Feeling better and lots of upcoming plans!

I can hear out of my right ear today! And I haven't been coughing like crazy or feeling like I have a bunch of bricks on my head. I think the inhaler and cough syrup from my recent doctor visit have started helping. I can't believe I've been out of work for an entire week. I swear I've been going stir crazy! And I've been so worried that people at work might hate my guts for being gone so long. But I found out that tons of people are sick, so I guess it's just that time of year. And thankfully, my new lead at work has been super understanding and seems to have just been worried about me getting better (and probably not coming in and getting everyone else sick)!

Most of my days looked like this:



And I was super excited to be home when this arrived yesterday!



Since I do feel better today, I figured it was a good idea to actually try to be semi-productive. I hate that I've been here all stinkin' week and haven't done a darn thing. So I started laying out and packing clothes for the trip home! I have to make lists and plan things out, so I started doodling outfits for each day!



Last time, I had no idea what to pack, so I ended up packing way too much stuff. My suitcase probably weighed as much as me! This time around, I'm planning everything out so I don't end up in the same situation. Since the temperature is so unpredictable this time of year in Nashville, I'm trying to cover all of my bases, just to be safe! I'm packing a pair of jeans, a few skirts, a couple of button up tops, leggings, a few cardigans, and boots. Something's gotta work! Mom told me it was 70 one day last week, and then the next day, it was in the 30's! Oh, Tennessee weather, you are so fickle.

I'm really excited about going home. I don't have any big plans this time around (last time I had college graduation), so I'm excited to kind of get a little vacation. Even though now I feel like a big ol' jerk for being out a week with all this sinus crud right before I leave town for a week! But still, being sick doesn't count as a vacation, right?

Doodling those little outfit sketches made me miss being in school and designing and drawing all the time. So I definitely want to get back to doing artsy things again. I have tons of supplies, so I want to buckle down and create at least one thing each weekend. I always have high hopes of doing something productive and creative at the end of the week. But besides going on our weekend dates, I usually just end up being really lazy and eating cereal bars, taking long showers, and playing Fairway Solitaire all weekend. Seriously! I'm an old lady, I swear.

I made a list of all the stuff I've been saying I want to do lately, and I'm going to get started on some of these as soon as I get home:

• create a web comic (I've already made my little character!)
• make some watercolor and gouache paintings to decorate the house
• make terrariums (I already have all the stuff!)
• sew buttons back onto all the one-missing-button coats and shirts I've been ignoring
• list lots and lots of things on eBay
• get my design portfolio and site back up

Another thing I've been thinking about lately is music. I've been listening to Joanna Newsom non-stop. I always bust out her music around this time of year for some reason. And even though I don't really think I have much of a singing voice, I really want to work on some sort of music project. She really inspires me with her "untrainable voice" (as she describes it). I'm so nervous about my young sounding voice, but whenever I listen to her music, I feel less and less insecure. Even though she doesn't like to be referred to as having a child-like singing style, it still makes me feel less self-conscious. I've let a small number of friends hear me sing, and they seemed to like it. And so many of my friends who haven't heard me have told me that if I did some sort of music project, it would be a really unique, fun sound. I'm excited to at least try it out and see if I'm any good at it. I already have a guitar, and I want to start learning simple things. I want to push myself to try this out.

I have so many things to start and do and look forward to! I just have to make the time and stop being so lazy when I have a teensy bit of free time. Time to immerse myself in hobbies and produce lots and lots of wonderful things! :D <3 Oh, and I'll leave you guys with a lazy nighttime picture of me feeling a little better, all cough-syrupped up!

Super sick day :(

Well, boo. I was looking so forward to getting back to work after the long weekend and talking to some sweet old ladies. But I woke up with the sorest throat of all time and a super stuffy head and nose. It started hurting a bit last night, and I just couldn't fall asleep because my throat felt so bad. So I laid on the couch until about 1, eating rice crispie treats and watching tv with Peaches until I finally fell asleep. I was hoping I would feel better after some rest, but no sir. :( I woke up every hour coughing and rubbing my throat. When I got up, I didn't even sound like myself. My poor throat was soooo hurty.

So I emailed my lead and his lead to let them know that I just didn't think I'd be able to make it in, and then I started looking for a primary care physician. I thought that by starting early, I might be able to find someone to take me today. But I had nooo idea that it would be such a hassle to find a new doctor! I started at 7:30 and left 2 voicemails, but never heard back. So I kept calling a few other places. But no one was taking any new patients, and the earliest anyone could take me was in March during the week that I'll be in Nashville! I think I called between 8 and 10 places. But I finally found a clinic that can take me on Thursday at 2, thank goodness.

So in the meantime, I'm just drinking lots of tea and taking a few at home medicines. I sound much, much better, and my throat has eased up lots! And my friend Ashlee called me and we caught up a bit since I was able to talk without any pain finally. So it was nice to not be so lonely and bored for a good hour! Now I'm just sipping tea and watching the Discovery Channel.



I hope everyone else is feeling better than I am today! <3

Valentine's Day and heading home!

I've been trying to make more time to blog lately. But obviously, it has been very, very unsuccessful! But since I get to be off work tomorrow, I'm making it happen now! Thanks, presidents.

I'll start with Valentine's Day; it was awesome! I made healthy, heart-shaped cupcakes for everyone at work, and they were a hit.



After work, Matt and I headed out to my new favorite sushi place, Tengu Sushi, where I had two eel rolls, seaweed salad, and green tea cheesecake. (My favorites/the only things I ever get!) Then we walked across to the theatre and saw Chronicle, which was amazing! Such a great movie.

Oh, and here's my silly pre-Valentine's date picture:



Also, I've officially been moved over to the phone team at work! I get to talk to cute little old folks about their games and such. And I swear, it's exactly what I was hoping for! I knew it would be a little trying at times, but I have tons and tons of patience when it comes to older people and walking them through things. So when something that should take 3 minutes to explain turns into a 45 minute phone call, it doesn't bother me a bit. And I think I'm doing okay so far! I'm looking forward to my first phone QA so I can see what they think. But either way, I'm having so much fun on phones! I really, really enjoy it. <3


Oh, and since I moved desks, all of these things have happened. (I've already pinpointed the culprits.)




Oh, and I'm making a week-long trip back home to Nashville! The tickets have been bought, and Mom has already planned to take the whole week off from work. The only thing left to figure out is what to do with baby Peaches. We had originally intended on boarding her, but that doesn't seem to be an option. I've checked out about 5 or 6 places, and they all refuse to accept "bully breeds", which includes her Staffordshire terrier mix. It's heartbreaking because she's such a big, sweet baby. So I think we might just have to leave her here and ask Matt's friend to take care of her when he comes to check on the kitties. I was hoping to maybe bring her with me instead, and my mom was totally okay with it. But apparently, the airline is just as crappy about her breed. :( I just don't get it.

But I'm trying not to think about that sad stuff or having to leave her here. I just can't dwell on it. I'm going to try to have lots of fun and spend time with my mom and see a few friends I've been missing. It's been almost a year since I've seen everyone!

I also bought my first set of luggage, just for the trip. I can't wait to get it!


My mom and I were talking about what we wanted to do when I get home. And all we could talk about was Cracker Barrel and the mall in Murfreesboro. Yep. All we did before was eat and shop. Same ol', same ol', and that's fine by me! So excited! Come on March 3rd. Eeeee!

Cupcakes, Christmas, and puppies!

It's been forever since I last posted! I've been sooo busy with my new job that I just plain haven't had time. But I've really missed it, so you better believe I'm taking a good little break from all the craziness to sit down and get my blog on.

Let's see. Quite a bit has happened since the last time I've posted (which was over a month ago)! I got my car all nice and fixed, thanks to my wonderful mom. So I've gotten back to driving, and I hope to start paying her back super soon. I love having my car and being able to go wherever I need to go whenever I'd like. I had completely forgotten how crappy it is to feel stuck and not be able to come and go as I please. It was awful! Oh, and trying to take groceries on a bus is ridiculous. So I'm so glad to be mobile again!

In work news, I'm absolutely loving my new job! I'm talking to little old ladies about games all day, and it's so cute. Oh, and I have tons of cute stuff on my desk, too! Here's everything I packed up to put on my desk the night before I decorated:


I had an awesome Christmas, even though I was away from family for the very first time. Matt and I went Goodwillin' on Christmas Eve and saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And then on Christmas Day we went to my favorite sushi place and saw Sherlock Holmes. And I had my very first real Christmas tree! My mom and I have always had fake ones, so I was really excited. And it made the house smell soooo good! I had so much fun decorating the tree, and I wanted it to be super colorful.



Oh, and by the way, I got a puppy! She's a 1.5 year old Staffordshire Terrier and Lab mix named Peaches, and she is the sweetest darn thing ever. And I'm so glad I rescued her! I drove an hour and a half to pick her up after finding her on Craigslist. Once I got her home, I realized that she was covered in fleas and had never even been to the vet; she hadn't even had her rabies shot. And after spending a little time with her, it was obvious that she had been mistreated and ignored for a really long time. She didn't use the potty for the first 2 days she was at the house. And anytime we went outside, she would climb up my leg, grab me around my waist, and bury her head in my belly as if she were begging me not to leave her out there. D: How sad is that? I don't know how anyone could not fall in love with her. She's such a big baby! She needs so much attention and love, and I just can't imaging being able to resist this:



And now with a puppy in the house, I've been trying to keep things picked up. So I've been trying to get the house nice and organized. I try to do a bunch on the weekends since I have to be up so early and need to have everything ready to go each morning. I need to do get more stuff put away, but here's the awesome progress I've made getting all of my clothes, jewelry, knick-knacks, and other bedroom related stuff under control.




Today, I went to Goodwill to grab a few things before the monthly potluck that our neighbors have every 2nd Saturday, and look at this cute stuff I found!


And here's what I made to take! Yellow applesauce cupcakes with dark chocolate icing. Everyone really liked 'em!

Super sad wreck post. :(

Sooo much stuff has been going on since my last post. There's been some good stuff, but for now, I need to get the yucky stuff out in the open and out of my brain. So let's start with that and get the negativity out of the way first.

I stayed home from work last Wednesday since I wasn't feeling too well. I was leaving my house to run an errand and was sitting at the intersection to leave my subdivision. It was dark and raining, which already makes me uncomfy to drive in, and traffic was kind of bad. A line of cars had stopped, and the lady in the furthest lane from me left a gap and waved me out. So I checked to make sure no one was coming in the other lanes, and as I pulled out, someone ran right into my side. :( I guess the other lane driver came up around the curve and didn't know that traffic was stopped and someone had let me out, and the girl got me right in the driver's side, crushing my car door closed. I immediately freaked out, pulled off the road, and tried not to cry. She got out, and we made sure neither one of us was hurt and exchanged info. And thankfully, she had no damage on her car at all. But mine was pretty rough looking. So I got home and called my mom, bawling my eyes out. I love my little car. My granny bought me my car right before she passed away because she was proud of me for moving back home and starting college. It's a reminder of how lucky and blessed I am/was for having such an amazing granny, and seeing it all crushed on the side honestly made my tummy hurt.

Here's my silly drawing to show what happened:


I've never been in a wreck in my own car before or alone, for that matter, so I was terrified. The only wreck I've ever been in was one that totaled my ex-best friend's car a few years ago. I was taken to the e.r. to make sure stuff was okay because my neck was really sore after impact, and my back's been all crazy ever since that one. But thankfully this one was super minor, and I wasn't hurt or anything, just scared to death and worried about my insurance situation. I just recently had my car switched over to my name, and my mom and I both were under the impression that my car/I would continue to be covered under the insurance that we've been using. But my mom's insurance person doesn't think I'll be covered. So I immediately went and signed up for my own with Geico as soon as the wreck happened, just to be safe. From what her insurance person told her, Mom's pretty positive I won't be covered, but we seriously both thought I'd continue to be covered under her insurance since it was on the same car. :/

So yesterday I went to get a few estimates, and it was waaay more than I expected. The first place quoted me almost $5,000, and then two more were right around $4,000. I was devastated, because my mom and I both didn't expect it to be near that much. Apparently they have to not only replace a door, but the entire side panel as well, which has to be welded and all kinds of stuff involving lots of labor hours. So I called her to tell her how outrageous it was going to be, and had honestly just planned on not getting it fixed. I can't open my driver's side door since it's crushed shut, so I have to climb over the seats and crawl out of the other side. But I didn't think it was a huge deal. But my mom ended up telling me to stay at Maaco, leave my car there, and that she was going to cover the entire thing for me. I never, ever expected that at all. I know she really can't afford to do that since she's paying for bills and a house note at both her house and my granny's house that we were living in after the flood.

I know she's really not in any position to be doing anything so expensive. She's already helped me so much. So as soon as I start getting checks from my new job, I plan on sending her a big chunk every two weeks until I pay her back. I feel like the worst kid ever for having such awful luck, because I know she feels obligated to help me out. I mean, usually, things go decently well for me, but it never lasts too long! I just have some crappy luck at times, and inevitable things happen over which I have no control. I keep my chin up and try my best not to let things affect me very much. But every once in awhile, something stressful happens that I just don't quite know how to handle. (Especially those that involve super large sums of money!) So I am super, suuuper fortunate that my mom continues to help me out, even as an adult. <3