Um....

It seems that I haven't blogged since last August. I guess my only excuse is that I'm a very busy lady, what with moving across the state in November, followed by an out-of-town wedding in April, a honeymoon shortly thereafter, filming a TV show, and the every day occurrences of being a newlywed and a homeowner. I have zero excuse for not blogging more often. I know. Shame. On. Me.

My plan is to blog about each of the above things because they sooo deserve to be elaborated upon!

Get ready, people. It's about to go down.

That is, after I tackle the next thing on my list. The almost-maybe-sorta-I-hope-please-make-it-happen new job.

p.s. As I re-read the above, I realize how very blessed I am. (Smile)

3 roses, 2 grinning idiots, and 1 perfect proposal

He may not have sweaty palms in front of a courtroom or against the best of defense attorneys. He didn’t have butterflies when asked to officiate his cousin’s wedding. I never thought I’d see him nervous, but that all changed when he got down on one knee to ask me if I’d like to spend the rest of my life with him.

I said yes. Then I asked him to pinch me...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had planned a weekend getaway to Galveston, a place where I spent much of my childhood and teen years. While the beaches might not be very beautiful, that place holds a lot of special memories for me. We stayed at the Hotel Galvez, a gorgeous historic resort-like hotel. Even more beautiful and more special now that it will forever be the place that David proposed to me.

I arrived on Thursday night. After five and a half hours of driving, I am usually not a happy camper. David knows this all too well, and he knew I might be grumpy once I arrived, but he played all that out in his head and decided it needed to happen Thursday night so we could spend the rest of our weekend celebrating.

Once I got into the parking garage, I texted him that I had arrived. AKA - please come help me drag my 14 bags up to our room. He replied with an unusual, “Can’t come down right now, Mandy at the front desk has your key.” Once I hauled my luggage into the hotel lobby, I asked for Mandy who gave me my room key and a rose with a tiny card attached. The card said “THIS ROSE REPRESENTS THE PAST. I know you hate driving, so I got you this rose to cheer you up. I LOVE YOU.”

I grinned like an idiot riding the elevator up to our room.

Once I got into the room, David was nowhere to be found, yet there was a gift bag, another tiny card, and another red rose waiting for me in the room. This is when I started to figure out something was up. This card said, “THIS ROSE REPRESENTS THE PRESENT. Come down to the bar by the front desk. A drink will be waiting for you. In the meantime, enjoy a chocolate.” He also left a note on the gift bag that told me to change into something comfy. Considering I’m an overachiever and had already changed in my car, I was good to go.

I grinned like an idiot riding the elevator down to the bar.

Once again, I didn’t see David anywhere in the lobby. I went up to the bar and the bartender, Tess, gave me my favorite drink and the third and final tiny card. “Do I have to drink this alone?” Tess nodded. By now I have butterflies BIG time, people are staring at me and my drink of choice was settling in. This card read, “Enjoy your drink! They will bring you to me.” I stood there like a goober for about five minutes until Mandy rescued me. She said to follow her and we walked a distance that felt like three miles (but was actually about 40 yards) until we were in the hotel ballroom. She politely chit chatted with me during our three mile walk, but I could hardly concentrate. I think I came up with some coherent answers to her questions, but mostly...I was grinning like an idiot.

Once I could see into the dimly lit ballroom, there was David, standing up awaiting my arrival. He was set up at a small round table with candles glowing, chocolate covered strawberries, champagne in a bucket of ice and...lo and behold...our song playing softly in the background!

I sooooo know what’s going on. HOL-EEE MOLEY! Is this really happening tonight??!!

He hands me my third and final rose and says “This rose represents OUR future together...” then he says a few sweet things (that I will keep to myself) and gets down on one knee and asks me to marry him.

I was in so much shock that I never took my purse off my shoulder (yes, it’s in almost every picture....sigh...)

My answer was a shocked, “Yeah...I mean YES.” I didn’t cry at first but I did cry five minutes later. I’m a delayed reactor I suppose.

I asked him to pinch me because it felt so surreal. Since that didn’t work, I asked him to pinch me again. I couldn’t be more impressed, happy, excited, in love, and blessed. I couldn’t have asked for a better man or a better proposal.

We grinned like idiots the whole weekend.

The ring? It’s classic, timeless, simple, elegant, and absolutely beautiful. We never discussed rings. He never asked my ring size. All part of his “master plan” of surprising me. He asked my dad for permission two weeks beforehand. That’s what made me cry. There was a rainbow over the ocean about an hour before I arrived. I think it was a sign - perhaps it was our guardian angel, my late grandparents, or God saying “Go David, Go!”

"What I Want" -- The List

I took a long walk down memory lane today. I have mixed feelings about this walk. Part of me laughed out load at the notes between some of my best friends and myself during high school. The other part of me wanted to cry when I read an email from a dear friend who I would never see again. I also read a lot of things that I wrote during a very antsy and uncertain time of my life. It's like looking back at yourself 10 years ago and wanting to reach into that letter/email/IM and scream, "It will all turn out alright!" or "Don't date that guy, he's a jackass!" or "Cheer up, it's only PMS!!" It amazes me how much I angsted in my teens. It also amazes me that I'm exactly that same girl. I remember everything as if it happened yesterday. I remember the emotion attached to each letter, each scribble. Yup, I am that girl - just 10 years older and wiser.

I'm sure when I'm 40, I'm going to look back at myself now (age 27) and go, "Gee, I sure worried a lot." or "If only I knew then what I know now..."

In other news, I came across a list I created in my college years. It was hidden between pages in my Chem II notebook (i just threw up a little thinking about Chem II).

This list was simply titled, "What I Want."

I must have just gone through a break up with my high school love muffin, or gotten fed up with the Fratty boys I had dated. Whatever the reason, I decided to make a list of what I really wanted in a man. Here goes...

- someone I can be excited to start my life with

- someone I find very attractive, even on their ugly days

- ... who wants what I want in life

- ... I'd be proud to have kids with

- ... who could provide if I ever when I want to raise a family

- ... with passion about something

- ... who makes me feel hot

- ... who's genuinely happy

- ... who loves animals

- ... who makes me feel taken care of

- ... my parents LOVE

- ... who I can imagine giving a lot to and not always being selfish

- ... with excellent manners

- ... who makes me feel like a lady

- ... with amazing communication skills

- ... with a close relationship with their family

- Gotta be a Christian

I shared it with Happy Pants this evening. Funny how he meets all my "qualifications." I showed it to my mom too, and she said, God must have been reading that list over your shoulder. :)

Sometimes memory lane can lead to some neat findings. I also found a hilarious letter I wrote to my future self back in Junior High (in which my biggest crush, Matt, also added that I had a nice "toosh"), and a note from my mom when we were at a convention telling me that whatever happens, just be my wonderful, genuine self and no matter what, I was worth every penny that it cost to be there.

Twas fun. I only have the energy to walk memory lane once in a blue moon. It's pretty dang exhausting reliving your past, but I wouldn't trade any of it.

So we meet again, lofty loft

So remember my tiny dilemma - to loft or not to loft? Well, once again, that is the question.

On complete and utter accident (note: I'm inherently random and kinda all over the place so I come across a lot of things by chance), I found some loft apartments above this adorable, small shopping area with little adorable boutiques and restaurants and wine bars, etc. The town is ranked one of the best places to live in the nation. This is the type of place I dream of. Where I look up at the balconies and sigh and say to myself, "Oh, wouldn't that be sah-weet?"

Well, I decided to be random once again and call the property manager and go take a look at one of the units. Just in case. It's not hurting anyone. Well, except me when I get excited and can't stop thinking about the place and lay awake at night planning out my living room furniture arrangement. Sigh... I guess it hurts a little.

Anyway, for where these apartments are and for what they are, it's a FAB price. They are running a special where you get 2 months free and I would prorate that, which makes it pretty affordable (affordable for those who have a clue what their commission checks will look like, and I don't. Yet.)

Friday after work, I sat outside of the loft leasing office for 45 minutes. No lie. I got an expense reimbursement check and had enough for the deposit. I could have put a deposit down to hold my fabulous little loft with a view. But I just couldn't make it work (financially) in my brain. So I prayed about it, called my mom, drove in circles, called my mom, went to Starbucks, texted my mom, drove around again, and finally left. I'm sure a few tenants have already decided that I'm a stalker. Whatev.

I just couldn't make it work on paper and it depressed me to no end. So, I decided I am going to continue to pray about taking that leap of faith. I have some brainstorming (and re-budgeting) to do and if the unit is still available once I make my decision, then I'll know I did the right thing.

I can't wait to see what lies ahead! (please be the loft, please be the loft, please be the loft...)

My 30 Before 30 List

I decided to take a great idea from another blogger and create my own "30 Before 30" list. Let's clarify...I only have approximately 2.5 years before I'm 30 (ugh!), so this might be a stretch (financially) to get it all done in that amount of time.

Note: I reserve the right to edit this list as time goes on. If I decide I want to sky dive and/or develop a terrible fear of dolphins, then there will be some editing. Just keepin' it real.

Anyway, it's neat to create this list. You should try it.

Before I'm 30, I will...

1. Play in the rain
2. Sing in front of someone other than my steering wheel
3. Get engaged
4. Become a Big Sister (big brothers big sisters)
5. Adopt/rescue a golden retriever/lab
6. Move to a new city
7. Visit Europe
8. Wine tasting in Napa Valley
9. Jet ski
10. Swim with dolphins
11. Give a public speech without losing sleep
12. Find a church and happily attend
13. Take a pottery class
14. Join a gym
15. Learn one song on guitar
16. Attend at least one Operation Kindness gala
17. Give blood
18. Run a 5k or 10k
19. Ride in a hot air balloon
20. Experience a TRUE spa day
21. Learn to shoot a gun
22. Go skiing
23. Take my parents out for a fancy dinner
24. Take my first cruise
25. Visit family in Chicago and explore downtown
26. Be able to say, “Yes, I golf.”
27. Learn a new craft
28. Let go of the stuff that does me no good to keep
29. Get a quilt made of all my keepsake t-shirts
30. Become a kick-butt sales rep

To loft or not to loft

Ya see, I've been looking for a place to rent for a long time. A very long time. I am not exaggerating here.

Since I started my new sales job in early February, the wheels have been a-spinnin' and I'm probably getting ahead of myself (again), but I continue to shop around. I think it makes me feel better. (sigh...)

I have pretty much been set on living in Forth Worth (aka Cowtown); as close to downtown as possible.

I heart Fort Worth. It's a feeling similar to your favorite pair of designer jeans that you've worn so much that you ALMOST have to throw them out, but can't bear to do it because you still look great in them. So what if there's a hole in the back pocket? It's got a comfy side and a fancy side. It's definitely not Dallas, which is a good thing.

Anyway, I got uber excited about this (surprisingly affordable) loft and then I was sorely disappointed when I realized it was too soon and I couldn't do it and the unit would go fast.

Then I visited the usual boring old cookie cutter apartments (about 20 of them). After looking at (and daydreaming about) lofts, it's a total snoozefest in comparison.

They all have the same things in common:

1) Close quarters (i.e., creeps you don't want to live near)

2) Fat, ugly deposits (esp. for pets) and hidden "admin fees"

3) overpriced, overpriced, overpriced!

4) Total lack of uniqueness

Oh, and another good one - pet rent! Pets don't have jobs!!!! Why should they pay rent? This bothers me.

Then I looked at a few more lofts. Most of which I cannot afford. Crap.

So I'm back to square one. I desperately want to live downtown and I'd love a loft setting while I'm young(ish) and childless, but I don't think I can swing it financially.

Looks like Pookie is going to have to get a job.

BUT I think I've narrowed it down to three. Which of my top three would YOU pick:

#1) Lofty loft near downtown, true studio (no separation), historic building, renovated, artsy, unique.

Biggest cons - no washer/dryer hookups, limited availability. Not in the greatest neighborhood, but it's not the worst either.

#2) Townhome-style apartment w/ attached garage, views, dogpark, friendly.

Biggest cons- Smallish

#3) Regular nice apartment with river access. Good street.

Biggest cons - Not really digging the complex itself. A little busier/cramped feeling.

Welcome to the workforce....again

Well, I start my new job tomorrow. While 75% of me CAN'T WAIT, the other 25% of me is a bit worried. The only reason I don't look forward to it is because of the abnormally long commute. The first few weeks are going to....well....suck. I will have to get up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. and then won't get home until 7:30 or so. Then I will have a whopping 2 hours of ME time before I must go to bed. Blah.

(All the more reason to consume lots and lots of coffee.)

On a more positive note, once I get past the first few ugly weeks of the drive and training all day, I think I'm really going to like it. When I interviewed, it was for an in-office position doing pretty much the same thing day after day. A friend, and sorority sister from college, was going to be the one training me. Well, my interviewer had other plans for me. He asked if I would be interested in sales because I had a "sales-y" personality. (and no, he didn't mean used car sales, but a relatable and make-you-feel-at-home personality type) (at least that's what I tell myself). I told him that I'd be thrilled to get into sales for their company, if they would have me.

Fast forward a week, and he offers me a job. Not the office job (that doesn't pay great) but the sales job that I didn't even know I wanted until the interview! I gladly accepted! All logic and reason was telling me that he wouldn't offer me a sales job because he said they didn't normally hire someone without a true sales background. Then he mentioned not having any open positions for sales at this time. Then my imagination got away from me and I started thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was creating a new position for a newbie like me. That maybe he liked me enough to find a place for me instead of losing me altogether. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking...

But that's exactly what he did! He found a place for me! A position that was created with me in mind. :) And I figure, if they believe in me so much, there's no reason for me not to. I know that if I work hard, I can really kick butt!

So you are now looking at the newest member of the sales team for a Dallas-based Title company. I get a territory that hasn't been touched yet. They are also gonna give me a blackberry, laptop, car allowance, etc. And when God decides it's the right time, I will plan a move closer to work. I'm thinking that might be around April.

Hoooray!!! God is good. Now I just pray I can do this commute for several weeks until everything falls into place.

I will be tempted to do this on a daily basis...

And on warm days, maybe this will be the ticket....

And if it really does snow in Texas this week, I may get stuck in this unfortunate scenario...

But let's hope that's not the case!!!

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Guess what folks? I got myself a job.

In a nutshell, I applied for 842 jobs (on average) over a four month span. In that time, I was only called in for 2 interviews. The first interview was explained in this blog, and it was a shady pyramid scheme. The second interview was a decent and legitimate job.

And I got it.

Out of the 842 jobs I applied for, I'd say about 45% of them were in Austin, Texas. I was completely open (and mentally prepared) to move south to be closer to Happy Pants and start over in Austin, seeing as how I feel like I'm stuck in a rut here in the DF Dub.

But, oddly enough, the job I landed is in Fort Worth. On one hand, it's perfect. I abso-freakin-lutely love Fort Worth and have wanted to move to that area for a long time. I had been praying that a door would open where I needed to be, whether that was Austin, Fort Worth, or wherever. I ran into slammed door after slammed door and nothing came as smoothly or incredibly easy as this job.

I went to this particular business's website and found an internal position open, clicked "apply," attached my resume and hit "send." That was it. A whopping 25 minutes later, I get a call from Holly, who schedules me for an interview the following day. I go interview the next morning, and the interview goes so well that she calls the CEO and sees if he has time to meet me. He does. So I go meet with him. I feel that interview #1 went swimmingly. Interview #2 was questionable, as he was not as easy to read. But it was still a pleasant meeting.

On my drive home after a morning full of handshakes, nods, smiles, and politically correct responses, I'm exhausted. I drive home (in the snow, mind you) and I get a wave of depression. It's ugly. I want to shake it off but I keep feeling discouraged. I would never have considered this my dream job by any means. It may not pay enough and I may not even like it. But it's a job and I really need a job. And I realize that the CEO may not have even liked me, so I may have screwed up the only job that's been thrown at me. Too many thoughts running through my head.

Later, I anxiously await a phone call that never comes. I get really nervous because now I kinda want the job...I think. I go to bed that night, not knowing what the hell I want or need anymore. I'm at my wits end. I'm so tired of the hunt, the waiting, the rejections, the unanswered emails. I'm not sure I can do this much longer.

It was around 3 a.m. that I popped awake (BING!) and I remembered a dream I had about three weeks ago.

I dreamed that I was driving around with my boyfriend, looking for a place I was supposed to interview. After I found it, I walked in and spoke to a woman at the front desk of this really neat place. She told me that the CEO was in a meeting and would be out to meet with me, but to beware, because he was a bit intimidating. Once he came out, I realized two things. A) he wasn't intimidating, and B) he had a copy of my resume in his hand. I didn't have my resume on me and so I was relieved when he miraculously had one. He told me that he got it via email. Whew! Then he walked me over to a meeting table and we began a meeting. I felt important already. I really liked this place and this feeling.

So the reason I startled awake at 3 a.m. was because I suddenly realized how this dream paralleled with my real-life interview that day. Why, you ask?

1) The woman who interviewed me made me feel very important.

2) She then called the CEO and asked him to interview with me.

3) When we both realized I was without an extra copy of my resume, she emailed one to him.

4) She warned me that he may be intimidating.

5) When I met him, I decided he didn't intimidate me.

6) He came in with a printed copy of my resume (that I didn't supply him with).

7) I was wearing the same deep pink shirt and blazer that I wore in my dream.

Holy schnikeys! Do you see why I was freaked out?

So this gave me a sense of renewed hope that for whatever reason, whether I understand it or not, God was reassuring me about this job. Maybe telling me not to give up hope yet?

Two days later, I get the call from Holly congratulating me on my new job.

So why here and not Austin? I don't know. Happy Pants and I are both slightly bummed that an Austin job didn't pan out, but it's okay. We will be in the same city when the time is right. And apparently, I'm needed here for a bit longer. I just have to keep an open mind and a faithful heart.

Here's to a happy 2010 and a new job! I hope that you, too, had a new year filled with pleasant and unexpected surprises.

Bald Beans and Refried Eagles

This is officially the week I learn or see something new every day. I'm now over two and a half decades old and there are certain things that I have believed my whole life that I am JUST NOW learning are simply, well, crap.

Two ways to look at this: I could either be really p*ssed that I've been BS'd or naive all these years, or be really thrilled because I can wake up every day knowing that there's more to learn.

I choose the latter.

I consider myself a city girl who has been "trapped" in the country. This week has been the biggest Country Girl 101 course thus far. Yesterday, my bloggies, I saw my very first...

BALD EAGLE.

I kid you not. Bald Eagle. 100 yards from MY house. Sitting right in the middle of an open field! Little did I know that he wasn't just sitting there enjoying the northerly breeze. I realized after he spread his 8 foot wingspan and took flight that he was also carrying a large Jackrabbit in his huge talons. This was amazing to see first-hand!!!!

Yet, even though I was watching a Bald Eagle with my own eyes, I still doubted this was really an Eagle. "We don't have Bald Eagles in Texas!" This is what I had always assumed.

You know what they always say about people who assume? Makes an ass of of "u" and "me".

Uh huh...I'm an ass. It's a Bald Eagle folks. Google it yourself.

So later that night, I am eating Mexican food, which, unfortunately, always seems to involve refried beans. I decided to share my so-called knowledge about how refried beans were uber unhealthy. Then I was informed that refried beans were, in fact, very healthy if cooked the proper way. What????

HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME THIS? This is strike two for the day.

Here I am walking around like an idiot, "Bald Eagles don't exist..." and "Refried beans are the devil..." and I'm wrong. Drat!!!

So back to my country girl/nature experience. Today on my run, I see a huge green caterpillar. I'd say about 4 inches long and about the width of someone's finger. Just crossing the road like it's no big thing. So I said hi to him, naturally, and took a few awful pictures with my iPhone. (Oh yeah...Steve Jobs, we seriously need ZOOM on the iPhone. Please get right on that, Apple peeps.)

And sometime today after my run, I get home and spot a very chaotic web in my garage (chaotic = total Black Widow territory) (I am an obsessive Googler). I debate for some time, and then decide I have to take care of it. I hate to kill anything, but when it's between my animals and family and a spider such as this, I have to do what's best for my loved ones. And I was scared the whole time that somehow it would build enough strength/anger to jump 9 feet and bite me and then my internal killing debate would be a moot point. Ugh..

[Sorry folks, no pictures of this guy. My hands were full. And by full I mean bug spray, fly swatter, and metal shield.]

And finally, this evening on my aptly named "nature" walk, I see a massive hawk (hide all tiny chihuahuas!)

And on the way home, I'm fairly certain that I jumped 16 feet in the air when I saw Mr. Tarantula crossing the road. So casually, just like Mr. Caterpillar. I'll bet they're friends.

I think maybe I've had enough Biology for one week. HA! Who am I kidding? I love Biology!

But seriously, let's keep the spiders at a safe distance, shall we?

Here's Your Time. Spend It Wisely

Last night

11:00 pm - searched Craigslist for part-time/full-time/temp/ANY jobs and emailed all the links to myself. Total of 16 potential/maybe/possible jobs. Good news? Sixteen is actually my lucky number.

Midnight - Tried to go to sleep. And tried.....and tried....

12:30 am - Not tired at all. Neither is puppy. Give up and take Tylenol PM.

Today

9:00 am - Wake up (unwillingly). Realize I'm still very groggy from the Tylenol and pass back out only to have weird dreams.

10:15 am - Wake up (startled). Dreamed I was at some massive festival/event and, apparently, we found a shortcut, (but this shortcut was also considered trespassing) and suddenly a cop was threatening to arrest all of us. Then, just as suddenly, a civilian was pointing a gun at the cop (who was sitting RIGHT next to me) and I feared being shot on accident and also feared being arrested for a really stupid reason.

10:30 am - Make suitable breakfast. Drink not-so-fabulous coffee (need to invest in a good espresso machine so I don't have to drink coffee that either tastes like tar or poo, but that's another task for another day).

11:00 am - Force myself to go for a run. Feel very inspired by good music, thanks to Pandora radio for iPhone. Fight my way through random hurricane-strength winds, and finish off by doing crunches and lifting weights. Woo hoo!

11:50 am - Give myself smiley face sticker on calendar for working out today. Sounds very Kindergarten-ish, I know, but it works for me.

1:00 pm - Watch Cesar Milan work his magic on neurotic dog behavior (I always blame the owner). Practice mad Cesar-like skills on my own dog who barks incessantly at EVERYTHING lately. Go ahead....you can blame me too.

2:15 pm - Apply for 5 of the 16 jobs I discovered last night. Get frustrated because I'm tired of hunting for a job that I only want to keep temporarily anyway. What happened to money growing on trees? Where are these trees and why don't I have one?

2:30 pm - Call a not-so-local YMCA and find out that I can get 3 free passes. I would like to join their spinning classes. Trying to decide if I want to go bright and early tomorrow morning. I'd have to leave my house at 8 am, and since I have now reverted back to being a nocturnal college kid, that might be a challenge. (incase you have forgotten...jobless + sleepless = sleeping too late and dreaming of hooligans with guns).

4:00 pm - Decide to skip watching Oprah today. The topic of Mad Men and the 60's theme don't exactly thrill me. Decide to play on Blogger and find 2 new blogs to follow!

5:20 pm - Boyfriend calls me and I'm surprised it's already "after work" time. Where did the time go? I tell him I'm blogging and he (lovingly) threatens to send me to Bloggers Anonymous, as usual. Hehe.

And now, here I sit. It's 7:55. I haven't heard anything back from any of my jobs. I feel that I got a big, fat NOTHING done today, while I guess in truth, I really did accomplish a few things. Meanwhile, a big storm is blowing in, which explains the hurricane force winds earlier today.

Noteworthy quotes about spending time wisely:

"Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows."

~Pope Paul VI

"All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that."

~Baltasar Gracian

"Now is the only time there is. Make your now wow, your minutes miracles, and your days pay. Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference."

~Mark Victor Hansen

"Time flies. It's up to you to be the navigator."

~Robert Orben

Off to slave away (i.e., pre-heat oven) preparing a vegetable lasagna. Peace out, Bloggers!

My 'Pseudo Vacation' To-Do List

For those of you who don't already know (that would be 80-87% of you), I am once again "on vacation," as my boss likes to call it. Simply put: I've been layed off again.

That's the beauty of oil and gas; work comes and work goes.

During this time, I have learned this about myself:

Week one is a swell time. I basically treat it like vacation (except I must constantly fight the urge to spend money). I scream "woo hoo!" and run to my car and make the 3.5 hour trip to see my boyfriend. Then I stay for a few days, come home, blog, scrapbook, clean stuff, watch TV, play and cuddle with my tiny dog. I stay up late just because I can and I sleep late just because I can. Week one is like my favorite icing on my favorite cupcake. Yummy.

It's week two that freaks me the hell out. Week two makes me lay awake at night and wonder how I'm going to pay for my new car. That's when I spend an hour or more per day on my laptop searching for temporary (usually low paying) jobs. Then after my job hunt, I get slightly depressed because no job ever compares. However, any job will do (for now). Then my staffing lady ignores my emails and I feel like I'm the one doing HER job and I should be making commission off my job finds!

Perhaps they are swarmed in the staffing office due to the economy and sky-high unemployment rates. I should be more understanding, right?

No! She needs to do her job. And now.

Anyhoo, the point of me venting (is that ALL I do lately?) was to make a list of all the things I'd like to get done while "on vacation"because, honestly, I need to just make the best of this time off. (And I WILL continue calling it vacation because it's my fantasy world and I call it what I want.)

Things I want to accomplish while on pseudo-vacation

1) Finish Eclipse (once and for all) and begin Breaking Dawn.

2) Have a movie marathon of some sort, either:

-Disney movie marathon

-Musical movie marathon

-I don't do scary and I don't do westerns, so what else is there? [ideas welcome here]

3) Clean out my medicine cabinet.

Expired medicine + things with no labels = bad news.

4) Run/walk more. Let me rephrase that - run more. I already walk every evening. My rear still jiggles more than I would like, but I've decided I'm not allowed to whine about it if I'm not doing everything I can.

5) Read another book. Which book is yet to be determined. (feel free to chime in with your opinions on the following):

- Time Travelers Wife (synopsis here)

- Homer's Odyssey (here)

- The Host (here)

- The Wolf in the Parlor (here)

- Outliers (here)

- Breaking the Bank (here)

- The Palace of Strange Girls (here)

- The Weight of Silence (here)

- Modoc (here)

- The Hunger Games (here)

6) Try to force myself to love yoga. Or more realistically, give yoga another shot.

7) Quickly earn $20,000 to start my own business. Oh wait...

8) Clean off my desk. I HAVE A DESK!? I thought that was just a mountain of papers, dog treats, and receipts with a computer monitor peeking out from the top. Hmph..

9) Become a Big Sister (with Big Brothers Big Sisters). I'm pretty cool, not even gonna lie about it. I'd be a good role model for a young girl. I love doing kiddy stuff. Plus, I never had a little sister to pick on. What more can you ask for?

10) Finish my scrapbook. I spent a zillion trillion dollars buying supplies for this and only have 8 pages done. Come on, woman! Find your inner Martha Stewart already!

11) I'm seriously contemplating getting my real estate license. Here's the catch: I have boatloads of time to take the courses, yet I can't spend that kind of money right now. Blah! Still, it's something I'd like to do.

Ok, that's all for now. Stay tuned for my September 'Faves and Craves' in the next few days.

Cheers!

A Rant (or twelve)

I try to stay positive for the most part, but sometimes you just have to gripe about stuff. Let's just call it venting. Positive thinking is healthy, but isn't venting healthy too?

Today (and every day for the past few months) I have been extremely irritated about where I live. One might call this the boonies/sticks/podunkville/BFE. Whatever you want to call it, I do not live where anything is convenient.

This wears on me (and that is an understatement).

For instance, everything you do is an EVENT. Today I have a Dr. appointment (for another injection for my super cool Ernest Syndrome). It will take me an hour and a half to get there and probably half a tank of (not cheap) gas round-trip. This is what started my whole rant today. Here are a few more examples of such EVENTs:

- Let's run up to the mall!

Reality check: Oh wait, that's at least an hour drive for the closest mall. Any other mall is right around 2 hours.

- Maybe I'll just get gas on my way to work.

Reality check: Nope, you have to drive 25 miles before reaching the ONLY station on your way to work. Good luck with that.

- Let's meet for lunch!

Realilty check: I'll leave at 10:30 (technically still breakfast time) to get there by noon.

- I need a few things from Target.

Reality check: That'll be 40 miles due north. Oh you want a Super Target? That'll be 60 miles.

- Hey Cupcake, we're all going to a movie tonight after work. Wanna come?

Reality check: Sure, I'll leave at 5 and get home at midnight (for a 2 hour movie).

Hopefully you see my point now. If you know me at all, you would know that I would never choose to live this far away from civilization. Not at age 26. Perhaps at age 60 when I'm over the whole city thing. But I'm still not convinced of that either.

Granted, there are many good things about where I live. (Always trying to see the silver lining!) You get to see wildlife that you wouldn't see otherwise. I do love that. And you really don't have any neighbors, so there is a sense of privacy. You also have scenery (rolling hills, river valleys, wild flowers). You also get to see amazing storms blow in like no other. For a photographer, this place is a dream! And it really is dreamy.

On the flip side, because of the country-ness, I have a few more worries. I have a dog that weighs less than most bunnies, therefore he is prey for large birds, coyotes, bobcats, and (gasp!) mountain lions. Also, more open land equals more snakes and spiders most city-folk have never seen. I'm not a fan of spiders and snakes are really not the most pleasant thing to come across. There have been a few scorpions too, and to me, those are just as creepy if not more creepy than spiders. ...Arachnids... [shudder]

What do I want, you ask? I'd like an apartment again. In the suburbs. NEAR a city. I'd like a gas station less than 10 miles away, a decent grocery store within 15 miles, some sort of shopping within 20 miles, and a few more than 2 restaurant choices. I'd also like a Freebirds and a liquor store, but let's not get carried away.

I know exactly where I want to be. In fact, I have the apartments picked out. The question is when can I get there?