When it Rains, it Pours.....

Well, I was hoping I'd be writing this email with good news, but unfortunately that is not the case. On Monday, I auditioned to be the Georgia Lottery Spokesperson on our local TV station channel 2. 4, 600 people came to the Atlanta Civic Center to audition for this job. Round 1, we auditioned in front of a panel of 3 judges, and I was delightfully surprised when I moved on to the second round of auditions. Same story for round 2, but the numbers dropped from 4,600 to 400 people. Pretty big drop, so I was sure that I wasn't going to move on. And I was picked for round 3 for the top 250! Round 3 we did a live, taped audition in front of a panel of 5, including the CEO of Georgia Lottery, Margaret DeFransisco. I was so nervous, but I gave it my all.

Well, I went into this experience just to have fun and take chance. I have spent most of my life playing it safe in all facets of my life. Yesterday, I must have checked the Georgia Lottery website a hundred times to see who made it to the top 25 hoping to see my name. And then they posted it. I didn't get picked.

Everyone kept telling me, it's all about the experience, you took a chance - good for you. But, I had more fun auditioning those 2 days than I have had doing my current job for 2 years. So I just feel like I took 2 steps forward, and now I'm 2 steps back again. (that reminds me of that Paula Abdul. I used to love that song). And since this is my blog, I am going to be honest. I am bummed. I know it's not the end of the world, and there may be things that come out of this, but it would have been a lot of fun. And that's what I'm looking for. I want a job that I look forward to getting up in the morning to do. I for sure do not feel like that now.

Oh, and literally minutes after I read the top 25 list, I sneezed and it was the beginning of a killer cold.

And on top of that, tomorrow is my 25 birthday.

I'll take some cheese with this whine, please and thank you.

One More Thing....

How much do I need this sweater? I LOVE it, and have had my eye on it for MONTHS, but I am having a really hard time spending $175 dollars on it. It's a little too steep for me. I will spend a bit more for something that I love and know that I will wear, but I'm so torn on this one. It could be because my hubby bought me the Anna sweater jacket in antique for Christmas, but it was too similar to the sweater jacket that I wore in my post below (see Chuck Norris is my homeboy) from Issac's line at Target. For $40.



So any thoughts?

Whirlwind Week

I've been reading but not posting lately, but I am back! I've been out of work for the past few days taking "personal days" to pursue a lifelong dream of mine. I'll explain in a few days..... :)

But a quick recap of the weekend:

On Friday, my husband and I went to Rice in Roswell, Georgia for dinner with our new neighbors. It was delicious! If it were up to my husband, we would eat Thai every night of the week. But I'm a little less adventurous (he calls it boring.)

My sister got me a yoga mat and 1 free yoga class for Christmas, so on Saturday, we attended our first yoga class at Plum Tree Yoga Center. It was so much fun, and so relaxing. I'm addicted now! I unfortunately will not be able to continue going to Plum Tree since it is too far away from my house, but if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend them. They were so helpful and friendly! I was a little intimidated at first, because to be honest I was expecting to see a lot of Madonna type women there that have been practicing yoga for years. But, it was a great experience that I am going to try and incorporate into my weekly routine.

That night, I went to the High Museum with a longtime girlfriend to see the Inspiring Inpressionism exhibit. Kind of a let down. Not a lot of exciting paintings in this exhibit, but if you are looking for a bit of change from the norm, the High is always a good place to go. For a little change, we then went to Decatur for dinner and had a great time! We had dinner and drinks at a restaurant called the Brick Store Pub. The food was so good. Being Scottish, I am very picky about my fish and chips, but they were amazing! And the ambiance was great - a little packed and hot - but a lot of fun people were there.

Again, it's going to be a few days before I post about what I've been up to because it would definitely be a lifestyle change. Here's an itty, bitty hint: "Tonight's numbers are, 1! 9! and finally 6!" And if you wouldn't mind keeping my in your thoughts and prayers that everything will work out as it should, I would definitely be grateful! Thanks.

Can't wait for Gossip Girl tonight, it's going to be a good one. I'm full on addicted to that show now. Speaking of shows, did anyone catch Cashmere Mafia? Thoughts? I'm still on the fence, I need to see one more episode to make my final decision. Definitely no Sex and the City though.....For those that caught it, did it feel like they were trying too hard to be like Sex and the City?

Now, back to work.....argh.....

And the Winner Is.....

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a fun and happy new year's eve, and that your new year is off to a great start. So far so good for me, well of course, with exception to the whole returning to work thing. Yuck. I was just settling into my new life as a housewife. Maybe someday. :) The hubby and I spent our NYE at a nice relaxing dinner with a few friends at a local italian restaurant, watched the ball drop with a bottle of Dom Perignon, then called it a night! It was fantastic. Not at all reminiscent of New Years past, but was definitely refreshing!

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful suggestions for my next read! You are all amazing! All of the suggestions sounded so good and were so helpful. I have decided to start with Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. I am really looking forward to starting then making my way through the series. Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions!

And I know that this is long overdue, but better late than never right??

Mandarin Orange Cake

1 box of Duncan Hines yellow moist deluxe cake mix
1/2 of cup sugar
3/4 of cup oil
1 - 11 oz. can of mandarin oranges, and include juice

Combine all ingredients and beat for 4 minutes.
Grease and flour (I really like baker's joy spray that includes this flour) 3 - 9" cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool thoroughly.

Icing

1 large tub of Cool Whip (16 oz.)
1 - 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple and juice
1 large package of vanilla instant pudding

Beat all icing ingredients until it is well mixed. Frost cake, then enjoy! Make sure to keep it refrigerated. I really like to cover the middle layers with mandarin orange pieces.

'Tis the Season

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday! We opened our gifts to each other at our house in the morning, then headed over to my parents for brunch to exchange with them, my sister and her boyfriend. Nothing feels more like Christmas than being at your parents house. However, My hubby and I were busy busy this year, we hosted Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner at our house this year. We usually spend it at my parents house, but my Mum's oven died a couple of weeks ago so she couldn't get any cooking done there. My Mum helped me by prepared the side dishes - sweet potatoes souffle and sweet corn casserole - and we got the turkey and the desserts ready. It was so much fun, and what a great excuse to get our new fine china out!

I got some great gifts from my hubby and my family. Just to name a few of my favorites, my hubby got me this cute shawl collar fleece sweatshirt from J.Crew. It is so comfortable.



J.Crew's Rivington leather boots. I can never find any that fit my freakishly small calves, but these really worked. And its a nice comfortable, low kitten heel.



My Mum and Dad got us our Kitchenaid mixer. I love it, and can't wait to start using it. Well, actually, after the holidays, I can wait a little while. :)

Our Christmas night was spent playing Wii and then the guys staying up until 2 a.m. playing Playstation 3. What is it with guys and their games? It doesn't matter how old they are. I must admit, I do love the Wii. It's a work out too!

While the boys were playing, I was obsessively reading my new book. I am a huge fan of the author Emily Giffin. It started with my love for Something Borrowed, followed by Something Blue. But on Christmas Eve I bought myself an early present, Giffin's 3rd book, Baby Proof. I am really enjoying it. I really feel like Giffin knows me because she writes just like I think. I understand that she is in the middle of writing her fourth book. How great would that be to work for someone as fabulous as Emily Giffin? She lives here in Atlanta, so if anyone knows her, I've got a resume ready. :)

I've decided that since the writer's strike has taken away all of my favorite shows, I am going to stock up on some cute, fun books. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

3 Months Down, a Gazillion to Go.....

Today is my 3 month wedding anniversary. Cheesy, and a little premature to celebrate an anniversary I know, but what a great time to reflect and be thankful. So we've made it a quarter of a year, and here's to the rest!

Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

Chuck Norris is my Homeboy

Last weekend was a crazy, whirlwind of holiday parties, but the big event was my sister's graduation. We are so proud. The ceremony was LONG, but fun, since our whole family was there.

My husband has decided to grow out his facial hair since it is finally starting to get cold in Georgia. I kept thinking that he reminded me of someone and then, it hit me. Chuck Norris! Ah!
Now all I can think of are those Chuck Norris facts . The resemblance is kind of scary.

Me and my sis at her graduation

My hubby (AKA Chuck Norris), my sis and her beau at graduation.

My poor Mum's oven died (only 2 years old-ridiculous) on Thursday just in time for the graduation party on Sunday! It was horrible timing. So my hubby and I helped out by making the desserts. I made a 3 layer Mandarin Orange Cake (recipe still to come my first layered cake) and owl cup cake that I found on Tres Poshe Preppy's blog a few months ago. Since my sister's university's mascot are the fighting owls, I made fighting owl cupcakes! They were a HUGE hit. Thanks TPP!

Image of the owl cupcake's from Land o Lakes website