Homework Coming Out of My Ears

Dang, this homework stuff never lets up!! I was up until 3am last night doing many more problems than required just to get the darn formulas down. Today I met with one of my study partners to go over homework. I realized I still have another section to do AND a quiz before Monday's class. We're going to meet again tomorrow with the girl who couldn't meet today to go over the extra section and quiz. Oh and I can't forget another test due July 9. I did one test the week before last and got 100% on it. Whoohoo! Go me! I can't believe another is due already!

Marble Falls on the National News

It's strange to see our hometown - the place where we raised our family the first four years of our marriage - on the national news. Fortunately our home we still own there is one street over from one of the majorly flooded creeks and our tenant is fine. We don't have channels on our TV so I just caught up with the video and news over the internet. Wow! I am so glad we are not there right now! And hoping our tenant is handling it better than I would!

Here in Austin it hasn't been that bad - not more than a steady drizzle for a few days. Not our usual torrential downpours we get. But us and everybody I know have been getting calls from relatives all over the country making sure we're okay. Our tenant's voicemail actually says: "The house is fine. I'm fine. J (his son) is fine. Leave a message." Maybe I should leave that on mine... and add we live on the side of a canyon so any water would be headed down there.

Mojitos

Well I guess it wasn't two months before I drank again. It was only one drink tonight though. My neighbor's cousin died this day last year and tonight we went to Cheesecake Factory and drank her favorite drink in her honor. Actually Li and I were supposed to hang out because she is taking off for Cabo on Friday and it turns out this happened to be that day so we turned it into the drinks in her honor instead. It was neat to share that with her and her sis. K (my neighbor's baby girl) is growing up so much! She is walking all over the place now! I LOVE how excited she gets when she sees me!

So fun!

My hubby uses and creates a lot of mathematical formulas in what he does to figure out who gets paid what. Tonight he'd been stuck on creating a formula to come up with the exact calculation he needed for four hours. Finally I sat down with him, asked him what he was doing, understood what he did so far, then I questioned him as to why certain things were or weren't there. With my questions prodding him he tried a few different formulas and as he was flying by to enter another formula I saw the answer he wanted that I totally helped him get within fifteen minutes!! Whoohoo!!! Go me!

Saturday Night

Saturday night the math geek group and I went out. Brando asked why we're math geeks and I told him it's because when we were talking about how each one of us gets when we are 'past the point of tipsy' we made jokes about passing out and waking up with math formulas written all over us with PEMDAS written on one arm. Pretty sure that makes us math geeks. Any way, what we REALLY are is three of us girls get together to study on Saturday nights. We look over our homework to make sure each one of us brilliant girlies actually understands what we're doing (or not doing).

Last Saturday one of us had the fun idea to go downtown to Esther's Follies. So we did. This Saturday. Freaking hilarious! Being the fun loving girls we are and having one of us be four months new to Austin we also decided to go to as many bars as we could afterwards. And take pictures at each one of them. Including one on the bar at Coyote Ugly. Because it was fun.

That didn't really mean as many drinks as we could but I guess it ended up being 'cause we hit seven bars and I only remember five. Didn't stick to the Grey Goose vodka and soda water this time which was a REALLY bad idea. I'm pretty sure I threw up in my car on my friend on the way home, told them to use my garage door opener to get into my car, told them to use my pool code to get into my gate, cried on a stranger's shoulder, complained about Brando (apparently one girl was taking me to heart and didn't want to take me home - fortunately the other doesn't drink and knew I was drunk blabbering), drank more than I remember drinking, lost an earring more than once, told them I hated my dog (I DO! She's freakin' huge. I actually love her, she's the best dog ever, but I hate the fact that she's huge), and who knows what else. At least that's what I've been told.

I woke up Sunday morning SOOOOOOOOO sick. I woke up at 7:45am, took some Advil which only made my headache worse, couldn't keep water down, and slept in four inches of water in the bathtub for two and a half hours because I couldn't get back to sleep in bed. My friend still has my camera and my drivers license and so now you know why we forgot the cameras for the lake day yesterday : ) (me being out of it + one camera missing = forgotten cameras).

What have I learned from this? Grey goose vodka, soda water, and lime only when I go out, which makes me toasty but not sick, and no alcohol for at least two months. The sight of it makes me sick. That open bottle of wine next to my fridge is going to be poured down the drain here pretty soon.

Lake Day

The guy Brando works with has some lake front property out in Kingsland that they will be building a house on. In the meantime it has just the dock, a deck, a beautiful tree and neighboring trees that shade almost the entire propery, the foundation, and it is RIGHT on the lake. We went out there and spent the day there today with a bunch of people Brando works with and their families. They have a beautiful go fast boat, a wake board, water skis, and a tube. The deck is splinter free and the grass behind it is super soft. Perfect for a lazy afternoon nap after tubing and wake boarding behind the boat which is exactly what we did.

Reminiscing

We had dinner with the couple we met where we found out Brando graduated with the hubby tonight. So fun talking with them! Turns out I was born in the town the girl grew up in. Small world. So fun!

Politically (not) Correct

Found this quiz from over at Cali Girls.

Your Political Profile:

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You? Your Political Profile: Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

I've been thinking I was turning liberal! Hehe. Actually not to start a political conversation but I think both parties are bogus, if I had to go with a party I'd go with the independent party.

Almost not a SAHM

So I got a job offer of sorts on Friday. As it is I've been thinking about going to work very part time for awhile. When we showed up on Friday to see Justinbustin's nice lady for a check in her guy who had worked for her in the office part of her business for five years had just quit. In between that and us not having what it takes to pay for a few appointments to work with J's sentence structure we talked back and forth about me doing some office work for her. At a really good pay!! We talked about talking this weekend, and then I couldn't find her email and didn't want to call her cell phone. When I called her this morning she'd already found someone!!! Another guy to boot!!! Sigh. Guess it wasn't meant to be.

At least it got Brando and I talking about me working outside of the home. He figures if it's that great of pay I could do full time and he'd make his schedule flexible enough to stay home and watch the kids. Looking back over this weekend I guess thinking about going to work full time was my hesitation. I was NOT thinking full time right away until he mentioned it, then I thought well maybe I could do it and decided I would talk to her about doing full time. Originally I was thinking a few hours here and there to start out. To go from not working in 7 years to working full time would throw my body into shock. So maybe it's meant to be that I didn't end up talking to her this weekend. I'm still going to see if this guy is permanent and if maybe there's a chance there's still an opportunity but if not, I'm still looking. Just part time though!

On that note any good job perspective tips, besides actually CALLING the person. Learned that one real quick. hehe I have this strange view of whoever is hiring has the power and if I do ONE thing wrong I'm not the person for the job and they won't and shouldn't hire me. Instead of having the perspective "I can do this and not only that, I will rock this". Any other "I rock" and "rock this" perspectives that are good to have?

Update to add, 45 minutes later: Eeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got offered ANOTHER job. Totally part time AND same pay. I hate to say the stars are aligning but I think God has his hand in something here! As if he doesn't always :) !

Another update to add: The person she found is temporary, he's using this an an interim until he finds a full time job, which means in the fall when the kids will go back to school the position will be open. That's exactly when I had thought about starting something more regular anyway (the second job I was offered will be more sporadic) and it turns out that this job is very part time as well, not full time like I thought, so that works out perfect. On top of it, this guy has the skills to get her work set up on a new computer so when I come in it's smooth sailing. Yippee!! In the meantime I'll work on the second job I got offered to slowly introduce myself to the concept of working again. I work best slowly introducing myself to new things any way!

Literally Depending on Modern Technology

Thanks for the sweet words to my post below! I realized yesterday I haven't had my cell phone for two weeks which is probably a large part of the feeling of not talking enough rising up. Normally, like last night, if I'm in the car by myself on the way to or from dinner with a friend I'll be catching up with my sister, my girlie Kels or Li, or any other random person who's available. At the very least, texting back and forth. That's been obselete this past two weeks as I dropped my cell phone the first morning of dropping off Justinbustin at cub scout camp and didn't bother to go back right away and look for it because I wanted a new phone. By the time I did go back and look for it it was nowhere to be found. Now we're considering lowering our cell phone plan and switching to Sprint but have to figure how to do it without signing a new contract or paying a termination fee with our current provider so I'm waiting until we figure it out before I get a new phone. In the interim I'm cell phone less. And not filling my talking quota and feeling it!

I have this fear

That I don't talk to my kids enough. That I don't talk enough period. I've read over and over how women always need their 30,000 words a day. If I counted the words I spoke a day I'm pretty sure the outcome would be a LOT less than 30,000. When I'm in the car with the kids I'm silent. Unless I'm singing to a song, otherwise I'm completely silent. 30 minutes, an hour, it doesn't matter how long. When I pick up the boys from school I do make a conscious effort to talk to them for at least ten minutes about how their day went and what happened from start to finish and continue the conversation even if they're being boys and giving me one word answers. I'll figure out a way to ask them a question where it brings to mind different parts of the day and they get excited about it and talk to me about it. Of course I talk more when I'm by "myself" with kids than people without kids (unless they have a cell phone glued to their ear) but these are little people in my life here and I don't talk to them THAT much. Heck in general I don't talk THAT much. And when I'm home it's the same thing. I give myself the excuse that I'm "regrouping" but if I'm regrouping ALL the time it's kind of pointless.

Did you have a mom that talked a lot to you or a little or not at all? What do you remember about that? I don't remember my mom talking to me much at all. She was there when I needed an ear, but as far as deep conversations or even day to day general conversations, not so much. Only really when something needed to get done. Now it's different and every once in awhile we'll have great conversations, but not when I was a kid.

Kinder Camp

Shawners just finished up a four day kindergarten prep camp at the school he'll be attending this fall - the same school Justinbustin goes to. Tuesday I asked him how his day was and he said "very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very good." He's a little shy when it comes to playing with kids and I hear that he sits by himself when they go play on the playground, but I'm pretty sure it's just because he never went to any mother's day outs or preschools or the like. He'll get used to it. His teacher says he is the "model student" and is very "kind and thoughtful". So cute, he says he has four friends there now. One of them being the teacher, and the rest the classmates. I can't wait for him to have little friends that he hangs out with!

Another Round, Another Round

Another round of classes and another round of chocolate and wine completed. I've only got eight weeks to go on this class. So that's two bottles of wine and four chocolate bars per three weeks, so I've only got five more bottles of wine and ten chocolate bars.

Oh and Betsy, no vacations planned this summer. *pout* I was just mentioning to Cali Girl that we haven't done ANY vacas without kids or family around. Although Brando did mention that the surprise he has for my birthday will make me cry. The only thing I can think of that would make me cry at this point is a vacation... so who knows?

We do have taking the kids to Sea World, Six Flags, and numerous other summery fun stuff scheduled though!

Bittersweet

We had a goodbye party for one of our good friends tonight. They are moving back to their hometown to be near family. So sad to see them go! On a fun note J's art teacher was there, who is also good friends with this couple, and we met her husband for the first time. I had known he grew up in Santa Cruz, but then we found out he and Brando went to the same high school and they both graduated in 1*99! Turns out they were in a s*ciology class together. SO MUCH FREAKIN' FUN to run into someone that he went to highschool with 2500 miles away from where he went to school!! J's art teacher and I had already talked about getting together for dinner to reminisce about Santa Cruz, now we have even more reason to get together! I was just thinking the other day how sad it is that we won't ever run into people we "used to know" because we live so far away. So much for that line of thinking!

Study & Social Night

My math class is in it's second week and I have been COMPLETELY lost. Monday I came home in tears with a splitting headache. I went to the college and started doing homework with a tutor on Tuesday and felt MUCH better. Wednesday was another class and a few other classmates and I talked and agreed to meet to study on Saturday (tonight). Thursday I did my homework with a tutor again and felt even better. Tonight I met with the girls and we went over each other's homework answers to make sure we all got the same one. The three of us bounced off each other so well. Whatever it was that one of us did get, we would explain to the other two who didn't get it. It worked out beautifully as we all got or didn't get different things. Turns out even with two wonderful tutors, who are professors themselves, I hadn't understood everything. Now with bouncing problems and answers off these other girls I am blown away by how much I am comprehending this stuff! On top of that, it's GIRL TIME with two other girls so I'm getting my social time in too! My last class I felt so socially deprived and this one is looking to be much better in that area. So very happy!

Identities

I chatted with an old friend on email today. I asked him about if he knew the myspace of a friend of his that I ran into a bunch when I was out in Cali last and meant to stay in touch with.

He says: "Do you mean j---- d----- (works' at l---'s... big boobies?). If you mean her she's on my friends list (i think it's a picture of a dog?)."

My reply: "Yes I mean big boobie J------. Guys. sheesh. Oh and S-----[another mutual friend of ours way back when that we'd talked about earlier in the email conversation] is HOT and also has big boobies. Because apparently that's how you identify girls. Haha. The question is how do you identify ME? Just be nice or I'll call names."

His reply: "We would identify you as a hot mom. I'm sure there are other ways of saying that... but I'm a gentleman."

Thanks babe. Love ya too.

Edited to add: PS I told Brando this story and he laughed his ass off and then says I'm his M.I.G.F - I'll let you figure that one out on your own.

I'm Eating an Artichoke for Lunch

Because I can. And because California artichokes rock. If you've ever eaten an artichoke and it wasn't from Cali, you haven't had a real artichoke. Thank God we have Whole Foods that only carries Cali 'chokes.

Barbequein' in the Rain

Our small group is breaking up - one of our couples is moving back to her hometown, another is going to Africa on a mission trip, two of our couples have moved down south, one of the hubby's is going back for his master's, and the timing hasn't worked great for our schedule the last few months so we haven't been. So that leaves one couple. We're joining another small group right across the street until we move south and three of the other couples are still going to meet and rotate leadership as the couple who were leading are the ones where the hubby is going back for his master's until the couple who is going to Africa in a few months goes, then they'll join other small groups.

Tonight we had a FUN last bash at one of the couples pool. Her husband grilled fajita meat and we all brought chips, guac, tortillas, salsa, rice, and beans. We got there and the boys jumped in the pool right away while the hostess is freaking out that it's going to rain. Her and one of the other hubbys had a wager of five bucks going on if it would start pouring or not. The lightning and thunder started, the rain followed soon after, and she won.

We all huddled underneath the overhang outside of the gym and Shawners and I dashed inside at one point when the lightning got a little too close and the hostess and I started freaking out which of course got Shawners to freaking out. We stayed inside until I convinced him the lightning had moved on. It was hilarious, us all sitting on the ground with our beach towels laid out so our booties didn't get dirty in front of the gym. We sat there for about half an hour and had a blast talking and chatting.

When the rain let up a little all fourteen of us moved up to their tiny one bedroom apartment and laughed and talked. We put the boys in a room with Over The Hedge and somehow we ended up in three groups of four and were all talking and laughing, trying homemade beer, eating goodbye cake, laughing at wedding pictures.

By the way the girl that I had mentioned irked me was there and we had SUCH a good night. I finally let my guard down and realized she may not be the kind of girl I'd get together with every week but she's still a blast to have fun with and she's still real.

Real Time

Sitting here after a full day of a leadership meeting this morning, a baby shower later in the morning until the early afternoon, taking flowers to a friend who's Dad died last week (I bawled when I found out, I can't imagine her pain right now) in the afternoon, a full three hours at the pool later in the afternoon, studying for an hour and a half in the evening and finally crashing at home with a twelve pack of beer and a bottle of wine - neither of which we've cracked open yet.

Can you see why I haven't been blogging lately?

This week I started my math class that I have to take in order to take other courses. I dropped the morning class I originally signed up for in favor of a two day a week evening class with a better professor and get this - twenty of us girls with NOT. A. SINGLE. GUY. in the class. For an attached girl that's the jackpot. teehee. SO much fun as the professor is an interactive one and had everybody introduce themselves, so everybody knows SOMEbody's name at this point - or ten. Too bad I had to drop the dance class (seriously I was SO sad about that) but priorities are priorities. Got to get this baby done.

Friday I hung out with my girl Kels. Li was supposed to go to her hometown that day but ended up coming over here with family drama and making the decision not to go to her hometown right before Kels and I headed to the pool so she joined us at the pool a little later. We make a good threesies. Between the two of them, the boys and I ended up at the pool for FOUR HOURS. Afterwards Li and the boys and I headed to Chilis for margies and met up with Brando for fajitas. Yum.

Li took off to meet her boy and Brando and I went to the mall and scored five GREAT shirts for the boys - Quiksilver, Hurley, Ecko - for the price of one normal shirt of those brands. Fun! I was actually looking for a sundress for the baby shower but couldn't find one and ended up talking Brando into sticking around while I shopped the sales. Found my new FAVORITE store - Anchor Blue. They used to have it in the mall in Capitola, Cali, and I loved it and I'm suprised I still do. So casual cute, so FUN, and SO me. Brando loves the guy stuff as well - very him. Love new store discoveries!

Oh, I'm glad I didn't find the sundress for the baby shower as everybody except the host was casual cute tank top and capris which was exactly what I wore. I so would not have minded being in a cute dress with one of the hostesses - when I move down south she BETTER become one of my girlies. The only reason she isn't now is because we kept trying to get together with the 'friend' who is a bit of a flake. Hopefully she'll be hitting the pool with me these coming weeks. Trying to get all our pool time in before we move down south. Not that we won't be up here after then. We will.