prom-allama-ding-dong

“You know, that’s the first dance I’ve been to in a long time and there were no slow songs. When are you supposed to get close to your woman? And I mean in a loving way, not just in a I-wanna-put-my-dick-on-you way.”
-Mitch Baker

Even if I tried, I’m not sure I could have come up with a better quote to sum up Prom 2011.

And yes, you read correctly.

Prom.

Ta-da!

Mitch and I went to prom, and not just because we’re a. creepers or b. super-creepers, but because c. I was there professionally as the photographer. Which means that actually Mitch was there for reasons a. and b. Oops.


Mitch, my mom and I getting ready for THE SINGLE GREATEST NIGHT OF OUR LIVES.

We were both really excited about it. Probably too excited. But, y’all, prom as an adult (and I use the term adult loosely, for obvious reasons) isn’t that awesome. Although, to be honest, even when I was in high school I thought prom was a total drag, but that’s probably because, as you may recall, I was a loser with bad hair, and Prom 2005: Here’s to the Night was no exception.

Anyway.

Moving on.

On the ride up to McKinney, Mitch and I took turns guessing which songs the DJ would play. We figured this would be a piece of cake because we’re young, hip and fun. We listen to not only 106.1 and 93.3, but also 97.9 AND 104.5. We know what’s going on with the music of today. Or so we thought. Can I just tell y’all that we made a list of 34 songs (and the official rules of this challenge stated that for every song you picked that was played, the other person had to buy you a drink, obvi), and out of those 34 young, hip, fun songs, only six were played. SIX. I don’t even need to tell you that out of those six, only one was mine, although I guess I just did. So not only was the playlist shit, but now I owe Mitch five beers and I have, like, four dollars, so I guess we’re keepin’ it classy with Keystone.

Unbelievable.

I blame the 6/35 on the DJ, a man who can truly be described as the real OG (here meaning the Original Guido). His excessively-bronzed skin overly accentuated his electric-white teeth, both of which I would have been willingly to overlook all that if the man would have at least played Britney Spears’ Till the World Ends as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, a techno remix of Hey, Soul Sister by Train.

Ummmmmm...

What are you doing, sir?

Look at your life. Look at your choices.

By the time the night was over and we were finally able to make the hour drive home, we were so burned out on BOOOooomOOOOooom BOOM BOOMBOOM BOOM CHIKITAH CHIKITAHCHIKITAH THUNDA THUNDA THUNDA that we just couldn’t handle anything on the radio.

So we turned on 98.7 for some golden oldies, ie. music that didn’t make me feel like I was inside a woofer. Or a strobe light.

And as we drove home, listening to the ever smooth King of Motown, we bitched about kids these days and their damn music, how it’s so loud and just a lot of noise, if you ask me, and so on and so on and so on.

Then it hit me.

We’re old.

Not old-old. Just older, I guess. What I mean is we’re not eighteen anymore, and while it’s the bitter in bittersweet to recognize the loss of (some of) my youth, I gotta tell ya, the sweet part is not only the knowledge and maturity that comes with age, but the confidence that, hell, I’m better than all those young punks.

Suckers.




*A kachillion thanks to Mitchell S. Baker for being a stellar prom date. As always, I was so proud to have you by my side.

You're pretty.

cake balls, puppy dogs, and a Peruvian hat (but not in that order)

My love affair with weekends continues, in case anyone is interested.

On Saturday my friend Diana and I went to the most fabulous little salon in Uptown called Dear Clark Hair Studio for haircuts and complimentary makeovers. I love free stuff (sadly, the haircut was not free). Dear Clark somehow manages to be both chic and adorable, plus there's wine. I also love free booze. The girl who cut my hair, Chantel, is fantastic, so fantastic that not only is this the best haircut I've ever had in my life, but she also made me look so pretty (and, trust me, this is not an easy feat). My new Christmas wish is to be able to style my hair the way she did. Fingers crossed. Anyway, it was such a fun afternoon and I left with a spring in my step.

Last night was Kelsey's white elephant party and let me start off by saying I totally got what I deserved, as much as that sucks. Everyone brought such fun gifts (ie. Mitch walked away with a spaceship alarm clock that projects the time AND PICTURES OF PLANETS on the ceiling!) and it was a blast, except for the part where I ended up with my own stupid gift. That's what I get for buying a talking bobble head of Snooki.

I deserved to walk away with this. Best part? Every time her head moves she says, I'm not trashy...unless I drink too much. It's my new motto. Also, this looks nothing like Snooki.

To be fair, Diana is an excellent friend and gave me the gift she ended up with, the most adorable little Woodland Creatures cookie cutters from IKEA.

I can't wait to make moose cookies!

As the night came to a close, Kelsey gave us all these cute little canisters she made filled with delicious cake balls. Have y'all ever had cake balls? I can't even describe them except to say they're like little drops of heaven. Kelsey also gifted me a bottle of wine with a funny little label she made that says He's the Riesling for the season. Get it? Or are we the only ones who thinks that's funny? It's fine.

Kelsey is so adorable, but y'all've already figured that out.

I feel so blessed to have such sweet and wonderful friends. Sometimes I can't understand why God has been good to me, but I'm grateful all the same.

This morning Mitch and I joined my whole family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.) in attending our church's Christmas play. It was pretty amazing -- there were fireworks that went off inside the auditorium and, at one point, HUGE FLAMES OF FIRE. We felt the heat on our faces all the way in our seats and I'm relatively certain everyone in the first nineteen rows must have walked away sans eyebrows. Later Mitch and I went Christmas shopping for Clark (no, that's not sad; it's AWESOME) because we love her. Note: we frequently joke that we don't want to have kids because we'd really just like to have dogs and vacations, but after spending the afternoon with my cousin's cute (but diva-ish) baby, we may no longer be joking. While we were out, Mitch bought/gave me an early Christmas present: the cutest Peruvian-style winter hat. I'm obsessed. Thanks for being the sweetest boyfriend, Mitchell. :)

I'm gonna rock the shit outta this hat all winter long.

The only thing I can keep saying is how blessed I feel all of a sudden. And it's not that anything has drastically changed, it's just that...I look around me and I feel warm with love for the people in my life. The hat helps, too.

There are a lot of really exciting things that are going to happen this coming week, but for now, they must remain secret. :) All the same, I'll end on a list of things I'm looking forward to (because it's fun to remind myself):

• Mitch now lives in DFW and I can see him whenever I want
• Drinks with friends tomorrow night to celebrate the end of finals
• Couples dinner date night on Thursday (Kelsey and Harrison are seriously the cutest)
• Secrets :)

And now I'll for real end this post with two pictures of Clark because she's the best and I'm really trying to treasure every moment we have together.

You're a beaut.

Oh, Clark Kent, I love you. And I have excellent posture.

mishmash: december

Y'all, basketball picture season is upon us and, let me tell you, I'm exhausted.

Running around the set for nine hours straight, trying to herd together a bunch of screaming pre-teens really takes it outta ya. And for the life of me, I don't remember being that wiggly at twelve and thirteen, but maybe I was. I swear to God, these kids cannot stand still for longer than a split second. And quiet? HA. Maybe in another universe. I lost count of the number of times today I stood on a table and screamed CLOSE YOUR MOUTHS. What a joy.

I have so many blog posts I've started but not finished over the past few days. It's like I can't stay focused (or awake) long enough to get a complete thought out. This has just been one of the most scatterbrained weeks I've ever had, seriously. For example, on Tuesday I dropped off my resume at the front office of one of the middle schools we do pictures at (you know, just so they'd have it on file, just in case) and accidentally wrote "also available for tax tutoring" on a Post-It instead of TAKS. Then I schlepped out to the parking lot, crawled into my car, and died of embarrassment. Hello, Frisco ISD! I'm completely incompetent! HAHAHA!

Ah, good times.

Anyway, Friends re-runs are calling my name (one of my many comfort activities...as opposed to, you know, comfort foods), but before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures from (an impromptu) girls' night out last weekend.



Kelsey, me and Diana met Big Al Mack from Kidd Kraddick in the Morning and squealed like little girls. This was also before I decided to start using my cute mustard yellow scarf as a towel. Yikes.

My new friend Eileen. She just moved here from Chicago a couple months ago and I think it's safe to say she's slowly but surely falling in love with Dallas. And me.

I just love it when old friendships are rekindled. Here I am seen obnoxiously clinging to my little (or rather, tall) loverbugg, Diana.

Tomorrow's Friday which means only one and a half days left until Kelsey's bumpin' White Elephant party on Saturday night. I. Can't. WAIT. I love holiday parties!

Oh, and did I mention Mitch moves home tomorrow? No big deal. :)

All right, peace up.

A-town down. And out.

a very Townsend-Baker thanksgiving

Holidays are lovely, but they really throw off me off, ie. I've thought it was Sunday all day.

I hope everyone had a tasty Thanksgiving! Mitch and I spent time with our families (one of his family traditions is to play a dominoes game called Train whenever everyone's together, which I discovered I'm not good at) and ate two Thanksgiving dinners. I was also able to take a few (non-professional) family photos of the Bakers during one of the brief moments it stopped raining, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Bakers. :)

Favorite Thanksgiving day moment:
laying on the couch & inadvertently spooning Morgan (and the bonding continues...)

I wish we had a picture of the aforementioned spooning, but I suppose this'll do.

I don't like to take normal pictures because they highlight my hideousness but, my god, Mitch has never looked sexier.

On Friday my parents had us take a quick family photo out at a nearby park since my brother and sister-in-law were in town for the holiday. Note: I hate being in pictures, so I was a less-than-happy camper, but whatev. However, it was pretty cute that my family included Mitch in our photo shoot; I thought that was just precious. I guess there's no going back now, eh Mitch? You're on the Christmas card. You're officially stuck with us.

left to right: Mitch, Clark, me, Mama, Dad, my sister-in-law Amy and my brother Benton
(and I'm beyond annoyed that my mom and I look like the same person ughhh)

The rest of this long weekend has consisted of traveling back and forth to Dallas for various reasons (movies, an interview, parties, etc.) and, finally, resting. I can't believe I still have another day of this left! Thanks for taking your sweet time, Sunday.

Oh, and the interview I had today? I think it went well, but I won't find out until Monday whether or not I'll be selected for a second interview. So...we'll see!

Thanksgiving, I cannot believe you have already come & gone, but thank you for bringing together family and food, as well as a cold front. And although I'm grateful for the memories we've made together, it's time to move on. I hope you understand, Thanksgiving...

It's Christmas season, bitches. :)

weekend.

Is it really Monday already?

I fully expected this weekend to dull me to tears, but it ended up flying by! Gotta love that. Saturday night my friend Kelsey and I ended up having an impromptu slumber party at my house, complete with my dog, Clark Kent, and her too-cute-for-words puppy, Hazel. Needless to say, Clark and Hazel are totes besties and played for hours, which made us very happy. I haven't had a slumber party in I don't even know how long, so it was fun to have some girl time with my sweet friend complete with Mad Dog (Kelsey's first MD 20/20 experience, holla!), Now & Then, and silly wedding talk, obvi.

The next day, Hazel was hungover from all the wrestling fun, as evidenced by this picture Kelsey texted to me:


Tuckered the hell out.

Oh, and Mitch shot a deer (while off hunting with our dads). Yay!

I have worked very hard to be proud of this, ie. not cry for the deer. And, yes, Mitch looks stylin' with his athletic shorts and mountain man beard.

On Sunday I ended up driving out to Forney for Mitch's little sister Morgan's senior pictures (basically this was a female-filled weekend). Morgan is 17, graduating in May (and then heading off to Texas State!), and a bit of a brat, but I love her. Mary (Mitch's mom) and I spent four hours following Morgan and the photographer around, making funny (me) and encouraging (Mary) comments. It was really fun for me to play assistant during the shoot since, duh, that's what I do for a living (I use the phrase "for a living" loosely). I'm excellent at fixing bangs, bra straps, and necklace clasps. Go me.

Fedora. I actually really like this one.

Wowww, WORK IT, Morgan.

As I've already said on Facebook, you are straight thuggin' in that mink.

Morgan is beautiful, no?

I vote she uses these for her grad announcements (for obvious reasons, haaa).

I know I've mentioned before Morgan and I's tentative BFFship, but I think it's safe to say we've once again shared a bonding experience. To commemorate the occasion (and make her feel uncomfortable), I bought us matching necklaces. HA. Mine has the letter M stamped on it, and Morgan's has the letter A. We were cute and wore them all yesterday evening. :) She loves it. I hope.

Annnnnd because I'm not very good at concluding blog posts...I'll just say everyone have a great week! :)

mishmash: november

In the spirit of echoing everyone else in the world, it's November!

Can you even believe it?

There's something always strangely exciting about starting a new month; perhaps it's the thought of a new beginning, the possibility of a fresh start. Whatever it is, it's already put a spring in my step.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I ordered these earrings from an Etsy shop called Milk Money. They arrived early last week and, yes, they are perfect! I thought about taking a picture of them on my ear(s?) but, to be frank, was too lazy. Anyway, they look just as lovely in person as they did in the picture and I am beyond pleased. Seriously, Milk Money is a ridiculously fabulous little shop. This was my second time ordering from Bethany, the creator, and she was sweet enough to give me a 15% off discount for being a repeat customer. Yes! Even without such a thoughtful gesture, Bethany genuinely seems (from the little information shared via her Etsy profile) like she has a love of people and creating (something I really respect). Oh, and she's speedy -- I got the earrings only a few days after I placed my order! As someone who's notoriously impatient, I love this.

I think these will be my next two purchases (and very soon...I just can't help myself):


Czech glass bead stud earrings - I actually bought these for my friend Kelley's birthday back in May, but I like them so much, I want a pair of my own.

We Make A Great Pear locket ring - ummmmmm...LOVE this.

Oh, Milk Money, you are so adorable that I don't even mind spending the little money I have on your pretty things that make me feel pretty in turn. :)

I hope everyone had a fun Halloween weekend! Mine was spent in Nacogdoches with Mitch and some friends, tailgating (Saturday) and recovering (Sunday). Neither Mitch nor I could come up with any great costume ideas, so we were pretty lame. To be fair, however, our friend Hogan was dressed as a male hula dancer and there was really no way anyone was going to top that.

Currently I'm trying to find a way to get the pictures off this camera. Halfway to Nac I realized I had forgotten mine, but luckily I was able to borrow Hogan's...which means I don't have the right cord(s) for uploading. Damnit. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet. I'm really hoping I can figure this out myself without having to drive (an hour away) to Hogan's.

Oh, and I wanted to share a link I saw yesterday on a blog I read, My Teacups in Peony. Apparently The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click/donate daily so they can get enough free food donated for all the abused and neglected animals they take in. All you do is head over to their website and click on the purple box that says, "Click Here to Give - it's FREE!" One click provides roughly enough food for six animals, and you can visit/click every day! Anyway, I'm totally an animal (read: dog) person, and this really broke my heart. I've already visited yesterday and today! I'm so glad Nicole posted this for others to see.

All right, back to the task at hand: figuring out a way to get these damn pictures uploaded to my computer. Happy Monday, y'all, and happy first day of November!

twitterpated

Well, 'ello, Monday!

This weekend turned out to be muchhh better than I expected. Many thanks to sweetboyfriendpants Mitchell for coming into town and going on a super fun Friday night date with me. :) We grabbed delicious pizza at Grapevine's own Palio's Pizza Cafe (yum) followed by Chill Sports Bar on Main St. for beers and watching the Rangers win their spot in the WORLD SERIES. Perfection? Yes.

Saturday we worked out together at the Grapevine rec (oh, small-ish town, you are adorable) and then vegged out on the couches during the impromptu and very scary thunderstorms that took over the afternoon (there was even a tornado about six miles from my house!). In the evening, we ventured back to Mitch's mom's in Forney, spent time with his besties watching Inglorious Basterds, and crashed early in preparation for church in the morning. I was able to (accidentally) bond with Morgan, Mitch's little sister (well, she's a senior in high school, so not THAT little), on Sunday afternoon when we took the dogs for a walk and ended up having some heavy heart-to-hearts. I'll never say it to her face, but I love her to death and am really happy we've been growing close as of late.

I'm already excited for Friday when I'll head down to Nacogdoches for Stephen F. Austin's homecoming weekend! Last year's was so fun (Mitch and his roommates had a huge party at their place, complete with bounce house!) and I can't wait for the good times that are sure to be had this year.

All that stands in the way is this very lazy week, but I think I can handle that. First up? Heading to a middle school nearby to shoot their football team pictures! Cute. And, yikes, I have to leave in twenty minutes. Happy Monday, everyone!

the land of eternal youth

I'm leaving for College Station late this afternoon/early this evening and I'm so excited, I may vomit. I haven't been back since my brother's wedding which, I know, wasn't a long time ago, but the purpose of that trip wasn't to see my friends. And so I didn't really get to. Whereas...now I get to!

Things I'm Ecstatic About:

• LA. BO. DE. GA. Peach shakers!!
• Girlygirlfraaands (such as sweet Alex and silly Jordan!)
• The two bottles of wine in Jordan's fridge (and, let's be serious, probably some Mad Dog Bling Bling Blue Raspberry & blue Gatorade, my personal favorite)
• Northgate. Duh.
• Pool + margs + trashy gossip magazines
• Mostly drinking-related activities and adventures
• Hopefully spotting some 2014-ers and laughing at them (while secretly feeling old)

I'm trying to hurry and get all my tasks wrapped up here in Grapevine so I can be on my way as soon as possible. Ahhhhhhhh! I have got to get a grip, but seriously...being up in Dallas can feel so isolating sometimes, and I'm really just thankful to have the opportunity to spend time with my girls.

Oh, but the one thing I'm Not Ecstatic About Because I'm Missing Out On: Guys' Weekend in Nac.

Right, it would make sense I'm not participating in this since, well, I'm not a guy. But Mitch's friend Trevor dubbed me an honorary dude and I think that should count for something. Homeboy peed in front of me as I was putting on mascara in the bathroom. And chatted with me the entire time. I'm in the club for life.

never lose your childish enthusiasm, and things will come your way

I'm watching Under the Tuscan Sun for the second time today.

This is most likely a result of boredom and my obsession with watching movies that bum me out (although I will admit that Under the Tuscan Sun is certainly more uplifting than The Last Kiss, my usual go-to sure-to-bum-you-the-hell-out movie). Watching Diane Lane find new life in Tuscany has shown me that the cure for depression is going on a gay bus tour of Italy. I'll keep that in mind.

Over the weekend Mitch and I attended his cousin's wedding (beautiful),



spent time at my family reunion (overwhelming), visited Mitch's grandfather in the hospital (sweet), and witnessed my cousin's baby be baptised (exciting).


Needless to say, it was a weekend full of family, both mine and Mitchell's, and I'm still struck by how much I love them all. Now that Monday's nearly upon me, I'm not sure how to proceed with my week. I'm growing more and more discouraged with finding a teaching job for the fall. Every day that goes by, I feel my chances are shrinking and the few jobs that are actually available are being snatched up in every passing second. What will become of me come August? I sure as hell don't know.

What's funny is that although I have no job, no money, and no prospects...I'm so supremely happy in other areas of my life that I am able to have hope for the future. Well, most days. Most days I am able to have hope. And on the days I am unable...well, those are the days I sleep late. Take naps. Watch premium cable. And fluctuate between my desire to be thin and my desire to eat three hundred Brownie Bites. Life's full of tough choices.

Honestly, tomorrow already feels like it has the potential to be one of those hopeless Law-&-Order-SVU-marathon-Brownie-Bites kind of days. But I'm not ready to give up before it already starts.

Here's to a hopeful, productive Monday. :)

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. :)

an accidental thank-you

My big brother got married on Saturday.

How weird is that? Actually, it's weird that it's not weird. Benton and I are not close in any way, shape or form, but I really did enjoy his wedding (seriously, though, who doesn't enjoy a party with free booze?). He and Amy looked nauseatingly happy and, personally, that kind of overzealous affection makes me vomit. I mean, if I was getting married, I totally wouldn't want my groom blowing kisses at me during the entire ceremony. That's. Too. Much. But hey, that's what they're into, so I suppose it's good they found each other.

It'll come as no surprise then that I've got love on the brain. Weddings'll do that to you.

As I rode back to Dallas with my parents yesterday afternoon, I listened (via iPod) to Keith Urban's newest CD, Defying Gravity. I'm not a huge country music fan, but I liked it. Anyway, the song Standing Right in Front of You really piqued my interest and made me smile. Now, of course I have no actual way of knowing, but it made me think of some of the things Mitch must have been thinking the entire year we casually dated, a term that's always made me laugh.

Out on the street corner, just like every morning,

I sit here and watch you walk my way

And even though I don't know you,

As you get closer,

I swear, I feel my heart start racing, aching

Maybe it's in my mind

And maybe I'm only dreaming

But I swear, you catch my eye as you walk by

Oh, why you gotta leave me so blue?

Baby, why can't you see that I'm the only one for you?

You can search the world over, but

You'll never find another so true

'Cause if you're looking for love, I'm standing right in front of you

I bet your heart, like mine, has been broken

By someone you should have never given it to

So, we put up a wall to keep from falling so hard [again]

It's so sad

'Cause there's such good love inside

And I've been hoping that I might find

Someone who feels the same way

Someone to share my life

On this beautiful ride, together we can see it through

Baby, why can't you see that I'm the only one for you?

You can search the world over, but

You'll never find another so true

And if you're looking for love,

I'm standing right in front of you

Open your heart, girl

Let me make your dreams come true

You could search the world over,

But I can take you to the moon

'Cause if you're looking for love, I'm standing right in front of you

[open your eyes]

...

They met at a party. She was completely unavailable, but he was caught up in her eyebrow ring and smile. They became friends. And then they weren't because life gets in the way. And then they were again. They accidentally spent Easter together. She wrote it off as something silly. He didn't. They went to concerts and on roadtrips, drank beers during the daytime, raised her puppy, took long naps, met each other's parents, watched fireworks, and played in the lake all summer. He brought her back to life. Sometimes they were frustrated by not being in the same place; when he was ready, she wasn't. And when she finally was, he suddenly wasn't. But they never fought, which in and of itself was what she loved the most. He came to her graduation. She moved farther away. They went to hockey games and pint night at the Flying Saucer. They went to more weddings than funerals. He gave her a card for no reason but to tell her she was beautiful.

And somewhere along the way they fell in love. Absolutely.

...

Mitchell, this has not been the easiest year and some odd months. In particular the last couple weeks have been trying, and you have, through it all, been steadfast. I love that you cry just as much as I do even though I tease you mercilessly for it. I love your beard and your blue eyes and your Finley nose. I love your laugh. I love how excited Clark gets when she sees you. I love the way you dance, in the car and anywhere else. You are the true definition of an optimist. You have the sunniest, happiest personality, and everyone who meets you falls instantly under a spell you don't even realize you're casting.

You remind me that I don't have to do it all alone and that I don't always have to be in control. You work alongside me because you want to, not because you have to. My parents and friends love you possibly even more than I do. I love that sometimes you get so excited for me to visit that you even vacuum. I love you for coaching tennis for six-year olds. I love your friends. I even love your mother. I love your desire to work hard. You are ambitious in your own right, tackling endeavour after endeavour with too much humility to ever brag. I'm proud of you for starting the club team and then your own business. I'm proud of you for paying your way through school. I'm proud of you for keeping your closet clean after you let me organize it. And, Mitch, I'm not sorry it took us a year to settle down. I love our story exactly the way it is. I love the way we've turned out and I love us.

You are all of our good and I am all of our bad, I know, but thank you for loving me all the same.

i'm ready, i'm ready to drop

Today is my Friday. :)

I've taken tomorrow off so Mitch & I can drive to Louisiana for Memorial Day weekend with my family! My aunt, uncle and cousins live in Mandeville, LA, about forty-five minutes from New Orleans. Since it's a holiday weekend, there are tons of festivals going on around and in Mandeville, and Mitch & I are super excited to play. My cousin Braeden (age 9) has his first piano recital tomorrow night (isn't that cute?), and I'm so looking forward to seeing him play. There's a big block-party-like festival in Covington on Friday night, the Food & Wine Festival in NOLA on Saturday, and some other outdoor festival in Mandeville all day Sunday. It's going to be...just wonderful. Plus, my family is fun and amazing and badass, and I love spending time with them. I can't wait to drive down tomorrow morning!

I'm leaving work early today to drive in to Nac for the night, and we'll leave for Mandeville from there. I told Mitch he has to drive since he gets to sleep and watch TV all week while I work 40+ hours, haha.

Here's to a great weekend! Happy (early) Memorial Day weekend, everyone! :)

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. :)

if you see an alligator in your bathtub, run

I am currently watching Talladega Nights and eating Fruit Roll-Ups, waiting for Mitch to get back from the tennis tournament. I was all for helping him set everything up this morning, but...then I just wanted to nap, ha.

We have been very lazy since I got to Nac yesterday for an impromptu visit. Well...not really lazy, but relaxed (with the exception of the two hour cleaning session I forced Mitch into, but SERIOUSLY who needs that many pairs of jeans they haven't even worn since high school?!).

I love visiting Nac. I love pretty Sundays and IHOP breakfasts. :)

We're driving into Lufkin in a few hours to see She's Out of My League. Yay! Happy Sunday everyone!

PS: These Fruit Roll-Ups have fortunes on them when you lick 'em. Mine was that stupid alligator thing. What the fuck?

top notch

All in all, I'd have to say the Deep Ellum Arts Festival this weekend was a lot of fun! I wasn't sure what to expect, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves so I'm happy. :) We took Clark along on Saturday and I kind of wish we hadn't... I love her, but she's a huge distraction. I spent most of our time being stressed that she was going to jump on someone. But actually she was really well-behaved so I was basically stressing myself out for no reason. Ha.





Anyway, there were silly bands, food food food, tons of people & their dogs, and art absolutely everywhere. Beautiful. I'm a huge fan of public art. This was also my first time in Deep Ellum. I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get down there, but I absolutely loved it. It would be incredible to live down there, drug and gang problems aside. I loved just wandering through the festival up and down Main and then crossing over to Commerce for drinks at Angry Dog & The Twisted Root. It was simple but wonderful.

More than anything it felt good to just be out with friends, enjoying the sunshine and taking pictures. I haven't really gone out in Dallas since I moved up here, so this festival and time with my friends was like a breath of fresh air. Thanks for playing, dear friends!

Now it's back to grind and I have a ton to do today since I left a few hours early on Friday. Oops. Plus one of our VPs called me into his office this morning and wants to train me to do some things for him starting today. I'm really excited (and thrilled to know he's "been hearing great things" about me!) but possibly overwhelmed... Sometimes I can barely keep up with A/R!

Anyway, today I'm grateful for beautiful friends, giant 12 oz. cans of Red Bull, pink sunburned cheeks, the nicest boy in the entire world, Deep Ellum, the promise of tomorrow, my iPod, and the blessed life I know I lead.

mishmash: march

Today was so beautiful, even if I did spend 75% of it doing laundry. No matter! It needed to be done and clean sheets are a delight.

I've been really enjoying Boys Like Girls' cover of Let Go, orginally by Frou Frou, all day (listen here).

Since the weather was so nice today, I felt like being outside and planned on buying flowers for my little flower pots. Jennifer and I had the prettiest flowers on our porch when we lived at Briarwood. My pots have been sad & empty ever since I moved back home.

Can you believe it's already 7:30? Where has Sunday gone? Oh well, I'm off to make a paper heart chain! Yay!

the best part about saturdays

is that there's* still Sundays to look forward to. :)

When I realized a few hours ago that there's still a whole day left of the weekend, I got giddy with excitement. It's not that it's been anything special, but it feels intoxicating to not set an alarm, to have no where to be, to have the whole beautiful day ahead of me.

I may waste it washing sheets and putting away laundry. But who knows! It could be spent exploring, being spontaneous, playing in the park, embarking on an adventure, trying a new restaurant. NOT washing sheets and putting away laundry. Either way, it's all mine. How delicious.

I love weekends!


*grammatically incorrect, I knowwww

i'll pay good money to see DJ Richard Gear

This year Houston's Free Press Summerfest is Saturday, June 5 and Sunday, June 6. And hell yes I'll be there.

I can't even remember how I stumbled upon their website last summer. It was probably the result of hours and hours of trolling the internet mindlessly while at work because wow, do you even realize how boring the library is in the summer months? Even more than normal. Yea. Anyway I found out about Summerfest and decided to go because, hey, why the hell not? So Mitch came to College Station, and from there we made the trek to Houston. The park it's held in is literally at the foot of downtown Houston and the view is incredible. Sitting in a beautiful, grassy, sunshine-y park with rolling hills, thousands of people, all kinds of music playing at the same time, local artisan booths everywhere, hippies running around advertising free hugs...it was ridiculous. And I loved it. I loved sitting on those hills that Saturday night, listening to Explosions in the Sky and letting their music completely wash over me. The lights from downtown were so close you could almost touch them, creating a surreal industrial backdrop in such a natural setting.

This morning I made the mistake of looking up this year's dates as soon as I got to work. Needless to say, even though it's months and months away, I spent the better part of this morning: a. being excited, b. sending out emails and texts to people I thought might want to also go, and c. being really really excited. It feels good to know I'm going back and even better to have something like that to look forward to. I can't wait for June!

In case anyone's interested, here's their http://www.freepresssummerfest.com/line_up.html.