Wrapping DISASTER!!!!!!!

I absolutely LOVE wrapping presents!! It is my favorite thing about Christmas time! But--I had a very traumatic experience!

A couple of nights ago, I was wrapping presents while Ben & I were watching "The Other Guys." Everything was going perfect! I was almost finished wrapping too! Then it happened.... You know when you are wrapping a present, and you are holding the package just right and you use every part of your body to hold that wrapping paper in place just so you can sneak a piece of tape without the hold of the wrapping paper moving??? Well that was where is happened....next thing I know, the tape decides to wrap around my finger! It was one of those "Dang it" moments! So--what do I do? I had no other hand to use because it was holding the wrapping paper on the box (as was my arm/elbow) so all I could think of to use was my mouth.  I was going for my teeth and the tape hit my lip (chapped lip) and when I moved my hand, a whole chunk of skin from my lip was then on the tape!!!!! Blood was everywhere! I am screaming! Ben, being the Doctor, just laughs at me but still came to my rescue! What a great boyfriend!! Well, he knows that I am very dramatic about any situation! So after him coming to my rescue, my lip began to swell! I could feel my entire heart beating in my lip! So before I went to bed, I took a picture.......

Yes--you can feel sorry for me now!!! Thank you! Let me just say, don't use your mouth in wrapping presents! Lesson taught, lesson learned!

My new Christmas Sweater!

Thursday night is Ben's office's Christmas Party.  We are going to Bonefish! His nurses came up with the idea of all wearing Ugly Christmas Sweaters so that is the plan!!! Of course, I want to still attempt to look cute (You know, being Ben's girlfriend and all at HIS office party!).  So I have been on the hunt for a "CUTE" Ugly Christmas Sweater! I found gold on EBAY!!!!!! I bought an adorable little sweater that is LIME GREEN! It has SEQUIN Santas all over it!!! SUPER cute (for a Christmas Sweater!).

I just love this little thing!! My plan is to go to Target tomorrow and get a fitted tshirt that has Santa on it to wear under it! If not, I may just wear a white tshirt!

ALSO--Today at Hobby Lobby, I found these AMAZING/FUNNY necklaces for Ben and I to wear!!! We are going to have so much fun with this!!

I can't believe Christmas is in a WEEK and a HALF! AHHH!!! So much to do! :)

Library @ 2 AM!

So--it is obvious that if I am in front of a computer with internet, I am NOT going to study! I have been working on my Synthesis paper for Argumentation since 10:30 in the library and have yet to finished it! Facebook, Ebay, Craigslist, Blogger, & Dillards.com has so much more to study! So I am such a people watcher!!! I love being in the library and watching people like a creeper! Yes-if you are in the library on a computer right now, I see you! hahahahahaha!

So here is what I have found:
-a guy next to me has facebook on half of the screen and a powerpoint on the other half.
-the guy behind me has 3 red bull cans on his cubbie hole all open.
-the girl next to me has 2 cups of coffee.
-a girl across the room is on ebay.
-a guy over the way is making note cards but has facebook on his computer.
- A GIRL IS PAINTING HER FINGER NAILS!!! Gotta look good for that test tomorrow! :)
-A guy is trying to do Math across the room but he can't quite figure it out.
-A girl is asking a guy why the printer is out of paper...like he really knows!
-Oh I just saw a girl that I haven't seen in a while! Hello Abby!
-A girl is bringing in Taco Bell right now!!! (That a girl!!!!)
-A police officer is walking around...I mean come on-are we really going to steal a book?? a computer?? come on U of A!


Well--I think I have been creepy enough!!!!! Here is a picture of my cubby hole and my notes! :) Notice blogger is on the screen! Nothing school related! At 2 AM! :)

New for 6 weeks! :(

One of the things that I have asked for Christmas is INVISALINE! I know, I don't have bad/crooked/all over the place teeth.  But being a former Dental Assistant, I notice everything.  There are a couple of little bitty spaces/gaps that I can see when I look into the mirror.  So about 4 weeks ago, I went into the Dentist to get my mouth molded into what would soon be my new retainer to wear everyday.  CLEAR RETAINER!!!!!!!! So today was the day! The appointment that I had been waiting for!

THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-So when I went in there, I found out that the lab made the wrong retainer.  The Dentist took off my permanent retainer and placed this in my mouth.  Yes-This is the old fashion 8th grade retainer that everyone has already had, thrown away in a paper towel, lost, let your dog chew on, step on and probably more! Well if you know me, you know that I am always a couple steps behind everyone else!! haha! So I have to wear this nasty thing that hurts my teeth really bad for 6 weeks! OH THE PAIN TO LOOK GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know my teeth have already moved! Yippie!

-Oh & the other good thing about this retainer....
1. I can't talk right...
2. I spit everywhere...
3. I can't swallow...
4. I tried to drink out of a bottle of water and spilled it everywhere!...
5. I just look like I am in 9th grade or lower!

CAN'T WAIT UNTIL MY TEETH ARE STRAIGHT(er)!!!!

Christmas Present Frame!

This is such a cheap, great idea!

These are a great gift because they are so easy, fun, and CHEAP! The main ingredients are one unfinished wooden frame from Michael's ($1.00), a scrap of Christmas wrapping paper, a bow, and some craft paint.  

And one of my favorite things: MOD PODGE! There's not a thing in the world I haven't thought about Mod Podging. :)

And if you're like me, you already have most of this stuff around the house anyway! First paint the sides of the frame and the inside ledges. Don't worry about making it perfect! The front will all get covered up anyway. I used acrylic paint that's less than a dollar a bottle.

Roughly cut out the shape of the frame from the wrapping paper. You can see here that my cutting job was VERY rough. :) It doesn't matter though because we'll just file the excess away later.

Spread a very thing layer of Mod Podge on the frame and place the wrapping paper on top of it. Smooth away the bubbles and ripples that will apear as best you can. Let it dry for a bit and then take a sanding block (or in my case what was handy was an emory board) and file downward on the edges at a 45-degree angle. The paper will be sluffed right off and you'll have a perfectly-fitting design on your wood.

Paint another layer of Mod Podge over the wrapping paper. Doing it in this order helps lessen the ripples and rumples in the paper. Print out a festive message to put inside the frame,

and hot glue a bow in the corner. That's it! A perfect little frame that looks like it could be a gift under your tree! These would be ideal for your friends to put their yearly family Christmas picture in!

**Now-You all are probably thinking..."Wow, Tressa! You are really creative!" Well...I can't take all the credit! I actually stole this idea from another blog! "Craftily Ever After" So props to that blog! BUT...I am going to get some really cute wrapping paper & make some of these! You can do one for any occasion! I am so excited!!!!***

 

Craft project! :)

Working at Riffraff constantly makes my mind spin with ideas/creations to start.  Yesterday, we had a contributor bring in an old window to sell.  Ashley Giles bought it and said that she had heard about going to Lowes and buying wooden table legs for a coffee table and screwing them in and making an end table!!!! WHAT A GREAT IDEA! So a couple of months ago, my mom and I came across a dozen of these windows.  Some big, small, some with broken glass but all AWESOME! The one's that are broken can be made into chalk boards or mirrors or peg boards! But I am really in love with this table idea! So Mom and I are going to make some over the Christmas break! I googled this and this is what I came up with.....

My new favorite thing!

So I am the BIGGEST "As Seen on TV" junky! I love it! It is my favorite thing to watch late at night and when I am at Walgreens....you will find me on the As seen on TV aisle! Now of course, I have bought many things that do not work! BUT...a couple of weeks ago, Ben surprised me with this! AND IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes the most amazing brownies! And you don't have to make just brownies! I have made blueberry coffee cake, cinnamon cake, & a fun fetti cake! The purpose of this item is that is just makes each piece of whatever you are making just perfect! Every piece is so moist and the edges are just amazing! GO BUY THIS NOW!!!! You will be thanking me later!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Christmas Tree!

So I am ALMOST finished with my Christmas tree! The theme this year is....PEACOCK!!! My tree is Blue, Green & Brown! I am so in love with it! I haven't finished the top of the tree, so I can not post a picture yet.  BUT..I took pictures of lots of the ornaments and feathers so that you can have a SNEAK look! :)

The main reason to blog...FEELINGS!

So the main reason that I decided to get a blog was because one of my favorite movies/show is Sex and the City.  I love Carrie's character and how she is a NYC writer and how her character speaks from her writings/thoughts.  I wanted to first have a blog but not tell anyone and just write thoughts and feelings.  But then I started to think about how my life has always been an open book and when I read some other blogs, they tend to help me and my life so MAYBE, somehow, my blog thoughts can help others as well.  This leads me to this blog post....one really about feelings....


For the past couple of months, I have started really seeing what true love is.  I always thought that I knew what love was but I was wrong.  In past relationships where the ever so meaningful phrase "I love you" was said, it seemed to be just the thing that needed to be said because it felt like the right time to say it and yes, I may have really liked someone but looking back, I know that it was not TRUE love.  I always thought that true love was just a feeling that you had for someone but it is not.  Over the past couple of months, I have discovered many things that are detrimental to contributing to true love. The first thing that I have discovered is yes, the crazy butterfly feeling.  Of course, every relationship has this in the beginning. But I've learned that true love involves still always having a smile on your face whenever you are just looking at  that loved one and always feeling the butterflies whenever they smile at you.  This past Saturday was a HUGE day for me to learn this.  I was at the Hogs game vs LSU and we were all cheering and having a great time.  Next thing I know, I look up and to my left, Ben was looking at me with a really big smile.  I felt my entire body just melt.  I had chills.  I was shaking.  I wanted to scream.  ALL JUST FROM A SMILE! I had so many things going through my mind.  "Wow he is good looking." "What did I do to deserve him?" "Am I in a dream? Is this all real?" And again, ALL FROM A SMILE! 


The next discovery of true love came from visiting Ben's family at his parents house in Fort Smith Friday night.  Ben's family is Cuban and his Aunt, Cousin and Cousin's fiance came into town from NYC! Wow were they fun to be around! I had met Ben's parents before a couple of times but this time was different.  We were in their home and really getting to know each other.  We all had dinner in their beautiful full dinning room on their 8 person antique table.  We said grace and had a great/fun dinner.  After cleaning up after dinner, Ben's mother and I grabbed a slice of ice cream cake and headed back into the dinning room for a little chat.  At the end of chatting about Ben and our relationship and different subjects, I had tears in my eyes.  It was the most amazing night.  For the first time ever, I could see every value and way of life of my parents in his parents.  It was so comfortable being in their home with his family.  We laughed all night and had a really good time.  This is such an important thing when finding true love.  When you can see your family in someone else's family, you are finding true love.  


Everyone has flaws.  Generally when you get into a relationship, the flaws are discovered, and then usually someone in the relationship has to change.  There is always going to be at least one tiny little thing that bugs you about that other person.  But when you discover/find true love, the flaws do not matter.  One thing about Ben, is that he accepts all of my flaws.  And believe me, there are tons of them.    I don't have to try and impress Ben, or be someone that I am not.  Whenever I am just plain Tressa and just being silly me, Ben just smiles at me and makes me feel so special.  

I was actually telling a friend on mine today about this and how I was feeling.  She just looked at me and smiled and said, "I can truly see happiness in your eyes!" I told her that I have the most crazy feelings during the day just thinking about the one boy! :) It's like I just have to squeeze my whole body tight! (yes..from the butt cheeks in!) Such an amazing feeling!

What do you do in a situation like this?? OK so--the "I love you" has not been said yet! (((And you must think that I am crazy for writing this blog because he would see it! LUCKY for me, I know that he doesn't read my blog and if he does...SURPRISE! You now know EXACTLY how I feel about you! :) But I know that he doesn't! Maybe one day I can go back many months and show him this post!))) So what now? Of course, I would NEVER say that little phrase first! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! NEVER! Ahhh this is the worst part about falling in love with someone! And of course, the female is always faster on developing the feelings than the male! I wish I could give him some female hormone for like a day and let him catch up to me! BUT..what if he is already in love with me but too afraid to tell me! Ok now I am just rambling! Oh LOVE!

Ok...now to keep dreaming and THANKING GOD that I am having the best time of my life and that he is brought to me a true Godly man! :)

1st Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for so much this year! I have an AMAZING relationship with Jesus Christ, a great life with an amazing family, friends and boyfriend! I can not complain! I hope everyone has a great day and safe travels! :)

Some Pet Peeves!

So for the past couple of months, I have started writing down things that have become pet peeves or things that are so aggravating they just make you want to scream! We all have lots of them! Hopefully my list isn't too long....


-Drivers who don't use a turn signal.
-People who read out loud what they're typing in an email or letter.
-People who drink directly out of the milk/orange juice container.
-Couples who sit on the same side of the booth when there is no one on the other side. .
-People that don't use coasters.
-Noisy eaters.
-Students who prolong class by asking the most inane questions. When people take 20 napkins, use one, then throw them all away.
-Going through the drive thru, then having to go back when they screw your order up.
-People walking around in ridiculous 'fashionable' shoes that are clearly hurting their feet.
-Roadmaps that aren't folded correctly.
-Finding a shoe and not finding its mate next to it
-Made up car names that are not even real words.
-People who are mean to animals.
-When a person makes a sucking noise with a straw when the cup becomes almost empty.
-People with bad table manners.
-People who read the paper while driving.
-People that interrupt you when your telling a story and then they continue to tell you their story and then ask you in an uninterested tone to continue on with your story when they are finished talking.
-Drivers who won't turn right on red.
-People who chat online (instant messaging) while I'm on the phone with them.
-Couples that own a dog together and call themselves mommy and daddy.
-When drivers bring their car to the wrong side of the gas pump.
-When you genuinely ask someone what's wrong (when there obviously is something wrong) and they respond half-heartedly, "hmmm? oh nothing..."
-People who ignore yield signs.
-Double negatives.
-Conspiracy theories.
-Being asked my telephone number/account number AFTER I already entered in using the keypad on my phone. I thought I was supposed enter that info to "better assist me".
-Not washing hands after using the bathroom.
-The noise people make when they rub their fingers on balloons.
-When someone uses the butter to put on their toast, and leaves crumbs in the container.
-People who don't perform their duties at work.
-Guys who leave the toilet seat up.
-Celebrities claiming to be environmentalists.
-Men who insist on sitting with their legs spread wide like they got something there.
-When ice cream drips out of the bottom of a sugar cone.
-Dirty keyboards.
-People who zig zag in and out of lanes on the highway.
-People who ride their bikes in the road when a sidewalk is right there.
-When people don't send thank you notes.
-When somebody tosses something toward a garbage can, like they think they're a basketball star, then leave it on the ground after they miss!
-People who take forever to order food while I'm in line.
-When you open the DVD case and it is empty or a different movie is in it.
-Car alarms that signal that they are on by honking.
-People who walk their dogs and let them poop indiscriminately (like on someone's lawn), and does not pick it up.
-The way people walk in flip flops.
-Someone standing over my shoulder reading the computer screen.
-People who write "Noone" instead of "No one".
-Explanations that begin with the word "Again".
-People who don't cover their mouth while sneezing or coughing.
-Dirty dishes in the sink.
-People who habitually need favors.
-How opening any cheap electronic item these days requires cutting up your finger with cheap impossible to open plastic molding covering.
-When you're eating candy and someone asks if they can have a red one.
-When you bite into a jelly bean and it's a different flavor than what you thought it was.
-Uncomfortable chairs.
-Jerks who take up 2 parking spaces.
-Films censored and cut (for length) to be put on television.
-When something I've been into for a long time becomes popular.
-People who overuse quotes from movies or TV.
-People who act like they're in their own living room at an event (concert, ballgame, play, movies or a restaurant).
-People who give their kids weird names
-People that don't list prices on websites, stores, and infomercials.
-The creepers at red lights. You know, those people that start inching forward in their cars slowly until the light turns green.
-People who clear their throats in a disgusting way.
-People that pop and smack their chewing gum.
-People who invite you out somewhere then cancel.
-Women who wear too much perfume.
-Relying on someone else to take a picture because I want to be in it, and it ends up coming out off-centered and out-of-focus.
-You know when you ask someone a simple, straightforward question and they spend ten solid minutes rambling on about everything in the world EXCEPT the answer to your simple, straightforward question? I hate that.
-When you order a salad at a restaurant and they bring it to you at the same time as your dinner.
-Children's hand prints on the windows in car.
-People who don't know the difference between its/it's and they're /their/there.
-When you can't tell if someone is male or female.
-Sick people who cough near you.
-People putting their feet out of car windows.

Ok that is my list! haha!

Funny/Random event that happened to me on Saturday!

So as most of you know---the most random things happen to me! Saturday at the game, Amy Crain and I were craving hot chocolate! I owed her money from lunch the other day and so I just grabbed a $10 bill out of my wallet.  We also had a random $1 bill too so in all, we had $11! Whenever Amy and I were going to the concession stand, we started smelling FUNNEL CAKES! AHHH! We tried to follow the smell but we couldn't ever find them! Probably a good thing! haha! We were both so cold so we were trying to figure out how much hot chocolate we could get with our $11.  A regular Hot Chocolate was $3.  So..by doing the math, we could not afford to both get 2.  That would have been $12.  And we only had $11.  BOOO! So...we are both standing in line to get our drinks and we notice that there are Razorback MUGS that have hogs all over them for sale! THEY WERE SUPER CUTE! We set there and contemplated on how much we thought a mug was (not like we could afford one anyways) and if they could put hot chocolate in one! It was then our turn to order.  The "little" boy, yes-little boy, asked us what we wanted...

Little Boy-"Hi! What can I get you?"
Me-"How much are the Razorback Mugs?"
Little Boy-"$8"
Me-"And can you get one with hot chocolate in it?"
Little Boy looks unsure and decides to himself-"Sure why not!"
Me-"What's your name?"
Little Boy-"Isaac"
Me-"How old are you Isaac?"
Little Boy-"16!"
Me-"My name is Tressa! & and I am a really poor college kid who just has $11.  I think that you are super cute & I really would like 2 of those mugs with hot chocolate in them, but I only have $11 and it would cost me $16.  How about you do it and I won't tell if you don't tell!!!!!?? What do you think?"
Little Boy-"Umm...Sure!"

Amy is just standing there laughing at me the ENTIRE time! BUT hey--it worked & we had too much hot chocolate and ended up taking some home in our COOL/AWESOME new mugs! WOOOHOOOO

Oh what a random life I live...

Just watch this! I don't even know what to say...I just laugh!

BEST Holiday Open House in ARKANSAS! :)

So as you all know---I work @ Riffraff in Fayetteville! AKA--BEST STORE IN ARKANSAS!  November 18-20 we are having our CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE!!!

***Thursday we are having COCKTAILS! Yippee! & Amazing Ornament personalization!

***Friday is just an AWESOME day of HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE!

***Saturday is HOT COCO! & personalized gifts! & the BEST part about Saturday, LIGHTING OF THE SQUARE @ 6! Such a great night! I can't wait! I am so excited!

You can add us on facebook at "Riffraff Fayetteville" & please do! We are constantly updating facebook with pictures of new inventory! Inventory includes "Fabulous Finds & Accessories for You & Your Home!" Our inventory changes daily so stop by often!

Seeeeeeeee ya @ the party where everyone will be at! :)

My 3 favorite things this week!

NUMBER 1--
So for me--I was UBER UBER excited for daylight savings time! I love leaving my clock set wrong for a couple of days, just to soak it in! haha! This morning, I woke up & looked at the clock and it said 8am! The best thought EVER went through my mind, "It's really only 7--go back to sleep for an hour!" Oh it was just awesome! I love how it is bright outside earlier but I don't like that it gets dark earlier.  But hey, I am not going to complain! The extra hour is phenominal! :)

NUMBER 2--

So if you know me pretty well, you know that I LOVE COFFEE! Starbucks is my favorite place ever! But being a poor college kid, it is hard to afford.  So I reward myself, often, with a LARGE specialized coffee from Starbucks.  This is my favorite time of year for lots of reasons, but one of the biggest reasons that I love fall, is the PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE (grande, nonfat, nonwhip, cinnamon sprinkles)!!!!! Ahhh it is like heaven in a cup! However, for those of us on a budget spending around $5 a day just for a coffee may not be the best financial decision - that's $35/week, $140/month! BUT--I suggest everyone to go and try one! And the amazing thing about Starbucks----THEY LET YOU SAMPLE COFFEE! That was how I went about loving it! I went to Starbucks, and I noticed that it was the special coffee of the week and I didn't want to order it and not like it so I asked to try it and they gave me one for free! YAY STARBUCKS! GO TRY IT! NOWWWWW!

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin OR 1 teaspoon of Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup (your choice)
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute - you can halve this amount
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-2 shots of espresso

NUMBER 3--
Chelsea Handler's first book I've read, and I have to say... I can't get enough of her! She is unbelievably funny! I can't stress that enough! If you're at all human... and can appreciate comedy, then you'll be in bed reading and crackin' yourself up!

The last chapter, Chapter 12: Costa Rica was by far my favorite, and she's got a lot of stories that push the top of favorites too! About her trip with her friend Shoniqua, Shoniqua's mother Latifa, and Chelsea's father Melvin, whom she calls "Bitch Tits".
"My father has about as much shame as Star Jones and, being the Jew that he is, loves to get something for nothing. My negotiating skills are on par with George Bush's reading ability. And, just like Dubya, every time I've tried to put forth an effort, I am reminded that my only true strength lies in drinking." - Chelsea Handler "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea"
Not to spoil anymore details about it, but I love her and her book!!!!!

On to the next one: "Chelsea Chelsea, Bang Bang"



Have a great day!