The Awesomeness of the Uneventful

Never in my life have I ever been so excited to have nothing to be excited about. This--is the life. I'm loving the mundane. For the first time in years there are no big changes occurring. Jon and I are both settled in our careers, which is great for so many reasons. One being we will actually keep the same health insurance for more than six months, now that's something to celebrate. (mainly bc I hate clutter and those policies they send in the big packets take up so much room the drawer of "Stuff we have to have but will most likely never need" drawer). We are settled in our home, and plan to stay put for quite some time. Yes, our life is pretty ordinary and I couldn't be more content.

Content, but not at all complacent.

There is definitely something refreshing about having nothing to look forward to. Yes, I realize that sounds like the most depressing thing ever to some. But it's nice to not be so focused on reaching a goal that you forget to enjoy the present. (college, semester by semester, wedding, house, jobs, etc. these things are exhausting for a perfectionist!) I am sucking up every bit of good that life has to offer, I mean it. Because, why not? I'm not a 'slow paced' kind of chick. I like to be busy, but lately I'm busy with things I enjoy. I get up, go to a job that could not be more rewarding, I get off at a decent hour, so I still have energy to run errands, or go to class at the gym, I make dinner, we eat, we relax. Boring, right? Weekends are filled with more and more nights in rather than out. My perfect Saturday? Sleep til 8, maybe workout or run around with my B-fri, let my husband sleep because that's what he digs, clean house, and on the weekends I'm really lucky I get to play with maybe all 4 members of my 5&under club. Depending on my mood I sometimes like to go out, but other times its just nice to stay in. Dull. Dull. Dull. But shockingly, especially to ME, I am loving it.

It is times like this, however, that the Charlie Brown in me creeeeps out. No, I don't morph into an orange-wearing cartoon baldy. That quote from Chuck ... Oh, I can't remember how exactly it goes but something about not letting yourself be too happy when things are good for fear that life will get bad. As sun-shiny as I typically am about life, there is a pessimistic worry wort deep down that says "Why do you think you get to be this happy? You're no more special than the people who experience great tragedy, yours is comin". Terrible, right?!? Go away, Chuck!

Yes, I need to work on that. But that is one character flaw I'm willing to embrace at the moment. Because I have it pretty good and I've got SO much to be thankful for. I will not take any of it for granted and I will not choose to focus on the silly imperfections. And they're there. But that's life, and if you consistently opt for allowing yourself to zone in on the negatives that's exactly what you'll get, a negative outlook. Ew, who wants that? Sooo drama, no thanks! :) Now I'm thinking I'll probably publish this post (I blog periodically but rarely publish), and share it with FB friends, obvs. :) Not so everyone can read about how great life is for me, but so that maybe someone who needs a pick-me-up can choose to focus on the 'great' in their life, too.

I'm not a dog person.

I never had a dog growing up; we had cats. Always at least one, and even up to 4 for one short stint. I've never necessarily had a hatred toward the canine species, I just never had one--at least not that I was old enough to remember. So, when people would ask which I preferred I went with what I knew, and said 'cats'. I've yet to really understood what seemed to always follow, when more often than not the askee would screw up their face in an expression of disgust and say something along the lines of "UGH how can you like cats? Dogs are SO much better." and then they go into a list of why dogs are so far superior to (blekk) cats. Somehow i never seems to occur to these people that they're pretty much being assholes.

You don't see me saying, "Ewww I hate slobbery, smelly, butt-sniffing, hole-digging, pathetic attention-seeking mutts!" If I did--by all means, insult my precious, self-grooming, litter box trained by instinct, low-hassle feline friends who make you earn their affection rather than shoving it in your face like some Jezebel. Honestly, I'm not sure why it matters. It seems some "dog people" feel that it's pretty cut and dry and that being a "cat person" is considered a character flaw. I've actually had people come into my home and make comments like "eww, get it away!" should one of my boys venture over to graze their leg.(maybe they'd prefer he race up meowing and jump right into their arms?) I can't help but think, "Now wouldn't you be insulted if I came over and announced my disgust with your dog feeling the need to attack-yap at my entering the room, slobber in my hair and/or molest my leg?" I wouldn't think of it! After all, our pets are part of our families and we love them as if they were humans with actual emotions. (p.s. for the record, I know they don't have feelings--yet it still breaks my heart when I hear puppy yelps coming from the crate in the next room at bedtime)

OK--now before all you "dog people" start going all Cujo on me, heel. (ok, that was cheesy) I am now a dog owner. I knew marrying Jon that he would eventually feel the need to have a pooch companion, but I had made it quite clear that in no way was I on board for all that responsibility. I'm no dummie, I know puppies are high maintenance. Um potty training? No thanks! Chewed up shoes? Nuh-uh! One day Jon calls me up at work telling me about this puppy his mom has found, "can we get her?" Was he serious?? "Ha! I think you know the answer to that, Jon, we don't even have a fence yet and no dog is taking over my brand new house, messing up everything!" End of discussion....until later that night when he pulled a tricky move and showed me a picture of a homeless, 4 lb black lab mix whose eyes were begging. That night while I insisted there was no way we could get her, we agreed to name her Swisher.


> What heartless person could say no to this face?

So I know what you're probably thinking, that we got this precious pup and she became my new BFF and now we're inseparable? Wrong, my friends. I was exactly right from the start. Since little Miss Swish has claimed her residency here she has done all the annoying things I knew she would. She chews Jon's shoes (bc he lets her), she's soiled my carpet on a dozen or so occasions (which infuriates me BEYOND belief), she's embarrassed me so badly that we both left a groomer with our tails between our legs, and she consistently comes in with muddy paws and snout. However, what I did not expect is to grow quite as fond of her as I seem to be. It was not an instant adoration, let me be clear, this attachment grew over time. I'm quite proud to say that I single-handed taught her to sit and shake on command. She also no longer chokes herself out on walks, and she can play a killer game of fetch. I find it sickeningly adorable that she knows when I come home to sit at my feet and wait for me to get settled before demanding I pat her. I am slightly embarrassed to say I keep finding "dog collars" coming up in my etsy and ebay searches. It's not that I never thought I could love a dog, it's just that my tolerance for them has typically been on a case-by-case basis. My dream is for Swisher, Boomer and Norman to coexist peacefully...for now, they chase each other and fight like, well, cats and dogs. So even though I may take my dog to work with me on occasion and baby talk her daily, I still stand firm (partially I suppose, so as to not betray my loyal kitties) that I am not a dog person. :)

Thursday Comeback

You know how a lot of people have that one day of the week that they look forward to each week? For many it's Friday or the ever-popular Saturday. My friend Lindsey is especially fond of Wednesdays, which she affectionately calls Hump Day. I'm assuming it's because of the mile marker it serves, as a mid-week "you made it through 2 full work days, you're going to be ok". It could be because she can call it 'Hump' Day, and maybe make a few people wonder if she's being dirty, or at the very least, get a few good giggles out of it.

Anyhow, I started getting a little envious of her excitement just for a day that is sure to come each week. So I started thinking about what day really gets me goin', and I came up with Thursday. I mean, what's there not to like about Thursday?? Yeah, you have to go to work, but by this point in the week it's time to start mentally shutting down for the weekend. Thursday is just so versatile. I think what I most anticipate is Thursday evening, because it holds so many possibilities. You can kick off the weekend a little early, let loose (Thirsty Thursday, anyone?) and go out or get together with friends, because after all, who really expects you to be worth a poo Friday morning? Friday work days are essentially pointless most weeks. If you're not quite ready for the weekend you can always choose the less exciting, but sometimes necessary Thursday night in. It serves its purpose to recharge your batteries for the weekend and typically provides decent TV. Now, by no means am I saying Thursday is better than the weekend, because I consider those 'S' days to be in a totally different category, but as far as weekdays go, Thursdays are excitement worthy in my book.

Today happens to be a pretty eventful Thursday, one I've been pumped for weeks to get here! A month or so ago my sister-in-law, Casey, and I got tickets to go see Tim McGraw (along with Lady Antebellum) in concert. I've been looking forward to it since, and anticipate a pretty good time. But a few weeks ago I got thrown another Thursday curveball when I got scheduled for today, a second interview for a teaching position I'd really like to get. I guess you could say all this Thursday excitement inspired me to start this thing back up. I'm off to my interview now, so wish me luck!

Fall and Fooball Season

I can't believe how quickly September flew by. Besides football it was a pretty un-eventful month. The first weekend OU played in Texas so Mike and Casey went down to watch. I would have loved to go but it was so close to our NY trip and we had other stuff to do that day. In the morning I went down to OKC for my oldest niece, Alyssa's 4th birthday party at the zoo. She wanted her cousins to come, but Max was still just too new to make it, but I did get to pick up McClain from his Grammy Shannon's (she was babysitting since M&C were at the game) and he came with me to the party. Here is a pic of the birthday girl with her cake and one of McClain and Alania sharing a wagon ride.





That night I went to my old friend Kristin's wedding.....where I did not take any pictures for some reason! She was a gorgeous bride and I always get really excited about weddings since I haven't been to many; this was only the 2nd one I've gone to that I wasn't in!





I always hate to see summer go, but luckily Sooner football makes the transition from sunny days to frigid nights a bit easier. There is always a game to get me excited! Here is a pic of me, Casey and Amy at our tailgate. This was the SECOND home game for the Sooners. There were definitely no pictures taken at the first home game of the year considering it was pouring and miserable for the entire day! Well--miserable except that we won and winning is always good!



So, there's my September wrap-up. October will be here before I know it which means my birthday is coming up-- it's actually a week from Friday! I'm not all that excited about turning 24, I'm actually feeling quite indifferent. Seems like there aren't many birthdays to look forward to after 21, but none the less I intend to celebrate! October should be a quite eventful month with birthday celebrations, lots of football including OU/TX weekend and then the annual Master's Halloween Party to wrap up the month. Hopefully I'll do better and get more than 2 posts in throughout the month.

So I'm a Bad Blogger: An August Update

I was informed today of 10 reasons I'm a terrible blogger, thanks to Casey, and I've got to say they were pretty valid reasons. However one reason was that I don't have kids stuck to me while I'm at home..I beg to differ! As I'm typing this Norman is wallering all over me, wedged between my arm and the keyboard. He is fascinated by the moving text...think he may pounce on the screen at anyminute.

Anyway... August was a pretty huge month for us. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary on the 2nd. I can't seem to find the pic of our cake we thawed out for the occasion, so here's one of the whole thing. I didn't get to taste it at our wedding (except for what Jon smeared in my face) but I'm hoping it was significantly better a year ago. I'm not a huge cake fan, but it was pretty dry.

The next weekend Jon and I went to NYC for a little vacay, but mainly to see the Yankees play Boston. Here are a few pics of trip highlights.

^^Here we were taking a bicycle cab ride through Central Park. We went at the perfect time of evening and the weather was beautiful. Definitely one of my favorite things we did in our short visit.

These next few are pictures from the game we went to. I got Jon the tickets for Valentine's day so this trip was long awaited. We went to the Friday night game which was scoreless into the bottom of the 15th inning when A-Rod hit a 2 run walkoff homer to end it! It was a great game, and by far my favorite part of the trip. Safe to say it was Jon's favorite part too.

I love this one with the buildings in the background.

We made friends with these soon-to-be newlywed New Yorkers who sat next to us. They were too funny!

It's an A-Bomb by A-Rod!!! Check out that scoreboard!

Taking that trip was definitely a much needed distraction from the horrible anticipation we were experiencing waiting to move into our new house the very next weekend. Don't get me wrong--I am MORE than thankful for my family letting us stay with them for the last nearly six months but I was dieing to move into our new house! Here is a picture of the outside, it may not be too big or too fancy but for us it is just perfect!! My favorite thing is that everything is so new and CLEAN!

Yes, August was an extremely busy month so I'm sure you can see why I might not have had all that much time to blog. While unfortunately I did not find a teaching job for this year, all in all I can't complain because we had a pretty good month. We've been moved in the house almost three weeks, and if you know me at all you know that I pretty much have everything in its place already. I took a break from doing extra stuff last week but now I'm on a hunt for decorations! I've got in mind exactly what I want, just looking for the best places to get it. I don't do pictures of things--really just people. So that leaves me with mirrors and, my obsession, letters and words! I've got the perfect quote for a vinyl wall decal and I also want to get a monogram one for our black and white guest bathroom. I'm trying to find some 12'' wood letters that I can paint for our kitchen, so if anyone knows good places for me to get any of this let me know!

With a few weeks of settling in out of the way I'm back in gear and ready for my normal busy life again! Good thing, because this weekend will be consumed with my niece Alyssa's 4th birthday party at the zoo and my friend Kristin's wedding! Oh, and of course FOOTBALL SEASON starts!!!! I am itching for next weekend to be at the first home game of the year! This will be my first year back in the season ticket seats with the family rather than the student section, so I'm sure I'll be a little sad when I look down and realize I'm officially old! Well, this is all for now....if you're even still reading. I will do my best not to get so far behind for my next post. :)

$Dalla, Dalla Billz, yall$

Seems like life is pretty much constantly driven by money in some way. I have to work this weekend so that means I got a day off this week, so I picked today. Some might take the oppotunity on a rainy morning to sleep in, however I still got up when Jon did so I could pack his lunch and make sure he was wearing ironed clothes. Yes, he's my husband, not my child but turns out they are quite similar! Anyway, I spent the better half of the morning calling schools trying to get a teaching job. Unfortunately the only ones hiring for my area of certification are at least 30 min. away. Still, not too far for me to drive if it means making more money and doing what I want to do in life. There is only about a week left to try to get something--I'm not giving up quite yet!

My car has been acting up lately--dieing out of nowhere and shifting jerky, so I took it in to the shop today. On the way there it died while in attempt to make a left turn, lucky for me I was holding up a triple A guy behind me, so he got out and helped me get going again! I'm sure he was sufficiently entertained by the little fit he witnessed me throwing as he approached my window. Finally, I got to the shop.I went in with an optimistic attitude--too much has been difficult for us lately, surely my car's problem would be simple, right? WRONG!!! Turns out the computer in it is going out, AND for the poop icing on the cake of crap--My car takes the most expensive type of computer the mechanic has ever had to get! With our upcoming trip to NYC and closing on our house soon this really couldn't have come at a worse time.

So this is the only picture I have of my car...

After that my day took a turn for the better. My brother and Casey came to rescue me from the shop and I got to go pick up my older nephew McClain from daycare. Tonight Casey and the boys came over to our house--which is really mom & dad's-- and I couldn't help but be in a better mood, who could with an infant to cuddle and a toddler to play with?? Here are a few pics from our night.

McClain was doing his classic "silly" face.

Playing airplane with Uncle Jon. I LOVE this smile!

Me & Max, he's sooo sweet I just want to squeeze him...But I wont!

Hello, Hello!

After spending a lot of time reading the blogs of others, being surprisingly interested in even the lives of complete strangers, I've decided to create my own, so here goes! I have a few reasons for starting this thing up. 1. I'm a writer, I even went to school for it, which I'm pretty sure makes me a professional, and if you don't agree I'll show you one of my published pieces. 2. Since I chose a career path that no longer involve me doing a great deal of writing, I need somewhere to practice, and what better for me to write about than myself? 3. I love journaling, unfortunately I type so much more often than I write, when I try to put a pen to paper I either get a hand cramp, fall asleep, or it becomes practically un-ledgible. I want to have somewhere to document simple happenings of daily life., so even if everyone else finds my posts totally boring, at least I'll have them here to look back at. Jon and I's first year married went by so quickly I hardly remember anything, and I definitely think these are the times I'll want to remember. I've noticed most people include pictures in their posts, which does make them more interesting. I'll try to include them, but I'm awful at uploading pics from my camera, so no promises.