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Monday, March 31, 2008

Spring has Sprung

Saturday I decided to venture down south on my quest for the perfect shower curtain for my guest bathroom. As I made my way down MoPac heading towards Barton Creek Mall, I spotted a sight that made my spirits soar. Finally the bluebonnets are in full bloom here in Texas. Despite the crazy weather we have been having, it was at last a sign that spring was here. However, bluebonnets don't necessarily mean that the cold weather is behind us.

This picture was taken last Easter when it snowed in Texas in April. I must say the bluebonnets covered in snow made for some lovely pictures.
And no, I did not find the perfect shower curtain. However, I did find some other fun goodies for my house.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Home Alone Update

Maverick did pretty well staying home alone with free reign today. He greeted me at the door with his tail a-waggin'. That was a vast improvement over the pitiful bays he let out as I was leaving this morning. He is used to me leaving but not when he can watch me leave. I did, however, have to clean up a couple of accidents. That was surprising because he can easily make it through the day without an accident in the kitchen. I think once he gets used to being able to roam he will be better though. My baby is growing up!

One of those moments

So, I was walking back into the office this afternoon from my lunch break when I caught a glimpse of myself in the window of the building. Now the windows are tinted so they act like a mirror when you are walking by. At that exact moment, I began to wonder when I became such a yuppie. Here I am with my Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha latte in one hand, iPhone in the other hand, trendy wedge sandals, cute little shift dress, and Coach bag on my shoulder. Oh and let's not forget the monogrammed sweater draped over my arm in case it gets cold in the office. Now I have always been a bit of a girly-girl but yuppies had such a negative connotation when I was growing up. So, how on earth did I become one?

On a side note, I am either crazy or brave. I gave Maverick free reign of the apartment today will I was at work. First time ever. Well, not completely free...the bedroom doors were shut and I tried to put everything up where he couldn't reach it. Let's hope I don't come home to a big mess tonight. (I will update later!) What do you want to bet all he did was sleep on the couch all day!?!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Life is too Short

I am a little sad today. I got the news yesterday that a friend from college had succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 29. It is sad when anyone dies but even more so when a young life is cut short. Not only does it remind you how short life is, but it also reminds you to call your friends. Jessica and I were not close but we did hang out in college. She has been in Houston the past few years so I could have gone to visit at any time. This just reminds me to not let life pass me by but to live it to the fullest. Don't let anything stop you from doing what you want to do. To all my friends, know that I love you even though I don't stay in touch as much as I should. Thanks for being there for me when I have needed you.

On a side note, today is also the 2nd anniversary of the passing of my sweet Nanny. I had a dream about visiting her grave last night and telling her about everything she has missed in the last two years. I wonder if she would be proud of how I have handled my life since the divorce or disappointed because Shawn and I are not together anymore.

Sorry to be so melancholy tonight. You know that I try to keep things upbeat and fun here at Just Say Julie. I promise to perk up in the next couple of days. After all I only have 5 weeks until I move.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Things that make me go Hum...

Shortly after arriving at work this morning, I opened up my Google Reader to peruse the various blogs and feeds I have subscriptions to. This morning there were a couple of headlines that really caught my attention and I just felt the need to share them with you.

1. Council considers canine curbs from the Mobile Press Register
Apparently the Mobile City Council wants to fine pet owners for incessant barking and not scooping poop. Being the owner of a very loud beagle, I am sure I would receive numerous fines. Maverick doesn't seem to understand the concept of "shut up." If the city council thinks they are better able to make my dog be quiet, more power to them. I would love to know their techniques so I could employ them myself. However, I doubt they would have much luck either. Thank goodness Mav and I don't live in Mobile!

2. NY Governor Says He Used Drugs from WKRG.com News Stream
Coming on the heels of the prostitution scandal from the recently resigned New York Governor, you would think David Patterson would learn when to keep his mouth shut! First he and his wife announce they both have had extramarital affairs. Now he admits he used illegal drugs years ago. OK...so I guess he wants to put it all out there before the press digs it up and he gets into trouble. But frankly I think he is causing more trouble for himself by being so up front and honest about it. I mean seriously! Doesn't he know when to shut up?

3. Oven Explosion from WKRG.com News Stream
Apparently some kid in Pompano Beach, Florida thought it would be a great idea to put two aerosol cans into an oven. Big shocker that this caused an explosion and fire in the kitchen and injured the woman who was babysitting the child and 4 others. In a smart turn of events, the 5 kids were sent to the Broward County's Juvenile Firesetter Prevention and Intervention program. Somehow I would think that a parent could have stepped in at some point in time and told their own child the dangers of fires and placing things in hot ovens. Forgive me if I am wrong. After all I am not a parent myself.

4. Sara Evans Engaged To Former Tide QB from WKRG.com News Stream
Alas I have missed out on Jay Barker again. First it was to that skanky Amy, his college sweetheart, who left him for another man. Now it is to Sara Evans. Granted she can sing but she can't dance. (If you watched her on Dancing with the Stars, you know what I am talking about.) I guess it was just another case of wrong place, wrong time. Oh well...sigh!

Now for a couple of good laughs. You may have noticed that I added a couple of new sites to my blogroll. You really need to check them out.

1. Stuff that White People Like
The thing that is funny to me is how much I relate to the items on the list. More than half of the list includes things that I either like or have tried at least once.

2. The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
If you are a punctuation freak, (I am not but these still make me laugh) then this site is for you. The blogger posts pictures of signs with unnecessary quotation marks with witty commentary. My favorite so far came this morning in the form of a sign to dogs about a new "no pooping" advisory and the blogger's remark that, "you know, Dogs can't read." Hi-larious!

*Thanks to Aardvark and Graystar for the links to these websites. They help make my day brighter!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Only in Texas

This morning I ventured down south to join Clay and his in-laws for Easter. First we headed to church and then to the Kelly Compound for an Easter egg hunt and lunch. Since I haven't found a church here in Austin, I was happy for the opportunity to visit a church in town and also not have to spend Easter alone. However, during the church service this morning, I witnessed one of those "Only in Texas" moments. The pastor was telling a story about deer hunting to illustrate a particular point. The story involved him purchasing a deer head from a taxidermist after having one he had actually shot stuffed. While the story probably would have been adequate to illustrate the point, the pastor decided he needed to really drive the point home. How he decided to do that was to carry both deer heads on to the pulpit with him. Rather than returning them to their hidden location after he completed the story, he left them on the pulpit for the rest of the sermon. So we sat through the rest of the service about the resurrection of Christ with two dead deer staring back out at us. I guess that is how you know it is Easter in Texas!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

American Idol Tonight

Can I just say that I am thrilled that Rocker Chick (aka Amanda) is finally gone?!? I swear my ears bled every time she opened her mouth to sing. I never did understand why the judges liked her.

Gadget Girl

Shortly after we started dating, J made the comment that we needed to increase my gadget girl status. Being the he is an IT geek, that was not a surprise. Now that we are no longer dating I am working on increasing my gadget girl status. Prior to all this my newest and favorite gadget was my hot pink iPod nano purchased shortly before my trip to Hawaii. So I proceeded to purchase the accessories to accompany my iPod. That included a small set of travel speakers and a clock radio my iPod could be plugged into. Up until recently that was the extent of my gadgetness.

However, as a reward for being patient through the process of trying to sell my house in Killeen, I decided to purchase a new cell phone. I went into the AT&T store planning to purchase a red Blackberry curve because I wanted to be able to check my work email from my phone. I also needed a new phone since Maverick had decided my old one was a chew toy and he had left his teeth marks all over the phone. Once I entered the store and talked to the salesperson I discovered that my beagle wasn't the only one who liked to chew on electronics. His beagle had destroyed a bluetooth headset. He also was able to convince to purchase my next toy, my iPhone. I love it. I am so glad I got it. And I can check my work email from it so it is all pluses for the iPhone.

Sunday the Target ad in the newspaper caught my attention. There were two gadgets in the ad that made me want to run out to store and make my purchases despite the fact my bout of food poisoning was still kicking my ass. The first one was the reduced price for the 1Gb iPod shuffle. J had mentioned how great it was for exercising since it could easily be clipped to a shirt while walked or doing whatever other form of exercise one preferred. Since it was only $49.99 and they had it in purple, I decided it was a must have. Now I have no excuse not to take Mav on walks once we move. The second gadget is something I have wanted for a while and haven't been able to find. We all know what it is and none of us can ever find one when we want one. That's right folks...I was dying to buy a Wii. However, I didn't make it out of the house on Sunday so once I finally made it to Target today, I was able to purchase my purple iPod but alas there were no Wii's to be found (big shocker). So I did what any smart person would do...I hit CraigsList and did a search. The first person I wrote to still had a Wii to be purchased so we worked out a deal and met up this afternoon so the exchange could take place. Once I got home I managed to get the console connected and spent the next hour trying to make pro on Wii Sports Bowling. (Man, I really need to steal my Mii from J since I already have a kick ass score and my sparklely ball!)

So I am well on my way to upping my gadget girl status. The next major purchase on the gadget status will be upgrading to a new TV once I move. Anyone up for some shopping? :)

Monday, March 17, 2008

Sleepless in Austin

OK...so I know this title doesn't have the same ring as that of the movie I love so much and, no, I am not calling into a radio talk show to talk about losing the love of my life. (Probably because that hasn't happened to me yet) However, I have had many sleepless nights recently. OK...not necessarily sleepless but I have been having a hard time falling asleep and an even harder time wanting to wake up and go to work. So here I am on yet another evening where sleep is evading me trolling the internet and sipping a glass of wine with the hopes that the latter will work its magic and I will reach dream land (not the BBQ restaurant in Alabama but sleepy time) soon. So, what pray tell is causing these issues I am having? I am not totally sure. I can list several factors that I think are contributing to the problem that all added together are creating one giant problem. First there was the breakup...I know...I know. I shouldn't get so worked up over a boy (or man in this case) but what if that boy was the first person you felt a real connection to in a long time. After the divorce, I think it has made breakups harder for me. I guess I no longer feel like time is on my side and I want to find someone to love. (I know...spare me the lectures...I don't need to rush anything.) Then there is work and the additional stress that has created in my life. Next would be my recent bout with food poisoning. That has really screwed up my sleep schedule since I spent the majority of several days sleeping instead of hurling. But probably the biggest factor would be the upcoming purchase and move to my new home. Every time I lay to sleep my mind begins to race with the millions of things I need to do before I clear out of the apartment and the millions of things I want to do when I move into the house. If only I didn't have another six weeks to wait. I could be so productive. However I am in a total holding pattern right now. And unfortunately that holding pattern won't end as soon as I close on the house. Two days later I will be heading to New York for my bi-annual Jackson Women's Wild Weekend in Manhattan. So needless to say the move will have to wait until my return to the Lone Star State. On a brighter note, I sold my bedroom suite tonight. So I will be resorting to sleeping in the guest room soon rather than moving the bed into the master. I also think that has my brain in philosophical mode. I listed the majority of my large pieces of furniture on CraigsList about two weeks ago. So far I sold one piece and watched it hauled off and now the bedroom furniture will be leaving by the end of the week. In some ways it is sad because it is like watching my old life walk out the door. On the other hand, I won't be staring at constant reminders of Shawn anymore and it is giving me a chance for a fresh start. So I guess my point is can we just skip the entire month of April and get to May already!?!

Friday, March 14, 2008

March 13th


Yesterday was quite an amazing day. I got to witness one of those moments in life that everyone hopes and dreams for (at least every woman). My office mate, Alisha, became Mrs. Baker in a very sweet ceremony at the most beautiful location I have ever seen for a wedding. I have been blessed to get to know Alisha and Dustin over the last few months and to be able to call them my friends. It is truly great to see one of those couples that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will make it forever and grow old together. I echo the sentiments of Dustin's best man and cousin, Casey, when he said that it is great to see something that is so right in the world. Congratulations you two! I wish you all the best.

On another note, two of my best friends in this world became moms to 2 year olds yesterday. It is hard to believe that it has been two years since Scout and Austin both made their presence know to this earth. I am glad that I have gotten to spend time with these two adorable kiddos and that they both love their Auntie JuJu. I must say that it is amazing to me to watch Ronda and Jennifer as mothers. They both do a fantastic job as parents and I can only hope that one day I will be as lucky as they are.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Why Me?

So the last couple of weeks at the office have been extremely busy. Trying to prepare for 2 upcoming audits, complete monthly invoicing, and write cost proposals for new contracts has been my life recently. Not to mention all the extra special projects that I have been assigned to do. I don't mind being busy but there is a fine line between busy and too busy and I have been tiptoeing it for the last 2 weeks. To make matters worse, my boss and co-worker both decided to take vacation this week leaving me to run the accounting department on my own. I told them it would be my turn when they got back to run screaming from the building for a few days. Needless to say the last thing I needed this week was to be sick. So when I woke up at 3:30 Wednesday morning to worship the porcelain god all I could think about was the fact that I had to be at the office that day. After struggling to go back to sleep and dealing with a sick puppy on top of everything else, I finally broke down and called my boss around 8 apologizing like crazy that there was no way I could function at the office that day. Once I got her blessing to stay home I popped the wonderful pill that I had received at the ER on Ft. Hood once upon a time that would ease my tummy issues and knock me out for the day. I finally came to from my drug induced coma around 7 PM to walk and feed the now healthy pup and try to find something bland to eat that I might actually be able to keep down. After eating a small amount of soup and watching the American Idol results show, I headed back to the bedroom and returned to my coma. Sleep was good. It was the only time I couldn't feel all the pain radiating through my body (back, stomach, legs, head, shoulders, neck). Once I awoke this morning I was still in pain but I was able to digest some food and liquid so I knew it was back to work for me. As I laid in bed trying to shake off the coma, my upstairs neighbor started rehearsing his audition for next season's American Idol reject video. Yes, folks, he was singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of his lungs at 8 AM. How many days do I have left of apartment living? Trust me when I say that the closing on my house can't get here fast enough!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Dilemma

So I have basically picked out all the new furniture I want for my new house. I decided that new house = new furniture since this house represents a fresh start for me. So I am in the process of selling the majority of my furniture to replace it with new, more modern furniture that I am picking out all on my own. I have one issue that I can't resolve though and that is where you as my faithful readers will come in. There are two beds at Ikea that I like that match the rest of the furniture I have picked for my bedroom. One is wood and one is metal. The metal bed is $100 cheaper than the wooden bed. So here are pictures of the two bed options:

Here is the rest of the furniture that will be in the room as well as the comforter that will be on the bed:


So please faithful readers, vote on the option you think I should choose. I will take all your opinions into consideration and let you know what my final decision is. So far my boss, co-worker, and Mom are voting for the metal bed while my brother is voting for the wooden bed.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

525,600 Minutes

As I mentioned before, I recently sold my house in Killeen. That required me to make a couple of trips to the house to remove some of the items I had left in the garage when I moved out. On the way home from my last trip before closing, I popped in the Rent soundtrack (movie not musical) and proceeded to sing along. With an hour of travel time on my hands, my brain began to wander and I started to think about what they were saying in Seasons of Love. This allowed me to think back to the events of the previous year of my life. I realized that it was about this time last year that I first considered leaving Shawn. No one even knew the thoughts that were going through my mind. For someone who has no problem sharing her feelings, the fact that I was miserable in my marriage and wanted out wasn't something I could discuss with anyone. On the surface, Shawn and I appeared to be the perfect couple but underneath I don't think either one of us was truly happy. However, I continued to ignore my feelings for another six months and make some stupid mistakes along the way. It amazes me how far I have come in such a short period of time. My life has changed so much since. I have changed so much since then. I always thought of myself as independent but I feel even more so now. I moved to a new city alone to take a new job. I bought a house on my own. It is all about me now. Well, me and Mr. Mav Dog. Even moving my blog last night allowed me to review the last few years and see how much I have changed. I feel like I have truly matured. I realize now that there is much more to life than having the perfect husband and the ability to go out and spend a fortune on things that I really don't need. Its time to branch out now and explore this wonderful new city I now call home.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

OK...so I know I have been away for awhile. I had someone keeping me busy at first and then I just couldn't bring myself to write anything. I am going to try to run through a quick update of the last two months without going into too much detail and then I am going to submit a post on some of the deep thoughts I have had recently (I can feel the excitement now!) Shortly after my last post, J and I ventured to Mobile for the 2008 La Luna Ball where a drunken good time was had by all as I pranced around dressed like Marilyn Monroe and J looked smashing in his tails. (The theme was A Red Carpet Affair by the way.)
January passed pretty much without fanfare. Maverick returned home from Doggy Rehab (or Boot Camp which ever you prefer) and I received an offer on my house in Killeen all in the course of two days at the end of the month. The Giants won the Super Bowl. Go Baby Brother Eli! Mardi Gras Day came and went without notice in Texas. I discovered I have high cholesterol and a B-12 deficiency which means I now carry a small pharmacy in my purse everyday. J and I broke up so I spent Valentine's Day alone with a pizza and a bottle of wine. I voted for my first democrat ever in the Presidential Primary. I found a house online, fell in love with it and put an offer in on it over a three day period. I closed on my house in Killeen and bought an iPhone as a reward for my patience. Work has been unbelievably busy which has been welcomed since it takes my focus off of the sadder things in my life. I think that pretty much sums up the last two months. If I think of more, I will add it later.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog home. I decided that a long with a new house it was time to move the blog as well. Bear with me as I transition.