November week 2: Project 334

Sadly, nothing super exciting has happened this week. That could be a good thing I suppose. Here's my week at a glance.

November 8: The weather here has been weird. One day it'll be super windy and grey; the next day it'll be sunny and warm. Silly Texas weather.

November 9: My day off! I love Wednesdays, but this particular Wednesday I had my first round of "cluster shots." My allergist is treating my allergy itching with injections of what I'm allergic to. I got 9 shots of dust mites and trees. Gross!

November 10: Before work, I headed to Firestone for the third time in a week. I finally got around to buying a new battery for my car. It took about two hours to install for some reason. I took it as an opportunity to read.

November 11: The holiday season is becoming more evident at work. It was pretty darn busy at work. Fortunately, I have sweet cats, a turtle and mr to come home to. I unwound with a glass of wine, a movie and a "catnap."

November 12: Saturday was one of our busiest days yet. I left work after 6pm with a bad migraine. When I got home, I curled up on the couch with my cat for a nap, and my mr was sweet enough to cook us dinner. Accompanied by wine of course.

November 13: As you may or may not recall, last month I got my second speeding ticket ever. It was a pricey one too! So, luckily, I was able to complete a defensive driving course to keep from paying the full cost of the ticket. Only thing is is that it takes a minimum of 6 hours to complete. Spent all day working on it and it's still not finished.

November 14: Last night I went to trim my bangs before the mr and I went out to dinner. I ended up trimming off too much, so I just went with it. I now have full on bangs. I think it works!

Hope everyone out there is enjoying the very beginning of the holiday season. Hope you've all started your christmas shopping too! It's gonna be crazy this year.

Love and light.
Adrienne

My book of Job

Are you familiar with the book of Job from the bible? Basically, Job's faith is tested at the hands of Satan. This is the second time I've gone through a Job-like experience since living in Austin--and it probably won't be the last. I actually take a bit of comfort in it.

It all started on October 27th, when welts and difficulty breathing sent me to the ER at 2am. Apparently, I had an allergic reaction to something--probably fish. It was taken care of quickly, but things just kept on happening.

Next, after a quick visit to auto shop to fix my headlight and check my tire pressure, I get a flat tire less than an hour later. Fixed it with a can of fix-a-flat. Turned out it voided my warranty on my tire. I had to buy a new tire.

Two days later my car battery dies. Luckily, my mr is around to drive me to and from work. Took a few days to get the money, but finally got a new battery after four days of driving on a dying battery.

ER bill, tire bill, battery bill. Not a good way to start the holiday season. I admit, I got a little stressed, but as always God showed me what I was missing.

Just like in the book of Job, God was there to help me bounce right back.

Wednesday, I found out I got my electric deposit back, and now I have a credit that will cover about three months worth of my electric bill. This lovely savings helped me pay for my car battery. That alone was enough to help me remember He's always there no matter what difficulties I'm going through--the reason why I find comfort in times like this.

Love and light.
Adrienne

November week one: Project 334

November has been interesting. I'm glad I'm an optimistic person because this could be rough time for some people. Here's a look at my first week.

November 1: Every year around this season, I get super allergic to something in the air. I get really itchy all over. My dermatologist had treated me with UV rays. Basically, a tanning bed. I'd been feeling super itchy, so rather than going to the doctors, I went to a tanning salon. It helped a bit and gave me pretty glow.

November 2: I spent the day being productive. I started the day by dressing up--skirt and heals. I made breakfast for me and the mr, took care of part of my ticket, fixed my taillight and aired my tires. I felt cute sitting at the car shop all dolled up with my vintage Coach purse. Ended the day with a flat tire though...all you need is a skirt and heals to get help from a guy.

November 3: Thursday morning I had an appointment at an allergist. I wanted to find out what gave me the welts last month, but mostly I wanted to know what makes me itchy every year in the Fall. Found out I reacted to seafood, and dust mites and two types of trees that bloom this season are possibly what makes me itch.

November 4: For some reason, there was some ridiculous amounts of traffic on the way to work. I was stuck in it for 20 minutes. I made the most of my time with picture. I was bored...

November 5: What started as a good morning ended quickly. The mr woke up early to have coffee and breakfast with me. I went to leave to work 10 minutes early and my car wouldn't start. The mr had to drive me to work. He also picked me up afterwards. It felt good to sit outside waiting.

November 6: Jesse and I went to church at 11am and heard an awesome service! After lunch we went to the gym while the mr and his friends watched football. The guys thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie at 11pm at the drafthouse. It was good fun, but I forgot how pricey it is.

November 7: It's always difficult going to work on Mondays, but I made it through the day. After work, the ring I won on Ebay arrived from China. I also got my prescription for my epipen. Not sure why I'm excited to have an epipen, but I'm ready for any allergic reaction now.

There's my first week of the month. Though there've been some rough patches so far, I had sprinkles of good times. I'm really hoping the rest of the month isn't so bad. It doesn't even have to be awesome, just as long as I'm not stressed.

Love and light.
Adrienne

Another month passed by: Project 334

Where does the time go? Honestly, I felt like it was just the other day I was excited for October to start and now here we are almost a week into November.

My October finished up quite interestingly. It definitely didn't go as planned, but nothing ever does. I've been learning to go with the flow. Here's what the month looked like.

October 15th: It's a new season at work, which means new clothes! This season brought in lots and lots of plaid. I always feel like a lumberjack in my red plaid, but tis the season.

October 16th: I went into work on Sunday before we opened and had a little photo shoot with some of my employees. They all had a good time being super cute.

October 17th: The weather had been so awesome. I was super excited to get out of my store during my lunch break and eat outside by the fountain. I could've easily taken a nap.

October 18th: My mama came to visit me! Actually, she came with my stepdad for a business conference, but it still brought her to me. Every time my mom visits she comes bearing gifts. She brought tasty green chili and a 6.5lb brick of cheese. I was in heaven.

October 19th: Wednesday was a wonderful day. My mama and I spent the day together. We got a mani/pedi, had lunch, and did some shopping. It was relaxing and great getting to spend time with my mom.

October 20th: The mr and I went to a Jack's Mannequin concert with our friends Cade and Michelle. It was a blast! Motion City Soundtrack opened for them. I didn't realize how many songs I knew of theirs. Good times.

October 21st: Horrible, long day. I worked way too long, and on my way back home at 11ish, I got pulled over for speeding. I felt like crying, but had my mama waiting at my apartment with a glass of wine and my sweet kitties to love on.

October 22nd: Way better day than the day before. Work was long, but I came home to my newest Ebay winning: a Kate Spade purse. She's so pretty!

October 23rd: Another awesome day off. Mama and I spent the day together again. We went to church, went to see Footloose and had a home-cooked lunch. She and I also went to the vineyard I'm a member of and had a glass of wine while overlooking the vineyard.

October 24th: Monday was the first time in awhile that I had the apartment to myself. The mr went to his friends' to watch football and I relaxed with my girls. I felt so good.

October 25th: Tuesday was a wonderful day. Right after work, I drove the 2.5 hours to Houston for a family reunion with my siblings and Dad and Donna (for my dad's bday). After dinner and great conversation, Donna had me try on her old dresses from the 70's. They fit like a glove and I fell in love with them. I'm now the owner of 7 lovely vintage dresses.

October 26th: An eventful and awesome day. Dad, brother and I had lunch at Phoenicia with awesome conversation. On our way to pick my sis up from the airport we got a blowout on an overpass on the highway. It was an ordeal, but got it fixed. We rushed home afterwards and got dressed for a family photo (hadn't done one since high school). After photos we had the most delicious dinner at Brennan's in downtown Houston. It was perfect. Sadly, I had to drive home afterwards for work the next day. Such a perfect day.

October 27th: I got home from Houston at 1am and went straight to bed. 2am, I'm woken up from this unbelievable urge to scratch myself all over. I'm covered from head to toe in welts and hives and they get worse as I shout for my mr. He drives me to the ER where I'm given a steroid shot and a high dose of antihistamine. The welts go down pretty quickly, but I'm kept there til 5am for observation. It was scary, but I survived and think perhaps I'm allergic to something I ate at dinner.

October 28th: I spent the day recovering. I was so worn out from all the recent events. My day was picked up when I received three packages! They were each Ebay winnings--two Coach purses and one Kate Spade.

October 29th: My mr had been lending his bed, couch and desk to his buddies. They were in the process of moving to a new place, where the furniture was no longer needed. We ended up getting rid of our oldest couch to make room and putting the bed and desk in the study. It set up quite nicely, and the girls liked it too.

October 30th: My pretty little friend, Jesse, came to visit for the weekend. She and I woke up early, made brunch, went to church and relaxed at Mozarts with a cup of cider and chocolate brownie.

October 31st: I love halloween! But this is the first year that I didn't partake in the festivities. Instead, the mr took me on a date. We had a tasty dinner at Cheddars and went to the movies to watch Paranormal Activity 3. It was a great relaxing night...I'm getting old.

So there you have it, the wrap up of my October. How was your month? Do anything exciting for Halloween? Have any hospital visits? I'd love to know!

Love and light,
Adrienne

Welts and Hives

Last night after an amazing evening with my family in Houston, I drove the 2.5 hrs back to Austin and fell asleep quick once I got home. My slumber was short lived though. I was woken up an hour later, at 2am, to me scratching at my face, head and body. I felt like my body was on fire from all the itching that was going on. My chest felt heavy and couldn't breathe out of my nose

Still half asleep, I called for Phil to bring me Benadryl. I walked to the bathroom, and to my horror I was greeting in the mirror by welts all over my face and body. Instantly, I started panicking, which probably didn't help the situation. Phil freaked out too, which didn't help either.

After a short call to his mom, a nurse, he decided he needed to take me to the doctors. Apparently, there are no 24hr urgent cares in our area, so we had to go to the emergency room at the hospital down the street.

I told them I had an allergic reaction to something (still have no idea what it was), and instantly the doctors and nurses were taking my vitals, checking my throat, and giving shots. I was grateful for their swiftness, because by that point my mouth felt numb and my fingers were swelling.

I was given a steroid shot that stopped and soothed the welts and hives and they gave me a shot of Benadryl for the itching. I felt sooo weird as my heart was beating fast from the steroid and the Benadryl was making me sleepy. Not a fun feeling.

I was released around 5am. Phil drove me home and tucked me in. I was fortunate to get my 6am shift covered by my assistant, and took a sick day. The 10hrs of sleep was a big help with my wooziness.

Feeling a whole lot better now, with minor itchiness and a small feeling of swelling in my hands, but I'll survive. It was a scary situation. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. Prayers are much appreciated!

Love and light.
Adrienne

Mama Time!

My mama came to visit me last week, and we had a lovely time together. I hadn't seen her since her last visit in May, which doesn't seem like that long when you're like us, and talk everyday. If you're a Mexican daughter you might know what I'm talking about. Mexi mamas like to worry...

Back to the visit.

Mama and Max got to Austin Tuesday night. After their nine hour drive, all they wanted to do was rest. They came baring gifts: a 6.5 lb block of cheese, pecan pie, and hatch green chili. I don't know if you know this, but I like food!

Wednesday
I had Wednesday off, so we all slept in. Mama and I made a quick stop at the grocery store for some breakfast eats. Afterwards, we indulged in a lovely mani/pedi at the salon down the street and grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Fire Bowl.

We picked up Max after his business conference and the three of us spent a good hour or so perusing the isles of Whole Foods. We bought tasty cheese, olives, bread and red wine--the fixings for a good time.

It was such a gorgeous day, we ended up walking around downtown a bit. Mom and I went into Anthropology where I got her excited about over price yet beautiful clothes, while Max walked around Book People. We wrapped up the night with our usual dinner spot Threadgill's (Max's favorite place to eat in Austin).

Thursday
I was up at 5am on Thursday for work. Our christmas season is in full swing, and I was in charge of setting out new items. It was a rough day, but getting to come home to a clean apartment with my mama there was a relief. She, the mr and I ate cheese and olives as we drank wine.

The mr and I had a concert to go to that evening at Emo's newest location. The night was awesome! Not only did the show rock our socks off, The Rangers won their second (I think) game of the World Series that night.

Friday & Saturday
I didn't get much of an opportunity to hangout with my mother on Friday. I slept as long as I could before work. It was another super long day and ended up working way too late. Headed home, I was pulled over for speeding. Really not the way I wanted to wrap up my week.

But I did come home to a glass of wine and a home-made dinner by my mama. It made me appreciate the little things.

Saturday was uneventful. I worked at 9am and my parents went to visit my sister in Waxahachie for the day. The mr and I relaxed at home and caught up on our missed shows.

Sunday
My favorite day of mama's visit was Sunday. She and I had a girly day. We made tasty tilapia for lunch for us and the guys, then headed to Driftwood Vineyards for a wine tasting and a glass of Longhorn Red to relax.

After the peaceful, scenic drive back, we went to the movies to watch Footloose. It was a cute movie! It made me really wish that people in real life would dance more in their day to day life. We came home to the guys watching the World Series.

For dinner, mama made amazing red chili enchiladas with eggs. It was too good!

They left monday morning after I left for work. It was so wonderful having my mama here. It's always a good time when she visits.

Love and light.
Adrienne

Project 334: My first two weeks of October

Gah! I've had a wonderful first two weeks of the month. As you may know, I had a vacation last week and got to spend some time in beautiful Nevada. It provide lots of fun photos!

October 1: I started the vacation time with a mani. I can't have my fingernails painted at work so I never have the chance to primp em up, so I took advantage of the time I had.

October 2: Sunday was great. I had lunch with my friend, Chris, at the outlet mall in San Marcos. After lunch, I spent a little bit of time browsing the shops. I stopped at Fossil and found the cutest feather ring and these lovely green glasses.

October 3: I love cooking. After waking up to no alarm clock, I made two tasty quiches--spinach, mushroom, bell pepper, and Morning Star chicken. Yum!

October 4: My mr has had it in his head that he wanted to start a business--steamed burgers. For the past week he'd been trying to figure out how to steam the patty. Tuesday he finally figured out a method. Steamed burger, steamed cheese, juicy taste (or so I'm told). Proud of my mr.

October 5: Vegas time! The mr and I left in the afternoon and made it to Vegas with enough time to fit in a nap before we explored the downtown area. I found my favorite slot of the trip: Kitty Glitter. I looked for it from them on at every casino we went to. It just made me laugh!

October 6: Thursday Sean took us to a tasty breakfast at Hash House a Go Go, and to rid those calories of the giant meal we walked the entire strip. It's a big strip too! One of the things I liked the most were all the awesome ceilings in the casinos. It's silly, but they were all so pretty!

October 7: Everything was right about Friday. We made a day trip to the Hoover dam, had an awesome dinner at the Hofbrauhaus, saw Cirque du Soleil LOVE (amazing), and did more walking of the strip. An absolutely wonderful day.

October 8: Saturday we had to say goodbye to Vegas, but we used our time wisely. We spent our day at Station Casino playing video blackjack. We also had an awesome time lounging on their giant canopy bed. It was a great way to end our vacation.

October 9: Our friends Julie and Josh did some house sitting while we were gone. They live in Killeen (an hour away from Austin) and wanted to celebrate their two year anniversary in the big city. I got to take them to church on Sunday and had brunch with Julie to catch up. It was lovely seeing the two lovebirds.

October 10: Monday was my first day back at work. It was so hard to go back! After work, I got groceries to brighten my mood. We'd eaten so much and not the healthiest so to get back on track I brought a Ninja blender/juicer/food processor. I'm in love with it!

October 11: We had so much food in the fridge! So much! So of course I cooked. I made queso, salsa and burritos. I'm so mexican.

October 12: More food-making happened on Wednesday. It was my day off so it happened after I slept in of course. The mr and I made a breakfast pizza with scrambled eggs, onions, red peppers and Morning Star meat. It was super good!

October 13: I bought the deal on Groupon because I was super curious. Thursday morning was my appointment. I was skeptical, but was totally sold on it's benefits! I left feeling amazing. It was almost better than a massage, and I will for sure go back.

October 14: While at the acupuncturist, she gave me some multi vitamins to improve my health. Friday was the first day I started taking them and already a few days later I can feel a change. I love it!

So there you have it people. An awesome beginning to my favorite month. Can it get any better? Here's hoping! Fingers crossed that everyone else is having a wonderful month too!

Love and light.
Adrienne