for kelley

A week-ish ago, one of my very best friends, Kelley, turned 24.

DANCE DANCE DANCE DANCE

I'm awful because I didn't make time (here) to recognize it, but I'm making up for it now even though I'm 99% certain she doesn't even read this blog. It's okay. It's the thought that counts.

Dancing (like sluts) to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (obvi) at MSC Hospitality's semi-formal, 2008.

Kelley and I became friends way back during the summer after my freshman year of college. I was in the middle of transferring to Texas A&M and busy buddy-ing up to my new BFF Kristin when I met this gem of a lady. They were counselors in Fish Camp together (and so cool I could barely stand it) and, oh my, I was so intimidated. Just look at her! She's so cute! And funny (although I guess it might be hard to tell THAT from just a picture)! And she dances like a black girl!

Am I allowed to say things like that?

Y'all know what I mean.

BTHO t.u., 2009.

It actually look us a little time to become close, probably because we were both friends with Kristin and there's always going to be some rivalry in that situation. I'm so happy it didn't last long, though, because by our sophomore year I really considered her one of my best friends and have ever since. Kelley's one of the sweetest, most precious people you'll ever meet. She's a wiz in the kitchen, craftsy & handy with just about anything from making pillowcases out of cloth napkins to scrapbooking, and really just a genuinely kind person. I love her more than I can ever truly express.

In College Station for May graduations, 2010.

So today (and this post!) is for you, Kelley. I miss you, but I'm proud of you for working so hard in Austin. Your never-ending optimism (even when you're sad!) inspires me. I'm sorry this isn't appearing your birthday as it should have, but all the same, I love you and I hope today is better than the 18th, meaning I hope some kid doesn't poop his pants again. That sucked.


PS: I really wanted to embarrass you but then realized I don't, in fact, have a copy of that picture of you drunk crawling on your hands & knees through the streets of Italy. You know, the one where you can see totally down your dress? Man. That would have been neat..

true life: my bff is a trekkie

My BFF Kristin is a Trekkie. I probably should have mentioned this last week when I wrote about how awesome she is because, really, y'all need to know that even beautiful people are weird on the inside.

Thanks to gchat for making the following conversation possible.*

Also thanks to FACEinHOLE.com, obviously.

Kristin: okay so

the borg is the group that they call The Collective. And i honestly don't know how it started....i might look that up later

but anyway

there's thousands of them

and they are these weird robot thingys. but what makes them scary is that they all used to be people, but when they conquer a new group of people, they "assimilate" them. so they jab this thing into your neck and it plants this bug into you that turns you into a robot

and so there's no individuality, and no human traits left.

me: Oh my god

Kristin: (and actually, you don't have to be human to be assimilated)

so they're totally heartless, but they all think as one because The Collective shares thoughts and memories

so they can beat ANYBODY

because if they assimilate a person that knows something about weapons defense for one race, the whole Collective knows.

me: That actually makes a lot of sense

Kristin: and they would say this phrase that was something like, "Prepare to be assimilated. Resistance is futile."

it scared the shit out of me when i was little

and then you lose your name, you just become a number

so there's your number in the collective, but then there's number that you're commonly known as

and there was one Borg that the Voyager actually saved, and her name was Seven of Nine

and they got her whole family and everything, and they removed part of the robot stuff that was infecting her, so she had to relive everything she saw right before she was assimilated

that wasn't a happy episode

i'm sure there are more technical names for all this, but, thank god, i don't know them.

me: No, I think you've already proved that you know more than enough

Kristin: SHUT UP, THIS IS WHAT I LIKE.

me: This is so going on my blog

Kristin: whatever. i'm proud of who i ma.

me: I'm proud of who I ma, too

Kristin: goddammit. screw you.

*It should be noted that I in no way incited this conversation. This was all Kristin, all the time.

for kristin

Happy birthday to this girl:

Oh, Kristin, you are so welcome.

Universe, I'm not sure that y'all have been properly introduced on this here blog, but this is one of my very best friends, Kristin. Kristin, the Universe. We've been best friends for, what?, five years now? Something like that? We met our freshmen year at A&M, fell in love, and, well, you know how the story goes: lived happily every after. No, but seriously.

Football season 2006 and my all-time favorite picture of us. :)

It's much harder now to maintain our BFFdom, seeing as she's in Austin and I'm up here in Dallas, but through phone and gchat (what a godsend), we make it work. After so many years invested, I think it'll take more than simply living four hours apart to come between us.

Halloween 2007. Here I can be seen chopping Kristin in the stomach with a plastic ax because why wouldn't I?

When talking to other people, I like to describe Kristin as my hot friend with the big boobs. And it's true. Maybe you can't tell from the pictures, but I swear, she's got 'em. Plus she's got the whole blonde-hair-blue-eyed thing going on. Guys are basically at her mercy, something she's almost always oblivious to. Hilarious. And this once again reinforces my point that I truly have the bangingest of friends.

Texas A&M v. Baylor, 2008. Gig'em!

Along with all my other Briarwood lovers, Kristin is an Aggie, enjoys the occasional drink and, unlike all of my other Briarwood lovers, has a thing for athletes. And VIPs. And 30-year old men. Have I said too much?

BTHO t.u., 2009. Damn, we've gone to a lot of football games together from the looks of these pictures.

So, today (and this post!) is for you, Kristin. Twenty-four is going to be your year, I can just feel it. I love you with my whole heart, maneater-status or not, and am so grateful to have had a friend like you for the past five years. Here's to five million more!


PS: For a special treat, see a picture of Kristin on her twenty-first birthday here. It's the first picture. You can't miss it.

PPS: Kristin, I hope you still love me. Happy birthday?

i'm alive, i swear: post-birthday edition

Let me just start off by saying that between substitute teaching, living in Forney during the week and my birthday festivities, I have spent only two nights in my own bed over the course of the past three weeks. Say what??

Things have been crazy, y'all, but crazy-good.

I had so enjoyed getting into the practice of writing nearly every day and, let's face it, as a writer, that's beyond important, but with everything that's been going on, I've found literally no time to even check anyone else's blogs let alone post on my own. I don't care if it's weird, but that's been tough. Anyway...

This will just be a mishmash post since a lot has happened during my brief hiatus. Let's get on with it:


Substitute Teaching...
...is a total dream. I love it. The more I sub the more I'm convinced I'm supposed to be a teacher...but the less I'm convinced I'm supposed to work for a district. What I mean is I've started worrying over the past three weeks that maybe I'm too out there to be a regular ol' teacher. I definitely don't like being put into a box, wading through red tape, etc. I just want to be able to do what I want when I want and blahblahblah I'm apparently a rebellious sixteen-year old all over again and YOU'RE NOT MY REAL MOM SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE OKAY GOSH. Being a substitute teacher is so freeing because I don't have to be regular; I can let the kids sit on the floor while they work. I can hug them when the day is over (okay, I'm technically not allowed to do that, but when a sweet kid runs at me full-force and throws their arms around me, I'm not going to push them away, duh). I can say "suck it" in casual conversation. I can have a tattoo. Okay, so, again, technically maybe I'm not allowed to do any of those things either, but I do and the kids love me. And the other teachers love me. And I'm doing a great job. No, Mom, that's not me being full of myself; that's recognizing when I'm good at something, which is rare, so let me have my moment. Jeeeeeez.

I could honestly go on and on and on about all this (seriously, ask any of my annoyed friends), but I'll save it for another day. Besides, I can already feel myself getting all worked up and it's too early in the morning for a stress rash.


Obedience School...
...is over! And, yes, Pete graduated! So what if it was a pity, you-paid-the-money-so-I-guess-we'll-pass-him kind of graduation, it still counts. And he even wore one of those totally lame and adorable mortar boards. Duh, I took a bazillion pictures. Way to go, Pete! You can roll over, but you still swipe food off the kitchen counters and rip my mom's plants out of the ground.

We just really wanted to make this whole get-a-picture-while-Pete's-wearing-a-graduation-cap thing work.

Awkward.

What an adorable family pic, complete with what appears to be Clark Kent having a goddamn seizure. Way to ruin it, CLARK.

MATTHEW BRODERICK TRAINER! Thanks, Scott, for indulging our creepiness and taking a picture with us.

Oh yea, and a picture of the infamous Mia. Bitch.


My Birthday...
...was last Wednesday, the 16th, and I am officially (not) old. What up, 24! Show me what you've got! No, but seriously, so far being twenty-four is all right. The weekend before, a bunch of my friends got together for an impromptu house party which made us all feel like we were in college again, followed by (even more?) drinks and karaoke. I'd never realized I actually knew all the words to If You Wanna Be My Lover until we sang it because, let's face it, the Spicegirls are total crowd-pleasers. Then later I fell off a curb by a valet stand and into a muddy ditch. Mature. This past weekend, however, I trekked down to visit my best friends in Austin for a little post-birthday celebration. That's what happens when your actual birth day falls on a shitty Wednesday -- you get two birthday weekends. Anyway, it was pretty chill, but we did venture out to West 6th Street on Saturday night where I only spent eight dollars because some thirty-two year old Persian dudes came out of nowhere and bought us shots. One of them's birthday was the day after mine and he only hit on me a little, so I felt like it was okay to hang with them. No worries, Mitch has been informed and dare I say he's proud of me? Later while stopped at a red light we screamed out the car windows at an awkward couple until they made out. I repeat: mature.

And since I am still camera-less (read: DEPRESSED), I have no pictures from this past weekend. Instead please enjoy this throwback picture of my BFFs and I from our graduation night, December 2009:

We only deceptively have our shit together.

So, in a nutshell, that's what's been going down in Texas, y'all.

Howdy. I'm Andrea. I'm a twenty-four year old substitute teacher in Dallas, girlfriend to a man who should never under any circumstances be left alone with hair clippers as he will forget to leave himself sideburns, friend to bangin' yet equally immature twenty-somethings, and mother to two of the world's most thieving, conniving dogs.

And this is my universe.

a collection of facts & feelings

If I lived alone, I'd probably spend less time wearing pants.

Being a middle school photographer makes me feel like a rockstar when the kids are excited to see me and remember my name.

I wish I could eat Taco Bueno party burritos like, all day, every day.

This absolutely cracks me up.

Sometimes I resent my dogs. And by my dogs, I mostly mean Pete. And that makes me feel like a bad person.

I like that I like beer.

To paraphrase Mandy Moore in License to Wed, I'd marry Mitch Baker tomorrow in a potato sack dress in the middle of a rainstorm if it meant spending the rest of my life with him.

And on that note, I have an inexplicable fascination with all things Mandy Moore.

I really believe in this.

If there's a Law & Order SVU marathon on somewhere, I can kiss all thoughts of productivity goodbye.

Yum. To both.

I wish I took myself more seriously and gave myself more credit.

I waste a lot of time here. And here. And here. And I never get tired of reading this.

My friends are so effortlessly cool and hot at the same time that it makes me feel a lot cooler and hotter just being known and loved by them. Not that looks are the most important thing in the world; I just happen to have really bangin' friends.

Briarwood. My bad for ruining this picture.

Which reminds me of the time in ninth grade athletics that our teacher asked us what was the most important thing to look for in friends and I answered ummmm...they have to be good looking? No one laughed and I was sent to the principal's office. I went to private school where no one was funny. IT WAS A JOKE, BITCHES. Whatev. I'm over it.

Anyway, it's Tuesday. I love Tuesdays. Happy Tuesday, y'all.

twenty-ten, over & out

Two thousand and ten, you were quite the challenge when it came to life post-grad. I turned 23, fell in love, tried my hand at accounting (wtf?), dealt with unemployment, terrible employment, and unemployment once again, spent a lot of money enjoying a summer I didn't expect to have, thankfully attended more weddings than funerals, got a tattoo, watched too much Jersey Shore while drinking too much wine, made new friendships while rekindling the old, became the proud mother of two (count 'em, TWO) dogs and kissed my sanity goodbye.

Thanks for the ups, let's forget the downs, and here's to a fantastic year ahead of us all!

BRING IT ON, 2011.

love is a temple

...You say, one love
One life...

We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other

You say, love is a temple
Love is a higher law
Love is a temple
Love is the higher law

One love
One blood
One life
You've got to do what you should
One life with each other, my sisters [and my brothers]

One life, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other

things that (always) make me happy

My friends being trashclasstastic always brightens my day. Kisses!

mishmash: may

I honestly don't enjoy being moody, despite popular belief.

I don't like not liking my work. I don't like acting irritable when I get home because I'm frustrated by living with my parents. I don't like literally living for the weekends alone. That's silly and it's stupid. I try to give myself pep talks in order to remind myself that I do have the ability to adopt a more positive mindset. I really do.

...

take a good look at yourself & know

you've got yourself a ways to go

but difficult is not impossible

you can take back all the lost control

...

The words to the bridge of Relient K's Hope for Every Fallen Man (above) always bring me such peace and comfort. From time to time I need a reminder that yes, I've got a ways to go but no, difficult isn't impossible and I can take back all the lost control.

And besides, there really is so much to be grateful for. The next several weekends are going to be busy and wonderful. College Station for my best friend Kristin's graduation. Briarwood Semi-formal. Yoga classes. Roadtrip to Mandevilla/NOLA with Mitch over Memorial weekend. :) Free Press Summer Fest music festival in Houston. My brother's wedding/open bar reception. DrUncle Sam 4th of July Party Barge on Lake Conroe. Family reunion. Briarwood floats tha rivaaa. There will be wonderful times with wonderful friends and I am most definitely thankful for that.

In other news, today I am especially grateful for weekends spent watching my boyfriend kick ass in tennis tournaments. I was such the proud fan. :)

now let's pretend like it was all-good

Oh, Monday, I always wish you were Friday.

This weekend was absolutely lovely, though, and I was finally able to visit my friends in Austin! We didn't do a ton, but it was wonderful and relaxing. When Jordan and I got into town on Friday night we met up with Caroline for dinner at a place I can't remember the name of...but it had a great patio and the weather was nice. :) We spent most of the day Saturday laying by the pool, talking and getting progressively more sunburned. Kristin was able to meet up with with us that night for dinner at El Arroyo and then a little fun on West 6th Street. Annnnd I was super excited to see Kelley for even a little bit on Sunday; she and Mike joined Jordan, Caroline and I for brunch at the Iron Cactus on 6th, which by the way was super yummy. I wish I had remembered to take more pictures, but I was distracted. It felt so good to just be with my people again.

Briarwood lives on. SFP.

...

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky
Are like shooting stars?

I could really use a wish right now

Wish right now

Wish right now

...

In other news, I received my test scores for the EC-6 generalist exam I (unexpectedly) had to take last week and I passed! Oh, and please listen to Airplanes Pt. 2 by B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams (of Paramore) and Eminem. It's fantastic and I've been listening to it all weekend/morning.

can anybody find their home?

I've been listening to Sunshine by Keane a lot today. The melody is so soothing and the lyrics, while a little strange, draw me in for some inexplicable reason. Anyway, I'm loving it.

I cannot believe how quickly this past weekend went by. I feel like I blinked and it was over. On Friday night I diligently spent the evening prepping for Saturday's district job fairs. Of course that's no one's favorite Friday night, but mehhh.

Saturday morning I went to Cedar Hill ISD's job fair and was surprised by how much I liked it out there. It's kind of far from where I am now (about 45 minutes), but I don't really mind. Everyone was split up between elementary and secondary; that always confuses me only because with 4-8 certification, I'm eligible for both. Anyway, normally in that situation I just stop by the elementary side first, do my "interview" and then head over to the secondary side and repeat. However, at Cedar Hill we were only allowed one interview so we had to just pick a side. I impulsively chose elementary and was kind of having second thoughts when they finally called me back to meet with someone, but my gosh, I'm really glad I made the choice I did. The woman who "interviewed" me ended up being the Language Arts director for the entire district! After we talked for awhile, she told me I had great energy and that she was definitely going to pass on my resume, etc. to the intermediate school principals (5th and 6th grades). Then she told me to just wait for a phone call. I felt like that was really positive, and I'm cautiously optimistic I'll hear from them.

I had planned on also going to Irving ISD and Richardson ISD's job fairs, but on the way up to Irving my car started acting funny and I ended up having to make a detour to the mechanic. Hundreds of dollars and two missed job fairs later, it's working fine. Ugh.

On Saturday night, Mitch picked me up for an extremely belated birthday date. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, which was incredible of course, but when we were leaving we saw that it was pouring down rain. And duh, we didn't have an umbrella. We were both totally and completely soaked when we finally made it to the car. So much for looking nice, haha. From dinner we drove into Grand Prairie for the Owl City concert. Seeing as how we're both older than fourteen, we definitely stuck out so we decided to immediately buy drinks in order to flaunt our awesome older-ness. Suck it, pre-teens. We've got beer. Anyway, the concert was wonderful but the drive home felt like it took forever and we were both so tired.

Yesterday after church we saw Death at a Funeral; hilarious. Go see it immediately. If it's even possible, I'm more in love with James Marsden than I was before seeing the movie.

Monday obviously means it's back to the corporate grind. I'm trying so hard every day to be patient with, optimistic about and grateful for the place I'm in. At the same time, though, living at home makes me feel like a rebellious teenager, I'm growing increasingly stressed and nervous about finding a teaching job for the fall, and I miss my friends. This coming weekend I'm going to Austin for a small Briarwood reunion; I can't believe it's been four months since I last saw my friends. How ridiculous is that? Goddamn. I can't wait to enjoy every minute with them!

Oh, and one final thought: I also cannot wait for December when Mitch moves back to Dallas. Sure, Forney's nearly an hour away...but it's better than the three and a half we're at right now! Mitchell, get me a job in Cedar Hill and then do your student teaching in Cedar Hilllllll. M'kay great. :)