10 Quirky Questions...

Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?

Nope... I actually bring my own and refuse to use their shampoo & conditioner.. see my post about being a shampoo snob. 

What is your biggest pet peeve?

People being unnecessarily mean and judgmental.

Do you chew your pens and pencils?

Nah.. I'm not a chewer.. except cinnamon orbit. Love me some cinnamon orbit.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Sure.. why not? Idk. I guess I have a healthy respect for the paranormal/unknown.. because I don't know.. hence why it's "unknown"

What was your first concert?

 I've never actually been to a concert.. I know. I'm boring and weird.  Let's be friends anyway!

Have you ever cried because you were so happy?

 Yes. Last March when I went to Disney World with my bestie, Cate, to "celebrate" (My divorce, her wedding).  I hate fireworks y'all. Seriously.. Loud noises really freak me out, thus Fireworks, are just not my thing.  However, Cate was like super insistent that we HAD to see the fireworks at Epcot on Saturday night, and the Magic Kingdom on Sunday night.  Epcot, I was like "Wow. These aren't super loud! I like this!" (We had also started drinking around 10am with Margaritas in the Animal Kingdom and continued through out the day so we were both pretty tipsy by 10pm). 

 The real magic was Sunday night.  Sunday was super dreary and rainy, I had to buy different shoes because I had worn cute sandals that became super slippery when they got wet and thus really hard to walk in, but we had a great time anyway, and at 10 when the fireworks started I was just hit with this wave of emotion.  I was so excited to be with my friend (this was the first time we'd met face to face actually.. long story for another day), I was nervous about my impending divorce and newly single status, but mostly, I was so happy to be in that place, surrounded by all sorts of people from all over with this fantastic women who truly understood me and wanted my happiness, watching these gorgeous fireworks in front of Cinderella's Castle.  I think I was also eating ice cream or something and who couldn't be happy then?! But even now, I'm getting misty eyed remembering that, and I'm super excited to be running in the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon with her next February! Whitney will be there too, but she's already told us.. She hates to run. (Wow... that was a tangent huh?!)

Do you crave sweet or salty food?

 Depends.. Usually Sweet stuff, but sometimes I just want something salty and cheesy.  What do you crave?!

How late is "sleeping in" to you?

 Ha! Considering I usually get up around 3:30-4am, Sleeping in to me is getting up around 8.  Sometimes though (usually if I'm sick, or just plain exhausted), I'll sleep till 10.

What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked? 

 Sushi.  That stuff is delicious! Now it's one of my very favorite foods. Ever.

What are four movies you would watch over and over?

1. Gone with the Wind

2. Steel Magnolias

3. Beauty & the Beast

4. Wizard of Oz

Answer these questions in the comments! I want to know more about You!!

H54F

Hello Gorgeous!!

I'm linking up with Lauren @ FromMyGreyDesk for this edition of HighFiveForFriday!

1. Fall Festival!

The same logo since forever, but I love it.

In my oh so cute little town, the first weekend in October is always Fall Festival.  What is this festival you ask?! I don't care that September 20th was the "official start of Fall", It's not Fall until I've been to Fall Festival.  However, this is my first Fall Fest in like 6 years.. so.. Yes! I haven't had a Fall since 2006. Not really true, but I'm kind of ridiculously excited about it anyway!! Funnel Cakes, BBQ, Gyros, Meat...on a stick, deep fried stuff.. Yep. I'm stoked!!


2. $100 coupon to spend at Lilly...

So back in August Lilly Pulitzer had their Endless Summer Sale.  Needless to say, I had to shop.  I debated my purchases for like 3 days, and finally placed my order.  And promptly forgot about it.  In my defense, it was a busy time.  I was starting school again,  getting ready to leave for Cate's wedding, working my usual 40+ hours a week and I just plum forgot.  So then in like mid September I got a shipping notification and I was like "ohhhh yeah!" I got my shipment, and half of my stuff wasn't in there, and the maxi dress I bought was WAY to big (A good problem, but a problem none the less... my 6 foot tall mother now wears it).  I was miffed, but they put the sweetest little apology note in there so I was like "Oh Lilly! I forgive you! I could never stay mad at you!"  So then two days later I get an email that's like "Have 20% off and free shipping from your next order".. "Okay! Don't mind if I do!" and theeeeennnn.... I got another email from customer service that was like "We're really sorry we let you down, Here's $100 off" Shut. The. Front. Door.  I was seriously so excited.  Well.. Now it's October, and I'm still so overwhelmed! Have you been to that website y'all?! There's so much stuff that I want, need!  I've decided. I will spend it by the end of October.. Maybe by the end of today!



3. My Tervis...
I had a birthday coupon (Yay! Birthdays!) from Tervis, but I was in love with like 4 different cups.  2 of them were Alabama cups (duh!) and the other was a Fiesta ware.. cause I love Fiest ware y'all, but I got on the cutest leopard print, because it came with a lid and the others didn't.
The Runner's Up:

And my cute cup! I'm drinking out of it right now! Yummy Coffee since it's 6:30 and I've been at work for an hour and a half already.. after staying out far too late drinking wine with my parents.

Taken from instagram

4. Midterms
What kind of weirdo is excited about midterms? This girl! Cause that means it's almost fall break, and that I'm half way through the semester!! This semester has been crazy! 5 classes and 40 hour work weeks.. I don't recommend it! Plus once I'm done with this semester, I'm one semester closer to being a teacher and that is so exciting I could bust.

Don't Panic... Yeah right.

5. Bojangles.
Bojangles got new coffee y'all! Not only did they get new coffee.. they were giving it away! If you bought a biscuit, they gave you a free coffee... any size! So I'm having a Cajun Filet biscuit and some delicious BoJoe and I'm just so happy about it.

Cajun Filet Biscuit & BoJoe in my Tervis

So Yay for Friday!! I'm going to work on lab reports, lesson plans, study for midterms and I'm soooo looking forward to going home and snuggling with my precious baby tonight:

Thanks Dad for capturing all this cuteness..

 I think Theo was about to yawn in this picture? or maybe he was getting ready to sneeze in my face.  Either way.. I was passed out.

Happy Friday Y'all!

Rainy Day Hair & a Confession

Happy October!!

Let's chat about hair.  How awesome is hair? I mean it comes in so many different colors, and textures.. Yep, I'm a weirdo!

So anyway.. I have very thick (like crazy thick), coarse and naturally curly hair.  Who cares right? Well I'm sure that I'm not alone in my hair type, so even if your hair is similar, you can benefit from this post.  Thanks to my hair type, my hair and humidity do not get along very well, and whenever my hair gets into contact with water, it forgets the 30 minutes that I spent blow drying and curling it, and immediately resorts to its natural state.. chaos. Usually if there was even a hint of rain in the forecast, I would put my hair into a messy bun and call it a day.

So now, for my confession: I am a Shampoo Snob.  To make up for my snobbishness though, I am also an eternal optimist. Seriously, whenever new brands come out, I'll try them.  Pantene can make your hair grow a foot in a month, I'll try it! Herbal Essence has made that fantastic smell you get in the shower, last for days, Sign me up!  So when I saw John Frieda's Frizz Ease Smooth Start Shampoo & Conditioner, I was like "SOLD!".

I have the repairing, because I do a lot of damage to my hair because I style it constantly.

 Today, I put it to the test.  I shampooed, conditioned, used my every day CHI Keratin Mist leave in strengthening treatment, and started the monotonous task of blow drying my hair.   I got my hair decently smooth and straight (I was impressed, but not "I will never be without this shampoo for the rest of my life" impressed).  I curled my hair a little bit (I like some bounce!) and set out about my day.  After Spanish, I had to go into Walmart (my own personal hell). I go in get all the things on my list and and go outside into a torrential down pour.  Seriously... It was crazy!! One minute it was sunny, the next it was dark, thundery and pouring.  I had no umbrella or rain coat, so I calmly pushed my cart in my flip flops to my car letting my hair get wet.  I figured worst case, I'll throw it up.

Cut to me having to make a quick pit stop and knowing I'd be seeing a guy that I kind of find precious... I looked in my mirror, and I was shocked.. My hair didn't just look decent enough for me to leave it down.. my hair looked kind of awesome.

This is seriously after getting rained on, driving for 15 minutes and then getting home where it was sunny!

Bottom Line: Frizz Ease shampoo and conditioner.. it really works!!  I Love it!! Go get yourself some!!

That's all for now!

xoxo,
Sammie Joe

High Five for Friday!

I could not be more excited that today is Friday!!On Friday's my alarm goes off at 4am and I'm like "Good Morning World! It's Friday!!"and then it starts... I get that Rebecca Black song stuck in my head and it stays there allllllll day long!! So anyway, here's my 5 for Friday!

My Grandparents during WWII

1. I recently started putzing around on ancestry.com, and came across this picture of my grandparents.  They are the couple on the left.  My grandpa was a ball turret gunner in the Navy during WWII, and he's the reason when I decided to join the military, I joined the Navy.  I'm not sure if you can see it, but the writing on the bottom says "To my Darling Sammy, Love Joe"... For my nearest and dearest you know that my name is Sammie Joe, but in case you didn't know.. I'm named after those two amazing people.

Oh BooBoo...

2. Pshh... Like I could have a H54F without a picture of my booboo kitty, who was QUITE the bed hog last night! I've never had a cat who was so willing to spoon, and to be the big spoon to boot.  Yes. I am a crazy cat lady.

My Fabulous Friends

 3. These four Ladies are my rocks.  In all seriousness, They have been there for my marriage, my rocky relationship and my divorce.  Good Times and Bad.  I love them immensely. Starting at the top, Kenz (She's blogger too! check her out here). Jerrica (Another blogging friend! here's a link to her blog!).  Cate.. If I could have picked a sister, I would have picked her. Last, but not least, Whitney.. Whitney is one of the best people I've ever met, she's happy and perky and I just adore her.  I adore all of these ladies, I probably wouldn't be where I am today without them.

Carmel Apple Spice Cider from Starbucks...= Fall

4. The return of Fall drinks at Starbucks. I know these came back a few weeks ago, but can we just talk for a minute about how delicious they are?! Seriously!? Pumpkin Spice Latte, Carmel Apple Spice, Peppermint & Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates, Salted Carmel Mocha.  Take me to Starbucks, or Lose me forever!

5. Along with some seasonal drinks, we can't forget seasonal beer!! Sam Adams Harvest Collection? Don't mind if I do!  I'll be cozying up to this bad boy on Saturday during the game.. and for the rest of fall. Seriously.. Octoberfest and Harvest Pumpkin are incredible!!

I'm linking up with Lauren @ FromMyGreyDesk so go check out her blog and all the links to some other pretty fabulous bloggers!!

Happy Friday Y'all!!

It's GeeGeeBaby GiveAway!!

Ashley, of It'sGeeGeeBaby, has a brand new blog and a fantastic Giveaway!! 

GeeGee Gifts has a variety of gifts, jewelry, stationary and more, all of which can be personalized!! Who doesn't love a pretty girly scripty monogram?!

I have a Defender series otterbox for my iphone, and it's gorgeous! But I also am a girl, so I change my mind with some frequency so I wouldn't turn down another case! Otterbox cases are a must if you have an iPhone in my humble opinion.  I don't consider myself particularly "rough" with my phone but I can't tell you how many times I've dropped my phone and my heart absolutely stopped.  I no longer worry now that I have my Otterbox..

My beautiful iPhone cover

A closer view <3

So go and check out her blog. You can get as many as 50 entries in a day. I was tempted to keep this to myself to better my chances at winning, but Ashley and her shop are just too fantastic to keep a secret!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Hi Friends!

I made these Muffins on Saturday (The First Day of Fall Y'all!!), and they are SOOOOOO tasty! Seriously, I got one picture of them and when I went back to take some more pictures, they were gone. Poof! Gone! 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Goodness

About the Recipe: the original recipe can be found here, but I like to make recipes healthier so I've modified it replacing the vegetable oil with applesauce and I cut the white flour and added in the whole wheat. 

If this is your first time working with whole wheat flour, be warned that whole wheat anything doesn't tend to rise very much.  There's a scientific reason for this, but I won't bore you with that.. Just know that muffins (or bread or cookies or cupcakes or cake..) made with WW flour will never rise up the way white flour does.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Makes: About 45 mini muffins (12 regular)

For the filling:

• 8 oz. Fat Free cream cheese, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:

• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  3/4 c + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup applesauce

For the topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp. flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, egg, flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Set aside.
2. To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. DON'T OVER MIX! The whole wheat flour is already dense, and over mixing makes it even more so.
3. To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin about 2/3 full with batter. Add a dollop of filling on top. I used an ice cream scoop for batter, and a tbsp sized "cookie" scoop for the cheesecake filling. Sprinkle with topping. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Cool on wire rack (or don't!) and Enjoy!! 

A Political Rant... And some things you could do instead.

Okay.. I feel like this needs to be said, and I'm sure someone has said it.  I'm sure numerous people have said it.. but I haven't so here. we. go.


First of all, CAN WE PLEASE KEEP IT CLASSY?! For the love of all things chocolate, I am so sick of seeing posts on Facebook, seeing commercials, hearing radio ads, trashing the candidates.  I don't care about your political views, I just don't.  Be you a bleeding heart liberal, a super conservative, or an independent, is there really any need to call either candidate a "moron", "idiot", or "scum"? Really? Can you think of any reason at all? Didn't think so.  I know I'm not alone is being ready for the election to be over with, but my main reason for wanting it to be over is because I'm tired of the ceaseless negativity and hatred towards two men who want to help our country.  I truly believe that if you were to wade through all the crap floating around you would see that both candidates are trying to help.

I'm pretty sure that Obama is not "the Anti-Christ" and Romney obviously doesn't "Hate Women".  Are people just so miserable and unhappy in their own lives that they have nothing better to do than perpetuate the hate and unrest that so many thousands of people already feel?

So instead of whining and moaning on Facebook/Twitter/Blogs/Whatever Social Media form you choose, go out and volunteer with your party.  I work 40 hours a week and take 5 classes, but somehow I still find the time to support my candidate. If you're not particularly fond of either candidate, go spend some time with your board of elections.. Being registered to vote, in my opinion, is as important as actually voting.  You can't do one without the other

STOP THE NAME CALLING... YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT!