Catching Up

Yeah, so I've been neglecting my blog lately. What else is new?? I can't sleep, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch up on what's new in my life.

First and foremost is our house. It's coming along nicely, and is scheduled for completion July 13. If all goes well (and we're praying that all DOES go well!) we'll close on July 20 and move in that weekend!!! It has been great living with my in-laws, but Sam and I are definitely ready to be back in our own space. We are very grateful for them letting us stay with them over the past month or so, and it's been fun, we're just at the age where we prefer to be on our own. I'm sure the feeling is mutual!

Sam and I went to pick out paint colors at Home Depot tonight. In 2008, Friday nights were spent partying. Now, they are spent mulling over paint samples. Ah, the life of a married couple. I must say though, it was a lot harder to decide on samples than I thought it would be. I have an idea of some of the room colors I want, but not all. Mainly, I can't decide what color to paint the family room and entry way, which takes up the bulk of the house. I can't decide if I want to do warm, cool or neutral tones. Part of the problem is that the carpets aren't in yet, so I think until I see the carpets I won't know for sure.

I can't remember what color carpet we selected, but I think it's a light beige color. We picked mostly neutral colors for our tile, carpet, etc. since I wasn't sure how I wanted to decorate. In fact, I'm still not sure. But we'll figure it out as we go! That's part of the fun of owning your own home, right?

In other news, work has been going well, and I'm finally starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin there. I know I still have a lot of learning and growing to do, but my skills are strengthening, and it's definitely a rewarding feeling! Hopefully, I'll keep getting better and progressing.

We don't have much planned for this weekend, which will be a nice change. The last few weekends have been packed full of commitments, so it will be nice to kick back and relax. I'm meeting one of my BFFs tomorrow for a movie date, then Sam and I are going to hang out for the rest of the day. Hopefully, I will get some shopping in too this weekend, though I can't spend much until we close on the house. Ugh, it's only three more weeks, but it feels like FOREVER!!! I have to keep reminding myself to watch my spending, which is hard sometimes.

That about sums up our weekend plans. Until next time!

Anniversary

Sam and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary this past weekend! I cannot believe it's been a year since the wedding. We went to Fredericksburg for the weekend to celebrate, and also decided to hike up Enchanted Rock. We'd been talking about hiking Enchanted Rock for years, and it was on our Bucket List, so it was really nice that we were finally able to do it! We also spent some time shopping in downtown Fredericksburg (love!) and ate at some really cool restaurants. And bought peaches, roadside! I had no idea that Fredericksburg was known for its peaches, but apparently is like the perfect climate for growing peaches. Who knew?

The weekend is upon us once again, and I am so glad to have a weekend to myself! I feel like it's been forever since I've had a weekend to veg out and not have too much planned. I'm going to get a facial tomorrow morning and have dinner with a good friend of mine. It's been getting hot lately (no surprise in May - it is Texas, after all!) so I might go swimming at my dad's house on Sunday. Sam is out of town this weekend at the lease doing work, so I have the whole weekend to myself:)

Sam and I have started talking more seriously lately about having a baby. I can't say that I am 100% ready yet, but I can say that I am more ready than I used to be. Although I tend to flip-flop on this issue almost daily. The thought of bringing a child into this world terrifies me, and selfishly, I am afraid of all of the things I know I'm going to have to give up once we have a baby. But I also know that I want kids, and I don't want to be an "old" mom. And, well, I'm not getting any younger! I'm not saying we're ready to get pregnant right this minute, but it's something we're thinking about. So I've started putting together a pre-baby bucket list in the hopes of accomplishing all of the things we will not be able to do for awhile once we have a baby. Additions are welcome, no pun intended!

Home Sweet Home. Kind Of.

So Sam and I officially moved out of our rental house last week! Bye-bye rental, hello in-law's house! Lol! Things have been a little crazy lately, with moving and such. This week has been much less stressful. We're staying with Sam's parents until our house is done being built in July. I'm really grateful to them for taking us in. The only sucky part right now is that we can't keep our dog here because she doesn't get along with the three dogs that already live here. So for now, she's staying at my dad's house. I still see her several times a week, but I miss her a lot, and wish she was able to stay with me.

My cat is recovering from a pretty serious injury. Apparently, he got into a cat fight the week before we moved (this is according to the vet that treated him) and sustained a really bad bite mark that turned into an abscess. The vet believes the other cat pinned Dash down with his claws, and then bit him in his hind leg. He also said that all animals bites will turn into abscesses at some point if left untreated, and that is exactly what happened to poor Dash! I would post pictures, but honestly, nobody needs to see the wound - it's pretty disgusting. It's like a quarter inch open gash on his leg. I don't even like looking at it!

I remember the night of the fight he came home and was limping and looked like he was in a lot of pain. Sam and I felt around his leg, and though it was swollen, he wasn't bleeding or anything so we assumed that he either pulled a muscle, or fell out of a tree or something and bumped his leg on the way down. We decided to watch him over the next day or so to see if he got any better before taking him to a vet (we all know how expensive the vet can be...). He seemed better by Friday (the accident occurred on Wednesday), so we figured time healed him.

Until he started bleeding profusely on Sam's shirt one day after work! That's when we took him to the vet and he discovered the wound after shaving the hair off of Dash's leg. Talk about feeling like a really TERRIBLE pet owner! Not only that, but apparently Dash has a scar on one of his eyes from another cat fight! So after learning all of that news, we've decided to get the little guy declawed once his infection is cleared up. I've never been a huge supporter of declawing, especially since Dash loves to be outside so much, but he's obviously not capable of actually winning a cat fight, and I can't have him getting his little butt handed to him in a fight every time he's outside. So, declawing it is!

Back in the Proverbial Saddle

I went swimming for the first time today since last summer, and man, was I surprised at how HARD it was to keep my endurance! Now I'll be the first to say that I'm not the most athletic person - swimming is about the only form of exercise that comes naturally to me. I've never really struggled with swimming. I love being in the water and it's just so easy for me! So I was a little surprised this morning when I went to the gym pool and lasted about 15 minutes before I was plum worn out! It made me wonder how I ever passed my lifeguarding certification so many years ago. Just goes to show how out of shape I've let myself become. Very disappointing, to say the least, but I'm planning on beefing up my workouts to help counteract this. I

I really do enjoy working out, my problem is that I get to the gym and I feel overwhelmed by all of the different workouts and exercises that are available to me. There's just so many to choose from! But I still don't know, after all of the years of working out, which exercises work the best for me. I know what I don't like (not a big fan of the elliptical - doesn't seem to be effective), but I'm not sure what's best for me. All I know is that I like to run, and I like to swim. But what I really need to do is incorporate more weight, resistance and balance training into my workout, and switch up my routines. I like routine because it helps keep me scheduled, but I dislike routine because my body adjusts and I end up plateauing, which make me not want to work out anymore.

I've been thinking about putting together a binder full of fitness magazine tear-outs, so that I have a compilation of different workouts and exercises to choose from. However, I can't seem to remember to actually start putting one together. Guess I'll have to add that to my to-do list.

Speaking of to-do lists, I've been utilizing writing down my to-dos lately, since I am so forgetful, and it seems to be helping me accomplish more of my smaller goals and stay on-task. I definitely struggle a little bit with following through on tasks that I've started, and I really want to get better at this. I'm hoping I'll get into the habit of writing things down, and I'll be able to accomplish much more and not feel so overwhelmed by all of the mundane, every-day tasks that I have to do.

Family History

So I'm currently browsing through the 1940 US Census data that was released last week, and came upon some interesting information! I looked up my paternal grandfather, who lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and was able to find his family's information. Now, as I understood it, he was raised with 2 brothers and his mom and dad. However, when I looked up the information, his father and mother had 8 kids listed, and my grandfather's two brothers were not listed as children! Now I can't remember, if my grandfather was the youngest of his brothers or not. He's listed as being 17 years old on the census form (which is slightly inaccurate - he was born in 1921, which would've made him 18 or 19), and if his brothers were both older, they would've probably left the house by then. I'm really curious who these other 8 people are listed under my great-grandfather's name! I'm definitely going to ask my dad tomorrow and see if he knows anything about this!

New Roomie!

I am very excited that one of my good friends, Michelle, is going to be living with us! It's only temporary, literally like a month, but I think it will be fun:)

We gave away our dog Maverick this weekend. It was really sad, actually, to see him go, but we know it was for the best. Things just weren't working out with him. But his new owners are building a house on an acre of land in Fort Worth, so he will have plenty of room to run around, and he'll also have another dog to play with. Plus, his new owner has had Weimaraners before, so she's experienced with the breed. I feel a little guilty giving him away, like maybe I didn't give him enough of a chance. But sometimes, things just don't work out the way you wanted them too, even when you have the best intentions in mind. So here's to hoping you have a happy life, Maverick!

Things have just been so busy lately! Sam's grandmother was in town this weekend, and it was also his dad's birthday, so we spent much of the weekend with them. We also went to Cavendar's to get Sam a new pair of cowboy boots. He's been wanting some for awhile, so I decided to treat him to a new pair.

This week is looking to be another busy one. I will try to update soon!

Six Years and Counting

I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately, though I couldn't tell you why. Sometimes, all it takes is a song to spark a reminder of her in me. Her memory is always in the back of my mind, biding it's time, waiting patiently for me to pay it more attention. It's easy to let the day-to-day tribulations of life get in the way of remembering her and who she was and who she'll never be, but sometimes, it sneaks through.

It's the weirdest thing when someone important in your life dies. Especially when they die before their time. As if we have any say over when it's our time or not, but it's nice to think that we, as humans, have the ability to make those decisions.

April 7 will be six years since she died, and I still can't believe she's gone. I often wonder what she would think of me if she were alive today, wonder if she'd be proud of me and the decisions I've made in my life. I always worked so hard for approval. It meant everything to me. Even at 27, I still find myself wishing she were here to give me advice on things I just don't have answers to. I find that very frustrating. And though I still have so many memories of her, I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally forget what it was like to have her in my life. And that makes me so incredibly sad. I know that I will never forget her, but it's the little things about her that I worry about forgetting. I guess I should start writing things down as I remember them. Maybe not so much for myself, but for the future children I hope to have one day. They will never know her like I did, but I hope they can at least have some appreciation for her and who she was. I guess only time will tell.

A Quick Update

So it's late and I don't want to get too into what I've been up to lately, but I did want to say that I returned from my business trip to Chicago last night, and I will be posting about it soon! First, I have to get the pictures I took off of my phone.

The house hunt is still stagnant and I'm praying that things turn around soon.

Tomorrow is Go Texas Day at work and I am so excited because I'll get to wear my cowboy boots to work!!! Yeehaw! Lol!

Will write more soon!

Love,

K

Feeling Stuck

This past week was a tough one for me.

My car started acting up on Monday, and I'm still not entirely sure what the problem is. The battery died, and to make a long story short, I ended up walking home from its final resting place, the CVS Pharmacy about a half mile from my house. I called Sam a couple of times to ask him to come get me, but he wasn't getting my calls. I figured by the time I actually got a hold of someone, and that someone finally made their way to CVS to pick me up, I could've just walked home. We live in a residential, high-traffic neighborhood, so I wasn't too worried about walking home in the dark. It was more of an inconvenience, than anything else.

Sam took the day off work Tuesday to stay home and fix my car, and so that I could take his truck to work since I don't currently have the luxury of taking time off. He replaced the battery, which was still under warranty amazingly enough. I still remember the first time he replaced it, way back in December of 2005 when we first started dating. So we were able to get a new battery at a discounted price, which was cool.

The next day, my car ran fine with no problems. Thursday, however, was a different story. I got in my car Thursday morning to go to work, and it wouldn't start. I mean the CD player stopped working, the windows wouldn't roll down, nothing! I was pretty upset, only because we can't buy a new car for me right now since we're looking for a house. Otherwise, I would've gotten rid of that car by now. The odometer read exactly 195,500, and I kept wondering if that was some kind of magic number that programmed the car to stop running.

So my brother had to pick me up and take me to my in-laws house to pick up the work truck, and from there I had to go to a paper store to pick up something for a work-related project, and then go to work. I guess the good news is I was only 45 minutes late to work, and that's not bad considering I had to go to the paper store before I got to work. But I hate being late to work, so it still sucked!

Not to mention I had an extremely busy and stressful week at work! I had a hard time staying on top of all of my projects, and made a few mistakes along the way. That is to be expected, considering how new I am, but I hate making mistakes and I take it really personally when I feel like I haven't lived up to my expectations.

To make matters worse, the house hunt really isn't going all that well. There's just nothing that's worth the money out there, and it's so frustrating. We've only been back on the hunt for about two weeks, but considering we started looking initially last year and we still haven't found anything, it's just so frustrating and I want to bang my head against a wall. If I wasn't in such dire need of a new vehicle I wouldn't mind as much, but I can't buy a new car until we buy a house, so I feel an added sense of urgency and pressure to find something fast.

All of this has really stressed me out this week, and I haven't been in the best mood this weekend. I've just felt really hopeless, and I hate feeling that way. I'm not going to give up, I know things will turn around, I just feel bummed out today. It gets hard trying to keep the faith. I'm very impatient, and it's hard for me to be patient and wait for things to fall into place. Hopefully next week will be a better week.

Happy Hour

Tonight was soooooo much fun!!! I met up with a few co-workers after work for happy hour at a bar called Oceanaire. I had a great time! Cheap drinks, and great conversation, especially after a stressful weak.

And kudos to me for waking up early this morning and going to the gym!! Now if I could just get around to buying those new running shoes...

I'm going to keep this short tonight since I've got some bad cramps, but I will write more soon!

Carrabba's

Tonight, Sam and I were treated to a sneak-peek preview dinner at Carrabba's. Basically, it's a dinner where they preview new, upcoming menu items. It's by invitation only, and you can access these, along with wine dinners and other cool offers through Carrabba's Amici Club!

The dinner started at 6:30 tonight, which meant I had to go in early for work so I could leave early. After a horrific morning commute that lasted nearly 2 hours, I left 610 and Post Oak around 5:15 and made it to the Carrabba's on Highway 6 sometime around 7:00. Pathetic.

Anyway, the dinner was really great! We go to sample a delicious lobster macaroni dish, shrimp bruschetta, grilled sirloin steak with crab-stuffed shrimp and green beans, and a banana panini with Nutella dipping sauce for dessert. So good!

I was also there to do a little research for work. I wanted to take pictures and such to document the experience, but I didn't want to creep out the other couple at our table that we ate with, so I decided to forgo the note-taking. We at with a really nice older couple, and had some great conversation, primarily about real estate which was perfect since we're in the market for a home. The man is a real estate agent, and his date is a mortgage broker, so we got some all around good advice!

Now, I am off to watch Justified and head to bed. Going to try to get up early tomorrow to hit the gym, since I have been seriously slacking since getting sick a few weeks ago. No more excuses! Bikini season is right around the corner and fast approaching.

Until tomorrow, my friends!

Let the house hunt commence...again!

I'm excited to announce that S and I are on the house hunt...again! We originally started looking for a house last year around this time, but never really found anything that clicked. Then the wedding came, and it was time to put house hunting plans on hold. And then...I got laid off. So we obviously weren't looking for a house during that time.

So here we are, a year later, kicking up the house hunt once again. I am excited and hopeful that we will find a house soon! S and I are sooooo ready to be in our own place. I think I've moved at least once a year since I was about 19 years old, so after eight years, I've finally grown tired of that type of lifestyle, and am ready for something more permanent.

The catch is, I need a new vehicle really badly! Let's just say that I've had the same car since my senior year of high school, and I am now 27 years old. I hit 195,000 miles this weekend on the ol' Explorer, so I don't have much time left, lol! I'm hoping that we find a house by the end of March, so we'll be able to close before our lease is up in early May.

House hunting can be extremely stressful. I know in my mind what I am looking for, but to actually find what I am looking for is a whole different story. Especially a house that falls within our price range. Last year, we really didn't find anything, and it was so disappointing. But I'm going to stay optimistic about our search, and just hope and pray that we find something soon! I know that God will lead us in the right direction, I just have to stop worrying so much and let things happen they way they are supposed to.

My latest TV Addiction

I'm currently typing this blog with the TV on in front of me, watching Justified, my favorite show on television right now. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out. I highly recommend catching up on the first two seasons, and tuning in on Tuesday nights to watch the third.

I'm not usually into cop shows, but this one is different. Timothy Olyphant (who is BEYOND gorgeous, by the way...) plays a US Marshall who fights crime in Kentucky. He's like the best of both worlds, part cop, part cowboy, and 100% pure hotness. I mean, just look at this face:

See, I told you!

In other news, we're expecting bad weather tonight, and I'm a little nervous. While I do enjoy a mild thunderstorm every now and again, I'm not a huge fan of severe weather. Especially since Joplin. Which I never posted about. Will add to my to-do list. That, and S is manning the fire station tonight, so I am home alone. Hopefully, the storms won't be too bad.

I am thinking about getting a personal trainer. I really need to take my workouts up a notch or two, and I'm at the point where it would be very beneficial to have someone show me what to do at the gym. I know that I'll do it, I just need to know what to do. However, there is quite a cost incurred with this sort of thing, so I'm not sure how committed I can really be to hiring a personal trainer. We shall see.

Work has been a little stressful lately, but in a good way. I know they are pushing me to be better, and I appreciate that. And it's enjoyable, at least.

Last weekend (well, the one before it, actually) was my good friend K's wedding, in which I was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid! I felt so so honored to be a part of her big day. Everything went off without a hitch, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful! The only part that made me nervous was when K was at the altar saying her vows, and she started coughing uncontrollably!! She had been feeling sick earlier that day (I was feeling bad, as well), and I guess it all caught up with her. Luckily, someone brought her a drink and she was able to get through the vows okay. Too funny!!!

Welp, I haven't been doing a good job keeping up with this blog so far this year. Going to try harder to update more regularly! And redesign it, too. My design is lacking right now...

Until then, I am off to finish Justified and go to bed!

First Post of 2012

Keeping in line with my previous post concerning New Year's Resolutions, I am sitting in front of my TV watching The Help while writing my very first post of the new year! I was finally able to rent this movie after several weeks of unsuccessful Red Box stalking.

S and I spent New Year's Eve between two separate parties: one at our friends' house, and another at S's sister's Birthday/New Year's Eve party. I wasn't feeling my best last night - I think I'm on the verge of catching a cold - but I did enjoy a few adult beverages and spending time with good friends and watching fireworks.

Today S and I got up and went over to his parents house to eat or customary New Year's Day meal of black eyed peas and cornbread. Apparently, it's good luck to eat black eyed on peas on New Year's Day. I'm not sure if this is true, but it's worth a shot! After that, we came home and S took down the Christmas lights, and I went shopping. I didn't end up buying anything (nothing new there) but it was nice to get out for a bit.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year's!

K