What you can do with time...

I know that being semi-jobless isn't one of the most desirable positions, but it does have its perks! With my little bit of extra free time (I've put in a little over 20 hours of work at BBW), I have gotten so much done.
I still had a few boxes in my room that never got unpacked, and my room was nothing short of a disaster area. My bathroom looked like it was inhabited by a boy, and not the pretty girl that I am because it was so disgusting. But now... my room is clean! The boxes are unpacked! The bathroom is pretty! Even my closet is organized! I've also done the dishes and taken out the trash. My roommate will be so pleased : )
With my free time I've also been able to catch up with a few phone dates with some of my favorite people. Usually I'm so tired after working or too rushed to get to the next thing that I limit my phone calls to the usual: mom, Amy, and Ruth. Today alone I've gotten caught up with Molly, Michelle, and Julie (a lot can happen when you don't work with someone for a whole week).
Fun things have also filled my schedule. I went to the Texas/Texas Southern basketball game on Tuesday with Bunker followed by some Top Shelf Tuesday action at Trudy's with Andrea and last night I saw the Ballet Austin production of The Nutcracker with Andrea, Drea, and Sarah followed by a forever long dinner at PF Chang's. Who knew you could have a social life in the middle of the week? I have to say that some of the costume choices at The Nutcracker perplexed me, and I never knew there were Angels in the production (I imagine that was just to give a few more kids the opportunity to be a part of the show), but overall it was a good performance. It was definitely no Houston ballet, but it filled The Nutcracker void, and the two little girls who sat behind us kept me pretty entertained as they whispered about what was happening on stage during the entire first act.
On the job search front: It seems to have been raining jobs today, I can only hope that it will be followed by a flood of job offers! I will hear about the position I interviewed for on Tuesday on Monday. I really hope it's good things, it sounds like such a great opportunity. But in the mean time, I have another interview tomorrow morning with a State Representative and an interview with another association on Tuesday morning. I'm also going to be hearing about two more interviews following Christmas, but let's hope that Santa brings me a new job before then! Keep thinking good thoughts for me, please!

My news, Part II

Just a quick update on things. I have a job interview at 3:30 today, so please be thinking good thoughts for me! It's a Legislative Affairs position with an association that offices just a few short blocks from the Capitol. That's pretty much all I know about it, one of my dear friends passed on my resume to her friend, and voila! I have also heard that I will have an interview either Thursday or Friday for another Government Affairs position that I've been waiting to be scheduled since before Thanksgiving.

Also, I ran the Trail of Lights 5k on Saturday night and am very pleased to report my finish time of 34 minutes and 8 seconds! This was my first 5k to run, and my very first race to run without stopping to walk, so I'm pretty dang happy with myself. I'm also happy because this was the first major distance that I've run since the 1/2, so it's good to know I haven't fallen out of shape since.

I have also been able to get some MUCH needed cleaning done around the apartment today. So maybe this time off will indeed be the good thing I've been hoping it would be. All smiles!

My news...

Okay, so I'm going to shock a lot of people right now and tell you that today is my last day of work in the Harless office. A few weeks ago we sat down and discussed my future and all decided it was time for me to move on. I've accomplished all I can accomplish in my current position and there's no further "up" to go in this office, and in the world of politics you can't just stay in one position because it's comfortable. I still have a lot more to learn and a lot of growing to do, and this is no time to be putting down roots. There's no hard feelings, it's the right thing for everyone.



I haven't mentioned it because I was hoping I could say I had found a new job before telling people I was leaving my old one. Unfortunately, that has not happened. I've got a couple of possibilities, and in the mean time I am going to work more at Bath and Body Works the next few weeks. I'm saving my freak-out time for the start of January.


I know this is the right thing to do, it's just frightening to not know what's next. Job searches have always come easy for me, probably a little too easy. So I'm going to consider this a character-building experience! I am confident that everything will work out and I am very fortunate to have some wonderful friends who have worked with me the last few weeks on the job search front. Now if I could only get an actual interview scheduled!


So, that's my news. Please say a little prayer for me and think good thoughts over the next few weeks! In the mean time, I am going to enjoy the rare opportunity I have to have some time to myself and really appreciate the Holiday season for the first time in 8 years! This weekend I am going to a friend's Christmas party tonight, DAR tea tomorrow, and Trail of Lights 5k tomorrow night. I am also planning a trip to see the Trail of Lights this week as well as The Nutcracker ballet with some girlfriends. I'm going to give my apartment the cleaning it deserves and might even have a few friends over at some point to celebrate the new place (that's really almost 6 months old already) and the Christmas season.


I will miss the office, but it's just goodbye to a job... not goodbye to the friends I've made. So there you have it, my news. Hopefully there will be more news to report in a few days!

Girls wear pink.

I'm wearing a pink cardigan today for the sole reason to remind myself that I am a girl. Why would I need this reminder? Because I spent the entire weekend watching football. With boys. With only a break to watch the big fight.

Don't get me wrong, I love my cousins. I love all of the quality time we got spend together (minus the relentless teasing I had to endure). But sometimes, you just need to be girlie. So I'm wearing pink.

I think this is going to be the longest Monday in the history of Mondays. The day has been just dragging along... it's not even lunch time yet, and all I want to do is go home.

Things I don't understand:

1) Why my cat insists on waking me up between 4:30 and 5:30 am. Is she trying to prepare me for the days of motherhood? Because I don't know if Smokey knows this or not, but those are very far away and I need to get all of the sleep I can before then. She needs to understand that this isn't 'Nam, Smokey, there are rules...

2) How can it REALLY be the Big 12 Championship game when Texas beat both teams playing? 45-35, lest we forget...

3) It is impossible to duplicate the way a stylist fixes your hair after you get it cut, whether you use the same products or tools. That's just kind of mean!

4) How OJ didn't realize he was breaking the law when he kidnapped and robbed. It's probably because he didn't think he was breaking the law when he murdered his ex-wife, either. Oh wait, he didn't do that and we know this because he wrote a book telling us how he would have done it if he had done it.

Looking forward to this weekend. Officially began the Christmas Season of celebrating last night with Marcia's Christmas party. Tonight is Grinch's Gala and tomorrow night is Bunker's Christmas party. Favoritest cousin Ryan is also making a trip to Austin this weekend, so it should be good times. Too bad I'm already sleep deprived after helping Michelle paint her brand new condo last night until almost midnight and then Smokey giving me an early wake up call this morning. Woohoo!

Turkey Day

This is my favorite picture from our Thanksgiving feast, so I thought I would share with everyone! Isn't Madelyn the most precious little girl you've ever seen, ever? I'm such a proud Auntie!

It's been awhile...

Hi friends!

It's been quite some time since my last blog. Thanksgiving found me at home in Lufkin with the fam and without a computer! I got back to Austin on Saturday and spent the rest of my weekend working at Bath and Body Works and going to the Texas/Rice basketball game.

I enjoyed being at home with the fam, but I feel like I didn't get to spend near enough time playing with Eric and Ella! I did get some quality time with Madelyn, she is a mess and into EVERYTHING. We also had some random family visits while I was in town, and it's always good to catch up with cousins you don't see often.

Turkey Day found us at Camp 68 for the Annual Squyres Thanksgiving. This year was a low attendance... only about 40 of us! After watching a cousin jump, Madelyn decided she should start jumping, too. The only problem is she can't quite manage to get her feet off of the ground! This new trick is highly entertaining for her and even more so for those who get to watch. The only thing I wasn't thankful for this year was the Single Inquisition. Ryan, Becky and I all found ourselves on the firing range as we were asked about our romantic prospects, which unfortunately are none for each of us. At least I am not alone in my singleness... that would have been truly depressing.

We put up our Christmas tree for the first time in at least 5 years this weekend. No more ficus tree decorations for us! Of course, the tree doesn't look fully decorated since we had to refrain from putting ornaments within arm's reach of Madelyn. She was completely fascinated by the lights and the revolving Santa and Santa's sleigh at the top of our tree (which celebrates it's 30th birthday this Christmas).

I did enjoy a little car drama while at home. I woke up on Saturday morning to a flat tire. My dad had come in from the lake and after trying to repair it himself, decided I needed a new tire. I ended up being delayed by about a half hour leaving Lufkin, which made me late for work... but no worries there. For Christmas it looks like I am going to be buying myself 3 more new tires, which will hopefully be my LAST big purchase for this car before I break down and buy a new one.

There's lots of things going on in my life and the next few weeks should prove to be very interesting. I'll share more when I can! Just be thinking good thoughts for me : ) And I promise more frequent blogs.