November Update

So I haven't had much time to update my blog as of late, and today is no exception so I will make this brief!

Started my new job November 1, and so far, I LOVE it! Feels great to finally be at a position where I am using my skills and education. That doesn't mean the job is perfect, but I'm okay with imperfection (at least in some areas of my life). I do think this job has a lot of potential, so I'm hoping this will be a job that I can grow with over the next few years. That is my goal, anyway! I will write more about the new job another day.

Thanksgiving was WONDERFUL this year! We spent lunch with Sam's family, and dinner with my dad, brothers and my dad's girlfriend's family. I love big holidays with my new extended family! We had a great time, and I am looking forward to Christmas.

We spent the weekend Black Friday shopping and prepping the house for Christmas. We went to Target at midnight on Friday (first timer!) and boy, was it a mad house! Took about 20 minutes to get into the store. We didn't wait in line, decided to wait in the truck instead, and didn't want to be all rude and cut people off that had been waiting for two days. Once we were in, Sam and I divided and conquered. He went to look for a firebowl, and I got a set of King size sheets, a 16 piece Pyrex set, a 10 piece picture frame set and a set of PJs. We didn't end up getting the fire bowl - they were sold out - but we walked out of Target only paying about $30 (we had a $50 gift card) and that also included paper towels. Figured we might as well get them while we were there, lol!

After that, we went home with the intention of taking a quick nap, then heading to Denny's to eat an early breakfast before heading to Academy at 5:00 am. Well, once our heads hit the pillows, we were out, so Academy never happened. But we went back later in the day and got the same products we'd had our eyes on, so it wasn't really a loss.

I'll tell ya, I'm the first one to admit that Black Friday shopping is CRAZY, but I also know that it really can be worthwhile if you are going for things that you need. We must've saved a few hundred dollars this weekend, and for newlyweds, that is a lot of money!

Sam and his dad just finished putting all of the lights up, and I am finishing up a project for work before cooking dinner and doing some more Christmas decorating.

Debating whether or not I'd like to send out Christmas cards this year. I really want to since it's our first year as a married couple and I didn't send any last year, but it's also another expense (cards and stamps) and I'm STILL not done sending out wedding thank you cards (yes, it's pathetic, I know). Although, in my defense, I'm almost done and I'm hoping to finish up by Wednesday.

Happy Halloween!!

Okay, so technically Halloween is tomorrow, but since I'm not doing anything special I thought I'd write about the AWESOME Halloween-themed couple's shower Sam and I went to on Saturday! It was in honor of my friends Kristin and Hunter, who are getting married on January 14. Kristin was one of the bridesmaids in my wedding, and I am now going to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! It will be my second time to be a bridesmaid (the first time was for my sister-in-law, Crystal), and I can't wait! I love weddings and all of the festivities that come with them. Especially when they aren't mine, lol! Not that I didn't love my wedding/festivities...because I most certainly did...but when it's your wedding, things can get very stressful. It's nice to be able to enjoy a wedding from a different perspective this time!

I tried to coordinate our costumes for the party so they had a common theme. I had a cop costume that was left over from two years ago that I decided to wear again this year. For some reason, I get sick almost every year on Halloween (I think it has something to do with the weather changes) so I didn't end up wearing the costume last year, and the year before when I wore it, we were at an outdoor Halloween Party, and it was so cold I was wrapped up in a blanket the entire time and didn't really get to sport the costume. Sam went as a prisoner the first time I wore this costume, but I didn't want to do that again, so I decided he would be a mobster. The only thing I had to purchase was his mobster hat, which I got at Target for $18. Not a bad deal! Oh, and the cigar, but that was like $.97 at the convenience store at the front of our neighborhood.

The party was about a 45 minute drive from our house, but we had an absolute blast! My brother decided to ride along with us. The couple who hosted the place have a beautiful house and yard, with an outdoor bar and a nice pool. We ate a delicious meal of pork tenderloin with caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, rolls, salad, and some kind of delicious butternut squash lasagna with mascarpone cheese. So so good!

We had a really great time hanging out with good friends, enjoying great food and drinks and celebrating Kristin and Hunter's upcoming nuptials! I only had three glasses of wine, but somehow I managed to get TANKED and the ride home was really fun, lol! We stopped at Whataburger before heading home and I got my favorite Sausage, Egg & Cheese biscuit sandwich. I rarely treat myself to this since it's so bad, but it tasted so good and I have no regrets. Was definitely hungover this morning, but it was so worth it. I had a blast last night!

Tomorrow we are expecting trick-or-treaters, but I am hoping to get over to my in-laws house early enough to be able to see my sweet little nephew before he goes trick-or-treating! Then I'm planning on heading over the to fire station, where my husband is the captain, and taking photos of the participants in this year's No Shave November contest. Should be a lot of fun! Can't wait to see how the guys look after their facial hair is all grown out.

Cramps and Football

Currently recovering from what I consider to be the third worst bought of cramps I have EVER had in my life! Wowie, I can't believe I made it through that much pain lol! It just kind of hit me all of a sudden. I was lying in bed reading a book before I fell asleep, and then BAM, the pain just hit me like a ton of bricks! I was basically lying in the fetal position, just praying to God that the pain would go away.

Now, I must say, I am definitely a wuss when it comes to cramps. I have been blessed with relatively few incidences of bad cramping in my menstrual life, thus far. But when I do get them, they hurt. Really. Bad. I thought I was going to throw up. And since I stopped taking my birth control pills in June, I can only expect bad cramps to occur more regularly. Yippee. The joys of womanhood, lol!

In other great news, my alma mater, Texas Tech University, actually WON their game against OU this past Saturday!!! So very exciting and completely unexpected!!! I am a huge Texas Tech football fan. I never cared much for football until I went to Tech, and it just caught on to me like a bad fever. Tech has had a bit of a rough season so far. The team this season is primarily made up of freshman players, and our quarterback hasn't thrown a ball in a football game since his freshman year of high school. With that said, no one expected them to hold a flame against #3 ranked OU. They're a fantastic team, so I assumed the game would be a blowout. I wasn't even going to watch the game. I mean who wants to watch a sinking ship?

But my brother texted my husband on Saturday evening to ask if we were watching the game. We had just gotten home from dinner with my dear friend Bekkah, and decided to turn on the TV. To our amazement, Tech was ahead of OU by two touchdowns, and scored a third touchdown shortly thereafter! How incredible! The media is actually referring to it as the biggest upset in Big 12 history EVER. Ended OU's 39 game winning streak at home. Not only that, but Tech is now ranked in #20 in the BCS pole, ahead of Texas! We weren't even ranked at the beginning of the season! So very proud of my team.

Every time Tech plays OU, I am reminded of the last upset we had against them, back in November of 2007 when I got to rush the field. Definitely one of the best days of my life, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience! There's nothing like running down the stands, hopping over the fence and rushing out onto the field to celebrate with your fellow fans. I know it sounds corny, but it was an amazing feeling, one that no picture could ever recreate (although, admittedly, I do wish I'd taken a picture...). And I'll never forget it, as long as I live. One of the best decisions I ever made was to finish my education at Texas Tech, and I couldn't be more proud to be a Red Raider. Wreck 'Em Tech!!!!

Announcement Time!

Sooo...I am proud to announce that...drum roll please...

I GOT A JOB!!!! I am so excited!!!

I got the call last Monday that the company I had been interviewing with wanted to bring me on board, and extended me an offer. I was so thrilled! I had been interviewing with them the week prior, on Monday and Thursday. And it wasn't just a typical interview process - I had to create a powerpoint presentation based upon an assignment I was given, and then present it. Twice. The first time to the director of the division I would be working for, as well as another director, and the second time with the vice president of the company! I was so extremely nervous.

Honestly, I didn't think I was going to hear back from them after the first interview, so I was pleasantly surprised when they called me back first thing Tuesday morning. I was so excited to have the opportunity to interview again with the vice president, but I was really dreading have to present my project again. It's not that I'm terrible at presenting projects, I'm just not the best at it either. I get nervous like most people, but going through grad school really helped me improve upon my public speaking skills. And I think over time, I'll get better at it and learn to dread it less. But the VP was so nice, and it felt like were just having a conversation with each other, and not a presentation. I prayed for God to give me the confidence to do well at my interview right before I went in, and I felt cool as a cucumber the entire time.

I start November 1, and I couldn't be more excited! On paper, this is my dream job, so I'm hoping it turns out to be that way in reality too, lol! Basically, I'm going to be an Assistant Account Manager for a full-service food & beverage marketing agency in the Houston area. I won't give out the name of the company for now, but I basically stumbled upon it out of sheer luck. I found out about the company by surfing through Linkedin. It's true what they say, you really have to go through unconventional methods these days to find a job. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity amidst one of the worst economies in US history. I definitely prayed and prayed about it for a long time, and not only did God answer my prayers, but I now get to do something I have worked YEARS towards, and that is such a satisfying feeling!

Not quite a green thumb, but a mum-thumb, maybe?

Finally planted my Mums today! I bought them at Houston Garden Centers about a week ago (they're having a great sale - only $2.99 each!) and didn't have the proper equipment to plant them. I realize this only requires a shovel, but, well, I didn't have one. And it rained alllll day yesterday (thank you, God!) so planting didn't pan out.

Anyway, went to Target to drop off my recycling and decided to pick up a shovel whilst I was there. Came home and got right to planting - didn't even take my things inside first! Way to be proactive. In hindsight, I probably should've planted the Bronze Mums a little bit further back, to make them more flush with the Yellow Mums. But, meh, whatever. They still look great. 

Mission accomplished!

Oh, and check out my fantastic Texas Tech yard flag! My dad's girlfriend bought me one last week. She's so sweet! Now I just need a few pumpkins and a wreath for my front door to Autumn-ize my house.

Sometimes Sorry Ain't Enough

It's something that I struggle with, this idea that we are to forgive and forget those who have we feel have wronged us. I know many people struggle with this same idea. My question is, is it okay to forgive and NOT forget? I think so. How else do we keep ourselves from falling for the same mistakes over and over again? From allowing people to hurt us time and time again?

I don't think it's okay to consciously keep allowing this to happen to me. As a Christian, I find this struggle to be extra difficult. Jesus teaches us to forgive others. I was reading my daily devotional booklet today, and was really struck by a particular line. It reads:

Waiting reveals those around you. Motives are not easily discerned. Trust God, but test people. That's scriptural. "The Lord your God led you...forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart." (Dt 8:2 NIV). People can keep their intentions and motives covered for a long time, but waiting generally forces the truth to surface.

I couldn't agree with this lesson more. I've always been a believer that the truth will always reveal itself, even if it takes quite some time. So once you find out what someone's intentions truly are, why keep putting yourself in their path of destruction? I really don't believe in my heart that Jesus would want us to live that way. But it's still such a fine line to walk. I think it's okay to shut people out of our lives who have proven to be hurtful, no matter how many times they apologize. Because in my mind, if someone is truly sorry for something they have done, they correct the behavior to avoid hurting you again in the future. 

My Peeve(s) of the Day

I'm getting really tired of all these singing shows that are suddenly making their rise on television lately. Apparently, there are more people out there who can sing, or think they can sing, than I was aware of. First it was American Idol, and now there's like the X-Factor, which is confusing because it appears the cast of AI just up and left and started this new show that is exactly like AI but with a different name. But I don't watch it so I don't really know if that's the case. And then there's that show that Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera are on. And then there's all of the dancing shows. It's just getting to be a little much in my opinion. Whatever happened to hitting it big the old fashioned way, by becoming a starving artist and waiting tables or stripping until you get your big break? Is that really too difficult for people these days?

Anyway, not sure how much fall decorating I'll be able to afford to do this year, but I really think I'm going to purchase some of these for my front porch:

Mums! I love mums! So colorful and seasonal. And affordable, to boot:)