The Longest Post Ever. You're Welcome.

I have been in a poopy mood lately.  I can't say that I am out of my funk yet, but I have, at least, reached a point where I am acknowledging my mood.  This is something, I suppose.  It all started like 2...maybe 3, weeks ago.  I think my life just got to be too much and then everything fell apart.  Remember this post? I talked about when I have too many balls in the air I get tired and for whatever reason I don't just put one ball down and juggle with less balls, but I just quit and drop everything.  Well, that's what happened a few weeks ago.

I don't want to bore you with the depressing details of my life, nor ruin any Christmas cheer you may be feeling this season.  Instead I will tell you about the fun and happy things that I have done or seen in the last few months that I never got around to posting about.

First, the following are paintings I have done since October.  The first is acrylic paint.  The rest are oil, except the last one which is watercolor.  (My first ever watercolor.)

As it turns out, I can paint.  And pretty well, I might add.

I might be bragging.  I don't care.

Second, I am taking a training class in February to become a painting instructor, which is pretty much the most awesome thing ever!!  I am excited, and nervous, and terrified, and pretty sure I will fail miserably at it all in front of lots of people. I've decided I don't really care.  Fail or not, here I come.

Third, I am going to be an aunt any day now.  I can't wait!!! I keep my phone by me every second these days and you can expect me to flood your Facebook with the news when he/she decides to come.

Fourth, this is my team at work in our costumes at Halloween.  lol  We were minions and my manager was pretty much the perfect Gru.

Good stuff!

Fifth, on my painting trip I learned from a professional how to build a legit sandcastle.  His full time job is to teach people how to build sandcastles.  True story.  He was really awesome.

This is the process.

Build a rocky bottom so excess water can soak down in it.

 Next you build the bottoms with really really wet sand, and pat the top to get out all the air bubbles.

 You pull the buckets off and you get this.

 Then you make "pancakes" to build up your tops, including arches

 Continue to make pancakes

 Then you begin sculpting,

 making doors, and windows, and stairs, and cobblestone, and bricks...etc

Pretty legit, right?

Sixth, (are you still counting with me?) I made onesies for my baby niece/nephew.  Check out this cuteness!

Brace yourself.

Shut your face with that duck!! haha

Seventh, my dentist sent me a pie at work.  Yeah.  A pie.  So weird, right? 

Yeah, I thought so too.  But I guess they were doing some customer appreciation thing and delivering a pie a week to people at work.  

As a side note, she might have picked me out on purpose.  I have certainly given her a lot of my money lately.  *sigh*

Eighth, my parents got a DOG!!! If you know my parents you know why this is worth 3 exclamation points!!!  Her name is Lucy and she is a French Pug.  My mom got her for free.  Their cat, Sam, is not pleased...to say the least.  He tried a hunger strike.  That lasted for 4 days.  Then he tried to run away.  That lasted like a day.  Then he tried hissing a clawing at the dog.  That one hasn't gone away completely but he will now sleep in the same room as the dog as long as she doesn't get too far on his side of the room.  It's a work in progress, I suppose.  If Sam could do any real damage I am sure there would have been a mass homicide at my parents house on about day 2.  

With my brother's dog, Juno.  They're already besties.

Ninth, I finished the NaNo this year and also my book.  I will probably write a separate post about that.  But yay for finishing my book!

Tenth, I went to the Community Nativity held at church this past weekend.  It was amazing.  Oh and there was a real baby at the "Live Nativity."  A one week old baby.  I wanted to snatch "baby Jesus" up and take (her) home.  I am told that is frowned upon in most parts of the world.  

Whatever.

The lady at the bottom, taking a picture, has her hand in the way of "baby Jesus", but there was the sweetest little baby laying oh so quietly, looking around and cooing sometimes.  *sigh* Adorable.

I guess 10 is enough things.  

I certainly have enough blessing in my life to be in a much better mood.  I'll work on it, alright?! Geez. You are so pushy. 

My Thought Process

You know how sometimes you start out thinking about something and then 5 seconds later you realize you are thinking about something completely off topic.  Like, you went from A to Z in 5 seconds and you have no idea how you even got to thinking about whatever thing is rolling around in your head now.

Sometimes, when I am bored I like to go back and try to figure out my thought process and how I got from here to there.

Today was one of those times.

To preface the story: Today I decided to do my hair curly (or wavy as it typically ends up).  When I looked in the mirror I was trying to figure out what kind of curls my hair had...and if I liked them.

Here was my process:

1) My hair is curly today
2) They look pretty good (I'm looking in the mirror)
3) What kind of curls are these?
4)They aren't tight curls.
5) I wouldn't even call this curly hair actually.
6) It's kind of like when girls have wavy hair in the summer.
7) What do they call that look?
8) Beach curls?
9) Beach waves?
10) Beach hair?
11) Hmmm...beach hair.  Is that the name?
12)Why does that phrase sound familiar?
13) Maybe just from the type of hair.
14) No.  That's not it.
15) What is that phrase??

And then it hit me!

(Check out these videos)
BEACH HAIR!
And more Beach Hair!

And then I busted out laughing.  All of those thoughts happened in probably 5 seconds and then I laughed at myself in the mirror at work for a good minute or two.

The Dark Knight

Dear Kit,
We have been friends for some time now.  I felt like we had a good relationship.  I had your oil changed regularly and your filters replaced.  I even had your brakes cleaned after you decided to jam a rock in them and not work right.  But never mind that.  Clearly you were listening when I told people that I was going to pay you off this year.  And I still plan to, next month, I hope.  And clearly you are not happy about that for some reason.  But let's try to work this out like adults.  Really, I know we can.

I know I pushed you a lot when we first got together, but you were young and wild and I thought we made amends for that.  And I know I drove you all over the freakin' country last month, but really you missed those long rides together.

I just don't think it is nice the way you are acting right now.  What can I do to make things better?  I would like to not have to pay the mechanic hundreds of dollars to rip apart your face and retrieve the CD you sucked in and won't give back now.  And it's really not funny that I have bought 3 auxiliary cords now because I just thought they kept breaking when really you just refuse to switch over to aux.  What do you have against my iPhone?

Really.  Lets talk about it.

Sincerely,
Your owner

P.S.  I had no plans of trading you in when I paid you off, if that's what this is all about.  But if I have to take you in to the dealer, I might just go home with someone else.  Think it over!

I Live in Texas

Shocking, I know!

(P.S. if this is new information to you...then we clearly haven't talked in a while.  lol)

I have been a resident of the great state of Texas for over four years now.  I like it, but I sort of feel like it's just like any other place.  I am sure there are Texans dying in streets as I type that "Texas is just like any other place."  They would probably argue that there is no better place in the world.  Yes, "the world."    But really Texans aren't that dramatic most of the time, and neither is the Lone Star state itself.

Most of the time I just live in a city much like any other city of 100,000 people.  There are restaurants and movie theaters and a library.  Outside of the smorgasbord of businesses, apartment buildings, and neighborhoods, the landscape is nothing special.  Not particularly hilly, or flat for that matter.  Neither overly green or solely brown.  It just is what it is.  A city.  And only once every few weeks or months do I see a person dressed up in a full getup of cowboy boots, jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy hat.  I think only once since I have lived here did I have a conversation with anyone (who was dead serious I might add) about Texas succeeding from the rest of the country.  I also don't see all that many trucks with gun racks and a gun hanging there as they tool through town.  When I talk to people, they talk much like I do.  I hardly detect an accent, and when I do, I notice that most other people notice it too because it is out of the ordinary.

And maybe that is because I live in a city and not in the country.

And then eeeeeeeeevery now and then I get reminded that I do in fact live in Texas.  The gun-shooting, Jesus-loving, truck-driving, Levi-wearing, Republican-voting state of Texas.

It was announced the other day in church that there would be a "gun shooting" activity in our ward.  We were told "bring your guns 'cause we're goin' shootin'."  It was just for target practice out on someone's property.  It was the first time it occurred to me that I might be in the minority when it comes to gun ownership in my ward.

Then there was the time I went to church with someone (non-LDS) and everyone wore Levi's to church.  Not jeans, but Levi's.  Now that doesn't mean that everyone wore Levi brand jeans, it just means they had on denim.  And denim to these particular people is ALWAYS called "Levi's."

There is also the fact that it is November 11th and I used the air conditioning in my car today.  Yep, sure did.

Or there are the moments when I am stopped at a light behind a truck and it says "Texas Edition" under the model name.  What does that even mean?  I mean, what about Texas means that this truck needs to be different?  I have yet to understand this one.

Also, if there is a flag pole with an American flag anywhere, you can bet your life there will be a Texas flag flying right next to it.  I have yet to see an exception to this.  True story.

Anyways.  I live in Texas and as it turns out, it is just like any other place.  :)
 

October 2013

This October has been non-stop!  It has been my most exciting month of my whole year, but I'm exhausted!

My month started with a long weekend back home to Indiana for my sister-in-law's baby shower.

I flew in on a Friday night.  My mom and I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday. We hung out most of the rest of the day doing nothing special.  I missed Conference, but I have watched most of it since then.  We then headed down to Pendleton, IN on Sunday for the baby shower.  My brother and Erica met us there.  I got to see some more family and friends and we had a cute little baby shower for her and my soon-to-be niece/nephew.

After that my brother took me to the Indy Airport to pick up a rental car and we both (in separate cars) headed back to Cincinnati.  The three of us (plus Juno) hung out that night and the next morning/afternoon and then I headed back to the Indy airport to fly home.

 
Nate and Juno                                                          Erica and Baby Bump

The weekend after that (Columbus weekend) I drove up to Nebraska to visit Amy her family.  We surprised her parents who were coming the next day (with me being there).  I haven't seen Mama and Papa Boling since July 2009.  It was great!  More to come on this trip in a following post. 

The following weekend I babysat for a family that I am supposed to start babying sitting for regularly. I babysat for 3 little boys all day on Saturday.  And I mean ALL day!  From 9am to 12:30am (just after midnight that night).  Blah.  I was pooped!

Side bar:  I don't know if I am somehow being prepared to have all boys someday, but looking back on all of my babysitting over the years, I have almost always watched boys.  I mean like 90% of the time it has been boys.  Weird.  I don't have a preference for boys, they just so happen to be the kids of the parents that ask me.

Other side bar:  Twice, in the matter of a week, I had two different kids ask me if I "have a baby in my belly."  Looks like I need to get back to working out again.  I've been a slacker lately.

The day after babysitting (actually 7 hours after I was done babysitting) I left for my Painting trip.  I drove with another lady down the Port Aransas, Texas.  We had 6 painting classes, had a sand castle building lesson (from a professional!), walked the beach, ate amazing food, went on a fishing trip and had tons of fun!  More to come on this trip in a following post.

I got back in town tonight and I start work again tomorrow.

And the NaNo begins on Friday!!

Oh, and I've been sick for 2 weeks! Blah!!

As for tonight...I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.

Ahhhh...

Dreams

I dream just about every night.  Sometimes I only remember my dreams for a split second in the morning and then they are gone, never to be remembered again.  But sometimes I remember them later in the day and then the dream will usually stick with me, at least a little longer.  The other day was like that.

In my dream I had a super power.  I think I can safely say that most people have at some point or another wished or daydreamed about a super power they would want, and how they would use it.  I've thought about it before, but I don't think I've ever wished for the particular super power that I dreamt about the other night.

Here is all I can remember:

My super power was two-fold.  I could split myself into two, meaning I could basically clone myself and there would be another me standing next to me.  The other thing I could do was run really fast like Flash (once I was split). Only the clone of me could run really fast though.

Also in the dream I was a boy with short brown hair and I was wearing a black jacket.  I mean, I was me, I was just in boy form, or something like that.  You know how dreams can be weird like that.

So I am walking along the shoulder of the highway (who knows why), when for some reason I needed to split.  I don't remember why now I needed to, but I did.  So I split and my other self took off running back the way we came.  I yelled out to him (me) and told him to wait for me and not leave me stranded, but it was too late.

I started slowly walking on the highway again when all of a sudden I hear a screeching behind me.  I turned around to see my friend from Lafayette, Reina.  She had pulled over to the side of the road in her car and swung the passenger side door open.  She told me to get in.  I did.  She asked me what I was doing walking on the side of the highway.  I tried to explain that I had a super power and my other self had to go, but she didn't believe me.  I mean, really, who would?  But it really frustrated me that she wouldn't believe me when I was telling her the truth.

Then I woke up.

I haven't spoken to or seen Reina in years.  I don't know what made me dream about her.  Dreams are funny like that sometimes.  

Hope

I have been hesitant to write this post, but it has been rolling around in my head for some time and so I thought I would write it and then decide later if I would just leave it in my drafts or actually post it. 

I guess I decided to post it.  lol

It is about the word hope.  I decided some time ago that it is my favorite word in the English language.  I think that's because there have been many times in my life where I felt like things were so messed up and I didn't know how to move forward or fix them.  In those times the only thing that could pull me out of the mental funk I was in was simply...hope.  

Hope for the future.

Hope for something better.

Hope that a loving Father in Heaven could fix things that I couldn't.  

Hope that that same Father in Heaven has wisdom and knowledge that I can't see and that He is still in control even though I am not...ever (it seems).  

I also decided at some point that hope is what anchors me to Him.  It is the thing that pulls me back into reality when I feel desperate, and beyond repair, and all of the worthlessness in the world building up on me.  If I can find hope, I can find my footing again.  Maybe I shouldn't rely so much on hope.  Maybe I need to take into account faith, and charity, and all of the others worthwhile things out there. 

Maybe.  

I do find comfort in those things, but hope is my go to.  And I don't think that is so bad.

I have found that if I try (really try sometimes), I can find hope in any situation.  I suppose that is because I am His.  I am a child of the Most High God.  He loves me and I am His.  

Two years ago I got that word tattooed onto my body.

Wait...did you just go back and read that last line to see if you really read it correctly?  I bet you did.  I snuck it in there pretty casually.  Haha. 

But yeah.  A for real, permanent tattoo.  The kind that are made with needles and ink and will be on my body when I am ninety years old.  I fully expect it to look like some nasty black (or faded to green) birth defect on my skin by that time.  

My choice in the getting the tattoo was not all on my own.  I had a friend really push for me to go through with it.  I had initially wanted it and then decided against it.  For many reasons.  But she pushed until I finally gave in.  

-Do I blame her?  No.  Not at all.  Ultimately I make my own decisions.
-Have I regretted the decision since?  Maybe a few times, but mostly I'm okay with it.
-Do I think it is a sin to get tattoos? I am undecided.  Possibly.
-Will I ever get another one?  I have considered it many times.

They say tattoos are addictive.  I can see why, but I don't know that I fall into that category.  Sometimes I draw new ones out, and then I take a picture of it and put it away for a while.  It seems that anytime I stubble across it later, I never have the same feelings towards it.  I suppose that is a good way to decide.  

The tattoo is on my hip.  I decided on that spot because I wanted it to be hidden from the general population, but I didn't want it to be in such a "remote" place as to have to get too personal with the man inking me (if you know what I am saying).  I also wanted to be able to show people if they asked without, again, getting too personal. 

Side note: When letting someone place a permanent mark on your body like that, you tend to get chatty with them as you sit and try not to cry from the pain.  I started to ask him questions about crazy tattoos and crazy placement of tattoos.  He said he had done them everywhere.  I asked if he meant everywhere everywhere?  He said yes.  I didn't ask him to expound upon that.  I got the picture.  

For the last two years I have only told a handful of people about my tattoo.  I sort of like that it is this little secret of mine.  Although, I probably think I am more sly than I actually am.  I have had people ask me about it who I didn't tell.  Like my Mom.  Haha.  That is because sometimes it pops out from under the hem of my shirt when I move.  Oops.  So maybe this not new news to any of you.  Maybe you knew and just didn't say anything.  Which is fine.  But there you have it, friends.  My secret is officially out. 

I have a tattoo!

Just in case you were wondering:

Yes it did hurt.  

And no I did not draw this myself, but I did come up with the phrase.

And yes, you can see it next time we are together (if you ask).