Why the name?

I figured it might be time to explain why I named my blog "Building my yellow brick road."  

A) If you know me at all, you know that I am overly obsessed with the Wizard of Oz.  It has been my favorite movie since I could say "rewind," which I often asked my mother to do for me so I could watch it over and over again.  I have built a pretty impressive collection of Oz paraphernalia over the years and yes, have even met 3 different munchkins (I know, kinda creepy)!  My latest Oz adventure will be going to see Wicked at DPAC in a few weeks thanks to Clint's wonderful mother who bought us all tickets! 

B) I wanted to come up with something personal to me and the changes that have been going on in my life in the past year.  It was about this time last year when I was finding out that I would be moving to a new city for graduate school which would be at least 2 hours away from Clint and all of my friends.  I was also embarking on the path to my career as an OT and learning the ropes of truly being on my own.  In essence, I was starting a new chapter in my life and I was beginning to realize it for the first time.  No more undergrad comfort zone with the sorority house of home cooked meals...I had moved on to coupon cutting, getting in bed at 10pm, and needing my morning coffee to make it through the day. Soooo....there you have it.  


"Building MY Yellow Brick Road" encompasses how I feel about finding all the pieces of this new chapter of my life and how they fit together... one brick at at time.  I am both excited and anxious about where my yellow brick road will lead and I look forward to sharing that journey with you.  

Spring, Sprang, Sprung!

Don't you love when it truly starts to feel like Spring again?! I knew that I had to fully take advantage of the beautiful weather today and Bailey was coming with.  Luckily she didn't mind too much since she got a treat at Wachovia AND at PetSmart! Guess it pays off to be cute, huh? She also had to tag along to Goodwill so I treated her with an outing to the dog park! It was her 1st time at this park and her 4th time overall and she had a freakin blast! 

Well, at first not so much....  

Bailey likes to hide under the bench when she gets scared at the dog park, but this one just happened to have a huge hole in the ground!

By the end of the hour she was looking more like this...

I was so proud of her, and most importantly she currently looks like this....

which means I will get a fully uninterrupted night of zzz's!

Since Bailey got her exercise I figured I would come home and go for a run myself to take in some more of the beautiful day.  Hoping for more of these days....especially since I will be enjoying Easter at the beach with my family :)

Rain to SHINE

Wow, what a productive Monday! Usually that is a huge oxymoron but somehow I the little engine that could deep down inside pulled out a victory!  I woke up this morning to bright flashes of lightning, bangs of thunder, and a wide-eyed little puppy.  I drudged out in the pouring rain to avoid a puppy made puddle in my apartment and just ended up with a sopping wet Bailey (and Brittni, actually).  So, lightbulb...since she is already wet, what a perfect time for a bath!! (check!).  After class the sun was shining and apparently motivated me to get my booty to work! I actually made it to the gym, took the puppy for a walk, and made it to Harris Teeter...where I saved $20 with coupons! THEN, (drum roll please)...I organized my bedroom and closet, dusted, cleaned the bathroom, and gathered up a bag of clothes for Goodwill!  I even managed to get in a little school work and Dancing with the Stars (GO KATE!).  I'm patting myself on the back for a job well done.  Maybe Monday's aren't so bad after all?!

Crusin' away from reality

So Clint and I booked a cruise back in November to Key West and Cozumel (Carnival Imagination) for my Spring Break at the beginning of March.  I was super excited, but never in a million years would have guessed how highly needed this cruise would actually be.  The week before we left I had 5 midterms...yes 5!! It was utterly miserable and I was so ready for a week without school work! I was also ready for a week with my wonderful boyfriend, since we had not been able to spend any 1-on-1 time with each other in a looooonggg while.  With him living in CH and me living in Greenville, not to mention our busy, busy schedules, we usually only get a day or two together a week....so a full week was going to be AMAZING! The sad part of the cruise was having to leave our little baby for the first time, but she was in great hands (with Clint's family) and loved her mini-vacay as well.  

The actual cruise was fantastic and flew by way to fast.  We were able to lay by the pool, sip on fruity cocktails, drink on Duval St. in Key West, sun bathe in Cozumel, eat yummy food, and most importantly spend time with each other!  I must also say, I am even more in love having had a whole week with Clint and cannot wait to plan our next getaway :) 

Kinda hard to see....Clint and I dancing during formal dinner

@ Margaritaville! 

Formal dinner night....we love our food!

@ Playa Mia in Cozumel

Catching back up

So it has been a while since my last post, which is surely due to my preoccupation with my NEW PUPPY :) My boyfriend Clint and I bought an adorable border collie mix puppy in the beginning of February.  Her name is Bailey and she has brought so much joy into our lives! We bought her from an organization called Mustard Sandwich, which I must admit I was a bit skeptical at first.  The 2 hour drive to pick her up felt like 2 days and I was so excited when I finally got to hold the little fluff ball for the first time!  Her story is that her original owners abandoned her and her 5 brothers and sisters when they were born so this organization took her and her siblings in.  She is such an amazing puppy, and although there have been a few frustrating, sleepless nights...it has all been worth it.  Here is a picture of her when I brought her home at 10 weeks. 

Now she is a 4 month old "big girl" and is getting into everything.  She sleeps through the night, is fully potty trained (thank goodness!!), and loves to play! She is still a little timid of people, but LOVES her some dog park! 

In her short 4 months of life she has posed for at least 1000 pictures so there will be many more to come! 

More updates to come soon on grad school, the diet, and the cruise to Key West and Cozumel with my charming boyfriend :)