131 Days

It's just before 5 am as I start to write this post. Today starts a new semester for me so I'm up early to have coffee and reflect upon the upcoming few months. I also have not done my reading for class tonight. Woopsie. I have to complete the following:




Two core classes: International Business and Senior Capstone
Two clep tests: to be determined, this will take place of two electives
Two electives: I'll probably take these cheaper at the local community college




I'm hoping to talk to my advisor one day this week to square away what I'll be able to clep out of and hopefully, fingers crossed, it'll be more than two. In my head I kept thinking, oh I'll be perfectly fine to accomplish those clep's and electives in the last semester. Now, I'm a little nervous about the timeline. I have to submit for graduation by March 13th and at that point can only have three outstanding credit hours to walk.. but then I think about traditional (not fast tracked) students who are taking four classes the semester of graduation. I'm guessing they mean beyond the current semester. In my head I had all this worked out until now.. now, I'm freaking out a little bit.




In 131 days, I will realize a life long dream to be a college graduate. Will I continue on to an MBA? I want to say yes, but who knows what life will hold for me, who knows what exciting things will start happening. Ultimately, to continue is a dream, but after all I've been through personally and in regards to my health, I don't want to put off any good things, ya know ;-)




There's not a real point to this post, just hopefully the start of many more mornings spent blogging and jogging and having coffee and taking in the small stuff. Another countdown.. 103 days to the Color Run 5K. Thanks Sarah for finding this, it's going to be amazing!


XOXO,
A

2015

I was thinking about how ridiculously inconsistent I am with posting here.. when I thought, I am consistent with my inconsistent-ness which then makes me consistent. Now I feel better. This is going to be one of those cliché posts about the new year. If that sounds like hell then take a walk right now cause I'm about to get all up into all the usual new year shit ;-)

 

An old and great friend laughs at me every year, because every year I have to make this PSA. Since I haven't done so on this particular platform before, here it is: The phrase is 'Happy New Year.' We're getting one year, people, not two. Stop saying 'Happy New YearS.' Sure, when you say 'what are you doing for the New Year's Eve?' you're fine. Cause get it, it's the new year's eve. It's possessive. It works. To just say 'Happy New Years' is so, so fucking aggravating. You're welcome. Not that you asked for it.

 

I've been keeping the following list going at my desk for about a week now. I'm sure every single item is on everybody else's list but I'm going to guess we all probably need a little change for the better. So rock on to all you other similar list people.

\

1. Blog More

I know, I know.. that phrase is in every single post I make. But the thing is, there are an incredible amount of days I'd love to use this as a creative outlet. I think to myself, 'if I could just sit down and devote half an hour.' My time gets taken up by homework, work, the dog, the boyfriend, the friends, the family and I never quite get to that little bit of time for letting some of this jazz out amongst the world.

• I'd like to blog more about food. Stephen and I plan our weekends around what we're going to make next. It's an outlet for us and a great team building exercise. We make weird stuff, like eggplant pizza and we make homey yummy stuff, like biscuits with homemade gravy. It's fun, it's silly, and I want to document more of it.
• I'd like to blog more about my dog. How nuts is that? Pretty freaking nuts. She's a lot like my child, I want to document that. I'd like to do a little feature once a month or so.
• I'd like to blog more about my friends. Reflections on old times, thoughts about the future, etc. So many of my friends are like my family and I wouldn't be who I am without them. So, here's to you.. when the time for your post comes.

2. Complain Less

Do you ever get to work and the first thing you do is go in a tizzy of complaining? You don't? Come to work with me one day, that's exactly what I do. It's so hard to break old habits, but this is one I'd like to work on. I have a sign above my desk that reads 'not my circus, not my monkeys.' This is something I need to keep tucked in my back pocket to remember when things out of my control are eating away at me.

 

3. Start a Side Business

I haven't the slightest idea yet as to what to sell.. but once I graduate (hellooooooo May!), I'd like to invest some time into a craft of some sort, grab a booth at a local shop, and make good use of my time. Sarah and I have talked for years of doing this, we're going to put our ideas to use this year!

 

4. Camp More

To broaden that, be outside more. Discover nature more. Do more than just get a tan in the summer, cause I don't actually tan that well. Take Stella for hikes and to the dog park. Tube on the back of the boat more. Enjoy youth and nature exponentially more than I have thus far in my life.

 

Now, ladies and gentlemen (do men read blogs?!), the most cliché of cliché things for a new year resolution...

 

5. Eat Better, Exercise More

What makes this point different for me is that in no other set of new year goals has this ever been listed for me. I was never interested in doing this. It's hard to ignore the fact that eating and exercise play a tremendous role in our health that I've been ignoring too long. My goal for the year is a 5k. Sarah and I will hopefully get the first one down around April or May and then continue from there. Here's to hoping focusing on me makes the rest fall into place.

 

There are things from this past year that I'd like to leave behind, to not give the light of day to anymore. Here's to leaving that behind and the following helping me realize that: 'Whatever happened over this past year, be thankful for where it brought you. Where you are is where you're meant to be.'

 

Per the usual, here is a photo dump for those who hate to read :-)

 

 

XOXO, A

 

 

 

 

 

Who rescued who?

For starters, my boss sang "we're going to rock down to Electric Avenue.." at me earlier today and damn the luck if that has not been in my head all day. For a good 3.4 seconds, I contemplated 'Electric Ave' as being the title for this post. 

The fact that I'm writing this post after 9pm is feat enough to alert the presses. I am never up this late. 9pm.. late for a 25 year old. I know, I know. Wet blanket, soggy noodle, get the moth balls ready cause I am an old hag at heart. I didn't intend to write anything, but then I sat down and here came a 90lb lap dog to snuggle with me. For starters, she put her nose right up to the camera as I tried to take her picture, prompting a straight up the nose shot that I cleverly titled, "Hey Aunt Sawah, has I any boogahs?!?!" She thought it was cute.. or pretended to so as not to upset my sensitive dog mom feelings. Thanks, guuuuuuwl! 

 So, as I'm typing this, Stella has her head laying on my leg and is snoring. Let's bring it back, bring it back to the title of the post... #whorescuedwho, known by one person on Instagram as 'whores cued who,' whatever that might mean in an alternate universe. Now, here's the thing, not everybody is 'crazy psycho dog mom treats the dog like a human and gives her more feelings than she actually has.' That's a-okay. This little gem of mine, though, most certainly has done more in the rescuing department than I ever will. Isn't it funny how you hear about a dog who has been abandoned, needs a home, can't survive without you and you think, oh yes, I can save this soul! Then, the Earth takes a huge piss in your cheerios and look who's doing the rescuing now. When I had lost everything, when I could barely make it though the day, there was this sweet gem with nothing but love. She legitimately tries to lick the tears away. 

The anxiety I get about whether she's eating enough, whether she gets enough vitamins or not, whether she feels lonely while I'm at work, whether she gets upset when I'm tired and I just want her to take a breather for three mintues is unreal. If you weren't ready to send me to the loony bin before that statement, you surely are now! I really, truly cannot fathom how parents of real live human beings do it. It's a million times harder and a million times more rewarding. All I've got is a dog bone in my purse.. you're killin' the mom thing in your purse with cheetos, a pull up, some mittens and Daniel Tiger on your phone. I haven't the slightest clue how you do it but hopefully one day you can teach me your ways. 

XOXO, 

A

Skippin' School

Alright, alright, alright. I have quite a few half-way thought through ideas of what to write about. I've developed a portion of what I want to write about on about four different topics but none have come full circle just yet. Per the usual, you're in for quite a bit of ramblin'.

It's Veterans Day. Federal holiday. In the banking world, we call that WINNING. I'll admit, on federal holidays that we have off but the rest of the world doesn't, I never can shake that feeling like I'm doing something wrong. It's that same feeling I had when I skipped class in high school. In my defense, the attendance system was fucked so really, it didn't count against me. I also only had one class that I needed my senior year, was I really supposed to stick around all damn day? Aaaaanyway, it is so weird to be out and about at 9am. So fucking weird. Seriously, if I ran into my boss out and about, I would probably try to hide just out of the instinctual feeling that I was doing something wrong. As I type this, I'm realizing that I sound paranoid or guilty.. interesting, neither are true.

I will say, the guilt was worth the opportunity to have breakfast with my best friend Sarah and her daughter Rylen. Maybe I am biased, but I swear that little nugget is smarter every single time I see her. She speaks so clearly and has the sass factor down perfectly. Among many others, she's got me wrapped around her finger and knows I'll do just about anything she says. I should probably start a Rylen says section of every entry. Here's a few from the top of my head:

Sarah: Rylen, you have to walk.
Rylen: Awex will carry me.

As I walked into Panera to meet them:
Rylen: Where's Stewwa? (Stella, the dog)
Because breakfast at Panera is a perfectly acceptable place to bring her. Now if the adults could get on board with this, we'd all be happy campers!

Sarah: Rylen, you have to go to school.
Rylen: No, I go in Awex's car with her.

Or, when I get the following text from Sarah:
"When Rylen sings the nosey bitch part of The Trailer Song..."
"That's how I know I'm winning at this whole mom thing..."

Seriously though, if we can instill one thing in this sweet nugget, it's got to be a love for Kacey Musgraves. And well.. now I look like a crazy aunt with the novel. Moving on.. before somebody calls the cops.

I don't like to speak on things that I don't know about first hand. Which is why, on Veteran's Day, I won't pretend like I can even fathom what it's like to serve this country, like I understand how military families feel, or like I could ever muster up the courage to do something so incredible. I'll just say thank you.

Two weeks from today, we'll take a little road trip over to Nashville for Thanksgiving. It'll be my best friend Annie, her house hubby Jeffy, her bonus son Zac, my boyfriend Stephen and I. We'll be going to Annie & Stephen's older brother's house. Follow all that? 10 hours each way. Wowza. I'm already preparing my liver... and my psycho dog mom status brain for being away from Stella for six days. With Thanksgiving on the brain, because no fucking way have I switched gears into Christmas, a few things I couldn't get by without:

Friends who are more like family than family (you know who you are.. B's, peas, BESTIES)
The 90lb lap dog puppy princess currently laying on my feet to keep them warm.. earnin your keep
ALL THE HOLIDAY CREAMERS!! Pumpkin spice, frosted sugar cookie, peppermint.
Cold weather. Gimme all the sweaters, boots, scarves.

It's nearly three in the afternoon.. time to, uh, shower.. don't judge the lazy on a holiday ;-) This will be the perfect transition from coffee to beer. Wait, what?! Boom. Livin' on the wild side, ya'll!

-The Bitch in Apartment 23
(just kiddin, I can only WISH I was as cool as the chick in that show... sigh)

World Series Hangover

Maybe it's less of a 'World Series hangover' and more of an 'I'm too old to stay up that late hangover.' Dragging ass, I believe, is the correct terminology for me today. Writing this is keeping me awake over the lunch break; if it weren't for this, I would surely be ugly sleeping on the couch in the work break room. You know the kind... one leg off the side, face smushed against the cushion, arm flailing over your head. The really ugly kind. It's a shame that the really ugly kind is also the really good kind. Naw'mean? Sigh..

Texts today from Stephen about how tired he is:
"I'm going to be dragging all day"
"Going to bed earlier. Much earlier"
"I'm ready to leave"
"I'm really dragging ass"
"I've had 4 cups" (of coffee)
"I'm still dying"
"My eyes are so heavy"
"Holy shit it got bad. Real bad" (the drowsiness)

So, incase you thought I was whiney about it, see above. It's only 12:20pm.

Remember last time I blogged and said I was going to post more? Noticing a trend here? I always say that. Thank goodness I left myself a list of things to write about.. not funny that I can't seem to remember why I was going to write about most of those things. Going to blame my job for the lack of brain function occurring in this little ole head of mine. One of those things on the list was John Mayer.

See.. they play some really weird shit on the radio here at work. By weird, I mean that none of it goes together or is what you'd think of listening to when you come to a place like this. If I had to guess, I bet Your Body is a Wonderland was playing in the lobby and made me think of this topic. Cause that would totally happen in this financial institution. Kinda like the time before that when Gives You Hell started playing here.. this place is not right, on so many levels. Back to John Mayer. The man is strange, he's got an issue in the girlfriend department and I hear that he's an asshole. That music, though. As Sarah would say, it'll make you feel all the feels. Much of the music I know from him is a few years old, I couldn't tell you what he's written lately but indulge yourself in the following:

Daughters
Half of My Heart
Why, Georgia
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Dreaming With a Broken Heart

The words, the voice. After listening to those while working on this.. I realized they are mostly just sad. Uh... hope you weren't already having a bad day? You're welcome for taking you back to the 2001-2006 era with those song selections.

"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being."

Holla!
A

Hey Kip Moore

Please, Kip Moore, for the love of all that is cheesy and holy, stop haunting me with your Hey Pretty Girl song. It's everywhere I am the last few days. I love it, don't get me wrong, but it's full of stuff that is not an option in my life right now. Give me some time.. I'll put you back on repeat.

Now, onto the rest of the biz-nass. It was really cute that I was all 'yeehaw, let's do this shit!' about having a blog three months ago.. for a whole three days. So, it's the beginning of October and still the high for today is 90 MF degrees. When I bought the tickets back in April? Was it April? I can't remember.. I definitely thought I'd be attending the Pearl Jam concert in a cute sweater and my favorite booties. No. Mother Nature said no way biotch. So, I brought a tank-top to change into after work. Suns out, guns out. Or something like that? For me it's more like, it's not freezing, shoulder tattoo exposed. Boom.

So, I've got a list of things I want to write about soon. Maybe jotting them down here will help me stick to that?

Nashville (er, the invite to Nashville)
John Mayer
Becoming a foodie
Rylen's potty training (because from an outside perspective, this could be hilarious material)
Stella's attempt at being a hunting pup
Hell on Wheels
Spinach, Artichoke & Turkey quesadillas

Sometimes my ADD kicks in and I just look at pictures instead of actually reading stuff, if that's you today (or always, coughstephencough), the following is for you:

I pretty much opened my photo album on my tele-phono-homo and randomly selected some shots (shots, shots, shots, shots...). My sad lunch of a Hot Pocket (not the kind Chelsea Handler refers to) and water is over, back to the grind for a few more hours. More rhyme and reason to the post next time.. you know, in three months if you're lucky.

I've got a hilarious Cosmo article to share next time. It's pure gold.

Over and out,
A

Universe: 1 Alex: 0 + Golfing in Oklahoma

You know how sometimes you get so far in your brain you actually take a step further down into your underground crazy garage? No? Just me? Alrighty. Here's the deal: I had an epic meltdown on Monday. Don't believe me? Ask Sarah. I couldn't shut up, I'd run through every single terrible scenario in my head, my stomach hurt and I really thought I was going to start crying. The subject of the matter isn't relevant at this point, what is are two things: having friends who understand your crazy and accepting what the Universe is throwing in your face. Am I saying I calmed down after the Universe dealt me a big fat 'shut the fuck up'? No way. Maybe this is me talking to the next time I have a meltdown. So to remedy my meltdown on Monday night, I binge watched Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 on Netflix and nervously drank numerous bottles of water. Tuesday morning is when the Universe struck. If you're not keeping up with the Humans of New York blog already you should be. Go check it out. Now. Don't even finish reading this. So anyway, enter Tuesday morning post from HONY. It wasn't about FB, if you're wondering, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. Left to my own devices I had created an enormous problem out of something that didn't exist. So, Sarah and Universe: a point for each of ya for handling and putting to rest my crazy.

So, I got myself into a little pickle today. Anne's step-son, Zac, requested a golf outing for his 15th birthday. Fun, right? It's going to be 97 here today in Oklahoma, and as the radio described, 'it's going to feel like 108.' So I'm literally going to sweat my ass off. All for a good cause, though. I can only hope it looks a little something like our golf day two months ago ----> Refer back to the 'love affair with Jack D' intro. Boom. Here's to hoping that my B, Anne, straps herself into the cart again.. this time we'll make her ride that way ;-)

:-) Easy A