I had a pretty good weekend. At least, after I started feeling better.
You see, spring has already started making it's way here in Texas, and while spring is typically my favorite time of year, I always forget how bad my allergies get this time of year. I have horrible pollen allergies, and get sick from them every year in February/March. This year was no exception.
I started feeling sick last Friday, while sitting in LAX airport waiting for my flight home to board. It was that slight tingling sensation in my sinuses that first got me worries.
By Monday, I was a sniffling, nasal-y mess. Calling out sick was out of the question, however, as I had a client photo shoot that day that required my attendance, particularly since the owner of the restaurant we were shooting for would be present. I figured I'd just pop a Zirtec and be done with it.
By Tuesday, I was actually feeling better, and thought maybe I'd beat my allergies, just once.
Except by Wednesday I was feeling AWFUL. And it didn't help that my new office I'd moved into that week is apparently in the coldest part of our floor space, as it's not close to any windows that could potentially let in sunlight. So I continued to feel worse, and by Friday night I was feeling (and looking) pretty bad.
My timing couldn't of been any worse, as not only did I have a ton of work to catch up on from being out of the office for four days, but I also had a baby sprinkle to host on Saturday afternoon, which left very little time to get any real rest.
By Friday night, I had pretty much given up the notion of feeling better anytime soon. I'd had to say late for work, which didn't help my healing process, and pretty much went home, drank some tea, and went to bed.
I woke up feeling slightly better on Saturday, but had many errands to run before getting my house set up for the shower, so I hustled through everything, trying my best to ignore my sore throat, runny nose, and throbbing ear ache.
By noon I was in full set-up mode for the shower. I drank a Red Bull Edition (new to the market and one of my clients...I highly recommend you try!) and that actually seemed to help me a lot.
The good news is, the shower went off without a hitch, and by Saturday evening, I was feeling a heck of a lot better! And I finally went over to my dad's house and visited awhile, which I'd been wanting to do but haven't had time to do lately.
Today was pretty much a day of rest. Sam and I went to church this morning (always a highlight), then got my car washed (finally), had lunch with my sister-in-law, and went grocery shopping. A pretty domestic day, but a great opportunity to relax.
Hoping this will be a good week at work! I've got a lot on my plate, but at least I won't be sick while trying to get everything done.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Full Circle
It's really funny how things come around full-circle.
A couple of Fridays ago, I met up with some girlfriends from work for drinks. We went across the freeway from our offices to this little tapas bar in Uptown Park. Never been there before, but decided to try something new. And, well, who really needs an excuse to drink sangria?
So after finding to find parking for about 10 minutes, I finally walk in and am greeted by our waiter. He says to me "I know you from somewhere."
I look at him a little closer, and don't catch the resemblance right away.
"Well, I get that a lot!" I say, which is true. People are always telling me I look like someone they know - their cousin's best friend, or neighbor from the down street where they grew up. Things like that.
I take a closer at him and ask about his resume. Maybe I'd worked with him in the past?
He starts listing off various restaurants where he's worked. And that's when it hit me. I take a closer look into his eyes and knew right away.
"Is your name Eddie?" I ask, although I already knew the answer.
"Yes!" he says, "you used to work at Carino's, right?"
"Yeah! Like 10 years ago!" I say, causing a little embarrassment for us both. Ten years went by really fast.
And no wonder I didn't recognize him. He was nearly bald and about 30 pounds heavier than in 2003. Kind of ironic for the token hot waiter at that time.
We chitchatted a little bit after that. Mostly about how he was my first trainer when I started at Carino's so long ago, at the tender age of 18, having just graduated from high school a few months prior to my start. It was my first gig waiting tables, and I was determined to be great at it. And make lots more money than I did working at Papa John's!
Eddie was also the first trainer I worked with behind the bar, at the age of 19. I couldn't legally purchase alcohol, but I could serve it. That never did make sense to me.
Which leads me to my whole point. If I'd never worked with Eddie, I never would've ended up where I am today, working at a food & beverage marketing agency, telling major restaurants how to run their bars and train their staff and promote their programs. And it was really weird to see him at some one-off tapas bar in the Galleria, nearly 10 years after we worked together, still waiting tables.
I guess I just always expected the people I worked with at that entry-level waiting job to move on to bigger and better things like I did, but that's not always the way things work.
I told him that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I sincerely mean that. I wish I could go back and thank all of the people in my life who have helped me get where I am today. Because without their support and patience and training, I wouldn't be as successful as I am, and for that I am forever grateful!
A couple of Fridays ago, I met up with some girlfriends from work for drinks. We went across the freeway from our offices to this little tapas bar in Uptown Park. Never been there before, but decided to try something new. And, well, who really needs an excuse to drink sangria?
So after finding to find parking for about 10 minutes, I finally walk in and am greeted by our waiter. He says to me "I know you from somewhere."
I look at him a little closer, and don't catch the resemblance right away.
"Well, I get that a lot!" I say, which is true. People are always telling me I look like someone they know - their cousin's best friend, or neighbor from the down street where they grew up. Things like that.
I take a closer at him and ask about his resume. Maybe I'd worked with him in the past?
He starts listing off various restaurants where he's worked. And that's when it hit me. I take a closer look into his eyes and knew right away.
"Is your name Eddie?" I ask, although I already knew the answer.
"Yes!" he says, "you used to work at Carino's, right?"
"Yeah! Like 10 years ago!" I say, causing a little embarrassment for us both. Ten years went by really fast.
And no wonder I didn't recognize him. He was nearly bald and about 30 pounds heavier than in 2003. Kind of ironic for the token hot waiter at that time.
We chitchatted a little bit after that. Mostly about how he was my first trainer when I started at Carino's so long ago, at the tender age of 18, having just graduated from high school a few months prior to my start. It was my first gig waiting tables, and I was determined to be great at it. And make lots more money than I did working at Papa John's!
Eddie was also the first trainer I worked with behind the bar, at the age of 19. I couldn't legally purchase alcohol, but I could serve it. That never did make sense to me.
Which leads me to my whole point. If I'd never worked with Eddie, I never would've ended up where I am today, working at a food & beverage marketing agency, telling major restaurants how to run their bars and train their staff and promote their programs. And it was really weird to see him at some one-off tapas bar in the Galleria, nearly 10 years after we worked together, still waiting tables.
I guess I just always expected the people I worked with at that entry-level waiting job to move on to bigger and better things like I did, but that's not always the way things work.
I told him that if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today. And I sincerely mean that. I wish I could go back and thank all of the people in my life who have helped me get where I am today. Because without their support and patience and training, I wouldn't be as successful as I am, and for that I am forever grateful!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
I'm Baaaaacccckkkk
SOOOOOOO as you can see, I totally slacked off with keeping up the whole blog thing during the latter part of 2012. In fact, I think my last post was sometime in June or July. Pretty pathetic for someone who loves to write as much as I do.
I say this all the time, but I really am going to try to do a better job with keeping up my blog. I'm really tempted to just scrap it all together and start over, but my pride just won't let me do that, at least until I turn 30, and then I can start anew.
2012 turned out to be a huge year of growth for me, particularly concerning my job. I have made leaps and bounds this past year at work, even earning a promotion in November for all of my hard work, but it hasn't been easy, and the hard work is not over yet. Not that I haven't enjoyed myself along the way, I have, but as with any really challenging experience, I've had my fair share of ups and downs.
I'm really hoping to take my career to the next level this year and step up to the plate and show everyone what I'm all about! I'd say my biggest challenge on the job is maintaining my confidence and recognizing that though I may not be the most experienced person on the team, I still have a lot to contribute and need to do a better job of recognizing that I am a valuable asset to the team. I never really struggled with work confidence in the past, but ever since I got laid off from my previous job, I've started doubting myself and my abilities and I have to stop doing that. I know that I am very smart and very capable. Sometimes it just takes time to build confidence, and that often comes along with knowledge about what I'm doing. So, I've made it my resolution (one of them, at least) to step up my game this year at work and become an MVP at work.
But enough about that, I feel like I should recap 2012 before diving any more into 2013. Here is a recap of the top moments of my year:
1. Sam and I built our very first home together. Holla!
2. FINALLY bought a new car for myself. It was an extremely stressful process, one that took months to navigate and lots of lying cars salesman to deal with, but we finally made it happen and I got my dream car. Couldn't be happier with it!
3. Went to our very first Texans game! How sad is it that I've lived in Houston since the Texans were created and I've NEVER been to a Texans game?! Thank God for good friends who were generous enough to share their tickets with us.
4. As mentioned previously, got a promotion at work!
5. Visited family and friends in Pennsylvania & Marlyand, including a cousin I haven't seen in roughly 7 years. Felt so good to see everyone!
There were definitely more great things that happened in 2012, but these are the top 5 that stick out in my mind. I took some time to revisit the Resolutions I made in December of 2011 to see how I did over the last year. Here's a brief recap of each Resolution:
Become financially healthy
- Meehhh, Sam and I kinda got financially healthier, but we're definitely not where I'd like us to be. In fact, I'm currently working on putting together a budget for us for 2013.
Sign up for my first 5k - Nope, didn't happen.
Tap into my creativity - Okay, I think I've gotten better about this. I still haven't been scrapbooking as much as I'd like to, but my creativity has gotten better over the last year. We'll consider this an ongoing goal.
Blog more - Yeah that totally didn't happen as much as I would've liked. Although in my defense, it has been difficult to blog since my lap top is ancient and moves at the pace of snail stuck in molasses, but I did finally get my office desktop computer set up this weekend, so I really don't have any excuses now.
Go to Las Vegas - Uhhhh nope. Next.
Get a promotion at work
- YES! Here's one I actually accomplished.
Budoir Photoshoot - YES! Did this one in October. Sorry, probly won't be posting any of these photos!
Buy a house - Or build, but another YES!
Buy a new car - YES!
Start horseback riding again - Nooooo. Just didn't have it in the funds this year. And to be honest, it isn't likely this will happen in 2013 either. But, stranger things have happened.
Work on my writing - No, not nearly as much as I wanted to!
Get in shape - Periodically, yes. I was doing exceptionally well August-October, and then kinda fell off the wagon. Hoping to jump back on the wagon starting this week.
So, overall, I'll give myself a strong D. I almost accomplished half of what I aimed for (and that's looking on the bright side). Not saying much, but the good news is, there's always 2013 to do better! I'm still working on my resolutions for the year, but will post soon about what those will be.
I say this all the time, but I really am going to try to do a better job with keeping up my blog. I'm really tempted to just scrap it all together and start over, but my pride just won't let me do that, at least until I turn 30, and then I can start anew.
2012 turned out to be a huge year of growth for me, particularly concerning my job. I have made leaps and bounds this past year at work, even earning a promotion in November for all of my hard work, but it hasn't been easy, and the hard work is not over yet. Not that I haven't enjoyed myself along the way, I have, but as with any really challenging experience, I've had my fair share of ups and downs.
I'm really hoping to take my career to the next level this year and step up to the plate and show everyone what I'm all about! I'd say my biggest challenge on the job is maintaining my confidence and recognizing that though I may not be the most experienced person on the team, I still have a lot to contribute and need to do a better job of recognizing that I am a valuable asset to the team. I never really struggled with work confidence in the past, but ever since I got laid off from my previous job, I've started doubting myself and my abilities and I have to stop doing that. I know that I am very smart and very capable. Sometimes it just takes time to build confidence, and that often comes along with knowledge about what I'm doing. So, I've made it my resolution (one of them, at least) to step up my game this year at work and become an MVP at work.
But enough about that, I feel like I should recap 2012 before diving any more into 2013. Here is a recap of the top moments of my year:
1. Sam and I built our very first home together. Holla!
2. FINALLY bought a new car for myself. It was an extremely stressful process, one that took months to navigate and lots of lying cars salesman to deal with, but we finally made it happen and I got my dream car. Couldn't be happier with it!
3. Went to our very first Texans game! How sad is it that I've lived in Houston since the Texans were created and I've NEVER been to a Texans game?! Thank God for good friends who were generous enough to share their tickets with us.
5. Visited family and friends in Pennsylvania & Marlyand, including a cousin I haven't seen in roughly 7 years. Felt so good to see everyone!
There were definitely more great things that happened in 2012, but these are the top 5 that stick out in my mind. I took some time to revisit the Resolutions I made in December of 2011 to see how I did over the last year. Here's a brief recap of each Resolution:
So, overall, I'll give myself a strong D. I almost accomplished half of what I aimed for (and that's looking on the bright side). Not saying much, but the good news is, there's always 2013 to do better! I'm still working on my resolutions for the year, but will post soon about what those will be.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
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!
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!
Friday, May 18, 2012
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!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
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!
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!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
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.
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.
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