Holiday Season Craze

It's unfortunate that as I've gotten older, the glitz and glam that is known as "the holidays," is no longer as pretty and shiny to me. A friend of mine told be she watched a little kid go crazy over seeing santa clause and the mall. I miss the days of innocence and truth as far as the imagination would take you.

With that said, this holiday season has been a roller coaster of emotions. I had my two assistant managers quit, my regional manager blamed me and called my store a "toilet bowl for managers. You get one and flush them right down the drain" (though it was NOT my fault, might I add), I worked nine days straight with christmas as my one day off and am right back in the grind of work for a seven day stretch.

Aside from all the ugliness that December has brought about, I've had a lot of golden nuggets of happiness from it too. My sister got the change to spend a week with me in Austin. It was great having her around. We had a lovely photo shoot session, did some baking, shopped for gifts, and lounged around whenever possible.

I also had a really lovely christmas! My mr's parents were amazing enough to buy me a ticket to Dallas so I could spend christmas with my bf and his family. It was a great blessing. I flew out of Austin after work on the 24th. After they all picked me up from the airport, we all filled our bellies with dinner at Papaduex, then went to Deerfield to look at the christmas lights in the neighborhood. We listened to the Glee christmas soundtrack on the drive back to Sulphur Springs, TX (where the mr's from). It was so much fun!

Christmas day was relaxing. I got to sleep in! We had waffles for breakfast and opened presents. I truly wasn't expecting much because I didn't ask for anything, but I got the most fitting surprise gift: a Kindle! Originally, I was against the idea of an electronic device replacing the wonderful feel and smell of a book, but it's just so pretty I can't help but love it! I got a gift card to Amazon too, so I get to download all the books I want. The only problem was, I couldn't think of many. I got a couple of Kurt Vonnegut book (he's my new found author love), and a few classics including Alice in Wonderland, Aesop's Fables and Dante's Inferno. If anyone has any suggestion, please send them my way.

Phil got a Kinect from his parents. The family spent the whole evening jumping, jabbing and crouching to skiing, boxing and football games. I'm pretty sure everyone ended the day sore and realizing how out of shape they were--except for myself, of course :). The day ended early for me and my mr. I had to be at work the next day at 10am. I went to bed at 9pm so we could hit the road by 4am to make it back to Austin in time. Fortunately, I slept most of the way and got home in time for a 30 minute nap. That day was the longest day ever! I worked a 10 hour shift with no break or another manager to help. Pretty tiresome, but I survived.

I'm very much looking forward to the new year. I'm excited to see what amazing things 2011 will bring. I'm hoping for new friendships, lessons learned, memories to photograph and write about and many smiles and laughs. Cheers!

Football season sucks

Just a thought for today. I dislike football and the fact that every year it becomes number one priority to my bf--and I'm sure most other men. It wouldn't be so bad if it just happened every Sunday, but it's slowly infesting it's way into every day of the week. It's not just the game watching anymore, either. Fantasy football has become rampant too, so now guys are watching games they normally wouldn't watch because they have one of their players playing that game.
The only brightside to this situation is that 1. I get more alone time and 2. My own veggie pizza every night "the boys" come over.
Quit making me the third wheel in my relationship NFL!

Bested by fried food

Last night Phil and I had plans to watch the new Harry Potter movie. I'm a huge fan of the books and movies, and I'm dying to see it, but our plans were put off last night when one of Phil's friends needed his editing skills for a paper. The editing lasted until 10pm. Not only was I sad that I missed the movie, but I was also grumpy from lack of food in my belly. Phil picked up on that quick, and we bolted to Cheddar's, which is one of the closest restaurants to us. Our friend Kyle joined us.

I'd never been there and they didn't have much of a vegetarian friendly menu, but by suggestion from our server we started with fried onion rings. It came out as a mountain, and they were definitely tasty. I ordered fish tacos with fries--on the occasions that we eat out with no vegetarian meals, I opt for fish. And, if you really knew me, you'd know that I love french fries.  It's the only thing that I eat that's fried--and that's not very often.

We tore apart the mountain of rings, and I went to town on the fries. Huge mistake. My stomach was not built for that much oil. bleh! We got home and I quickly past out on the couch while watching a ridiculously adorable show on cute cats--that's how I knew I was bested by fried food.

Till next time!

It's about time!

I haven't posted in over a month now. Strangely, it's been a crazy time. The month's been filled with a small cold, an assistant manager quitting, an assistant manager moving, the gaining of an assistant manager and a manager in training. Eeps!

To put the stress at ease, my mama came to visit me for a week, from NM. I hadn't seen my mom in seven months--since our birthdays in March. It was so great having her around.

Mom got here on a Tuesday night. It was pretty late so we went to bed shortly after she arrived. I had Wednesday off, and was awakened by breakfast in bed--eggs and enchiladas (yes, I'm mexican). We attempted to be lazy, but mom wanted to go and do.

So, I took her to my gym (Lifetime Fitness). I wanted to have her do yoga with me, but instead we sat in the hot tub and steam room. It was like a little spa retreat. She loved it. Afterwards, I took mom to Driftwood Vineyard. I'm a wine member there and had to pick up some wine. Plus, I knew she would love the drive and the view at the vineyard.

We got a free wine tasting of six wines. Mom fell in love with the Viognier and ended up getting two bottles of it and one bottle of my favorite, Orange Muscat. It was nearing dinner time and were given a suggestion of the Mandola vineyard's restaurant Trattoria Lisina. Of course we took the recommendation.

We were so glad we did. It was incredible! We each had a glass of pinot noir. Mom had a delicious plate with shrimp, cheese and squid ink. My plate so flavorful. It was fettucini with eggplant, pine nuts and tomatoes. We were both in heaven--both our tummies were full of tasty wine and pasta, but mom insisted on sharing tiramisu, and I wasn't about to deny mom anything on her vacation. It was a wonderful dinner and perfect day.

I had to work on Thursday morning. When I got off of work, I came home to a completely clean home. Mom spent the day scrubbing and vacuuming. It felt good to come home and not have to worry about picking up. The place looked awesome and several more of the move boxes were unpacked. Mom and I ate Dog Almighty for dinner. She loved it. After dinner we watched Babies on Netflix. It's an adorable movie and sorta kinda makes me want babies--sort of.

Friday morning we went to Target. Mom wanted to get me something for my apartment. She ended up redoing my entire bathroom and getting me a new duvet cover. Silly lady spoils me.

Saturday was my favorite day. Since my sister and I won't be able to go home for Thanksgiving, my mom planned a Thanksgiving dinner for us. I worked in the morning, and around 1pm my little sister and mom stopped by my store. It made my day go by quicker.  I came home to my mom, sister, bf and my buddy Channon, with a turkey cooking in the oven.

Though I didn't partake in the turkey eating, the sides we delicious! All the good fixings were enjoyed: green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing and of course pumpkin pie for dessert. Ugh! I definitely gained weight that day.

We all slept in on Sunday. Phil went to his buddy's place to watch football and mom, lis (my sis) and I spent the day relaxing and putting up decorations. For an afternoon snack, I took the ladies to Mozart's. Lis went home in the afternoon and mom and I went to the movies to see the Hereafter. It wasn't the greatest movie, but I was nice hanging out with my mom.

Mom left super early Monday morning. I got up to say goodbye. She got home safely--9 hours later. It was difficult getting back in to the normal groove. I got used to waking up to breakfast and coming home to a clean home with dinner ready. Oh my mama, I love her. She's a great and loving lady.

Good friends. Great times.

This week was a week of fellowship. Some of my high school friends came into town for Austin City Limits this weekend. I had to work most of the time, but used every ounce of energy to make myself go out Saturday night. I was so thankful I did.

I started my night at my handsome friend, Boomer's dorm. Naturally, he took a couple hours to get ready. It worked out well because it gave the lovely Channon a chance to meet up with us too. We didn't end up getting downtown until midnight. Against all of our wills, we met up with my friends on "dirty" 6th street (against our will because we all hate being on the college side of 6th street. It's stinky and nasty). BUT we did find the best parking ever. We were a block away from the heart of the action.

I truly hadn't spoken to my friends, Amaru and Raul, since we graduated from high school. We were pretty close our junior and senior year, and we all ended up going to NMSU, but I spent my time in the college of journalism, while they were in the college of engineering. We just lost touch.

It's crazy how things hadn't changed much with them. They looked great and acted just as I had remembered them (with more of an adult air though). We had a couple drinks at Maggie Mae's and somehow ended up at the most ghetto place I've stepped foot in on 6th. I won't even name the place or go into the details of how gross it was, but "ugh!"  We closed the place down though. It was super hard to catch up because it was so loud, so we decided to meet up for breakfast before they left the next day.

Breakfast was at Torchy's tacos. We only got to banter for 45 minutes because they had a plane to catch, but after getting only a few hours of sleep, though sad to leave them, I was happy to climb back into bed afterwards.

After a three hour nap, I woke up excited because my management team was going over for dinner. I unpacked four more boxes and fixed up the living room, dining room and kitchen. I love hosting get togethers! I made pasta with capers for dinner. We had chocolate fondue for dessert with pound cake, strawberries and bananas to dip. Between four of us, we drank two bottles of tasty wine.

Though I hoped we wouldn't, we talked about work most of the time. However, we all had such a great time, it didn't matter the topic of conversation.  We've never had the chance to all hangout, so it felt good to get to know them outside of work. It was midnight or later before we realized the time.

I thanked God that night for such great people in my life, and for the amazing opportunities of fellowship. I felt very blessed this week--more than normal.

All moved in

I finally got all my belongings to my new apartment! The sad part is, everything is randomly thrown wherever it would fit. There are two tables in the living room, a dinning room chair in the bedroom, and clothes in the study. The bathroom is the closest to being in order. I haven't had a day off since I moved everything. I spent my last day off cleaning the old apartment. It took 5 hours to clean the entire place. That included scrubbing toilets/tubs, vacuuming, refrigerator cleaning, and patio sweeping/scrubbing. I was soar the next couple of days, but I made that place shine. Mama would be proud.

 So, I haven't had a chance to organize the new place. The upside is I have tomorrow off! I want to go to Ikea sooooo bad! But trips to Ikea should be taken with someone else, mainly because it's at least a two hour trek through the store, and that's if you walk straight through. Unfortunately, the few people I'd want to join me in this excursion are working. I may have to venture on my own, since I can't wait another week. Crazy thought: I wish I could take my cats with me! I'm sure they could find the best fit for the apartment. I only say this because of this video my sister sent me. It's a must watch.

As far as tonight goes, I'm taking it easy. I just finished watching Ponyo on netflix. Cute movie. Really out there, but japanamations can be pretty entertaining. Not to mention Liam Neeson is the voice of one of the characters. His voice is soothing. I also got to indulge in a candle lit dinner (solo). I ordered sweet and sour tofu. Any time I get to eat with chopsticks, it makes the food that much better.

New Beginning

Today. Oh today. It was a basket of crazy. I won't get into it, but there was definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

It rained all day, which is always a mood pick-me-up for me, but when I left work there was the most beautiful surprise. A rainbow! It was on the way to becoming a double rainbow too. So I saw true potential for the rest of the evening. 

I got the keys to my new apartment! (Exciting!!) It was actually the first time I got to see it too, and I love it! Phil and I already started figuring out where we're going to put everything. (I'm not actually moving in till this weekend).

The view from the balcony and the view from the bedroom are awesome. It's also bigger than the apartment I'm in now. There's a "study." It's perfect for my beautiful friends and family to stay in when they make a long drive to visit this beautiful face (@Melisa and Jesse). I can't wait to be moved in! I started looking for pretty things to decorate with. I'm in major need of a bookcase and lovely wall hangings.

I rounded off the end of the night with a pretty fair size glass of wine and some 'How I met your mother.' To top it off, I sent the picture of Phil and me to my mom. Her reply to it was, "are you eating well? You look skinny." (What girl doesn't like to hear that?) 

I made every attempt possible to pack some more, but it just wasn't happening. I'm taking the rest of the night to relax and unwind. Packing tomorrow.

It's been a long week

I think I'm getting sick. I've had no desire other than to sleep. Even after I wake up from a full 8hr sleep, I could go for a nap. It's not healthy. It's either sickness or stress (or both).
BUT I did have an interesting week full of photo worthy moments.
My last day off I had a "date night" with my bff Channon. Typically, we do brunch on Fridays. We have opposite schedules, and brunch is all we can fit into our "busy lives." We went all out this weekend though. We had a super late dinner at Vivo (closed the place down actually) with delicious cucumber margaritas. Then ended up downtown on the noncollege side of 6th street. We got lured into The Belmont with a free drink ticket. It was lovely! There was an open patio rooftop with lights, white curtains and jazzy music. Very relaxing.

I also finally got the chance to develop my film from my Diana F+. I'm still getting used to shooting with it, but I just love the randomness of the shots and not knowing what the outcome will look like. Here are a couple of my favorites from the roll.

They're super high resolution, so they look better as small versions. I'm excited about my next roll because I'm using 120mm as apposed to the 35mm. Exciting!

I also got some packing done this weekend. Very little packing, but I'm heading in the right direction. I think I did about 3 boxes in 3 hours. I kept getting distracted by the VMA rerun (This was the first time I'd watched it since I lived at home) and the cats were being adorable playing hide and seek in the boxes.

All in all this week was a fun/relaxing/semi-productive week.

Weekend in Waxa.

I got super lucky this week and got the weekend off--something that never happens in my business! I was given a comp day at work because of Labor day. It was supposed to be taken on Wednesday, but because my store is understaffed on managers I got to take it on Saturday. Whoop whoop! So, with my extra day off I decided to visit my little sis in Waxahachi, Tx.

She goes to Southwestern Assembly of God University (SAGU). This is her first year to have her own dorm, and I wanted to check out her alone space. 

When I got here, we went straight to Target--not because it's a small town and there's nothing much to do here, but because Target is always a good time. We played with masks, looked at frames and baby clothes, and got some food for dinner. 

I bought pretty organic cotton sheets. I'm in the process of moving to a new apartment, and a new apartment needs new sheets. 

After Target, we came back to the dorm and ate Morningside buffalo wings and watched Amazing Cakes on TV. Our quality time was cut short because she had tickets to the Rangers/Yankee game in Dallas with her bf. Yeah, she left me, but alone time is always nice. 

First thing I did was nap. When I woke up I had some delicious Ben & Jerry's ice cream and am currently watching the Family Stone. I've got a long, lonely night ahead of me. Melisa's not coming back till after midnight. I miss my cats and my bf, but it's nice to get away. 

Date night

Date night by adrholgu featuring alexander wang handbags

Rainy day

Yesterday was a crazy day.

I had a meeting at 8am with my new management team. The meeting went well. We're all excited because it's mid-year review time, which means raises time. We also have a busy month ahead of us: inventory, management training day, and tons of recruiting that needs to take place. We all seemed to work together nicely, and I'm excited to see what we're able to do as a team.

After the meeting, I went to the gym to do some yoga--the best way to start a day. I had planned to make it to two classes, but ended up only making 45 minutes of one. I was able to to fit in some steam room time before I had to get ready for work though.

The best and worst part of the day was that there was a monsoon of a storm taking place. It was awesome to watch from inside, but my store is in an outdoors mall. Not only was it insanely slow at work (we did $300 in sales all day), but we got four leaks through out the store.

We made the most of the day by catching up on paperwork and fixing store standard. No one wanted to leave the store for lunch breaks though, so we relaxed in the ever so comfortable couches in the store.

Today was our manager in training's first day. We're speeding up her training processes because we're down a manager. I was super pleased with her swiftness in picking things up. 

After we closed the store and sent the associates home, we went over the closing procedures. All was going smoothly until we heard a steady flow up water. Yup, the ceiling tile cracked and was letting in all the rain that had puddled up from a hole in the rooftop. Eventually, it collapsed, followed shortly by the tile next to it. The store is now trashcan-less, they're all too busy holding rain water. 

It was an exciting event though, especially the drive home. I live about 15 minutes from work, but last night it took 30ish minutes to get home. It was kind of scary because the rain was so constant. Cars were pulled over the side of the road waiting for a break in the rain. I was in awe the whole way home. When it storms, I feel like a kid for some reason. I could stare out the window for hours. I waited til I got home to enjoy it though. 

The Mr. was at my place when I got there. The cats were both bundled up in little balls. We were all hungry, so I gave the girls some wet food (their favorite) and made us a giant sandwich (since I didn't get a chance to break at work). It was delish! Morningstar came out with a new 1/4lb burger patty. So I had to pile on the condiments to truly enjoy it. Anyone could chow down on it and not even know it wasn't meat. Mmmm.

I was pooped from such a long day, and knowing I had the next day off helped me sleep even better. I love eventful days.

Yay for days off!

Last night Phil and I stayed up till 4am catching up on some Dexter season 4. It's an addictive show and easy to stay up that late. BUT we ended up sleeping till 1pm today (it was much needed sleep). When we woke up, we made our way to the couch only to spend another hour laying around finishing the season (which is incredible and insanely stressful). I can't wait for the next season.

Phil made us delicious breakfast burritos with faux sausage and eggs. After our bellies were full, we took a nap. I tell ya, there's no better way to spend a day off.

It was off to the grocery store after my nap. I've not had food in my home in a month. I've just been too busy. Pretty big bill, but tons of delicious food. To celebrate having food, I decided to make homemade mac and cheese (my favorite dish). Needless to say, it was a big hit with my tummy.

Now, I'm watching a little Star Wars: Episode IV before meems time. A great end to a lazy day.

Date night makes the day right

As always, I had a crazy long day at work yesterday and had maybe five hours of sleep to top it off. As always, there was light at the end of the tunnel. It was date night with my mr!
We were both super tired from our long days so we had to take a nap before we went out. Nap time is always a good time.
For dinner, we decided to have a quick bite at Dog Almighty. We fell in love with this place from the first time we ate there. Not only is it delicious, but it's also vegetarian friendly!

 

After dinner, we went to see Going the Distance. I was really looking forward to watching this movie. I love Drew's acting and think Justin is hil-ar-i-ous. Just as I thought, it was awesome! I highly recommend it.

So that was my day. I definitely went to sleep with a smile on my face.

Not a bowl of cherries kind of day

For the life of me, I could not sleep last night, and to make matters worse, I had to be up at 6:30am for work. Not a good start to the day. 

As usual, I stayed at work too long--without a break. Sooooo, to brighten my day, I stopped by the grocery store after work. I was out of food, so I picked up some "essentials."

I have weird taste.

The food brightened my spirits, and made my day a happy day. 

The girls were happy too :)

What better day than a Sunday?

I love having Sundays off! They're always interesting days. I either devote them to unwinding and prepping for the week to come or getting as much done so I have little to do during the week. Today I opted to unwind.

I started my day by waking up to this. Madison can pretty much sleep comfortably anywhere.

Once I finally got up, Phil (the BF) suggest we eat at Denny's. I'm not a fan of chain restaurants usually, but I was starving. It definitely hit the spot! I ate multi grain pancakes, eggs and hash browns.

I started prepping for the week when we got home. I hooked up all my utilities at my soon-to-be new apartment.

I'm incredibly excited to move, but not excited about the process of moving. It's always a pain to pack, haul and unpack. Sounds like a nightmare. But! at least the utilities are set up.

Church was next on the to do list. I haven't had a chance to go the past few weeks, so i was super stoked I had the chance today. I go to Austin Stone Community Church, and I'm crazy in love with it. Two years ago, they gave me the opportunity to go to Egypt on a mission trip, and showed me the true meaning of being a Christian.

Today's message was about God's grace and mercy. Mercy is God not giving us something we deserve (i.e. a speeding ticket for speeding) and grace is God giving us something we don't deserve (i.e. pretty much any good thing that comes our way). It was a great message.

Now, I'm ending the day with "Amazing Wedding Cakes" and a glass of wine. All in all, a happy day.