"Hurr did!"

(Why can't the video still ever be cute?!!! Lol!)

(Good hair day yesterday, had to share!)

SoulKitty

I had no idea when we moved up towards Asheville that it was such a HUGE dog city. Like seriously, everyone has a dog. Anywhere from tiny little pooches up to giant Great Danes. In particular our condo complex is FULL of them. We even have a special little fenced in area for you to take your dog to run around. The park is always covered in owners walking/running their dogs. So I'll admit I sorta thought I wanted a dog too. I mean, come on, everyone looked like they are having such a great time with their dogs. But it seems Gi might have a slight allergy to dogs, not positive but it seems that way. But mainly we just can't take that on right now - a dog is SO much more responsibility than a cat(s). Its sorta like having a kid that can't talk! So as much as it sounds like a good idea I know it's not. BUT that doesn't mean we can't have a new pet, right?!!! Gandalf is old, plain and simple.  He'll be 14 on Oct. 1st and he's never been much of a cuddler. He likes to have his space and the only person he really likes is my hubby. We've had a few "second cats" but none of them have worked out in the end - the first was crazy (literally!), the second one we lost in an accident (I still miss him! He was such a sweet cuddly boy!), and the second one was a female (my mistake) and she was just WAY too much work. And she found a great home with a family so I'm happy for her.....but I do want another pet. I want one that will let Gi and I love on it a bit more and we've moved into a new place and I'm just ready for a new pet! I've been searching the adoption listings trying to find one that I just felt was "right". I've looked at dozens and nothings caught my eye until this boy.......

......is he not beautiful?! I'm in love with him! I want him so badly. He's a 4 year old male, pure white with a blue eye and blue/green eye. Currently his name is Winter although I would change that. I'm trying to find out what his adoption fee is and see if I can figure out a way to make us his forever family. I keep imagining him in all his stunning white glory lounging on the couch with me, hanging out on Gi's bed, calling him and Gandalf "the boys", etc. So yeah, I'm saying a little prayer that this fellow will be mine! We will probably never have dogs and we will never have more kids but that doesn't mean I can't have something to dote on.....we've always said we will never have more than two cats. More than that and you start getting into the crazy cat lady/man territory! Lol! But I just wanted to share, this boy is my latest obsession and I'm doing my best to figure out a way to bring him home!!!

Inkspired

I am not ashamed in any way to admit that I LOVE tattoos. Love them. I find them so pretty, enticing, intriguing, etc. I mean, obviously, well done tattoos. Crappy ones make me laugh! If it weren't for the money I would be very heavily inked. And I get tired of people telling me I'm going to regret it. I don't foresee that ever happening but if I do, I do! Seriously, it's my decision and my regret (if that were to ever happen), not yours. Around here well done tattoos are everywhere. There is never a shortage of great ink to look at. I have to keep myself from staring sometimes because I don't want people to think I'm being rude, it's quite the opposite, I love their ink! I find beautiful women with beautiful ink inspiring and amazing, I find great looking guys with ink so attractive (I'm still trying to convince my great looking guy to get ink. *le sigh*.). Now that I have a job I can hopefully start saving towards some bigger pieces to add to my "canvas." My hubby asked me how many I have the other day.....he said "I've just gotten so used to them being there...." and as silly as it sounds that was kinda a compliment to me. My ink is apart of me, it all means something to me, I love it. Instagram has introduced me to some of my favorite tattooed moms - beautiful, fit, inked women! Not to mention it's provided me with the wonderful, endless possibilities of the hashtags #tattoo, #foottattoo and #tattoos. Geez, so much eye candy to take in! To me it's like art, it's beautiful and unique. I'm so inkspired lately!

CURRENTLY.

Loving:  Living up near Asheville! We are still settling into things and there is still a lot to be settled but I'm starting to feel more at home here. I'm looking forward to getting this place bought so that we can start painting and really decorating like we want. I'm also excited and loving the fact that it hasn't been very hot here lately. It's also rained a TON but it's helped to cool things down. I feel like Fall is just around the corner & I'm getting excited about it! My collection of boots is waiting to be worn and I want to stock up on colored skinnies to go with them....come on, Fall!

Reading: Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz. I started it a long time ago and didn't really like it so I stopped reading it. But decided to pick it back up and try again and this time around I'm getting into it more. That's the one thing I like about the school pick up line....I can catch up on reading! I've got to get back down to the library and get a card so I can start checking out some new stuff to read.

Watching: I haven't really gotten into any shows lately. I just kinda randomly watch whatever but I do love the shows Awkward and The InBetweeners on MTV! I don't watch them religiously or anything but I catch up on them when I can or when I remember to check the DVR! Lol! We are also trying to get through Jericho on Netflix. Awesome show....

Thinking About: Christmas! I know, it's not even Fall yet but I'm excited about Christmas. Getting a new Christmas tree, decorating our new place....all that jazz! Well, really the Holidays in general. It'll be interesting to see how the Holidays go this year since I'm working at Wal-Mart and they aren't great about letting you have holidays off so I'm not sure how happy I'll be once they are actually here but I can dream, right?!

Surprised by: some of the things I wish for or think about having. Like a dog or a baby! Lol! I keep telling myself things are WAY easier the way they are but sometimes things worth having aren't easy. But whatever, some things are just out of my control! Lol! But I'm still surprised by how my thought process and things I wish for and want has totally changed. It's weird how getting older changes you....

Making me sad: the stupidity of America. Seriously, election year always brings out the dumbest stuff in people. I'm not going to get into all that because it just turns into a pissing match but I can't believe the craziness people "believe" in. 

Making me happy: How Gigi's growing into such a great young lady. She's changed so much and I'm so proud of her! And dreaming up new tattoo ideas! I've just got to start saving towards some of the bigger pieces I want next (and I keep dreaming my hubby might actually get one before he turns 30!).  And pinning lots of great ideas for decorating our new place especially the kiddo's room!

SO what are you up to currently? If you do a "Currently" post leave me a link to it in the comment section, I love reading these things!

On the first day of Kindergarten....

Welp, the day finally came! Gigi started Kindergarten. I feel like we've been thinking about it and talking about it forever. I was afraid we wouldn't get moved and we moved exactly a month ago today! Great timing! We went and saw her room and met her teacher last week and she was really excited. I'm honestly not a big fan of her teacher, so far. She's nice but she seems very uptight and formal. Gi's preschool teacher was so much more outgoing & I really felt like he throughly enjoyed being with the kids. Her...well, I dunno. I'm sure she's great. Her assistant seems super nice & I like her a lot! 

 She was so excited when she got up this morning. Her aunt bought her the backpack and her lunch box. So naturally she decided, at least for now, she wants me to pack her a lunch! So now I'm trying to find some creative lunch ideas for my little picky eater.

Her backpack was SO heavy this morning with all her school supplies! She couldn't even carry it, poor thing. We got there a little too early but I'd much rather be early than late. She was the first in the classroom. She was very excited about hanging her lunch box on a special hook and coloring a picture of a gingerbread man. There were no tears (THANK YOU, JESUS!) and she waved happily as we left. I think she has been ready to get back into the routine of school. Even though we try hard to keep her entertained I think she's just been bored the past few weeks.

The pick up line was insane (all those kids are just the kindergarten classes!). I think there are four or five Kindergarten classes with 18-20 kids in each class. So it's a big school!  I got in line 30 minutes early but by the time I got through the line and actually got her it was almost 20 minutes after school dismissed. But she was very happy and kept saying she couldn't wait to go back tomorrow so I'm pretty pleased with that!

She seemed so grown up carrying her backpack and lunch box in when we got home. She didn't eat a lot of her lunch (which I expected) so she ate the rest when she got home! Lol! They do rest time at school but I can tell she's exhausted, I think we'll start doing a short nap when she gets home....maybe.

One a side note I've been planning to start running now that we live less than half of a mile from a really great park with a paved trail and a nature trail. So after I dropped off Gi at school I headed over there and it was super busy. A few middle aged moms but mostly old people with dogs! Haha! But I ran and I'm proud to say I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes with only 3 short breaks. Woohoo! I'm hoping to do that at least 3 days a week maybe more. I just need something new, I'm tired of my old work out routines so maybe this will give me a big of a boost. My eating habits have been crap since we moved and I eat junk from the deli. I've got to get that together too, ugh! But yeah, one step at a time....

....and then we moved!

So we have finally moved, people! It has been an extremely busy three weeks. We found out we were moving about a week and a half before we actually moved. Luckily we had gotten rid of everything we didn't absolutely have to have and packing wasn't too bad. Especially since my husband did most of it! My husband's friend and his wife came and helped us load up, it didn't take long to load everything and then we headed up the mountain! The hard part came when we got to our new place. We're on the third floor and there is no elevator. Yeah, it took forever, we were all dripping sweat and exhausted. I can't thank our friends enough, it was such a kind act on their part and such a HUGE blessing for us. But we're finally moved in. Currently we are renting from the owner until the bank processes everything and actually lets us buy it. We are getting closer, we think. Lol! They keep telling us "soon". We were hoping by the first of September but who really knows. I'm just happy to be up here and near work. It's been so nice being like 7 minutes away. The hubby is still about 25 minutes from work but that's way better than an hour away. We are just ready to really call this place ours and be home owners.

We've been dealing with vehicles issues since we got up here. We are down to one vehicle and now it's been having issues. After several trips to the mechanics we've finally figured out it's a part in the transmission going out. Not the whole transmission but an expensive part. And since we have so many miles on our Jeep they've told us it would be stupid to replace the expensive part & risk the actual transmission going out any time. So we are going to have to replace the whole thing. Oy. BUT the good news is we've worked out getting a second vehicle now. We wanted to wait to take out a car loan until after we get this house purchased but since that is taking awhile we really needed a second car by the time Gigi starts school on Tuesday. So we are purchasing a car from family....it's really worked out well and I'm very grateful. I was starting to really worry but every time I did I just prayed....HARD! And even though things haven't gone perfect every time a need or an issue comes out somehow God works it out for us even if it's not in the way we imagined. We truly are blessed.

For now everything in the new place is kinda neutral. The bedroom walls and carpet are all various shades of cream and beige. The main living room/kitchen/dining space is all various shades of grey with wood flooring. And as pretty as it is my husband and I had already decided that when we moved we wanted to go the complete opposite of neutral and go with bright bold colors! Now I'm just trying to decide which colors! These are a few inspiration photos I've pulled.....

Tomorrow is my 26th birthday. Honestly I'm feeling sorta, well, undecided on it. It's kinda weirding me out that I'm 26. I don't feel that "old", but part of me is happy with who I am, slowly, becoming as a person. I've grown and changed a lot of the past few years and I hope to continue to do so. The hubby is working and I'm going to be driving to TN to meet up with family and get my "new to me" Explorer. So I think we're going to do a little window shopping and grab lunch. And then the hubby is taking me out for Mexican for dinner. We have a place up here called Papas & Beers that is supposed to be really good authentic Mexican food. So I'm excited to try it out!

The kiddo starts Kindergarten on Tuesday. We've checked out her school and it's really big! There are 4 or 5 K classes with 20 students each. Whoa. We're going to meet her teacher and see her classroom Friday. She's more excited now that we've been to visit the actual school. I think she'll still be nervous the first day but I think she's going to have a blast. We went and bought school supplies last night so we are ready to roll!

Her school is less than half a mile from the house and we also have an amazing park too. I'm hoping to get into running now. Drop her off at school then go run at the park. I'm getting kinda bored with my home work out programs and I just need something new to try and challenge myself at.

So that's what's up with us! Hopefully I'll be able to say we are home owners soon!

1, 2, 3, 4....

1. I've become a horrible blogger and I felt guilty about it as first but now I'm ok with it. I've never been in this to gain tons of followers although I love each of my followers tons! This was more of a place for me to just express myself and get things out when I needed. Lately I just feel like there are more important things to do even if that's just sitting on the couch watching cartoons with my kid.

2. The kiddo is growing like a weed lately. In the past year she's grown 3 inches and I'm pretty sure at least 1 (or more) of those inches has been in the past month alone. She suddenly outgrew like 10 pairs of shoes and I'm not even kidding. One week she was wearing them fine and then a week later I couldn't even get her foot in a some of her Toms and her toes were hanging off the end of her sandals. All of her shorts and dresses and obviously shorter now.....it's crazy! I'm still mentally blocking out the fact that she starts actual Elementary school in a little over a month.

3. Work has been crazy lately. When I first got hired we were still short staffed but within a couple of weeks they had hired enough people to finally get us in a good place with scheduling and all that. Then we got a new co-manager and yikes! She fired 2 people and one person who was transferring in a few weeks she told them to go ahead and go. So in other words, we are once again, short staffed. Sunday (which is one of our busiest days) I got there at 12 and was supposed to leave at 9pm. With a lunch break at 4. Well, from 1-4 there was just two of us there then at 4 the other person left and I was there by myself from 4-6:30pm. Yup. It was crazy! We got super busy and not only did I have to take care of the deli counter and the hot bar, I also had to keep the hot bar stocked which means cooking...it was nuts. Not to mention I had been there and on my feet with no break since 12. My closer came in at 6:30 but he's only been there for a couple of weeks and they had him closing by himself (which I closed by myself not to long ago and it's insane!) so I offered to stay for an extra two hours and help him closer. I didn't eat much, I was on my feet for 10 hours almost straight, didn't eat much and drank almost nothing (a Red Bull & part of a Coke.) Yesterday I woke up and literally felt like I was dying (slight exaggeration but not much!). I was SO dizzy and felt feverish and weak. Then it dawned on me I was probably severely dehydrated! So I spent most of yesterday laying in bed and drinking water and juice. I felt better by the evening and I'm back to myself today!

4. You are all probably wondering what happened with us buying our first place. Or maybe you aren't. Lol! But anyway. The place we are purchasing in a short sale. We were told it would take 4-6 weeks to get our offer put through and approved. That time line has long since passed. Apparently we're approved on our end now but there is some process they have to go through on the seller's end.....it's complicated and ridiculous but the short of it is they say it's now going to be another 4-6 weeks before we can actually own it. But the seller has already moved out, she's been out for several weeks now and has agreed to rent it to us until we can actually own it. We really loved the place and it's an amazing deal so we don't want anything else. Now I'm just PRAYING we can get in by Aug 1st!!! Fingers crossed!

So that's about all the excitement that's been happening around here. Working three days a week has made me really appreciate the time I am home and especially the time I get to spend with my hubby and kiddo now. Evenings are much more important than they used to be. And it's also made me realize, even more, how amazing B is! He keeps the house up better than I do, he entertains Gigi and did all the mowing this past weekend on top of it all! Amazing man, I say!