Whoever knew these were real?

Nantucket. I thought it was a made up place. Turns out, it's not. It is a small island within a group of small islands off the coast of Massachusetts. This is where rich people take springtime vacations, well there and Martha's Vineyard (located on another small island just west of Nantucket) Who knew??

Timbuktu. You know when you were younger and you would box up your younger sibling and tell them you were going to ship them off to Timbuktu??? I thought that was a made up place as well... turns out. I'm wrong. Timbuktu is actually a city in the country of Mali in Africa. Glad I never sealed the package... my poor baby brother!!!

Flamingoes. OK, OK. I know... that may be just me. But, I seriously always thought these were made-up creatures some ninny with a full yard of flamingoes, gnomes, etc., created just to have something else in her yard. I honestly never remember seeing them at a zoo. And, my papa used to take me to the zoo all the time. Until recently I thought these were fake, made-up. Sorry, but you just don't see toothpick-legged, pink, non-flying birds around Amber, Okla.

I may be a little blond-headed after all!!! :)

4 a.m.

OMG... it's even worse than I imagined. I thought it was 3:30 a.m. I woke up at 2:30 and have been lying here awake trying my hardest to go back to sleep. It's not working. I am wide-eyed and awake. I thought it was only an hour... I thought to myself, "Gripe. This obviously isn't working," So I thought at 3:30 in the morning, why not write about it. Then I open my computer and see that it is in face 4:30 in the morning.

I've been awake for two hours. USELESS.

I guess I have been sleeping really well lately because they give you some wonderful pain killers after surgery to make sure you do get plenty of rest. Well, I am feeling much better now and I don't particularly like the state of zombiness those pain killers put me in. So, I have quit them. Well, now I feel every cough, sneeze, deep breath, twinge, tweak, spasm, etc., going on in my surgical region. And that is making it extremely hard to sleep.

Lord have mercy on this poor, poor soul. Please let me sleep. I don't want to wake up the husband with all my tossing, turning & computer typing. lol

Art Project '09

Today I am very proud of myself! Honey-do and I are in the process of making the house ready to "show" when we put it up for sale. I bought new bedding for the guest bedroom and my mother-in-law purchased some great used furniture for the room as well! I don't have pictures of the new furniture, but it will be black and the bedding is white, with black-and-white throw pillows. I'm adding a drop of red to give it a bit more color! 

For art for the room, instead of purchasing pre-made art or pictures I did it myself!! :) This is a little project I saw on HGTV!! I LOVE THAT CHANNEL!!! :) This is the before:

and this one below shows the finished projects!!!! :) They may not be perfect, but I am happy with them!! 

Lazy Sunday

I'm working on Ashley's wedding pictures today, while honey-do went to the office to work for a couple of hours. :( B-O-R-I-N-G

I hate when he leaves me alone AGAIN on the weekends. I tolerate it during the week because it is his job, and I appreciate being able to stay home to focus on what I love most: photography. But weekends are supposed to be time for us to spend together... not time for him to go to work again and "catch up." 

Oh well.. I found some wonderful photoshop actions at CoffeeTeaPhotography.com. Check it out:

Spring Cleaning

As if this week didn't start out bad enough, Honey-do's dad's cousin Char's husband died last night. (That was a mouth-full, sorry.) Most families wouldn't feel the hurt of a "distant" relation such as Marv. But, our family is super tight-knit. I love that. So, we are feeling a little droopy in the drawers for Cousin Char and her family. 

Such a sad week. We are traveling back to Oklahoma this week for my friend's dad's funeral. But the end of the week will be happy for us too. We will be going to Honey-do's grandparents' farm to see his cousin and his wife, who we found out are expecting their first baby!!! So exciting. Callie is already 17 weeks along, so she is starting to show a little. We are very excited to see them this weekend. They moved to Dalhart, Texas, and we haven't seen them since Thanksgiving! 

So, what am I doing today? Cleaning my house. :( boo

I figured it is time for a little bit of "Spring Cleaning." We'll see how far I get today, before Honey-do gets home and we leave for the funeral tomorrow. 

Wish me luck!

bored.

Health wise, I guess I am fine. I just need to keep working out more and eat healthier, but that is every big girl's problem, right? 

We have had a couple pregnancy scares, but they were all negative. And we have decided to use birth control again, because we want me to be "healthier" before I get pregnant. 

Not to mention, we want to save money. Perry doesn't feel confident enough with our current money situation to bring a baby into the mix. Not to mention he would rather wait til we are ready to move back to Tulsa, if we are truly going to move back in another year or two.

So, that basically means, I have another year or two to lose weight, and get a great job for better "experience," or truly figure out what I want to be when I grow up. 

I don't think I like "working from home."

I feel extremely lazy most of the time... I don't really do anything. And I feel like I haven't done much work. But, I do work.

I really miss being in the office though. I miss having friends. 

I honestly don't have any here in Kansas. I have Perry, and that is great. I love him. Whole-heartedly. But I don't have a girlfriend to go shopping with or grab a bite... 

(went outside to grab the dog)

Just talked to the neighbor for a little more than an hour. I guess Kansas isn't that bad after all! 

Homesick

I'm having the most horrible day. It's one of those days where everything I do or say seems to make the people surrounding me upset, and that makes me upset. It's one of those days that makes me wish to be back in Oklahoma so very badly. 

I want to be able to see my mom, or my nana. I wish I could be closer to them. I hate that if I want to see them I have to drive 6+ hours just to get there. I could really use a hug from my Papa... even if he doesn't know why... he always makes me feel better with a hug from him. 

I love that Honey-do is happy here. I love that his job makes me happy. I love our house. I love being with him. But, I miss my family. I miss his family. 

Honey-do's mother has been sick for a week or so and I wish I could make her some soup. Or go over and make his father dinner so she doesn't have to worry about it. Not to mention, I know how badly she is missing her son right now and wants to be able to see him, too. 

Maybe I'm just being a big baby. I guess I am. But is it wrong to be so homesick? 

My deepest apology...

I know I have been absent for far to long now. I apologize. I ensure you, I will return full fledged with lots of new updates! 

I am finally a stay-at-home wifey! It's wonderful! This is my first full week as a freelancer... and so far, so good. I'm really glad this is my first week home too, because it has already snowed and you know I don't like to drive in the snow! 

Although, honey-do made me go to the grocery store all by myself and it was scary. Just kidding. it went fine. And I do have to admit I kinda liked being able to take my time as I went through the grocery story... I wasn't rushed like I normally am, and I think I remembered everything! 

I don't know that Sadie (our Jack Russell Terrier) likes me being home. It really has changed her daily routine. Not to mention, when I get bored and start singing at the top of my lungs to the holiday commercials on TV, she kinda gets angry. And she looks at me like I am crazy sometimes. But, I guess it would be just like having a teenager! haha

Well, its getting late... I should probably get some shut-eye... you know, busy day tomorrow! :)

Have you ever Googled yourself?

A dear friend from college wrote on her blog about the magnificent usage of technology. She praises the use of social networking by means of the Internet. However, she warns that employers are looking to Facebook and MySpace to see the "true colors" of their future employees. 

While reading her post, I began asking myself, what do people see when they Google me? So, I tried it! Wow, the things I found. I was proud to find some of my articles that have been published in the Angus Journal. I also found some news releases about winning scholarships at Oklahoma State University. But, then I found that I am not the only Tosha Powell in the world! And that is always interesting. 

Just for fun I looked up names of all my family members. I saw that my mother-in-law shares the name of a professional interior designer. Honey-do shares  a name of a company with the same name. My father-in-law has a common name with MANY people! My father shares a name with a politician, and my mother shares her name with a children's book author.

Finding these names on the Internet made me think of two very important things.

1. It is VERY important to consider the names you give your children. It might not be a bad idea to Google a name you might potentially give your next baby. Just to make sure they don't share the name with something or someone that will cause them grief later in life.

2 However, the most reassuring thing I found, my friends, is that my Facebook and MySpace profiles were not available for public viewing. 

Just as my fellow blogger states in her blog, please, if you want to be sure you are creating a positive image for future employers, set your privacy on your networking sites. Or, if you have nothing to hide, leave them searchable. 

But always remember, Big Brother is watching you! 

Movies I am lovin' on ...

I must have been born in the wrong century. Really. Why, you ask? Because I love pre-20th century flicks, such as these below. They are my new favorite attractions. I watch them every time they appear on my cable box. I love the way they wrote, talked, wore clothes, oh how I wish I could wear fancy dresses they way they do, and speak with such poise. 

So, if you are looking for a good old-timey flick, enjoy these: 

Becoming Jane

Atonement

Pride and Prejudice

The Other Boleyn Girl

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

These movies are great. Maybe it is because each of them has a wonderful cast of characters. But, either way. I love 'em!

It's raining.

I've never been able to pay attention very long. When in school, be it elementary, high school or college, I was not one that paid that close of attention to the teacher, instructor, etc. I would like to think that shouldn't be a problem anymore. I am a working girl now, am I not? I have a real-world job and real-world responsibilities now, do I not? (Whoa... sounding a little Mary Poppins-ish there!) 

However, it is raining outside. Storms swept across Oklahoma last night and I missed it. :( I missed the weather chasers, the lighting strikes and the ever loved family trips to the cellar. I missed it. It's like a family tradition in my home state -- Spring Storms. And I missed it. 

And now. It's raining here in Missouri. And, now, I can't pay attention to my work. I am constently looking at the weather and wondering where the heck I am going to find protection up here. Sure, work has a basement... but I've never gone through a storm in a basement. My family has a nice, safe cement whole in the ground. Basement. HA. 

OK. Sorry. Enough rambling. Point is... I've got work to do. But not the attention span with which to do it. 

AKA... I need help!

a blah kind of day

Work is boring today. I have the absolute perfect dream job for someone in my profession. I am an assistant editor to a very successful livestock publication. I get to write, edit, and compile other people's compositions for our magazine. However, I don't get to do some of the other things I really would love to be doing. 

I would rather...

• be taking photos

• designing an advertisement, brochure, flyer, poster, etc.

• building a web site

• golf

• swim, tan, surf, waterski

• knit, sew, paint

WHOA... OK, that list got a little carried away towards the end. 

You see, it is starting to be nice outside — well not today, 'for today it is rainy — and I would rather be anywhere other than at my office, in my cubical, and bored to tears. Literally, tears.

I'm having that emotional time of the month anyway, so every little thing gets me teary-eyed. Last night, I got out of breath walking up the stairs... I cried. Honey-do asked me what I wanted for dinner... I cried. Honey-do apologized for making me cry... I cried. 

And, today... I cried. I cried because I am tired, I have the cramps, I'm bored, I wish I had a more interesting job, my-boss-doesn't-like-it-when-I-talk-to-the-advertising-people-but-I-like-them-and-want-to-talk-to-them-so-am-I-making-her-secretly-mad-at-me-if-I-continue-to-talk-to-them? Cried, cried, cried. 

I know. Pathetic. 

See... this is what happens to me when I am not keeping busy. So garsh darn it... I need something to do. :(

Oh yeah... at a later time I will have to spill more about the boss. Boy-howdy... I've only worked here three months and I already have some good gripes about her. 

And, as for the weight issue... this week is SO not the time to talk about that!