Past Present Future - Volume 4

So, it's been a while.

\\PAST\\
I mentioned I got a new job in the Going Through the Motions post. I am still there and I really like it. Each day is a bit different and I'm starting to learn the ins & outs of everything that happens at work. I really feel like I'm learning and I feel that it's a good place to be. So, I'm glad with my decision to leave TV. Sometimes I miss the times I'm not able to watch the newest Masterpiece Theater before everyone else but that's what Roku is for, right?

John's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. We decided to go to the Tower of the America's and eat at their fancy pants restaurant. It was a Friday so the wait to get a table was about an hour. We spent that time drinking at the bar, eating a delicious fried calamari appetizer, and talking the night away. When we finally got our table we were right along the edge - closest to the windows. The Tower restaurant rotates so every hour you've gone around once and are able to see all of San Antonio. This sounds totally fun and cool but towards the end of our meal we both started getting nauseous. It was almost the same feeling you get when you read in a car for too long. We both got salmon dishes but his was so much tastier than mine. It was a fun-fancy date night.

\\PRESENT\\
About four months ago, one of my grandma's became really sick. She was in the hospital for a bit and then eventually they decided to put her on hospice. We knew that she wasn't going to last much longer but we were fortunate enough to get to spend some extra time with her. This past week - she died. Yesterday was her funeral. Though it was such a sad time, it was great to see so many people who knew my granny. There were a lot of people at her wake and even at the funeral the day after. My grandma lived a long, happy life. She used to take care of me during the summer when I was out of school and both of my parents were working. We all used to call her Mommy Lola. When I was in elementary school she would walk to school to pick me up and I'd stay at her house until my dad came to get me. She was super cute and tough. She was still doing yardwork up until a few weeks before she got sick. She was strong and because she couldn't drive she walked everywhere which meant she had incredible stamina for someone her age. She was awesome.


\\FUTURE\\
John & I have some exciting news but that is going to get a post all its own. Stay tuned for some happy news!

Past Present Future - Vol 3

\\PAST\\
I took an 18 hour sleep the other night. It felt sooo good. I've been so sleepy.

Finally bought Mum her birthday/Mummy's Day present. She had been wanting an enameled casserole dutch oven like mine. They were on sale and I couldn't pass it up! Now she can make no knead breads, one pot soups, and brown and finish cooking meat in the oven. Woo!

I went and got bangs again! I look about 15 on average with them down.


\\PRESENT\\
I told you I bit the bullet and bought a Day Designer and I have to say that I am in love! It's pretty big, kinda heavy, and probably not going to fit into your purse but I love that there is a spot for everything. To Do, Schedule, Notes, etc. Even though I'm not that busybusy it's nice to see my days spread out so I know what I have to look forward to and I can really focus on all the things I have to do - work wise and blog wise.

I paid off another one of my loans which means I only have one more to go! I'm so excited youhavenoidea. Once that last one is paid off I'll be completely debt free! And...then I can start looking for a car. I've had my car since I was 19. She's a little beat-up, smelly, and the bumper is a different color than the rest of her but she's still running pretty smoothly so I'm not in dire need. But still, having a newer car would be nice.


\\FUTURE\\
I am literally counting down the days until I'm done double-jobbing. I'm really going to miss the paycheck but ohmyglob I can't wait to sleep more than 4 hours a night. I know some crazy people can live like that but I'm definitely not one of them. I should have bought stock in 5 Hour Energy because those little disgustingly flavored energy shots are basically the only thing running through my blood stream right now. And coffee. Always coffee.


Reading: Everything, Everything.
Watching: Call the Midwife, Mr Selfridge, Parenthood, Bob's Burgers
Listening to: I'm a total Anglophile and I recently found this YouTube channel called: Anglophenia which I absolutely adore. If you're interested you should look at: How To Speak British & TV Shows America Stole from Britain
Needing: To drink more water regularly.
Wanting: More dresses. Always more dresses.
Something I'm Looking Forward To: My eShakti dress to arrive.
Five Good Things That Happened This Week:

1. We decided on a book for our Blogs, Books, and Babes book club! King Dork is first up and I can't wait to get started reading and discussing it with other bookworms. 
2. Paid off another loan.
3. Bought a dress off eShakti. It's blue and white gingham and I got it (with shipping) for less than 25$!
4. Got a coupon for a free medium fountain drink from the gas station. Woo! Cherry Dr. Pepper. 
5. Finally got Boyboy a new collar. This one is orange and hopefully won't turn his fur black like the metal one did. 

How was your week? Anything fun, interesting, or hilarious?

Past Present Future - Vol. 2

\\PAST\\
I admit that I usually get to say what we watch as I'm kind of a movie snob. But on Sunday, it was all about John. He decided that I was going to watch the Fast and the Furious saga so that I can go with him to watch the seventh installment in theaters. I had seen the first one, years ago, when it first came out but not a one afterward. So John rented Fast & Furious on GooglePlay and we got about two minutes in before he realized something was off.


"That's not how it starts. I don't remember this happening in the first one."
"What do you mean it's not how it starts? You rented Fast and Furious, obviously this is how it starts. Maybe you just got mixed up?" I said.
"No...I don't think so."

Well it turns out that the first one is actually called THE Fast and THE Furious. Which is probably the stupidest thing ever. Not the title itself but that all of their titles are so similar. Anyway, we got that all settled, and watched the first one with sarcastic commentary and heavy eyeball rolling from me.


Then we watched the next one: 2 Fast 2 Furious. Then over the week we watched Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, & Furious 6.

Which means that I'm all caught up! They actually weren't as bad as I originally thought. The second and third were pretty hard to get through but the ones after that were so much better. I'm actually pretty excited to see the seventh in theaters. It'll be even better seeing it on the big screen and with the awesome surround sound.

This week was also Fiesta week and I ended up getting my flower crown just like I wanted! Score!

\\PRESENT\\
I received my first Dress of the Month from Unique Vintage but didn't like it. Sad. I will be returning
it and anxiously awaiting next month's, which will hopefully yield better results.

I have also decided to try to get my blog more exposure and more opportunities so I signed up for a few groups and collaborators. So far, I'm just waiting.

I ordered a Day Designer planner because I have a really bad addiction to planners and office supplies in general. Even though I already have a weekly/monthly calendar, this sectioned day-to-day one just wouldn't leave my mind. But it was a bit too steep a price for me. So I waited and by the time I decided I really wanted to try it out the black and white stripe was sold out! So I bought the Gold Spotty.

And because of a misprint it's discounted. So I couldn't pass it up. I just love the idea of being able to plan my whole day and the fact that it has a gratitude section because, I totally admit, that I am a realist/pessimist at heart and I need all the help I can get. I just got it yesterday so I'll let you know what I think of it once I give it a good run.



\\FUTURE\\
John and I went to a friend's party at this new brewery. It was a lot of fun and the place was nothing like we expected. I cannot wait until I'm on a more regular schedule so we can frequent the place. They had board games, horse shoes, cornhole, music, and a food truck. Plus their beer is pretty good and decently priced.

Still cannot wait for our vacation. I'm definitely a vacation person and it's true that it makes work easier by having a rest in your sights.

Also, I'll be finishing my temp job soon. Huge sigh of relief. I'll be able to sleep my normal 9 hours again. Haha. But I will try to be more productive since I know just how many hours are in a day and all the things I've been able to accomplish within them. I am going to miss that extra paycheck though. Eh...we did fine before.



Reading: From A Buick 6 - Stephen King
Watching: Parenthood, Call the Midwife, Mr. Selfridge, Wolf Hall
Listening to: Still lovin' my Valerie June Pandora station.
Needing: To go grocery shopping.
Wanting: A new dress.
Something I'm Looking Toward To: I'm having lunch with an old friend this week at (plus!) a place I've never been to before. I love trying new places.
Five Good Things That Happened This Week: 

1. I got my Fiesta flower crown. 
2. My Day Designer came in.
3. I got free food from work for working one of the Fiesta parades. Yes! 
4. A girl at work donated her Keurig to us. Double yes! Fresh coffee all the time. 
5. One of my friends/co-worker called me a strong woman. Thrice yes!

So how was your week? What was the thing you loved the most about it?

Past Present Future - Vol. 1

I've been saying for months that I need to delve into my personal life more. Well, I figured that this Past, Present, Future series would be a great way to start to get more comfortable with the idea of everyone knowing my life. So here we go.


First let's get the bad outta the way: My paternal grandmother had a stroke and was hospitalized this past week. She's stable and doing better now. When John and I went to see her we were able to understand most of what she said and she was aware of all the people visiting her. Besides family she's had tons of visitors. One of my aunt says that she gets self-conscious about her hair when there are "guests" in the room. She hasn't dyed it in a bit, ha. She's very strong and mostly she wants out of the hospital. For now, we're all just monitoring her and waiting to see what comes next.

Now onto some lighter fare. 

My mum celebrated a birthday this past week. I treated her to Olive Garden. We usually go there for my birthday but we hadn't been in quite a while. I cannot get enough of their deliciously buttery breadsticks. And their salad dressing. Mmm. She hasn't told me what she wants her gift to be so I haven't bought her anything. I know it may sound weird but we're really not a "surprise" gift family.

I joined the First to Read Penguin program. I was able to enter the drawing to read two different books before the drawing actually took place. I was surprised when I was selected to read one! It's called The Wrath and the Dawn. It won't come out until May but I'm pretty sure it has changed my life and my YA standards. Be on the lookout for the book and for my review - both of which come out May 8th. I cannot recommend it enough!

I also received my next Blogging for Books book. This time I chose a cookbook and I got it in the mail yesterday. I cannot wait to try some recipes from it because they look a-maze-ing. Beautiful photos, delicious recipes - what more could you ask for?

In trying to revamp my closet, I signed up for the Unique Vintage Dress of the Month club. I should be receiving the first one on Tuesday. I CANNOT WAIT. I'm going to be impatiently waiting by my door until FedEx comes. And if they get there after I leave for work I'm going to have John bring it to me so I can see it, try it on, and touch it. Kidding. Sort of.

Yesterday, John and I went to the Poteet Strawberry Festival. Poteet is a little town about 45 minutes south of San Antonio. The festival first started in 1948 so it's really well known here. I had been many years ago but John had never been. You'll get an entire post about it but the gist is that they serve strawberries a whole bunch of different ways. Chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberry wine, strawberry ice cream, strawberry jams, etc. They also have bands, crafts, games, and other festival stuff.

It's officially been a year since we've gotten Boyboy. He's such a diva. It feels as if he's always been part of the family. I love that John taught him how to cuddle. He's totally cool plopping himself onto the couch and bugging you until you rub him.


Reading: The Truth About Forever - Sarah Dessen (for the millionth time)
Watching: Parenthood & Bob's Burgers
Listening to: I just newly discovered Valerie June
Needing: A Nap
Wanting: Coffee & Ice Cream
Something I'm Looking Forward to: We have a New Orleans vacation planned! Woo! I need a vacation sobad and I cannot wait to relax and eat delicious food.
Five Good Things That Happened This Week: 

1. Got Paiiiiid.
2. A nice lady at my job gave me the rest of her salad. Hah. She forgot to take it home & wanted me to eat it before it got soggy. It was a kind gesture and the salad was delicious!
3. It rained some so my orchid (which is still alive!) & the Japanese Boxwoods received some good rain water. 
4. John took Boyboy to the vet and everything is good and healthy. 
5. I took over the @thebloglife101 on Instagram on Saturday. It was a lot of fun!