been too long since I'd written one so would put it off even longer. But I decided, now's as good as a time as any to pick it back up, so here it goes. :)

This week is seemingly "post your celebrity look-alike pic" week on Facebook. As cool as this is to see my friends post pics of their supposed millionaire twins, I think it's funny because I realized that my only friends that had posted them were of celebs that were gorgeous or hot. What about the normal-looking people? The average, everyday Jane? Do you see people posting pics of ugly actresses/actors? No, of course not! Now I realize that it is almost a requirement to be beautiful in Hollywood, but come on!

So, now my friends that do look like a celeb can post their pic and get "likes" galore and show off that they were blessed with features and attributes of a famous person. I don't mind that I don't necessarily look like one at all. I am unique and am actually glad that no one else has a face just like mine. The real question to me is, who decides these "change your profile pic" to a childhood pic, a sibilings pic, an old wedding pic, a celeb pic, a this or that, anyway?

The Beauty of Nature

I took a trip down to SC to see the parents this week, one - to get away, and two - so my dad could take a look-see at my car and see if the brakes needed to be replaced.

But since they both work during the day, I had the house to myself and figured why not just go sit out on the back deck this afternoon and read. Their house, set far back in the neighborhood, is on a cul-de-sac lot - one such that our neighbors are far enough away since a few acres of land are situated in between each of them. The best part about their location is that the backyard is nothing but woods, solid trees. It's not uncommon to wake up in the morning with 5 deer staring you straight in the face when you step out of your front door, which is quite suiting since the name of the neighborhood is Deerfield Dr.

So I enjoyed myself. Leaning back in the porch swing, I rested my head on the back of the chair and closed my eyes before even opening my book. Breathing in the fresh air, I was as comfy as a lark. The temperature was near perfect, with ever so gentle of a breeze touching my face, playing in my hair. The only sound around was sweet birds vocally teasing one another in the distance. I sat in total solitude, gently swaying in the swing for an amount of time of which I am uncertain. As the clouds periodically let the sun's rays peek around them, and then covered them again, as if playing tag, I felt an overwhelming peace when the warmth enveloped me. Ahhhhh....what sweet moments....

Blog neglector

Yes, yes, that is me! I know I have not blogged in a long time! Or at least over a month...Anyway, I cannot believe this summer has flown by like it has. In some ways I'm glad and looking foward to the cooler weather, and in others I'm not because winter is our "busy" season at work.

Speaking of which, this past weekend was absolute madness at work. Well, Sunday it finally evened out, but Friday and Saturday were from hell. There is nothing like the feeling that your load is heavier than what you can handle! The most important thing is that your patients don't receive the level of care they deserve, and its an awful feeling to not be able to do a darned thing about it. That being said, I do pray that this weekend will be a ton better! I feel refreshed after my 4 days off, so I know I can handle it, with God by my side.

I'm also excited because my baby bro is coming up this weekend for SmartStart, and my Mom is coming along to get him settled (well, really to see us girls...haha). So it'll be good to have him around this year. I was thinking just today that he really is lucky to have two older working sisters. Working being the key word. Although I probably have a slightly better financial situation than Alisha does only because she's still in school, we both will have a little more money to take him out in his free time. Knowing myself, I probably will be more than glad to buy him dinner just so I can spend time with him. But that's what big sisters are for, right?! My Dad says I spoil him and let him off the hook too much, but I just remember all too well that feeling of being broke.

Well, my bathroom is now painted and fresh, and thankfully the toilet is in working condition since my gracious uncle has rescued me and retrieved the bottle I so stupidly flushed down. What a nightmare. I never realized how much I take being able to use the restroom for granted. I found myself holding it longer, which really isn't good for a bladder. And we won't even go into the other. At any rate, it's fixed.

Another blessing this week is that when I took my car in to get the oil changed, I had them check my brakes out as well since they were squeaking. I had prepared myself for a $300-400 charge, but fortunately it only turned out to be $37 for the oil change and to clean the brake pads or something. They didn't need to be replaced. Yay!

Well, guess my bed is calling me since 5 am comes oh-so-early! Good night bloggers (aka Missy and Amber...lol)!

Amanda's Wedding

I was in my 3rd wedding as a bridesmaid this past weekend. Amanda and I have been friends since the 2nd grade, so going back to Charlotte brought back many nostalgic feelings and memories. It was a jam-packed weekend of events, starting with taking her out Thursday night for the "Bachelorette party," which all we did was have a limo take us to a nice restaurant, M5, and enjoy a girls' night.

Then Friday morning we had a very nice Bridal Luncheon at the Parkers' house that included the Jr. bridesmaids. The food at their house is always amazing, so it was no surprise to me to have spinach quiche, raspberry tarts, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruits etc. Directly after this amazing brunch, Janet, Amanda's now mother-in-law, treated all of us to mani/pedi's, which was very thoughtful of her!

The rehearsal that afternoon was slightly stressful for Amanda because of the disorganization and what not, but many ladies told her that so many rehearsals are like that where the attendants are only halfway paying attention etc. We knew that everything would be pulled together in the end somehow.

Then that evening we went out to a park on a lake and had a cookout, and the bridal party wore "Team Bride," and "Team Groom" t-shirts. After eating and conversing, we actually ran short of time to play many games since sundown was approaching, but it was still fun!

Sabbath morning we attended the church I grew up in and it was wonderful to see old familiar faces and talk to old friends and even teachers that basically taught me all I knew up to that point in my life. Memories came flooding back to me of when Mom taught Sabbath school or Adventurers in the downstairs classrooms, or the many potlucks we were in charge of. Seeing the rock wall outside that we used to climb also made me very sentimental. As I listened to the youth singing down the hall for song service, memories flooded of Darren Brisco leading us to "the Battle belongs to the Lord," or something of the like. It was a very neat experience going back and that church will always have a place in my heart.

Saturday night held a very neat experience involving a yacht cruise on Lake Norman for close family and friends of Amanda and Lyndon. They had catered Chinese food and it was just a peaceful time for fellowship, not to mention awesome scenery as we passed along the shoreline of immensely expensive houses. Though it was very hot until the sun set, the Bartletts were very kind for hosting this!

Sunday was wonderful. Amanda looked absolutely stunning in her dress, all dolled up and beaming. The actual ceremony itself was perfect, except for the fact that there was no air conditioning in the chapel (they will be requesting a full refund), so standing up front for 20 min sweating was not the most pleasant thing ever, but it was still a very beautiful wedding. The reception afterwards was held at Maggiano's Italian restaurant, and the food was delicious! I enjoyed watching the father/daughter dance, Lyndon's Air Force buds serenade Amanda to "You've got that lovin' feelin" (so funny), and of course the usual cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss (no I didn't catch it...:) ). I even squeezed out of Lyndon where they'd be heading for their honeymoon. It's a 10 day, all-inclusive Sandals resort with a personal butler in Antigua, by the way. :)

Seeing her roll away in her Rolls Royce (no pun intended) was bittersweet. I'm so incredibly happy that she's happy, but I'm also sad to think that there goes another one of my close single friends - all married now. :( I know that it's inevitable that change must occur, but sometimes I just want time to stand still, and for us to just go back to being giddy and silly girls sharing fun times and stories late into the night at a pj party. *sigh*