the lovely, lovely aftermath

Painting = complete!

I literally spent all day yesterday upstairs painting. But it was dark and rainy, so really, pretty perfect for a day spent completely indoors.



I didn't realize it would take as much time and work as it did, but in the end, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. And so are my parents, so everybody wins!

Anyway, it feels nice to have a fresh, clean bedroom. Maybe that'll motivate me to get movin' on all the things I need to do before tomorrow. Thursday morning my parents and I are heading to Rockport for a long July 4th weekend. My aunt and uncle have a house right on the water (it's incredible) and every year they invite us down for the Fourth, but we've never been able to go until this year. Finally! Two of their children/my cousins recently got engaged and will also be in town, so there's plenty to celebrate. I'm so excited!

Oh, and please go away, Tropical Storm Alex.

a life full of mini-adventures

This evening I bought a gallon bucket of Solitude paint. But I mean, "Solitude" is just Valpor's nonsensical way of saying "periwinkle blue." What sillies.

Anyway, I just slathered some on one of my walls and I have to say, so far, I'm liking the effect. I plan on slathering all the walls tomorrow. The room I'm currently living (staying?) in is the room I had all through high school, after my family moved here when I was fifteen. It's small; I suppose I could say it's cozy if I was trying to be cute about it. But in actuality, it's just small. These days it's filled with guest room furniture since that's what it functioned as during the four and a half years I was away at college. Now that I'm once again occupying the space, I'm trying to find a balance between feeling at home while also still living out of boxes. I'm hesitant to get totally comfortable because I obviously want to be here for as little time as possible (no offense, dearest Mother & Father). However, it's been six months, and I'm getting a little tired of being surrounded by oil paintings and excessive amounts of silk plants.

So I'm finally getting around to what I've wanted to tackle since I was a sophomore in high school: painting the walls. I think it'll give me something to do and also help me to feel a little more ownership for the time being.

Plus, I love painting.

Wish me luck. :)



PS: The family reunion over the weekend was wonderful! Mitch's family was really sweet and I even won a couple rounds of dominoes. Whoop!

lake texhoma, here i come!

After the (excessively enormous) lunch Sarah and I just shared, all I really want to do is take a nap. Instead I must finish packing and then meet up with Mitch so we can begin our journey to Lake Texhoma! This weekend is his family reunion, so we are headed their way for three days and two nights of family fun. I think.

In reality I'm quite nervous.

Shocker of all shockers, I'm naturally shy, especially when placed in situations where I know no one. Plus I really want his family to like me. Fingers crossed!


Happy weekend, everyone. :)

oh, and i'm on my way to believing

When I was young, I saw my daddy cry & curse at the wind
He broke his own heart

And I watched as he tried to reassemble it

And my mama swore that she would never let herself forget

That was the day that I promised

I'd never sing of love if it doesn't exist

But, darling, you are the only exception

You are the only exception

Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul that love never lasts

And we've got to find other ways

To make it alone and keep a straight face
I've always lived like this

Keeping a comfortable distance

And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness

'Cause none of it was ever worth the risk

Well, you are the only exception

You are the only exception

And I'm on my way to believing

Oh, and I'm on my way to believing

...

*Love and thanks to my dear friend Sarah for turning me onto this song today. And for playing it on repeat the entire way home. :)

today

Today, so far, I am thankful for...

:: Whataburger breakfast
:: Speeding tickets costing $100 less than anticipated
:: Clark Kent :)
:: Commercial-free Mondays on KISS FM
:: The Jamie Foxx billboard as I drove through Terrell, TX (for making me laugh like always)
:: More fun summer weekends to come
:: Sweet, sweet text messages from Mitch
:: The World Cup AND Wimbledon!
:: My beloved and trusty iPhone
:: Having the house all to my self this week (bliss)


Thank you, God, for a great week's beginning.

hey na na na hey hey na na na na

I really love 3OH!3. And I don't care what haters say.

They're fun, hilarious and, god, it cracks me up that they're just two white guys from Colorado. Anyway, their new CD is due out in a couple weeks and I'm super excited about it, so I''ve been YouTubing several of their new songs that have leaked (ie. House Party, Touchin' on My, Deja Vu, I Can Do Anything, My First Kiss).

All make me want to p-a-r-t-y. And do little else.

Today, however, I'm especially feelin' Double Vision, also from their upcoming album, Streets of Gold. Badass beat. I can't get enough.

The sun is so hot

The drinks are so cold

Your clothes just fall off as the day go

We're gonna stay up

Ain't gonna lay low

We're gonna dance all night because we say so

I'm thinking maybe I can't have relationships

'Cause lately they're not making any sense

And, baby, you're the one thing on my mind

But that could change any time

'Cause there's so many fine women that my head is spinning

And I've lost all feeling

Everybody's singing like

Hey na na na hey hey na na na na

'Cause there's so many fine women that my head is spinning

And I'm seeing double vision

Everybody's singing like

Hey na na na hey hey na na na na

Hey na na na hey hey na na na na

Let's go outside

Shut down the whole block

Watch the girls strut by like it's a catwalk

We're livin' easy

We got the whole day

And we can go hard no matter what the cops say

I see no vitals on your EKG

Dead on the dance floor

We only clap because we need more 3OH!3 blowin' out your speakers

Blowin' out your speakers

mishmash: june

I can't stop watching HGTV and the World Cup and this it's because I got fired a little over two weeks ago and, therefore, have nothing else to do.


Whaaat?


I know. I knowwwwwww.


This is surprising, no? Especially since I had just gotten a raise and a promotion, like, ten days prior? To be completely honest, I'm still not entirely certain why I was let go. Our CFO, Brian, came into my office, and said "Hey, ummmmm...sorry, but it's not working out. We're letting you go. Ummmm...we love you as a person, but...yea. Sorry." HA. Honestly, though, I'm assuming they just realized that I wasn't going to be staying with them long-term, and so it was easier to let me go now and hire/train someone who was more permanent. Which is fine. I understand, and I actually agree that that's probably what's best for the company. However, it would have been super if they could have not given me incredible job security and then, BOOM!, out of the blue fire me. Handled. So. Poorly.


I could teach them a thing or two about effective & proper communication.


So, that being said and that being the scenario, I find myself once again at square one. It's frustrating, yes, and pretty overwhelming when I consider all the bills I have rolling in (which are, weird, difficult to pay without any income). But I'm comforting myself with a few realizations:


a. I totally hated working there
b. All my favorite writers/bloggers have also been fired from shit jobs
c. Perhaps this is God giving me a second chance at SUMMER!
d. Things could be way worse


Admittedly, it's taken me these two+ weeks to get to this place, the accepting place where I breathe and sleep and function normally. A lot of things had hit me all at once (ie. a huge speeding ticket, major car repairs needed, getting fired, laptop completely dying, Clark medical issues/vet bills, losing my Aggie ring, etc.). And it's not that any of these things have been solved (I am still laptop-less, dealing with my Louisiana speeding ticket, and up to my ears in vet bills & repair estimates). I guess I've just realized I can't do more than I can do, and I'll just have to be optimistic that help will come in the nick of time.


I've been here in Nac with Mitch since Tuesday because, I mean, why not? I can look for a job on his computer just as easily as on my parent's computer in Grapevine. So Clark and I have been camped out in his apartment, sleeping late and watching a lot of TV while Mitch works tennis camps and teaches lessons. Three of his best friends are coming to visit this weekend and they'll be here tonight, so that should be fun. Then tomorrow night is Caro's sister Elizabeth's wedding in Silsbee! I'm terribly excited to see Caro for the first time in two months (sickkk) and to celebrate with the Sweatt family. Monday means back to Grapevine and back to reality, but meh, that's three days away. :)


In the meantime, when I'm not sleeping, HGTVing, or World Cupping, I'm looking for teaching jobs. The same thing I've been doing since December. Ugh.


I keep reminding myself that most districts don't require their teachers to file resignations until mid- to late-July, so there's still plenty of time for me to hear something. I've literally applied for over four hundred jobs in the past six months. That's not depressing at all, right? Haha. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me that I get a call from a school in the next month or two so that I won't continue to be destitute.


For now, I think I'll call the wonderful sheriff's department in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana and excitedly learn how much money I'll get to pay them. Awesome!




PS: Oh, and my mom called yesterday afternoon to say she found my Aggie ring!! Maybe this is where my luck starts! :)