Leaving in a Soul...

So tomorrow we are leaving in the Kia Soul to road trip to Philly. I couldn't leave without quickly mentioning my gratitude. If you haven't heard, the east coast had a major storm system pass through starting on Friday. I know it passed through Alabama yesterday. It hit NC today.

Wake county (Raleigh) and other surrounding counties have been declared in a state of emergency. Last I heard the death toll was 3 and injuries were at 24 in Wake county. Red Crosses had opened up shelters. This is the first time since 1984 that Raleigh has had such an extreme tornado warning.

D and I lost power around 3ish and watched the storm pass until around 5:30ish. With no power we decided to go meet some friends. We didn't realize how bad, and close to us, the damage was until we drove through downtown.









Pictures honestly can not describe what we saw. We could literally see the path the tornado ripped through. This was only a mile or so from our home. Our home we just bought 3 months ago. I am so grateful for our safety and the fact that we actually did not experience trauma or nervousness due to no damage near our house. I'm grateful for no damages to our home or cars. I'm grateful we still get to go on our vacation tomorrow (we've had a vacation cancelled before due to a ridiculous "act of god" incident). We're very lucky. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered losses, hurt, and damages during this ordeal.


-BlogPress post

Goodbye for now but not forever.

Um, coolest thing to note do far...I am up to over 50 followers!  I feel awesome and super special about this.  You guys are amazing!  Thanks for bearing with me and being at least semi-interested in what I ramble on about.

[No, no!  I'm not leaving for good! via weheartit]

For now it is goodbye since at the end of today, I am officially on SPRING BREAK!  I have the best of intentions to do absolutely nothing school related in any way.  Plus I told you about our spring break road trip, I won't be able to write worthy posts while I'm away.  I'm quite positive I'll be updating frequently on Twitter since I am now obsessed (wait, what?! You don't follow me on Twitter yet?  Do it!)!

We had a slight change in plans to our road trip and won't be heading to Baltimore or DC on the tail end.  We will be in Philly for two days and NYC four days.  Neither D nor myself have been to NYC, please send me your recommendations!  Feel free to email me skinnyjeanschailatte@gmail.com if you have lots to share!  Bear in mind we'll only be there a short time!  I know we can never do everything there is to do.

Since we're now leaving Sunday, I'm going to take advantage of Saturday to REALLY plan out my outfits.  You know I am fashion-challenged, but I need to be a better packer.  And duh, I need to impress in New York!  It's hard to think of shoes that are suitable AND fashionable for walking all.day.long.  Most flats I have hurt my feet after standing all day in the classroom.  I'm taking my oxfords and kicking myself for not yet having bought being able to afford my Toms.

  [weheartit]

Send me your recommendations!  And I'll be back Monday still on spring break.  I'll most likely schedule lots of picture heavy posts of our trip :)

And ps. what a tragedy that we are driving and I have tons of space to bring back anything I want, but can't afford to do any fabulous shopping :(  Maybe I can convince D to enter a few stores with me (H&M?!)

Good grief.

It has been one hell of a week for me.  I've been dealing with some pretty major financial stresses (yes, Sirius radio of course I signed up for you to charge me almost $500 AT ONE TIME for a 3 year contract...grrr).  I try not to complain too much about finances (who wants to read about that?!), but it honestly feels like when it rains, it pours.  I have about 10 things coming up due at once.  Student loan payments are killing me.  There is no hope on the horizon for teachers to receive their well-deserved cost of living salary increases.  I imagine the increased stress in my life has contributed to yet another week of no weight loss.

At this point, I am aware I am doing all the wrong things to cope with my stress.  Eating...which contributes to more calorie intake.  Drinking...same.  I can't shop because of my money woes.  It's beginning to get depressing how long it's been since I've bought something really good for myself.  But...let's get positive!  Here are a some things I'm loving and happy about!

Spring break/road tripping with D

 [weheartit] 

Military inspired vests

 [carrie @this free bird]

[Kendi @ Kendi Everyday] 

Losing a couple inches

 [weheartit] 

Spring returning!  

 [Tulips are my favorite. weheartit]

Painting my nails again (also loving other bloggers' nail inspiration!)

[Ashleigh @Little Girl, Big World]

D's new car 

 [Not his actual car.  But he's in love with his little Soul.  I love seeing him so happy]

Reading for pleasure 

Finally done reading books for school literature circles, etc.  Getting back to checking off my books for my 101 in 1001 list.  I'm loving The Big Sleep so far, I've just been to exhausted to read daily.

Training for my half marathon

 [weheartit]

Even though I haven't officially started training, I'm really looking forward to it!  I'm using girls like Tara (ps. check out Tara's cute giveaway!) and Megan as my inspiration.

No weight GAIN - While I'm barely holding on to the shredwagon these days (ugh...emotional breakdown made me miss yesterday), at least I'm not gaining weight.  If I was down to my goal weight, this would be fabulous news.  At least I know I can maintain like this if I ever get to that goal :)

Obsessed: Natalie Portman

Seriously. 

She is gorgeous and funny.  She has done such a variety of acting roles.  If I were an actress, she'd be my idol.  I sort of don't want to stop looking at her.  Claire also talked about her love of Natalie here.  I stole the following picture from her...

It doesn't help that I saw Black Swan this weekend and was blown away.

[weheartit]

Whew...that movie will probably give me nightmares.  It kept me on the edge of my seat.  I loved the sexual tension in it.  I loved the thrill.  The emotions.  I loved it all.  Amazing.  Mostly, I loved Natalie.  I can't think of a better fit for that role.

[Weheartit]

She is currently in Your Highness with James Franco (adore!) and Danny McBride.

I can see it over the horizon.

Spring break that is!  I am beyond excited!  This is going to be a much deserved and needed break.  The show begins on Saturday.  After throwing around some prices, we decided to commence with the proposed road trip from spring break!  It's going to be a bit cheaper than flying, and with some unexpected costs occurring next month as well as two weddings, it'll be best to reserve flying somewhere for a later date.  D had the brilliant idea of lining up some of our friends to house sit, which will save us about a hundred bucks in boarding costs.  Yay!

We're planning to leave on Saturday, and here is the tentative line-up.

Saturday to Monday:  PHILLY!

[weheartit]

D has been to Philadelphia, but I never have.  I'm excited for him to take me to some cool eateries and beer bars.  I'm excited to have an official Philly Cheesesteak and visit some popular landmarks.  If only I could capture a picture as cool as the one above!

Monday through Wednesday/Thursday:  NYC!

[weheartit]

Neither D nor myself have been!  We're not staying long enough to do/see near the amount of stuff we want to.  Send recommendations!  We'll probably try to catch a broadway show.  I have to check out Central Perk Park.  Who knows what we'll find to do in the city that never sleeps.  We're hoping to meet up with some long lost friends!  Seshie?  Will you be there??  Also, any recommendations as to where to keep our car while in town?

Thursday to Friday:  BALTIMORE or DC!

I'm not too sure which we'll stop.  We'll hammer out those details this week.  It'll be a one day thing since we have to be in Virginia (Harrisonburg) for a beer festival on Friday.  We'll spend the remainder in Harrisonburg and probably return to Raleigh on Sunday.  Then I have a day to recoup.  I'm so excited to road trip with D (AND in his NEW CAR!) and explore some of the north. 

Blogging will be nill next week (and so will the shred! uh oh...), but I'm hoping to find some cool running spots.  Then when I return shredding and half training are on hardcore!

I made it out alive, but probably unhealthier.

Good grief.  A week is too long to go without posting.  It's definitely hard to get around to uploading pictures.  Stupid Blog Press was not working for me either.  It's been a busy whirlwind of a week.  I wish I had/could make more time with my computer.  You know how I went back to Athens last weekend.  We had a wonderful time, but of course it flew by too quickly.  I think the pictures will speak for themselves, but here is my trip in photos :)

[Sweet puppies make the trek down to Athens with us]

 [Stella stayed with us at D's parents for one night.  She'll make a bed out of anything...including a pillow]

[Steak cubans from our fav local restaurant]

[Carnival theme at the brewery...complete with a dunk tank filled with beer]

[Of course the one picture of D and I is blurry...]

[Fire-lit hula hooping at its best]

[Um yes...helium ingestion was involved by nights end]

 [We ended our night at Little Italy with some pizza]

Overall, we had a wonderful weekend.  We woke up Sunday and had brunch with some of our Athens favs then made the long trek back home.  We love Athens.  We'll be back in May!

Athens Bound!

I haven't been back to Athens since December.  It'll be nice to escape from the monotony that I've had (mostly alone) in Raleigh for the past month.  The school quarter just ended and I'm ready to get out with no school work.  Although, I have been procrastinating hard core and will have plenty of work to do when I get back.  We're headed to Terrapin brewery for their anniversary party.  I know we'll have a grand time with temps predicted in the high 60s, but with all the beer we'll be drinking, my body is sure to be unhappy with me.  I'll be shredding and running hardcore next week when temperatures are supposed to increase.  Looking forward to spending some time at the site where we held our wedding party.

[D's dad tapping our special brewed beer]

I certainly miss the restaurants in Athens, so I know food will be consumed.  Uh oh.

Happy Weekend!