Life lately

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted anything here! It really doesn't feel like that long. In December Josh got put on a project that had him traveling every week, so things got really strange. He missed my birthday and our anniversary, and I basically lived alone from December thru April. It wasn't fun by any means but I survived and I felt a lot more independent because of it. Then in May he started a different project where he was working overnight. That was worse. It sounds crazy, because hey at least he's home, right? But no. He sleeps all day so I have to find stuff to do that's quiet, and then he's up all night on the phone while I'm trying to sleep. And our house isn't big so...yeah. He got a different schedule for a while and things were better but now he's about to go back to overnights and working weekends and I am not pleased at all. But, what can I do, he's got a good job and he works from home.

When he started working overnights in May we (obviously) had to make a lot of changes and one of the most notable was that we stopped eating out. It was partially just because nothing is open in the middle of the night but the timing also coincided with my getting the DDP yoga system and I ended up losing quite a bit of weight and I'm in the process of amassing an entirely new wardrobe. It's not a bad feeling I gotta say...

I want to start writing more but I really don't know where to do it. Here is an option, but there's also my tumblr which is far more anonymous or I could go real old-school and go back to livejournal! Haha. Maybe I should just do that. I really should pick one project at a time, and I've got three half-finished dolls that I need to make dresses for soon but eh. I've never been good at finishing stuff before starting something new.

Because of that I also have more than a few boxes scattered throughout the house, some with stuff to get rid of, some with stuff to put away for the season, some with stuff that needs to be hemmed or altered in some way...ugh. I really need to organize my life. And also not forget that I'm supposed to throw a party at the end of this month. And then go to the Renaissance Festival next month. And then turn 30 in December. Although if I forget that it'd be fine by me.

I also just got back from visiting a friend in Pennsylvania. My first time flying alone! What an adventure. In order to make the most of it I decided to fly insanely hungover there and then ridiculously tired coming back. (I didn't, really, but those things did happen.) We had a great time and now I'm pining for that gorgeous fall weather because it's still hitting 90° most days. Which wouldn't be so bad if we didn't also have a red tide, currently, making it intolerable to sit on the beach.

This post sounds really complainy but I don't mean it to. Life is pretty awesome, still, and I've got multiple things to look forward to. Hopefully all of that will give me more fun stuff to write about. :)

Kindle Ulimited

Oh hey anyone who still reads this, remember when I said I was going to do a photo log of a typical  day for me? Obviously I was lying! Ok, maybe not, but I haven't had a whole lot of normal days lately. Josh has been working overnights, which means my schedule is pretty screwed up too, so things are weird. Also, last week our tiny island got hit with a cold front and today was the first day the sun has been out since Tuesday! I threw on some shorts and walked to the beach to enjoy it...and within two hours it was gone. Fog started rolling in, the temperature dropped, and the waves got rough. I felt like I was on the coast of Maine or something! (Not really. I realize that Maine is wayyy colder, and rocky. But still. It was cool.)

Anyway the point of me writing this particular post was to rave about how awesome Kindle Unlimited is. I'm not a spokesperson, I just got a subscription last month and can't believe I hadn't done it sooner. I got the subscription on October 28, and since then I've read 14 books! It's basically a library card - you can have 10 books out at a time, and it's $10 a month. My subscription has already paid for itself, and it's renewed my love of books. I've always been an avid reader, but my bookshelves are so full that I really couldn't justify continuing to buy more and more books. And when I quit buying I quit reading...but now I can read to my hearts content without adding any more bulk to my shelves! Don't get me wrong,  I still love the feel of turning real pages, and the smell of a new book, but for now, this is a great way to keep getting my book fix until I get my mansion with a library worthy of Beauty & the Beast.

So if you have a Kindle, check it out! And add me on Goodreads!!

Beach life.

Oh heyy, it's been a while. Life has been absolutely spectacular for the past month. Moving was rough, as moving tends to be, what with packing, and downsizing, and carting multiple animals hundreds of miles in a small car. But we survived and our reward...beach life.

A typical island day for us...Josh wakes up around 8:30, runs to Stripes for breakfast tacos and an energy drink. I wake up around 11, eat my breakfast taco, shower, internet, and then we'll have lunch. Sometimes we walk down the street to the beach bar, which is infinitely more fun than cooking, but either way we get some food, then Josh finishes up his day (which usually just consists of having to be near his computer in case he gets a call.) After that we walk down to the beach for a bit, sometimes we cross the island and go watch the sunset on the bay side (where it is glorious, and I take way too many pictures), then we come home, and watch some TV. It is simple, and perfect, and I have never been happier. Even though my kitchen is tiny, and a lot of my stuff is in storage, I don't mind. Just walking down the road and being able to watch the waves rolling in, nothing else matters.

I'm going to try to do a photo diary one day this week. :)

Sorry that I don't have much else to talk about.

Moving!

Well we're 8 days out from The Big Move so I guess I might as well let ya know where we are going...

South Padre Island!!

Yeahh, island life for us!! We're both super excited. We got a nice little 2 bed/2 bath duplex a block from the beach. I'm so glad that we're moving during the quiet season too, so we'll really get to enjoy it before spring break and summer when it's packed to the gills.

My life right now consists of BOXES. And boxes. With a lot of boxes. I'm a bit overwhelmed because we're downsizing, which I hadn't really taken into account when I first started packing since we weren't too sure about where we'd end up...and now I'm basically going to have to unpack, figure out what I won't need on a regular basis, then repack that stuff and put it in storage. Luckily my mother-in-law will be going down with us to help with the unloading and unpacking.

Pictures will be taken once everything is in order, or just follow me on instagram for daily updates!

Save Tonight

I haven't written in a good while. Life is still pretty average. We are moving, although not to the west coast as we had talked about originally. Just back to Texas. More on that as the time draws near...I feel like if I say anything or get too excited I'll jinx it. (I know, I KNOW, but just deal with it, k?) We're supposed to go in one month to find a place and if all goes well then I'll talk about it. :)

I'm going through this weird period of like...not caring. Gah, that sounds weird. I mean I do care about stuff, I care a lot because that's my nature, but I'm kind of learning, finally, to be at peace with my own decisions and quit thinking of what other people will think when I make them. Ugh that makes it sound like I used to be all...caring and...ok. Let me start over. I've never been too intent on what the general population thought of me or my life, but I've always been more rigid in my decisions that could be judged by people close to me (parents, extended family, family friends, etc.), because my immediate family has always kind of been the black sheep, and I don't like to give the extended family any more reason to talk about us, or give my parents hell if they see stuff I'm doing online that I don't bother telling my mom about. Make sense? So what I'm saying is that now I really just don't care. Fuck them if they wanna talk shit about my life. I'm married, happily, we're doing well, I don't get handouts from anyone, and my life is great. Who cares if I have naked parties with my friends and get tagged in pictures? My friends that choose to keep me in their lives are my real fam, ya dig?

Anyway, sorry, my ghetto started to come out a little there. I get impassioned sometimes. Uhm, in other news my sleep pattern is still completely whack. Mostly stopped caring about that too since it's usually too fucking muggy to go outside anyway. I love humidity but I hate mosquitoes and them bitches are hella everywhere this year.

Also, my body has recently started doing this thing where basically all fast food (and cheese) tastes like shit and I'm craving pretty salads and chicken of all things. So, I mean, cool, like that makes it easier to eat healthy, it's just kind of strange and makes me think I might be dying. I quit drinking caffeine with no issue, and that's never happened before, I always get migraines. Yeah, pretty sure I'm dying.

Man, I really feel like I've just lost all inhibitions and become a completely different person this summer. But honestly this is what I've always been like on the inside, and it feels so good to just set it free and not be worried about 'did I say that out loud' or 'am I gonna get home and be tagged in crazy pictures'. WHO CARES?!!? Not me. My cover photo on facebook is of me and two other friends in our panties. My husband took it. My life is insanely awesome. 

Rediscovering

You know what no one ever tells you about getting older? That you never stop rediscovering yourself. Like that feeling you get when you're 16, and you're just starting to come into your own, and you think you're super unique, and you're just sure that you've got it all figured out...but you don't, and then you get the same feeling when you're 21...and 25...and 28...

Yeah. I just got hit by the 28 one. I'm switching out my entire wardrobe, I've semi-rearranged the bedroom, bought some new shoes, got a tattoo, and am thinking about moving to California. I think it's like an early mid-life crisis. Or, maybe I'm going to die at 60 and this is my mid-life crisis.

Anyway. At least my mental state is great at the moment. And that's without medication!

Other random things going on in my life:

Josh quit DJing last month. It was getting to be such a burden, and neither of us were having fun anymore. The club has been having it's own issues, and the last time he was supposed to play and decided not to there was a huge brawl and the DJ booth got smashed. That kind of sealed the deal on us not really wanting to go back.

I bought and planted two new rose bushes to compliment the other one I already have. Since I had red, I got white and pink. The pink ones are crazy looking...they're like hot pink and white striped. I can't wait til they get bigger!

I think I sat in poison ivy. I have it all over my legs, and it suuuucks. That's what I get for spending hours sitting on the ground in the backyard, taking pictures.

Oh! That reminds me, I set up a shop to start selling prints of my photography. So far I only have a few shots from this year, but I plan to spend the weekend digging through my old computer and another hard drive and get a lot more up. Here's the link if you're interested.

...I guess that's all for now!

Thoughts and such.

Whoaa, look at me posting twice in one month, what what!!!

Ok, sorry. I just decided to write a bit and was pleasantly surprised to find that it hasn't been as long as I thought since I took the time to post.

Life is still chugging along, I'm in the midst of rearranging my craft/guest room yet again, in the never-ending struggle to continue adding stuff without actually giving up any space. It's rough. I'm also thinking really hard about getting the dining room table out of storage and working on it, but once I cleaned out the carport in order to do that I realized how much I'd missed having an empty carport...so I think I may just hold onto that for a couple of more weeks.

Uhm.

Oh, I started subscribing to two different monthly boxes...I get Birchbox and the PopSugar Must Have box. I really like both of them! I tried out the Splendies panty box but was disappointed with the quality (or lack-of) so I canceled that one. I love boxes, so if you have a favorite let me know!

I don't know, man, I like having this blog as a place to write but with all the other social networks out there, sometimes it's just too much. I mean, I only post pictures on Tumblr, and I can't really write write on Facebook, but then again I don't really write write here either. I haven't written in the way I'm thinking about in a long time. Confused yet? Sorry...just thinking and writing.

I should. I miss writing. But when I think about how I was when I was writing, I was so depressed, I was in such a horrible state of mind...that's probably what made me so good at it, but I certainly have no desire to be that mentally unstable again. I wish my creativity wasn't tied to my mental state, but it kind of seems like it is. I can still write but it's a different style. Oh well, I guess I should just do it anyway, as long as I'm doing something it should count.

March Sadness

I find myself lost in a fog, these days, a gentle haze that snuck up without my noticing and that has now penetrated every aspect of my life.

For one thing I've been sick for almost two months, with a constant runny nose and a sore throat that comes and goes. It's gotten worse over the past week, and I've been stuck in bed sleeping about 16 hours a day, and forcing myself to eat at least once when I do manage to wake up. I still went out with Josh on Friday and Saturday, and while I probably shouldn't have, at least I got to socialize a bit, though I probably seemed uninterested and aloof, which was not the case at all.

I feel trapped in my life, as I always do during seasons of transition. (I mean that literally - Fall and Spring always knock my feet out from under me, mentally.) I have a few projects in that works that are helping, but with The Sickness going on, they're not making much progress.

Once again Winter has overstayed it's welcome, and as I sit here typing this, there is an ice storm happening, and a chance that I could lose power at any given moment. I'm so over it. I want sun, I want warmth, even if it's just the subtle kind of warmth that you can only feel by standing in the sunshine.

Well, this is beginning to feel like a pity party so I'm going to stop now. Obviously not everything is bad, but when I'm sick I tend to wallow so I'll try to get on here and talk about something else when I start feeling better...which I hope will be very soon!

October wrap-up

I know I've been lacking a lot as far as updating this, but I did want to talk a bit about what I did for Halloween this year. It's my favorite holiday but for the past few years I haven't really been able to celebrate it as lavishly as I would like. So this year I (tried) to really get into the spirit! I actually have some things I'm still working on, but that just means next year will be even better! So I started outside, I painted some wax paper and taped it to our office window for a nice, murdery effect, and invested in numerous dollar store decor:

I also made great use of a creepy doll I'd found at a thrift store, and some pieces of chain that I had lying around:

For our Halloween party, I went all out on food. I baked  three cakes (two chocolate, one red velvet), and crumbled them all together, then formed them into heart (real heart) shaped cake-balls. I made cherry icing (powdered sugar, milk, cherries that had been cooked down a bit with some butter and sugar, and some red and brown food coloring) which added a nice, bloody touch. I think they came out awesome if I do say so myself.

closer view:

Of course no Halloween party is complete without jello shots in giant syringes:

And very happy birthday dogs who get presents from very awesome friends. :)

I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to build a life-size Michael Myers but I ran out of newspaper to stuff him and I can't find a good mask anywhere! So he's standing in a corner (which is rather creepy because even though he's not stuffed all the way, he's got his jumpsuit on and zipped up, and if you just glance over there's a headless creeper standing there) waiting until I can finish him up...

I'm also working on some more creepy doll stuff, but I doubt that I'll finish before Halloween. Oh well, like I said, there's always next year.

So have you done anything particularly awesome this Halloween?

Random thoughts pt 7

It has been so long. Life continues to happen, but I can't seem to find the motivation to write. I've been sick for the past few days, though, and spending some down time catching up on my blog reading, so I figured I'd at least get a few thoughts down on paper, so to speak.

In August we traveled to Puerto Rico for a few days. Beautiful, warm, all the islandy perfection that I imagined, but it ended quite too soon. It reignited my flame for travel. Another trip is already booked, although we'll be flying red-eye out of DFW so...that's gonna be special. (A four hour drive, as opposed to one to Little Rock.)

Since I've been stuck at home for the past week, and trying to rest since I sound like a tuberculosis patient, I've pulled most of my fall/winter stuff out, and have begun the first wave of putting up spring/summer clothes. I also took a GIANT carload of stuff to Re-store last week before I got sick, and started the search for pieces to use for Halloween. Our costumes this year are going to be awesome!

Josh's birthday is on Saturday, so of course we'll be at the club to party. Hoping to have a decent crowd, but we'll make sure he has fun either way. :)

I've developed a passion for buying fancy panties. I can't explain it.

On the other hand, I've also managed to get my shopping under control. I just had to realize that I don't have to hoard clothes anymore - I'm financially stable enough to buy what I want and need, and to donate or trash stuff that I don't. It was incredibly refreshing to go through my closets and donate stuff that was nice, and then cut up stuff that was torn or stained and use that as rags when I clean. (I'm still thrifty, no reason to buy paper towels and create more trash when I don't have to!)

I seem to be allergic to something I come in contact with on a regular basis, but I have no idea what it would be. I keep getting hives in random patches on my body.

I really wish my hair would hurry up and grow out. I don't think I've mentioned it, but I shaved half my head again back in...May? I wanna say...anyway, I did it because I got tired of the funky, in-between, growing out stage that it was in, but if I had just sucked it up then it would have been done by now. Instead, I'm starting all over again. UGH. Oh well. Not going to do that again. I'm ready for long hair.

In May I inherited another tarantula, and named him Bilbo. Last month, I cleaned out my aquarium, put a piece of plywood in the middle, and made a spider-condo. Yesterday Willow somehow managed to squeeze her fat little butt over the top of the divider, and attacked Bilbo. He lost two legs and is all kind of panicky now, but he's alive. I feel terrible for him though. :( Personality wise, he's curious, goofy, and when I first got him he used to hoard food - I'd put 5 or 6 crickets in and he'd kill them all immediately, and then bury them. I hope he molts soon and regenerates his new legs.