Welcome to the Family

This is Bryan. I would like to take a moment to welcome him to the family. This last weekend dc and I went to Dave and Buster’s then to eat at Fogo De Chao’s. Before we started playing at Dave and Buster’s we walked thru the gift shop to see what we wanted to win. Of course I immediately spotted the pink hippo and was hell bent on that! Having figured out what we were going to win, we set out on a mission. We finally found this one game (I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called- the jack and cokes were going down way too smooth!) and we cleaned up on tickets. It was hilarious because we had this stack/pile of tickets on the floor; I only wish I would have remembered to take a picture of that! Adults and kids kept walking by making remarks on our pile of tickets. As we were debating if we had enough tickets for the hippo and decided we would take our chances, this guy walks up and asks us if we are done with the game. We tell him yes, he can have it, and his eyes lit up like we told him he had won the lottery. We ended up having to get a tub for all of our tickets, the lady weighed them, and holy hell we had over 9,000 tickets. (We were both jumping up and down like we had won the lottery when she told us that, we were so excited about the hippo and the HUGE amount of tickets we had.) The hippo, whose name is Bryan now, was only 4,000+ tickets. lol dc couldn’t figure out why he was so expensive- “because after all he is just a stuffed hippo” and he wasn’t buying the fact that it was because “he is a hippo and everyone loves and wants a hippo. It turns out he’s not just a hippo, he’s a musical hippo AND his ears wiggle while he sings to you. (Also note, Bryan has red “painted” nails, a pink bow around his neck with hearts on it, and the hearts on his paw light up when he sings. dc said that his nails are red “fresh from a kill because we know that a boy hippo sure wouldn’t paint his nails”. I personally think Bryan might be a bit “light in his loafers” but I don’t care, I love him regardless.) Bryan, who is the most adorable pink hippo I’ve ever seen, now sits on my nightstand with my teddy bear. When dc leaves to go back “home” they will move to the bed so that I won’t have to sleep by myself.

In case you’ve been doing some math and you’re wondering what we did with the rest of the tickets, we bought a coffee maker for my apartment, a coffee mug, a shot glass, another glass, and we still have over 500 tickets left… whew!!! Dave and Buster’s is awesome; I can’t wait to go back!!!

P.S. Mazzy wasn't quite sure what to think of Bryan singing while his ears wiggled.

"Our" Story

I’ve know dc my whole life- ever since I can remember. Our parents went to the same church, this is the only church either of us have ever known and I think we started going when I was 3. (Ironically, over Labor Day while we were dog-sitting for his parents- we were staying at their house- we were going thru a cabinet in the kitchen looking for a Bundt cake pan- monkey bread rules!!!- and we found church directories going back to the early 1990’s. We were all in there and it was hilarious!!! Taking that trip down memory lane together was so much fun and it was so funny to look back on those times.) Anyways back to the story, we grew up at church together. We have history, a lot of history together- some of it just friends some of it more than friends. Growing up and as far back as I can remember I always said, I’m going to marry that boy one day. I’ve loved him for as long as I can recall. During high school and college dc and I were really close. We talked on the phone constantly- usually all night long and hung out together constantly- especially when km and I got our own apartment. dc and I have talked about this so many times and for the life of us neither one of us can remember or figure out why we quit talking. We just kinda quit talking and drifted apart, somehow, unbeknownst to us. I graduated shortly after we quit talking and we went separate ways. We’ve talked and somehow just based on where we’ve both been in our lives and the way we are if we would have got together before now it wouldn’t have worked out. We just know that. We both agree that everything happens for a reason and we both think what is happening between us is the best thing that has ever happened to either one of us. He is the most phenomenal person and has made me happier over the past 5 months than I’ve been in years. So that’s “our” story. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. (cheesy yes I know but so true.)

Exactly What You Need to Hear

So I emailed momma this morning and was pity- partying about dc leaving… he was supposed to go back on Monday, it was switched to Tuesday, now it’s Friday… every day it gets one day later- I’m not complaining though, just like, you’re prolonging the inevitable… and it never fails the day before I get so sad it’s his “last night here” only to find out he’s staying another day… now he’s waiting on more product to come in… like I said, I’m not complaining, it’s just killing me- slowly… lol… anyways, I was pity- partying to momma and she said exactly what I needed to hear… exactly!!!
When dc first started talking about moving I was ok with it… I mean, not ok with it like I’m really ok with you moving 8 hours away but I’m ok with it because I understand that this is something that you’ve wanted to do for a long time and I don’t want you to end up resenting me because you didn’t go. It hurt (a lot) and I cried (a lot) and somehow seemed to lose sight of that perspective.

Momma’s reply to me was: I know you hate to see dc leave but you said he'd wanted to leave here for a long time. If he doesn't do it now and see if that's what he wants, he may never be happy. The new may wear off in a short time and he may move back but he'll always wonder if he doesn't take the chance now. He'll be back for a visit soon and who knows how long he'll decide to stay there at all. Maybe you can find something to get involved in to help pass the time.

After I cried, yes, I know, cried, I emailed her back and told her thank you; that was exactly what I needed to hear. She’s so right and now thinking back I’m disappointed in myself for losing sight of this but at the same time I’m grateful that she was able to help me shift my mindset and get me back to there. I have absolutely no idea where I would be right now without my family and my friends. I only hope they know how much they mean to me and how much I appreciate and love them.

My "Confessions"

I’ve spent most of my morning reading True Confessions- Body, Mom, & Office. Here are a few of my confessions for today:

• I know others have it worse than I do but I just can’t seem to shake the funk right now.
• I haven’t been thinking about dc leaving and going back “home” but now that he’s leaving Wednesday I am getting so depressed. The tears have already started. I don’t know why he had to move.
• I have quit taking all my prescription meds- except my birth control. I’ve been so moody and emotional lately it’s driving me crazy, ironic isn’t it? I read that it can take up to a month for your body to get back to “normal” after you quit taking meds... it hasn’t been a month yet but I’m still waiting.
• I’m letting the “little stuff” get to me. I think this has to do with quitting the meds and dc leaving too. I can’t read, watch, or hear anything even semi-emotional without tearing up.
  I want to write a book. I love to read and my whole life I’ve always wanted to write a book. I don’t know how or where to begin.

Happiness and suffering come from your own mind, not from outside. Your own mind is the cause of happiness; your own mind is the cause of suffering. To obtain happiness and pacify suffering, you have to work within your own mind.

Ike

For the past week dc and I have been watching (Hurricane) Ike to see where he’s headed… I’m so glad that dc didn’t go home but even if he would have, he would have had to come back. His roommate is still there but is waiting for orders to evacuate… dc and I have been joking about Ike tearing down his house but now it looks like Ike is knocking on his back door. Like I said, I’m so glad he’s here and not there. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, where Ike decides to land, and what damage he does. I know everything happens for a reason, I’m just asking for your thoughts and prayers for everyone that has been and will be affected by Ike. You can track Ike here.

(On the good side, dc brought -almost- everything but his sleeping bag back with him when he came down. His roommate is packing up the rest of the "important" stuff to bring back. It's almost like it's a "sign" he should just stay here.)

(Update: dc just emailed me and said that the he talked to his roommate and that the water is already above their lowest deck and that the road surrounding the island is already flooding. I just read that WF is in an extended flood watch. We haven't even recovered from the flood a month ago and from my understanding this isn't part of Ike. 09/10 @ 2:10pm)

Corpus Pictures

Instead of posting a billion pictures of Corpus here I thought I'd post them here

Pictures

dc and I after a long day bowling- (read: long day bowling & drinking)

my 2nd highest score (I can't find the picture with my high score of 117)

Muenster- Hole # 11

one of the many views of the "fan farms" at Muenster

Happiness

I know I keep blogging about being happy, mainly I think it’s because it’s something that I haven’t really felt in so long… bear with me…
For the past several months I have been so happy, happier than I have been in years. And it’s not just me that’s noticed. People that I don’t even know that well have made comments to me about it. I have mixed feelings about this. Was that I that unhappy that it was so obvious (to everyone) or now that I’m happy is it so obvious that I was unhappy? Does that even make any sense- is it the same thing? I’m hoping that it’s the fact that now that I’m so happy it’s obvious that I was so unhappy. I would hate to think that everyone was able to see that I was so unhappy for so long, especially since it took me a long time to accept the fact that I really was unhappy and that I needed to make a change. Needless to say, I suppose that none of that matters now because I am happy. I have made changes in my life for the better and for my happiness.
dc came into town early. I got back from Corpus on Monday the 25th and he was supposed to be here Friday the 29th. He ended up coming in Thursday. Only one day difference but I’ll take it any time! Originally he was supposed to be leaving today but he told me last Thursday morning that he wasn’t leaving today. I finally had the heart to ask him yesterday when he was going back “home”. He said he’s thinking next Monday (never would be fine with me, I think he should just move back here).
We decided that we’re going to go skiing over my Christmas “break”. Our Christmas vacation will be a long one this year too. We’ll work the 23rd and then not have to come back until 5th!!! Way too awesome!!! We’re going skiing in Breckenridge so that we can ski Vail and another place too (only I can’t remember the 3rd place). I’m really excited. Our weight loss isn’t going so swell but it couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he is an amazing cook and is showing me how to navigate the kitchen. I know for a fact that I haven’t met anyone who can cook like dc can. We did buy a grill for my apartment though so hopefully we can try to cook a little healthier. I am inspired by Ilax and her weight loss though!! I need to follow her example!!!
On Labor Day we went bowling. I took a bowling class in college and never managed to break 100. Needless to say, in 2 different games I broke 100!!! I was so excited!!!
Saturday we went golfing in Muenster. They have the most beautiful golf course; hills, water, trees, everything that our golf courses in town don’t have. Everyone playing Saturday was playing so slow so I golfed a bit. I am currently learning how to putt. I suck pretty good at golf but it’s still fun and I love that dc is trying to teach me how to play. He doesn’t get frustrated and I don’t get embarrassed around him (that I suck). He’s a very good teacher.
(I do have pictures of my bowling scores and our golf trip to Muenster but I just can’t seem to remember to get the usb cord from dc so I can put them on the computer.)
Yesterday was a lazy Sunday. The only time I left the apartment was to go to get ice cream- I know, I know, once again, I wonder why we can’t lose weight. We watched 3 football games and the race. The Cowboys played an excellent game and Carl raced a good race.
I’m excited to see what this week has in store though. Life just keeps getting better and better.

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.
— Anne Frank

Fate I Tell You!

I mentioned before that I’ve been looking for a new car. I went and picked up a BMW 328i Wednesday at lunch and drove it until Thursday. I was so sad to say that I didn’t like it. I tried to talk myself into liking it but dc kept saying, if you don’t love it don’t get it, you should be really excited about it and I wasn’t. I kept thinking, I would really like another Passat but the new Passat I want is more than the BMW. So I took the BMW back and was driving a new Accord. I liked the car but not the color so the salesman and I were driving around to the back to see if they had any other colors and what happened… if you happen to guess that someone had just traded in a Passat you are correct!!! And when I say just traded in I mean just traded it in. It hadn’t even been detailed yet. It’s not brand new but it’s a 2006, 3 years newer than mine and only has 33,000 miles on it (mine is less than 300 miles away from hitting the 100,000 mark). It’s charcoal too, which I personally think is a sign it’s meant to be since my first one was black, the second one is white, and now the third one is gray- a mix of black and white!!! A sign I tell you!!! I drove it at lunch yesterday but it wasn’t detailed and it needed to be serviced so I’m going back down there today to drive it at lunch and hopefully to sign the papers on it. The best part is that my payment should only go up about $100. That’s awesome!!! Keep your fingers crossed that Perry (yes, he already has a name!) is mine!!!
I'm looking at Perry like I have manifested a new car! What I've been wanting! See, good things are on their way!! To me this is just another sign that I am where I need to be and want to be, that I am on the right track.
Update: I just called the dealership and my car isn't ready yet. Not a problem though. I would rather them take their time, do everything right, and get everything taken care of before I get down there. The salesman is supposed to call me back this afternoon to let me know what's going on and where we stand. Everything happens for a reason and when it's supposed to happen yes? Exactly what I thought.

Perfect