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..

for morgan

Today Morgan, Mitch's baby sister, turns 18 and is one step closer to graduating, moving away to college and becoming an independent adult.

Yikes.

Djohariah by Sufjan Stevens

I've mentioned Morgan (and our tumultuous relationship) a few times before, although I think it's been many months since I've said anything about her at all. That would probably be because, long story short, we had a falling out around Christmas (isn't it cute how the holidays bring out the very best in everyone?) and things have been tense ever since. It's unfortunate and, okay, I haven't exactly taken the high road every minute of every day. So sue me.

All the same, it's a big day and it felt silly (wrong, even) not to acknowledge such a milestone in Morgan's life.

So, today (and this post!) is for you, Morgan. You're 18 now and practically all-grown up, eagerly anticipating August and your big move to San Marcos. I'm so proud of how you've excelled in school, how hard you've worked at tennis, and how fiercely you love your family. We, you and I, may have gotten off to a rocky start two years ago and, yes, we may have had more downs than ups between us, but I'm happy to know you. I'm happy to be listed as your sister on Facebook. And I'm happy to love you.

Happy birthday. :)


PS: I know it's 4/20 and all, but no getting into the ganja today, okay? But it's my birthday! will get you no where with the police. Trust me.

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.

for kelsey

Y'all, today is Kelsey's not-21st birthday. Holla.

Kelsey, me and Harrison after an Ol' Ags crush party, spring 2009 and proof that I've third-wheeled with them for what feels like forever
(note: It's true -- I even third-wheeled it into their surprise engagement party this past December. EMBARRASSING.)
I've mentioned her several times via this blog as she is one of my very closest friends. You may recall her as the girl I spend my Jerzdays with. We met through her now fiancé, Harrison, back when they first started dating in the fall of 2008. I was dating one of Harrison's good friends at the time and, as a result, we all spent quite a bit of time together. Even after Harrison's friend and I split, the friendships between myself and the friends I had met through that relationship continued on, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Santa's Wonderland, Christmas 2008
We've known each other for years now, but the past year in particular has brought us closer together than we ever were in college. Being that we both live in Dallas, Kelsey and I (and Harrison, too -- we just can't seem to get ride of that guy) began spending more time together, whether it be couples' game night, going away for a weekend at Lake Granbury, sitting with me while I got my tattoo, scouting an 80s cover band, or simply spending every Thursday together watching the Jerz.

Jersey Shore party, September 2010
(Note: Kelsey made those awesome glasses I'm rocking)
In December, Kelsey and Harrison got engaged, by the way, and I'm entirely too interested in their wedding planning, maybe even more so than Harry. C'mon, August 11, 2012!

And Kelsey, seriously...if you can convince Harrison to let you have an adult flower girl...you know I'm all over that shit. Just sayin'.

Finally.
You know, moving back home after graduation last December was something I really dreaded, especially since all of my friends had moved to Austin. However, Kelsey living nearby and having the opportunity to deepen our friendship has been one of my greatest joys. She's smart, fun, beautiful, and damn crafts-y (seriously, she can make anything out of anything, it's ridic). I look forward to Thurdsays every week and I think she'd agree that we're both pretty blessed by the bromance going on between our boys. :)

So today (and this post!) is for you, Kelsey. I wouldn't have made it through my first year back in Dallas without you, your love and support. Happy birthday and I love you!

They are a very attractive couple.