Staying put.

The title for this post is not saying I'm staying put now....but I will be later!!

The international conference was a great success!! The journalists left Oklahoma this morning & I am stinkin' exhausted!!! I worked over 70 hours in 9 days, which included two.5 days off!! The money sure will be nice though......

After all of that, I drove to Dallas today to see my parents and begin a crazy two week long journey. I probably should have given myself a day off because I really could of used it. The next two weeks include (starting this morning):

Norman -->(car)-->Dallas-->(plane)-->Tucson-->(car...I'm nuts)-->Dallas-->(car)-->Oklahoma City-->NEW JOB STARTS-->(car)-->Dallas (4th of July Weekend)-->(car)-->Oklahoma City -->never leaving again.

Just kidding on that last bit. I will leave again, but I'm not going anywhere for a while. It should all be a lot of fun, but I know I won't be very rested during the weekends. I always end up feeling like I should have another weekend when I go out of town during a weekend.

That's all for now. Night loves.

Some Things, Then Pictures

There has been soooo much going on this week! I'll try and catch everyone up as quickly as possible :o)

• If you want to know more about the job (yob), I'll FB message you! I don't want to put it out there for the whole world to see!! I'm getting really excited about starting the 28th, though!
• The project I have been working on all semester is going on RIGHT NOW! It provides journalism training to journalists from South Asia (Nepal, Pakistan & Bangladesh). We have 12 in town for about 2 weeks; while they are in Norman, I drive them everywhere. I even got a hot minivan from OU Transportation to fit them all!!! Most days pictures involve them because that's all I've been doing!!
• The AC in my apartment broke. Damn it's hot. AC Service coming in the morning!!!
• I have a lot to do tonight!! It's already midnight but I keep taking breaks because of the AC situation to sit in front of the fan, so I figured I would blog a little...
• I found a new apartment for August!!! It's a 2 bed, 1 bath only 4.4 miles from Kirsten!!! It's a great location for work for me, a ton of space & a good price!! I love it!!!

Project 365 updates!!

06/10/2010

Day 109: Lunch date with Tasha at Midtown Deli, then we went to Hobby Lobby!!! She and I both have peacock feathers all over our places (my apt, her house), & her wedding was peacock feather themed...we are united by this love!!

06/11/2010

Day 110: Job Search Paper Link Chain goes in the trash...job offer, baby!!!

06/12/2010

Day 111:Meet the journalists. We took them to the Stockyards, also to Target, WalMart (they love to go shopping...) & to an Indian food restaurant near Penn Square. Left to Right, in an effort to see how I'm doing....,Gul, Munni, Geti, Sama, Sweta, Pradeet, Sushil, Supriti, Roy, Huda & Jimi...that's TOUGH!!!

06/13/2010

Day 112: Dinner at Dean Foote's house with faculty and the journalists! I worked for him this semester on the project.

06/14/2010

Day 113: Tucker Boy is one year old today!!! His shirt says "It's My Birthday....Let's Pawty!!"

06/15/2010

Day 114: I toured two apartments today & decided to call this one home for the next 12 months!!! There's the tail end of my new landlady lol.

06/16/2010

Day 115: We took the journalists to the OKC Bombing Memorial. I haven't been since the year it opened when I visited with my church choir tour, so this was really cool to go back after being here for 5 years and now calling Oklahoma Home Sweet Homa!!

06/17/2010

Day 116: I've never loved a pair of shoes more than these right here. Fake reptile skin, of course (have you seen the PETA video with Juaquin Phoenix about reptile skin? Don't.), but they were on sale from $80 to $25. I have a job now, so I can afford them. I spent the evening at a dinner party with the journalists, but I forgot my camera (tsk tsk tsk) & I love the shoes more.

I got a yob.

I got hired! A nice, cushy, benefit-ridden job. A boss that thinks my somewhat ridiculous personality traits are completely desirable. A job where I don't have to go to the office everyday if I'd rather work from home, & where I never....ever....ever have to work weekends.

I'm nervous....

....but very very happy!!!

EWWWW

I forgot how disgusting my apartment is in the summer.

You see, I live on the first floor in a very old house. Last summer, when I moved in, I had to deal with lots of bugs (including a fly infestation in my bathroom which was traumatizing).

Daddy long legs, cockroaches, water beatles (look just like cockroaches, only wider), flies &....the Mack Daddy...spider crickets.

I've told some of you about spider crickets (google image search with caution), but these things are FREAKING SCARY. I honestly didn't know what they were (thought spider cricket was a made up name). Are they spiders? Are they crickets? CAN THEY KILL ME? They are big and fat and have looooong spider-y legs.....and they jump really really high. I'm terrified of spiders, & these things jump. One of the most terrifying creatures I've ever encountered.

Tonight, while trying to fall asleep, I reached over my nightstand to turn off the light. SPIDER CRICKET LESS THAN A FOOT AWAY. I squeeled, jumped, shivered, then ran to get killing device (& camera). See list below for more info.

In the 15 seconds it took to get my weapon & my camera, the sucker moved onto the fabric/side of the table. Do you see it?! I know, the black fabric makes it difficult.

They're really difficult to destroy, but I've figured out a solution: September Vogue. Has anyone seen The September Issue? If you have, then you know that September is the beginning of fashion season, so September is always a big issue...more than an inch thick. How useful.

How to Kill a Spider Cricket

1. Position yourself atop nearby furniture (bed, chair, bookcase...). Give yourself some height and protection from this devil creature.
2. Drop September Vogue on creepy crawly.
3. Jump on magazine, just to be safe.
4. Walk around the magazine for 2-3 days, pretending like it's not there with a bug squished between it and the floor.
5. Muster up the nerve to move the magazine.
6. Rip off the back 2-3 pages & discard.
7. Clean floor with bleach, etc.

Works like a charm every time. However, I'm such an expert now that my September Vogue is missing a good 30+ pages. Still worth it. In this case I first used the magazine to brush the spider cricket onto the floor so that (a) I wouldn't miss (b) I wouldn't break/ruin my fragile nightstand (c) I could properly follow through on Step #4 of How to Kill a Spider Cricket.

I really do not want to live another summer in this apartment, as much as I love it :o/

P.S. Sorry if you think all creatures are nature's gift or something like that. If a bug (read: not top of the food chain) enters my residence (read: top of the food chain/more resourceful/bigger), if will probably die. Some live & are just displaced outside, but most die.

That magazine ain't goin' nowhere for at least 48 hours. Thanks, Charlize!

In Lieu of Actual Events From My Life...

...you get to see a bunch of pictures of the dog!!!

Very bad at 365 the past few days....even worse at having an interesting life.

I stayed in alllllll weekend. Lame, I know.

At least I'm posting.

06/04/2010

Day 103: In the aftermath of the night before, I spent the whole day without a car (left in Bricktown) and without my camera. Of course, I was freaking out about the camera. I didn't know if it was in my friend's car, in my car, still at the bar, or in the possession of some stranger who decided to confiscate it. Luckily, I had gotten my house keys out of my car before leaving Bricktown & left my camera in the car!!!

06/05/2010

Day 104: Tucker loves this blanket!!

06/06/2010

Day 105: He's too cute!

06/07/2010

Day 106: If you've ever lived in Norman & never been to Victoria's, you're missing out. If you've ever been to Victoria's & never had the lasagna rolls, you're really missing out.

06/08/2010

Day 107: I can't capture with a camera how adorable it is when he sits on top of this pillow...so cute!!

06/09/2010

Day 108: The most interesting part of my week?! BIG TRUCK TACO with Ms. Kirsten. Yummmm.

Product Placement

I don't know how often I'm actually shocked by how well a product works, but today it's worth blogging about.

Has anybody seen this commercial?

I had seen the new products before the commercial; initially I was interested, but decided to hold off. More than likely, they wouldn't work. When I saw the commercial, I was even more interested by the Spin Pin (the 1st product).

Last night's late night Wally World run brought me into the hair accessories aisle. I caved. $5.62 seems like a bit much for a fancy bobby pin, but what the heck. I tried it...

...and I instantly fell in love.

My hair is super super thin, so buns are kind of out of the question. I guess my hair just isn't sturdy enough to help the bobby pins out. The Spin Pin not only held a bun in place....it didn't move throughout the entire night. I woke up this morning with my bun intact.

Also, because you spin the pin into your hair, it's also kind of fun to put them in.

Bonus: no "bobby pin headache," no "elastic crease"

Good job, Goody!! This product WORKS!!!

No Sleep

I woke up at 3:00 this morning; I haven't been able to sleep at all.

I gave up around 5:15 & decided to try & figure things out....:o/

I'm really struggling right now with whether or not to continue grad school. I've basically decided that if I don't get a job offer by July 1st (when I would need to renew my lease), then I should probably stay in school. I want a job. The best scenario would be to find a great job here...I just don't know if it's going to happen. And....grad school paid the bills this semester b/c of my assistantship. It would continue to pay the bills. It's an enticing offer. (I can worry about my student loan debt later, I guess).

The problem is: I don't want to be in school forever. Don't get me wrong....I LOVE school, but I also love living an adult life and I really love making & having money. I also don't want to be in school forever if I'm not absolutely certain it's what I want to do/to be.

So, in order to stay in school, I need to bust my butt & get it done. This last semester was spent catching up...leveling courses. Not that interesting, which is maybe why I hated it from the beginning. My one graduate class was terrible, impractical & depressing.

I was looking at what it would take to get the rest of this degree DONE in 3 more semesters...it would be tough, but possible. Remember, grad students are half-time at 5 hours and full-time at 9...

August Intersession: 3 hours

Fall 2010: 12 hours (9 Grad, 3 Undergrad @ OCCC) --> highly unadvised!!!

Spring 2011: 10 hours

Summer 2011: 3 hours

Fall 2011: 8 hours

The thing is, whether I put myself on a deadline or not, it really only makes sense to go nuts this fall. The August Intersession is a class I could really use. I would have to get that 3 hour undergrad class out of the way, & 6 hours of the classes would have to be done in the fall only anyway. If I decided to add back on the extra semester, it would only be in order to take a semester for an amazing internship or something.

So, for now, my plan is to keep searching for that "right job" for the next 2-3 weeks...& search hard. If nothing by the 1st, then "be cool, stay in school...again."

What do you think?

I'm doing better!!!

05/30/2010

Day 98: Lunch with Jessica Schroeder :o)

05/31/2010

Day 99: Back to Paseo Arts Festival with Tucker & my friend Sarah...Tucker was SO GOOD!

06/01/2010

DAY ONE HUNDRED: Nothing lucky about this day. My dryer broke. :o( I dried my panties on the porch and felt a little trashy.

06/02/2010

Day 101: Old O'Connell's Karaoke Night

06/03/2010

Day 102: Out to the Redhawk's game with friends James, Kayla, Alex & Griffin. We got there in the 5th inning with the Redhawks losing 9-0. Came back for the win 10-9!!! Then we went to Murphey's Dueling Piano Bar

I Love ORB.

I don't know who else follows craft blogging. I get a lot of my "inspiration" from some really fantastic & creative women.

House of Hepworths turned me on to ORB. Oil Rubbed Bronze. Rust-O-Leum makes this AMAZING spray paint that has taken over my apartment. I buy it in the Universal All-Surface Paint version so that I can make everything beautiful with ORB. Apparently, I'm not the only one having a love affair with spray paint.

Here.

And Here.

AND HERE!!!

So, how great can a spray paint be?

Rust-O-Leum is top notch to begin with: fast-drying, even coats, etc. (BTW I'm also in love with their canned High Gloss Black oil paint, which is covering two major pieces of furniture in my bedroom along with countless nic-nacs). As far as paint goes, it's the total package. I've heard Krylon also makes a good (& cheaper) spray ORB, but doesn't adhere to plastics. Still good to know for certain projects in the future.

But, there is something about this metallic-y brown-black color in a can that has my heart going pitter patter and my mind going in circles.

My first attack was the potty-wipes box. Yup...wet wipes for your butt. They are great and useful, but the containers are less than to be desired. Add ORB. MUCH BETTER!!!

Since I needed a place to keep my scrapbooking paper, I bought a storage box at Hobby Lobby. It was black, which is a problem. It didn't match the rest of my office/living decor. Problem fixed with ORB.

Ugly white trash $3 can fixed with ORB. Love that this stuff paints on plastic, plus you can really see how it covers in large amounts here.

Then, my toothbrush holder broke :o(. Since I'm out of money (no job & too much orb), I bought the cheapest I could find, made beautiful by ORB.

Solution to hiding electrical wires/surge protector on the built-ins: peg board & orb.

Once not-so-great picture frame (odd wood color & gold accents...). This picture does no justice, but I love the way it turned out.

Then, I decided to get crazy. 12/13 years ago, my dad bought my mom a BEAUTIFUL set of candlesticks from Pottery Barn. Muey expensive-o. No-tarnish silver, or so They said. These things tarnish so quickly and so terribly....usually they would only get cleaned well a couple of times a year. My mom gave them to me, after thinking about getting rid of them, when I said I would keep them polished. Nope. After 2-3 weeks tarnish would come back. (BTW, I've heard PB has changed their silver since then to really not tarnish, so not trying to bad mouth them AT ALL).

Before:

I talk to my mom before doing this, which she gave me the go-ahead to spray paint her $80 candlesticks.

After about 10 VERY VERY LIGHT applications so that I wouldn't get any drips or bubbles, here are the fabulous candlesticks that I am lusting over once more.

Looking back, a primer would have helped, but they still turned out exactly the way I wanted them to! If I ever decided I wanted them silver again, I could get out the acetone, rub away, & find a fantastic silver spray paint, but I ain't polishin'.

Thank you, House of Hepworths, for introducing me to oil rubbed bronze. Now, if only I could get all of the brown metallic paint off of my hands....

ONE LAST THING!!! If you are spray painting in the Dust Bowl or Desert (this includes almost everyone who reads my blog...), spray outside first then MOVE IT INSIDE unless you want to sand in between each.and.every.coat.