Random Ramblings.......

I have a new favorite quote of the moment. It comes from the ridiculously adorable player from the Houston Texans, also known as, JJ Watt. I'm not the biggest fan of football, but I definitely love some JJ Watt. But I digress....

"The second I feel like I made it, the second I feel like I've arrived, that's the second someone will take my spot. And I like my spot."

The message I take from it is, stay humble. Even the best can be replaced with even better. Stay steadfast with self-improvement. Getting better is allowed. Don't stop perfecting your craft, just because you think you have made it.

Aside from the deep thoughts on a Sunday night, my weekend has been pretty chill. I went out Friday night for happy hour, followed by dessert at The Chocolate Bar. No photograph could do the delights I experienced justice. I've passed that place hundreds of times, but never went inside. Let's just say that after devouring two scoops of the BEST rocky road ice cream & taking literally two bites out of the biggest slice of chocolate cake I have ever seen in real life...I was chocolate wasted. The three glasses of champagne I had at happy hour probably aided in my wasted feeling, but I am blaming it on the chocolate.

I slept in on Saturday, ran some errands and went for a much needed pedicure. After that, I napped for an unknown amount of hours. I realized I had been sleep for hours, upon hours and had neglected dinner. I peeled myself off the bed, and went to eat. Then reinserted myself between the sheets and watched television until I fell back asleep. Oh the excitement.

I woke up early today in order to visit a new church and see my friend make her choir debut. After church, I resumed my position on the bed and napped some more. I'm guessing I was exhausted since the majority of my weekend involved me being asleep...... Ah well.

Realizations: I really need to reevaluate the relationships in my life, to wit friendships. Regular is not always bad. Everything does not have to be some big production to be enjoyable. I am fine with just relaxing. You do not have to share every intricate detail of your life with everyone in your life. Sometimes less is more. Patience is a virtue....that one I already knew, just need to keep reminding myself of it. Value your family & the little things. Quality over quantity.

I finally stopped being cheap and bought myself a tablet. I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. So far, it has given me the same joy I thought I would have gotten from an iPad. I ordered a case/screen protector off of Amazon since the ones in Best Buy were so freaking expensive. I'm hoping my purchase arrives soon because I won't be able to fully enjoy my purchase until my screen is protected. Speaking of Apple products, I want to upgrade from my iPhone 4S to a 5. I also hate Sprint, so if and when I upgrade I am considering switching to Verizon. The only downside to the upgrade is I would need a new case, and I love mine. Whine, whine, whine. First world problem, whine.

I'm hoping this week will be painless. Court in the morning, and a lot of running around & to do's to get accomplished. On an unrelated note, I cannot wait for the Fall temperatures to finally kick in.

That is all.

The Good & the Bad

Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend. I personally, have gotten spoiled these past few days, with watching entirely too much television & eating entirely too much food. My weekend has had a variety of extreme highs and some medium lows...if that even makes sense. Overall it was a peaceful weekend, but I am looking forward to getting back to reality tomorrow.

The Good ~

My family came into town from Louisiana, so I got to see my grandmother and enjoy her company the last couple of days. In addition to having some family in town, I also got a chance to see a lot of my Jaguar family since my alma mater was in town playing the University of Houston.

It was great seeing a lot of old familiar faces from college, meeting Miss Southern & her court, hearing our world famous Human Jukebox marching band, and cheering on our football team... I figured we were not going to win, since it was U of H's season opener/home game....but I didn't anticipate us to get blown out like we did, but it was still a good time.

The Bad- began with the score 60-something to 13. Sigh.

After the game I was too exhausted to go out, so after chatting it up for a few hours I went home and fell asleep.
It seems as if I slept a lot this weekend. Hours upon hours at a time.

In all honesty, I hate Labor Day weekend. Regardless of the number of years that pass by, this weekend is always overshadowed by the fact that 22 years ago, on August 31, 1991 my older brother was murdered. No matter how much time passes, my mind still flashes back to being that little girl in 4th grade who just wanted to go to the mall that day, as my parents painstakingly took on the task of letting us know that he was gone. Definitely not the best way to celebrate the holiday weekend, but that year and every year after it's just something we have all had to live with.

Saturday night, I was in my feelings so I just chilled around the house & watched episodes of a new show I discovered called Ink Master. It comes on Spike TV and it's sort of like a cooking competition, only the tattoo artist have their challenges on real live people who get tattoos. I also discovered the show Melissa & Joey on ABC Family which was also a very cute show.

Sunday, I went shopping with my aunt...was annoyed by all of my local girlfriends & ended up having dinner with my guy friend before again falling into a long deep slumber.

Today I woke up late & watched more TV. I ran errands with my mom & went earring shopping in the Beauty Supply store, which is my favorite place to buy cute, unique & cheap earrings. Not the real, wear everyday kind of earrings, but the wear with a cute outfit once or twice & not worry about my ear falling off because they are fake and I'm only wearing them for a few hours kind of earrings :)

After my beauty supply store adventure, I met up for a late lunch/early dinner with friends at Chuy's, my favorite spot. I had my favorite dish, for the second day in a row...

It randomly started raining by the time we had finished eating, so I headed home & have been planted in the middle of my bed since then.

On a more positive note, since today was a holiday that means this will be a short work week. And that simple fact brings me joy.

Welcome to September!

P.S. the post I wrote a few days ago mysteriously disappeared. I have no clue how or why.... hopefully that isn't a recurring trend. But knowing me I may have accidentally pressed the delete button, I'm not the most tech savvy, but I digress.

A weekend

I just had a weekend, in which I did absolutely nothing & enjoyed every minute of it. Technically, I did nothing because I was still extra sore all week from my fall and needed to rest...but aside from me popping painkillers I felt like I needed a weekend of solitude to recoup and refocus. 

My friend emailed me books 1-3 of the Mortal Instrument series, so I spent my Friday night alternating between reading, napping and channel surfing. 

Pure bliss. 

By Saturday, I woke up refreshed. 

I hit the streets with my mom and sister running errands & we stopped by Red Lobster for a late lunch. After eating and chatting it up with them it was time for another nap, followed by more reading and channel surfing. I ended up finishing book one and started on book two before I fell asleep. 

Sunday morning, I spent the entire day finishing book two and started on the third in the series. In between reading I took time to lust over Justin Timberlake and his amazing performance on the video music awards, and question why Robin Thicke agreed to perform with Miley Cyrus. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Miley but that performance was just, wrong. But I digress. 

I wish there was a little more excitement to my weekend, but alas it was not. No complaints though, I enjoyed every minute of it. 

Now on to finish book three......

Fantasia, Scrapes, Bruises & Other Happenings

Warning...... if gross things such as blood, scabs & bruises bother you don't scroll down to my last photo.... 

Anyways....

I had the pleasure of seeing Fantasia Barrino of American Idol fame Sunday night at the arena theater. She was AMAZING! 

From the moment she kicked her shoes off onstage, she had us singing and dancing like crazy in our seats. She is a very soulful singer and had the crowd In the palm of her hands the entire time. 

It was a very well worth it show and I'm glad my friends and I had a great time. 

I left the concert in a wonderful mood and was fully prepared to enjoy what was left of my Sunday night. I sang the whole way home & was joyous and carefree....

When I got home, I casually walked up to open the front door when I saw a huge pair of eyes staring at me. I screamed and ran back to my car so I could call for someone to open the door for me. 

Adjacent to the door was a huge green insect the size of my palm with a face that looked somewhat reptile, but had the body of a hummingbird of sorts. It had a face big enough for me to recognize its facial expression that read "why in the hell are you here trying to disturb me?"  Not even exaggerating....

I'm terrified of bugs. Anything that can fly, jump or hiss sends terrifying chills down my spine. Bees, lightening bugs, sweet Jesus don't even get me started on water bugs... but I digress. 

Well once the door was open, I called myself trying to sprint up the stairs but right as I had almost made it inside I heard the flutter of wings close to my ear and stumbled hard as hell face first into the stairs. 

Luckily I broke my fall with my shoulder, but I ended up scraping the skin off my knee and when I woke up yesterday morning I had a huge bruise on my arm. 

I was in so much pain yesterday and last night that I ended up leaving my office a little  early because it hurt to move my arm. 

Fortunately the swelling has went down a little, but I'm still in pain. 

Talk about embarrassed and disappointed in myself. I caused an insect who was probably more scared of me than I was of him to almost cause me to seriously injure myself. 

I told my mom what had happened and she admonished me and said she hopes I learned my lesson and can finally get over my fears. Quite honestly I think I learned my lesson and more.

I question God so often, like why am I not married or why don't I have children etc. etc., but in reality I may not be ready for all of that. Maybe I'm reading to into this but, I still have my quirks and growing pains and god forbid I did have a baby. Would I have tossed it at the hiss of some random mutant insect? 

Probably not, but still the fact that I'm in so much pain today over wings flapping really makes me think that I have a lot of maturing and over coming fears left in me. 

Maybe I don't have all those things right now for a reason. I mean, I can't even change my bandaid without gagging so um yeah.... Changing a diaper? Nah. 

Everything happens for a reason and right when it is supposed to. Lessons are learned in the strangest way, but Lord I hear you loud and clear and I am happy exactly where you have me at the moment. 

Now I must overcome that fear...... or else pray that The Lord sends me a man who is an exterminator.... or not ;) 

Week(end) Wrap-Up

This past week was fairly busy for me...

A couple of girlfriends and I started off the week by dining at Brennar's On the Bayou, which is an upscale steakhouse in town for Houston Restaurant Week. I ate entirely too much, and caught a cold. My friend was sick, but she didn't want to miss out on our dinner date. Needless to say, the food was worth me having the sniffles for the remainder of the week, but I digress.....

On Tuesday we celebrated my mom's 61st birthday. She started the morning off proclaiming that 61 was the new 50... I ate too much again. Cake. Cake. Cake.

I can't even remember Wednesday- Friday because I was busy medicating myself, whoops.

But fortunately, by Saturday morning I woke up feeling refreshed & rejuvenated. I met up with the Les Lecteurs book club ladies for brunch and books at Royal Oak, and two pitchers of mimosas later we somewhat discussed the novel Y, and picked a potential book for next month.

After the meeting, I went back to my friends apartment and raided her bookshelf and took home two new books to read. I really need to get a life. Or a boyfriend. Or a dog. I get too much joy out of reading.. I need a healthy distraction from my addiction. But anyhoo....

After the book club meeting, I took the longest nap ever and headed out to a bowling bash for yet another 30th birthday. I swear all of my friends apparently were born in 1983...It's like a non-stop parade of thirties...

I'm terrible at bowling, but I did have fun with my friends!

This morning has been pretty chill, but tonight I am going to see Fantasia perform & I am very excited about that. Details to follow.....

Sunday Social ~~~

I'm linking up with the Sunday Social today.....


1. What is something you've always wanted to do but are afraid of?

I have always wanted to learn how to swim. I know this is probably something I should have learned a long time ago, especially since I like to travel to places with water so much.. but it just scares me sooooooo much. I tried lessons back in 2011, but was so afraid after the first day that I never went back :(



2. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I have no clue. In a perfect world, hopefully somewhere happy with my husband & kid(s). But at this rate......




3. What are you looking forward to before the end of 2013?

I don't really have anything planned for the remainder of the year, but I am looking forward to more blessings however or whatever they may be!



4. What are your hopes for your blog?

I don't really have any hopes for my blog, other than my keeping it up and finding time to write more. Life gets hectic, but I do enjoy being able to come back and read about things that occurred or see how far I have come from a certain point in my life.



5. Do you always see yourself living in your current town/city?

I love Texas, because my family and majority of my friends are here. But if I had a good enough reason to live elsewhere I would be OUT!!!!



6. What is your morning routine?

Wake up, hit snooze...
Look at my phone...email, FB, Instagram...
Prepare for work....
Sometimes breakfast at home, or swing by Starbucks before I head into the office or court....

Oh August......

The month is almost half-way over, and it seriously has felt like a blur....

I'm giving up on trying to calculate how many 30th birthdays are left to celebrate, because apparently I didn't realize how old young my friends actually are... Yeah, thirty is starting to feel so year & a half ago for me :)

My August thus far has been hot, sweaty & busy. The everyday heat advisories are getting old. As the temperatures rise, the more I miss having a relaxer. Natural hair (when pressed) and humidity do not mix..... I'm over it. But luckily, there are probably only two more months of insane heat in Texas...

This week/weekend Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. had their Nation Convention (Konklave)in the city. That meant 15,000 fraternity members roaming the streets of Houston, parties galore & lots of eye candy. I am sad to see the convention come to an end... I haven't seen that many attractive men in this city, ever. But I digress.....

We hung out with the Nupes Friday night, and part of Saturday night. On Saturday, a friend from high school celebrated her 30th with a backyard birthday bash. It was hot. Once I felt my hair growing into a ball of fluff, I was glad to run inside...and not come back out. I can't deal with the outside, in the heat, with the hair. I can't. Sorry. Fortunately a great time was had by all, and I was able to salvage my hair....

For some reason, I have been really internet paranoid again, so I haven't been too active posting pictures here... but I have been religiously on Instragram... There the world can see how much food I've been eating and how many selfies I've been taking. Comment with your handle if you are on Instagram & I will definitely follow you.

August is Houston Restaurant Weeks, where all the fancy restaurants in town offer three/four course meals for discounted rates and donate proceeds to the Houston Food Bank. I went to Oceanaire, and will be going to Brennar's On the Bayou tomorrow evening. I am sooooo excited, because I have always wanted to try that restaurant out.

Aside from the eating, and melting in the sun my August has been pretty low key. I crossed a few more items off my summer to do list & even got tickets to a concert next Sunday night which I am also excited about.

Oh, August..... I have a lot of things left to look forward to, now if only the temperatures could drop.....