I never thought...

...that I would drive a hearse. Even if just for two weeks. I still just never thought it would happen! But then again, I had never expected my car to be scraped all along its side and have to got to the doctor for two weeks, either!

So here is me, driving the hearse that was assigned to me for two weeks. I just woke up, so I look a bit goofy!



I call it a hearse in a teasing manner... I know a lot of people own cars like these and love them. It was actually a really smooth drive! I just don't care much for the appearance. What can I say? I've never cared much for the hatchback look either. I'm a classic sedan-type girl ;)

More later! (And it will be FUN! More things that are brand-spanking-new-to-me!)

Let it RAIN

Preparing Your Fields for Rain

I heard a story about two farmers
who desperately needed rain.

Both of them prayed for rain,
but only one of them went out
and prepared his fields to receive it.
Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?"

"Well, the one who prepared his fields for it."

"Which one are you?

God will send the rain when He is ready.
You need to prepare your field to receive it."

My ever-so-wise friend Vicki has been telling me about preparing your fields for rain. She is ever the optimist and is so loving and caring as to lend an ear when I have to crank it all out. I am trying to copy that optimism (we have matching cars, computers, phones, clothes, so why not matching attitudes, too?!) Basically, if you prepare yourself for good things happening to you, and if you believe that they are yours to have, then they will come! You have to be ready!

As many of you may know, I am not incredibly happy with my current employment, I am actually quite sick of it. I work the evening shift, which alone stresses me out a lot, and then add to it the fact that I feel like my direct supervisor is incompetent in leading my team of 5... yeah, it sucks. Which is why, instead of just cranking about it like I have for so long, I am trying to make a change! i have started looking at the job market (which in Austin is still absolutely horrible!) and have put myself out there (once again!). There is one job in particular that really gets me excited! And today I turned in the application for that job and took the typing test for it. When all was said and done, the HR lady told me "5-6 weeks until you hear anything from us."

BUMMER...

But then again...

I am in the beginning works of applying for a Master's Nursing Program, and need some bang-a-rang references. So, actually, having this time allows myself to prepare for the rain! I am planning on getting at leat one and possibly two references from nurses at work. I don't think they would be so keen to help me once I quit my job there... So, 5-6 weeks gives me ample time to take care of such stuff! And all the while, I will be applying for more jobs and working on finding ways to allow myself happiness at work (without needing a chocolate bar every time I get stressed!)

You all cross your fingers, pray for me, or just send warm fuzzy thoughts my way!
With that, I say...

"COME ON, UNIVERSE! LET IT RAIN!"

Da Beach!

That's right! The time has arrived! 3 weeks later, and here they finally are!

Jon and I went to the beach to celebrate our two year anniversary. TWO YEARS! It has gone by so quickly! I couldn't ask for a better partner to share my love, joys, and sorrows with! (Shout out to my boo! *I love you baby!* :p)

Enough with the sappy stuff! We spent three days at the beach and had a blast catching some rays (don't judge by the fact that I still look super white... I actually have tan lines!) and eating some tasty seafood! (we both highly recommend "Oceans of Seafood," they had an amazing crab leg special and it was a great homey mom-n-pop type of place! Happy to support the locals!)




On the road - couldn't resist snapping a few! I was so excited!



We made it! Happy to be soaking up some rays!





Took a late afternoon trip to the jetty! What a wonderful walk. We made it all the way to the end, where the sea mist was splashing up on us.



Pelican! We saw a couple of sea turtles, too, but my camera didn't want to be quick enough to catch them! (Odd that we associate turtles to be slow but they were too quick for my camera!)





So I lied about not being sappy anymore! Sorry! The first one is a shadow of us hugging... the other two are pretty explanatory.




Walking into the sunset. Perfect timing!



Happy beach girl (just like me!)


It was such a great trip! A wonderful way to celebrate together :)

Here are some fun pictures!

So when I was uploading pictures from our trip to the beach (which I will post soon!), I re-discovered the amusing pictures that we took on our spring break trip, and just had to share some of them.

We stayed 3 nights in a primitive campsite at the Enchanted Rock, and then a night in Fredericksburg. Our B&B wasn't ready yet when we left the Rock, so we tried to find something to do. We ended up finding a Safari Petting Zoo in Johnson City, which was absolutely amusing and awesome! (I highly recommend it for a day or weekend trip!)


This was our tent...


This was the VIEW from our tent :)


This is Jon looking silly! I love his Marine hat!


Pretty flowers! I think that was a blossoming peach tree.


BUFFALO!


Tehehe!


Llama...


BABY llama! Yay!


It's a bit blurry, but this is a kangaroo who was lounging in the shade scratching his man stuff in a full-on doze... typical guy!



These Zebras were so cool! One ate right out of my hand and left a whole bunch of sticky spit!


Look at how tall that camel is!!!



This guy was my favorite! A Scottish Highland Cow! He was so sweet and gentle!


BWAHAHA!


Me and Jon at the end of our trip!

Thats all for now! I'll post some cool pictures from the beach soon, and maybe some random nature shots too!

You know I'm bored...

[ NOW ]
Current mood: excited about the beach
Current music: A/C flowing
Current hair: sleep-ready
Current clothes: robe
Current annoyance: myself for not going to sleep
Current smell: Jon (In a good way!)
Current thing I should be doing: Sleeping, studying, packing for the beach
Current desktop picture: a picture of my and Jon's feet in the hammock at the Frio
Current favorite band: no one in particular
Current book: Naked by David Sedaris
Current cd in stereo: a country mix Vicki made me
Current crush: Well, Jon. Duh. and Twix, of course.
Current favorite celeb: Amy Adams


[ DO YOU.. ]
Smoke?: only very rarely and whilst quite intoxicated
Do drugs?: NO
Have a dream that keeps coming back?: Nope
Remember your first love?: Yup.
Still love him/her?: No. I wish him well but that is all.
Read the newspaper?: Not very often.
Have any gay or lesbian friends?: Yup and they are totally cool!
Believe in miracles?: Yes
Believe it's possible to remain faithful forever?: Absolutely.
Consider yourself tolerant of others?: Unless someone is doing something to offend or hurt me or my friends, I am usually pretty cool with people. Or when driving... (see last post!)
Consider love a mistake?: Not at all. Love is a blessing.
Like the taste of alcohol?: Mostly. But I do think that warm beer tastes like what I imagine piss tastes like.
Have a favorite candy?: I've been hankering for a Twix a lot lately
Believe in astrology?: I like stars, but I don't believe in the Zodiac sign type stuff.
Believe in magic?: Only between two people.
Believe in God?: I believe in a higher power, for sure!
Have any pets: No. Only a sweet pup that I consider my nephew :-D
Go to or plan to go to college: I'm a grad! Still taking some classes at ACC so that then I can go to grad school!
Have any piercings?: Just the ears.
Have any tattoos?: No.
Hate yourself: No. When things happen that I could hate myself for, I choose to learn from them instead.
Have an obsession?: Always something.
Have a secret crush?: Again, just Jon and Twix

[ LOVE LIFE ]
Ever been in love?: Yes
Do you believe in love at first sight?: Nope. There is certainly attraction at first sight. But love has to come from getting to know someone as a person. You can't do that "at first sight"
Do you believe in "the one?": I believe in the right person to spend the rest of your life and love with


[ETC]
Have you ever played a game that required removal of clothing?: I'm almost 24... Of course I have
Have you ever been intoxicated?: Again, I'm 24. Yes.
Have you ever been caught "doing something?": I believe so
Are you a tease?: It' been mentioned before
Shy to make the first move?: It's been so long I don't even remember. Not shy, but I'd rather not.


[ LAST THING.. ]
Bought: Alamo Drafthouse food YUM!
Ate & Drank: Fried Pickles, Fish Tacos, and a Milkshake. (health, I know!)
Read: Lippincot's Nursing Drug Guidelines for pharmacology class
Watched on TV: 30 Rock

[ EITHER OR.. ]
beer or cider: if they were the same price and both always available, cider
drinks or shots: depends on my mood, but shots never turn out super in the end.
cats or dogs: Dogs
single or taken: Absolutely 100% taken
pen or pencil: Pen
gloves or mittens: Gloves
food or candy: Food... or candy... I don't know! They both rock!
coke or pepsi: Coke


[ LAST PERSON YOU.. ]
saw: Jon! I'm with him right now!
talked to on the phone: Anita, the lady who was in charge of my car at the shop today
hugged: Jon!
instant messaged: Margaret
kissed: Jon!

[ WHAT IS... ]
Your bedroom like?: messy
Your favorite thing for breakfast?: Fruit or yogurt
Your favorite restaurant?: Madam Mams
What's on your bedside table?: books and candles, my phone charger, pictures
What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night?: Whatever is in the fridge...
What is your biggest fear?: living life without love
Do you know how to play poker?: my momma didn't raise no fool!
What do you carry with you at all times?: My cell phone and my keys, including my mace!
How do you drive?: like a responsible, non-dummy
What do you miss most about being little?: Being relatively carefree
Are you happy with your given name?: Yes! A perfect match. Also my perfect drunk/avoiding creepy men at bars name is Devon.
What color is your bedroom?: Blue
Have you ever been in a play?: Quite a few
Do poor, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you?: Sadly, yes. There are many avenues through which they can get help, yet they choose to sit on the side of the road staring uncomfortably through my car window.
Do you consider yourself to be a nice person?: Yes. I think I am a pretty kind-hearted person with good intentions.

"Driving for Dummies"

Who ever thought that they would need to make a "driving for dummies" book? If you are that dumb, maybe you shouldn't be driving. And how in the world did you earn the money to buy that car that you are driving, dummy?

Driving IS NOT for dummies.

It is a huge task that too many people shrug off. We have these swanky cars with super luxury written all over them, and you can have a GPS going, a call on your bluetooth, a video playing in the background while your kids are arguing over who gets to lick the silver spoon next, and all the while, you ARE actually on the road, going 60-80 mph, a truly neck-breaking speed. Literally. You would think that a lot of people forget that small fact by the way they drive.

I don't know if it's like that in all cities, or if Austin is especially bad. I feel like everyone here is either going slow and can't seem to stay within the lanes, or they're going WAAAAY too fast and just can't decide which line to stay in, so they zip through all of them. Jon's theory, which I have good faith in, is that everyone on the roads in Austin is either drunk or high.

I find myself saying really rude things to people on the road. In general, I'm just a really unpleasant person while I'm in the driver's seat. I'll be talking to my passenger, telling her about some awesome thing or other that Jon did or some cute thing I saw, and mid-sentence, *TOUERETTES* just kicks in and I let some poor, unknowing dummy on the road have it. And of course they will never know what I said about them or their driving skills, but whoever is unfortunate enough to be in the car with me sure hears it.

I feel like driving is bad for my health. I'm tempted to pick up biking whenever possible, but that seems unwise, seeing all the dumb-butts on the road! They'll just knock me off my bike one of these days, like they did with my sister. I guess if I am going to have to encounter these dummies, I might as well be in my big plastic and metal hunk on wheels as well. Better odds, I suppose.

I just need to say it one more time... Driving is NOT for dummies. "Driving For Dummies: Page 1: DON'T DRIVE if this book is your best bet. Drop your keys off at the door and take the bus home." End of book.

Better yet, let's just get rid of that book altogether.

I rest my case.

Today is Monday, Tomorrow is Friday

That's right! Jon gets back from training tomorrow night and then I have Wednesday-Friday off! Which means that essentially, tomorrow is my Friday! Huzzah!

On Wednesday, I have to go to class and we are taking my car in to the shop to get it all squared away. Then, we are both getting MASSAGES! Yay! And I think we will end the day with a date at Alamo Drafthouse. I'm super excited! Thursday, we are waking up early and trucking it over to the beach! There for 3 nights, soaking up sun, catching some waves, and eating cheap, cheap Tex-Mex food!

Then back to real life, but we can deal with that later.

The class that I am taking right now is Pharmacology. It is such an interesting class to me! I love the math part of it :) (yes, I know. I'm a big old nerd for enjoying math. That's ok, I know I'm a nerd!) I feel like I am really excelling in the class. I think that the class really ties together a lot of the things I learned at UT that felt so... meaningless. Between Physiology and Pharmacology, all of that tedious information that never fit together FINALLY FITS!

I charged up my camera battery to take with me to the beach. I feel like I need some sort of creative outlet. And as I mentioned before, photography has always intruiged me, so I need to get into the habit of tote-point-click! I also really want to try creating mosaics. I once saw a really interesting coffee table mosaic, and I really want to creat one of my own! It was such an interesting piece! I feel like finding some way to let out my creative energy will really help me out when Jon is gone next year. Help me focus some energy on creating!

Thank goodness tomorrow is (my version of) Friday! It's been a rough month! Massages and Beach, here I come!!!