Why oh why

do I do this to myself?

I've been sleepy all day.

Seriously, eyes heavy, head slightly bobbing, tapping my foot and spinning a bit in my rolly chair to try to keep myself awake at work.

I promised myself I would try to get in bed and go to sleep by 9 to get as much sleep as possible and make-up for the recent lack. My husband is in Pikeville and my parents are busy with their own things, so sleep would be the best use of my time this evening. I even took Benadryl to make myself extra sleepy.

Why would I need to take Benadryl when I'm already sleepy?

Because I'm a fighter. I'm fighting the need to sleep. I work 10 hour days, Monday through Friday this week and the next, 100 hours in 2 weeks. I daydream of the new house all day and things I'd like to look-up on the internet; designing tips and tricks, new little pretty things to spend money on, etc. etc. And even though work is particularly slow at my rotation and we wind up chit-chatting most of the day or staring at the wall, most ALL websites are blocked in the pharmacy that are not drug related.

So when it's time to go home and get some sleep, all I want to do is SURF.

I was even worried that I would go to sleep so early that the dog wouldn't be ready (since he sleeps with me) and that he would keep me up. Ironically, he's already beside me in bed, snoozing away.

Why do I do this to myself?

It's illogical. I am an addict. Addicted to blog stalking, design websites, window-shopping on the web (JUST window shopping, the wallet is on an immediate freeze until further notice following this past weekend's spending blow-out), and abusing my failing eye-sight by remaining glued to the endless amount of information and colorful pictures on the web. I want it all; the sleep and the time to surf.

So if you need me. I'll probably be here.

Doped up on Benadryl, surfing mindlessly. Maybe tomorrow I'll pack it in early. If I can freeze the wallet, maybe I can freeze the internet addiction as well.

Maybe.

We have blast off!

Our weekend was nothing less than magical! After a little hard work, lots of help from our family, and a few hours shopping - we've finally made this little place our very own. At one point this weekend, I was actually left alone in the house, and with the radio blaring my favorite oldies station, I boogied my happy butt through my dream house, grinning from ear to ear and actually... screaming.

Have you ever been so happy you had to scream? I at least had the composure to keep it in until everyone had left.

All is definitely not finished though... there are several walls that need color changing, our dining room table and chairs are still in storage, we purchased a sectional and t.v. this weekend that we won't be moving in for several more weeks, and there are still a few wall hangings that needed a drill, level, stud finder... you know, all of those little things weforgot to bring.

Just a few quickies though:

I love my new rugs I ordered from Overstock.com!

I was so worried about ordering such a pricey item without seeing them in person, (though they weren't as pricey as most, I got a great deal!), but the rugs are perfect. I promise, much prettier in person and they are ultra plush.... very luxurious.

My tear-out from a pottery barn magazine that I've made sure to keep handy: It's a close match to the color I want on our family room walls and I loved the rug in the picture when I tore this out... lucky for me, they don't have that rug in stock anymore; I love the one I ended up with much more and got it for a fraction of the cost.

My sister and dad took to taking down the ugly border around the pool table. I had no clue it would be so simple (well, sortof) to take down and look so clean afterwards. (My dad said it was the only thing he disliked in the entire house - guess he made sure he was 100% satisfied with our purchase.)

I am so grateful they took the time and effort to do away with such an eye-sore!

Another great find - I got 2 of these lamps at Goodwill for the table in the foyer. I love them! Nick was a little unsure at first, but when I plugged them into the wall at Goodwill to make sure they work, he started getting a tad embarrassed with me and just told me to get them. I love quirky lamps and these completely fit the bill.

I bought them with every intention to paint them, but once we got them home, I found them perfect as is. I believe a little English Oil may give them that extra oomph and I bought two different shades at Target tonight to try out on them. Since I'm back in east Kentucky and the lamps are still in central KY - I'll have to wait the three weeks until we're back again to decide on a lamp shade and perfect these babies. I can't wait!

And we bought this sectional on the way home tonight. We found it yesterday, pretty much made the decision we'd love to have it, but then took the night to sleep on it before "pulling the trigger" as Nick says with big purchases.

Though this evening, it just so happened that the Cards were playing while we were in Haverty's making our big purchase - I've never seen Nick "pull the trigger" so quick to get out of there and watch the last 30 minutes of the game at Rafferty's. Their loss was probably the only time I saw him unhappy this weekend. Poor Nick :( Poor Louisville :(

Last but not least, before we got on the road Friday morning, Nick checked his email and found out he got into graduate school at UK! I've never been more excited for another person's education. =)=)=)

We have a lot of praises going up to the Big Guy right now, but they are all just things. I could do without all of them and live a perfectly happy life with my family and friends. We realize what is truly important in our lives and try to keep our reality in check. If you could take the moment, please remember my mom in your prayers as she goes in for a follow-up MRI after a cat-scan of her brain showed something abnormal. We appreciate your prayers on her behalf more than anything!

Much love!

Smokey Mountain Memories

We're off again for a 3 day weekend at the new house - unpacking, cleaning, and making it a home. I scheduled this post for today since I knew we would be without internet until Monday. Hopefully, more pics to come from the crazy antics I know will ensue from the madness of moving.

I thought we'd take lots of pictures last weekend in the Smoky Mountains, but it turns out we were too busy catching up and making up for lost time to even think about the camera. Some of the other girls took a few pics that I didn't get on my camera, so hopefully they'll send then to me soon.

We didn't get to the cabin till almost 10 on Friday night - Amanda took her place in front of the fire almost immediately =)

Saturday, we did TONS of shopping together at the outlet malls. We were in bargain shopping heaven. At the end of the shopping day, we stopped off for dinner at the Chop House, a very fabulous steak house. This was us waiting outside to get in, which gave us a moment to realize we needed a little group picture!

The guy we asked couldn't figure out the camera at first... the girls faces are priceless.

From left to right: Kalina, Amber, Tami, Amanda, myself, and Anita. Our fun little gang.

I've really gotta find the perfect spot for this little jewel in the house. I'll try to get a better picture of our 11:00 at night last moment thought to get an "Old Timey" picture. It was quite the trip ;) Maybe I'll hang it in the guest room for when one of them comes to visit!

On our way out on Sunday morning, we noticed the cabin not far from us had burned over night! We didn't even hear a single siren - you know I had to take a picture of the damages...

Nick was not left out of all the fun. I brought him home a souvenir Dolly Parton chocolate sucker. He's so lucky that I'm so thoughtful... hehe

Last but not least, my favorite find at the outlet mall. Won't these look fabulous hanging up in our movie room?! I love them! {Getting them home in car packed full of girls and luggage was a little difficult, but I was not leaving them behind!}

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Roberts' love nest

We're back... and this time, we're home owners! I can finally write about the house and post pictures without the fear that something might fall through! We can finally move all those packed up boxes and furniture into the house! I can finally move out of that tiny apartment and move in with my parents for the next month... HUH?!

Well, we've moved out of the apartment and are in the process of getting moved into the house this very week, but there's still the small matter of finishing up my last rotation in Prestonsburg. Thankfully, my parents still accept me as their overgrown live in daughter and will house me (and Nick) while I'm working at Food City, only 2 miles from their house. {My mom also lets me commandeer her laptop, browse the net, upload all of these pics and blog my time away.}

Nick will probably spend most days at his parents as well while he still has a couple of months left at his job in Pikeville. We will, of course, "visit" each other and stay at the in-laws so we won't revert completely back into our pre-nuptial selves. Though even in our pre-nuptial days, we didn't live with our parents, so maybe I would call it our pre-college days?

And then there's the joint custody of the dog that we've yet to work out.

A few house stats for you to get a better understanding of the layout: 1 story on a full walk-out basement, 3200 square feet, 4 bedrooms (3 upstairs, 1 downstairs), 3 full baths (2 up, 1 down). Also in basement: the "gym" room for the eliptical, treadmill, and weightlifting thingy and a rather large utility room... lots of storage room.

So without further adieu, pictures of our new house. Don't mind all the junk, it will all soon find a permanent home - a place for everything and everything in it's place. A motto, that when followed, helps keep my sanity intact.

Melissa, David, and Nick checking out the deck on closing day. We really appreciated their help on Monday!

I love our kitchen and granite countertops. The stove, however, I hope to say good-bye to in the next couple of years. Helllllllloooooo stainless steel.

The dining room.

The family room. That door leads out to the deck. I hope to paint this room SOON. Not that it's bad - just ready to make it ours. Consider all of these pictures as the "before" pics. As in, "before" the deck was stained/sealed, "before" the ugly stove went away, "before" the family room became a beautiful shade of blue and the trim became white.

Master bedroom with master bath photos following.

All basement pictures following. Here you can see the stairs and a view into our new gym.

Nick has an awesome screen and projector that will cover this wall and become the "movie room" with lots of comfy couches.

Company are welcomed and encouraged!



I'm so glad my sister owns a rug doctor. It brought up lots of icky cat hair from the carpet.

Full bath in the basement.

Our new pool table!

I love the sweet little babbling brook behind our house. Nick and I like to debate whether it is a stream/brook -or- what he calls a creek. Either way, the sellers told us that in a couple weeks, lots of ducks and their little ducklings will start coming to our yard and even up to the basement doors to be fed yummy cracked corn that we need to stock up on. I love that we're inheriting new pets. I hope Hendrix doesn't eat them.

I looked up the definition of a creek: "A stream of water smaller than a river and larger than a brook."

Should we look up the definition of vague?

Last but not least, the proud home owners. The one on the right with the longer hair needed a picture to remember what our goofy faces looked like on the day we closed. Too bad she didn't think about it till they had run themselves ragged cleaning, unpacking a few boxes and changing locks. We were still ecstatic even if we weren't looking/smelling our best.

Come on over, ya'll!

Happy 4 Years!

This post is really for my one and only love, my dearest husband. It may seem silly to celebrate another anniversary besides our wedding anniversary.... but if we hadn't got together for the first time back on March 21st, 2005, would we have even got to have a wedding anniversary?

Nicky,

I wish I could have been with you today to celebrate year 4. You KNOW how much I love my lucky number 4... but sadly, it wasn't in the stars for us today. {Correct me if I'm wrong - but were we not even further apart on our one year anniversary? You in Florida and me in Vegas? I can't remember, but if so... at least we're MUCH closer than that particular year...}

I believe this past year has most definitely been the most exciting yet, and while I can't be sure, I suspect year 5 is going to top it! I'm not sure if my heart can take it much longer if each year continues to top the last, but bring it on!

You are my rock, my best friend, my mirror image and yet my polar opposite. You keep me on my toes and always keep it interesting. Your sweet disposition and drop dead gorgeous looks keep me going when I'm feeling I have nothing left to give. Thank you for your loving presence in my life.

Much love,
Stephanie

P.S. - Check the top drawer of my dresser for your card and gift! {I didn't want to get too mooshy on here... the rest is in the card!} I hope you are having a beautiful day and can't wait to celebrate with you when I get back, perhaps by buying a house on Monday or something along those lines ;)

Happy 4 year anniversary, my love!

Kreativ and Krazy

I'm so sorry posts have been few and far between between lately. There is SO much going on around here lately. I finished my seventh pharmacy rotation yesterday - that's 7 out of 8 people =)

I have to be at school tomorrow in Virginia for one of our class's forums - yuck. While there, we will be taking practice law and NAPLEX (the national pharmacy boards) exams too - double yuck. But there's always a silver lining and after the school day is over, six other girls and I will be heading out to our cabin in Pigeon Forge for the weekend. Not the most glamorous location, but there is bound to be lots of laughing, shopping, laughing, constant gabbing, laughing some more and sitting around in the hot tub!

And of course, we're still packing up the apartment in preparation for our move next week. I am extremely excited!!... as well as nervous, anxious, worried, stressed, etc. etc. etc.

{Was this the worst weekend I could have went out of town? Well, yeah. But I wouldn't miss this time with my girls for anything. I haven't seen them since Halloween and after graduation we will all be spread out across these United States - life is short and good friends are few. I'm going!}

On Monday morning, Nick and I are going to be in Lexington to sign the papers, close on the house and finally become home owners! My sister and brother-in-law are going to meet us for lunch afterwards and then come see the house for the first time. And get this - David is going to help Nick change all the locks and Melissa is going to help me clean! Don't you just love family?

Someone asked me in the pharmacy the other day if we had hired any movers... haha. Who needs movers when you have my parents, Nick's parents, and my sis and b.i.l. who will all be there next weekend to assist?!

Not to mention that Nick, his dad, and the guy that work's for his dad's company are moving LOTS of great heavy stuff earlier in the week - like a washer, dryer, fridge, furniture... have you seen my scrawny arms? No one wants me around for such things.

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In other news:

Sweet Britney passed on this cute little award to me!

Here are the award rules:

List 7 things that you love, and then pass the award on to bloggers that you love! Be sure to tag them and let them know that they have won. You can copy the picture of the award and paste it on your sideboard letting the whole world know...you are Kreativ!

7 Things I love (in no particular order):

1. My loving husband. 8 months married today and 4 blissful years together this Saturday.

2. My family. I couldn't ask for better!

3. Our new house!

4. My little Hendrix. He's the sweetest little fur-baby ever.

5. The good fortune to go to school and earn my Doctor of Pharmacy. It's been mostly miserable but completely worth it. {I'd do it all over again tomorrow if I had to!}

6. My beautiful girlfriends that I can't wait to spend the weekend with in TN.

7. My wonderful Lord and Savior who makes all things perfect. "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

And now the blogs I tag to pass on this nice little award:

Durec Family Nothings

Magnolias, Marriage, and Mangattan

The DeYoungsters

Frogs, and Snails, and Puppy-dog Tails

Palmetto State Weddings

Pregnant Stephanie

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I'll try my best to post pics from this weekend when I get back on Sunday. And I'm sure Monday's trip to our new home will bring about a few pics as well. Be watching!

I know my stress is the least serious you can have - no one is sick, no one's been in an accident, there's no law involved, and the bank is not coming to take away the home we live in. In these uncertain times, I am at the top of the blessing list. But is that to say that I don't occasionally freak out about the little things before I can set my head straight about where all of this really lands in the big picture? THE TRUTH: I am weak. But He is strong.

If I can remember to recite these little verses in my head, they most always wipe away the little bit of hyperventilating and heart racing that has just begun with the mere thought of the packing, moving, studying, exam taking, school graduating and new job beginning that I still have to do.

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I already have a plan

I love this song. I love it even better when performed by the cast of Scrubs. {What's not to love about that show - medical dialogue mixed with lots of silliness. Genius.} And this is my song at this junction in life, in the most positive light you can take that in.



Then again, I could have easily posted the Facts of Life theme song ~ "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have, the facts of life... It takes a lot to get it right when you're learning the facts of life."

We're learning ;)

Bittersweet Symphony

The thought of moving on and out of our oh-so-tiny apartment has been nothing but a thrill, until now. Between packing up and realizing how little time we have left to live in such a close proximity to our families, the emotions have been taking over.

This apartment has been first our home together, the home of many beautiful memories. The first place we merged our accumulated belongings to create a place that was ours. We brought home our precious pup to this place and watched him grow. While I can't wait to stop paying rent and to actually own a place where all of our belongings can live together... not spread out over two counties, my parents' house, his parents' house, and of course, the jam-packed storage building... the change, like most every other big phase in our lives that comes to an end, can be described as nothing less than bittersweet. It's been a lovely journey so far and this apartment and the wonderful area and the people we have had the pleasure to share it with have had quite the starring role.

It also doesn't help that spring is moving in and reinventing these hills that have seemed so dreary throughout the winter into a fresh new shade of gorgeous. I liked the idea of moving a lot better when everything wasn't looking quite this lovely!

I got out to take a few pictures to remember our first home by and to capture the fleeting first signs of spring.

I love weeping willows, which you really don't run into that often around here, and this magnificent fellow will be greatly missed by little ole' me. He's just beginning his light green growths and will be restored back to his usual giant sized, sleepy, summer self before you know it.



And I would be remiss if I didn't segue this spring post into one of spring fashion. I was over on Kelly's blog yesterday where she was rounding up the best places to spend your limited recession dollars. Have ya'll heard of Sam Moon? I hadn't and I can't believe the steals they have! I'm trying really hard to narrow down my shopping cart over there right now. Let's hope that Nick isn't catching up with the blog before I complete my order ;)

All for $4.95

$9.95 for the set!

$7.95 - And this is one of the most expensive bracelets on the site.

I really adore turquoise these days.


A $13.95 chunky belt?
Get outta town!



$6.50 for the necklace and matching earrings!

They're not the type to last forever, but they are the kind to last just long enough to outlive the trends. Plus, with the way I keep up with jewelry, it doesn't hurt to spend as little as possible on something that may or may not still be found in my jewelry box by next year.

Didn't see anything you like here? Check out the site, there's a ton more of every type of necklace, bracelet, earrings, ring, handbags, belts, luggage.... PHEW.

Obviously, I spent a little too much time browsing, but it got me seriously excited and I would just feel guilty if I didn't share ;)

Tootles Poodles!