Mr. Exoskeleton

I just couldn't wait until the end of the week the write this blog. My hands are shaking, I'm tachycardic, and seriously nauseous. The heebie jeebies are in full swing.

You see, I've diagnosed myself with everything in the book but there is one thing that I for sure have and that is: exoskeletalphobia. I can't do bugs that crunch when you kill them. And especially if they can jump or fly, your asking for a convulsive seizure from my end of the deal because I've already checked out.

I believe this fear started at my first trip to chickfila (which suprises me that I still enjoy this place). I was visiting some family friends and we had just received our food, dining in, when I felt an itch on the bottom of my leg. Low and behold a freaking cricket. Welcome cricketphobia. I shiver at the thought of it as I type this out. Atleast you can run from a snake. No matter which direction you choose, they just pivot and aim. UGH!

The worst of the fears: cockroaches. Not only do they echo because the crunch is extra loud. But did you know in texas, cockroaches have wings? This is no fairytale princess, this is freakin dawn of the dead. I no longer am interested in owning a lake house because of a terrible experience I had in a bathroom during a family vacation. Lets just say it started with a bubble bath and ended with an empty bottle of far aim RAID.

Grasshoppers and crickets are really bad in Oklahoma. During nursing school, we always kept our porch light on (for safety of course) and the bugs would SWARM! Dallas is just as bad. I noticed when I moved to SA, they don't really have much of a jumping/flying bug problem. Maybe just mosquitos...until this week. Me and Bricey took our anniversary trip to San Diego (a later post) and we come back to a chirping house. Thank goodness my hero (Bricey) was here this morning to flush the one in my bathroom. Side note: I did a double flush after he left just in case the booger decided to crawl up without anyone knowing (a frequent fear of mine). But after Bricey left, I noticed there was still the haunting music coming from my living room. I checked the closet, the music didn't get any louder. I opened my front door, nothing. So I decided maybe it was just coming from outside in the grass and went on about my business.

I got home later this evening and noticed the chirping again. I figured "the damn thing is probably waiting outside my front door so it can attack when I open it". So I decided not to open the door. The music continued getting louder, I thought this time "maybe behind the tv? Ehh I'll finish reading my blogs and look a little later" then I got up to look and by golly the damned exoskeleton had been creeping on me the whole time, waving antennas and all on the edge of the couch! Cue grand mal. I got the broom because you better believe I'm not getting armslength from that thing just so it can jump on me. World War II began. I've never thrown a 200 lb tv back so fast in my life. When we finished, I was sweating, living room a disaster, but the gangsta was gone. BOOM

I couldn't flush it in the toilet due to a long distance to the bathroom, I couldn't throw him in the trash due to the slight change he resurrected, so I opted for tossing his dead body on the cement outside my neighbors door. Happy Tuesday Neighbors!

The Value of a Dollar

Week 3, Day 1 of Adulthood. Its going fairly well but I'm learning every day the values in life. For example:

The value of a loofah: Now I've never been one to own a loofah because a few years ago I heard that loofahs collect dead skin in between its net. And I'm not down with that. But, because I fell in love with an expensive body wash, Olay Total Effects Body wash, I decided I would invest in a one. Now, instead of 4 dollups of wash each shower, I only use one.

The value of showering at night: This is a big one folks. For those of  you out there with thick, curly hair, you get me. I can't just "wear my hair natural", otherwise I'd look either like Albert Einstein or like a lion on crack. If I wear it curly, I need wet hair and a lot of product and if I wear it straight I need to dry it and straighten it which takes a lightyear. Solution: shower at night, sleep on it wet, not only does it dry itself, but it curls without looking like I purposely teased each piece of hair on my head. Braid, messy bun, or straighten without the mess of drying my hair and sweating so much that I need another shower.

The value of black coffee: I've talked a little about this before but now that I'm waking up earlier and earlier each day, about 5:00 AM, we spend a little time in this house saying a nice long prayer thanking God for providing me with extra. bold. coffee.

The value of the washing machine: I'm living without a washing machine. Now many of you know the lovely story of how I came to be without a washing machine but that is besides the fact. I don't have one any more. So that leaves me to hauling my ass across the parking lot and using the apartment complex's washing machine. Something I dread every week. I pay $1.25 to wash my clothes and a $1.25 to dry my clothes. I do 2 loads a week and for someone that hand washes half of her laundry, I've learned the next topic:

The value of the hand wash cycle: Now I'm a 90s baby. Which means, yes, I've become far too dependent on the hand wash cycle and may not have ever known what it was like to use a washboard but I'll tell you one thing, I hate washing my hand wash items, by hand. I'm way too inexperienced to wring out my clothes enough so that they are not completely dripping with water when I hang them to dry but I'm trying! If I come in with a case of carpel tunnel next week, you'll know why.

The value of Bricey: I have the best boyfriend on the face of the earth. I don't deserve him, he spoils me too much and loves me to pieces. I am eternally grateful for having such an amazing man. He has been so understanding of my schedule. Since I have moved, he has visited every weekend without complaint. Next weekend will be the 4th weekend in a row that he has come 7 hours down to San Antone.  He buys dinner, groceries, gas, and anything else I may need for the week. He spends hours being the shoulder I need to cry on every Sunday when we have to say goodbye again. He understands when I have to go to bed at 10 PM and calls to wake me up at 5 AM for work. Seriously girls, I'm sorry I took the best one out there. I'm sickly in love with him, I brag about him to everyone I know, I've got it far too good. Patterson family, you did a fine job at raising this one of a kind boy. I love you so much Bricey! Thank you for all that you do :)

Happy Monday Everyone! Have a fabulous week!!

Adulthood

Week 2, Day 1 of Adulthood. Listen here, folks, it is not as easy as it looks. I wake up at 5:30 and make a VERY dark cup of coffee and consume it immediately as the keurig allows me to. I may as well just hit the button and throw my face under the machine because lately, my body cries when the alarm goes off and I must peel my eyes apart from each other in order to not sleep through alarm number 9.

I decided to live in a beautiful area of Stone Oak. I think it is great. Not too far from anything I really need and only about 20 minutes (22 to be exact) to work. I'm just about tired of answering the question "Oh where do you live" because EVERY SINGLE TIME the reaction is "OHHHHH THE TRAFFIC IS SO AWFUL OVER THERE!". Now to anyone that didn't hear the conversation before where I explained I was from Dallas, I'm from Dallas. Where in Dallas? Dallas, Dallas (for anyone who knows me, I'm very particular about when people say they are from dallas, that means they are not from plano, garland, richardson, grapevine, fort worth....DALLAS). This is besides the point. It takes 20 minutes for me to drive to work, I don't take the highways...I know better than that, but 20 minutes is no big deal to me, especially when you know the particular place on the speed bump that allows you to go over them going 40 mph WITH A CUP OF COFFEE, instead of 5 mph like the car in front of me was doing today. I find that when you go slower, it is more invasive for yourself and your tires, but that's just my opinion. 20 minutes is shorter than a Pretty Little Liars episode fast-forwarding through commercials. Which brings me to my next topic: No cable.

Because of the whole, I'm an adult and pay my own bills thing, I decided to opt out of getting cable. After all, I'm a nurse, working 12 hour shifts, going to class for work for 12 weeks, and finding time on the weekends to make a long distance relationship work. Needless to say, a quiet apartment leaves the mind with too much space to work with.  So in the meantime I've been working on a little Pinterest project that Bricey helped me with. He built me shelves, sweet soul, and I've been painting them. This past weekend we got them put together and I must say, they look fabulous! Now, it has been a while since I've lived in an apartment and I forgot how thin these walls are and apparently so did my neighbors above me. So when they started their little rendezvous at 5:30 this morning (when I actually got to sleep in until 7 today), this nurse, yea me, was not the happiest. I've already rehearsed what I will say to them, if, and only if, I ever meet them. It involves providing a self-tightening wrench a little WD-40 for the case of the squeaks. 

I'd like to take this moment and thank everyone who has donated to my leftovers charity: (i.e. Bricey, my family, the Patterson family, Matt and Sarah) because that's just one less meal I have to purchase at the grocery store and considering how much my apartment rent, loans, and expenses will be, it has been a huge blessing to save a little on this budget category.

Some of my favorite things yet in San Antonio includes a craving I had last Sunday with Brice for Raising Cane's. We googled on our phone the nearest one and while on our way there, Bricey realizes that the location in in the airport. So we called them and asked them if they were past security and they said they could deliver curbside. So we parked right outside the Delta entrance, and waited for our food. Best. Date. Ever.

Also, we had a really awesome date night at Maggiano's Italian Restaurant. We shared a bottle of pinot noir and an appetizer at the bar and once seated realized you can order 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, and 2 ENTREES TO GO for 40$!!!!!!!!!!!! That being said, I will be having pasta tonight!

Now this past weekend, we went to bed at 10 pm on Friday, and crashed on the couch Saturday after a fun-filled day with the Patterson's. We were staying awake on pure happiness that we could be together on the weekends. There was much laughter simply blamed on lack of energy. This picture made me laugh so hard. Many times I sit next to Brice and put my very long hair over his head just to get an idea of what he would look like had he ever come home with red hair. Meet Emo, Justin Bieber, Brice

 Oh how I adore you...

More to come on this Adulthood life. Like for instance being scheduled the next 5 weeks with two 2 days in a row off, other days off are single days with me going back the day after. Challenge: Long distance relations. Solution: Taking the day off to take a Uhaul and packing up every single thing in Bricey's house while he is working so when he gets off of work the only thing he CAN do is...move.