I suck at blogging and other tales

Hello Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking a moment to stop by this lonely little blog of mine. As I have stated in the title, blogging has not been my forte of late, and I have struggled with keeping this web page open. But here we are!

Again.

So life lately has been busy. I've failed at doing monthly updates (I did start them! But didn't complete them so.) so here's a synopsis of the remaining summer months:

VolleyBall (lots and lots of volleyball):

Rock Climbing:

I'm like a "regular" at the climbing wall!

Bike Rides:

Cades Cove 8.15.15

Live Music Events:

House Parties + Cookouts:

Friends:

The Fur Kids:

Lots of MeetUps:

Its been a fun one! 

Month 6, Day 12

Now that summer has arrived I face an all to frequent dilemma. Do I sleep with the fan in the window and have cool air, or do I close the window, suffer and stay bug free.

These are the things you face when you have no air conditioning. 

Sometimes I can convince myself that I'm camping. 

Other times I have to fight tears as I pick bugs of my covers, arms and legs. 

There's no imaging things crawling on me. 

They are. 

I just picked a beetle off of my stomach. 

And then capture a June Bug and carried it BACK outside. 

Now there is a flying flying around my room. 

My bathroom was crawling with ants, but I dosed it with Raid, and now its not. 

I generally tolerate bugs pretty well. I've had do deal with a lot of horrid critters over the last five or so  years. But now I just can't. But I have to.

At this point its only been a few weeks and I'm beyond over it. If pulling my hair out and screaming would get some results? I would do it. 

But what can you do?

Right now I'm looking into portable air conditiong units. 

They're kinda of expensive, and don't eliminate the whole 'open window let in bugs thing'. 

Anyone know of any cooling systems (beside central air) that is windowless? 

In the meantime imma start saving my pennies for a new house and tuition to get back into school.  

P.S. (Compared to many things in the world this is minuscule I realize. But I needed to vent. Thanks for listening!) 

Hot! Hot! Hot!

It's JUNE 2013 Y'all!

The heat did a number on my hair ... 

Just in case you'd forgotten.

If you're like me at all, and have to write the date a bazzillion times each day, then you'll appreciate that reminder. I can't tell how many times I write 5/ then have to turn that into a 6/, its quite annoying for a neat nick such as myself. 

But I digress.
June brings sunshine, and warmth and lots of rainy days.
It brings Vacation Bible School, Church trips to Florida (sans me as usual!) and lots and lots of heat.
Sticky, muggy, humid heat.
Made worse by the fact that I have... no air.

My grandmother would be horrified by the fact that my window is open, all night long, but I ask you HOW ELSE am I supposed to sleep?

It wasn't that bad at first, and actually was kinda of nice, not to walk around my house shivering.... but then it was if we went from 350 degress to broil. And its no fun. And guess who doesn't have any money to change that.

If you guessed me? You would be correct.

Honestly I'm just thankful that (for not) its not as hot outside, as it is inside. Making doing things like putting window fans in, nice. It won't stay like that for long, but its something. You would think after 3 years of no air I'd be used to this already, but I'm not.

June 28, 2012

Saturday, we saw record breaking temperatures at 105 degrees. 

So what did we do? 
Stay inside and drink ice cold lemonade?
Play in a pool until the sun went down?
Lay in the shade and read a book? 

No. Of course not! 

Rebekah, Jennifer, Kimber, Autumn and I loaded up and headed for Dolly-wood. 
Because its the smart thing to do. 
No, in truth it was because their "bring a friend" passes were going to expire so, you it was do or die. Or both. 
Luckily we were able to "do", without majorly dying. 

Dollywood provided all guests with free water, so we took advantage of that all through the day, as well as riding every water ride we could! 

I got to be the "bag keeper" as I am not a fan of roller-coasters or anything more than six feet off the ground. My dah-ling brother cannot understand why I have an aversion to dropping hundreds of feet and twirling around in the air as if I'm some bird or something..

Nevertheless every time roller coasters come up, he launches into an argument why I SHOULDN'T be scared. Dude. Fear. Irrationality. I know you've never experienced it...! 

 Maybe one of these days I can convince myself I won't die, but it wasn't Saturday. Or Today for that matter. 

Unfortunately for my friends who DID want to ride the Wild Eagle, it was closed due to the extreme heat, not to mention while we sat waiting, two people were helped off by paramedics. 

After that we got some food and found some shade, before going to see a show in an air conditioned building. After that the little girls had some rides they wanted to Ride, so Rebekah took them while Jennifer and I dried off in a sunny spot. By 5pm the sun had completely zapped any energy we had left, so we packed our bags and headed home. 

The End

July 2012

Welcome to the 2012 edition of July! 

This month, we plan to regale you with tales of trips, birthday celebrations, the meeting of friends old and new, and (hopefully) lots and lots of photos.

So here we are in the seventh month of the year.
[How did that happen!?] 
In a few days I'll have hit the three-year mark at my current job.
Three Years. 
Like Whoa.

And yea there ends the significance of the month of July. :)
This will be an extremely busy month for me, and I'm looking forward to it.
I really hope this month marks a change in life for me.
I don't know how, but I know God does.
And that's all that matters right?

Summers End

Hi.
My name is Erin for those of you who may have forgotten me or what have you..
Can I possibly back out of this whole going to school thing?
I know it starts in two days..yes two days; on a SATURDAY...but surely skipping one semester will be ok?

I kid.

I'm ready to have that diploma in my hand, and do something else with my life.
Like go to this lovely university I work for.
Did I tell you guys I've already received my certificate in Basic Photography?
It wasn't great for my motivation.
Honestly, I wanted to grab that thing, and high tail it out of school, not looking back.
I have since, come to my senses and realize that I need to finish what I've started.

Cause I don't not finish what I start. Unless its absolutely necessary.

That's another thing I'm going to write in my "Erin's Attributes column".

Speaking of "attributes", my friend Rebekah, and I were musing on here we are, two amazingly quirky, crazy, fun, single ladies and "no one" knows much about us. I suggested we started just letting people know what our shining attributes are. I mean, otherwise they'll come up with their own opinions, which might be the wrong ones.. so why not give 'them' the facts straight up.

You know? So "they" know what they are getting into. #smirks 

For instance..."people" pretty much think I'm only concerned about my dogs..admittedly I am quite passionate about dogs and training, which is to say that I do talk about my dogs/post stuff about training quite a bit. 

Ok. A lot. 

The alternative would be to complain about people, actions, relationship failures, etc..etc.. 

However, I'm think I need to spread a little bit more about myself out there as well... 

Of course the idea is to get it out there as subtly as possible, because honestly we're not really...um... "looking" shall we say. Life is complicated enough already.

• Randomly announce what you are good at on Facebook. 
• Create/Buy T-Shirts proclaiming your attributes 

• Push come to shove, just take out a wanted ad. But good luck.  You never know what you might get!

These are just ideas of course. 
If you try them (and they work) let me know! 

However, now I've digressed so much that I have completely forgotten the point behind this post. So in conclusion, school starts in a couple of days and right now I am hoping that I'll be on that train. 

Cause once again Financial Aid has failed me. Not really a surprise, but I was hoping I'd get through this semester drama free. 

Alas it is not to be. 

For once I'm not stressed about it, what's meant to be will be. 

So I'll leave you, to get back to your weekend..heading over the mountain tomorrow to visit old friends and their dogs.. .:) 

TATA! 

Erin 

P.S. ( Blogger now has predictive text? Can you say annoying?) 

My Simple Things

The Simple Things
This was one of those weeks,where finding the little things, that made me happy is a little difficult. Life is changing, for many in my inner circle, my roommate is getting married and moving away. My parents are moving away.. Loosing my free internet..(I know how selfish of me) I just left another job...Things that aren't really super stressful (well besides the wedding) but very emotion ridden.I don't want to even TRY To be happy.. but I can still be thankful..
I appreciate...
♥ Having at least one window air conditioner♥ Being able to have had 1 year with my roommate ♥ Knowing that she has a great guy to take care of her♥ Having my own car (Still can't believe its all mine!) ♥ Earning an extra $100 this week...♥ Sunshine ♥ Caffeine ♥ Doughnuts  
What do you appreciate? Be sure to link up with Jessyln Amber!

Have you ever...

Had so much going on at once, that you didn't have time to stop, sit down, organize your thoughts and photos...and write a blog post? Yeah that's pretty much how life is at the moment.

• The first week it was a new job, new dog + old problems.
• Second week, is still new job, old dogs + their problems + VBS + New Drama.
• The 3rd week it was the new job + care of three dogs + VBS recovery + Other Drama + Stress 
• Fourth Week, new job(s) (I work client to client) + plus one of my dogs is with someone else + recoverying from the stress of last week + lack of sleep...

I don't have any time! Gargh! However... as much as I thought I'd hate the ridiculously early hours of my new job, its not as hard as I thought it would be. Perhaps its just because I'm back to doing something I love again..(not that I don't love my other job, its just....I'll be there two years and its...well not as "challenging" as it once was, but its the best paying job I've had, and I love my co-workers so we'll be there until I graduate at least) 

Clients dog worn out from our walk

These next two weeks will be incredibly busy. I look at my calendar and shudder sometimes....however I wanted something to do to keep my busy this summer...and I've got it!

 I've also got some BIG decisions to make this week...< insert another shudder > its making me extremely nervous, and starting to stress me out some. And the idea of me stressing out is stressing me out more..(my body hasn't quite recovered from my last bout of anxiety...the thought of food is still making me nauseous. I have NEVER been so stressed as I was last week. I don't want to do that again.)

Which means I have less energy, am more tired etc..etc.. BLAGHER. Can I please quit being a grown up now? Please???

Anyway, this is all to say, that posting will be spotty until school starts...(how ironic)...which probably means that I'll start posting more regularly. It always happens like that, so... until I write again!

Ta! TA!

And Today.

Summer Vaca: Day 3 

Today my friend Rebekah and I went and looked for cars.

......and I think I may have found IT!!!

Taking the 'rents back to look at him/her on Monday and perhaps make a purchase then as well!!!

Of course I may very well be jinxing myself, but you know if not, I've waited this long I can wait some-more.. (all though I'm really, really, really,really,really,really,really,really tired of waiting..) 

I does has some hail damage but its so minimal, you can't even tell...and its in my price range!!

*deep breaths*

I can't wait for Monday!

2004 Pontiac Vibe

In other news: The grading system in schools is waaaaaaaaaaaaay overrated. That is all.

Youth Jubilee 2010

The weekend.
2010 Youth Jubilee - Forest City Arkansas
I’m sure you want to know about my weekend.
All in all, I’ve had a blast this weekend.

{My brother and his friends. Good grief who said they could grow up?}

{Hi to you too Vicki :))}

{My NC peeps, Miss you guys!!}

{he was saying something really funny...??}

{Where do you want too go? No where do YOU want too go?}

• Despite giving my puppy away for two weeks
• Despite the Quarter sized mosquito's. (I am NOT joking. Those things are freakishly big)
• Despite getting my phone wet, and having it freeze the screen up. (I’m blaming my friend Devin for this one, if I hadn’t had to go get him a milkshake, I would’nt have spilled it on my phone, therefore causing me to wipe it off with a damp, napkin and thus freezing my screen. Thankfully my friend Justine recommended I sit it in rice to dry it and, and its make too semi working order.)
• Despite being a tired emotional wreck due to staying up to 3am every night.
• Despite puncturing our radiator and having to be towed. (Fun times I tell you, I’m not going to do much traveling with my roommate again, remember last year when her car’s engine blew on the way back from Florida? Thank God for Kia’s Roadside assistance, we were able to be towed to a dealership, where we sat and attempted to figure out what we were going to do. Eventually we decided to see if we could find the leak ourselves, and patch it enough to get home.)
• Despite working for 3+ hours to repair said radiator. All.By.OURSELVES. (I think I have missed my calling and should go into auto mechanics. Though we did have several concerned men stop and ask if we need help. HELLO JUST CAUSE I LOOK like I don’t know what I’m doing, doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing! But we did have a good Samaritan, who wouldn't tell us his name, that insisted on helping us out, which we are grateful for. We got home at 4AM this morning, without a single problem from the radiator. Are we good or are we good??!)

{Cheese..ok Now SOMEONE HAND ME THAT PUTTY!}

{Yep I do know what I'm doing :D}

{On the road again!}

It was awesome getting too see my peeps from all over the country again, the messages that were brought out, were needed. Its just another one of those trips we won’t be forgetting anytime soon!

{Summer Week 7}

And finally the calendar acknowledges that summer has begun. PSHT. I could have told you that!? I don’t know where it’s been but it’s been in the 80’s at least since May and in the 90’s since the beginning of the month. Now I’m a person who loves the outdoors, but this heat has even me running for my Air Conditioning and showering twice a day. I believe it was 81 degrees when I came into work this morning. That is crazy my friends, and makes me miss my clean, crisp mountain air..


It’s about 30 minutes before noon and my co-workers have hit the door. I could set my clock by their stomachs really. I’d really like to eat Firehouse Subs, my mouth is watering at the thought of the thick sandwich…but I have consider my money and a $10 lunch is not really what I need to pay for right now. But OH. Guess I’ll hit up Taco Bell. (*gags*)


I have sat down and re-budgeted my moneys and come up with a plan that will, hopefully, reduce the amount of money going out at certain times of the month. While I don’t think I’m actually able to save anything STILL, I will at least have more than $50 in my bank account between paychecks. It’s sad because I can’t do ANYTHING. No out to eats, no shopping, no trips to Dollywood, Florida, or Arkansas for the matter, and no driving to California with the Roommate…if that is something I wanted to do. Every stinkin thing costs money!


No this is not news to me, but thank you, peanut gallery, for that insight.


But my path to gain more money has stepped up a bit, I finally realized that I really need to stop telling God what I want, and just let him guide me to where I’m supposed to be. So far all of my past jobs have been what I needed when I needed them, and I’m pretty sure it will be no different this time. So I’ve sat down at my computer, shoved my fears of the unknown aside started hitting those “Apply Now” buttons. It’s hard for me not to play the “what if” game, what if I get “bad” coworkers, what if I don’t like the environment, what if I have to give up school, what if I can’t raise GDP’s anymore? What if, What if, WhAT IF!! But on the same side what if it’s perfect for me?


*sigh*


Stupid Logical Thinking;


Alas my money problems aren’t getting smaller the less I do, I still have no financial aid money, and no word from the FA Office. So I have no choice but to load Pompei in the car, and head out there tomorrow morning/afternoon. *sigh* If I were a betting person, I’d bet $5 they aren’t out there tomorrow.
On a completely different thought, I am completely bummed out that I can’t go to Disney with my friends this year. We all participated in the Disney Give a Day, Get a Day Program and got free tickets, but….. it just didn’t work out so we could go together. This is not too say that we aren’t going, my family is hoping to go later on this year…but I think I’ve already talked about traveling with my family. I love them. But.


So my 21st birthday is coming up in almost three months, that in and of its self is not a huge milestone for me, 20 was a bigger deal in my mind, because I could finally drop the “TEEN+Steroetypes” from my age. While I don’t have anything “BIG” planned I am hoping to purchase myself a present in the form of a car. Let’s hope the whole job thing pans out....

The End.

Oh.My.Word

I know you all thought I was the crazy dog lady before, but does taking in a random dog at 10:00pm qualify more thourghly now? Yes? 

Well let much just say this. My summer is official un-boringinged. 

And you can read about the whole story on the dogs blog.

Count them 1, 2, 3, 4 little doggies... AH AH AH AH.

I'm quoting Seaseme Street.

No I didn't get much sleep last night, why do you ask?

Oh. 

BTW.

Anyone want a dog?

Oh.My.Word

I know you all thought I was the crazy dog lady before, but does taking in a random dog at 10:00pm qualify more thourghly now? Yes? 

Well let much just say this. My summer is official un-boringinged. 

And you can read about the whole story on the dogs blog.

Count them 1, 2, 3, 4 little doggies... AH AH AH AH.

I'm quoting Seaseme Street.

No I didn't get much sleep last night, why do you ask?

Oh. 

BTW.

Anyone want a dog?

Summer Week 4 - Boredem

Um...

Ok, ok I admit it. 

I'm bored.

{Random Photo of Pins collected during Destination Imagination, whom I got from some kids from South Korea}
And I'm missing my old job. 

As in the WORK I was doing with them.

I miss having four dogs to keep up with.

I miss having SOMETHING to do EVERY DAY.

Wait.

No I don't.

Ok I think I miss having something to do every day.

I can only clean my house so many times before it just won't get any cleaner.

I did splurge a little this week, and did some "Me" shopping.

I bought one shirt from Kohls...

And I've finally decided on the bed set for my room. 

{Target.com}

Is it sad that I"m trying to find a dog bed cover to match? Yes?

{MollyMutt.com}

Anyway I need to get back to work....emptying my 4GB memory card.  Complete the weekly newsletter.
Until i have another random thought!

TTFN!