Tally

I miss my kitty so much.  I had to make a VERY difficult decision to give Tally away.  I feel bad about it, but with the circumstances, I didn't feel like I had another choice.  She was having lots of accidents and not using her litter box.  After months of thought, I couldn't let her continue to make a mess of my apartment and not having another place to live, I let her go.  The first few days were extremely hard and now that it's been almost a month, I still find myself wanting to talk to her and snuggle.  It's so weird not having anyone around normally and it's especially hard now that I'm having a hard time and feeling alone as it is.  I'm still trying to clean up all her messes and it's going to take a long time.  I decided I'm not going to put my tree up this year and just concentrate on cleaning the carpets.  I did put out my nativity and a few other decorations as well as switched to my Christmas dishes.  I feel extremely guilty and miss Tally so much.  She was like my kid for so long and I just turned my back on her when I felt I didn't have anything else to do.  Guess I won't make a good mom ever if I just give my kids away.  Good thing I don't have any human kids!  I'm already looking into getting a new cat, but not until everything is cleaned up and my apartment is in better condition.  I watched a few cats over Thanksgiving, so it was nice being around some felines.  I called about volunteering at a cat shelter, but I haven't heard anything back about times to volunteer.  I thought maybe giving back to other cats would make me feel less guilty about Tally.  This is really difficult for me to talk about, but I thought maybe I should just share.  Maybe getting it out there will help me deal with it a little more.  Just trying to get through each day at this point!  I miss her so much!

Struggling

It’s the usual, I’m bad about writing on my blog.  I just don’t have much positive to say to the world, so I choose to say nothing instead.

I’ve been trying to keep myself busy.  I’ve been so bored lately.  It’s amazing how bored you can get when you don’t work 12 plus hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week.  I don’t know which is worse.  So, I’m barely making any money and my boss can barely pay me, so I’ve resorted to getting two part time jobs.  I thought that since I was finished with grad school, these times were gone.  I was wrong.  Just finished training at Macy’s and have training to be a part time ticket seller at UT on Friday.  I picked up two cat sitting jobs of strangers for this week and next week and am still bored at my regular job b/c it’s so slow right now.  Hopefully, I’ll meet some new people at these jobs and at least have contact with more people on a regular basis, even if they are strangers. 

I think I’ve found a church…I’ve been three times so far and attended one small group, plans to try another this week.  It’s really small, but I went to a ladies coffee thing and had a really good time, so I figured I should give it a shot.  We’ll see if I make any real connections and if it’s the right fit for me. 

It’s finally cooler here in Texas, but it’s still usually in the 70s during the day, sometimes 80.  I guess I’m going to stay in my same apartment for another year b/c I can’t afford to move.  I’m still in the stage where I’m doubting my decision about moving here, but not going to give up.  I’m determined to make it work somehow…I need to take my own advice to try and find my own happiness.  Easier said than done.

It's hard here.

It's been really hard here to meet people and find real friends.  I am still looking for a church and even though I'm getting closer to finding the right one, I just want to be there already.  I've been struggling the past couple of weeks and haven't wanted to write anything.  Plus, it's like what's the point?  No one reads it anyway, so it's just for myself.  Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in moving here, but I also have to remember that it takes me longer than average to adjust to new things and places and make friends.  I need to try to be more patient and give it more time.  I definitely haven't found the right people here to connect with, so at times I get really discouraged.

For my new job, I work in a sweat shop, quite literally.  There is no air conditioning and it's absolutely miserable.  You're right if you think no place in Texas should go with out AC in the summer.  I sweat all day long and it zaps all of my energy.  I work 9-5, but I don't want to do anything b/c by the time I leave there, I'm totally drained.  I must wear a bandanna around my head b/c otherwise I'll sweat all over the fabric or paper I'm cutting.  I cannot wait for cooler weather.  It will probably have to be pretty cold outside for it to be cool enough inside the shop to be comfortable working conditions.  At first it was just an inconvenience and now it's getting pretty old.  I cut material from cardboard patterns for high school basketball and football uniforms and practice gear, for about 60% of my time.  About 15% of my time, I design the uniforms and practice gear on Illustrator and print it out on a large format printer.  For the remaining 25% of my time, I work on getting products up on the website, removing inaccurate information off the site and trying to make it look better and easier to navigate in general.  It's been more of an adjustment than I expected, working a 9-5 schedule.  I know that I'm not really using my time wisely, but I'm so used to working all the time that I'm still figuring out how to use the extra time.  It's difficult to want to do anything besides try to cool down and relax, doing absolutely nothing.

I know.

I know I really need to write something.  It seems there is a lot I could share, so I get overwhelmed and write nothing!

1. That eShakti dress is going back.  I did not like it.  At all.  The material is stiff and not comfortable and the skirt is just all wrong...too much material there.  It actually fit my upper body pretty well, maybe just a little too big.  Either I picked the wrong dress, don't know how to measure myself or just shouldn't buy dresses that I can't try on.  I guess it just means I need more practice shopping and trying on dresses! 

2.  I've decided, now that we are consistently at over 100 degrees here in Austin I'm going to mainly wear tank tops and skirts, capris and shorts.  It's just so HOT.  This meant I had to raid the clearance racks at Old Navy to get some fun brightly colored tanks that I feel comfortable enough wearing (not too tight).  Luckily for someone who is jobless, they had a sale where everything on clearance was an additional 50% off!

3.  Had a great road trip to Ohio for about a week and a half and put in just over 3300 miles!  It was so great to visit with some really great friends.  Some I talk to on a regular basis and some I haven't talked to or seen in a really really long time.  My friend's wedding was absolutely amazing and we had a good family gathering too.  You can check out the photos on my Facebook page. 

4.  Having been jobless for about a month now, I finally have some part time work coming my way!  Tomorrow, I'll be starting at a small sportswear company just minutes from my house and learning all about cutting fabrics, matching patterns and filling orders.  I'm also going to slowly start learning the creative side and use Adobe Illustrator to create mock ups for coaches and then printing the actual graphics on a large format printer so it can be sublimated onto the fabric.  Then all the pieces are matched together and sent to a sewer somewhere in California.  The whole process seems pretty complicated to me so far, but hopefully I can learn quickly and be a big help to the volume of production.  If I am, maybe it will turn into something more than part time!

5.  I'm still working out, though I have to be more choosy about the workouts I'm doing.  About three weeks ago I got a huge gash on the side of my heel and it hurts to wear shoes.  Then, I went walking with my dad when I was home...we walking about four miles at Wildwood Metro Park and I came home with some nasty bloody blisters on the backs of both ankles.  Yikes.  So, needless to say, I'm letting my feet heal and trying to just do some pilates, yoga and swimming until I can wear shoes again.  I got some new Asics (major discount at Kohl's), so hopefully I can wear them soon!

That's all for now folks!

Trying it out for custom size!

I did it!  I ordered a dress from eShakti.  I had a hard time deciding which one, but it's cute, isn't it?  Can't wait to see what it looks like!  The site says it ships in about three days.  Pretty fast for custom sizing. 

Shopping and fashion, ooh la la!

I've kind of really been getting into fashion more and more lately and reading some fashion blogs.  They are blogs where people post their outfits on a semi-daily basis and tell where they got each piece they are wearing.  It's so fun to see the style of others.  There is one that I like to follow here in Austin and you can see her linked on my sidebar.  I've always loved to shop, what girl doesn't, right?  The fashion from SATC is one of the best characters and Carrie/SJP can just about pull of anything and make it cute.  When I live in a house that has cable, I regularly tune into What Not to Wear and get some great styling tips from Stacy and Clinton. 

Sometimes I feel like I have a good sense of style, but there are things I just don't think I can wear or b/c I don't live in NYC or somewhere super glamorous, it doesn't seem right.  Everything is so casual these days, I don't like to stand out too much, but I've been thinking more about what is my personal style.  I tend to always gravitate toward a lot of prints and some bright colors, but then I have stuff that doesn't seems to match or go together.  I'm not sure exactly what I'm trying to say here, except that I think fashion is super fun and I'm realizing just how much I like to shop. 

I just found a few more fashion blogs to read and maybe some day I will take pictures of my own outfits...I need a little more confidence for that though!  Some of these fashion bloggers even use it as their full time job and get free products for giving their opinion, etc.   I may add some more to my blog roll, but it may be too many!  For me shopping is an experience, so I like to actually go to the store and see, feel and try things on rather than shopping on the internet.  But there is this great site, Eshakti, where you give them your measurements and they custom fit the clothes to your body!  Awesome for someone like me w/ big boobs who can't fit into shirts and dresses sometimes.  I'm thinking about getting a dress from them, there are so many to choose from and so many pretty colors!  Anyway, I guess I just wanted to share my thoughts on shopping and fashion.  Does any body else like it as much as me?

Oh and happy birthday to my dad today!!!

Crappy yet exciting week.

This has been an interesting week to say the least. I'm not even sure how much I will share on this blog since it's so public (with my audience of 3). In some ways this week was really really bad and in some ways it has been exciting and fun, yet both extremes were shocking. What I've learned this week has been the most important part. You know when people say that when God closes a door He opens another one or opens a window? Or everything happens for a reason? Or this is a blessing in disguise? Well, I actually can say that I believe all those ideas this week. Moving on might suck at the time, but good things will come of it. I feel I've handled things pretty well and have been myself, laid back and reserved instead of totally panicked (which can also be myself sometimes). It's so comforting to know that I've met some really great people here in Austin that have supported me. At this point, the only thing I can do is pray for God's will in my life. I can't do it on my own and I have to learn to give Him some more control. If you'd like to know more, feel free to text, call or email me and we'll chat on a personal level. =)

I'm trying to tweet more and having some fun with that, so follow me on Twitter or get an account today!

Do you think it's impossible to fall out of love?

My friend found this quote and shared it with me. I don't really know that I believe it or not, but wanted to write a post about it b/c it got me thinking. I'd like to think that I was in love once, but maybe it wasn't love b/c it didn't last. In some way, I don't want to believe that's true b/c at the time, I thought that it was love and if it wasn't, then what was it? Was all that time truly wasted on something that wasn't love? Here is the quote:

"It is impossible to fall out of love. Love is such a powerful emotion, that once it envelops you it does not depart. True love is eternal. If you think that you were once in love, but fell out of it, then it wasn't love you were in. There are no 'exit' signs in love, there is only an 'on' ramp."

I'm on an online dating site right now, but it's just kind of a way to put myself out there. I'm not really looking for a relationship or to date. I want to take this time to work more on myself and gain back my independence that I value so much. The life that I'm starting here in Austin is helping me get there, but sometimes I just have to keep reminding myself that it's OK to take time to work on me and just be single. Another reminder to myself is that I hope to find the true love that I deserve and not settle for something less. It will happen when I'm ready for it and the timing is just right. I know it will take a lot for me to open up my heart again, but I have faith that with the right person, I will be able to do it.

A Woman's Right to Matching Dinnerware

OK, blogger has been down, so I wanted to post this last night and it's just now working. Yay. It figures, when I finally have something to say, I can't say it. Ha. I know these pictures really suck...I've got to learn how to better utilize my camera and have a more creative photographic eye. I used to think I was halfway decent, but no longer. Urgh!

I started my new dish collection today(last night)! How exciting. I have decided on Fiestaware and went to Dillard’s today to check out the colors in person. They are all so pretty, it was difficult to decide. I ended up choosing lemongrass, sunflower, shamrock and chocolate. Hopefully this will be a good combination, though I think they really all go well together. I have some sunflower kitchen things already, so I thought that color palette would be nice. After Christmas and as winter was winding down, it was time to put away my Christmas dishes and I dreaded going back to my crappy every day mismatch plates and random bowls. I have the cutest full set of snowman dishes and love when I get to use them every year. What’s the point in waiting till I get a house or get married to register for dinnerware? Why can’t I enjoy cute matching plates and bowls for all my meals? It’s stupid to think that I had to wait and what if that stuff never happens? I didn’t really plan on buying anything today, I was just going to check out the colors. At Macy’s, Fiesta was on sale, 30% off and I had a $10 off coupon to use with my charge, so I figured I’d get a couple of bowls. Check out the lemongrass and sunflower in the photo…though they are much cuter in person. It will probably take me awhile to work up to a full matching set, but this is a great start!

Also, check out my new cactus. If you remember, my other five year old cactus died soon after I moved here. I bought this one at the flagship Whole Foods store when Rachel McHadiashar visited. It’s not your typical cactus with spines, but I’ll probably get one of those at some point. Hopefully this one will last even longer than the last! Isn’t he cute?

Something to train for

Hey! This past week, I've really tried to concentrate on working out. In the last nine days, I've exercise seven of them! I haven't done that in a very long time. I've done a combination of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, Brazil Butt Lift, Slim in 6, swimming and running/walking. I ran tonight for the first time in a LONG time and it felt pretty good. I mean, I felt like I was going to die during and immediately after, but once I recovered, I felt great. My friend and I just committed to and registered for a splash and dash that will take place in about a month. The event is a 750 meter swim and 3k (2 mile) run. Depending on how the splash and dash goes, it will be a warm up for a triathlon later this year, in August or September. I'm pretty excited about it. I've done several 5k's and thought about a triathlon, but never seriously acted upon it. My goal is just to finish, I don't care if I'm the last person to cross that line. I know I'm slow, but I just want to prove that I can finish. I really want to get into shape like I was during grad school and lose some of the weight that I've gained in recent years. On really tough days, it's difficult to remember that exercise acts as an antidepressant, so I have to keep reminding myself. There are so many benefits, it shouldn't be so hard to motivate myself to do it!

So, I just watched LOST from this week. This show is crazy. I don't even know what to say, except that they have a lot to wrap up in just a short amount of time. Does anyone else REALLY want to know what Jacob's brother's name is??? Poor kid...he might not even have a name.

It's getting pretty hot here in Texas. I'm a little worried about the summer temps. It's definitely a major downside to moving here and something I considered, since I'm not really fond of hot weather. I just figured I'd deal with it and enjoy the AC as much as possible. For the beginning of May, we've already had plenty of days at 95 degrees. Last summer, Austin had something like a record 60-some days over 100 degrees. We'll see how much hotter it gets here. Glad that my apartment has a pool where I can cool off and the AC works great.

Can't wait! Sex and the City 2 is almost upon us! Ah! I love, love, love that we get to see the girls again. I've said this before, but I feel like with the new movie it's like getting together with old friends. My new coworker is also a fan, so it looks like I have someone to see the movie with. We're going to see if there are any cool events going on with opening weekend. Less than two weeks remain!

Can we please be done with the funerals for awhile?

The past couple of weeks have been busy. More specifically, the last week was quite a whirlwind of shock, sadness, tiredness, love and lots of other emotions. The past three weekends, we've had football games in West Texas, so that was lots of long work days and travel. On Sunday, April 25, I was selling tickets at a game in Big Spring, TX and got a call from my mom.
1. She rarely calls me, I normally call her. 2. She knew I was working at a game at that moment. I knew she probably didn't have any good news when calling in a middle of a game. The shock was still immense. She told me that Uncle Chuck died and my heart might have skipped a beat. I didn't understand, I had just seen him a couple of months ago and he was fine. He's a really energetic guy, always busy with something and upbeat. For everything he's involved in and does, you'd never think he was 73. My parents had dinner with him and my other aunts and uncles just a week earlier and he was fine! She proceeded to tell me briefly what happened as I began crying hysterically. I had to put the phone down a couple of times to wait on customers and felt embarrassed and how I must look to the random strangers. A headache set in immediately and I finished the work day, not really remembering the details of what happened to my dad's brother.
I got the whole story on the way back to Austin and just can't believe it. A blood clot killed his intestines and then started to kill the rest of his organs and his heart was unable to compensate and he passed within about 15 hours of his initial symptoms of chills and body aches. Unbelievable.

Everything just happened so fast. I booked my flight Monday night (without second thought; it wasn't an option to not be there with my family) and was on a plane at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. The visitation was Wednesday and Thursday, so our family was there the whole time. I know this is getting really long already, but I want to continue. Thursday was the Last Alarm ceremony with the Toledo Fire Department. It was a really nice way to pay tribute to Uncle Chuck as a retired firefighter and paramedic. Lots of retired and current firefighters were there and they all filed past the casket as one rang the bell until they all went by to pay their respects. The funeral home was packed.

Friday was the funeral, which began with bag pipes and time for everyone to pay their last respects to the body and a prayer with the family before the service began. Everyone was really emotional and touched by the music. I started to realize that this was harder than most of my grandparents' funerals b/c it was so sudden and he was healthy and not really that old. Uncle Chuck was one of my closest uncles out of all my dad's siblings and their spouses.
The funeral service was nice, a couple people read scriptures and shared some really nice memories and everyone who spoke was emotional. We sang hymns and listened to a touching sermon. After filing out of the church the bag pipes played again on the lawn and one of the tunes was Amazing Grace as they loaded the casket into the hearse. Heart-wrenching.
The final portion (excluding lunch) of the service was the processional past Fire Station #25 behind an antique fire truck. All the Toledo fire chiefs were standing outside saluting as the processional drove past. The drive concluded at the church where we enjoyed lunch and time with the extended family.
One kind of funny thing that happened was that my aunt and uncle who now live in California both thought that I was my mom. I guess it was good for me to laugh at them not knowing who I was right away rather than be highly offended that I was mistaken for someone over 60. At least they thought that I had lost weight and looked great, right? Apparently, I look just like my mom when she was my age. Yikes. Lol.
Anyway, I'm really going to miss Uncle Chuck and how he gave me a hug or two every time I saw him. Christmas is going to be really weird without him there. I feel blessed to know and be related to such a wonderful man and that he took the initiative for us becoming a closer family about 10 years ago. He touched many lives and we will always remember his stories, with the embellishments of course. My heart goes out to my aunt Bev and my dad and the other aunts and uncles who have lost two siblings in just two months.

Rachel described her grief about Uncle Chuck on her blog and it's a really good post.

Back to civilization

Unfortunately, I'm back to the real world and civilization. The peace and quiet of the desert, mountains and river was absolutely wonderful, just wish my trip hadn't been so short. I'm going to post my photos to Facebook soon and I'll show my itinerary below. Big Bend National Park is awesome, hopefully I'll get to go back sometime to explore it even further. I hadn't been camping in awhile and that was a lot of fun too. I love my new tent and camp stove and hope to do some more camping this spring, summer and fall.

Sunday, April 4
Depart Van Horn, TX – 220 miles to Big Bend National Park
Arrive @ Big Bend, setup campsite @ Chisos Basin
Visitor’s Center
Window View Trail – sunset

Monday, April 5
Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive
Santa Elena Canyon – 1.7 miles
Lost Mine Trail – 5 miles, 1,100 feet elevation
Ranger led program @ Chisos Basin campground

Tuesday, April 6
Boquillas Canyon Road, Boquillas Canyon Trail – 1.4 miles
Rio Grande Village Nature Trail (Ranger Hike)
Hot springs trail and relaxation – 1 mile
Ranger led program @ Rio Grande Village campground

Wednesday, April 7
Pack up campsite
Visitor’s Center
Dugout Wells, Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail (Ranger Hike)
Depart for Austin, TX
475 miles to home

Scratch that

OK, well change of plans to my trip this weekend/next week. I'm cutting out the Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns and Marfa parts of my trip and just going from Van Horn to Big Bend. I just found out that I only get 15 days of vacation and need to not use five of them next week. I know 15 sounds like quite a bit, but I used to get 22 days per year plus sick time and wouldn't have possibly ever been able to use them all. My boss said that the 15 days includes sick time, vacation and personal days. I've already used about three, one for a funeral and two when Rachel was here. I'll take three next week, but have to consider that I have a wedding to go to in Ohio in July and time off to go home at Christmas. Ugh. I know I shouldn't really be complaining, but working for a self-employer definitely has it's downsides. I miss working in a real office, like with people, office supplies and my own desk space. Now, my interaction with people consists of my boss (in the comfort of his own house) and maybe one other person. I have to travel daily with my own portable office. I wish I had the funds and ability to create my own home office and set up things for better efficiency and comfort. OK. I'll stop complaining and say that I'm glad to have a job with a lot of flexibility.

Lots going on lately

March has been a pretty active month for me, with still more fun stuff to look forward to. Spring is my favorite season and the weather is just about perfect here right now (don't even want to think about summer) and that seems to make everything a little bit more enjoyable.

My good friend, Marie visited in early March. Her sister, brother-in-law and niece live here in Austin and were expecting their second baby, so Marie came out in hopes to meet the little guy. Unfortunately, he had other ideas and waited until St. Patrick's Day. Selfishly though, I cherished the little bit of time I had with Marie, whom I miss dearly. We enjoyed great conversation, wine and shopping (as usual).

The next week, my sister visited and we explored lots of sites around Austin, San Antonio and Johnson City. We learned SO much about LBJ, Lady Bird and LBJ's presidency...it turned out to be much more interesting than I had imagined. Check out my Facebook page for the photos. We went to the LBJ Presidential Library, Capital Building, Zilker Park Kite Festival, Town Lake, Mount Bonnell, The Alamo, San Antonio Missions San Jose and Concepcion, River Walk, and the LBJ birth place, boyhood home, Texas White House and ranch. That was all in four days. Our dogs were barkin'! It was a great visit and I'm glad that we got to spend some time together and learn more about the history and the area.

As far as work, we've had about a month or so off from games and we're about to enter into another busy stretch of traveling and hosting games in West Texas. Next weekend, we are headed to Menard and Van Horn. Van Horn is pretty close to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, so I'm going to use my new birthday gifts and go camping for a week! I'm really excited to go on this adventure and explore even more of Texas. I'm still finalizing my itinerary, but I plan to see Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Marfa and Big Bend National Park. Big Bend is going to be the main attraction and I'm spending three days there. It's the biggest national park in the system but one of the least visited b/c it's so remote. It's along the bend of the Rio Grande River that forms the border of Texas and Mexico. It will be so much fun taking pictures, camping, hiking and checking out some ranger lead programs. I have a lot to do to prepare for that as well as make sure all my responsibilities for work are covered, since it's a busy time. It's not guaranteed that I'll even have cell phone coverage where I'm going let along Wi-Fi. I shouldn't even be blogging right now when my To Do List is a mile long! I will post again once I've finalized my itinerary for the upcoming journey. Off to run errands!

512 Fit Club

I'm so bad at coming up with the titles. I wanted to point out a few updates on my side bar. My friend, Rachel McHadiashar turned me on to a few new to me blogs. I didn't realize that she had a new blog herself and had to do some reading to catch up on her life. Unclutterer and Chris Guillbeau seem to have some great tips on organization and travel, two things I enjoy! Thanks Rachel! I also found a couple Austin based blogs, one on fashion and one on things to do around the city.

On Fridays, I've been attending 512 Fit Club and it's been good motivation to get moving again. A small group gets together and works through a 30 minute workout from the Beachbody videos. We've done Tony Horton's yoga, Turbo Jam, Brazil Butt Lift and try a different one each week. I have done a good job of doing much during the week in between, but today I bought Jillian Michaels's 30 Day Shred. I just did it a little while ago and it was hard, but I enjoyed it. My lower body was already sore from Brazil Butt Lift, so I'm sure tomorrow will be fun. Jillian's dvd has 3 levels and I think it will take me awhile to get to the other levels. I really want to stay motivated and get back in shape.

As far as March Madness goes, Kansas lost in the second round...are you kidding me?!?! My bracket is garbage already. Ugh. Poor Jayhawks. :-(

Boots!

This is a pretty lame post, but I bought some boots on eBay last week and they arrived this morning. I'm so excited about them! The are Steve Madden, Buck in taupe suede and they are a little bit darker than the picture. I can wear them over jeans and with skirts. They have a bit of a western flair, but not too much and remind me a little of riding boots; I love the buckles. I can't wait to wear them. I looked online for a long time for some boots that I really like and read lots of reviews, etc. Everywhere I looked, they were either sold out completely, or didn't have my size. I feel like I got really lucky in finding my perfect size 7 on eBay. I guess that's a Happy Birthday present to myself! =)

Words of Affirmation...updated

I realize that I may not have given enough information the first time around with this post. Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called The 5 Love Languages. Basically the idea is that each of us experiences love in one of 5 ways. At least one of those ways is predominant over the other. It's helpful in marriages for each spouse to know the other's love language so that you can give love in the way that they best receive love. This week on the radio, the djs were talking about the book and had the author on-air, so that's what prompted me to take the quiz. You should check out the book...I'd like to read it. What is your love language?

I just took a short quiz to see what my love language is. I always thought that it would be physical touch, but I never read the book or anything. After taking the quiz, I see that words of affirmation is my predominant love language and I guess I'm not really that surprised. Physical touch came in at a close second and quality time was third. Maybe it will be helpful for me to be aware of my own love language. You can take the test too!

Words of Affirmation (this was taken from the profile on the website)
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important–hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

To Carrie On

It's here!!! The Sex and the City 2 Trailer!!! I'm so excited. The clothes look AWESOME. I love love love the fashion and the friends. =)

The Office, Brothers & Sisters, Pictures

I caught up on a couple television programs that I usually watch this weekend. I know The Office is a comedy and while I think it's hilarious, it also has a dramatic side that tugs at my heart strings. I watched the one where Toby is remembering a bunch of things that have happened over the years and the Jim and Pam story gets me every time! That sequence of clips made me cry while the scene where Jim dresses up like Dwight and talks just like Dwight to drive him crazy is SO FUNNY. I couldn't stop laughing even though I'd seen most of those clips before.

I started watching Brothers & Sisters about a month before I left Oxford. It's such a good show. I love their family...they tell each other everything and are very close. It's not a perfect family, they have their share of arguments, but in general they communicate with each other to help resolve things. The Walkers are somewhat dramatic, but the amount of love and support that they show for each other makes me want to jump into the television, join their family and change my last name. Desperate Housewives was good last week too, I think this has been a good season for the show.

I've uploaded some new pictures to facebook and to my flickr account...the link is on my sidebar!

Ya'll

I'm afraid to even admit this, but I think saying "ya'll" might be contagious. I've been traveling a lot to West Texas for work and been spending a lot of time with people who say "ya'll." I haven't said it yet, but I hear it so often that I'm afraid I might pick it up. I don't think that I will pick up a southern accent or anything, but maybe just the word "ya'll." It just sounds so simple, warm and inviting.

I've tried listening to more country music lately too, really since the summer, so I don't think moving to Texas has affected this. I learned that there are a lot of country songs that talk about a broken heart and getting through difficult times in your life and that's what really lead me to it. Some of the lyrics are really touching and I can really relate it to my own life experiences. There are a lot of good songs I've come across that are excellent to sing aloud to. I enjoy some of the more pop-country artists such as Lady Antebellum, Gloriana, Sugarland, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood, among others. I never thought I would enjoy country music, but it's not bad...you should try it. Now, I don't know much about the real twangy stuff with cheezy lyrics, but the pop-country is fun!

In other news, I just want to share that I'm back up in the real world and connected in Microsoft Outlook. Thank goodness!!! It's so nice to be able to use it again...I didn't realize how much I had missed it. =)

My mom just sent me a card that has an article about the new baby giraffe at the Toledo Zoo. He is soooo incredibly cute! His name is Enzi and mom (Elvira) and baby seem to be doing well. That reminds me, I should try to check out some of the zoos around here! OK, I'm off to finish packing for my third weekend trip to West Texas.

LOST, Work and Reunions

Did everyone get to see LOST tonight? Crazy stuff is happening, as usual. And as usual, I'm pretty confused by it. Don't worry, I won't write anything about what's going on, in case people aren't able to watch it or just don't care.

Lately, I've been busy with work, planning lots of alumni football games and traveling with work. We've gone to West Texas the past two weekends for alumni games and it's been fun so far. It's a little tiring trying to get people organized who resist organization and details, but fun at the same time. West Texas is pretty rural, some oil towns and small town USA. We've been getting some decent crowds out there, b/c some of these towns live for football. Both weekends we've played games in the Friday Night Lights stadium, Odessa Ratliff. I haven't seen the movie or the television show or read the book, but I know it's based on Odessa Permian High School and we'll be hosting their alumni game in about a week and a half. Their high school stadium is a smaller version of Yager. It holds about 17,000! For high school football. Crazy. I still can't quite comprehend the idea that I'm getting paid for my work during the week AND I get paid for working games on the weekend. Definitely not used to that! =)

My high school is planning a reunion this year. It will be out 13th year reunion. We haven't had a 5 or a 10, so I guess the class officers had the time to do it now and didn't want to wait any longer. Honestly, I'm not all that interested in going. I always wondered how I would feel about it when the time actually came around to go to a reunion. Now that I live farther away and am still settling in to a new community, I'm not planning to go home for the reunion. I just don't feel the need to go. I'd rather go home later in the summer, around the time a friend is getting married. Maybe I'll feel more like going to the next one. It's not that I feel like a complete failure, like I did five years ago, b/c I feel a little bit more comfortable in my life. It's that I feel like I don't have much in common with what I see people posting on facebook. I'm not married and I don't have kids and that's the stage that most people my age are at in their lives. Part of my hesitation is my underlying social anxiety. I'd rather keep moving forward in my life right now than revisiting my past. Another part of me hopes that by the time we reach the 20 or 25 year reunions, I'll feel even more comfortable in my life and be more inclined to consider going. We'll see! Any thoughts on reunions?

Life in Austin

Things are starting to fall into place with my new life here in Austin. This past week, I was offered a full time position with Alumni Football USA and we completed our first weekend of games here in Texas. It was a lot of fun and I've met some cool people.

Another thing I'm really excited about is PAX. I was officially offered a position as a Community Coordinator. PAX stands for Program of Academic Exchange. My job is to go to local high schools and see if they have room in their enrollment for foreign exchange students. Once I find a couple schools that have spots available, I find potential host families in the area. I use marketing tools to find families that are interested and then interview them, visit their home and determine if they would be a good fit for the program. Basically, see if this is a family and home that I would be comfortable letting my own kid live there. Once the family clears the background check and everything, then I'm their 'go-to' person for the academic year. I check in on the foreign exchange student as well as the host family monthly and make sure they are both having a good experience. They can come to me with any problems that might come up throughout the year. The financial compensation probably isn't that much compared to the number of hours you spend, but this program is just so rewarding to me. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to meet foreign exchange students, learn about other cultures and meet families here in my own community. There are some potential travel benefits as well.

This week, I'm working during the week and then traveling to West Texas, near Odessa for our second weekend of alumni football games. Should be fun, interesting and hard work all at the same time! That's a quick update from me. I'll try to post something more soon and not go so long in between posts. So long!