LIVING: Halloween - Who Needs Ghosts and Goblins...We Have CATS!

Almost everyone who knows me is aware that I am a total spazz when it comes to all things creepy, crawly, or scary in nature.  I startle when someone says "Boo", I essentially fall all over myself if someone jumps out at me,  and my basic "flee" instinct is to climb the tallest object I can find as soon as possible. Because of this, I don't do haunted houses, I don't watch scary movies, and my husband has learned to never, ever jump out and scare me. My idea of a good time is to dress up like a vampire or pirate and drink up (alcohol, not blood).

Tonight, I watched a Travel Channel special on Halloween Haunts around country.  Not scary...at all.  But, in all honesty, I think that watching everyone else get scared over and over was starting to get to me a little. About halfway through the show I noticed that Roxy was staring intently through the hall into Paul's office. He had the lights off and was sleeping on the couch, so I assumed she was looking at him. No biggie. Five minutes later, I looked over, and she was STILL staring intently. Her fur was starting to stand on end and she wasn't moving a muscle (Notice how the hair around her chest is puffed out. That's not normal). 

I said her name, and got no reaction. So I dropped something, and she barely twitched an ear. I got up and walked over to pet her, and she still didn't budge. At this point I thought maybe she was have a cat seizure or something (yes, I'm paranoid like that). Then she starting rocking back and forth, like the freakin' mental patients they were showing the stupid haunted houses on TV!!!  She'd rock and then sniff the air, rock, sniff, rock, sniff, rock...  I was getting seriously creeped out. Then, suddenly, she blinked, looked around like everything was normal, jumped down, and sauntered over towards Paul's office. 

I sat down and had just settled back into my show when she came racing through the living room like the devil himself were hot on her heels.  Her back legs were sliding all over the place and I could hear her claws as she careened across the wood floors. She practically flew into the sunroom, and then started looking frantically around her head like she was being attacked by something. If bats, or eagles, or flying monkeys were attacking her I would have not been the least bit surprised. Kecia was just as startled as I was and looking around trying to figure out what happened.

At this point, I realized I was standing on the back of the sofa hanging on for dear life.

We've caught her staring at the doorway like this at least twice in the last 30 minutes. She'll zone out for a few minutes, then go wander around like everything is fine.  Paul is convinced that it's the surround sound that scared her (we have a speaker placed over that doorway). 

Regardless of her issue, this cat is freaking me out! I've decided this is not the year to venture out of my comfort zone and try some haunted houses or scary movies. I'm getting enough thrills just staying at home!

CREATE Memories: Tri State Fair

Friday night, we went to the Tri-State Fair with one of our favorite couples.

We walked, and talked, and people-watched, and ATE.  I now fully understand the meaning of the phrase, "too much of a good thing".  I'd never truly had fair food before, so I was determined to try as much as I could.   However, I was only able to tackle a funnel cake, curly fries, curly potatoes, cheese on a stick, and fried Oreos before my body begged me to stop.

We fell victim to the melodious charms of one of the carnies.  He managed to swindle several handfuls of tokens from the guys in only a few short minutes. Our big, strong men managed to win their "fair ladies" a turtle and lion.  (For the record, I love my turtle. Right now he's sitting on my printer watching me type. I still haven't named him.  Paul thinks he looks like a 'Squishy'.  And technically, the carnie didn't call the guys big and strong...he called them weenies...repeatedly! He also said they threw like girls.  I took offense to that, since I was the one who hit the most plates!!! lol )

We also rode the coolest roller-coaster ever.  It was a tilt-a-whirl cart on top of a roller-coaster track.  Every time we'd whip around a corner we'd spin around. It was AWESOME. I didn't have any troubles until the end. Apparently we had our heaviest passenger (NOT me) right at the CG (center of gravity for you non-engineers).  When we came around the last corner we spun, and spun, and spun, and spun...  I just knew all that fried food was going to make an reappearance. Eventually we did stop, and the men lifted us out of the cart because we were too drunk on g-forces to stand.

In spite of the expense and nausea, it was a lot of  fun.  I've never really enjoyed the fair before, but we had a terrific time and I think it was the beginning of a new tradition!

LIVING: What's my age again???

Tonight I went to WT for the National Society of Leadership and Success orientation meeting.  I'd been looking forward to it all week and was really excited. 

 However, as I pulled into the parking lot I began to feel apprehensive about the whole thing.  I started agonizing over the differences in age, career status, education , and life experience between me and the other members (and we aren't even going to discuss body type, shape, or condition!!!). Though we are all students, most are completing their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year while this is my 10th in  higher education!  I told myself,  "I have no business going to this meeting, I should just turn around and go home."  I wanted to, but my inner rebel gently reminded me that my mom went back to college when she was in her 40s.  She was incredibly active in campus life, and loved every second of it.  Well, if she can do it, I can do it!

 
I arrived to the meeting (on time, hallelujah!) and found a place to sit.  There were 40-50 students there, and most were 19-23 years old.  I saw a couple (and I do mean 2) people who appeared to be close to my age.  For the first time in several years I was truly grateful that I look so much younger than I actually am. No one seemed to notice how out of place I felt, and I was able to settle in and enjoy the orientation.  After the initial presentation, we were divided into groups to begin our SNT (Success Networking Team) sessions.  We went around the group an introduced ourselves (name, major, place of birth).  All of the "kids" (how old am I?) were juniors and seniors in my group.  When I told them that I had a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and was working on my MBA, several of them were noticeably surprised. I was very pleased that no one had immediately tagged me as the old woman in the group.  The purpose of the SNT was to discuss our short-term goals and help each other determine ways in which to achieve them.   All in all, in was very enjoyable.

Then came the closing remarks.  The orientation leader got up and said, "One of the great things about this organization is the diversity that we have among members.  Nowhere on campus will you find a group this diverse..."  I nodded in agreement.  Even in my small group I had noticed that we had an even mix of gender, race, national origin, and major.  Many other students were also nodding their heads around the room.  The speaker continued, "We have a sampling from every group here at WTAMU.  Does anyone know what the average AGE of students at WTAMU is?"

Uh oh...  Someone said, "25", and the speaker replied, "That's correct!  25 is the average age, but LOOK at the diverse ages within this group!  We cover every age group."  I looked around the room, and again, only saw 2 others that looked even remotely close to my age.  I quickly did some super human math and determined that the average age of our group was 21 (with a fake ID), neglecting the 3 "old" outliers in the group. I tuned back in to the closing remarks only to hear him say, "It's important for us to understand how much we can learn from people of different age groups, and it says a lot that we are all represented here..." SERIOUSLY?  He was still talking about it?  He talked for another minute or so about age diversity, then released us.  I was shocked that someone giving an orientation for a leadership society could have fumbled the diversity conversation so badly. Especially when one considers that we legitimately had a diverse group.

I quickly left so I could go pick up some wrinkle cream and granny panties. I think I'll have some Oval-tine at bedtime and pull out my abacus to finish up my accounting homework.

Goodnight all...

Old Lady Crawford

LOVING: Bimal and Tina

There are people who come into your life and touch you in a way that no one else could. The sun seems to shine a little brighter when they are around, and you know the world is a better place because they are in it.

Bimal R. Patel, 1982-2012

The world lost one of these people today.  Bimal Patel was an incredible man, who brought love and joy to all of those who knew him.  He suffered a terrible tragedy and, after a long painful struggle, finally passed from this world.  I try to focus on his life, rather than the circumstances surrounding his death. But doing so makes the ending seem that much more unbearable.

Growing up, Bimal was one of my best friends.  He was funny and loyal, kind and endearing, steadfast and unfailing.   And though we haven't been close for years, my heart aches all the same.  I had the privilege of knowing him not only in adolescence but also in adulthood.  I'm proud to say that as a man he was the same wonderful person that I knew growing up.

 

 Our Wedding, 2009:  Paul, Travis, and Bimal

 Our Wedding, the "Claude" table:  Andrea, Bimal, JT, Sharon

 Prom, 2000?:  Bimal, Seth, Dustin, and Michael

 Band Trip, 2000: Bimal, Sharon, Me, and Michael

Tina M. Voyles, 1983-2004

Bimal is not the only person I have lost.  Another dear friend was taken from us in 2004, Tina Marie Voyles.  She was also of those special people that we were all honored to call a friend.  She was a miracle in my life, and I have never stopped missing her.  Though she's been gone for over 8 years, I still find myself awakening after bittersweet dreams of our time together.  I never dream of her the way she was, but always of who she would have become.  We share our lives, and families, and careers. We talk about what we've done, and what we plan to do. And then I awake, and remember, and am alone.  I will never forget Tina.  

8th grade graduation, LONG time ago, Me and Tina

 Tina, before Prom, 2001

Almost every memory I have of my youth involves one, or both, of these terrific people. We lived, learned, loved, and grew together. I feel like a part of me is missing, and can never be restored.  My experiences with Bimal and Tina shaped a large part of who I am today. 

Of course, there are many who loved Bimal and Tina. As a community, we greive. We are never whole again.  I think we lose a part of ourselves when we lose those special people in our lives. Life is unfair, and unjust, and short.  It makes those precious memories that much dearer, and allows us to embrace life with a whole new understanding.  We hold our loved ones a little closer, and try to never take a single moment for granted.  I thank God for taking these two from the suffering they endured, and ask that He hold them in His hands.  Though we mourn today, someday we will see them again.

Bimal and Tina, I love and miss you.  Thank you for allowing me to call you my friends.

Living in the Windy Texas Panhandle

There are pros and cons to living in the Texas Panhandle.  The pros are the stunning sunrises and sunsets.  You can see for miles in every direction and the sun lights up the sky in miraculous ways.  The downside is that with all this sky comes a hefty price...WIND!  I hate the wind...HATE IT...

Today I went shopping.  Not because I needed anything in particular, but because my husband was cranky and I felt the need to partake in a little "retail-therapy".  So, I went where every quilting/scrap booking/artsy-crafty fiend goes...Joann's Fabrics. 

I hadn't been there since they remodeled, and about had a heart attack when I walked in the store.  I actually stepped back into the foyer and looked at the name on the door again, just to verify that I was in the right place! I think that the new store will be really awesome, once I get used to it.  Because I felt it was important to familiarize myself with the new layout (yeah right!) I walked up and down every single aisle in the entire store (all in the name of "familiarization".  Along the way I discovered the Easter clearance and picked up 6 great, sturdy little baskets for a terrific price (along with a mountain of other stuff that I loaded in my cart...that'll teach my husband to be cranky on a Saturday afternoon!!!!!)  My intent was to spray paint the baskets bright white, or maybe a rich brown or teal, and put them up on the bookshelves in my office.  The point is...I had PLANS for these 6 baskets.  Every last one of them!

Now we're at the pivotal point of this story.  I paid for my stuff, and walked out of the store.  I had only taken 2 steps out the door when a monstrous gust of wind launched two of the baskets right out of my cart.  They sailed over the cars at the entrance and didn't touch the ground till David's Bridal.  Then they bounced (in unison, it was odd...), and the wind sent them sailing on past Ross Dress for Less and Shoe Carnival.

I swear those 2 baskets traveled over a quarter of a mile in less than a second.  I stood there in shock, trying to grasp the fact that my baskets were just stolen by either superman, or an invisible speeding train! (The saddest part is that all the people at the entrance watched my baskets sail away, then turned and stared at me to see what I would do.  Wow, thanks for the support people!)

After securing my purchases in the truck, I walked down the sidewalk, hoping that my baskets might have snagged on a trashcan or bush, but they were no where in sight.  That row of stores stretches for over a mile.  For all I knew, they could have already blown past Kohl's or made their way to the Home Depot! As I headed back to the parking lot, I saw a woman rushing towards the building with a bright, polka dotted Easter basket clutched in her arms, looking like she's just won the lottery!  I wanted to shout, "WAIT, that's MINE, give it BACK!!!!!"  But I didn't, I just hung my head in shame and came home and quickly as possible.

Have a mentioned that I hate the wind???

Loving: Merging in Traffic

I have successfully gone 1 month without smoking.  My brain still isn't fully functioning and  my husband and I are still fussing like cats and dogs.  But somehow we are keeping our sense of humor and we're getting by.  Tonight we went out to dinner at Olive Garden.  The meal lifted my spirits to the point that I was in pure, simpled out giddiness.   On the way home, the following occurred, and it still makes me laugh just thinking about it.

As my husband was accelerating down the access road he said, 

"Quick, tell me if I'm clear!"  

I spun around in my seat, saw that no one was in the merging lane on the highway  

for at least a mile and said, "YOU'VE GOT THIS!" with entirely too much enthusiasm.  

My husband began to stammer, as he was merging into the lane, "Buh...Wha....Uhhh...WHAT?  You've GOT this????  What does that MEAN?!?!?! SERIOUSLY!  WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???"  

I was laughing so hard I couldn't even speak. We did eventually make it on the highway.

  

A few minutes later we exited and, as we pulled up to a stoplight, my husband looked at me sternly (because I was still giggling) and said, 

"'You've got this'...REALLY???" 

I'd love to say this is was an isolated incident, but alas, I've been like this far too much lately.

 PS.  Shortly after saying "YOU'VE GOT THIS", I may or may not have hollared out "Leee-royyyy Jeehn-kins" before bursting into laughter.

PPS.  Only gamers and their significant others will understand the true awesomeness of that last statement. 

Creating a Home We Love to Live In!!!

This is a teaser post to get you primed and ready for the super amazing post that's to follow.  That is, if I can ever get my camera to cooperate!

Here's the scoop:  last weekend we decided to do a quick renovation on our bedroom.  It took 4 trips to Lowes, 2.5 days, 1 wall repair kit, 2 buckets of paint, 10 outlet covers, 1 duvet cover, 1 set of custom fit wood blinds, a LOT of painters plastic, and about 3 mini-meltdowns...but we finally got it done...sort of. 

This was the first collaboration between my husband and I on home decor.  Typically, I pick out the colors and he tells me where it should go.  We've worked that way for 5 years and it's worked well. 

This time we decided to have equal say in the process from start to finish.  Initially, all we were going to do was paint the room.  Then we opted to get new window treatments and touch up a few other things while we were at it.

So, I'm sure you are wondering, where did this go wrong, what is she leading up to?  How did paint and some curtains turn into a full out remodel?  

Well, I'll tell ya.  We started this little project on Friday night.  On Sunday night, we cleaned up our mess, pulled out all the painters plastic, and shoved the furniture back where we wanted it to go.  That's when the meltdown began.

One half of the room was exquisite.  It was light green and airy, with dark, sultry furniture.  It said, "Elegance and sophistication".  The other half of the room was dark green, with wood trim, wood blinds, white chunky furniture and screamed "MOUNTAIN MAN". 

I'm not kidding, and I'm not exaggerating.  Our bedroom had a split personality!  I started to moderately hyperventilate and freak out.  I was not a happy girl.

It took two days, 4 stores, and a lot of alone time with our colors, but I FINALLY found a happy medium between the two extremes.  The room has a very bright, yet earthy, feel with lots of textures and contrasting colors.  We've got 3 variations of sea foam green (from incredibly pale to super dark), and 4 colors of brown: beige, tan, wood, espresso.  The room finally looks warm and inviting.  We still need a light fixture, and we've decided to paint all of the trim and doors.  I don't have good pictures yet.  The lamps in the room do not work well for capturing the tones of green in the room.  I have a teaser pic of some of the different elements we've thrown together.  Keep in mind, the colors are much brighter than the pics, but at least it's a start.  

I'm off work tomorrow!  Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Living Free

Well, it's 10:38pm!  That means I've officially gone 3 weeks without having a single, solitary puff on a cigarette.  (I did stand downwind from Paul one afternoon and breathe deeply...does that count?)  It hasn't been absolute torture, but it hasn't been easy.  Strangely enough, the worst cravings didn't hit until last night and this afternoon.  And let me tell you, they were ROUGH.  I suffered through it, drank LOTS of water, and managed to ride them out. I have to confess I did partake in a little retail therapy to help ease the pain (more on that in my next post).

So, I've gone 3 weeks.  I smell better, my bank account is happier (well, until I went shopping, again, more on that later), I no longer have the terrible pneumonia cough, I don't get twitchy every 1.5 hours....  That's about it for the perks.  As far as the drawbacks go, being a non-smoker is BORING.  I sit in my little cubicle 9 hours a day and it's really starting to get to me.  One hour runs into the next and at some point I've lost all track of time.  Or, I find myself making up excuses to run down the hall, or stop to talk to so-in-so, or I go to fill up my coffee.  While the excuses help pass the time, they do little for my productivity.  I'm working on that.

As I said, the worst part about not smoking is the boredom.  Not because I'm the type of person that needs to be constantly entertained, but because I'm the type of person who EATS when I get bored.  Not bueno.  Since Thanksgiving I've packed on 7-8 pounds and I'm pretty sure most of it is right on my gut!  That means that my fat jeans all fit again, and I'm miserably bloated. I finally curbed my eating toward the end of last week, but I still feel like it's out of control.  I make a point to step out and walk for 20 minutes every day at work, but I have no energy left to exercise when I get home. I expected to bounce back from this bout of pneumonia with no issues, but it seems I am just EXHAUSTED all the time.  The fact that I'm even awake right now is impressive. I'm about 1 click away from signing up for Weight Watchers again.  It's been too long since I've been to the gym, but my workout buddy moved away and I've lost my motivation.  I'll get this under control soon, but this transition is the pits!

Quick sum up on life so I can go to bed:

• My hubby starts his new job on Monday.  WOOHOO!
• The cats are driving us crazy, as usual
• We did a little interior decorating on our bedroom.  Began as an awesome project, turned into a mild disaster, but I think I may have straightened it all out. (That goes along with the retail therapy blog)
• I finally finsihed my statement of goals and submitted it.  It's poorly written, but at least it's DONE!
• To celebrate my new beginning as a non-smoker, and because I've been growing my hair out for the past 6 months and was sick and tired of feeling 'vanilla'...my hairdresser and I decided to have a little fun.  That's right...RED.  (For the record, I don't like this pic at all...but it's the best I've got! )

So here's to new beginnings!  Have a terrific Thursday everyone!

Creation: Statement of Goals

I just completed my first semester in the MBA program at WT (with a 4.0...go me! ).  These were the first business-related classes I have ever taken, and to be honest it was an experiment to see if I would be interested enough in the content to pursue a business degree.  I was astonished to discover that...I love it!  Last semester I took economics and financial planning, and my next classes are management and marketing. 

But there is a snag.  At the beginning of last semester, the department asked me to get my resume and statement of goals together to complete my admissions packet.  The admissions committee will meet any day now, and my statement of goals is not complete!!!  I've hit a mental block, and try as I might I cannot seem to get around it.  

These are/were my goals, but I can't really submit them to the admissions committee:

1. When I grow up, I want to be tall.  (Well, that obviously didn't happen!)
2. Get a degree.  (check)
3. Find a job.  (check)
4. Keep that job. (Working on it)
5. Get a car that won't break down every 2 months. (check)
6. Get a house. (CHECK!!!)
7. Keep said job so that I can keep the house and the cars!!!!!!!!!  (WORKING ON IT!)
8. Make myself so valuable to the company they will never get rid of me (This is where the MBA comes in handy.  I'm pretty sure this will also require super powers...still working on that!)
9. Provide a safe and stable home to raise a family in. (Working on the first part, no one get excited about the second part!  Not gonna happen for at least 2 more years!)

So, as you can see, these are all PERSONAL goals.  None of them says what my career goals are except #8, and those are mostly narcissistic.  LOL. 

I was finally able to get 2 paragraphs down on paper, but now I'm stuck again.  I feel like a mentally-impaired, illiterate cave man!  I can save a bunch of money by switching to GEICO, but I can't seem to write a simple statement of goals!   Think I'll go watch some SVU and mellow out.  

FYI, the nicotine-craving monster would just push through and get this thing done!  Type a sentence, smoke, type a sentence, smoke, type a sentence,.....   I'm having to learn how to be brilliant w/out cigarettes.  I think they may have been the secret to my success! :)

Y'all have a wonderful night!