Fourth of July

I'm a little late on this.  It's a good excuse to blog about something other than The Bachelorette.  I can still feel the last remnants of Fourth of July celebrations!  I had the opportunity to go out on Lake Travis (with mostly strangers) and got to see fireworks.  Last year, fireworks were banned in Austin and most of Texas b/c of the wildfire danger and drought conditions.  The year before I missed out on fireworks too, so it was awesome to be able to enjoy them this year.  It was a decent show, but not what I'm used to in either Toledo for the 4th or Cincinnati for Labor Day, where they do it up big with a major production with themed music and everything.  I was only missing the patriotic music.  We went swimming throughout the day and I got to try tubing!  The name sounds deceiving though b/c I consider a tube to have a hole in the middle, but whatever.  Unfortunately, I got whiplash and can still feel it a little in my neck.  I feel like I was in a car accident.  It was a lot of fun though at the time.

Other notes:

• 30 Day Shred has literally shredded my legs the past couple of days and it hurts to move. :-/  Hoping the thunder will stay away and let me swim tonight instead.  
• We got some rain!  There hasn't been a drop since sometime in May.  I always love a good thunder storm.
• I'm no longer working three jobs.  Finished my last day at the sweatshop two weeks ago and no longer working as a ticket seller.  I'm now able to work in marketing at UT 40 hours a week.  Still no benefits, but it could be in the (hopefully) near future.  It will take some time to adjust, I'm not used to a normal routine.
• Last week was actually higher temperatures in Ohio than in Texas!  We were sitting right at 100 about  everyday.
• I learned how to create a Virtual Bridal Shower and am currently hosting one for my friend, Terri.  She's getting married August 4 and it's a great way to do something long distance.
• Zac Brown Band has a new album.  I heard a bit of it last night and seems like it's going to be another great album.  Not a surprise, coming from them!
• Our department moved into brand new offices and we're now located in the North End Zone (NEZ) of the Texas football stadium.  I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty fancy!
• I worked out 14 times in June.  My goal is to work out 16 times in July.  I've done five workouts so far, so hopefully it's attainable.  I can't let laziness win!

Camping Disaster

Jason and I tried to camp this past weekend at Padre Island National Seashore.  I say try because it seemed we had one disaster happen after another.  The drive down to Corpus Christi was great...no problems and we found cheap gas and finally a salsa we love.  Once we got there, it was after dark, so we couldn't see the water or any of the surroundings.  We drove into the park and tried to figure out where to set up our campsite.  At Padre Island National Seashore, you can drive on the beach up to five miles with a two-wheel drive car and lot further with a four-wheel drive vehicle.  Big mistake.  We got stuck in the soft sand.  Tried to dig ourselves out (without a shovel) with no luck.  After quite a few tries, a ranger drove up, making his usual rounds.  Thank goodness!  He pulled us out and we went straight to the actual campground.  Not gonna bother with primitive camping at this point.  So we pull into a campsite and walk around.  The sites were a little bumpy, so I walked around to another one.  I had on water shoes that were now totally filled with sand after digging the car out of the beach and my feet were burning like crazy.  Then my arm pits started itching.  I just tried to ignore it as we were setting up the tent.  Just as we were putting the final touches on the sides of the tent, Jason realized he stepped in an ant hill and was getting bit!  Hence, why my feet burned.  We found more piles of ants and just got in the tent immediately to get away from them.  It was HOT in there and of course I started sweating immediately.  I felt miserable, but I thought, "I'm just going to lay down and try to relax."  WRONG!  As soon as I laid down, my top lip swelled.  If you haven't experienced this, it's a VERY odd feeling.  I'm like, "we gotta get out of here!"  Jason wasn't feeling too hot either.  So I just drove.  I drove all the way back to Corpus Christi and thought I'd go to Walmart or something and get some sort of medication.  I wasn't really thinking clearly and ended up checking into a Motel 6 and took a shower.  By then, I had hives all over my body, mostly in spots where I sweat the most: arm pits, scalp, inner thighs, etc.  Not fun!  After that, I was worn out and just fell asleep, hearing in the background that the Heat won the NBA finals (boo).

The next morning, my hives were pretty much gone and my upper lip was just a little bit swollen.  We went a couple places and then headed back to our campsite.  We checked out the area a little better this time and decided to move our tent onto the beach.  No ants on the beach!! Yay!  Now we were sittin' in butter.  Got everything good to go and had a pretty good day.  We boogie boarded (not sure that is the correct verb) and enjoyed the beach.  We cooked a yummy dinner and walked on the beach after 11 p.m.  I've never been on the beach that late and been able to sleep right there!  We didn't walk far though b/c all the crabs come out at night and they are kinda creepy in the dark.  What if they got our toes?!  I doubt they'd do anything and they were a lot of fun to watch.  Their little legs go SO fast!  Some are teeny tiny and some are huge!

Saturday was decent except for our picnic table being under water 95% of the day.  This weekend Padre Island had the highest tide it's had in years and our tent was just spared.  The day was relaxing and just hanging out by the water, walking on the beach and more boogie boarding.  We started making dinner and it got really windy.  So windy that our tent wouldn't stay down.  At this point, we gave up.  We had planned to stay another night, but the wind was just too much and what if the tide was even higher?  I guess it was remnants of a tropical storm brewing in the gulf.  We packed up and got the heck outta there!

Sunday, we stopped in San Antonio and ate a picnic lunch right outside the zoo and I even got to stop at the Vera Bradley store.  Too hot and not enough money for shopping!  Unfortunately, there's a lot of work when you return from camping.  We are doing a little bit each day to get everything cleaned up and I hope to get organized a little better with my storage.  All in all, it was great to get away and be by the water and hey, at least we tried.

I can now say that the swelling has gone down in my left foot (one with the most ant bites) and it might not hurt to wear a shoe tomorrow.  I just have to not scratch!

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.

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!