thursday morning casey and i headed to athens, GA.  We all (me, casey, jon, abby, rita, bill, ellen, john) stayed at casey’s aunt and unlce’s (rodney and catherine and their 3 kids: margaret, carter, and ellen) fancy new house.  it was great because even with 14 people it never felt crowded.  we ate a lot (way too much) delicious food, had great conversations, and just relaxed.  here’s everyone:

i did miss my family this thanksgiving…but i get to see them in less than 2 weeks!!  woohoo!

so last night i fell asleep on the couch.  then i woke up and i couldnt move.   i tried to tell casey that i couldn’t move but i couldn’t do that either.  i tried to scream but i couldn’t.  i was paralyzed.  i felt terror…like something bad was in the room. i tried to move again…nothing.  then all of a sudden it was over.  i could move.  i could talk.  i was relieved that it was over.

you might be thinking, “that would be scary…good thing it was just a dream right?” 

wrong…it wasn’t a dream. 

now you might be thinking, “yes it was…sometimes dreams seem very real.”   

this has happened to me at least 4 or 5 times  and it’s always really  scary.  i used to tell myself they were dreams but deep down i knew they were real!

so i finally looked it up and confirmed that it’s not bad dreams.  it’s called sleep paralysis.  i copied and pasted some stuff about it below:       

• A frightening form of paralysis that occurs when a person suddenly finds himself or herself unable to move for a few minutes, most often upon falling asleep or waking up. Sleep paralysis is due to an ill-timed disconnection between the brain and the body.
• The symptoms of sleep paralysis include sensations of noises, smells, levitation, paralysis, terror, and images of frightening intruders.

apparently paralysis during REM sleep is completely normal.  your brain “turns off” your muscles as a protective measure so that you don’t act out your dreams.  it’s called REM atonia.  sleep paralysis happens when brain wakes up before you body does.  so you your brain is fully conscious (sometimes while still dreaming) but your body isn’t. 

it’s a very bizarre feeling…and it really is scary.  now that i know im not crazy though i think it’s kinda cool…being able to experience two levels of conciousness at the same time.

here’s a video of a guy that knows about this stuff.  the first way he describes it is exactly what happens to me:

i think this guy thinks sleep paralysis is something of the supernatural realm…i don’t though.  i just think it’s weird stuff going on in our brains.  a lot of people think that this explains alien abduction stories and stuff.  here’s a video explaining the science behind sleep paralysis and the sounds, feelings, and hallucinations that accompany it:

it’s said that about half of all people will experience sleep paralysis at least once in their lives.  has anyone else experienced this??

this week is going by fast! 

also, i am excited (just like everyone else im sure) about thanksgiving!  this year we are going to athens, ga.  that’s where casey’s aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma’s live.  his aunt and uncle just built a fancy new house with enough room for everyone to come and stay for the weekend.  so it’s going to be me and casey, abby and jon, bill and rita, and ellen and john (casey’s other aunt and uncle).  it should be lots of fun.  im excited to see casey’s cousins…the last time i saw the kids was like 2 or 3 years ago.  crazy.  i am sad that my family isn’t coming this year…but that’s cause they are coming for my graduation!

speaking of graduation…i bought my cap and gown today and it made the fact that im about to be done with college forever even more real and i love it!  i need to start working on my project…my last project ever!  woohoo! 

im excited about my graduation party…everyone has to come because a bunch of my family is coming all the way from texas and i want them to see that i have lots of awesome friends!  the party is dec. 12 at ROJO at 7ish.  mark your calendars.  i’ll remind you lots more times too…don’t worry. 

tonight we are going to see/hear donald miller speak at our church.  i like donald miller a lot.  he’s smart and funny…and he writes good books.

that’s all.

other than having pneumonia this weekend was a good one. 

 friday i was supposed to work from 6 – 12 but since i was (and still am) contagious i didn’t go.  i slept in and then met amy up at the church to begin our date.  here’s what we did:

• went to CVS so that i could get some cough drops. 
• went to amy head so that i could get some makeup.  lynn (my old boss) was there and it was good to catch up with her. 
• then amy wanted to check out the fair trade shop downtown (sojourns) so we did that.  we didn’t get anything but it’s always fun to look at all the neat stuff they have. 
• went to eat lunch at ocarrs.  i love that place.  i love when restaurants offer healthy options.  i wish all restaurants did that.  i got some sliced turkey and fruit and amy got chicken salad and fruit.  yummers! 
• next we went to the vestavia movie theater to see paranormal activity…BUT i didn’t know that the movie times change on the weekends so we got there about an hour late.  super lame! 
• so we just went to the salvation army so amy could scope out the furniture. 
• then we went to big lots.
• then we went home. 

it was a good day of hanging out other than the movie not working out…and other than me not feeling that great. 

yesterday was boring for the most part.  i felt like crap all day.  i woke up for a few hours then went back to sleep from about 12 to 4.  then i woke again and sat around.  the only non-boring part of the day was going out to dinner with friends.  i wasnt feeling good but i wanted to get out of the house for a while and do something to take my mind off feeling bad.  me, casey, amy, brian, carrie, dan, lauren, and andy all ate a delicious dinner at surin.  then we all went and had a delicious dessert at edgewood creamery. 

i’m a little bummed because i have to work today from 3-9.  i skipped church so that i could rest and lay around until then.  i really should not be working while i have pneumonia but i couldn’t get my shift covered.  oh well…i’ll just do what i can.  i mostly just don’t want to get people sick.  i feel like i’m doing something wrong by working…i just shouldn’t be around food and drinks that other people are going to eat and drink.  i’ll just try to avoid customers and coworkers the best i can…and wash my hands lots and lots. 

anyway…i want to give a shout out to my awesome husband casey.  he spent all day doing yard work and both yards look so pretty now.  thanks casey!  i appreciate it!

ok it’s breakfast time.

peace out.

i lied…things are not good!

i went to the doctor today because my throat hurt and i wasn’t feeling well.  i have mycoplasma!  no good.  it’s type of bacteria that causes sore throat, bronchitis, and pneumonia.  it’s contagious so you better watch out!  the doctor said this illness could last from a few days to a month or more.  i got some medicine so hopefully my mycoplasma will get lost quickly. 

i’ve also been kinda depressed lately because i’ve gained 10 pounds.  i have lots of cellulite now and i hate it.  i don’t want to hear any comments about how im being ridiculous.  i know what the scale says and i know what see.  i don’t like it.  i’ve kicked my exercising into high gear to try and lose some of this fat.  i don’t necessarily mind the weight gain…just that it’s fat.  i want to change it to muscle weight gain…so that’s what i’m on a mission to do.  wish me luck.

bella is not good either.  i took her to the vet today because she’s having another skin allergy outbreak.  so annoying.  ugh. 

work is ok.

school is actually good.  i’m doing really well on everything so far.  plus i’m almost done!!

me and casey are good too.  we still like each other. 

bye!

work is good.
school is good.
life is good.
i’ll have a good update soon.
i promise.

good.

the other day i decided i was sick of all the cds in my car so i turned the radio on.  i decided that i would listen to the “rap” station and now i love it.  it’s making me want to dance so bad.  the other night i brought our radio out to the kitchen and danced around while i cooked dinner.  it was awesome (probably only to me). 

anyway, now i want to go dancing…is there a good place to dance in birmingham?  does anyone want to go dancing with me?  maybe for a girls night out?  i would even be down for just having a dance party at my house.  anyone anyone??  if not, i will just continue to have my awesome solo kitchen dance parties.   

ok bye.

i’ve always been super picky about coats…which is why i don’t think i’ve ever had a decent one that actually keeps me warm. all the ones designed to keep you really warm are usually ugly and tomboy-ish (in my opinion) and way too expensive (maybe i’m just cheap). so usually i settle on something based on price and style which means it’s usually a light jacket or hoodie of some sort…which also means that i am still cold.

right before last winter i bought a really nice red pea coat that is super cute and warm but that’s more of a “formal” coat…like for going out to dinner or to church or something…i couldn’t wear it camping or hiking. so i still didn’t have just a normal everyday winter coat. blah blah blah i’ll get to the point now… i found my dream coat!

i went into alabama outdoors with a list of criteria for my perfect coat. i told myself that i wouldn’t settle for just any coat so i really didn’t expect to find one…but i did!

my criteria:

• super warm (wind resistant)
• thin and fitted (i hate big bulky coats…they feel gross) *this kinda contradict the first point because usually the warmest coats are the big thick ones.
• good for outdoors without looking outdoorsy…so in other words…a cute/stylish outdoors coat
• solid color (i’m not a fan of the two toned ones for myself)
• hooded (because i have little hair and hate wearing hat)
• relatively cheap AND on sale

much to my surprise i found one that met all of those criteria and here is my new perfect coat:

i wore it to the rec center yesterday. the wind was blowing really cold and hard and i couldn’t even feel it! is it sad that i was amazed that a coat could block the wind?

anyway, i love it and i just wanted to share!

last saturday casey and i hung out with our friends tim and kat.  they are newlyweds.  tim was one of my good friends in high school.  who knew we’d both end up in alabama?!  they live in daleville (in LA = lower alabama). anyway they had to come to bham to drop tim’s dad off at the airport.  we did lots of fun stuff:  tour of bham, dinner at the bottle tree, drinks at the j. clyde,  then back to our place to continue the good times.  sunday casey and i went to church while tim and kat explored bham some more.  then we met up for lunch at surin.  it was a great time with great friends!

i love our dogs! 
yes, they have bad allergies and cost us lots of money but they are so worth it.  one of the things that makes me the happiest in the world is to see bella frances and ellie louise playing together.  it’s so funny.  one day i’ll post a video of them playing.  but for now i will just show you these pictures of the two of them together:

awwwwwwwwww

awwwwwwwwww

they love each other!

i bought some fish the other day!
i bought 3 of those little neon fish.
i named them sweet, sassy, and molassey.
i had them in a little vase but i thought right away that it might be too small.  then poor molassey died!  so i decided that it was because the vase was in fact too small.  i didn’t want to go out and buy another bowl or tank so where are sweet and sassy now?  in a big pickle jar!  they love it!  they swim all around as happy as can be.  hopefully they will live a long time. 
meet sweet and sassy:

i also bought a plant today!  
it’s  a massangeana cane.
i’ve been wanting this particular plant for a while now so today i just decided that i was going to go get one.  its beautiful and i love it.  it’s a baby right now…about 2.5 feet tall.   it has the potential to grow up to 20 feet tall!  of course, i wont let it get that tall considering our ceilings are only 8 or 9 feet. 
meet the plant (name pending):

the end.