Whoops!

Last night, i baked myself some frozen-healthy mac n cheese. i decided to go old school and cook it in the "conventional oven" instead of the microwave. even though it took 3 mins in microwave and 35 in the oven. i decided i could wait for the better end result. in went the mac n cheese with the plastic cover @ 350*. after it was done, i mixed it with some left over roasted chicken i'd used for chicken mango quesadillas for monday's meal. [recipe compliments of cooking for your man (cookbook compliments of dan)]. i pared the oven-boxed mac n chicken n cheese with mango rice (see comment above), corn from grilling on tues (with natalie, sarah, jessica, dan), and ht sweet tea (from mr. morgan's 60th bday bash). the mac and cheese looked so good right out of the oven that i got tempted, forgot i'd just pulled it out of a 350* oven, and tasted it. BURNED my tongue!! my poor taste buds are still red and mad at me this morning. nonetheless, the mac n cheese was kinda weak, so i added some pepper from the teeny tiny salt n pepper set provided for us when we stay @ edisto. i'm talking there's only one little hole in the thimble-sized pepper shaker, so you really have to work for your seasoning!

i curled up on my couch under my zebra blanket to watch "step up" and enjoy my dinner. i'm long overdue to see that movie, and have a crush on the main guy. (can't remember his name, but he's miley's love in "dear john"). just as i was getting into the movie, mich stopped by as planned, but with a mission for tcby. don't get in front of this girl and her cravings. seeing as i was just finishing my meal, she waited patiently until i finished. feeling lazy and really wanting to finish the movie, i suggested going to another yo-fo place that'd just opened nearby. she replied, "you can stay here or go there, but i'm going to tcby either way tonight." ok then. tcby, here we come! it's in a shopping center past my shaker house, so in my mind, it's really far away. i've got that charlotte mentality that anywhere you have to drive 15 mins to is too long, and you just don't venture out unless it's a necessity. mich offered to drive and we were set.

10pm, drive to tcby. we drive right past the street you'd turn down to get to my shaker house. it was weird just driving by it. i felt guilty and strange not going there or stopping by to say hello. but i didn't feel too bad bc i knew my parents were alone at the house for the first time in a while. why did i know this? bc my dad called me earlier that afternoon just to gloat and tell me this information!

tcby is def the new high school hangout. i thought i'd see matthew and meredith's friends there, and sure enough, our neighbor, meredith, was there! the trip ended up being really good. i got to spend time w my michy, experience ice cream from the future where you self serve, self top, and pay by weight, and venture out of my east blvd bubble.

i woke up this morning and walked to my kitchen and the stove area felt warm... a lightbulb went off: i forgot to turn the oven off last night!!!! oh gosh. it's all good now, whew.

today, im feeling rejuvenated! dan and i are off to visit colby and jacob for the 4th. going to dc for the 4th too! i love feeling patriotic. this trip is in honor of my uncle paul, papa, uncle kelly, zach, wes, & ben.

happy 4th!

Skynyrd

I just got back from one of my "see before i die" concerts... Lynyrd Skynyrd!! (Me, Dad, Andrew & Matthew went for dad's Father's Day present. Meredith and Mom are still at Nanny's.) omg it was just as awesome as id been hoping. ever since andrew and matthew saw skynyrd play with hank williams when i was studying abroad (almost 4 years ago), i've been aching for the day when i could see them too. that band really hits home for me...those songs are like a part of my family's past generations...southern and real. "simple man" says it all.

the concert definitely lived up to the hype i had dreamed about in my mind. the crowd was filled with the best redneck country boys in the US of A. and the tattooed ladies mmm hmm. not to mention, we had the best seats on the lawn. we could see the concert stage perfectly, and had front seats to 2 different arrests! one was in between .38 and bret, and the other was while everyone was getting ancy waiting for skynyrd. the 2nd arrest was definitely the most entertaining. a real redneck brawl. just another family out for a lovely evening together to see skynyrd: a mom, dad, son (who'd just turned 21 today) daughter, bf, cousin, aunt, and a few other assorted family members were sitting/smoking/drinking/dancing in front of us. somebody sitting near them said something, and the dad got really possessive of his wife and starting trying to fight this guy. so, the bf of the daughter walked up to the belligerent dad to calm him down. well, instead of taming the fight, the dad bucked at the bf, so the bf sucker punched the dad in the face. the next thing you know, they're both swinging and tackled each other on the ground. it was chaos. the police got there (along with a crowd of people) in minutes. the dad was put in handcuffs, and the mom got mad and started swinging at police, so mama got put in handcuffs too. bf that started the whole fight had dipped...no where to be seen (smart guy, andrew comments). all this time, the 21 yr old son has been passed out drunk on the blanket, oblivious to everything going on around him. the police kinda stumble upon him, and he's so out of it that he can't respond to the yelling and flashlights in his face. bad news bears. out comes medic and they have to stand him up and walk him out. skynyrd, you didn't disappoint.

for the encore, people started screaming "FREEBIRD!!" and they actually got their wish! who'd a thunk it?? like something out of a movie...all the lighters and "freebird" was quite a moment for me.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! It's because of you that we know about these bands/songs so we can share these times together.

Where'd ya go?

Dang it. I become the blogger that i never wanted to be... the one who starts out strong and then goes MIA for weeks. Sorry.

Every day since my last post (over 2 weeks ago) ive been thinking about what to write about. the only theme that's been going on in my life lately is change. the end of an era. a good one; bittersweet, really. it's been almost 2 years since i started my first big girl job. ive had time to get my feet wet in the corporate world, and id say ive got the swing of things pretty much down. just use the right buzzwords and you're golden. in one way, it seems like yesterday that i was running around charlotte on the "amazing race scavenger hunt" with all the 300+ college hires... in another way, it feels like forever.

we've come to the 2 year mark in my rotation program with work. this means that a few people are going to get their MBAs, some are getting new jobs, and others are waiting on their boyfriends to finish law school. ive been feeling nostalgic about the time me and my friends at work have had together. it's an experience we'll never have again. 1st job, single, free to be and do whatever. i know im living the best years of my life. but yet i feel ancy when another friend gets engaged or people move to new jobs. every time i feel myself getting anxious about trying to move my present quickly to the future i think i want, i just have to slow down and take it all in. and when i really think about it, i am happy and completely smitten. i love living in this little yellow house. i love coming home and not having to do the dishes bc i just don't feel like it. and as much as i can get caught up with what everyone else is doing, it feels really good to just enjoy the moment. sometimes i look up at the sky and smile, thanking God for blessing me to be in this very moment and season of life. i know things can't stay like this forever. just this week things are starting to change at work and people are starting to move away. but i will try to slow down and cherish these times. even when ive had the worst day at work (today) and feel so upset about things (having to move cubes to another building, away from all of my cubemates), i know better things are yet to come.

i'd just gotten done moving all my stuff into my new cube with andrew and max's help. i felt like the pits. even so, i met my new cubemate, mark, and introduced him to andrew. he was so genuinely happy to meet me and excited that he'd have a new neighbor. it's amazing what a smile can do. almost instantly i felt better. i introduced him to Andrew and explained how this was Andrew's very first week! mark kept calling him "big man" and asking questions about everything, wishing him the best.

"every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Typical

Here's an example of a typical night at the McDonald household: Tonight.

Mom: walking around in a showercap in her hairdyed t-shirt that looks like blood. (smelly)

Matthew: doing HW asking my dad for help filling out a crossword puzzle:

Matthew: what's the word for...

Dad: Tammy, what is that again, the...

Mom: I think it's the vas deferens

Matthew: Yeah, that's it

Amy: walking around the house poking people with a red yard stick i just found in the dining room from Aunt Florence's old house

Meredith: talking about having to take a shower

Nanny: opening up her Mother's Day gifts (yeah):

1st gift: black shawl

Nanny: what is it? oh, it's a piece of material!!

Mom: no, it's a shawl

Nanny: oh, thank you!

2nd gift: Shoe-dini

Nanny: oh wow, i really was about to order this! thank you!

Tammy: i thought you would like it

3rd gift: Cookbook

Happy all around

Weird fact: there's a recipe called "Marge's deep dish apple pie" crazy for those who get it!

Tune in next time for another exciting episode!

Random pic time:

Dan is a baller. He'd just found out he got the job w Compass Group. Holla!!

Me and Sarah at the beach this weekend!

something is just not right (fair) w this pic.

Jimmy

Jimmy (pronounced yim-ee) was a good bird and a loyal friend. We had a lot of fun times together old buddy and we miss you.

Last night, me, Dan, Colby, and Jacob carpooled to Abbey and Nick's engagement shower/party/fiesta. It was an all out Mexican themed affair, and boy did the hosts have the theme down to the T! From the sombreros to the pinatas to the Corona... "they dun good." I felt like I was replaying a scene from Gossip Girl. Everybody looked fabulous and it was definitely "the" party to be at last night. The tent said it all. Just imagine a huge white circus-like tent, and that was in the hosts' backyard! It was incredible.

We socialized and mingled for about an hour and then it was time for dinner. It was a buffet of build your own tacos/fajitas, etc. and it was really good. Jess told Jacob that if he picked a table with the sombrero centerpiece that she'd make him wear it. So Jacob chose the table in the back corner of the tent with a parrot pinata centerpiece. Jess and I sat in the back of table and it was kind of on this incline. We had to laugh forward (weird to do) so we didn't fall over backwards out of our chairs. And discussing this, of course, made us laugh. Did i mention that Jess is awesome? She's our new friend :) Abbey's friend from Raleigh that went to school "in Connecticut." Anyways. We were all sitting around the table eating when someone decided to name our parrot centerpiece. We tossed a few names around, and then i said, "what about Jimmy?" then dan, who obviously was NOT paying attention said, "yeah, Jimmy is a great name for a parrot! when did you get a parrot?" (asking colby and jacob) We all burst into laughter...no dan, not a real parrot, the centerpiece! OH. then Jimmy became more than a silly centerpiece. he became our pet and friend. We talked to him, sat him at the table and put one of our empty plates of food in front of him. Dan (or Jacob?) said, "Jimmy, you cleaned your plate! Good boy!" It was quite entertaining.

Jacob sat Jimmy on his shoulder like a pirate and carried him around after dinner. It was apparent that the 2 were becoming attached. When Jacob went to the bathroom, Colby decided to play a trick on him and hide Jimmy under a table with just his beak and eye sticking out. When Jacob came back, the first thing he did was ask worriedly, "Where's Jimmy?" At first, we pretended not to know, but jacob looked so sad that i decided to move my eyes towards the table to help the poor guy out. Eventually, jacob found jimmy and immediately lit up with elation. together again!

The guys were determined that Jimmy was coming home with us. But how to make an exit without being conspicuous carrying a parrot pinata away? Jacob and Dan stood next to each other and it looked like the plan was fool proof... As we were hugging Abbey and Nick goodbye, i forgot that i had some princess sillybandz to give abbey. I've had them at my house for months and had to give them to her. She loved them and we spent another 5 minutes showing them off to the guests: a glass slipper, crown, castle, and diamond ring! Well, this turned out to be our downfall. In the time i spent giving abbey the sillybandz and saying goodbye, the hostesses were secretly devising a plan to get Jimmy back! Just as we were turning to leave, thinking the coast was clear, one of the hostesses comes up to Jacob (Jimmy is still being held between both guys) and says ever so sweetly, "thank you for holding him," taking Jimmy from his hands and giving him an innocent smile and wink. Jacob and Dan were caught off guard and Jacob was like, "haha, yes you're welcome!" Jimmy was now gone. Dan laughed nervously and said to us, "OK now we really have to go!" Colby and I were just laughing.

RIP Jimmy, wherever you are.

Amy, Auditor by day...

I had a meeting with my manager today to catch up on everything that's been going on in the last month. As we were wrapping up, she was telling me about her wedding planning and how she's getting her bridal portraits taken this weekend. I brightened up and told her how I'd taken my cousin and a few friends' bridal portraits. Almost shocked, she said, "Really?" and asked how long i'd been taking pictures, etc. "Why didn't i know this?" she wondered, and then proceeded to ask what i was doing on her wedding date lol. "Oh you have no idea," i added, "i just auditioned for Glee a few weeks ago!" Then she got this really confused look on her face. Laughing, she said, "I could totally not see you doing that!" hahaha.... A little taken aback, i explained to her that i really did audition and that id sang in an a cappella group in college. "Really?" is the only answer she could come back with.

That got my mind really thinking. What did she mean by that? How do i portray myself at work? Am i too uptight? Do i look homely? i started questioning everything. Of course i can see myself singing and performing, but why couldn't she? Is it a good think that she couldn't see me doing that bc we're in a work setting? it's something i've been pondering all day...

I told my friend and coworker, Sarah, this story and she laughed. Secretly im still a little distraught over the fact that my manager doesn't know the "real" me. but then again, what is the real me? i have so many sides and aspects of my personality. in one setting im a serious professional that writes stern, direct emails. in another, im a happy go lucky girl that just wants to sing and take pictures.

a few months ago, my friend/coworker, Todd and i were having our usual McDonald's breakfast, and i made the comment about liking sports or something (i can't remember exactly what we were talking about). Again, he told me that he couldn't see me doing that because i look like a prissy girl. i remember my jaw dropping and laughing bc that's sooooo far from who i am (or perceive myself to be). when i tried to explain/defend myself to him, that there was more to me than high heels and makeup, he just couldn't see it. it's happened more than once, and i find myself almost pleading to prove that i'm really this kind of person, not that.

just to drive it home, me and max were walking to get sushi today and ran into some guys from our original orientation class (from almost 2 years ago). I did the fist pump to say hello bc id just spilled water all over my hands. anywayz, we all ended up eating together. a little into the conversation, james, one of the most polite people ive ever met, ask max and i, "so what are you guys up to? are you two in a dating situation?" uuuuugggghhhh, max and i both looked at each other, laughed, and almost simultaneously said, "You wish!" i went on to explain to james that max and i grew up on the same street but didn't become friends until we both interviewed for the same job randomly. i did not mention the fact that we both had our respective bf and gf. i esp didn't go into detail that max's gf and my bf went to elem, middle, and high school together. that would've just been too confusing. so in short james, no. (no offense none taken max)

another fun fact you might not know about me: i like to go mall walking with my dad and mr. morgan (kristin joined us last night!)

i also love walking by the louis vuitton window, lingering and being mesmerized by the creativity and style.

Housewarming party, that's gucci

On Friday, my little house had it's official debut! Housewarming Party!!

Man, that was a fun time. Old friends and new came over to hang out and see the new place. Kristin helped get everything organized, Meredith brought it all together, and Matthew & Dan were my muscle.

It all started at about 8:38am when Kristin came over to make jello shots...

...and it ended with Max "sneaking" his 34th jello shot.

Catering compliments of Charlotte's Best:

BBQ, baked beans, cole slaw (forgot to put it out): Art's

Fried Chicken ("8 whole birds"): Price's Chicken Coop

Cornbread: Mert's Soul Food

Sweet Tea: Bojangle's

Mac n Cheese: Kraft...in a box :)

Other highlights of the party:

-used my NC State canopy

-Raleigh girls and Tyler driving here

-baby Kendall's first cookout

-half corona bottle w minimal spillage

-margaritas

-Mr. Fuzz

-Skye

-Deuce

-Mansour leaving early to judge a bikini contest

-decorated tiki "Laua" themed (Deuce)

-white lights

-the yellow bonnet

-talking around the burning bush

-"March 9"

-snipe her

-"that's gucci"

-scissoring

-ghost stories

-Dan calling his Asheville friends for the "I love you man"

Overall, the party was a success!