It's Been a While

9/19/2016 (idk why the date is wrong) I hesitate to blog because every time I blog about something good it ends. Seriously. I even thought I should start a new blog because this one was jinxed, but then just decided not to blog at all.  Plus, I don't want to lose old posts and pictures of my life's journey- good, bad, wrong, right- it is my journey.  And I don't want to have posts only about the good times/things... I want to be honest with myself.  Do you ever find yourself struggling with being honest about your feelings and just having a positive outlook?  I do.  I have no clue where the line is.

I realize no one really cares to read my blog.  That said, I'm pretty content with my little life these days.  It is wholly because of God.  Over the past few years I've made some dumb decisions- not that I ever renounced God, but my life did not honor him.  But I'm thankful for his grace and forgiveness. Lets just say being a single, mid-30s Christian is really hard.  I don't fit in with the every.single.event at church focused on kids and families or events scheduled at times when I have to work since so many moms stay at home, even every example of everything in class or sermons is about raising kids or being a parent.  I don't fit in the world where the single life is partying and having sex and going out all the time (what do those people do, because I have no time for that anyway).  So, that leaves one feeling completely left out and alone.  But, I've been trying to volunteer and teach class and visit and focus outwardly so I have made some 5 year old friends (Bible class) and some 95 year old friends (nursing home).  All this while working 12-15 hour days, trying to maintain a relationship, taking care of my old house that I love, a dog, and everyday life (we're all busy, I don't believe in excuses, but you make time for what you want to make time for).

I have been humbled by my job situation over the last couple years and the oil bust.  I'm thankful to have clients with work for me every day though- I'm thankful to be able to more than make ends meet even though my pay has been cut in half over that time.

Dustin moved out- I had another person move in for a short time until he bought a house, and now I have a new room renter who seems like lots of fun, and her dog seems to be the perfect house-mate for my crazy puppy.

I love my dog in case it wasn't clear.  I've never had more than a family dog or a roommate with a dog, but i seriously love that dog so much.  I've become one of those people I used to make fun of- I take her everywhere, to the dog park, and even threw her an actual dog birthday when she turned a year old a few months ago.  That is absurd, I know.  But I'll do it again next year and don't even care how much judgment you shall have on me for it.  I love my cat, Paisley, too, but she pretty much just hides in the closet now to get a break from Wilhelmina.  Sorry, Paisley.

Since my last post (some phone pics):

Aug. 2015- Cabo.  Mema is 93 in this pic... rode the moped... hated every second of it.

 Halloween 2015- I love having budget-friendly dinner parties

 Sometime between Thanksgiving and Xmas 2015- Ally and kids came down

Winter Dinner 2015

Christmas 2015- New Braunfels, TX

Feb 2016- Weekend trip to Ruidoso

May 2016- Weekend Trip in Dallas

We got a few lake adventures in (not enough though).

Any given Friday or Saturday night we play games.

My love.  

My other loves, my nieces.  July 2016 we went to Seattle and helped them move to Oregon.

July 2016- Crater Lake National Park

July 2016- There was a point we thought my Gram wasn't going to make it, but she's now in a rehab facility (so better, but still weak).  However much time she has left, I don't know, but we are cherishing all the time we can with her.  

We took a few weekend trips: Carlsbad Caverns; McDonald Observatory,...

 Sept. 2016- I bought this beauty for work.

The Year in Pictures

I just scrolled through my phone and found a few pictures.  They aren't exceptional, and I know I missed so much, but it reminded me of just a few of the great people I've gotten to spend time with and good times I've had.

5X World Champions!  I went to a couple games and watched or listened to every single game this season.  LOVE IT!

One step closer to having heat this winter. I needed a new gas line.  Quotes to fix: $1800-$3000.
After some research,  and with help, we decided to do the dirty work ourselves.

Fortune did most of it, Terrell helped with a ton, including the roof part, above,
and I pretty much just offered water, moral support and tool-fetching services.  Total cost: $375.

10-14 Ruidoso.  Thanks to Bryce, we got a couple Ruidoso trips in again this year.  

Oktoberfest in Ruidoso

Corn Field Maze

Free Concerts in the Park on Summer Sundays just a couple blocks from our house...
always a fun time to meet up with friends.

Car Races in New Mexico

6/2014 Somewhere along the way I fell in love with this crazy-haired guy
(who loved his dreads so very much)...
but who on his 39th birthday announced that we needed to cut the dreads off...

... and a new person appeared! 

8/2014 Ally and Ross came... bringing my nieces with them.  :)

Eden and Me

8/2014 Uncle Ron and Aunt Rena from Alaska got to come visit.  Aunt Karen came too, and we enjoyed
singing together.  Mema had back surgery and a few complications, so everyone came down to help her, but I'm
glad we got time together.  We got lots of game time in while they were here.

8/2014 Dominoes with Aunt Karen

9/2014 Found my first gray hair .

9/2014 Sawyer Brown.  Apparently my first concert was Sawyer Brown at Water Wonderland.
They performed on the stage overlooking the wave pool.  Also, apparently I went up on stage and
danced and sang along for all to see.  I was such the opposite of what I am today.
Anyway, I got to meet all the Sawyer Brown guys, 25 years after my debut with them.  

Went to a Car Auction...

... and I found my dream car.  

We were the old people crashing the quinceanera- good times.

Our Pool got used 1 time when it was hot outside, and 3 of us shoved our floats in there and
soaked up the sun.  Then this night occurred, which was more of a hot mess than a great use of the pool...

... and soon thereafter this happened.  So yeah, the pool was a great purchase.
There was no hope for me ever going in after the storm that landed the dead bird in it.

5/2014 Billy Dean.  I included this meet and greet because 90s country is the greatest country.
And Billy Dean  has some of the best songs.  He was also kind, funny, incredibly entertaining, and even
invited us to hang out with him.  Kudos to Billy Dean!

9/2014 Vegas.  Carolyn and I trying to cool off.

In Vegas, the people watching was possibly one of the most entertaining past-time.

9/2014 Grand Canyon.  We drove here and the Hoover Dam one day.  Hoover Dam was
interesting but I was in awe of the Grand Canyon.  Never thought I would enjoy it so much.  

9/2014 Vegas.  Went to Vegas finally.  It was so fun, can't wait to go again!

10/2014 Fortune bought a house that he spends almost every non-working waking
second working on.  It is a complete redo, but it is going to be amazing someday!  I would like to
say I'm helping, but I pretty much just watch, pull nails and ask questions about what he's doing.

Halloween- went to a friend's house.  I was Alex Vause from
Orange is the New Black and I nailed it (although it also closely resembled a nurse costume).
Great time with great friends, along with some throw-back high school games.  

12-12-14 Mema turns 93.  I made dinner and decorated... had so much fun decorating
and trying to make it special for her.    We went and looked at Christmas lights after stuffing out faces.  

Seattle, Family, Christmas, Truck Driving

Naomi enjoyed the ferry to Kingston

Naomi would not allow a picture, so I made her say "hi" to Mimi and Papa;
Eden just wanted her mom and dad; but I was happy to be with them

Just got back from Seattle, so fun to spend time with my nieces and sister and bro-in-law, as well as see such a different and beautiful part of God's creation.  I'm terrible at taking pictures, obviously, so what you see is what you get.  We spent most of the time hanging out and playing with the kids, but I got to do lots of fun touristy stuff too: Seattle Center/ Space Needle; Pike's Place Market; fun food/places to eat; Theo's Chocolate Factory; Sunsets; Ferries; exploring; trolls; beaches; snowmen; dress up; babysitting; pimping a minivan; lakes; beautiful mountain views as we were blessed with a number of sunny days; endless dish doing; and lots of christmas music :)

Naomi made this snowman ("Olaf" like every other snowman this year)
and had to talk to him every night we got home to see how his day was.

Eden was not happy, but she looks so cute all bundled up on our
first sunny day... which was also the day it snowed early

She finally smiled for a pic when chocolate was promised

Ally, Eden and I on Thanksgiving

I'm trying to spend more time with my family.  I moved here to do that, but the past year I have been so busy with Fortune and the guys, that I'd go weeks without seeing them- and we only live a few minutes away from each other.  I've always lived with them when I was in Midland until the last couple years, and I don't go to church with them anymore either, so it is easy to miss each other.  Therefore, now that my parents have "normal" 8-5 jobs, we are trying to go to lunch once a week or so, and have game nights/dinner often too.  I am blessed with wonderful parents/family, so I love enjoying their company.

This was my first year to put up lights for Christmas.  I may be years behind everyone else, but I finally have a legit sized tree (with hardly any ornaments, oh well, I don't like the cookie cutter cutesy ornaments), lights, stockings... all the necessities.  It's not much, but I love it.

I just got to go on a work trip with Fortune in his own new 18 wheeler.  "We" hauled pipe to El Reno, Oklahoma.  We left around midnight, and got back 24 hours later.  I was intrigued by all the buttons and knobs and switches and gauges... even the seat was fun with the air pressure/ride... (Idk the lingo).  We stopped for a couple hour nap somewhere south of Wichita Falls, so weird to pull the curtains, keep the engine running and snuggle up on a twin size bed for a nap in a field of other trucks and truckers doing the same in a Stripes parking lot... but a couple very short hours later we were on the road again.  Well, he woke up and drove, I continued to sleep (as much sleep as you can get with him singing his Jamaican gangsta rap at the top of his lungs to stay awake).

I probably should have taken this picture at the beginning
of the trip, and not 24 hours in, dead tired and haggard.  

I woke up about the time we got to the drill site... 9 am.  I had to pee like no other.  Out in the middle of nowhere... with only men around... and I wasn't supposed to be in the truck, so I had to hide on the bed and hold it.  The forklift operator wasn't ready until 12:30 to unload all 13 trucks, but finally we made it.  The lease road was the best opportunity for me to drive... so I did.  It was pretty fun, granted there was no load on the trailer, but I got a few miles in and did just fine.  Then, I was never more happy to see El Reno in my life, thank you Denny's for your wonderful bathroom.  I'm sure it seems dumb to write 2 paragraphs about it, but I enjoy every second I get to spend with Fortune, and getting to see him at work and seeing other sides of him is so exciting for me.