It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Here are some pictures of my beautifully decorated office. I guess the 9 years at BBW has really paid off when it comes to my decorating and bow-making skills. This afternoon we are hosting our first of 2 Christmas parties... should be some good times! Also, according to blogspot, this is my 100th blog post. Yippee!

the wreath on our front door

garland in JJ's office



by the way, I personally hung every single ornament (minus the tree... Carolyn did that)

I'm super proud of my bow on top of the book case.

garland in the main office

our little Santa scene that JJ made

view of mine and Carolyn's desks

wreaths and garland in Rene's office

our tree!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, since my last post my car has died. She's not really dead, but she's on life support and it's no longer safe for me to drive her back and forth to Austin.... so I have a new car! Jay found a really great deal on eBay last week and I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Jeep Compass. My mom drove down to Houston with my Uncle Page to pick it up on Monday, so I will meet the new car when I get to Lufkin this afternoon.

It should be interesting to note that there was not a leak in my water pump. However, I did blow a head gasket at some point and the mechanic didn't seem to notice that?!? Blowing a head gasket means replacing the engine. My dad could have gotten the work done for about $800, but the car is only worth about $900, so it was time to call it a day. Jay is going to turn the Civic into some kind of Derby car.... I'm just happy that she's getting a second chance at life. I'm going to have a wake for her while I'm home for Thanksgiving.

So I've started thinking about what I'm thankful for with Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am naturally thankful for the usual suspects: family, friends, health, employment. I think what I am most thankful for this year is the journey my life has been on the past year. There have been difficult times, but I've grown and found strength during it all. I am also very happy with how things have worked out. I loved my time at my last job, and I'm loving my new job. I've learned so much more about the legislative process and will only continue to do so. Plus I'm meeting some pretty neat people along the way.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Terminal...

It's been a rough week! I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that my 11-year-old Honda Civic, with 268,000 miles is terminal. She may have two weeks, two months, or a year left... but the end is coming. I've signed a DNR and we will let her go off quietly into the night when her times come. No more heroic measures will be taken.

It all started on Saturday afternoon when I was driving downtown to meet Bunker and friends at Third Base to watch the Texas/OSU game before all of the Halloween festivities. Over the last few months, my car has occasionally run hot. Usually on road trips, and usually all things were fine once water was added. I had noticed that my car was starting to run hot earlier in the day, so I had filled up the radiator with water before leaving my apartment. About 5 miles away, the temperature gauge suddenly spikes. I end up exiting Mopac and pulling into an Extended Stay America parking lot to put water in my car. I pour the water, and the temperature doesn't drop. Deciding that 5 pm on a Saturday (Halloween, too), is not the time to find a mechanic, I call Bunker and they come pick me up. The temperature spiking continued for the rest of the weekend anytime I tried to drive my car.

I decided to take my car to the mechanic first thing Monday morning. I arranged for my friend Michelle to meet there so she could drop me off at the Capitol, since she works across the street. I get to my mechanic, as my temperature gauge is spiking, to find out that he has retired and gone out of business! It's vacant! Not knowing where the nearest mechanic is, I leave my car at the gas station across the street and have Michelle bring me to work so I can figure this out. This is where the tears started. And continued for most of the day. I called the mechanic's number, and it turns out he had forwarded his phones to another auto place that he did a lot of business with. Tony takes me to my car and follows me to the shop so they can take a look at it.

The guy runs a diagnostics test to see what's wrong with the car and he determines that there's a crack in the RADIATOR, of all things. Do you know how annoying it is to know that you could easily have the problem fixed in about an hour if only you were in Lufkin? I call my dad and have him call the auto shop because I don't make any decisions about my car without him, seeing as he has been a radiator mechanic for over 50 years now. The guy wants to charge me $345 dollars for the repairs, and my dad is outraged. He calls the guy a cheat, but ultimately we decide that this is going to be the cost of repairing my car in Austin. Made me miss small towns just a little.

The guy puts a new radiator on and then calls to tell me that there is a leak in my water pump and it needs to be replaced as well. He also says that while he's replacing the water pump he should go ahead and do the timing belt and a whole list of other things. I ask him how much this is going to cost and he says with the radiator, about $1250. The blue-book value of my car is currently around $950. He says if he just does the water pump it will be about $850 total. I tell him not to touch another thing on my car, and that I'm coming to pick it up. I couldn't justify spending that much money on my car. I love my car, but it's just not worth it. My parents and I had many conversations about my car that day, and decided to just get the car out of the shop and see what kind of condition it is in.

I am sure that there is a leak in the water pump, I can't imagine that this guy (who also has East Texas roots), would have made it up. But, since I've gotten my car out of the shop, the temperature has run even, minus running a little hot when I was sitting in traffic.

So, it looks like the end is coming soon. My mom has Jay scouting out cars for me. I was absolutely distraught on Monday (Tony thought someone had died, I was that upset when he came into the office), but I'm coming to terms with the situation at hand. This has been weighing on my so hard that I've had dreams about my car two nights this week!

For the good news, I have a new baby cousin! William Seth Siegling arrived last night at 6:21 pm weighing 8 lbs 2 oz, and 20.5 inches long. Mom Kathryn and Dad Noel are excited and everyone is healthy. Can't wait to meet the newest edition to the Durham family!

Least Changed???

My high school reunion was a blast! It was good to see everyone and catch up. I think everyone who was there had a lot of fun. I somehow managed to get myself voted the "Least Changed." People tell me this is a good thing, but really? Not something I expected at all... I wanted to the Hoopty of the Decade award for still driving the same car I did in high school!

It's been a very busy week. The boss-man was in town for a few days, and so our schedules were busy with various events. It was the first trip he's made since I've come on-board here, so it was nice to spend some getting-to-know everyone time as an office. I also got to take a tour of the Capitol dome this week, it was so cool! I can't believe it's taken almost 5 years of working here to take a tour. You have to make a special request because the tour involves climbing a lot of very narrow stairs, plus it's REALLY high up. Did you know that the top of the Capitol dome is made mostly of tin? I had absolutely no idea before I saw it in person!

I'm looking forward to a very quiet weekend. Spending tonight on my couch and catching up with all of my shows since I haven't been home before 10 at ALL this week. Tomorrow I'm heading to San Antonio to have lunch with Col. and Mrs. Metts and some friends. Looking forward to spending some time with them, I think March was my last visit.

I need suggestions for a Halloween costume. I never dress up, but I have two different parties to go to... so I figure I should at least try to get into the spirit.

I will leave you with a few fun pictures from my reunion!

Friends at my house for a Pre-Reunion "pre-prom" Picture on the stairs.

My Class of '99 Cousins: Ryan and Jason

John won "Least Suprising Career Choice", Emily won "Life of the Party", and I won "Least Changed"

Apparently you could only win one award, so they gave Ashley the "Hoopty of the Decade" award, after they had put my name on the certificate!

We were obsessed with shaking our light-up tamborines. I suggest them for all parties!

10 YEARS!

This weekend I am heading home to Lufkin for an event that has been highly anticipated by me and my friends for quite some time... our 10 year high school reunion. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we graced the halls of Lufkin High School. And even though with the creation of sites like facebook and myspace I am well aware of what most of my classmates have been up to, it will still be fun to see everyone in person and catch up and reminisce. I am certain that I will come back with all sorts of crazy stories from this weekend. In true high school tradition, my house has been designated as the hang out location.... it's going to be just like old times! Just for some fun, here's a few pictures from my high school days.

One random Friday night we went around Lufkin taking fun pictures.

The infamous L Man and P Man, Jay and Luke... ready for a football game.

Lauren's surprise birthday breakfast at my house.

Girls before Junior Prom '98.

One afternoon we drove around Lufkin and squirted our friends with water bottles, then made them pose for pictures.

Talkin' about cats...

Check out this hilarious video of Bunker feeding my cats. He posted it on YouTube, and would love comments and ratings. My poor kitties, no wonder they hiss at everyone that comes through my door that isn't me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0MkCyozJSo

Job is going well. Life is crazy busy. I might take a nap instead of eating during lunch.

NEWS!!!

I'm sure by now most people who read this already know, but the waiting game is over! I finally heard back from the Capitol job yesterday and I am starting on October 1! I am very excited about learning a whole new area of policy, and also excited to continue with committee work... I really do love that aspect of the legislature the most.

If this doesn't work out, I think I will go into the engagement business. I seem to be quite the good luck charm. Now, not only if you live with me, but if you take me on your first date you can be engaged within a year! My dear, sweet friends Michelle and Angus got engaged last week and it was just last November when I went with them on their very first date to Wurst Fest. I knew at the time that it was probably one of the best first dates I had ever been on, so good things were bound to come.

The waiting game...

I had two job interviews last week. One was a second interview for a position at the Capitol. The other, a management opportunity with good ol' BBW. I am now waiting to hear the outcome of the Capitol job so I know whether or not I need to pursue the BBW opportunity. I have never been a patient person, so I have to say that I don't play this waiting game very well.

With the Capitol job, the whole process has been a waiting game, so I've gotten a little used to it. I first heard about the position in July, but didn't go in for an interview until the first of August. After the first interview, I didn't hear back until late August when they scheduled the second interview. They were hoping to have a decision made today, but I didn't hear anything. My interviews have gone well, and I'm very excited about this possibility, so hopefully things will work out... as long as I don't go crazy from waiting!

While I was waiting to hear back about the second interview, I was picking up some extra work at BBW. With my 9 years of experience, I've become quite the project guru, so I ended up going to a few other stores and working on marketing-pitch/back-room organization projects. While I was at one of the stores the manager mentioned that she had a co-manager position available and that I really should interview with it. I liked her, and I liked the store... it's a very different atmosphere from the lovely ghetto that I work at. Customers actually give you feedback and come in to spend money! I interviewed with her after my second interview at the Capitol and things went well. She told me to let her know what I decided about the Capitol job and we could move on from there.

After interviewing with her, or I should say, during my interview with her, I realized just how much I want to work in politics. I really hope this Capitol position works out. I think I could learn a lot. I'm not sure that I have the same learning opportunities at BBW since I've been there for so long and there's only so much you can learn when it comes to retail. I enjoy my work there, but I'm not passionate about it. So think happy thoughts for me while I continue to play the waiting game. Hopefully the outcome will be well worth the wait.

28 and a month...

I've been 28 years old for a whole month now, and I'm not so sure I'm a fan. First of all, there's nothing to be excited about... I'm semi-unemployed and single. Not exactly where most people picture themselves as they quickly approach 30. Hopefully the employment situation will work itself out soon, I interviewed for a position last week and am waiting to here back about the next round of interviews. The single situation is kind of depressing, but I can handle that. I'd much rather be single than have to deal with a loser boyfriend at the moment. And I'd much rather have a paycheck than a boyfriend.

While I don't really feel like a grown-up, I am finally starting to feel some of the effects of growing older. The grey hairs are starting to get ridiculous. Now, it's partially my fault since I can't remember the last time I got highlights, but still... I'm constantly pulling them out. I've also had quite a few injuries over the last month. That should be expected because I'm incredibly clumsy, but I will seriously wake up in the morning and not remember why I can barely walk. It could be worse though, I could have an 80 year old body like my good friend Molly. She has been experiencing aches and pains since we were 20!

Hopefully month 2 of 28 will pick up. Things can only get better, right?

Long time, no post.

Wow, it's been ages! Sorry to have neglected you, dear blog readers... but things have been busy! Since I last posted my job at the Capitol ended, I went home for the 4th, moved apartments, went to DC for DAR Continental Congress, unpacked my apartment, and started the job search. Busy, busy times.


I promise to be more prompt with my posting. I'm not sure where all of my time goes, but it just vanishes. Could be the West Wing marathons, but I'm not sure.


While I've been gone, my precious niece turned 2! She loves her Aunt Mie-Mie. She's a fan of second syllables. I'm Mie-Mie. Gizmo, her dog, is Mo-Mo. Hopefully this won't stick for long, as someone pointed out... I'm too young to be a Meme. Anyways, to properly apologize for my lack of posting, I shall leave you with some cutie-patootie pictures of Madelyn from the 4th of July.

Catching up...

A LOT has been going on since my last real post.

My Bonnie-onnie got married! Bonnie and I have been friends since childhood. We grew up together in church, took some of the same dance classes, and ran with the same crowd in high school. She and her new hubby Sam have been dating for almost ten years! They met our freshman year of college and have basically been together ever since. The wedding was at the Wildcatter Ranch in Graham, TX. It was very beautiful and scenic. I was so glad to be on hand for their special day. I know they are going to have a wonderful life together!

I also ended up spending a night in Dallas on the way to the wedding, which meant some quality time with my cutie patootie niece. She will be 2 in just a few short weeks, time sure does fly. We enjoyed some time at the park and went to lunch while I was in town. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her when I'm home for the 4th of July.

Fast forward a few weeks... and here we are in the present. Trying to wrap up things in the Corrections office, as my last day is Tuesday. I'm so sad to be leaving this office, I've had the most fun here! I adore everyone that I've worked with and have learned so much in such a short time. I'm not sure where I'm headed next, but I do have a job interview next Wednesday. It's for a Chief of Staff position in the Capitol. There were 30 applicants and they are interviewing 14, so should be interesting. For some reason I just have complete confidence that everything is going to work out. It's much better than being frantic and freaked out about not having a full time job.

I went to Lufkin this past weekend for Father's Day. Spent some quality time at the lake with my parents, and enjoyed an outing on the barge and my daddy's cooking. I also got to meet Baby Braxton for the first time. He's still SO tiny! He's a month old and probably doesn't even weigh 8 lbs. Blake is adorable as a daddy. He was even threatening to fire Amanda as the mother because he didn't think she did a good job at burping him.

On the way back I started having some car issues. With my man car trips the last few weekends, I've had a problem with my car running hot after being on the road for more than 2 hours. My dad decided it was a leak in the heater cord and he bypassed the heater on Monday before I left for Austin. Apparently that just escalated the problem because I had to stop five times on my way back to put water in my radiator. It's at the mechanic now and they're replacing the thermostat. Hopefully that will fix the problem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because that's the cheapest and easiest thing to fix, but we all know I'm never that lucky.

There's a lot going on in the next few weeks. I'm headed to Houston this weekend for C.A.R. South Central Regional meeting. While I'm there I'm staying with Kathryn and Noel who will hopefully find out the sex of Baby Siegling on FRIDAY! I'm headed to Lufkin for the 4th, then moving apartments on the 5th and flying to DC on the 7th for DAR Continental Congress. Then hopefully I will return to Austin with some idea as to how I'm going to pay my bills!

Some of the cutest stuff ever...

My cousin Brook and her friend Sunny have gone into business together! Right now they're making adorable wall hangings that are perfect for nursery and children's rooms (and even adults). You can check them out on etsy.com at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7508180&ga_search_query=sunnyandbrookdesigns&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

They are also on ebay as SunnyandBrookDesigns. Check it out! You won't be disappointed : )

More blogging to come later. I didn't realize it had been so long... not sure where the time has gone!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Eric Scott is 2 today! He's growing up so fast. Here's to hoping this year is much easier than the last two, you've earned it!

Session came to an end on Monday. I am welcoming the return of free time, and also starting the job search. And maybe finding more time to blog, we'll see.

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile. A lot has happened since my last post!

Ella turned 4! I can't believe it, she's getting to be such a BIG girl.

I have a new baby cousin! Braxton Blake Perry was born on May 19, 2009 a little after 5 pm. I hear he's a cutie, and can't wait to meet him the next time I'm in Lufkin.

I signed my new lease for a one-bedroom apartment in my current complex starting in July. For those of you not in the know, my roommate is engaged. Second roommate in a row to get engaged to a guy after dating him for less than 4 months. I think I might be a magnet. I'm sure once I'm living on my own my cats will be next in line.

I updated my resume and sent it out in search for jobs since my current one will be ending soon. So far there haven't been any bites, but I'm optimistic that something will come along soon. Everyone is too wrapped up in the train wreck that is the House Floor to be the least bit concerned about what is going to happen AFTER Session.

Smokey has finally stopped peeing on my bed. Instead, she pees on my clothes. Guess that's what I get for leaving them in piles on the floor. I'm sure Ganny is just laughing at me from heaven right now.

You can just hear the bills dying...

Tonight at midnight is the biggest deadline of the Session for the House... consideration of House Bills and House Joint Resolutions on second reading. We have a 23 page calendar, which they have been working on since 9 am... and we are on page 6. If we make it to page 10, I will be highly impressed.

I am actually impressed with how fast we got through our Committee hearing this morning, we were in and out in an hour! If we hadn't finished testimony on the three bills we were hearing we would have been forced to come back after the House adjourns after midnight. Not exactly my idea of fun when I got to work before 7 am.

Went home for Mother's Day. I have pictures from Ella and Eric's birthday party, but I keep on forgetting to upload them. Enjoyed my time with the parentals, especially my yummy dinner that my daddy made on Saturday. For Mother's Day I took pizza and flowers to the lake. And then took a 2 hour nap. It was quite nice.

And now back to work.

A case of the Tuesdays?

I don't think today is going to be my day. A few things have already gone wrong, but I won't bore you with the details of my job. I will share that earlier this morning I went up to the cafeteria to get a Diet Dr. Pepper and as I walked out the door to return back to my office I realized I probably should pay for my drink.

That is all.

Sunday Funday!

It's been a nice little Sunday, if I do say so myself. I can't remember the last day I spent that did not involve work of some sort. With the end of Session less than a month away, committee work is starting to slow down. The House was in session yesterday, and that included passing out our largest bill... the Texas Youth Commission / Texas Juvenile Probation Commission Sunset bill, and all went well. So I definitely earned a break from work today!

I started out my morning with a little personal training with Sam. I had cancelled my Wednesday session because allergies attacked me hard (not the swine flu), and I was so conjested that bending over to touch my shoe gave me a headache. After training I met up with my dear friend Elizabeth and some of her friends for brunch to celebrate her recent engagement. It's finally started to happen that my high school friends are getting hitched. There's been a wedding or two in the past 10 years (Happy Anniversary to Cameron and Deacon!), but now it's becoming more common.

After brunch I stopped by Bunker's to let the dogs out since he was camping this weekend and I am an excellent dog-sitter. I then headed to the grocery store to stock up on some healthy food. I can't remember the last time I bought groceries, could have been a month ago. I don't get to eat at home much with my long work hours, and I've used that excuse to not always eat the best. Depending on the day, I've gained about 5 lbs this Session. I know that 5 lbs isn't anything to freak out about, but when you've worked as hard as I have over the last year and a half, and you realize that 5 can easily become 10 and so forth, you take 5 lbs seriously! So I'm going to eat better this week.

I then enjoyed the sun and laid out by the pool for about two and half hours with a book! It's been months since I've read a book! I've made the conscious effort to not indulge in non-work related reading, because it would be too distracting. So it was nice to spend some time in the sun with a book. I followed up my pool time with a little quick cleaning of the apartment.

Then I headed out to Brushy Creek for a run! It's been way too long since I've gone for a run, and today was too beautiful not to. I was impressed because I had convinced myself that I have gotten way more out of shape than I actually am. I did an easy two and a half miles... gotta start back up slow. I am determined to run at least 3 times a week, hopefully I can stick to that.

Now I'm watching my shows (Cold Case and In Plain Sight) and then I'm going to relax in the tub with my book and a glass of wine before heading to bed. This relaxing day is going to be just what I need to have a great week. : )

Happy Birthday to the original favoritest cousin...

Today is Kathryn's Birthday! I won't say how old she is, but I will say that she is definitely not 40, which the birthday card from my family implied (gotta love Jay and Jesse). Kathryn is the daughter of my dad's identical twin brother... and in case you can't tell from this picture, we tend to look just a tad bit a like. I was a freshman when she was a senior at SFA, and people would often mistake us for one another while on campus. It probably didn't help that we were both Chi Omegas. But we go back way before then... as Scott recently told Ella, Kathryn and I were little girls together and we played all of the time. I've almost forgiven her for that time she played with me for 45 minutes and then stepped on me because she didn't see me laying on the floor. : )

Happy Birthday, sister-cuz!

Convention '09

Just a little photo re-cap of C.A.R. National Convention '09:

Me and Rachel: can't believe it's her LAST Convention as a member, and really can't believe that she's getting married in a MONTH!

Royal Roomies. AKA My biffles. One of these days all 7 of us will be reunited. I promise.

The sisterhood. So proud of how it's grown!

Madame National President Peanut.

It's almost illegal not to get a picture at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. Especially with with your biffles. That's best friends for life, people.

I've got more to say, I promise. Session '09 is starting to wrap up and my work load is decreasing, so perhaps that means more time for blogging... we shall see. I'm hanging out with my cats this weekend. As weird as that may sound, it hopefully keeps Smokey from peeing on my bed, so it's totally worth it. Plus I'm sleey tired. All. of. the. time.

A "short" week

My short work week is coming to close, and I've racked up close to 50 hours of quality time under the Pink Dome. Monday was observed as a holiday by the Speaker's office so I only came in for 6 hours and I won't be at work tomorrow because I'm headed to D.C. for C.A.R. National Convention where I will in charge of 30 lovely children all under the age of 11. If you don't hear from me again, it's because I finally died of exhaustion.

By the way, I'm sitting in our Committee hearing. We began at 8 am, broke while they were on the House Floor arguing the supplemental Appropriations bill from 10-4 and have been here ever since. You probably won't believe me when I say this, but I heart my job. I just wished I had already packed.

Birthdays and updates

Just wanted to check in and say HAPPY 36TH BIRTHDAY to my dear cousin Scott! We celebrated this weekend with a family fish fry at the lake for all of the March/April birthdays: Dad, Uncle Jerrell, Mom, Aunt Joyce, Scott and Kathryn. We had quite a crowd at the lake and it was good to spend time with everyone. Ella is definitely growing up. How can I tell? Her attention span has increased immensely when it comes to swinging. Before she has always wanted to stop after a few swings... this weekend, she just couldn't get enough.

While in Lufkin I checked out the new night spot "The Beach" with my brother Jay and Jesse. It was some of the best people watching I have done in a long time. And I'm pretty sure life was meaningless before Jesse was around to keep us entertained.

I'm finding it hard to get motivated to get the many things accomplished on my to-do list at work today. It's going to be a short, but busy week. I'm very excited about Travis' return tomorrow... it will be so nice to have him back! I'm headed to DC on Friday for C.A.R. National Convention, should be some fun times.

God Blessed Texas!

Here's a few pictures from Texas C.A.R. State Conference that I attended this past weekend. For those of you not in the know, C.A.R. stands for Children of the American Revolution. This was my 20th annual State Conference to attend. I'm going to let the pictures speak 1,000 words because I don't have time to write them! Work consumes my life, but I enjoy what I do and the time flies.

Me and Mrs. Metts, she's convinced that I need to marry her grandson Stephen. Hilarious!

I heart White Cheddar Cheez-Its! And of course, Peanut!

I got these awesome hats for Katie and Rachel to commemorate their last TX State Conference as members. I can't believe they're going to be 22 soon!

The super cool old kids at the banquet: Sandra Jo, Sarah, Katie and myself.

Girlies at the dance. We forgot to get a "legs" picture in our dresses during the banquet.

What I've been up to...

Since I'm pretty sure my life will never slow down, I've decided it's time to put up some pictures so you can see what I've been up to when I haven't been working at the Capitol (which is not much time). Enjoy!

My adorable C.A.R. Debutante, Elizabeth, at DAR State Conference in San Antonio.

Me and Anne, one of my dear paging friends.

Me and Mrs. Metts, my C.A.R. Senior State President at DAR State Conference.

Downtown Austin on St. Patty's with my friend Tom. Just had to share his costume.

Austin Karoake for Phillip's 25th Birthday. We're singing "Sweet Caroline."

LaLa's for Michelle's 27th Birthday. It's a Christmas-themed bar!

Update.

My apologies for falling off the face of the blogging world, but I'm a busy girl! Basically, I work. A lot. I logged in over 60 hours at the Capitol last week in addition to working 7 hours at Bath and Body Works. I've also fallen asleep on my couch, a lot. It's really starting to become a problem, as it happens more nights than it doesn't. And to think, I had insomnia problems all through out my childhood.

I'll try to be better about posting, but sorry I can't make any promises!

A belated Happy Birthday...

While I was at DAR this weekend, two very important men in my life celebrated a fairly significant birthday. My dad and Uncle Jerrell turned 65 on Saturday! I did find time in my busy DAR schedule to call and wish them a Happy Birthday, but wanted to do a little posting since I know Jerrell keeps up with me on the internet. The fam is getting together this weekend to celebrate with a family favorite fish fry, and I'm bummed that I am not going to be able to make it! Here's two cute pictures I found of my Dad and Madelyn and Jerrell and Ella, hope you enjoy! (and oh yeah, they're identical twins in case you can't tell) I am going to try to get better at blogging, but life is pretty crazed!

Jerrell and Ella

Darrell and Madelyn (and Zeus and Baron)

You know you're tired when...

Last night after I got home from work I settled on the couch to watch the new episode of The Office. The next thing I know, it's 4:30 am and my cell phone alarm is going off. Apparently I fell asleep about 10 minutes into the show, laying on the couch, still fully clothed from work (skirt, button down shirt, cardigan), with the lights still on and Candace on the computer.

I guess that's what happens when you get to work before dawn and don't leave until after dark. Gotta love Committee hearing days!

Never too young....

Last weekend while Madelyn was here she became a pretty big fan of Louis Vuitton. What can I say, style comes early to us Durham gals (Ella also loves to tote around my purse whenver I visit). And just for the record, Madelyn prefers Louis over Coach. Lindsey had a little black Coach purse that she was letting Mady carry around with her... but she wanted to have nothing to do with it. She'd drop that purse and come running for mine. Jay is definitely going to be in trouble once she figures out how to use a credit card : )

Happy Friday! I'm most happy about not working 12 hours today! Just going to get in a solid 9... maybe 10.

Lent

I've decided that I'm going to give up fast-food for Lent. It will definitely help me keep on track with living a healthy lifestyle, considering it's really the only time I eat like absolute crap. I don't buy junk food, and rarely go out to eat dinner, so it just makes sense to cut out the fast-food as my sacrifice for Lent. Of course at the rate we are going with Session, I might as well have given up eating completely because I'm SO busy that there's rarely time! But don't worry, I'm loving every second of it thus far!

Yesterday we toured two prison facilities with the Committee. One was a SAF-PP facility (which I was familiar with because Brad has been to this program facility twice) and the other was a TYC facility. It was quite a learning experience, and not nearly as scary or intimidating as I initially thought. In fact, it was almost hard to remember that these guys all did something unlawful to wind up there... they were on their absolute best behaviors for the committee (which was wonderful because we had heard some horror stories from other staffers who had toured facilities in the past).

I'm getting settled in the office, we have our first hearing tomorrow morning! We've been working 12+ hours day so far, and I'm not sure it will lighten up any time soon, which is completely okay because time flies during the day and I'm learning so much!

I should get back to work, just wanted to take a break and check in. Think of me when I'm at work at 6 am in the morning and you're all still sleeping or just getting up for work....

Finally!

Though most of my blog readers are probably aware of this information by now, it is with great pleasure that I report that I am gainfully employed! It's been a crazy past few days. CRAZY. And unfortunately, I don't think things are going to slow down any more between now and June 1.

I am going to spend the next couple of months as an Assistant Clerk for one of the Committees for the Texas House of Representatives. I already know all of the people I'm going to be working with, and I'm really excited about it. I've been able to gather some experience in "Committee Land" with my time of the Legislature, but thus far it's all been Interim experience. This position will give me the opportunity to work more on actual policy crafting and working the bill-making process a little more than I have in the past.

The last two days I've undergone a couple of training and orientation sessions, and it hasn't been over my head at all. Having a few years experience with the Legislature gives me a working knowledge of the process, and now I'm just going to be learning the logistics. In all honesty, I think this is something I could be really good at. At the very least, I'm going to be learning new skills and making new contacts... which can never hurt.

There's only one big, huge bummer about this position (minus the fact that it's Session Only): Our committee hearings are scheduled for 8 am on Thursday mornings. That means I will be AT WORK not later than 6 am! And I am SO not a morning person...

It also means that my blogs might be few and far between in the upcoming months... but I will update as I can.

This weekend has been fun because Lindsey and Madelyn came to visit. Jay was going on a guys' camping trip, but Jesse had an asthma attack so he and Josh showed up at my apartment tonight. Madelyn's visit has just re-confirmed Smokey and Giada's absolute hatred for small children. It's just too bad Madelyn didn't get the memo because she LOVES the kitties and is constantly running around the apartment looking for the KIII-EY!

Terrible Twos?

Can cats go through the terrible twos? Between Giada's puking (she's going through a hairball problem) and Smokey's bed-wetting (I have now caught her peeing on my bed FOUR times), I feel like I have toddlers on my hands!

I know they have dog whisperers, but do you think that'd work on cats? I mean, my cats aren't the best behaved on any given day to begin with, but things are starting to get out of hand. They just better feel darn lucky that I love them, otherwise they would have already been fed to the coyotes wandering along the back fence of our apartment complex!

Sorry for the lack of posting... you would think I would have more free time as an unemployed person, but I don't! I keep on taking on odd jobs for different people to get some temporary cash flow. I've started the interview process with a company NOT involved with the state government, so perhaps I will have better luck, though it's bizarre to consider a future for myself that isn't in politics... guess we'll see.

Special Delivery!

When I checked the mail today, we had a notice saying that there were packages waiting for us in the office for our apartment complex. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was very surprised and pleased to find a package waiting for me. It was from my dear friend (and faux facebook wife), Sarah.

I came back to my apartment and tore open the box and was very excited to find a small box of chocolates and a box of White Cheddar Cheez-Its! Judging by the title of my blog, you can see that I'm a fan.

I also had a Valentine card in the mail from my friend Amy, so there was lots of royal love today that made me happy! Who needs a valentine when you've got some of the bestest friends around!

They say it's your birthday...

Brook is 30 years young today! She's probably going to kill me for broadcasting her age over the world wide web, but I don't care, I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful cousin! I am so thankful to have you in our family (and to think, we all owe it to my mother and a bowl of chilli!). It takes a very special, patient, kind, and loving person to put up with my cousin Scott, and for that you deserve the bestest birthday ever.

I was going through my pictures trying to find a picture of Brook to make my little masterpiece above, and I just don't have any. I have tons of pictures of her beautiful children, Ella and Eric, but just about every snapshot I have of Brook (that wasn't taken by Ella) is like the above... her being a fabulous mommy! Seriously, if I ever have children I can only hope to be half as good at it as Brook.

So, here's to Brook, hope your day is as special as you are!

Blah. Blah. Blah.

I came back from Lufkin with a cold. It has not helped my mood.

Six of my friends have gotten new jobs in the last week. SIX! Of course I'm very happy for my friends, but naturally just a little jealous. I get more anxious with each passing day and my bank account gets just a little smaller. I just wish I had more direction so I would know what to do.

Oh, and I just caught Smokey peeing on my bed.

I did see The Killers last night with some friends, it was a good show. And I did get 3 new tires while I was in Lufkin, so my car no longer shakes. That's about all of the positive things I have to say at the moment.

A whole lot of nothing...

My apologies for the lack of posting this week, I haven't had anything interesting to say! No news on the job front. Hopefully something will happen in the next few days. I should probably get Smokey and Giada to practice their pole dancing, just in case.

I'm headed to Lufkin this weekend for no good reason at all.... just want to enjoy a relaxing weekend with the fam! I didn't get scheduled to work at BBW since I've worked so much during the week. Plus, I'm not sure when I'll be back again, spring tends to fill up pretty fast.

Today at my personal training session Sam made me run at a 9 mph pace on the treadmill. I think that should be illegal. He is determined to make me run faster. On the bright side, we discovered that I'm starting to get some definition in my abs! I've noticed a line kind of forming down the center of my stomach and apparently what I thought was just my ribs sticking out is the beginning foundation of the six-pack abs I've always wanted, woohoo!

Wake-up Kitty

Do you find yourself having trouble getting out of the bed each morning? Do you constantly hit snooze on your alarm? Have I got the solution for you! Wake-up Kitty! For the low, low price of FREE, Smokey the wake-up kitty can be YOURS!

Now, you might be wondering, just how does this wake-up kitty work? She doesn't pounce on you to let you know that it's time to get up... that would just be plain mean. No, instead she subtly hints to you that it might be in your best interest to awake. She accomplishes this by attacking the photo of your family that sits on your bedside table (she must have REALLY not liked Lufkin... because she only began doing this after Christmas). She will also knock your make-up bag off of the bathroom counter, scattering the contents. And she'll even throw in your jewelry box for good measure. You didn't really mind if your diamond earrings and expensive watch got strown all over the bathroom, right? She will even help remind you that it's time to take out the trash when she knocks over the contents of your bathroom trash can and disperses it all over the room. And, she will accomplish all of this before 8:30 am on a Sunday morning. Consider yourself LUCKY!

On another side note, for about the millionth time, my 85 year old Great Aunt Catherine called my mom complaining that my cell phone wasn't working. I've had my cell phone number for about 8 years now, and have no intention of ever getting it changed. However, anytime Catherine decides she needs to call me, she has problems getting the number to work. My mom called me and had me call her, and as she's telling me about how my phone wasn't accepting calls I asked her what number she dialed. She rattles off a number that she has circled in her address book next to my name and it's a number I've never heard before in my life. This probably wouldn't be worth mentioning, but it seriously happens once every two to three months. I gave her my cell phone number, again, and this time she put a star next to it. Apparently her address book is just a mess and she's trying to sort through all of it. I guess it is a mess when you just randomly write in numbers for loved ones. We had a good laugh.

...And then a cat peed on my bed.

It was an awful weekend. Terrible. Completely crap-tastic.

I was pulled into some drama that I wasn't prepared for. I have been asked not to go into the goury details on the world wide web, so I will spare everyone from the specifics. I will just say that my Saturday night and Sunday afternoon were not spend how I planned: going out with friends and playing a little tennis with Bunker. Instead, I got to make a stop at the hospital and enjoyed some quality time with five of Austin's finest.

On Sunday evening I found myself completely emotionally drained. In a short period of time I found myself experiencing a wide variety of emotions: fear, frustration, anger, sadness, relief, and just a sense of being completely overwhelmed.

I did learn two very important lessons this weekend. First, no matter how hard you want to help someone and no matter how much you love them, you can't help someone that doesn't help themselves and you can't make them understand that you love them if they aren't willing to accept that. I also learned that I have some amazing friends who are ready to drop anything (even date night) to be there for me. I am very fortunate to have such a source of support in my life.

I have no idea what is to come from the events of this weekend, but I can only hope for the best.

And to top it all off? One of the cats peed on my bed Saturday night. At least it was on the other side of the bed and I just stuck my foot in it instead of completely rolling over onto it. And the cats are just lucky I have no idea which one of them did it (though if I had to bet, I'd say Smokey).

On this historic day, I am thankful that I live in a country where every adult citizen has the ability to participate in the process to choose our leaders. I am thankful that the transition of change in these leaders is done so peacefully and not by force or violence. I am thankful for those who are concluding their service to our country and wish nothing but the best for those who are beginning that service.

Ten

Ten.

That's the number of books I've read SINCE CHRISTMAS. Obviously, I've got way too much free time on my hands! Of course, this would be much more impressive if this was classical literature. Or thought provoking literature. Or political. Or current events. But it hasn't been. It's all been chic lit/young adult. I figure in my position of having almost no work-life and absolutely no love-life, I need all of the warm and fuzzy and living vicariously I can get!

So here's what I've read, sorted by author... since there have only been 3 of them:

Ann Brashares:
Girls in Pants, The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Forever in Blue, The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

These were the last two books of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I read the books after watching the movies, they were so cute! Each of the books actually made me cry, which is rare.

Wendy Markham:
Slightly Settled
Slightly Engaged
Slightly Married
Slightly Suburban

I read her first book in this series, Slightly Single a few months ago... and LOVED it. I even made Andrea read it. I had no idea that I had stumbled upon a series until I picked up Slightly Suburban at Target last weekend. I figured the author just had a thing with the word Slightly and didn't realize until about half way through the book that it was part of a series. Slightly Engaged was a little obnoxious, but the rest have been really good.

Emily Griffin:
Something Borrowed
Something Blue
Baby Proof
Love the One You're With

After absolutely adoring Something Borrowed and Something Blue, I went ahead and read every other book that Emily Griffin has written, and was not disappointed.

So, anyone got any suggestions as to what I should read next? I know I have some avid readers following my blog... And feel free to throw me for a loop with something a little more challenging than chic lit, haha!

Had an interview this afternoon. They had me interview with 6 people total! I really liked everyone and like the opportunity, so think good thoughts. I'm supposed to hear something next week.

The car wash

Yesterday after I finished a grueling 4 mile run (for January, it was freakin' HOT outside!), I decided it was time for the Civic to get a car wash. I don't take very good care of my car, and probably wash it at most, 3 times a year. It had been a long time since the Civic had a bath, and I felt it was earned after hitting the 250,000 mile mark earlier this week.

I make it a habit to go through the automatic car wash for many reasons, but the most important being that I suck at washing cars. I always have. Back in the days when the Civic was new and a car wash occurred more like every 2 weeks than every 2 years, someone would always stop me from washing my car and take over the duties for me... it was that bad. Can you imagine Jay or my mom actually volunteering to wash my car because I'm just that bad at it?

Last spring I encountered an interesting problem with my car. I drove from my apartment to Bunker's to meet him for tennis on Saturday morning and when I arrived at his house my car door wouldn't open. It just jammed. I was forced to crawl across the passenger's seat anytime I entered or exited my car. The next time I found myself at home, it took my Dad, Uncle Jerrell, Jay, and Scott a good two hours of work trying to get the door to open and they had no luck. When we took my car to S&W, the guy ended up having to break the window in order to get access to the jammed part of the door. You might be wondering why I've told you this story, and this is why....

As I'm sitting in my car watching the water swoosh across the my front window suddenly I was pelted with water from my driver's side window. I was very shocked by this and definitely almost jumped into the passenger's seat. I pushed the window button up, assuming I had just not rolled it up all of the way the last time I used it, but that was not the case. Upon further examination I realized that they didn't fit the window right when they installed the new one. There's a good centimeter crack in the upper left corner of the window! I had noticed that outside noise had gotten louder when I drove on the highway, but I just figured my car was old, these things happen.... never in my life did I imagine that I was driving down the road with a window that wasn't completely sealed shut. So I guess you all know what is getting looked at first thing the next time I drive into the Lufkin city limits!

Went for an 8 mile run this morning with my running friends. Headed to see Bride Wars in a bit with my roommate and Andrea, and tonight I'm going to a resume party! Some of my Capitol friends are having a pre-Session bash and since with the new Speaker a few of them are out of jobs, it's byob and byor... couldn't hurt ; ) (By the way I heard on Friday that my most promising interview is going to be scheduled for Wednesday, I'll keep y'all posted!)

An offer...

While the offers for real live paying jobs seem to be scarce at the moment, job offers for volunteer positions seem to be no problem at all. Lucky me.

I got a call earlier today from the nominating committee of my DAR chapter. I feel like a very bad DAR member since I hadn't realized we had elected a nominating committee and most certainly didn't realize they'd be meeting sometime soon. It wasn't too surprising that they offered to let me stay on as First Vice Regent or any other position besides Regent that I wanted. I chose to stay at First Vice Regent, so far it's been a pretty easy gig. Martha even discussed ways to expand my duties the next two years, so should be fun. I like my chapter, and I like my ladies, and I'm happy to serve. I just wish I'd get an offer to do a job for a position that actually pays a salary!

With each passing day I get a little more panicky about my career outlook. I know this is silly, but I can't help it... when you don't have much to do you've got LOTS of free time to worry. And we all know patience has never been my strong suit, throw in my nact for making people lose all capabilities of operating a telephone, and you see what we're dealing with here. So keep thinking good thoughts and crossing all available appendages, and prayers wouldn't hurt, either.

On a side note, Eric's surgery went well and I am confident that he is going to be jibber jabbering in absolutely no time!

Oh, and PS. ~ Go Gators!

Happy 2009!

So maybe my New Year's resolution to be to blog more? You'd think being semi-unemployed would give me more time to write here, but I guess not.

No new developments on the job front. A few other possibilities have opened up, but it's still kind of the waiting game. Everyone is getting settled from the holidays and trying to gear up for the craziness that is Session that will convene next week. I'm thankful for all of my friends who are currently crossing every appendage for me... I appreciate you more than you will ever know!

Lots going on with the fam. Jerrell had his hernea surgery yesterday. It ended up being more extensive than they had anticipated, but I am told everything went well. Eric goes in tomorrow to get tubes put in his ears. We are all hopeful that this will help with his ear infections and lead him to saying more words. Thoughts and prayers are always appreciated! Oh, and supposedly Brad lives in Austin now. My mom and I don't necessarily believe that, but I guess I won't be completely shocked if he shows up on my door step at some point.

I intend to write a blog to kind of re-cap 2008, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around everything that has occurred. Good, bad, indifferent... it was quite a year with lots of happenings!