the alphabet game

A-Age: 26 (for a few more days)

B-Bed Size: Queen

C-Chore you hate: cleaning up hair off the floor that sheds from my head on a daily basis.  I have also begun to dislike putting up my hangup clothes in the closet...mainly because my closet is so jam-packed & I struggle to make room for the clothes that I actually wear.

D-Dogs: currently none...Smokey was our black lab when I was a child.

E-Essential start to your day: a nice hot shower & GMA.

F-Favorite Color: RED...crazy how my mom used to fight with me to wear red when I was little, but ever since I stepped foot on the campus of NCSU I've loved the color!

G-Gold or Silver: I love both & wear both.

H-Height: 5' 1"  (I used to always say "and a 1/2" after that but I've come to the realization no one cares but me)

I-Instruments you play: the peeling radio buttons on the jetta

J-Job title: Foster Care/Adoption Social Worker

K-Kids: none biologically, but a lot that I claim as my own (Mallory, Jenna, Jack & Adam, and Fisher), as well as my foster children at work  :)

L-Live: In the wonderful state of North Carolina!

M-My mom's name: Leslie

N-Nickname: Manning, boo, sis,

O-Overnight hospital stay: Sometimes on my days off, I will go all day without turning my tv on...I think I would go crazy if I had to stay in a hospital!  I'm blessed to say that I have never experienced it.

P-Pet Peeve: Bad. Table. Manners.

Q-Quote from a movie: "Nobody puts baby in the corner!" (Dirty Dancing)  &  "Why do you want to marry me anyhow?  - So I can kiss you anytime I want!"  (Sweet Home Alabama)

R-Right/Lefty: Right Handed

S-Sibling: I am an only child aka I was deprived from having fun as a child (can't wait for my mom's comment to this)!

T-Time you wake up: I try to be out of the bed at 5:45...ughh

U-Underwear: Victoria's Secret

V-Veggies you dislike: uncooked carrots, & celery...yep, that's about it!  I LOVE veggies!

W-What makes you run late: The most common thing is me not deciding on an outfit...for example I might think I have decided on what to wear, so I get out the iron and let it warm up, iron whatever needs ironing, put everything on, and then decide that I am not a fan at all.  Therefore, I'm back at square one after having wasted about 10 minutes of my time.  My next choice usually also requires to be ironed, and after that, there is no extra time to change my mind anymore even if I still don't like the outfit.  These are days that I really hope I don't have to see anyone important due to the fact that I dislike my 'last minute' outfit.

X-Xrays you've had: a million and one at the dentist, & one on my right hip

Y-Yummy food you make: Crunchy Baked Chicken, Amazing Asparagus (yes I just made that up), Potato Soup, Jalepeno Poppers, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and I have to stop here because I am getting hungry and it's only 9:30 in the morning!!

Z-Zoo animal: My favorites are the elephants, giraffes, and monkeys...but it has been about 20 years since I actually went to the zoo!

f y i

My last post on Friday said that I was going to dust...it's not easy to dust your furniture when you don't have any Pledge.  Maybe today I will actually accomplish Step #1 and buy Pledge!

getting closer & closer to 30

My birthday is quickly approaching and for some reason, I'm not really a fan of this year's number.  And I probably won't be from here on out!  One of my friends used to talk about how her 25th birthday was such a slap in the face, but 25 did not bother me.  At the end of the month when I have to announce that I am 27, I will want to crawl under a table and hide!  Don't get me wrong, I know I'm young and have plenty of life left to live.  And I intend on doing just that in case you're wondering.  However, when I was little, I knew that my mom had me when she was 28 years old, and I always thought that I wanted to have my first child at that age.  WRONG!!  Now I love love love kids, but I am no where near the baby stage and in no rush for that dramatic change of lifestyle.  I have plenty of babies toddlers to spoil and I love them all so good.  It's nice knowing they love me back, but it's also nice to know I don't have to stay up with them all night because they're sick or had a bad dream.  I like my un-interrupted sleep way too much!!  Now, if any of my mom friends needed help with their little ones, and needed me to stay overnight, they know that I would be there in a heartbeat.  BUT, they are all phenomenal mommies and so far, I've not been on the 'emergency list' for these kinds of duties.  My plan is to wait until I'm at least 30 years old for kids, and then I am going to try and knock them all out as quickly as possible since I want at least two.haha.

On to the fun stuff, my birthday wishlist!!  No pictures this time because I'm too lazy to do the searches again, but, in no particular order:

-Nude Peeptoe Heels
-Michael Kors watch
-White Queen Sheet Set
-CAbi sweater
-Joan Rivers Clutch
-Dolla Dolla Bills yal
-Dinner at Chef & The Farmer is always a nice treat!!

SIDENOTE:  I will be teaching MAPP Training to prospective foster parents for the next 5 weeks on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and lucky for me, my birthday falls on a Thursday this year.  SO, I will be working 13 plus hours on my birthday...thankfully, the Friday after is my flex day so I will have a long weekend to celebrate!

my favorite month

March is by far my favorite month of the year, and not just because it's my birthday month!!  The days get longer, warmer weather is quickly approaching, flowers begin to bloom, and well, let's face it, my birthday.ha.  So many of my family and friends have March birthdays, and it's always nice to get together with everyone and celebrate another year.  Not to mention I love any excuse to eat some good cake.

This post might not be happening if it weren't for my wonderful friend, "Ashley #1".  She informed me that it was past time for me write a post, and I told her I never know what to write about.  Her response to me, "just write about what you've been up to, your funny random thoughts, your clumsy self, or anything."  So, this post is for you, Ashley Deaver!!

• I recently ordered the new Rihanna CD and I'm in love.  It was delivered Wednesday but it was late when I got home that night so I didn't get a good chance to listen to it.  Thursday, I had a home visit over an hour away scheduled first thing in the morning, but I was pretty pumped about being able to listen to the CD and learn some of the other songs.  That is, until I was given the only county car with a cassette player instead of a CD player.  So I managed to stay awake by flipping through all the radio stations instead.  At least it did have cruise control.  As soon as I got back to the office, I copied the CD on my work computer and have listened to it nonstop ever since.  The songs have such a good beat and I can not stop singing them.ahhhhh
• I have had a lot of talks with God lately.  There are just so many people who are in need of strength and healing.  Even if I don't talk with them as often as I should, I think talking to God about them is more important anyway.  I'm far from perfect, but I do believe that prayer is powerful. 
• Today is super cleanup day.  My front bed is literally covered with piles of clean clothes.  At least they have been folded already.  Today's task is to put them all away.  Speaking of, I'm sure I have another load of laundry that I could be starting right now....and I should maybe dust because my bedroom dresser looked pretty bad with the early morning sunlight shining through.  I also have a few bags of trash in the storage room I need to take off, and I'm planning on painting my nails a new Spring color.  That's what flex days are for, right?!?!
• I am pleased to announce that I transferred my entire tax refund amount, dollar for dollar, to my Credit Card account and in just a few short weeks that bad boy will be PAID OFF!!
• Saturday is GNO...aka...Girls' Night Out.  That is all you need to know  :)

When trying to think of my latest clumsy episode for Ashley, the stomach bug comes to mind.  I say this because one Thursday a couple weeks ago I had to leave work early because I was sick.  My stomach had been feeling extremely wierd all morning and I had zero appetite at lunch (huge red flag).  I was on my way out the door to Rose Hill (about an hour away) for a home visit, when my boss insisted I cancel the home visit and go home because she could tell I was sick.  At one point as I was driving home, I thought I was going to have to use my empty OJ cup from that morning to catch what was going to come up if I didn't get to my house quick enough.  I made it to my driveway.  I got out of the car.  I was only a few feet away from my porch steps and had my keys in my hands, ready to unlock the door immediately.  And it happened.  I knew there was no time for me to unlock the door and get to the bathroom in the back of my house.  I did what anyone else would have done - sat my purse down on the front steps and continued walking away from the steps so that vomit would not be an additional welcome greeting beside my garden flag or doormat.  Mind you, I live on a pretty busy road in the small town of Kinston.  My first vomit, totally projectile, lasted for what seemed like 30 seconds in my front yard, as numerous vehicles were passing by.  Talk about embarrassing.  I came inside, got cleaned up and then proceeded to camp out in bed all afternoon/night.  I drank a total of 2 big Gatorades and had a few popsicles throughout the evening, and managed to eat a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup the next day for lunch.  Thankfully, it was a 24 hour bug, but it took my tummy about 48 hours to recover.  I don't know what having a baby feels like, but I swear it felt like every muscle in my stomach had been stretched out to the max and was finally trying to return to normalcy.  I was so glad to be feeling back to myself again and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!!

HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU AND HAPPY FLEX DAY TO ME!