A New Nephew, Smoke Detectors, and A Year

The trip to meet Dominic was so fun! I didn’t want to come back home! He is so SO fun to snuggle with. I can’t believe that humans come that small. Seeing Katie and Adam was awesome as well! (Of course!). Honestly the trip needs its own post! But in summary… I have the cutest little nephew ever, I didn’t want to come back, and I am nowhere near close to where I left of in terms of being able to play soccer. (I missed a goal. Me + the goalie + 5 mins = shot off the post. I would have made my girls do up-downs for missing a goal like that. ARGH) Oh I went to see the Easter bunny for the first time ever. Apparently mom didn’t love me enough to take me J I have never been to an Easter egg hunt either. Obviously the second child is just not loved as much as the oldest. Being back in Reality just plain old stinks. I would like to go back on vacation.

 

Oh I learned three things on my flights to and from Virginia.

1.       Apparently there is a special hat box/container made for cowboy hats. The guy across the asile from me had one and put his Stetson in it. Texans never cease to amaze me.

2.       I cant understand Indian accents. The friendly guy sitting next to me on the way home had to repeat everything. I seriously think I have a hearing problem sometimes.

3.       It is official. I am going to throat punch the next person who asks me what Im going to do with my degree. Consider yourself warned. I can do anything I want to. And Im getting tired of being polite when you ask me that.

This morning was rough. I went to bed exhausted. I don’t remember lying down. I remember setting my alarm and yelling to Watson that it was time for bed, and the next thing I know I am being jolted awake by the smoke alarm blaring. I had no idea what was going on. It was one of those moments that your body just goes on auto pilot and you find yourself stumbling through the house blindly. My eyes were all crusty and bleary. My cat was freaking out and walking in circles around my feet… and that really wasn’t helping anything. I had no idea what was shrieking at me, I was just trying to find the source and make it shut up. I finally figured out that it was the smoke alarm in the hallway. The ceilings are TALL and I just stood in the hall angry at the white, round, obnoxious contraption hanging 16 feet over my head. I think I just stood there and stared straight up my problem. How was I going to scale the wardrobe to hit that “thing” as hard as I could? That’s when I started grumbling to Watson about the situation. I am pretty sure that he agreed as his tail was a least 5 times are big as normal, and his fur was all poofy. I decided against climbing wooden structures that may or may not support my weight and I trudged to the kitchen, dragging my feet partly because I was too tired to pick them up properly, and partly because Watson was really annoyingly close to them.

I dragged out the step stool, grabbed the broom, and stomped back to the hall. After almost losing the battle with the step ladder (they are tricky things to open!), I hit the button with the broom handle to stop the incessant beeping. (I probably hit the button a little harder than needed). It was then that I realized that the white, obnoxious contraption hanging 16 feet above me tends to go off in emergency situations that involve flames and smoke. Yes it took me that long to think about a fire. Pathetic isn’t it? By this point I was awake, so I checked the house for flames and smoke. All was well. I explained the what happened to Watson (don’t judge me!) and told him that we could have died. Not because I didn’t wake up from the alarm, but because my first instincts were to figure out how to shut the thing up so I could go back to sleep.. not to flee the premises. I think undergrad has skewed my opinion of fire alarms. Roomie always had to convince me to get out of bed in college. Stupid drunk people.  So now I associate fire alarms with false alarms. That’s good.

 I lugged the step ladder and broom back to the closet and then…. The noise started again. By this point my tired, still-not-awake self was pretty sure the house was burning down. Convinced actually. I hurried back into the dining room and realized that the noise was different…. and not coming from the hall. What?? I walked around the dining room and finally realized what direction it was coming from. I head towards the source and realized it was my alarm clock. Time to get up and go to work. ARGH. No. WHY?!? I flopped face down onto the bed. It was probably pretty comical because my bed is high. Pretty sure my feet were still on the floor when I face planted into the quilt. I just stood/laid there in a right angle while Watson meowed and rubbed against my legs. I cant even begin to describe how badly I wanted to crawl back into bed and yank the covers over my head. Is it Friday yet??

Oh the green stuff has started to fall off of the trees down here. That means I can’t keep the pool clean and my car is green:

 

I was hoping that it would blow off on the highway… nope. After a week of having Lucy look disgusting I am starting to accept the fact that I need to bring her through a carwash.

This weekend is my 1 year anniversary with Texas. I am not sure how I feel about that. 1 year anniversary of taking my leap… the one that I was convinced was a leap of death. (Not as deadly as the leap of death that occurred in freshman year of college in a dorm room. Attempting to Leap from a bed to the top of a bunk at the opposite side of the room is not a smart idea. Mike at least tied a pillow around his waist to save his hip bone. Me on the other hand… had a black hip for weeks. I tried to find the video and couldn’t. I did see the videos that I have on my facebook page and that is just scary… Anyways…) I can’t believe that it has been an entire year. The 12 months has FLOWN by. Im almost 26!?!?! I’m in the second half of my 20’s?!?! Oh dear.

Nothing else is really new. I am looking forward to Rome. And “looking forward” is a vast understatement. It is getting me through the next 2 weeks and making the transition back to reality seem a little more bearable. I’ll try to be better at blogging!

 

What  I want to be doing right now (reading The Little Engine that Could!)

Potentially Note Worthy Updates?

(ahhh sibling love....)

“We can't behave like people in novels, though, can we?” Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)

Argh…. Not doing well with blogging every week am I? And I have been really slacking my quote-a-post policy. The main problem on my slacking is that life here in San Antonio is just not as crazy/exciting/an blog post worthy as London or Rome. Texas is like an entirely different country, but not enough to make these posts all that interesting.

(Side Note… I started this on Monday so the “yesterday’s and tomorrow’s may be a little off)

Potentially Note Worthy Updates:

1.       Watson is feeling much better. Yay! His cone came off last weekend and this past Saturday was the last day of having to shove pills down his throat! Pretty sure that both of us are equally thrilled about that.

2.       I watched the families’ animals last weekend and out of the 5 animals… I was shoving medicine down three of their throats. Had to make a semi emergency run to the vet with a kitty and he got a cone as well. 2 of 3 cats in cones, and 3 of 5 animals needing meds. I had a medicine schedule. Proof that I am not ready for offspring. Oh on that note… Watson threw up Friday. He was rocking at life and respecting the fact that I would throw up if he did. Argh. I made it through with minimal gagging, but it was bad. Poor kitty.

3.       The phone call to Laurie… it is the ONE call that makes me homesick every time. I miss people/friends from HWS and WNY. I really want to hang out by good ole Chautauqua Lake and drink a beer with Al. I kinda miss lakes. I have always had one (minus London).

4.       This weekend was SUCH a big weekend! First Dad turned another year older on Friday! Then it was ULTIMATE PI day. I don’t like math so it was cool but it wasn’t… but I know my sister LOVED it and it was a big deal so I helped celebrate. It was little Dom’s first PI day… what a great way to start pi day... with the one of a century! Then yesterday was the Ides of March. I think Caesar had it coming… (history kinda makes him a martyr). But my favorite lesson of 3/15? Listen to your wife ;) If she has a dream you are murdered and you go anyways… your fault.

5.       International Women’s Day was last week… I have really mixed feelings on that day so Im just going to let it lie. I didn’t go the event here at work.

6.       I have realized that my Instagram is Watsongram. I really need to get a hobby. Perhaps like this: http://rush49.com/ferrari-lamborghini-driving-experience-new.jsp  OR this… http://smartbarrebody.com/schedule-pricing/san-antonio/ (I feel like I need to pay off some loans before I spend that much money to workout though…) If only my parents wouldn’t have made me choose between ballet and soccer… *Yup still holding that against youJ)

7.       Jared let me tear up his yard last weekend. I planted all sorts of veggies. We were in way over our head and found that out 30 secs into the project. At home you take a edging shovel, make a square and strip the sod. Not here. That would be too easy. Im pretty sure that I am going to weeding grass every day because we got frustrated and quickly got over trying to make it perfect. Lets just say... things better grow. (and not the grass!)

In Significantly Less Note Worthy Updates:

1.       Grey’s Anatomy is making me mad…

a.       Just an FYI I wrote this on Monday so I have NOT seen last nights episode so either I wont be mad anymore, or ill be really mad…

2.       My thermo protecting straightening spray crap exploded this morning. I have sticky hair. If there were flies in the cube farm, they would be trapped in my hair. Its pretty gross. I do not have a hair out of place today though.

3.       I am addicted to “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith and John Legend. Yes… you read that correctly. Its amazing. Seriously John Legend’s wife is so lucky. I make him sing all the time. If you haven’t heard it, go find it!

4.       I am also addicted to “Just a Memory” by Train. I jam in my cube and try to sing along J. I am pretty certain Watson hates it. Last night I put on my headphones for my de-stress dance party and started to sing at the top of my lungs and Watson looked up, started at me and SIGHED. Like one of those deep, entire body expanding and then deflating sighs. Wow. Rude. He probably had a point… Im not the world’s best singer and he knew that I don’t just play that song once. It’s on repeat. So he had to listen a few times and I completely interrupted his nap.

5.       Im tired of emailing for a living. I do it for 8 hours a day. Mostly to explain things, tell someone that they messed up, or trying to get them to do what they are supposed to. Its like customer service from behind a computer.

6.       I am up to $30 on my Lego account. $30 down, $200 to go to earn enough for the Tower Bridge. I think I have been a member for 2 years now so $15 a year…so about 13 more years to go? And I have to spend money to earn points. Probably would just be better to buy the set for $200 now, but I cant bring myself to spend $200 on pieces of plastic. Especially since I have student loans, I should be saving for a new computer, I want a new camera, I find dishes I want every other day, and Kate Spade is hard to resist J (So is Amazon by the way. I have been perusing more lately and I want every other book) I guess by the time Dom is old enough to help me build the Tower Bridge, maybe Ill have it!

7.       The Google Art Project is the best thing that has happened to the internet. I waste chunks of time at work sometimes by just perusing the paintings. Its like going to a museum for free from my desk chair (obviously not the same! But hey… pretty cool!)

Things that I am terribly excited about:

1.       I get to go see the sister and Dom soon!!! (oh and Adam?? He is on my bad list so… J ) I haven’t seen sister in SO SO long! And meeting Dom will be the absolute best. I have to give him a short history of the world, tell him endless stories about Katie, explain how cool Legos, soccer, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings are, and read him every important book that one needs to read in life. Basically we have a busy weekend. Oh and we are bringing him to his first art exhibit! We are starting him off well with good old Leo. J (Leo= Leo da Vinci). I have to teach him not to call him da Vinci because that is just where he is from. His name means Leonardo from Vinci (a Tuscan town) so when one says da Vinci, you are just saying “from Vinci”. It’s like calling me “from Ashville” instead of Anna. He will learn so much!

2.       Rome. Oh my goodness… the second best thing that is happening in the next month. We purposely planned it so Id be there on my birthday. I already know what restaurant I want to go to J There are so many things I want to re-see. I may have to ditch mom and dad for an afternoon and wander by myself. I want to see how much of the city that I remember. Oh and eat my weight in gelato. That is a must. Dad didn’t go to the best gelato place when he was there so I am excited to bring him to all the best eating places! The food in Italy is beyond compare. Nothing else touches it. Even the French don’t do it quite as well (unless we are talking Duck, or strawberry tarts… then the French may win)

3.       The last thing that I am eagerly awaiting is further off… the Women’s World Cup! Im so excited. I wish I had tickets! It was too much though after hotel, flight and the match ticket. I hope that Abby gets her World Cup win. It is the only thing that she is missing in her trophy cabinet and this is her last chance. I think she will be done shortly after this Cup.

 

So that’s it… see this is why I don’t post that often. I don’t have anything monumental going on! I think it’s time to maybe try a little harder to get out of this rut again. (I feel like that has been the last three years of life.. trying to get out of ruts) So happy I moved to San Antonio. Definitely a good choice (I wish I could have known that at 10:30pm on the night before I was leaving when I was chucking random things into my suitcases not convinced that I was really driving the next day) I think the parents are right (don’t you hate when that happens?)… the things I dread the most and fight against the most are usually the things that turn out the best. Im not saying that I landed where I want to be! I feel like I am in a rut still, but this rut isn’t as deep and depressing as the Ashville rut. So now that I am in a shallower rut, I think it’s starting to be time again to jump to an even more shallow rut (If Im lucky… maybe my next jump won’t be a rut at all!) And on my next jump I have a sidekick who will be there (because he has no choice but hey..) Watson and I vs. the world…. Bring it.

 

P.S Today's photo isnt the last time that I saw sister ( I saw her in Oct after) but this is one of my favorites :) I cant wait to take a new one next week! (not of her kissing me! But a new sister picture!)

19th Century Ideas in a 21st Century IPhone App

I went on a walk last night and found some grass. Some real grass. I think I ran through it 63 times. (It was littered with cow patties but I avoided all of them!) To see the lush tufts of grass, check out my journal entry. And I think I said I forlicked gleefully... which is probably a more accurate description then "ran". Then I did a starfish in the middle of the pasture. It was fun. My bum got damp and cold, but it was worth it. This was my view:

Nothing but blue sky!

While I was on my walk last night I was thinking about random things that were all floating around in my brain. It was a PERFECT night… all sunny with a crystal clear blue sky. Then it hit me… Instagram. I couldn’t believe that it had taken me that long to realize something so obvious… Instagram is the 21^st century version of the Claude glass.  You all probably think that I am being somewhat ostentatious, but when my thesis for my Master’s degree is centered around the idea of using filters to improve a natural landscape… you feel pretty dumb when it takes you 3+ years to put two and two together. Instagram took an old 19^th century tool rooted in Romanticism and turned it into a 21^st century smartphone app. Simple and genius… no re-invention of the wheel at all. Just use an old idea to become one of the leading social media outlets. Brilliant.

For those of you who haven’t sat through hours of Romanticism (I did that by choice by the way. I think it my favorite period. Guys in cool clothes with that wind swept, hero hair. ) it is a movement that… well… romanticizes everything. J I like it because it introduces the sublime and the idea of naturalism. And everything just looks cooler. Take the two guys below… honestly who would you date? Mr. Neoclassic Boring on his Grand tour or Mr. Romantic Wind Swept? I rest my case. J

 

A Claude Glass is a… piece of glass. (shocker) The tourist would stretch out their hand in front of them, hold the tool up to eye level and survey the scene that was behind them.  The mirror would be slightly convex which blurred the foreground details and framed the center background objects.  Many different kinds glass could be used to create different effects on the landscape.  The blue or gray would produce a moonlight scene, while a morning view could be created with the yellow glass.  The traveler only had a specific amount of time in the landscape that they were visiting so to get the complete view, one could use the frost tinted glass to produce a winter wonderland as the grass turned to snow.

Sound familiar? Instagram allows you to blur the sides, foreground, or background of an image while also allowing the user to pick a colored filter to change the mood and “romanticize” the view. Obviously it is more high-tech than a mirror from the 1800’s… but the same underlying idea is there. Perfecting “nature”. Take the two pictures below… one is no filter from my IPhone. The second is the same picture with the HEFE filter from Instagram.

 

And at this point it’s probably a miracle that you are still reading… J

On to Anna’s Life… its busy. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats with me for a few days. I like having them and I think Watson likes having Praline (his cat friend). They sleep together and lick each other. It’s pretty adorable. What’s not so adorable is the war they had over sleeping on MY face at 5:30am this morning.

This weekend Watson has his followup vet visit. I think he is feeling better. He puts up a fight now with the meds. I have to put him on his back when I hold him, and he fights fights fights! But once I get him settled his will is broken and he just swallows his pill.

That’s it! Ill try to blog on Sunday with Watson updates!

The Story in Which Watson Grows a Regal Chin... and Then Loses It.

I had nothing planned for this weekend. Just crashing indoors as it rained outside (and it was 36. Blah). It was all dreary and very WNY like. Watson had different plans. Watson felt the need to make a quiet, full-of-doing-nothing weekend a full-expensive-stressful weekend. Silly kitty. It all started Thursday night….

I was on the couch with Watson and he was being extra friendly and was enjoying all of the petting. I was rubbing the side of his face (in the kitty sweet spot) and I felt a small lump of fur and tried to smooth it down. He pulled away, swatted me and jumped down. I didn’t think anything of it. Friday morning he came when my alarm went off and cuddled with me. That hadn’t happened in awhile. He always came when my alarm went off… but it was usually to play. Again I didn’t think anything of it. Just thought it was sweet. Saturday morning I woke up and his face looked funny. I thought I was crazy because his jaw looked a lot whiter than it normally did. I looked at it and it was a little swollen. I was concerned but decided to watch it. In the afternoon it was still ballooning. I was worried and went out to get Benadryl. When I got back he was just lying there and not really moving. Jared had looked up a vet and I decided that I needed to call. (look at those pictures up there... What a fat chin!)

After a very friendly receptionist (insert sarcasm) informed me that she doesn’t diagnose over the phone (not what I was asking) Watson took a trip to the vet. While I was holding him in the room, waiting for the doc to come in, I noticed how HOT Watson was. He was really really warm. He was walking around the room, but not leaping and sprinting uncontrollably like he usually does. He HATED getting his temp taken.. but I cant really blame him. The Vet had the thermometer up his butt FOREVER. Im pretty sure that every animal in the waiting room heard him screeching/hissing and were scared what was going to happen to them when it was their turn!

Long story short… Watson was very sick. His temp was 105.6, White Blood Cells were 35.1 (the norm is 18.5), and the bad cells were at 31.9 (norm is 13). His little chin was shaved (which went much better than the temp taking) and was taken in the back to have his face drained. Jared and I went home to wait for him to be done (and to eat dinner. Look what I made! Im doing well, so far, on eating like a grown up! It is Shrimp and Asparagus in a Lemon Sauce)

 

Watson ended up being pushed back and I picked him up the next morning. The vet said that Watson got aggressive and wouldn’t let them sedate him. Im kinda proud of him and jealous. Everytime someone comes at me with a needle I would love to make a scene! Well Watson at least didn’t go without a fight. They had to gas him. Apparently he freaked out at that too and started to bang into the sides of his cage… so badly that he made his mouth bleed. After saying this the vet just shrugged and said “So nothing too traumatic”…. UMMMM really?!? I just tried really hard to not let me jaw drop and hang open. THAT SOUNDS TRAMATIC TO ME!!! Poor Kitty.

(I think this picture is HILARIOUS!!! It was RIGHT after Watson got meds and that just sums up how we both felt) 

The vet said that Watson had looked regal with his balloon chin and I have got to say... she was completely right! He had a Brad Pitt alure to him. Very defined chin. The fact that it was full of blood and pus perhaps lessens the "sexiness" of it, but there was a girl kitty around she definately would have looked at him twice with that face structure.

Watson did get soft food out of the deal. He needed to eat before I force fed meds and the vet suggested soft food as an enticement. (I would like to add that he got his salmon nastiness all over the vecro part of his cone and I cant get it out. So he smells like stale salmon. Its gross.) Then he got pills forced down his throat. It was pretty traumatic because I can pop his jaw, but I cant hold it together because that means putting pressure on his hurt little chin and he starts WHIMPERING. Its so sad. I think I finally got the system down this morning. Although he did spit it out and it fell down the side of his head and got matted in his fur. Got it on the second try though!

(Being moody. He looks so angry on the left and just plain old pouty on the right!)

He hates his cone (he has it on for 2 whole weeks!) He keeps running into things and when he comes up to rub against me, he just bashes the cone into my leg, meows pathetically and looks at me with sad eyes.  I bend down to scratch his ear every time. He is so cuddly too. He just lays in my arms/lap. I tried to put him down this morning and he didn’t put his legs out. Just plopped on the bed and laid there. Poor kitty isn’t himself.

In other news….

Its March 1^st! (well now is March 2^nd) and I didn’t even care. I didn’t even look forward to it. The weather has been so nice and mild (compared to the last 25 winters of my life) that I no longer look forward to spring. It’s sad.  This weekend is the “worst” that it has been. Wet, “cold” and grey. There aren’t any seasons here.

My name is apparently “Ana” down here. Whenever I say my name at a restaurant, or someone calls me name for some reason… Anna becomes Ana.  My German/Russian/English (I looked it up) name has become a Spanish one. Thanks Texas!

That’s it for this post! Watson took the post over and I haven’t done anything else blog post worthy!

Racoons, Dreams and Lucy (aka nothing all that exciting)

Don’t get used to this many posts in a row! I am still trying to catch up from deserting this for months! (and my week has been busy and I want to crash so the more I can get done pre-weekend the happier I’ll be) This is me being proactive instead of being a procrastinator. Weird isn’t it?

I love where I live. It’s really conveniently located to all sorts of restaurants, shopping, downtown is a straight shot, and the airport is 12 minutes away (yes I timed it) BUT it feels like its in the country. There is a neighbor right by the yard with the pool (and Im not sure if you guys remember their dogs that yap constantly. I haven’t silenced them yet….) but other than that I cant see neighbors. I love it… in the daylight. At night I am much more leery. Once I came home to a raccoon standing in between me and the front porch. Thankfully it didn’t like me and SCALED THE FENCE to get out. SCALED. Argh. This morning was almost worst. If I see one of the bear sized raccoons I just kinda watch it and go about my business. This morning though I didn’t see anything moving. I just heard it. I just heard that creepy rustling of leaves in the side yard and the scurry of paws on the porch behind me. You all are most likely rolling your eyes and saying it was just the breeze. NO! There is a difference between leaves being gently rustled by the wind and BEING TRAMPLED BY PAWS. Maybe now I see the gun appeal…. ;)

The war Pool vs. Anna has officially begun. There are a large tree worth of leaves in that pool. I go skim them out each night (while attempting to ignore the yappy dogs). Im losing the battle right now. I am so OCD when it comes to pool. I carefully skim each and every leaf off the surface of the pool (the bottom is atrocious…). I then put the skimmer away, turn around see three BRAND NEW leaves happily floating along. ARGH. It happens everytime. Its so frustrating but then again Im outside in a tee shirt and sweats, cleaning out a pool… not shoveling 5 feet of snow and having the plow drive by right after. So… cant really complain!

I have started the Day One journal post thing. Im on the fence about it so we shall see how long it lasts. The sad part is that it took me 2 days to figure out how to publish a post. I need Jessi in my life more! She knows all of that cool stuff! I am going to do it for a bit just because it took me so long to figure out.

I want to do this so badly. I want to hurl myself down a track of pure ice, face first. Even if I don’t make the team (I mean come on… probably wont) I want the chance to try it. I keep saying that I am going to go take the test… maybe I should work at it and just do it. You only live once right? The only thing I have going for me is that I am (or used to be) fast so the sprints wouldn’t be that bad. Right?

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-Skeleton-Federation/Recruitment/Combine-Test-Dates

Jury duty….. Not sure how to sum that up. I learned a lot and it was really interesting. (and nice to get out of work for a week!) It was a murder so I felt like I was in a Law and Order episode complete with a medical examiner (who I saw in Target the next day), CSI people, detectives, police, and a weapon. It stills needs a post of its own.. so perhaps next time.

Lucy is going to the doctor today. She has TWO recalls out for her since… forever ago. I think the first one was right when I got down here. Oops. I have finally found doctors for me here as well. I have been a slacker on that front. Next is finding a dentist and then I think I will be all settled here. Oh dear… does that make me a Texan?

Sorry that this was boring. Falling asleep in my cube isn’t really helping. I hope you all have a great weekend. I don’t have any major plans which is actually nice. I need those kind of weekends sometime. I do have a date… with Laurie! (on the phone) I am so excited!!!

P.S My photo is from my first ever NBA game (the Spurs). I had NO idea who/what the Spurs were before coming down here. Now I can name... two players and that is only because my favorite co-worker has two cute boys Duncan and Parker. Anyways... it was fun. I like the atmosphere. I still dont love basketball but going to a game a fun! It is hard to find a picture for my posts when Im not living in Britain/Rome!

212 Days in a Very Small and Brief NutShell

July 29th…. That is the last time I posted my blog. 212 days!?!?! Where has the time gone?  So much has happened in the last 212 days. I don’t even know where to start! I am sure that I will leave stuff out but I will hopefully remember to over everything in the posts to come. The daily posts just weren’t working so I am aiming to have a weekly post to keep everyone updated!

A brief list of things that have occurred since the last time I wrote…. I ran a 10k (and hated it after mile 4. I really hate running), I went home in Sept, Christmas happened, Aunt Thora died, took a trip to NYC, got a kitten, set off fireworks, assisted in putting someone in jail for 40 years and gained a nephew!

See that ridiculously cute baby??!! (please note that I did use this picture with permission) That is my new nephew Dominic! He was born on Feb. 6th and I couldn’t be more excited! Im biased but that is one.cute.baby. Good work Adam and Katie! I cannot wait to meet him on March 26th and begin the spoiling! He is going to be showered in clothes(at least up until they stop being cute. Then is all Katie), Legos, Star Wars toys, books, Hotwheel cars, playdough (so he can eat it) and anything and everything that makes tons of noise! J Basically I am going to make him a big of a nerd as I am! He has the spot of honor as the official picture of the post since he is the most important thing that has happened in the last 212 days! (and that is saying something!)

The other very important thing that has happened is the arrival of my new best friend… 4 paws and a lot of fur. It took me quite a bit of arduous pondering but I finally named my kitten Watson. Most of you already know of him and have been bombarded  by pictures of the cutie on Facebook and Instagram. He keeps me company in this big house and I can now attribute every weird noise to Watson. A giant thud? Watson. A weird scraping noise? Watson. Walking noises in the night? Watson. (he stomps like a Clydesdale.) The unnerving part is when I attribute a noise to him and then I realize he is laying next to me on the couch! It works out well though. I love how curious he is. Every piece of food I get out get sniffed and tested. Its probably bad but I let him try everything that isn’t listed as dangerous to cats. He loves ice cream, spinach, lettuce, anything meat (he doenst get that), carrots, french fries, chicken nuggets, cheerios, tuna, whipped cream and cheese. (he doenst get to eat all of these things. He just tries incredibly hard to swipe them). He hates hot sauce, fizzy water, cucumbers, coffee, bread and ranch dressing. See how short that list is compared to the likes? He is a good buddy… entertaining for sure!

(this is Watson wanting to try bubbly water... he hated it)

I had my first jury duty experience. I had been called before but that was in Mayville and all I did was read all day and then went home… so that doesn’t count. Basically this experience needs a post of its own so look for it later!

Life has been busy… but in a good way. I am not in love with my job (that isn’t a secret though!) I am getting used to my cube farm (is that good or bad?) but it is either so quiet that I have to out headphones on so I don’t go crazy OR it is so loud and annoying that I have to put headphones on. Thank goodness for music! After work I walk with the aunt/workout, watch the Gilmore Girls on Netflix and read. I have decided that I am 25 (ok I didn’t decide that… I know that I am) and I shouldn’t be feeding myself like a college kid. I am trying to get better and cook more instead of throwing pasta on the stove or chicken nuggets in the oven!

I still stand by my previous comments that Texas and the majority of its inhabitants are crazy. All of the stereotypes are true. (obviously they do not apply to everyone) Guns…. I just don’t get. I understand hunting stuff. Go shoot a deer and eat it. Im ok with that and having guns for a legit reason. Having crazy guns because you may need to bunker down in your home for some reason … I don’t understand. I’m sorry but in that hypothetical and unrealistic situation I don’t think a 9mm or 40mm with your 100 rounds of ammo is really going to help you all that much.

I cant believe that I am going to say this. Please don’t send me hate mail after this statement… I kinda, slightly, a tiny bit miss the snow. I know! Crazy! But I miss the cute outerwear. Scarves, mittens, boots, and coats. I LOVE coats. Peacoats, puffy, spring jackets and quilted ones. I don’t even have a coat down here. I left them all at home at Christmas. My “coats” are now zipup sweatshirts. How sad is that? I miss the look of snow. (definitely not the scrapping ice/snow off of my car at 6am) I don’t even drink hot cocoa anymore. Its very sad. The weather here is boring.. it is cool, warm or HOT. It rarely rains. It is funny though how my “cool” is everyone’s “freezing”. One time there was an office panic because there was a CHANCE it would be around freezing and then there was a 40% CHANCE it would rain. I know that there aren’t salt trucks but there was a slim chance of both of those happening and people were stopping at the stores in case of the bad weather. It is entertaining J

Just because I haven’t written in forever doesn’t mean my life is normal. The cows still catch me doing really awkward things. The cow below witnessed my post-workout dance party. After runs I usually take a lap around the one driveway on the ranch. It is nature-y and I BLAST my music. Its pretty awkward because I am convulsing in the middle of a field. I tend to hit cacti and scare wildlife. (The deer are my friends though. Although I told my 11 year old cousin that and she said “Your friends run away from you? That’s not good”… well played. Anyways it’s a great way to finish a run and I was dancing/convulsing in a seemingly empty space and I turn around and see this cow… Just standing there. It was eating and seemed to have stopped in mid bite. Not kidding. Just stopped.. forgetting the food and just giving me a blank stare. These cow encounters happen all the time. Pretty sure they think I am absolutely crazy and with the data they have they are completely right!

Five years ago on April. 20^th 2010 I flew home from my study abroad in Rome. It was the second most depressing flight of my life. (it was the most depressing up to that point. The worst was my flight home from London. Pretty sure I teared up walking down that walkway to the plane) Well I am SO SO excited that on 4/18 mom, dad and I are going to ROME!!! I couldn’t be more pumped. My mouth is already watering with anticipation of the cheese, pasta, pizza, blood oranges, tomatoes, chocolate, gelato and yes… WINE that I am going to eat/drink. I already have a list of stops/stores/and things that I have to re-do. Dad has been to Rome (but missed a lot of stuff) but this is Mom’s first time so it will fun! I may not get on the plane to come back!

Ok this hasn’t even scratched the surface of the last 212 days! I am going to try this thing called “One Day”.. it is an online journal so you all can stalk me on that. I think Ill post to facebook so keep your eyes out! And Ill try to update my blog on the weekends. Probably Sunday evenings! So no nasty grams until after Sunday if I missed a post! I miss you all! And I know that I need to be WAY better at keeping in touch so I am really sorry! That is on my “goals” list as well as feeding myself like an adult!

The First Twinges of Missing SOME Things in WNY

I can’t believe I am going to admit this aloud. Every now and then, I have this tiny little twinge of “I miss NY”. GAH! It is mostly food honestly. I was watching “How I Met Your Mother” and Robin and Barney go to Canada. They have coffee at TIM HORTANS. Barney says that it is awesome… the only good thing in Canada and all I have wanted since then is a LARGE Ice Capp with a cheddar cheese bagel. And Johnnys!! YUM! And no sub has been able to compete with a Wegmans Buffalo Chicken Wing sub. And the General Store… I want one of everything on the menu.

I also miss NY trees. I know that it weird, but the trees down here suck. They are mini and all gnarly. I like them, I just miss tall, straight Maple trees and pine trees. I haven’t seen a real tree since April 5^th. And GRASS. Oh my goodness. I didn’t realize how awesome NY grass is until I came here and tried to walk in barefeet. I LOVE going barefoot and I keep telling myself its ok to do it down here. Nope. Its not. Between pokey grass, stickers, insects, burning hot concrete and rocks I manage to injure myself. Sigh.

Im tired of driving down here. Its not scary anymore. My commute has become mundane. But its annoying though. I would love to drive somewhere without getting on a highway. Just one place. And I haven’t driven on a road that isn’t a one way since April 5^th.

I also miss Cooper Duper. A lot. :( The dogs and cat were taken from me on Sunday after we got back from Austin. I have been having trouble again the last few nights. Its so lonely and quiet without them. I have had them since the week before Memorial Day... so I have lived in the house without company, but I had gotten used to them. No one ran to meet me after work yesterday, and not one curled up with me to watch tv. :( I miss my bud Cooper.

Despite all of the above, I most definitely made the right choice to come down here. Im working on job (crazy!) and I knew that it was bad at home. Really I did. But I am realizing HOW bad and sad it was. No friends were left. None. Everyone in that town is old. It was just bad. Here is MUCH better. Astronomically better. Yeah my job isn’t my dream job…. But I like the people I work with, I make a livable wage, Im not in WNY, I kinda have a life now, and (no offense parents) Im not living at home!

The biggest difference between being home and here job wise… I am realizing how badly part-time and seasonal employers treat employees compared to here. Im not sure if this is normal or exceptionally good, but people treat other like everyone has a brain. Its amazing. I’m no longer working overtime and not getting paid for it, treated like I am an idiot (although at TJ’s I had the highest degree), and the managers here are competent. Its such a nice change!

Sunday was the trip to Austin! It was a good day. The drive was really easy! I got on a highway, got off an hour later, took a left and was on the UT campus! It was nice to see my cousin swim and she did well! We went to lunch at the Hula Hut and ate outside on the lake. It was so nice. I had been missing the WNY summer activities and eating on the deck at the casino was usually a summer staple! It was nice to see a lake too! After lunch we went Kayaking. It was a lot of fun. I got a little burnt (even though we were only out for an hour) It was fun to do something different! I was soaked at the end (its what happens when you are sharing a kayak with a 10 year old! But I got her plenty wet as well!) which felt really nice because it was HOT out. I forgot to look for a magnet so I am going to have to go back! I don’t have a magnet from San Antonio either! (if you have read any of my other blogs you will know that I collect magnets. Everytime I go to a new city I get one. If you haven’t read my other ones… I buy a magnet every time I go to a new city!) 

I just read some of my London blog. I am SO glad that I did that. I love reading it!

 Its starting I think… the Texas heat. Im still ok with it when Im at home in athletic clothes because I don’t care how much I am sweating. Im not ok with it when I trying to look halfway decent but Im just melting instead! Laurie you are right… Texas is as hot as hell :)

Im pretty sure I have a problem… I was perusing Amazon at work for a few minutes. I was adding everything to my cart for fun and clicked to see what the damage would be. I had $460 worth of BOOKS that I wanted. Books. I think I need to find a library. Pronto!

I am forgetting so many things but I can’t remember them. Tonight is football (woo) I have 4 more games left in my career. I am giving it up and sticking with softball I think. (although I am sucking it up in softball. Seriously I look like I have never played before. I used to own that outfield… now Im getting owned)

I miss you all. Maybe Ill see some of you in Sept?