Best friends + birthday wishes

 If you visit here often, then I'm sure you'll know who's in that picture with me without an explanation.

But, just in case you're new here, that girl is Jordan.

My best friend.

My soul mate.

My other half.

The sister I never had (until 8 years ago).

 The reason I am where I am today. 

And today is her birthday. Her 19th birthday, to be exact.

But don't let her age fool you. To say that she is wise beyond her years would be the understatement of the year.

 

Most people share their "love stories" in blogland, but considering the fact that I don't have one of those, I'm going to share my "best friend story" -- which is still a love story of sorts.

Jordan's parents grew up in and around our hometown, and then moved to a town about 25 minutes away to start their family. But when Jordan was around 9, and her brother 14, their parents moved them back to good 'ole Edgecombe County. 

And I'll never be able to thank God enough for that.

Jordan started at the middle school in the 5th grade, when I was in the 6th. Our brothers were both in the 9th grade. Long story short, they became fast friends and Jordan's family had an in-ground pool at their new house and Hunter was dying to go over there to hang out with Jacob (her brother) but my dad would only let him go on one condition ---- "take your sister with you". Hunter's reply "no problem, Jacob has a little sister". My reply "but she's younger than me..."

JUST KIDDING. 

Kinda.

Anyway, my brother and I headed over to Jordan and Jacob's and the rest is literally history.

Jordan,

You'll read every bit of this later today in your birthday card, but I want everyone here to know just how much of an impact you've had on me. You are my best friend. I just can't say that enough. You make my bad days better and my good days even greater. You make me want to be a better person every single day. Your compassion, your ambition, your strength and courage, your feisti-ness, your playfulness, and most importantly --- your faith in our Lord. I will never, ever, ever be able to fully express just how grateful I am that you're my best friend and that our Lord chose me to be yours. I guess he knew how much I needed you in my life at that time. I can't imagine ever going through a day in my life without you, and God knows I hope I never have to. You are my rock, my anchor, and the light of my life. You've never given up on me no matter what wrong decisions I've made, whether it was about boys, school, or what I wanted to cook for dinner. 

Here's to you, Jo.

For all that you've been, all that you are, and all that you're going to be.

I love you more than you will ever know.

Happy Birthday!

I hope it's the very best, because it's what you deserve and so. much. more.

I can't wait to see you later, today!! 

**Warning: Picture Overload**

 

 

xo

 

 

San Fran + Meet Jordan [guest post]

 Happy July 4th/Independence Day/Freedom Day..whatever y'all wanna call it! 

I'm gonna take a quick second just to say...

I LOVE AMERICA.

Yes, the decisions that are made here sometimes really tick me off..but that's not America's fault. That's the government's fault. Anyway, there's nowhere else I would rather call home. Thanks for being so beautiful, America. 

Now, as you're reading this..I'm probably wandering around San Fran and the Fisherman's Wharf! 

But, I have my absolute best friend in the entire world (whom I am missing like crazy, love you Jo) here to guest post for me!

I know y'all have heard me talk about Jordan countless times and you may have even checked out her blog, The Time of My Life, a time or two. But just in case you haven't, I've brought her in today for y'all to meet the wonderfulness that is my best friend and I know y'all will love her just as much as I do! 

Take it away, Jo! xo

 _________________________________________

Hey gals (and guys?)!
So as you know, I have the honor of guesting posting for my amazing best friend while she's in freaking CALIFORNIA and I'm stuck in boring old NC.. totally unfair.
Anywho, after much debate on what to write about (and some help from Haley), I've decided to discuss exercise. Sounds boring, I know.. but as an Exercise Physiology major I feel like I have a moral obligation to inform people of the importance of getting adequate exercise ;)

When most people think of exercising, they surely don't jump with joy. In fact, the reason that most people don't exercise is because they don't find it enjoyable.. and its pretty difficult to find time and motivation to do something that isn't enjoyable. However, this problem can be easily fixed by consulting fitness websites and/or magazines and just doing a few searches to find a workout that is both effective and FUN! Everyone is different, so you may have to add your own little twists to the basic workouts, but don't you think it'd be a little easier to get your 30 minutes of daily physical activity if you thought of it as leisure instead of exercise? 


Just in case my little spill didn't give you any more motivation than you already had, here's a few not-so-fun facts that might make you hit the gym:


*Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Getting the recommended amount of exercise can prevent obesity and high blood pressure, both of which lead to heart disease.

*More than 1/3 of all Americans are obese.


*Lack of exercise can lead to countless life-threatening conditions and even psychological disorders such as depression.


And here's a few reasons why you SHOULD exercise:


*Exercise relieves stress.


*Physical activity releases endorphins, which make you happier.


*Exercise increases brain activity and can make you smarter.


*Exercise can prevent diseases, help you live longer, and improve your overall quality of life!




Now I hope you are all motivated to stay healthy and fit! Enjoy the holiday and have a great rest of the week!


-Jordan

_________________________________________


Now I'm sure y'all can see why she's my best friend! Sweet AND smart..perfect combination! :)

Have a great July 4th and have fun celebrating..but be safe! xo

weekend wonders + a bunch of other stuff

Good morning, loves!

Hope this post finds y'all having a fabulous start to the new week! :)

Today is gonna be a complete random mess of a bunch of things..just try and stick with me!  

First up: weekend recap.

So if you haven't already figured it out, I work at an ice cream/shaved ice/sno-cone shop. It's actually my dad's shop and because I am such an amazing and selfless grateful daughter, I work for free...and I work everyday. Mon.-Sat. from 12-8 and Sun. from 1-6.

Sorry it's a little blurry...but there it is! Pretty cute, right?

 Anyway, because I work so much and so late..that doesn't leave too much free time for this chick. So Friday night, Jordan (being the best best friend that she is) agreed to wait until 10:00 to eat dinner so we could go out after I got off work. To make it even better, my sweet daddy (showing his gratitude) offered to pay for our meal! How sweet :) Love him so much!

So we got all dressed up and headed to Greenville around 8:45 and decided to try and eat at Mellow Mushroom. At 9:30...there was a 30 minute wait for TWO people. Seriously?! And I was worried that we were gonna get funny looks from people for eating so late...psh. Yeah, right.

So instead we took our cute butts to Olive Garden, our true favorite, and had a wonderful dinner! If you've ever made the mistake taken the time to look at the nutrition facts for Olive Garden, you know that their dishes are most definitely not healthy. So normally, J and I just get soup, salad, and breadsticks...but since it was girl's night, we chose to treat ourselves (and vowed to start a very vigorous workout this week) and divulge in this goodness....

J's chicken parmigiana on top, and my chicken scampi on bottom.

I used to get chicken scampi every single time that I went to Olive Garden, until that fateful day a year and a half ago when I chose to look up the nutrition facts..and I hadn't had it since. Until Friday night, that is. Promise that this isn't gonna become a regular thing, though ;) 

Funny story: J and I always joke about whether or not people think we're a couple when we go out to dinner. And we especially made a joke about it Friday night when our waitress asked if the check was together or separate and we both said separate and I handed her my dad's card. I find this especially funny because I'm about 5 inches taller than J and about 40 lbs. heavier so it would make sense that I would be the "man" in the relationship and pay for dinner...which I did. And did I mention that halfway through dinner I told her to try some of my chicken and because we're so close..I just stabbed a piece with my fork and reached over the table and she just ate it. Normal for us, but probably didn't look so normal to the table sitting across from us. Whoops, sorry. ;) 

We finished the night with this bad boy...

Sonic banana split -- delish

Moving on!!

Saturday morning, J and I reunited once again for a mini shopping trip. Since I work all day, my mornings are reserved for any errands that I have to run, which requires me to get up super duper early every day. Anyway, I had been needing a new pocketbook for a while now so I headed to Marshall's and found this little beauty...

TH, only $30!

I reallllly wanted this beauty by Steve Madden because it was the perfect bag for summer and only $40....

 But I know myself all too well and this bag would be beige by next week. :(

Sunday: Went to church, went to work, and came home and enjoyed every bit of this yummy-ness...

Hibachi shrimp and grilled veggies = Heaven in a box.

   Next up: my sweet girls.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram..you've probs seen this picture. But when I was loading up the car for work on Thursday, I left my car door open while I went inside to get something else and walked back out and saw this...

 This was after I had already told her to get out 3+ times...anybody else see the sheer disappointment in her face? Broke my heart :(

Later that day/night...we had a terrible storm and after I got home, I was about to give sweet Daisy her insulin shot and when I opened the door to the garage..she charged right in! She hates storms. Therefore..this was the scene in our kitchen for the next 45 minutes...

Daisy not lying on the sheet I layed out for her, and Rue guarding the kitchen to make sure she stays put and doesn't infringe on her territory. 

Sweet sisters, right? I know. I raised them well. 

 Moving on: my mom.

 My mom loved to read just as much as I do and she had acquired quite the book collection before she passed. I needed a new book to read after finishing NS's "The Lucky One", so I grabbed one off of our bookshelf Friday and when I sat down to read it later that day at work, I opened it and found this...

 This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to me it meant so much. I used to see her handwriting every day, and over the past 8 years I've only seen it a handful of times. So when I do see it, it just makes me feel really close to her, especially knowing that I was about to read one of her books. Love you mama, miss you so much.

 Lastly: blogger help.

I am once again in need of some blogger help. Everyone know those cute little twitter, facebook, pinterest, instagram, and email buttons? 

HOW/WHERE DO YOU GET THEM?

Please help a sister out. I'm desperate. 

Have you stuck with me this far?! If so, praise you! ;)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my Bachelorette recap!! 

And I promise, promise, promise to FINALLY do my birthday weekend recap sometime this week..so keep checking back for that as well! 

Have a fab Monday! xo