What's on Betsey's Phone...

This past week I managed to find a bunch of interesting stuff to take pics of.  Lots of it came from the same places, but hey, when funny stuff happens, it just happens.  Here are some of the more interesting pictures off of my phone from this past week or so....

I think we skipped spring and went straight to fall... there is no way that it should still be this warm out at 10pm!

I love when my friends come in to visit me at work... I also love when their math skills make me chuckle... what makes me chuckle most is that this friend could be a math teacher ;)  (<3 you babe if you're reading this)

You know you're driving around the city of Wilmington when...

Cup from Atlanta Bread Company in Harrisburg... glad to know the drink is colder than mothers-in-law

Look at how dilated his eyes got at the eye dr... mine NEVER get that big!

and then we were outside after a bit and they got this small... crazy

PS, I do love MD very much even if he does have strange acting eyes ;)

Cool growler from ABC in Harrisburg, PA

Getting a tour of the Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg from one of the owners HIMSELF... so COOL!

Our new menu comes out tomorrow... we demoed the food on it... yes that is right it took the kitchen 61 minutes and 5 seconds to make all of the new foods... we are in trouble

Oh... and it also took them almost half an hour to try to make the new strawberry shortcake dessert...so screwed

Well that's all for now... I'm off to make dinner for the bf... using a recipe I got from this blog ... wish me luck trying to make my own tortillas!  I'll try to take pics so that everyone can see how this turns out!

Things I Miss on Thursdays... My Besties

So life has been a bit, ok you got me, SUPER, crazy recently. I have been working like a maniac and don't have much time to spend with my bf, let alone any of my friends...it's downright depressing.  We did manage to get out for a little bowling with a few friends on Saturday night (my first night off in 10 nights), but that wasn't even enough to make me feel better.

So today what I'm REALLY missing is spending time with my best friends.

I miss living at Bucknell so that VG was living right next door to me or across the hall from me.  VG and I have been friends since our Freshman year of college... which was almost 8 years ago!  Crazy!  We are sorority sisters which means we have a bond closer than just 2 ordinary friends.  Almost 2 years ago now (where has the time gone?!) she moved to Arizona. (Insert really sad face here :()  I feel like we have grown apart a bit since the move and that is NOT OKAY!  It's just with the time difference and the fact that I work like EVERY night we don't get much time to talk.  We did get to catch up for a little last week... yay for hour long phone dates!  But even that isn't enough.  I miss you BFF...VG...

VG and I together at a wedding last May

Typical Us... we started taking pics like this early on in college

At a Jungle Themed Mixer our Soph Year at Bucknell

We had sooo much fun together!

I miss my best friend from elementary school... AW.  AW and I met in first grade and have been friends ever since.  She is probably my longest friend and will most likely be the MOH in my wedding (if I ever get married).  We have been through a lot together... she has definitely seen me at my best as well as at my worst.  AW and I are the friends that can go a month (or 2 or 6) without talking and pick up right where we had left off.  One of my favorite things about AW is that she has a heart of gold.  She is one of the nicest and most amazing women I know.  I don't know what I would do without her in my life....

AW and I at my end of the bar exam party

I feel like we look like we haven't changed much over the years... well minus my hair style lol

Us with our dates before our Senior Prom

Then there is CS.  We have been friends I believe since our sophomore year of HS... making her my 2nd longest bff.  We pretty much have an "online" friendship because we have never actually really lived close enough to be able to see each other much.  We do however try to see each other whenever we can, but we STINK at taking pics together.  CS is the one person other than the bf who I talk to basically every day.  Granted we pretty much only talk through Gchat or text message... she still seems to know more about what is going on in my life than anyone else.  I hate when we don't get to talk a lot...i.e. these past couple of weeks... but I know we'll find the time to catch up soon and everything will be back to normal!

The one and ONLY pic the two of us have together!

So far I've pretty much only talked about my friends that I have had pre-law school.  It's funny how life works out.  When I was graduating from high school and leaving for college I was devastated because I was leaving all my friends behind and I was afraid I would never make friends who I could be as close to and who I would trust as much as my high school pals.  Then I got to college and I really only keep in touch with a couple of my high school friends.  Then I left college to move on to law school and again I felt like I would never be able to find any girls that I would be as close to as I was to my college friends and my few high school friends I remained close with.  I should have learned from the first time around, because I met some of my closest friends EVER in law school and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without them.

First we have JG who is my birthday twin and bff down here.  We met working together at Fridays (you will notice this as a common theme with all of these besties) and bonded over the loss of a co-worker who was a mutual friend.  We became super close and she definitely became one of my bestest friends ever.  We are both so busy now that we RARELY get to see each other, but when we do it's always a good time.  We actually just had a shopping and dinner/drinks night out a couple of nights ago and it was GLORIOUS!  She is one of those girls that you can just always have fun with and who knows how to make people smile.  Love you JG...

How could you not love this girl??

We <3 mudslide martinis

Celebrating our birthdays together

I <3 us

Then we have NS.  NS I feel like got off to a slow start with our group.  She was really quiet and reserved at first, and honestly I wasn't sure if we were going to be good friends.  Boy was I wrong.  Once she started to open up I realized what an amazing person she was.  She is the type of friend who makes sure to pick up the phone and call just to chat and catch up.  She is the friend who knows I've been working a bazillion hours so shows up at work to visit me so that we can catch up.  She is a friend that I know I can always count on.  NS is someone I know I can talk to about the good stuff as well as the bad and I know she'll give me amazing advice.  We don't get to see each other as often since she moved to Philly... but we still see each other a bunch.  Hanging out with this girl is always a ton of fun, and hopefully now that the weather is nicer I'll be able to take more trips into Philly to hang with her... and maybe even watch her run a race!

NS and I at my end of the bar exam party

Out together at Bucknell

Love how we both have slightly different hairstyles in EVERY pic

Last but not least is my long lost best friend KT.  KT moved down to NC last year when she got a job as a teacher.  I definitely don't see her or talk to her as much as I would like, but I still consider her one of my besties.  She is the friend who never bails.  We used to always joke that the two of us were the dependable ones.  You could always count on us to be on time and to show up.  KT was always the one who would open the champagne when we had girls nights.  She is also one of the biggest Phillies fans I have ever met and we could always count on her to plan trips to see the Phils play!  I miss this girl!

Our standard bathroom pic when the two of us go out together

Us at a wedding together

Hanging out during the Snow Storm

Braving the wind, rain and cold day for the Erin Express in Philly

I miss a lot of other people in my life too, but right now I really do miss my girls.   And I miss more of my girls than I can devote time to on my blog.  I just particularly miss these girls because they have been with me through it all... at times they know me better than I know myself... these are the girls that I know I can completely trust.  It's funny how things change over time because I know that in the past there were friends who I would've thought could have been a part of this post but we're no longer really close.  Then there are friends who I am continuing to become closer with and I think would make this post if I were to write it in perhaps another year (AE, ILC, EO, NMS, MC, SS).  

If any of you ladies are reading this... I love you all!  And let's plan a girl's night out soon!

What's on Betsey's Phone...

So I definitely think I win the prize for world's worst blogger because I do this blogging thing in spurts.  Life has just been super duper crazy recently and I haven't had time for too much.  I have lots of past events to blog about so stay tuned... but for now here is the 2nd Edition of What's on Betsey's Phone on Tuesday

Here we go.....

That's right... we're going to start this one off with beer... my loving bf is turning me into a complete beer snob and after trying 2,576,908,091,120,357, ok maybe it was only 3, beers I finally was able to settle on a black and tan as my beer of choice for the night.

Sketchy White Van with a licence plate of "cupcake"... Free Candy anyone?!

Rita's may not be what puts me in my happy place... BUT I just love the whole concept of it.

This is one of my managers at Fridays.  His name is Robert... and he is totally oblivious to the fact that we have put this on his back.  Too bad you can't read it that well, but it says "Mr. United States"  He walked around with it on his back until Etel was nice enough to tell him it was there.

See ladies... engagement chicken is NOT a myth!  It was featured in this month's Glamour magazine! I'm thinking that maybe I should try this one out on the love of my life??  What do you think?

This is Lindsey... another one of our Fridays managers... and this is what she does when she hears about a bar guest throwing up on the bar.  She was ready to kick some butt!

That's it for this edition of What's on Betsey's Phone...  Sorry it wasn't as entertaining as the last edition, but in all fairness I have been super busy and haven't been able to whip my phone out to snap as many pics as I would like.  I'll try better next week!

In other news, stay tuned for some updates as to what has been happening in my life the past month or so!

Things I Miss on Thursdays... Bucknell Basketball

So remember back in October when I had this BRILLIANT idea about a post series that I was going to start (if you don't remember, you can read about it here)... well I did one post and then completely forgot about it.  Well I didn't completely forget about it, I just got out of the habit of blogging all together.  I stopped blogging because I felt like no one was reading my blog and that no one cared what I had to say.  Then I thought about it and was like WHO CARES?!?!?... I'm doing this blog writing for me because I miss writing in my journal, but I can never seem to finish a hand written journal entry... so here I am... pouring my thoughts out for all to see on this *wonderful* blog.

Anyways, to kick off my Thursday series again... this week I am missing Bucknell Men's Basketball.  Yes, I know that my first Thursday thing I missed was Bucknell.  BUT Bucknell basketball is a completely different subject than Bucknell in general.

When I was a sophomore at Bucknell (back in '04-'05) Bucknell basketball was AMAZING... and I mean amazing.  March Madness 2005 is where "Bucknell danced the big dance... just ask Kansas."  Yup, that's right folks, that was the year the 16th seeded Bucknell knocked #1 Kansas out of the tournament in the first round.

This is a picture of the TV at our hostel (we were on Spring Break when it happened) right after Bucknell kicked some Kansas butt!

After that the Bucknell basketball team was HOTTTTT... and I mean red HOTTTT for the next couple of years.  Then they got a new coach and things went downhill for a while... but that always happens when there is a what I like to call "regime change".  I never lost faith in my bison though and have still been an avid follower... even when they weren't all that great.  

Much of my time at Bucknell was spent going to basketball games, and even after I had graduated I obviously went back for games.  I even dragged people to games that were near my hometown when we were home on break.  Going to basketball games was one of my fondest memories of Bucknell and I am super psyched that they finally have a good team again this year and that people are starting to go out and cheer for them just like I did during my four years at Bucknell!  Ray Bucknell!!

Just for good measure I'm going to throw in some pics from some of the various games I went to over the years... Enjoy!

What's on Betsey's Phone...

So I've been reading this blog which has become by far one of my favorites to read because well Jessica is just so REAL and shares her life in a way that sometimes I wish I were capable of doing.  I've been reading her blog since a bit after I started my own, and since she has started this "What's on my Phone on Tuesdays" thing I have wanted to join in, but in reality have just been too nervous to do so... not that I have anything horrible on my phone, but I just didn't know how I felt about the whole "linking up" thing.  Well today my friends is the day, I have decided that I am going to get over my fear and "link up".... now for the interesting part... what pictures are on my phone this week....

So we went to visit M.D.'s family a couple of weekends ago....

And we went to church...

And after church we were sitting around and kind of bored...

So I took M.D.'s phone and decided to make an android version of myself...

So here I am... as an android....

M.D. loves me... 

So much that he sent me these flowers...

Aren't they beautiful??

One of my sorority sisters likes to take pictures of funny vanity plates...

I took this one for her...

Because well... who makes their license plate say SLORE?!?!?!

Unless maybe it has some other meaning than what we meant by slore when we called people that in college...????

I love receiving pics via texts from my little bro that show things like this....

Because well...

I am a lawyer

Therefore my brother should NOT be breaking the law

But he is in college...

So I guess a BAC of .33 is ok?

That's all that I've got that's good on my phone this week... stay tuned for more of What's on My Phone on Tuesdays... next Tuesday of course!

Left at the Altar by Kimberly Kennedy

Left at the Altar by Kimberley Kennedy was not at all the book that I expected it to be.  I honestly expected it to be a book about women who had been left at the altar and their journey to move past that horrific experience.  Instead I found it to be a book that every female who has been through a rough breakup should read.  Kimberley uses her own heartbreaking story to share how it is possible to get over a past love, even if that love has left you at the altar.  Towards the end of the book, Kimberley gives the reader a list of tools for healing, followed by a list of tools for moving on.  These lists really put into perspective and summarized what Kimberley had been telling the reader throughout the entire book.

Tools for Healing

1. Know that God cares.

2. Realize it is ok to mourn.

3. Allow family and friends to comfort you.

4. Don't mourn too long.

5. Focus on the truth.

6. Don't waste valuable time plotting ways to get him back.

7. Get back into your routine quickly.

8. Find a godly counselor.

9. Stay in constant contact with God.

10. Turn off the deceiver's voice.

Tools for Moving On

1. Get into a good women's Bible study or small group.

2. Lose the fear.

3. Don't talk about your rejection when you do start dating.

4. Realize that you will inevitable compare every man who comes along to the who who rejected you.

5. Don't make it a priority or become obsessed with replacing that person who rejected you.

6. Develop patience.

7. Beware of loneliness.

8. Continue to reject the deceiver's lies.

9. Realize that you may very well be rejected again.

10. Allow God to reveal to you the exciting plan that he has in store for you.

All italicized lists from Left at the Altar by Kimberley Kennedy pages 138-149 

I found these two lists to be the most important things that I took from the book because although I am currently in a stable relationship with a very loving guy, I wish I had known some of these things when I did go through some very rough breakups.  Like Kimberley there were times when I thought that God was playing games with me and that he never wanted me to be happy because well if he wanted me to be happy then there is no way he would let me feel the pain that I felt throughout some of my breakups, especially one in particular.  

I would definitely recommend this book to all of my female friends and would also recommend it to anyone who is currently going through a break up because it reminds us that it is important to not lose faith and to trust that God did not want your relationship to work out for a reason even if you don't quite understand it at the time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

Horray for February!

February is here... thank goodness!  January was the world's worst month for me as every week someone I cared about was in the hospital which meant that I was not around much because I spent most of my time at hospitals.  Thankfully 2 of the 3 people made it out of the hospital... though sadly one did not (With Good Comes Bad)

After everything with Mike I knew that 2011 was going to get off to a rocky start, but I had no idea how rocky. The weekend after Mike died my grandmother (Talking About Grandma's Cooking...) ended up in the hospital and was near death.  It was definitely scary being in the ER with her setting off all types of alarms because her blood pressure was too low.  Thankfully she was released from the hospital and seems to be doing better.  They moved her to a new floor in the nursing home where she is supposedly going to be receiving more intensive care so hopefully something like this doesn't happen again.  If it does happen again I really think that my family should sue the nursing home because well, what happened shouldn't have happened in the first place, but I guess they should be given another chance?

Then the weekend after my grandma is in the hospital I get a phone call from my mom that my father is in the hospital.  He was having complications post-surgery and they were concerned that he might end up having a heart attack or that his kidneys might be failing.  After 4 days in the hospital he was finally released and the doctors determined that it was a problem with the medication that he was on post-surgery that caused all these other problems.  Then this past Monday he was in the hospital again because he has a deep vein thrombosis in a secondary vein in his arm from where they had the IV in.

So all of that fun stuff happened in January and I have decided that February is going to be a better month.  In February I have lots to look forward to... Valentine's Day, an engagement party out by Bucknell, visiting Mark's family, visiting my family, etc.  Knowing that there is so much exciting going on this month just makes me truly believe that it IS going to be a better month.

I am also hoping that I will have more interesting stuff to blog about in February now that my life is less scary and depressing!