On Labor Day, I rode up to DFW with my dad and baby sister. We were meeting up with my sister (and her little family) to pick up our mom from the airport. She's been in the Philippines for the last three months and was on her way home. We arrived at the airport an hour before her flight was scheduled to land. Three and a half hours later... we find out she had a 15 hour layover in Tokyo and wouldn't be in until Tuesday morning. I made the mistake of staying up ALL NIGHT LONG so I could nap to and from DFW. (Bad idea!) To cure all the crankiness, we stopped for lunch at Chili's before heading back to Wichita Falls.
Later in the week, a friend of mine sent me this with the message, "Quick! Before your mother finds you a zombie!" Hahaha! I'm about 102% sure I have found a non-serial killer. Success!
A cold front rolled in... rolled out... then rolled back in and brought some rain.
With the rain, came a few wrecks. As I was coming home from my parents house, I noticed a bunch of sheriff's were pulling onto my street. I took the other entrance to my street only to find this car parked in our driveway. After a few mumbles and grumbles I decided to carefully pull into my driveway (by jumping the curb).
While staring at the unfortunate accident of this Sheriff's vehicle (who happens to work with a friend of mine... small town!)... Mackenzey and I hear the impact of two vehicles. Unsure of what caused this particular wreck, I decided to go take a look. Their airbags had deployed and it was obvious their car was totaled. All we could do was look and think to ourselves, what sort of distraction caused this wreck? It's unfortunate that this happened on such a bad weather day, but it seems as if they made it out okay. Possibly a little upset at the situation but they're both alive.
Everything was cleared out before I had to be at work at 3pm, but it certainly is entertaining living on right off of a very busy street.
I am going to be INCREDIBLY BUSY this entire week. Let's recap the weekend starting with Saturday, shall we?
I had the day off. Woo! That rarely happens, but my boss offered either Saturday night off, or Sunday and Monday off. I took the Saturday night option so I could have a date night with Dustin. I'll get to that later.
My sister, Jeanine (who is 23 today! Happy Birthday little sister/best friend!) came by the house so we could run a few errands. Well, it happened to be the same day as the Hotter N Hell Hundred, which runs directly by my house. Sitting at a stop sign for way longer than anyone would ever want to, just hoping for a gap in bike riders so I could make a right turn and cruise at a low speed along side these riders (except that one guy who was riding comfy cozy in the left lane... ugh). Anyway! I had to follow Jeanine to run some errands.
We had to stop by El Norteno's 2 to pick up some food for Kirk (my brother-in-law). While Jeanine ran inside to get the food, I had to entertain Khloe before she could even start to scream her head off. As most mommy's know, once you're out of sight... your kid will probably freak out. That's exactly the case EVERY single time Khloe is left alone with me. So, I had to act quick! What's one thing that calms her down?? Jeanine's cell phone. CHECK! With the lock screen featuring a picture of her carrying her two woo-woo's (puppy stuffed animals)?? CHECK! She's absolutely adorable when she picks up an iPhone. Just like her mommy; push the home button, slide to unlock, tap messages, starts typing to the last person Jeanine messaged... which happened to be Kirk.
Khloe, working on very important tasks and sending out messages. Her sidekick, Diesel, taking a nap.
Jeanine and Kirk gave Khloe a new puppy. She loves her woo-woo's! While we were driving back to the house, Diesel decided to curl up around my gear shift for a nap. He'd stick his face anywhere that was covered with shade and take a little snooze. Cutest little dude. I definitely took advantage of handling him while his dander levels are very very low. I'm sure within the next few months this German shepherd and pit bull mix will cause my allergies to go crazy. When that happens... I'll keep a bottle of Zyrtec everywhere I go.
After a very long shopping trip with both my sisters and my niece, we finally ventured back home around 5pm. Even though it was date night for Dustin and I, we hadn't set a specific time to go to dinner. He had a late lunch and I was still satisfied from my lunch at Cotton Patch Cafe with my sisters. We ended up going to dinner around 830 or 9 o'clock. Even then, we weren't really starving. As planned, we went to Red Lobster for the Endless Shrimp. Only able to order one refill each... amateurs!
I ended my night by going out with a few friends while Dustin stayed in as he had to be up at the crack of dawn. The country night club I went to was holding a "Best Chest" contest for men... way too many shirtless dudes for my liking. I prefer them clothed and not awkwardly shiny, but I guess that's just me. Haha! It was followed by a bikini contest, which a friend of mine entered. Being the good friend that I am, I got a group of strangers behind me to help cheer her on. She may not have won, but she looked damn good out there!
On to Sunday... Kirk dropped off Jeanine and Khloe so I could take them to church with me. Father Rogers is by far one of the best when it comes to the sermon. You can tell every single word comes from the heart and definitely not something he's typed out the night before. With that... sometimes he loses track of time, haha. We were cutting in close as I had to be at work by 1230. Service ended around 1145 at our tiny church in Burkburnett. I had to drop off Jeanine and Khloe, and make it to work before 1230 so I could do all my pre-opening procedures. Somehow, I made it in 5 minutes early, going the speed limit and obeying traffic laws. *FIST PUMP*
After work, I made my way home to change clothes, relax, and straighten Krystal's hair for the first day of school. She had her hair cut rather short when she came back from a 2 week vacation in Virginia and it just hasn't been straightened properly since it was cut, dyed, and styled at the salon. I started out as I always do... brush and blow dry. With her short length, it ended up in a big fro, hahaha! Although she asked that no pictures be taken or posted anywhere... she broke her own rule by posting it herself. Only after I told her she should text her friends asking if she should wear her hair like this on the first day. Nobody said yes... hmmm, I wonder why? Haha!
After an hour of straightening those curly/frizzy locks... I was finally done! But not before taking a picture of the process. If you look closely, her straightened hair in the back lays flat, while the frizzy fro hair in the front sticks straight up. Hahaha, endless laughs on my end.
Today is Monday... First day of school for all the children and college students. I don't even want to begin to check how many friends posted about it this morning. Too many! Good luck to your kids and to those college students.
Anyway. This week will be jam packed with work and packing. That's right! My friend officially asked me to be her roomie. The thing is, I don't have a day off until September 3rd, the day we pick up my mom from the airport. Somehow, I'll have to manage hauling my stuff across town and get myself settled in (and most importantly, out of my parents house).
Time to go get ready for work and write out a to-do list for the week!
Happy Monday! (Sorry for the wall of text!)
March 25 - 30: I spent the entire week helping my sister move into her new home. This included loading up the F250 and a small utility trailer, and towing it from one side of town to the other. Cleaned out my old bedroom (which hasn't been occupied in quite some time, and slowly turned into a storage space). It was pretty hard work. I found myself loading up my car (or dad's truck) and hauling things off to our family storage unit. By the time I was done, a room (you could barely walk into) was left with only a dresser, a nightstand, and a twin size bed. Pulled my futon mattress out of storage to serve as a guest bed for my friend, Debbie, whom I picked up from the airport late Friday night in DFW. Reunited after 3 years!
March 31 - April 6: Celebrated my 26th birthday on the night of the 31st. Most eventful evening. We partied pretty hard, while also being responsible. A very immature guy nearly ruined my night, but my friends completely saved my birthday celebration. I can't thank them enough for being there for me. Woke up on the morning of my birthday and drove myself to church. Sure I was hungover and everyone giggled at me because they've been there before, but it was worth it. Deb and I bought new sunglasses later that evening, as well as a 4 track soundtrack to Beauty & the Beast. You better believe we blasted this CD as we drove down one of the main roads through my town. Worth it! Ended the night with birthday beers from my girl, Mackenzey. Had a glorious rest of the week, going on walks, showing Deb the country side of where I live, and eventually went for a short hike in Oklahoma at the Wichita Mountains.
April 15: Made a last minute trip to Austin! My sister went to a hair show for her work, and her fiancee tagged along so they could celebrate his birthday 6th street style. They convinced me to come down to hit 6th street before they had to come back on Monday. Best decision! I had a blast going to Coyote Ugly and Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. Monday morning we visited the Texas State Capitol (my first visit!).
April 19 - 23: Spent 24 hours driving to Mesa, Arizona for a wedding. Reunited with two girls I haven't seen in 4 years! Had a blast! Met some new people and absolutely loved being in the area. Reunited with another friend I hadn't seen in 6 years! Had an amazing time catching up over dinner and some ridiculously strong alcoholic beverages. Cut ourselves off early (with a little help from our waitress). I was pretty bummed to have to go back to Texas. Arizona really had me smiling.
May 1: Welcome to May! This year really is flying by. Having a good month so far. I've made a few delicious dishes I've been meaning to share photos of. I'll get on that soon. Summer is creeping up and the school year is almost over. I'm on the job hunt and it's tough. Wish me luck!
Have you ever looked around at all of your belongings? Deciding what size trailer to rent for a one-way move? I have. Multiple times.
Not-so-long story short, Shawno and I broke up. I have been homesick for the last 6 months of 2011, so, with the breakup, it was time for me to move back home. New England just isn't for me, nor would I have been able to afford to stay there.
I packed up everything I owned in our apartment, shoved it in a 5x8 U-haul, and started on my 2230 mile drive home. This trip didn't come without its complications. Somewhere along the highway in Connecticut, drivers were making poor choices.
On more than one occasion, a few people had to slam on their brakes in front of me. If you've ever towed a full trailer, you'll know that slowing down takes a little extra work from your brakes. Unfortunately for me, my front driver side brake pads needed to be replaced. I made the decision to drive all the way to Virginia with brakes that sounded absolutely horrible. The day I arrived at Regina's, we stopped at the auto part store so I could pick up some brake pads, rotors, and other essential items. Finished the night with Chinese buffet for dinner, short trip to Babies R Us to get wooden toys for the kiddies, and a couple more stops for things before heading back to her house.
The next morning, I was up at 6am, and outside by 7am to start working on changing my brake pads and rotors. This was no easy task. I had trouble removing my front driver side wheel. For whatever reason, this thing would not come off. No matter how hard I pulled. (And yes, I did remove the lug nuts before someone tries to get smart.) Luckily, Regina contacted a friend to come out and help me. I am so thankful for this man. He also had a c-clamp I lacked. I had everything else I needed thanks to my trusty new tool kit!
After banging at the wheel with a hammer for a bit, it finally loosened and we were able to start changing the brakes. Mike changed the driver side (while I watched every step) as I have only done this once before. He had me turn the car around so I could change the passenger side pads and rotors. Exactly what my dad does when it comes to working on car things. So thankful for Mike!
People think I am crazy for spending the night at highway rest areas and Walmart parking lots. They're a lot safer than Lifetime makes you think. After leaving one part of Virginia, I spent the night in the parking lot of a familiar Walmart. (My family holds a reunion in that area every summer.) The drive was smooth up until Tennessee where I ran into some heavy rain. Major highways through major cities are always rough during rush hour. I was almost successful at planning my stops to avoid any rush hour traffic.
The weather continued to be rainy through most of Tennessee and on into Arkansas. The rain finally let up shortly after West Memphis. Smooth ride through Oklahoma, except when my energy drink kept me from napping. One final nap before I finished that last stretch of highway through Oklahoma, down into Texas. Walked in my parents front door at 6:30am Friday morning. Running on a Monster Rehab, I was unable to sleep until Friday night, after a day trip to Arlington to visit my sister-in-law (bff's wife) and kiddies. Best way to be welcomed home!
Now I'm back in my hometown and living in my parents house. Keeping it classy at 25.
I'm on the hunt for topics to blog about. I have a few things on my craft to-do list for friends. Included on that list is my next batch of hand-made items for Christmas time. As well as hand-made items I've promised to a few friends. :)
First of all, I must tackle my old bedroom. It has managed to become a bit of a storage room as my siblings have moved out, while my 16 year old sister has taken over our 22 year old sisters old room (for the sole reason that it has cable hookups). This project will require freshly painted walls, steam cleaning the carpet, and switching out furniture between this room and my sisters room.
The second project will be to tackle the computer desk which is currently in the kitchen's breakfast area. I fully plan on turning it back into a breakfast area, but first I want to remove the huge desk (that is barely used by anyone other than my little sister). Change it out for a smaller desk/table and get my dad a filing cabinet for his important documents.
The third, and biggest project, will be to clean out the "game room". Aiming to turn this room back into a computer room/den for my dad. When we first bought the house in the 90's, the game room doubled as my brother's bedroom and dad's computer room. If not a den, I would love to make this a guest bedroom. It would be nice to have a place for friends and family to stay when visiting.
Whew, so many projects. On top of that, I have less than 2 months left to reach my weight loss goal. Once I get my scale set up I'll figure out how much I have left to lose. Thanks to this unusually warm winter season, I'll be able to get out and go for walks/jogs/runs without freezing. Time to get back into eating more fresh veggies!
I didn't read the book when my Dad suggested so in 2009, and I don't plan on reading it (but who's to say I won't eventually pick it up?).
I may have a late start on my new years resolutions. One craft a week is on hold. I'll explain in my next post.
As I look around my apartment, I have come to the realization that I have been so blessed to acquire the things I own. Over the last two years my owl collection has skyrocketed. I don't even want to attempt to count! To those who have gifted me with such items, I can't thank you enough. There have been quite a number of people who think of me at the sight of an owl, whether it's a real animal or a knickknack they've seen in passing. It's the thought that counts. :]
Just a warning: this post can start to become an emotional rollercoaster after the "Tuesday" portion.
Tuesday: On Tuesday last week (September 20th), I celebrated two years with Shawno. :] On our first date we ate at Longhorn Steakhouse. Last year, for our first anniversary, he took me to the exact same restaurant. To keep the tradition going, we knew exactly where we wanted to eat for our second anniversary. Sadly we couldn't visit the same location this year due to our work schedules this year. I was only scheduled to work until 530 while he had been working much later and during the week he had been at a building 2 hours (with traffic) from our apartment. To my surprise, he was out much earlier than I had expected. I did a little last minute gift shopping before I went home to shower and change. I had every intention of wearing something similar to what I wore on our first date (white shirt, jeans, converse) but I went with this fairly new top, jeans, and my faux suede boots instead.
I show up to Longhorn and see that Shawno has already arrived and seated. I sit down, we order our beers (Killian's Irish Red) and decide on an appetizer. Their Western Cheese Fries are the exact appetizer we ate on our first date and 1st anniversary date. I was all about keeping the tradition and order these...
Western Cheese Fries
Crispy fries loaded with all-beef chili, melted cheddar & Monterrey jack, bacon and jalapeños.
... but without chili and bacon. Our waitress gave us this look of confusion. I simply said "I'm a vegetarian" with a smile. She smiled back, nodded and said she'd put that in for us. When she came back to take the rest of our order I decided to skip out on the fish I ordered last year and went with the following:
(This post was intended for Thursday's 8am post, but I was half asleep when I wrote it and scheduled for Friday instead.)
It's Wednesday night and I feel as if I would instantly fall asleep once I lay my head against my pillow. You're probably thinking, it's not Wednesday... it's Friday morning. Well, I really enjoy taking advantage of the "schedule" option on post settings. I thoroughly enjoy putting posts in queue days in advance so I don't feel like I'm slaving over this blog. (Even though I spend all my time tweaking the layout!)
Let me share a little bit about my labor day weekend.
Friday: Originally scheduled for only two days this entire week, I grabbed some extra hours which landed me a shift from 2:30pm to 10pm. Lately I've only been scheduled to work anywhere from 4 to 6 hour shifts while I would rather work 8 hour shifts. That's just not in the cards for me quite yet.
Saturday: Up bright and early. Worked 9am to 4:30pm. Absolutely loved working the morning shift so I could have the rest of the weekend with my boyfriend. He took Thursday and Friday off in addition to having a 3-day weekend. A well deserved 5-day vacation for him. I had originally planned to bake pumpkin cookies but ended up going shopping instead. It was late and I needed to pick up a few things at Wal-Mart so I headed out around 9pm. My feet were aching from standing all morning but I knew I needed to buy printer ink before I put it off for too long. Three hours later, I found myself feeling exhausted and waiting in line to cash out. Did you know Wal-Mart doesn't take "free" item coupons from the internet? It's a good thing I had a $3 off coupon for the same item. Also, I was that lady who preferred to pay for two specific items on a separate transaction from everything else. Well aware of the long line of people behind me, but what's waiting a couple more minutes? I would understand if I held up the line paying by check, but I told the cashier "It won't take long. I'm paying by credit." As someone who works in retail, I understand that getting the lines down and decreasing the wait time is important, but so is customer satisfaction. As a customer, I want the same satisfaction I supply to my own guests at my store. I only ask that customers practice patience when standing in line. There are far worse wait times than a few extra minutes. On the way home, I saw the aftermath of a car crash a few miles from my exit. As I approached the cash site, all I could see were many flashing lights on numerous cop cars which I couldn't even tell where one started and another ended. I can only hope the person(s) involved made it out safely.
Sunday: Shawno found $25 in Best Buy money waiting for him in his e-mail. This meant traveling to the store and picking up a new game. I took this opportunity to stop by Christmas Tree Shops to hunt for cheap owl decor and maybe something else that held a combined taste in decor for our apartment. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything that really caught my eye so we left empty handed. For lunch, I treated Shawno to Taco Bell as a "thank you for putting up with my need to walk every aisle of the store and leaving with zero purchases". After asking him to take me to AC Moore to use a "50% off" coupon, Shawno kindly agreed (even though I knew he didn't want to go). I suggested he sit in the car while we were at Christmas Tree Shops because I didn't know how long that trip was going to take, he finally took me up on that offer as we pulled into the AC Moore parking lot (which is in the same building as my store). He's learning that the men generally sleep in the car as their women shop, haha. I spent $8.50 and felt as if it was truly well spent. Scrapbook page refills, double-sided patterned paper and I can't remember if I purchased anything else. We then started on our way home.
Monday: Labor Day. A nice lazy day at home. This is also the day of my second installment of Music Monday posts. I've really enjoyed reading themed daily posts on other blogs and felt it would fit nicely into my own blog. While I'm not really into the music scene as much as I was from 2002-2007, I often times enjoy sharing the music I've had on repeat with anyone who's willing to listen. This is the day I publicly released (to my Facebook wall) the latest blog I've been creating. It's called Sophie Mae Crafts and it is a craft blog where I hope to share all of my crafts with friends, family, fellow crafters, and anyone else interested. Originally I had named the blog "Sticks and Stories" but threw that out the window once Shawno said it didn't make sense as I wasn't using sticks or writing stories. I then changed the title to "Crafts, by Jasmine and Katie" when my bff-in-law said she would be interested in getting down with a craft blog. She's a full-time Mom and wife to my bff so I know that this would be a nice little outlet for her to share her crafts when she gets some free time to herself. After sharing the blog I realized, I could definitely use MORE authors than just Katie and myself. So I've made it open to anyone who wants a place to share their crafts. All you have to do is let me know where to send the e-mail invite. It's as simple as this. Everyone has their own style when it comes to arts and crafts and I like the idea of sharing multiple styles in one place. So, if you're interested, look out for an open invitation to hold "author" rights on Sophie Mae Crafts (which will be posted both here and on SMC in the future).
Tuesday: Monday night I received a phone call from my cousin, asking if I wanted to babysit her two youngest (3 ½ year old twins, A and R). I haven't seen them since July and I didn't have anything planned for the day, so I jumped at the chance to spend some quality time with the twins. I left my apartment (in Massachusetts) around 8:30am and sat through stop-and-go traffic until I reached the Rhode Island state line. I finally pulled up to her house (in Rhode Island) around 9:50am. The cause of the congested traffic? Drivers failing to merge. No worries, because I arrived safely. :] Once my cousin left for work, the twins and I watched tv for pretty much 5 hours straight. Bubble Guppies, Team Umizoomie, Max and Ruby, Dora the Explorer, and Peppa Pig on repeat thanks to Nick Jr East and Nick Jr West. I made peanut butter sandwiches cut into little squares so they could share, each had a juice box, and eyes glued to the TV as we all screamed the answers to any questions the shows asked. Pre-school shows are so cute. The oldest, B, came home from school shortly before the two middle cousins, C and S, hopped off the bus and tackled me with hugs. I love that I have such a good relationship with my little cousins. :] Shortly after their dad came home from work, I decided it was time to head home so I could beat the congested traffic during rush hour. I came home and noticed the rain had washed up all the debris in our patio and had gathered at the drain. That meant the water had become a few inches deep in the patio and eventually drained, gathering all these leaves/grass/seeds. Before long, the rain had picked up again and I found myself standing in the patio, feet completely submerged in cold water, using a snow shovel to scoop the water out before any water could threaten our living room just on the other side of the slider. It truly is a one person job in such a small space. My efforts proved victorious as the water level dropped. Additionally, I plunged the drain to loosen any debris that might the the cause of the water to drain at such a slow pace.
Wednesday: I woke up around 9:30am to the realization that I had work at noon and I needed to shower and eat breakfast before the clock magically turned to 11:30. (It happens too often!) After posting to Tumblr, 20SB, browsing Facebook, and checking my Blogger stats, I clicked my Gmail tab to find a new e-mail sitting there with the subject line "Interview?" Someone is interested in my veg interviews! Immediately read her message and my excitement was through the roof! I love reading the short little "about me" before I personalize questions for the interview. While I haven't actually finished the interview questions, my exhaustion from yesterdays water shoveling and lack of stretching out my muscles really caught up to me. Also, my lack of motivation... I'll get on that tomorrow afternoon, for sure, and this means another interview post is coming soon!
Before writing up this post I decided to get caught up on one of my favorite YouTube collaboration channels; AGayADay. While I find it hard to actually pick a favorite, because all of their personalities are very different, I have to say I enjoy watching Simon and Darren the most. All of these guys remind me of guy friends I've had and still have to this day. :]
Meet Khloe and Jeanine. Jeanine is my sister (the older of my two younger sisters) and Khloe is her daughter.
Of my three siblings, I am closest to Jeanine. Not only is she my sister but she is also my best friend and I'm glad to have someone like her in my life. She's always the first person I call when something important comes up and she would say the same for me. When she found out she was pregnant (after a phone call and urging her to take 3 more tests just to be sure, haha) she sent me a text that said "My eggo is preggo!" After it was made public, I told everyone who would listen! I was excited to finally be an aunt!
Six months ago, I was visiting my sister and her fiancé at their apartment in Texas. During my two week visit, I spent most of the first week preparing decorations and food for their baby shower. After a successful baby shower and celebrating Jeanine and Kirk's engagement, a winter storm blew in. Texas simply wasn't prepared for all that ice and we weren't prepared for the power outages. We had planned to spend that second week taking maternity and engagement photos when they were home from work. With the power coming and going, we pretty much spent our free time trying to stay warm without the constant warmth of a heater. Jeanine was only 6 months pregnant in her maternity photos but the end result was pretty great.
Three months ago, I was sitting at home waiting patiently to hear news on Jeanine and baby. I was in the middle of a phone call with my friend Jaime when I refreshed Facebook to see the first picture of Khloe. If I remember right, I screamed at Jaime as I told her my Mom had uploaded a picture. We were both ecstatic! It was tough being ~1900 miles away while my sister gave birth to her first child. But the mere fact that I was flying out that same weekend eased all my pain. April 27th, Khloe Marie was born and our family grew by 1. Later that night, I posted on my sister's Facebook:
My best friend. My little sister. It seems like just yesterday I was getting in trouble for cutting your long locks of hair... comforting you when you scraped your leg after falling off your bike... styling your hair and applying your make-up for the 8th grade dance... cheering for you from the stands as you ran up and down the soccer field. You just gave birth to your first baby. Mom and Dad's first grandchild. I can't wait to see you on Saturday to lend a helping hand only a big sister can. I love you little Neaners. Rest up! It's going to be an intense ride.
Jeanine would probably roll her eyes and say "that was real dumb, Jas" if we were in the same room when she read it. But I know in her heart she truly loved what I had to say. And if she didn't, I'll just wrestle her to the ground until she admits she enjoyed it! I mean, come on! We are siblings after all. Right?!
(Family post: Part I)
It is August and that means school is starting up soon. (While I am not a teacher nor a student, this means there will be less children accompanying their parents to my store.)
In a couple of weeks my sister, Krystal, is going to be a freshman at my Alma mater. Seven years after I graduated high school, my baby sister is starting 9th grade. Awww. :'] Last week, while she and my parents were on their way home from a two week vacation in Virginia, I called her up to ask if she needed a new backpack for the new school year. She sounded pretty neutral to the idea of a new backpack (even though I know she's stoked to see her friends at school and make new ones). It wasn't until I described this black and teal backpack that she truly became interested in what I had to say. "It's teal... or turquoise... some shade of blue-ish green and black. Yeah, it matches your glasses." She replied "Yeah, it sounds good. I guess." I bet if I offered her a teal and black backpack filled with Nintendo DSi's she'd be far more excited. Anyway. I bought her the backpack and picked up a lunch box for myself. (Current sale: Free lunch kit with the purchase of a backpack.) I mailed the backpack out on July 26th.
Fast forward to July 29th. I was at work when she called to tell me she received the package. When my sister calls, not only does she leave a voice message but she also pages my phone and sends me a text message. Was she trying to tell me something?? I fire up my voice mail. Punch in my super secret code and hit #. I thoroughly enjoy the way my sister talks when she is not taking her concerta. "Hey Jas! I got the package in the mail. The one you sent. But I'm not going to open it yet. I just wanted to let you know that I got it. The package. In the mail. I'll open it later. So... yeah. Call me later, when you can! So I'll talk to you later. Love you! Bye." That's not exactly word for word, but you get the idea. After work, I get on facebook to find a picture properly captioned with "thnx jasmine for my new backpack for me to you for school for when highschool yay!!!!!!!!!!!! i love it" Hahaha, makes me smile and giggle a little every time.
To recap: I'm a loving big sister to my little sister. I'm awesome. My little sister loves me. Also, I'm awesome and I like owls.
Christmas is Saturday. I'm excited! I'll be celebrating at my apartment, with Shawno. :D Later that day we'll join his Mom and family. I'm a little bummed I won't be seeing my own family this year, but it's understandable. Why?
BECAUSE I'M FLYING HOME ON JANUARY 22ND!!! It's official. I've scheduled my (free) round-trip flight for January 22 - February 5. Two weeks in Wichita Falls, Texas to visit the family. My sister's baby shower is January 29th, so I'm planning on helping her sort through the items she receives while also setting up the nursery.
In addition to this fun post about Christmas and family, I'd like to start listing what sort of New Years goals I'd like to achieve.
-eliminate soda from my diet
-possible career change (Working at my current place of employment is super, but I'd rather have a job outside of retail.)
-keep a weekly journal
-craft (scrapbook, paint, drawing, etc) on a regular basis
I cannot even begin to explain how great it felt to sleep in my own bed last night. The family reunion was a blast. Everyone liked Shawno. :]
Tonight we're staying in. I was going to see Eclipse, but it had to be rescheduled. Dear John should be sitting in my mail box right now. Pretty exciting! Tomorrow is grocery shopping day. We ate all the food that was going to expire over the weekend, and I used all the vegetables in my lumpia. Soooo, we have just about nothing in the fridge and cabinets. I haven't even tried to eat breakfast yet.
I've got to make a grocery list. I hope the walmart we shop at has a good selection out on Tuesday. Eggplant, zuchinni, and squash sounds yummy right now. Hmmm, I taste a stir fry of deliciousness in my future.
