Flashbacks

Two weeks ago my cousin and I went to visit my great-uncle. We spent an entire Sunday afternoon listening to him tell stories and going through old pictures of my grandma and her siblings. We got to video-tape it as well. It was absolutely amazing! I can't believe so many of her brothers and sisters are gone, and none of their stories are recorded. John let me take home any pictures I wanted, which I couldn't believe. I tried not to be too greedy, but here are a couple of them:

My grandma & her sister--Aug. 29, 1954

This is so out of character for the Grandma I knew--makes me wish I'd had a chance to learn more about her life directly from her.

 And this...is my dad when he was in 8th grade. Looked ornery even back then!

It was such a good day, and I really feel like I need at least a month off to just visit with all of the older people in my family and get all their stories and pictures immortalized. Someone make that happen, please?

Busy busy bee

Next semester is gonna get ca-razy in this place! Working full-time, school full-time, tutoring, and volunteering...while still trying to squeeze in sleep and a bit of a social life. I'll be taking American Lit, British Lit, Developmental Psych, and Intro to Theatre Arts (thank you degree change!), so 12 hours total. I'll tutor two days a week; volunteer at the Safehouse about once every week or two; work five days a week; take nine hours of online classes; and have one class on Thursday nights in Andover. I don't anticipate a heck of a lot of free time. But as much as I sound displeased, I'm actually really excited about it! I love to be busy. It defines me. And I want this school business finished. Like yesterday. So busy will become my middle name, and I can't wait!

I started a new job about a month ago and therefore have gotten ridiculously behind here. I've been out at Mom and Dad's a lot, and have very little internet access there, which makes updating more difficult.

On Nov. 1st I started as a para at Skelly in El Dorado. It's the same place I went to elementary school, so there are lots of memories in the building. I had a tough time adjusting at first to the fact that I was now a "teacher" and no longer a student! Long story short, I am absolutely loving my job for the first time I can ever remember! Granted they wear me out, try my patience like none other, and the pay isn't great, but I seriously LOVE going to work! That's a first for me. For my first two weeks there, all I could do after school was go home, maybe have some dinner, and fall into bed. I was -so- exhausted! I've since gotten used to the schedule and am able to function on a somewhat normal level (most of the time!). :-)

I've completely fallen in love with (most of) these children! We had five days off for Thanksgiving, and by the fourth day I was missing the little munchkins and was ready to get back to school. I never thought I would EVER say that about a job.

So all of that to say...while I was not prepared for some of the big changes that took place in September, I think they were the best possible thing for my life. Next semester will be insane (more on that later), but I'm really looking forward to where my life seems to be heading.

A Night at the State Fair

During our adventures, Kristin and I spent one night at the South Carolina State Fair. I missed the fair in Kansas this year, and it's one of my favorite things, so I was really excited about it! We were both tired, cranky, and didn't feel that great, but Kristin struggled through it for me. (Thank you!!) I think we both ended up having fun, though!



I've seen a lot of different fried foods at the fair, but never Kool Aid! We were intrigued, so we found someone who'd bought it and they kindly let us take a picture! They said it tastes like red velvet cake...maybe someday I'll have the courage to try it.

This is one of our new friends, Karen. Our other new friend, Ben, was one of her keepers...he tried to get me to ride Karen, too, but I've ridden an elephant before and didn't feel I needed to have that particular experience again! So glad Kristin enjoyed it, though, and I got to pet Karen for a little while, which was pretty neat!

Random

Today is a day of random. Forgive me now.

You've been warned.

1. Little snippet of random from a FB conversation earlier today

Friend S: I get off at 8:30 and don't have to work tomorrow.
Me: I kinda want to see a movie.
I think.
Or go to dinner.
Or go to the zoo. (**Note: The zoo was definitely closed by this time**)
Or something.
I really don't know.
In case you couldn't tell.
*Pause*
Although I -do- know I'm hungry.
Ha! I made a decision!
S: Food!
Me: Oh no. We didn't get that far. We decided I was hungry. The end.

I then apologized for my weird sense of humor and we moved on.

2. I feel it's time I introduced you to my baby. He's 9 months old and a total pain in my rear. But I love him to pieces!

This...is Beau.

On my couch. And my sweatshirt.

He thinks he's a lapdog. Or a person.

That's probably more accurate.

This is his perch in the back seat of my car. He would prefer the front seat, but he no longer fits. Hasn't for several months now.

 He's a boxer/Great Dane mix. He was supposed to be boxer & lab, but his body says otherwise! But we love him anyway.

3. Quite possibly the most random of all...

....my living room ceiling.

Side note: I don't know what the weird shadow thing is...it's not on my ceiling...maybe on my camera??

Anyway. I -hate- popcorn ceilings!! With a passion.

I'm not sure from where this hatred stems. I love popcorn! It's a food group for me! But I positively detest popcorn ceilings. Which is why I can't wait until I own my home and can get rid of such abominations for all eternity. Can. Not. Wait.

What a Weekend

We learn new things every day. Right?

Saturday I learned several new things when I took my cousin and her friends to a concert at the Granada in Lawrence.

1. Apparently at 17, I was not a normal teenage girl. Neither were any of my friends!

-These- are normal teenage girls. Teenage girls who are obsessed--and I do mean OBSESSED--with The Maine and Taking Back Sunday. Teenage girls who will wait in line for four (count 'em--four) hours to make sure they're in the very front row to see said bands. Teenage girls who will then spend the next 24 hours recounting every. single. moment. of said concert. About 4,273 times. To this day, I cannot name a single concert for which I would stand in line so long. Good thing I love my girls!

2. I do NOT like Taking Back Sunday.

Who decided playing instruments as loud as humanly possible and literally screaming into the microphone ad nauseum could be defined as music??

I really want to know. He/she and I need to have a very serious chat. I'm pretty sure it was a man. Just sayin'.

Because it's not. Music, that is. Trust me.

3. I hate mosh pits even more than Taking Back Sunday. Hate hate hate them!!!!!!!!!

Who in their right mind thinks this looks fun? No thank you.

I literally had to remove myself as guardian of the three underage girls because I was about to punch a not-so-underage boy for his atrocious manners. And then get his mother's phone number and ask her what in the world went so wrong. Because I want to avoid with my own children whatever mistake she made that caused her grown son to behave so rudely! But I digress.

4. As much as I complain, a weekend with 16- and 17-year-old girls is a lot of fun. I want to do it again. Tomorrow.

The gorgeous girlie on the left is my cousin E. In the middle is her friend S, and A is on the right. Sylas & Maddy's is an amazing local ice cream shop right next to the Granada, and the girls obviously had to run over for a treat while in the neverending line for the concert.

5. Introducing people to Lawrence's food, shops, and the KU campus is probably on my list of top 20 things to do. Pepperjax is just heaven, and Pizza Shuttle at midnight?? A must! I can't wait for this girl to be 18--or better yet, 21--so I can introduce her to the really fun parts!

Procrastination

Right now I'm supposed to be completing an accounting test. But that sounds about as appealing as cleaning did in my last post, so we're going to pretend it doesn't exist for a bit longer. Thank you for your cooperation.

I recently discovered The Pioneer Woman's blog, and have since been pouring over every single entry. I've got a ways to go yet, seeing as how she started it in 2006! However...the woman is hilarious. I don't think I could possibly ever get tired of reading about her family and their adventures on the ranch. And she's living my life. I'm sure of it. I mean, who wouldn't want a gorgeous home on a working cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere with four adorable children and two super cute bassett hounds?? Ok, so my version would involve five children and several enormous mastiffs, but the rest?? Totally my dream.

Yes please!!!



Lunch the last two days has been wonderful. I got to spend time some one-on-one time with two good friends. Yesterday J and I went for margaritas and yummy nachos at Cheddar's. That place is growing on me. It was really good to see him after so long...we haven't had much time together at all lately.

Mmmmmm, orange chicken!!

Today K and I took a walk down memory lane and hit up Panda Express so we could relive our weekly lunch dates in the K-State Union. It was so good to catch up with her and get to chat with someone who's known me for such a long time. She and I were a part of a group of about eight girls who went all through middle and high school as close friends. There's something special about a friend you've known for so long that you don't have to explain anything. They know your history, and just know...you. It's a very unique experience to be able to go months without talking to an old friend, and yet you can still pick back up like it was only yesterday. Twelve+ years with these girls, and we still have an absolute blast every time we get together! I just might have to make that happen more often...

One of my new loves (pretty sure I mentioned this already) is couponing! Seriously...I'm obsessed. Between WalMart and Dillons last night, I got close to $300 in merchandise for about $32. It's so. Much. Fun!!! I would highly encourage starting yourself! But I'm going to have to start couponing for someone else...even though I'm getting these things super cheap, I have got to stop spending money! Time to focus on the looong (and ever growing!) list of projects I have in mind.

Speaking of which:

I'm in the midst of a new crafty project, but came to a standstill when I ran out of paint. I was having so much fun, too! Lesson learned...too much is better than not enough! So I'll post pics of that when I finally get it all done. Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out like I have it pictured in my head! So now my last option is to clean. And let me tell you how appealing -that- sounds!!

So anyway...my day was spent in my mom's first grade classroom. Those kids are so funny sometimes! I haven't spent much time there this year, so not all the kids know me. One of the boys walked in today, looked at me rather skeptically and said, "Are you -supposed- to be here?" He then went on to grill me further to make sure I was an appropriate addition to their classroom. I couldn't help but laugh!

Tonight I got to go to one of my very favorite places. The Loony Bin Comedy Club here in Wichita has ladies' night every Thursday. Ladies get in free! A good friend and I used to go every week...it was our standing Thursday night date. I love love love planning, so the consistency was great, plus it's just so much darned fun! Tonight was Caroline Picard, the "Cajun Queen." The woman has no filter, and is absolutely hilarious! I would highly recommend checking her out here!!

Just call me the crafting queen!

So crafting is another of my new obsessions. I've been needing a lamp for the table next to my bed, because I was tired of getting all comfy in bed with my book and then having to get -back- up to turn off the light. (Yeah, I'm that lazy. Particularly once I get all settled!) I couldn't talk myself into spending much money on it though. So I was at Goodwill, looking for craft ideas for Christmas, when I found this:

My UGLY Goodwill find--only $2.99 though!

Fortunately for me, I'd been clicking my life away on Pinterest the night before and found a picture of an upcycled, ugly old lamp. (If you haven't checked out pinterest already, you -really- need to do so. Now. Go now. I'll wait.) So I saw this and...lightbulb! I thought, "I could totally redo that and make it cute again!"

Next stop was WalMart for trim to cover the shade (Don't judge. I was in El Dorado...my resources were limited.) I was super stoked to find this awesome pink trim for $5!!

So that, my nasty lamp, spray paint Dad already had around his house, and some fabric glue later, I got this...and for just $8!!

Ok, so I got a little carried away with the spray paint and have some spots where it ran. Totally fixable though! I just cheated them toward the wall for now. The table underneath isn't my favorite...it's one of the next things on my "To-Do" list though. Seems like that thing is always growing...anyone else have that problem??

The Smallest Things

I realized today that I seriously need to stop and smell the roses sometimes. Ok, well maybe not roses exactly, but you know what I mean. I've been in a bit of a haze for the last week. Everything has been kind of numb, and I haven't been paying attention to much. I've been crabby, impatient, and just generally not very fun to be around, I'm sure. So anyway. I've been at my parent's house for the last few days, just kind of hiding from the world. No tv, the internet connection is frustrating at best, and I can easily leave my cell phone somewhere and just forget about it. (Sometimes I really just want to chuck that thing!) So this afternoon I decided it was time to put my big-girl panties on and get back to my own house. 'Cause I kinda pay rent there, and should probably actually use the space. And it needs cleaned. Bad.

Now this is probably going to sound a little stupid, but just bear with me. There's a point, I promise.

So I'm at the stop sign on the county road leading to my parent's house, about to turn onto the highway back to my life in the "big city" when I see a turtle in the middle of the road.

He looked something akin to this. With less trees. And mountains. And scales. And tail. So basically the asphalt and the fact that he has four legs were the only common factors. But you understand.

I seriously sat at the stop sign for almost five minutes watching him. All I could think about was how long it was taking him to cross that four-lane. And how dangerous it was. (Before I go on, please know that I did get my lazy, animal-loving butt out of the car and deliver him safely to the other side.) I was thinking, "That turtle puts his life on the line just to make it to the other side of the road. How many times has he done that? What's on the other side that is so all-fired important that he would risk death by squishing just to get there?" It's probably ridiculous, but that little turtle really made me realize that I need to appreciate more things in my life. I've been so discouraged and feeling like any effort I make is wasted. I was reminded today that I'm actually pretty darn lucky. I have food; shelter; a car; I'm going back to school this semester; moving forward with my life; and bettering myself (Or so they tell me. I'm not convinced. But that's another post). Plus I don't have to inch my way across four lanes of traffic, unable to move quickly enough to avoid the tires of speeding Mack trucks! He inspired me (yes, I'm talking about the turtle) to try a little harder. To take a few more chances with my life. We're not talking skydiving (yet), but maybe just foregoing all of my ususal planning and worrying to just enjoy life a little more.

My decision for the day: Step back and enjoy each day as it comes. Stop worrying so darn much, and move forward to the best of my ability.

Please feel free to keep me accountable...but that, of course, assumes someone actually reads this thing! :-)

Hello Blogging World!

I've decided to join the blogging world. Lord help us all! I just keep finding all these wonderful blogs I'm dying to keep track of, and my bookmarks are overflowing. So I caved.

The last week or so has been pretty rough. And when I'm stressed or upset or worried, I tend to find new projects and throw myself into them. This time it's couponing and crafting. Omg, I'm obsessed!! I can't decide which I like more! Seriously. My new problem, however, is that I'm blowing all this money I've saved on new craft projects. It's a vicious cycle. There are worse things though...I've finished a good portion of my Christmas shopping for roughly a third of what I would normally spend. And I like these things a whole lot better than my normal store-bought items. Granted, they're going to cost me a heck of a lot of time, but my loved ones are worth it, right? :-)