30 September 2012

Theatre tickets

Nothing like big ole whiff of sour milk first thing in the morning to wake you up. Uck. Good thing I went grocery shopping and got some new stuff yesterday.

Last night was the first show of our Broadway season tickets! We got all fancied up and saw Beauty and the Beast- one of my childhood favorites.

We had dinner at Benjy's, which I've never tried. Cool concept, nice atmosphere, awkward waiter, lovely conversation, and delicious entrees, though slightly overpriced with smallish portions.

The show was really good. It was funnier than I expected. Belle was my favorite. Her voice was amazing. She sounded just like the movie version.

We all agreed that the first act was great- I particularly enjoyed the bar scene during Gaston's song, and the visual effects during Be Our Guest. The second act left much to be desired- it's like they ran out of time while designing the set and just threw it together.

For that, we decided that it did not beat out The Lion King (which only Missy has seen and determined is the show to beat) but it was still a delightful night and entertaining show.

Requisite picture of Akhtar and his harem of lovely ladies. Seriously, we clean up pretty nice.


28 September 2012

Thoughts of late

- Plan B (yet to be described here) is starting to get a move on. I'm scared. Plan A is safe! Plan B just kinda randomly inserted itself into my life and I'm nervous I'll get myself all excited over nothing. Enough of Plan B. It's not safe to talk about yet.

- I've had an unpleasant taste in my mouth lately. My oral hygiene routine hasn't changed, so I dunno what's the deal.

- Started wearing contacts again. We have to start wearing safety glasses in the lab, or else attach these little side-cover things to our prescription glasses. Well, the side-things don't do much but sit on your temples and be annoying and do absolutely nothing to protect your eyes. So, contacts + legitimate safety glasses is the new thing. Apparently I look a lot different in contacts, or so my coworkers say. I just think I look like me. SHRUG. Which means I should go to the eye doctor soon because I'm wearing an old prescription.

- Officially going to look for dermatologists next week. Zits are back by force. Enough is enough. I'm a grown-ass woman and I'm sick of it. Besides, I need this shiz cleared up by the time the nuptials roll around. Ain't nothing windex is going to clear up...

- In addition to the funky mouth, in general I just feel funky. Gross and sluggish. I feel like I need a good long sweaty run or something. Or a detox. < --- hahaha yeah, right. For real, though. Since I'm making the doctor rounds, I might as well make a trip to the GP. I've also been putting off a trip to the gyno. I wonder if I can get it all done in 1 week?

- Been completing a lot of my continuing education courses lately. I've got a lot of catching up to do. It feels so much like studying. It's kinda nice to exercise the brain a little, but also glad it's in small doses. STILL have an aversion to studying, 2 years out.

25 September 2012

shoutouts

Mom really helped me out today. Friends are more awesome than I deserve. Sistahs there for me every second that I've ever needed them. Truly blessed.
Really tired, and I haven't showered, or eaten, or packed a lunch for tomorrow, and there's crap everywhere, but I'm feelin' good.

24 September 2012

Shoes.

Let's take a break from how frustrating things are right now, and talk about... shoes!

I finally took a pair of shoes, slapped some glitter and mod podge on them, and gave them new life!

These are my shoes.


My beloved black pumps that are so comfortable that I can stand in them all day. They'd seen better days, for sure.

A coat of mod podge, a generous coat of glitter on top, let dry for a day or so, then repeated. After the second glitter coat had dried, I applied another coat of just mod podge, so it wouldn't shed glitter herpes everywhere. The effect:




Pretty new glittery shoes! The best part is, they were already broken in so they are comfortable as all get-out. Plus, the mod podge and glitter only cost me a few dollars.

Shoes!
...betch.

P.S. These are not the aforementioned glittery wedding shoes. Those are these, but in platinum gold, which I can't find online. Gorgeous! 

23 September 2012

whelm.


Hoo.

Being pulled in 10 different directions right now. One thing after another. I feel like various parts of my life have been grabbed, tossed up in the air, and are being suspended above my head. Then, just to liven things up a bit, other stuff is being thrown in and juggled with the original stuff, and the original stuff is being switched out with new stuff. All at the same time.

I'm so scatterbrained. I need a big giant to-do list that I can carry around my neck like flavor flav's clock (or whatever that thing is). Or a personal assistant. I'll just pay her in gum.

Oh yeah, I'm broke again. My debit card was a slut this weekend. Something about the allure of sparkly wedding shoes that makes me whip out my debit card a little too fast. I am a woman, after all. Oh, those shoes are gorgeous.

But, all this tumult is for a reason. It's all eventually going to be good things. I just wish there was a switch I could flip to make it all turn off when it's time for sleep. Because shitty sleep + crazy tumult = even crazier tumult and scattering of the brain.

I'm just praying that, as things work out- like they always do- I can keep myself together.
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to hide from life today and try to get a little peace.

22 September 2012

refreshed

Just when I get to feeling really lost and kinda detached from things, I get a late-night phone call from Chris that snaps me back into feeling good about things. He's just as excited as I am about what's going on in two months. It's hard to remember that when we don't talk and there's no one to share the excitement. But he just fits right in where he's supposed to in the scheme of things and completely fills every doubt that I've been having.

And, he's given me advice about some important life-changing things that I expected him to give; but it feels so much better to actually hear it from him.

So continues this saga. 

18 September 2012

You know what?

You know what? Literally in the last 48 hours I've realized something. Plans are made to be messed up.
If every plan I ever made went through as I thought it would without a hitch, I would be in a very different place, a very different person.

The thing about plans is, they're always changeable. And that's a good thing. We adapt.

See, I made plans for how my life would go a long time ago. Some have gone through to completion, albeit with a few detours, and some have just flat-out tanked. Sometimes, I simply changed my mind. No matter what the journey or the outcome, or how I reacted at the time, I always eventually look back and feel glad that it happened that way.

Sometimes when plans change, the choice is made for you. Sometimes, you make that choice.

Yeah, I had specific plans about how my wedding would go.

But you know what? I chose to change those plans. He may have changed my plans when he chose to propose, but I'm the one who chose to say yes when he asked me to marry him. (As if I had a choice- I don't know if you can call it a choice when every fiber of your being screams, "Hell motherfucking YES!" while all your voice can do is whisper, "Yeah.")

I knew my plans would not be able to stay the same. And that's okay. I'm pretty darn happy with that choice. I chose to adapt my plans to meld with his. I feel like that's part of what marriage is.

And yeah I had a moment of pity when I got overwhelmed and thought back about my plans. About the traditional things you do to prepare for a wedding. When I think about it a little more, I don't really care about going through the motions. I think it's mostly about missing him, and nothing can change that.

Because you know what? I'm thrilled to be planning my simple little courthouse wedding, with my simple lace dress, with my favorite people in the world around me, and my "something blue" by my side. I'm so damn excited I can hardly stand it. I get to marry him.

I don't feel like I'm missing anything. If all the other stuff happens, like when we "plan" to have a big wedding in a couple years, that's cool. If not, that's cool too. It's not a requirement for me. It's just a plan. To be honest, I'm looking forward to living my life with him more than anything else.

I'm starting a new chapter of my life in a few months. That wasn't always the plan. But I'll tell you right now, if given the chance, I wouldn't change any of it.

I really enjoyed this

17 September 2012

Organizing my thoughts

Please excuse the SUPER WHINE in the last post.

Suzy, this is why I love you. You tell me when to simplify things when they've gotten out of hand. Bottom line is, I'm going to marry that toot and whatever else happens, happens. 

At the very least, I have decided what I want, and I'm going to do my best to make it happen.

At the top of the list, I want my friends to be at my wedding. We were going to keep it small and just have family there, but regardless if we have a big reception later on, I want my besties by my side on this special day. So the guest list is decided. I have checked with the Justice of the Peace, and there is enough room. Yay!

Next is the date. I have a pretty good idea, just need to fine-tune it.

I made a bunch of calls and got a ton of questions answered, so that actually eases a lot of the stress.

Things are moving along quite swimmingly.

16 September 2012

wedded stress

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with wedding planning.

I'm getting opinions from everybody except who matters most, from all angles, and it's overwhelming. I don't even know what I want anymore! Maybe I need to sit down and figure that out again and go from there.

Regardless, I need to get on the ball. Questions need to be answered before I can continue making these tentative plans. It's like, stress city over here. My sister has been incredibly helpful with logistics, but she can't provide his opinion. I'm getting married to a guy who's just going to suddenly show up for it all. Which is actually pretty accurate. Lucky guy. I want to just show up too! (Haha.)

And since we hardly talk, I'm scared that we won't be on the same page about important things like finances and the future, and you know, normal shit people talk about before they get married. I know we'll figure it out eventually, but it's just kinda hanging over my head.

It's exciting because he's coming home and I'm planning my wedding, but at the same time it's making me sad. It's missing something.

I wanted all the traditional fun things that my friends all had. The engagement party, the pictures, the pretty invitations, the registry & the showers...  everyone else gets that period of fun and love and making memories. I'm not trying to compare my life to everyone else's, but I always thought I'd get to experience those things. Honestly, I don't even know if I'll care about that stuff 5 years from now, but it seems overrated until you don't get it.

I know it's not about the wedding; it's about the marriage. I know our marriage will be wonderful, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing out. You know?

I know once the stress of planning is over and he's actually home I'll be over the moon and I won't feel any of these feelings except excitement and I won't care about anything else. That's kinda what he does; erases the stress.

I can't wait for that.
There's nothing a little squeeze from Chris can't fix.

14 September 2012

yay payday?

So you all pretty much know that my job sucks and I drag myself out of bed in the morning solely for the paycheck.

So imagine my pending conniption-fit when I go to deposit my paycheck this afternoon after a long-ass day at work and the bank won't take it.

Not to mention it's been a pain in the ass for months since they stopped offering direct deposit because of some computer glitch.

Long story short, after numerous phone calls and over the course of 2.5 hours, I had to end up driving to the bank that my company uses, get them to verify it and cash it (for a $7 charge since I don't have an account there), and take it back to my bank and deposit it.

Can you say bull shit??

If this happens next payday, I don't know what I'm going to do.

13 September 2012

I work outtt

Today I exercised.

Rain threatened my nice brisk walk, so instead I did (look familiar, ash?):

Once. One time. Not 3-5. Bitches be crazy.

Then I did about 15 of these:

Felt the burn.

Then I cooled down for a few minutes because I was about to have a heart attack, and did some of these:


Balancing on the ball was fun. I fell off a few times. Glad only the cat was watching.

09 September 2012

Theme of my life

Therefore, the theme of this blog.


Apparently I'm not the only one, haha

shopping & skeeters

What a lovely day yesterday. Spend the afternoon with my mom and sister.

Next shopping project: I need to find proper undergarments for my city hall wedding dress. It's basically a very sheer dress with a lace overlay. I didn't realize how sheer until I brought it home. A slip would solve the problem, but it is a spaghetti strap and nothing's tackier than a bunch of straps hanging out.

A strapless bra is a must. So I figured something like this would work. I tried one on and realized the problem pretty quickly. In order to find a bra that is supportive, I have to go with a 32inch back. That leaves me stuffed into the rest of the garment like a 2 lb sausage in a 1 lb bag. If I go any bigger, I lose support.

I am currently considering buying a strapless bra separately (because I really need one anyway) and trying to find something like this to wear as well. I don't really want to be feeling suffocated the whole time so I can get one that's a little less tight but still does the job of a slip. I have to figure out where to buy these things.

Also, I need to find some lace to wear as a sash. I bought some white lace, but it turns out the dress is slightly ivory. Also, I need shoes. That's the fun part!

It's going to take a day of running around town with my dress in tow to get everything taken care of.

My evening was spent at Constellation Field. Sugar Land recently got a baseball team, the Skeeters. I've been wanting to go, and Missy found out that our high school dance team was performing, so we got tickets through them.

I gotta say, I'm very impressed. The stadium is very nice. They even have a kid's area with a water park and a carousel around the outfield. The stadium is small enough that all of the seats are good, and all tickets are very reasonably priced. Not like when you go see the Astros and you pay 40 bucks and can still barely make out the players on the field.

We sat just past the 1st base line, and got to see all the players warming up. By the way, pretty much all of the players are attractive. Was that a requirement for being on the team? Kuz I'm not complaining.
Also, because it's minor league, many of the players stopped and chatted with the fans before the game, signed autographs for kids, threw balls into the crowd, and were really nice and personable.

To make the evening complete, a cool front came through. It was perfect weather for being outdoors. Top it all off with a 5-minute drive home. I couldn't have asked for a better combination!

When they aren't playing baseball games, the stadium is going to be used for other events, like concerts. How cool is that?

07 September 2012

ripped my pants

Oh yeah, today at work I split my pants.

On the butt.

I had lifted something heavy and set it down by squatting. Then I heard the sound of stitches ripping. At first I thought it was just my lab coat but then I looked and it was my butt.

I was amused. It really didn't matter because I had my lab coat on, and then after work the 2-minute walk to my car wasn't so bad because I was wearing red underwear anyway. (That makes more sense if I tell you I was wearing red scrubs).

06 September 2012

Gahh

I rushed after work to run an errand and I got there three minutes past closing time. One of those "GAHH" moments. That's ok, I'll go back tomorrow. Or, get mom to do it for me during the day ;o).

I think I'm getting closer to finding an acne solution. Face is clearing up. Chest is clear. Back is on its way as well. Before I get too excited, let's see how it's working in a few weeks.

I want to throw stuff away. My de-clutter motion a few weeks back was thwarted by lounging around.

And, God forbid I take a shower or leave my phone for a second, because then I'll miss my chance to talk to Chris for another 2 weeks. Hmph.

P.S. Another charge from United Airlines has placed my credit card back out of "Paid-In-Full" status. Guess whose cute fiance's plane tickets home are purchased?? MINE!

04 September 2012

ASL

I've wanted to learn sign language for a very long time. I learned a few signs and the alphabet when I was living with Barbara at UH, who was deaf, but her hearing aid made it so easy to communicate that I never gave it much more effort. Especially when I was trying to earn a degree and all.

But it's always been on the LIST, and today I did a quick search and came across this site, lifeprint.com, which is very organized and super easy to learn.

Now, it's pretty difficult to learn a language all by yourself with no one to talk to. I think if you're reading this, you should give it a shot. Then we can practice together! (I've already completed lesson 1, and I really enjoyed it)

03 September 2012

recap

This weekend was pretty good. I think all weekends should be three days.

Saw Hope Springs. Love Meryl Streep, and Tommy Lee Jones was perfect for the part.

We spent yesterday at my sister's house for a bbq. When I got there, I was really thirsty, so I grabbed a sprite. I went to help my sister assemble some jalapeno poppers, and took a big gulp. After I swallowed I realized that it wasn't sprite. I had set my soda down next to someone's beer, and started the party with a nice big swig of gluten!
Considering the last two times I was glutened, I expected the worst. But I immediately took some pepto, and started drinking tons of water to hopefully flush it out. I just ended up with some cramping and bloating. Crisis averted! It ended up being a really nice afternoon.
I was hardly in the sun, but still managed to get burned. Tried that thing I saw on pinterest about using tea, and I don't think it made much of a difference, in case you'd seen that and were wondering if it worked.

Have been struggling to get my complexion under control. I'm trying one more product/ system before I seek help from a professional. So far it seems to be working, but that's how they all start out.

Chris has been out doing some training so communication is sporadic. I have so many neat things to tell him, but when we finally do get a chance to talk, I know I won't remember any of it. That's how it goes.

01 September 2012

restless & number crunching

I keep hearing everyone say, "Oh, it's September already!"

Good. September can come and go, October can fly by, and November can  c r a w l.

Because then Chris comes home and becomes my hubby and I get to squeeze him for a couple weeks.

Then he'll leave again, but let's try focus on the good parts. He's already got me checking out flight schedules. Gettin' my squeezing muscles ready.

Also, my life may not be ideal right now, but I'm absolutely over the moon for my sister and her developing family. I can live vicariously through her amazing life for a while.

Also, my brother just got a great new job and I'm so excited for him. It only stings a little bit that he will be making more money than me.

Makes me wonder, what the hell am I doing with my life??
I want to be happy. I want to make more money. I want something fresh.
It's about time for something great to fall into my lap, too.

I spent this morning crunching numbers.

I paid off the rest of my credit card again. I now have a balance of zero and my wisdom teeth and Hawaii trip are paid in full. And now I'm back on track. As I promised myself, I now have a balance of $50 on my amazon gift card. Yay, books!

Since I was already in the mood, I checked out my finances more in depth.

It seems that I've paid off roughly half my debt in two years. Using that logic, in another two years I should be debt-free. Actually, pretty good timing for our house-buying goal.

After re-evaluating my finances, and seeing as how I don't pay much in rent, I'm able to put more than half my income into paying off debt, and that will speed the process. As long as I limit my spending and stay faithful to paying bills first, I should be able to meet that goal. In fact, I've gotten used to being poor again so it won't be a lifestyle change.

Also, I feel like I need a jar of mod podge. Something needs to be ultra-glittered around here. But what?