Sneezy Face

Did I ever tell you that I hate having allergies?! I especially hate it at night.

I know I have been away for a while, so here is a quick recap of what I've been up to:

Last weekend me and Kristin went to the Double Wide to see Dove Hunter. This was the first time I had seen them and also the first local concert I've been to in a while. It was nice seeing Chad. I don't think I've seen him in like 6 years. We didn't get to talk to him much cause he was busy. Later in the night Kristin and I were talking and she said "OMG! Casey Hess." I turned around to see the oh so beautiful (and buff) Casey. We walked over and gave him a hug and met his wife. It seemed so weird to see the guys and not be at a Doosu concert. I had to make fun of Kristin for saying OMG. What is the world turning into when shorthand becomes actual words in a conversation? We chatted for a while and then the show started. We were pretty tired and hot, so we left early. I guess he aren't as hardcore as we once were. We came back to my place and took so many pics that we killed the batteries on both of our cameras! But it was fun. Kristin passed out on my couch and I went to bed. I think she is the first friend to officially spend the night. Here are some pics from that night:

This weekend I didn't do much. I had to work all day on Friday. It was so dead at The Bronx that I ended up leaving early and coming home to lay around on the couch. Saturday I slept in. Around 6 Kristin came to pick me up. We went to get Stacey and then headed out to Plano. Jessica (Kristin's sister-in-law) was having a Wii party. It was fun. We played Rock Band, Wii (Mario Kart, tennis, bowling, baseball, and carnival), and Taboo. I love Rock Band. If it wasn't so expensive and if I had someone to play with, I would consider getting it. And I'm not too bad at it either. I played the guitar and was in the 90% (except one time). When all the teachers started to talk about school stuff we bailed. They didn't want to go home, so we ended up going to the Industry Bar in Addison. I didn't really feel like being there but I hung out anyways. We ended up leaving at 2:30am. So I didn't get to bed until almost 4am. So needless to say, I was tired today with my 4 hours of sleep. Work was pretty good today. Tanya worked, which is always fun. After work I came home and crashed. On Sundays I usually do laundry and clean, but not today. I did the dishes and cleaned out my refrigerator, and that's it. This week I need to really focus on getting my house together.

BTW - My face is breaking out so bad. I guess it's the face lotion I'm using. Everybody keeps asking me what happened to my face, which is totally embarrassing. I just want to wear a paper bag on my face. Would that be odd?

Sometimes I still feel like this...

Holga

I've been wanting this camera for some time, so I finally did some research on it. The Holga camera is a cheaply made camera that takes very interesting pictures. Light leaks inside the camera causing distortions on the pictures. This sounds bad, but it can look very cool. There are tons of things you can do with this camera. You can get the color filters to put over the lens, you can double expose the film, tape borders on the lens that transfer onto the pics, and other neat things. Here are some pics:

My future camera

I know I've been talking about getting a camera for a while. I really want the Nikon D60. I have $300 saved up towards it, but now I need to save up the rest. I can't wait to have a camera that takes awesome pictures. When I get it, I want to spend an entire day downtown taking pictures. You know, I've lived in the city my entire life and have never walked around downtown. It should be interesting. Below are some picture from the Nikon D60.

Crazy Fun

So, I had a blast this weekend!

Friday was filled with drama. But what is our group without a little drama?! Anyways, Amber came up to see me at work just before close. Keith totally fell in love with her, so he suggested we all go out for drinks. Me, Amber, Keith and William all went to The Roundup. We only stayed for a little while. It's so strange to see two cowboys dancing with each other! Then we went back to The Bronx. While we were standing in the parking lot, Mr. Muscles pulls up. He agreed to go with us, so we headed to JRs. Did I mention that he was wearing a muscle shirt? So anyways, while we were there, Keith and Amber were everywhere, so Mr. Muscles and I sat down in the couch room. A while later, Keith came in without Amber. I asked where she was, and he said she was with Indiana Jones. Shortly after, a guy comes in wearing khaki shorts, an I Love NY t-shirt, and an Indiana Jones hat. When Amber came in the room, we grabbed her and headed to Havanna. I love that place. They were playing Pitbull as soon as we walked in. Man, I danced so much. But it was so much fun! After a while we left, and while we were walking down Cedar Springs, we saw a drag queen playing the guitar and singing The Beatles. Of course we stopped. I don't know how long we stayed there singing songs with her, but it seemed like forever! We finally left and went home. I didn't get to bed until around 4am.

Saturday I had to get up kinda early and get ready. Kristin came and picked me up, and we headed to Farmers Market. We were both starving when we got there, so we ate at the little Mexican restaurant there. Then we walked around and bought lots of produce. I got corn, onions, squash, peanuts, and a watermelon. The day wouldn't be complete without some drama. Jesse was watching Elora while we were out and he was being an ass. Did I mention that I can't stand him? He finally decided to watch her until after we were done with our plans. So after Farmers Market, we went to Borders. I ended up buying 4 books! I won't have to buy a book for the rest of the year! Then we headed over to Central Market. While we were there, I found the Stella Rosa wine I had been looking for. I got so excited, and had to hold myself back from buying more than one bottle. I also bought some strawberries, a pineapple, homemade tortillas, and blueberry granola. I saw some white tulips while I was there that I fell in love with. But I couldn't buy them since it was so hot outside and we weren't going home anytime soon. And I found out the name of the flowers that I want to buy for my apartment, but now I can't remember what they are called.

After all our shopping, we went to The Angelika to see Sex and the City. They have a bar at The Angelika, so of course we had to get something. I got a white zinfandel and Kristin got a cosmo. The movie was 2 1/2 hours long, but it didn't seem like it. I really liked it. Now I'm real excited to read the book. After the movie, we went to Martini Ranch. We were expecting the martinis to be $5, but they were more like $7. The place was pretty empty, so we went to Mattito's instead. We sat at the bar and ordered a margarita. I had the best margarita that I've had in a long time! We made friends with the bartender and he made us a free shot. After 3 margaritas and a shot, I was feeling pretty good. Jesse called and said that Elora could spend the night with him, so we didn't have to go to Lewisville to pick her up. The only bad thing about that was the fact that I was looking forward to surprising Jesse with my appearance :) So since we didn't have to leave, we stayed and I drank more. I never to get to drink like that, so I took advantage of it. Amber came up there and joined us a little later. I fell for the bartender, but it could have been all the tequila too. We stayed till close and then went home. When we got back to my place, Kristin had a beer waiting for me (like I needed one). It was the new Pomegranate Raspberry Mich. Ultra. It was good. After I drank my beer, she left and I passed out!

Sunday I woke up thinking ~ What the hell did I do? I rolled out of bed and headed to work. Shortly after we opened we had this really strange guy come in and sit at the bar. He kept talking about how he liked to drink cheap liquor and that it was hard to be gay in Paris, TX. He started hitting on everybody, including me. After a few drinks, we was obviously drunk. So we cut him off and he tried to leave without paying. Keith told him to come back and pay him later. We all knew he wouldn't come back. We watched him stumble around the block and then later we saw him pass out in the parking lot across the street. He got up after a few minutes and fell again. He got up again and then fell down in the entry way of the parking lot. Someone went across the street to get him out of the street and the firemen came down to look at him. Soon a cop showed up and arrested him. After work I came home and passed out.

I hadn't got much sleep all weekend, so I slept 12 hours last night. But I had so much fun and it was so worth it! Kristin doesn't have Elora this weekend, so I'm hoping to have a repeat weekend!

Brian and Chelsea's Wedding

Saturday was Brian and Chelsea's wedding. I have really been looking forward to this wedding cause they make such an adorable couple. They have been together for 7 years! This was my first outdoor wedding. It wasn't very hot, but the sun was right in our eyes for a while. Everyone looked beautiful (especially the bride). And it was a very emotional wedding. It made me want to get married.

The reception was a lot of fun. There was dancing, drinking and eating. I had a real good time. We stayed until the wedding was over at midnight. They gave out homemade salsa and golf tees and gifts. I think I ended up taking home 6 jars of salsa. I ate some today and that stuff is delicious!

You know, I think weddings are beautiful and fun, but I can't help but get a little sad when I'm at a wedding. Every wedding is a reminder that my Dad will never walk me down the isle. He will never give me away. I will never get to have a father/ daughter dance. And that really upsets me. Also, at Brian's wedding, they had a seating of the grandparents. I probably can't have that either. The only grandparent I have is Grandma, and I really don't see her attending my future wedding.

At Brian's wedding the grooms men wore fish hooks on the boutonnieres to honor Brad. He was also listed as an honorary grooms man in the program. I knew about this before the wedding and was really touched that Brian incorporated him into the wedding. I was worried that we would all be crying at the wedding, but we made it through without any tears. Then later on we were sitting at the table and Ronnie came over to the table with his flower in his hand and leaned over and gave it to Uncle Gary. They hugged and then Uncle Gary started to tear up. Then it was like a chain reaction: Aunt Lana started crying, Mom did too, then me, then Rachel. As soon as I got composed again, Steven came over and gave his flower to Aunt Lana. Then the crying started all over again! It was a very sweet thing to do, and I know it meant a lot to Aunt Lana and Uncle Gary.

But even with all the sadness, it was a great wedding. I'm so happy for them and wish them the best!! Now it's picture time!

Here comes the bride

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Chelsea, Aunt Lana, Brian

Me and Ronnie
The boutonniere
They are always goofing off
Mom and I

Victoria, Ryan, Ronnie The cake

Where is my mind?

So, one year ago this week I was just arriving in London. I was scared, excited, and overly happy. I remember just being in aww looking around at a whole new world. That was such a great time in my life. An experience I will never forget. And now it’s a year later. Can you believe that?!

So what have I done in a year? I have:
*Graduated college
*Moved out into my very own apartment
*Lost my job
*Lost my Meme
*Finally got the job I wanted
*Discovered I don’t want the job I wanted
*Made lovely new friends at The Bronx
*Went through my first break-up
*Discovered a lot about myself
*Started baking

Lately I feel like I can’t get caught up with my life. I’m having a hard time finding the time to do things like cook, clean, run errands, etc. There is so much I want to do, but I feel like I will never get to do it. I need to save up the money for my camera. I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I even had a dream that I had my camera last night. I also want a Polaroid camera. And a fish eye camera. I think those are so cool!

I also want to buy plants and flowers for my apartment and patio. I’ve been talking about doing that for so long. The summer will be over before I know it and I still won’t have any flowers.

So, I’ve discovered internet radio in the form of Pandora. It makes me so happy! Definitely check it out. Just type in an artist and it creates a radio station that plays similar artists. Don’t like the song? Then just skip it. I listen to it all day at work. My favorite station is my Modest Mouse station.

Another thing that I just love is my new HD powder from Sephora. It’s a white powder that has been sandblasted. It covers up shine and makes my face feel so smooth.

Ok, I will leave you with a picture from Joey's last day. I wish him the best of luck!