May......

In the midst of my woe is me moments last week, I failed to realize that it was time to change my calendar over to May. How is it already May? A cold front came in today, and I am currently wrapped in a blanket. May? A cold front? In Texas? Something is not right. Makes me fearful of what hurricane season will be like. But I digress....

This year is going by so fast. I swear life did not move this swiftly when I was younger. Now I feel like I am running out of time to do all the things I dreamed of doing. But again, I probably should go ahead and digress........ It is almost summer, and I am focused on getting in shape and enjoying life to the fullest. I go to Miami in exactly one month and five days (yet another 30th birthday party) and I am so excited! I don't have anything planned for this month really, other than saving money, eating healthier and working out.

I did start the month out on a good note though... I took off today and tomorrow for "mental health" days. Time to regroup and refocus. Work has been hectic. I needed to relax.

This morning, I woke up and went to my old intermediate school (not quite elementary and not quite middle school, just 5th and 6th graders) for career day. I went to this school the first year it opened.. Literally TWENTY YEARS AGO... Literally. It was bittersweet. I remember being so nervous riding the bus here on that first day of fifth grade. I was so tiny & nerdy. Powerless. Voiceless. Everything seemed so big and overwhelming, but I made it.

Sometimes I lose sight of what I am doing and what I am here for, but speaking to those kids who sat in the same seat I sat in twenty years ago really meant something to me. I had to choke back tears during parts of my speech because I kept getting overwhelmed with emotions. I don't know if they understood the significance of it, but goodness gracious.....

God definitely has a way of reminding you of your purpose. I want to help people. In whatever way I can. If even only one child was inspired by anything I said today, then I will feel like my visit was worthwhile. I never would have imagined walking those halls again, and actually feeling like I was somebody.

I used to be so scared to use these restrooms. The stalls look so small now, but oh so intimidating back then.

Rain, Crawfish & Other Weekend Happenings....

Lately, I've been contemplating my purpose. I just want to be significant. I want to work, have a family and just matter in this world. Random way to start a post, but that has been on the forefront of my mind all week. But I digress.

This was a pretty productive week for me. I spent a lot of time in the office, and was exhausted by the time the weekend rolled around.

Once Friday rolled around, I wanted to hurry home and swan dive into my bed. I didn't follow my first mind & ended up going out for drinks and socializing with a couple girlfriends. I enjoyed the company, but did not appreciate the memories that have been flooding my mind lately. It's been almost a year since my ex and I broke up. I thought I would've made more progress by now, and I possibly have....but again I guess I will just digress.

The weather man predicted only a 30% chance of rain for Saturday. I was praying that it would be sunny as my undergrad alumni chapter was having their annual fish fry and crawfish boil. Lets just say that it was pretty much a many tsunami in Houston on Saturday.

I arrived at the park to find it lightly sprinkling, but by the time I got the chance to get comfortable it started pouring. Half the crowd scattered and went home to be met by flooding on the freeway. The rest of us sought refuge underneath a pavilion in the park and continued to drink and reminisce as the park literally turned into a swamp. I fortunately parked on gravel. My friend, parked on the grass. An hour later we were rescued as her car was straight up stuck in the mud. One of the guys had to go get a chain and literally pull us to safety. Straight craziness.

I had a good time though. Got to love my alma mater....

Sunday I woke up feeling my age. I cannot "turn up" like I was able to while on the yard. I finally dragged myself out of bed and met another girlfriend for brunch at Birraporretis. I wanted to enjoy the bottomless bellinis but I was scared to drink.

The remainder of my Sunday has been spent napping, watching basketball and overdosing on bc powder.

I definitely need to work on getting out of my emotions.....

30 Shades of Purple....

Well, as it goes I had yet another friend turn thirty this weekend. I never realized all of my girls had birthdays literally back, to back...

This one was especially important, as it was the birthday of one of my closest friends! Her husband started planning this surprise party months ago and it took everything in me to ignore her when she tried to discuss her birthday with me.

I love her so much and we have literally become more like sisters than friends. Thirty shades was the theme, and purple is her favorite color. All of the guests arrived early at Fedora Restaurant in the Dallas arts district. (I had to secretly travel back to Dallas so she wouldn't get suspicious......that's why I didn't mention my going back this weekend in case she happened upon the post)

It was so great seeing the look on her face when she walked in and saw her family, friends (childhood, college & law school) and coworker.

Her husband did an AWESOME job! I was so happy to share this milestone birthday with her.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow......................

ok

Linking up for yet another It's Okay Thursday....

I was off work today,and it's okay....

That I didn't get out of bed until well after 10 am,
It's also okay, that I wasn't dressed until almost noon...
And once I was finally up, it was okay that my first priority was to head to the mall...

I love my new bag. Thanks Macy's for having a one day sale on my off day. That is definitely okay.
It's okay that I have been shopping a lot lately. Mainly business attire, and business casual clothes. It's okay if I revamp my wardrobe for Spring...although it was actually cold here today, so I really need to be looking for cardigans & sweaters. But that's okay too....

It's okay to long for something new, and pray for something wonderful to happen in your life.
It's okay to want that something wonderful to happen,really really really really bad. But I digress.

It's back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow, with court bright and early in the morning & then catching up on emails/voice mails from being out of the office for two whole days.

It's okay to dread playing catch up, right?

Problems...

I've been awake almost an entire 24 hours.
I woke up around 3 am to catch a 6 am flight to Dallas.

I complained the entire time I was there.
We had an important client in our office, so I was busy all day.
No cell phone.
No Facebook.
No blogs.

I didn't get home until almost midnight tonight.
I turn on my television and see a devastating fire and explosion has completely destroyed a town in Texas, near Waco.

Homes, businesses, lives...
just destroyed.

The tragedy in Boston was just days ago.
That is still unfathomable.
Lives just lost for no reason.
Injuries for no purpose.

Just disastrous.

Sometimes I think my problems,
aren't really problems at all.

The fact that I can't even recall what I did the last seven days.... I vaguely remember a blend of exercise, court, driving, sleep and a random happy hour with my co-worker. I'm sure I ate too, I think.

The week was, eh. A week.

This weekend, I focused on me. I got my hair done, followed by a massage/pedicure/manicure....then I shopped. I also shopped a little bit more today. Retail therapy does wonders....

The rest of my Sunday night has been filled with reality television, too many snacks, and some plotting & planning...

This week will be interesting....

The weekend....

So Friday, I didn't get home from work until well after 9pm... I had a nightmare day & I can't even think about it without wanting to drop kick certain individuals in the forehead. But I digress. I stopped by my sisters to decompress after work, but Friday was definitely motivation for me to get majorly focused on my goals.

So, way back in the day, I used to work in the mall. I started working at Express the summer before my sophomore year of college and I didn't stop until I was studying for the bar after I had graduated from law school. I worked there so long that I was gifted a silver bracelet from Tiffany's and got an award! Needless to say, I saw a lot of associates come and go over the years and made ALOT of friends. Saturday night the old cashiers crew decided to have an impromptu reunion and we met up at The Davenport for drinks. SO MANY MEMORIES with these girls. Man, I hadn't seen them in almost three years and I am so happy our schedules allowed us to get together. Hopefully next time we can invite even more people to meet up. Thanks to Facebook, I'm in touch with all of my old managers and a lot of the other kids who worked on the sales floor while we were wrecking havoc behind the cash wrap. Good times. A lot of money spent on clothes, and so many memories working in the mall....

I'm assuming that I had one too many drinks at the Davenport, because I have been on the sick and shut in list all day today. I felt horrrrrrrrible from the moment I opened my eyes this morning, until now.

Nothing but water for me from now on. Seriously.

I just want to be asleep.

For real...