99 Cent Queen

If you know me, you know that I LOVE a good deal. When I met KC, he introduced me to the 99 Cent Stores. OMG! Why had I never been there before?! I love this place. You can get some really great things for only a dollar! Recently, I've been finding some super cute home decor, so I can finally get our house feeling more like a home. I thought I'd share some of my awesome finds... 

These are hanging in our bedroom

I haven't found the perfect place for all of these, so right now they're just in my kitchen

I put this in the windowsill over the sink

The little coffee cup is a candle! And I'm completely in love with the House Rules sign

What girl wouldn't want this?!

This one is on our TV :)

Everything you see here was a dollar each!

xoxo

Five on Friday

Today, linking up with the four girls from Five on Friday: April, Christina, Natasha, and Darci, & The Farmer's Wife and September Farm for "Oh Hey, Friday." 

 

ONE. One of my best friends, Katie and her husband, Travis have officially scheduled a trip to come visit KC and I in Vegas!!! I'm beyond excited! We love them to death and always have such a great time together. Katie and I have been friends since we were born. KC & Travis met a little over a year ago and hit it off right away (Thank God!). We always look forward to spending time with them when we're in Indiana. April can't come soon enough!

      

TWO. My office is a total disaster right now. I brought home a new computer last weekend from work (with two screens), so I had to find a bigger desk. Because I'm cheap and desks are expensive, I just bought a 6 foot fold-up table. One of those white plastic ones people set up for parties. I actually really love it. I have so much more space to work now. All I need to do now, is straighten things up a bit.

THREE. My new nephew, Reed, is the sweetest. So happy I got to spend time around him last week (and my brother and SIL of course). He slept most of the time, but that's way better than crying. I think babies are more fun when they start interacting with you. The baby stage is kinda boring. :)

             

FOUR. Last June, KC and I had a miscarriage. I was about 7 weeks pregnant and had only known about it for 2 weeks. It wasn't a planned pregnancy, but it was still a difficult time for us. We took it with a grain of salt and focused on the positives. Had we not miscarried, we'd be becoming parents this weekend. That's crazy to think about...

FIVE. I saw this saying on Twitter yesterday and I absolutely love it. Reminds me how blessed I am.

xoxo

Product Review: #ReesesSpreads

     I finally received another Influenster vox box. This time around I got to try the new Reese's spreads peanut butter chocolate. Being a Reese's lover, it was perfect!

     This spread has the perfect amounts of peanut butter and chocolate. One doesn't over power the other and it tastes exactly like a Reese's cup! It's amazing for sweetening up any snack.

     So far, I've tried it on apples, graham crackers, and pretzels. All were fantastic! It's even great by itself. If you love Reese's, you NEED to try this spread!

Here's a link to check out Influenster on Facebook!

"I received this product complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

xoxo

The call that changed everything...Part 2

Continued from The call that changed everything...Part 1

Once inside, I broke the news to my roommate. She had met Megan the previous July when Megan came and stayed with us for our birthdays; we were 5 days apart, I was the baby. My roommate gave me the much needed hug that I longed for. Not that it helped that much, but at least I didn't feel as alone anymore.

I locked myself in my bedroom and waited. Thinking and waiting. Two things that don't go well together. Waiting for more information. More details. More understanding. Something that would make everything feel right. None of this came, except more information. I got a few more calls and then the sympathy started rolling in. Texts, calls, messages, emails. People seeing if I was okay, letting me know they're there; people who genuinely cared and some just looking for details to gossip about. It was overwhelming. I needed to get out of there. So I did what I do best when I have a problem...I ran away.

I threw some clothes in a bag, grabbed my phone charger, and jumped in my car. All I wanted to do was drive until it all made sense, so to Vegas I went. I talked to a few friends on the phone while I made the long drive there. About half an hour outside Vegas, I finally reached KC and told him what was going on. At this point in our relationship, we'd only been together for 8 months and he had just got back from Germany 2 months prior. He had met Megan the previous July as well.

Once I got there, he welcomed me with open arms and a shoulder to cry on. He was there without being pushy or expecting my to "talk" about it. He really made that weekend bearable; not sure what I would have done without him.

The funeral was set for Tuesday. I knew I had to be there. Not only for myself and Megan, but for her family. My boss was amazing, yet again, and told me to take as much time as I needed, so I could go to the services. Sunday morning, I drove back to Phoenix, packed another bag, and got on a flight to Indiana that night. The closer we got to landing, the harder it was to hold back the tears.

The next three days were a blur. Although I remember every detail, from getting off the plane to meet my parents, the quite drive home, the visitation, the funeral, to flying back home on Wednesday, it's difficult to put it all into words. The sadness...the grief that overtook me was almost unbearable. The tears I couldn't hold back, the emotions I had never experienced before. It was total shock.

That first moment when you walk into that room and see your best friend lying in a casket...there aren't words. But I can still see her; what she was wearing, how her hair laid perfectly over her shoulders, her face so relaxed and peaceful. You don't forget something like that. We were 23. We weren't supposed to be here. I shouldn't be burying my best friend. This wasn't how life was supposed to happen. We had plans, we had dreams. I just wanted to wake up, for this to all be some horrible nightmare.

I didn't wake up. In fact, I barely slept for the next 3 or 4 weeks. I didn't really notice it until one day at work, about 2 weeks later, when my boss asked me when the last time I slept more than 4 hours was. I looked at him and simply replied, "January 10th".

Now, 2 years later, as I sit here and think about all of this, it seems like just a couple months ago. I have no idea how 2 years have already passed. But I do know it hasn't been easy. There's a piece of myself missing and the hurt doesn't go away; you just learn to live with it. There are still times when I pick up my phone to text Megan; when something happens in my life and my first instinct is to call and tell her, or call and get her opinion on something. There are still times when little things remind me of her and bring tears to my eyes. Life is harder without your best friend...

The last time I saw Megan :(

xoxo

The call that changed everything...Part 1

January 11, 2013

It was a normal, chilly Friday morning in Arizona. I woke up to my blaring alarm around 6am, wishing for just an extra hour of sleep. I got ready for work half asleep, absentmindedly thinking about what I would do this weekend. I drove to work, frustrated with the traffic, releasing my road rage on anyone that got in my way. It was a normal, ordinary weekday. 

I got to work at 8:30am. The office was unusually quiet because only my boss and I were working that day. I was glad to have a peaceful day to get a lot of work done. I went back to my office, secluded from the others, and got busy on getting things done. And that's exactly what I did...until around 10am...

My phone rang. It was my mom. This wasn't an unusual event. My mom called me at work frequently. With the time difference between AZ and IN, the best time to catch me was while I was working. I answered the phone, happy for a tiny break from number crunching. As soon as she spoke, "Molly..." I knew something was wrong. I can still hear the way my name came out of her mouth; the tone, the emotion. My mind instantly thought something had happened to my dad or maybe my little brother. But all I could say was, "What?!?". Never in a million years would I have guessed what she was about to tell me.

"Megan's dead" was all she could manage before she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "What?!?" I didn't think I heard her right. Maybe it was instant shock, but I felt myself leave my body. It was like I was watching this unfold from above. Mom had to repeat it a couple of times before my brain actually comprehended what she was telling me. Road. Murdered. Dead. Ditch. Ex-boyfriend. "No!" "Yes." "No!" "Yes." "No!" was how our conversation proceeded. 

Celebrating our 23rd birthdays

I was borderline hysterical. We were only 23. How in the world could this be happening?! How could my best friend be dead?! Tears poured from my eyes uncontrollably, right there all over my desk. This can't be right. They've got to have their facts messed up. How can this be real?? I was numb. Mom said she'd call if she heard anything else; she just wanted to be the one to tell me. I hung up the phone. I was a mess...

My boss had been on the phone while this was taking place. I knew he had probably heard me, so I had to find the strength to go into his office and tell him exactly what was going on. I pulled it together, or so I thought, and walked to my boss's office. *side note* I'm not the crying type. I just don't cry; especially not in public. I take hurts and pain and bury them. That's just how I've always been. So, when I was standing there in my boss's doorway, crying as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, my boss didn't know what to think. To be honest, he looked a little scared, like he wasn't sure what to do; I don't blame him, there's not much anyone can do in a situation like this. After I finally got out all the details I knew, I was a blubbering mess. My boss told me to take the rest of the day off and go home. God bless him.

Indiana State Fair

The drive home was rough. My commute was pretty long, so I had a ton of time to think about what exactly was happening and my brain was running a hundred miles an hour. I tried calling a friend, but I got her voicemail. I tried calling KC, but his cell was out of the service area. I felt completely alone and that only made it worse. I couldn't help thinking about the last conversation I had with Megan. The thoughts and memories just flooded me. 

It was 3 days prior, on my way home from work (my long commute was the most common time for us to talk on the phone).  We had talked about her future plans to become a CNA, we made plans for my trip to Indiana in May, we talked about her next trip to AZ to visit (she'd already been 3 times in 2 years; she truly was the best). I thought about the texts we sent just the night before. And then I started thinking about how we'll never be able to do any of that again. We'd never get to take our trip to Europe, we'd never get to be each other's bridesmaids, we'd never get to take that cruise we talked about for over a year. I couldn't stop the tears, or the thoughts. 

Grand Canyon

When I got home, I sat in the car for awhile. Partly because I couldn't move and partly because I knew when I went inside, I'd have to tell my roommate everything. I'd have to relive my phone call with my mom again. I took my time going inside.

To be continued...

Part 2

Oh Hey, Friday | 2nd Edition

Today, I'm linking up with The Farmer's Wife and September Farm for "Oh Hey, Friday." 

One. My parents arrive tomorrow! This will be their first time in Vegas and I'm super excited to show them around. They'll only be here for about 24 hours and then I'm driving them to my older brother's house in Phoenix. ROAD TRIP! We'll finally get to meet baby Reed!

Two. I'm staying all week in Arizona so I can go into the office for work. There's quite a bit of things to be done there. I always enjoy my time in the office and getting to catch up with my co-workers. Plus, we always have a great time and lots of laughs. This time we're even going out to lunch one day for a late Christmas celebration.

Three. Work. Let me start with...I love my job! Really, I do. I love working with numbers and I absolutely can't complain about being able to work from home. However...busy season is upon us! There are many overwhelming days that I have to remind myself that I'm lucky to even have such a great job and that "I love my job."

Four. This month is flying by, which makes me realize that this year will be over in a blink of an eye, just like last year. I'm already starting to make a list of everything I want to do this year. I'm so excited to see what all this year brings. Can't wait! I'm not letting 2015 sneak up on me. Not passing on any opportunities!

Five. I've still been bouncing around in my head, the idea of going back to school. Ideally, it sounds perfect, fun, and exciting and I really want to go it. But realistically, I'm not sure I want to give up all my free time and sleep. I guess I'll have to continue comparing the pros and cons and convince myself that I don't need sleep for 2 more years. LOL

xoxo

Society Is Spoiled

     Yesterday we had a power outage around noon. It lasted only an hour and a half, but I can't believe how bored I became in such a short time. My eyes were definitely opened to how much we depend on electricity; me and society in general.

     I work from home, so no power means no work. At first, I thought this was awesome and I was glad to have an unavoidable break (we are so busy right now with tax season right around the corner). Boy was I wrong! I quickly remembered that no power means no internet when I tried to check my email; and no internet means there's not a lot I can do. I felt a little helpless and extremely frustrated. Sad, I know.

     I can't tell you how many times in those 90 minutes that I flipped on a light switch when I entered a room...Every...Single...Time. With this down time I thought, I'll get dinner started. Nope. I'll just watch some TV/Netflix. Nope. I'll work on some Shutterfly projects. Nope. Everything I came up with, I couldn't do because nothing works without electricity.

     I've decided that we have evolved into a spoiled society. We depend way too much on electricity and the internet to preoccupy our time. I need to fix this in my life. I need to be able to last longer than 90 short minutes before becoming bored out of my mind.

     Luckily, after about half an hour of trying to figure out what was happening, I walked to the mailbox and there was a letter from my brother! So I wrote him back since you don't need electricity for that! It was so good to hear from him and to know how great he's doing. Only about a month left before graduation. I'm so proud of him!

     Anyway, today the power went out again. Same time and everything. But this time, I used the time wisely instead of being bored with "nothing" to do. I rough drafted this blog post, did a little workout, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and read my book. Don't let electricity and technology run your life; take back control!

xoxo

A Perfect Surprise

This morning I woke up to the best surprise. KC is always bringing home little surprises for me, but he out did himself this time. Last night he was out with friends, so I was asleep before he got home. This morning, after we woke up, I went into the bathroom and on the sink were two tickets to the Rock of Ages show for tonight! Then he made us breakfast. He's a keeper for sure!
xoxo

I can't wait!!