Currently....

Watching: The hubby and I have been slowly working our way through the show Jericho on Netflix. It takes awhile because I work 4 out of 7 evenings each week which means I'm not home until after 11pm. But usually Thurs and Fri night we try to watch an episode or two. I'm so bummed that season 2 got cancelled so I'm afraid season 1 is just going to leave us hanging. :-/  On my own I'm watching The Vampire Diaries though. I started watching the first season on TV, finished it on Netflix then kinda forgot about it but a week or so again I saw a commercial for the new season and thought I'd get back into it so I'm working through season 2 now. Not really watching anything "current" on TV. Too much work to try and keep up with a show weekly. Even with our DVR it doesn't really help. We've got half a dozen Restaurant Impossible episodes saved and have yet to watch them!

Listening To: No new albums or anything really. I kinda get hooked on a particular song more than a full album. I'm back on a Coldplay kick so I've been listening back through some of their stuff recently. And I'm also totally hooked on a few songs by the artist Birdy. She's mesmerizing! Just A Game and Skinny Love are both beautiful songs. Also check out Natalia Jayden. I heard about her after my husband showed me her cover of Justin Bieber's As Long As You Love Me. Now I'm in love with her first single Run For The Door! Go check it out and shake ya booty a little!

Thinking About: Honestly, I have SO much on my mind right now. In fact, my husband has mentioned I've been a little quiet and moody lately. I don't mean to be but when I have a lot I'm trying to sort through in my mind I just get that way. Sometimes I feel like I'm mentally arguing with myself a bit. No, don't get worried, I'm not hearing voices or anything! But I do feel like my inner self is reasoning and working and doing it's best to figure out everything. Sorting through what is emotional fads and what are legit things I should pursue.....then figuring out how to pursue them, etc. I'm 26 and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I "grow up"! I think I have it narrowed down to two things (lol!) but how do I go about becoming these things?! That's the scary part. I have a hard time balancing things - how do I balance working my current job, taking care of my child, spending time with my husband, supporting his dreams and pursuits, and also pursuing my own. I guess because of that I tend to just push mine to the back and support his because if I can't mentally figure out how to do both I'd rather give up mine so he can have his. So yeah, SO much on my mind right now. Things I want to make happen but don't know how, things I'm afraid may never happen and things, things, things! Lol!

Trying To Figure Out: Well, I think I kinda covered this one in the paragraph above! Lol! But overall, this is what I'm trying to figure out....
1. What I want as a career...and how to go about making that happen.
2. The next step for us a family....
3. How to help my husband pursue the career he dreams of.
4. How to raise a well rounded daughter.

Looking Forward To: The holidays! I know that sounds kinda cliche' but I am! The festiveness, the fun, spending time with family. I do miss my family and it'll be fun to enjoy some time with them around the holidays. I'm also looking forward to a few days off around Christmas too (hopefully, waiting for my manager to approve it. Fingers crossed!). I'm also looking forward to going out with friends Friday night too - they are taking us to this little crepe place downtown, I'm excited to try it! We are blessed to have a well behaved daughter that we can take out and not worry about her being "bad" or having "melt downs" because otherwise we'd never go out now because we don't have any babysitters here!

Reading: I've still yet to get a library card so I'm reading the few books around the house that I haven't read so I'm working through Firestarter by Stephen King. It's been good so far, not the best by him but still not a bad story at all.

Making Me Happy: Off days! Lol! I really look forward to those two days where I feel like life is still mine. Having Friday's off has been nice too because I get the spend the first half of the day with Beej even if it's just running errands and grabbing a quick lunch. It's nice having a little time with him. Since we don't really have anyone around here to babysit we don't get any date nights so Friday mornings have become our new "date night" while Gianna is at school. And he also has the option to go do something fun for himself like golf or whatever since he's with Gianna Sat and Sun while I work.

So yeah, that's what's up. I don't really take the time to truly blog much anymore. Sometimes I miss it and sometimes I don't. There are so many things I'd like to blog about and share but I'm not sure right now is the right time. There are still a lot of things up in the air and things we are waiting on......

What are you currently up to?! Leave me a link if you decide to do a "currently" post!

"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!