The day after my last post, I was laid off from my job at the clinic. Not a big deal, since I was about to turn in my two-weeks notice, anyway. The timing was a bit of a surprise, though. My boss was really nice about it, and let me stay one more week, which was awesome...it showed how much he trusted me, since everything in the office had to be confidential. He knew I wasn't going to go insane and start doing anything illegal :-) Anyway...it was a great job for being my first after college. I had practically nothing to do most of the time, but it got me in the habit of being in one place for an extended amount of time, and I'll have a great reference. But seriously...I got paid to be on Facebook and read blogs and stuff like that every afternoon. Thursday of the last week I worked, I watched Cleopatra (the one with Elizabeth Taylor) in its FOUR HOUR ENTIRETY without a single interruption. Seriously. :-)
After being laid off, I started really working toward moving. I've been packing and sorting like crazy. I've gotten *almost* everything moved to Jonesboro at this point...I've just got to move my clothes and a couple of pieces of furniture, and I'll be done! All there will be left will be myself and my cats! I'm a little nervous about how they're going to take the move, but I'm sure they'll adjust alright.
My wonderful friend Jessie threw me a Pampered Chef surprise party as a sort of going-away/apartment warming party, and that was SO sweet of her! I got lots of cool PC stuff that I know I'll make a lot of use of. The biggest surprise of the night, though, was that Josh came! My oh-so-amazing friend drove 15 hours from Colorado (his family lives in Searcy, so he wasn't coming *just* for me) and came to my party! He came over to my house that night, too, and we talked for hours and hours...it was so nice to actually be in the same room with him, instead of internet chatting. I love talking to him online (we do so nearly every day), but it was lovely to actually see his face. He came over the next night, too, and it was absolutely fabulous! We made a blueberry cobbler with berries that his mom had picked herself just the day before. SO sweet!
A couple of weeks ago, my parents and I moved my Grandma out of the nursing home she's been in for the past couple of years and into an assisted living apartment. The change has been wonderful for her! The nursing home was AWFUL...they pretty much stuck her in a wheel chair and left her there so long that she basically forgot how to walk. We had no other option but to have her there, though, since there wasn't an assisted living complex in town, and she can't be on her own. She's too prone to falling. The hospital finally built a facility that was more what she needed, though...other people her age, LOTS of activities geared toward her demographic, and a staff of certified nurses who can and will help if something happens. She's got her own space, though, and can still be semi-independent, which she needed. After only a couple of weeks there, she's walking again, assisted by her walker, and she only uses the wheelchair when she gets too tired to walk on her own. She looks so much better than she did at the nursing home...it's obvious that her activity level is on the rise.
Finally, last weekend was spent at HOME in TEXAS! It was SO good to be there. My friend Kathy married a wonderful man, and my friend Ashley and I were her maids of honor. The wedding was beautiful (if a bit hectic...but then, what wedding isn't?) I got into Fort Worth on Wednesday, the 24th, and stayed with Kat. I got to meet Nico's father, who'd come in from Venezuela, and Unagi, Kat's rescued boxer. Cesar (say-ZAR) was really sweet, though a little hard to understand sometimes because his English was so heavily accented. I wish I'd remembered more Spanish from the three years I took in high school...oh well. Unagi is a sweet dog...he was a little shy at first, but he turned out to be a very affectionate dog and he's CRAZY about Kathy :-) The 25th was an interesting day for me. It would have been my fourth anniversary with Mike, so I kinda had a cloud over me for most of the day, but I was busy enough with wedding preparations that I didn't have time to really focus on that. I'm SO glad that I was in Texas with my friends...they made sure that it wasn't a horrible day for me. The only time I really broke down was that evening. The rehearsal was that night, and Kathy, Ashley, and I were in the foyer, lined up to start down the aisle, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe at all. I went out into entry hall and called Josh, who knew what was wrong even though he couldn't understand what I was saying (his 5th anniversary with his ex-wife would have been the 19th, so he'd just been through the same thing.) He told me he'd pray for me and that I'd be fine, and after talking to him, I was. I still cried quite a bit through the rehearsal, but it was bearable. The rehearsal went well, and afterward, we all went to dinner at Los Vaqueros, which is a great little Tex-Mex restaurant in the Stockyards. It was great! I (tried to) give a toast, but I completely choked on it...it was fine, though, I think...Kat and I have been friends for sixteen years now, and she knew what I was trying to say :-) We went back to the church after that to finish up whatever we could, and then went back to Kat & Nico's and crashed. Friday was an insanely busy day...Ashley and I went to find flowers and then we spent more time at the church trying to set up everything for the reception. We had the bachelorette party at Pappadeaux, which is sort of Cajun seafood stuff. It was good! I'd gotten lots of decorations, and Ashley and her mom got it all set up and once we convinced Kathy to take a break from the wedding preparations and GO, it was great! She had fun and got some really pretty things. Saturday morning, Ashley and I went to the salon to get our hair done, and then to the mall to get shapewear for me (since I managed to forget the $80 thing I'd gotten for the express purpose of this wedding...) and I felt completely ridiculous walking through the mall with big fancy hair with my t-shirt and jeans...haha! We met up with Kat after that for manicures & pedicures...we ALL needed the downtime that that provided, and when we got to the church afterward, everything went smoothly. Kat was a beautiful bride...she had a very classy, vintage-y look about her. The wedding went perfectly...there was only one goof and it was so funny and so perfectly timed that I managed to get through the whole thing without tears! Basically, anyway...I had a single tear or two when Gran gave her blessing and prayer. The reception was fun and it all was just perfect!
I went out that night with Ashley, her boyfriend, and one of his friends. We went to the Flying Saucer downtown, and then to Transformers 2 in Sundance Square. It was a fun night, but I was SO tired by the time I got back to Ashley's apartment! I went to church the next day and saw several people from the church where I grew up, which was bittersweet, really, but it was so good to see them. I got to see my aunt & uncle, too. My parents had been staying with them the entire time we were in town, and I stayed with them the last night, too. I LOVE my family and I was really glad I got the chance to see them.
Anyway...I'm back in Searcy now, finishing up moving to Jonesboro. Life is still hectic, so I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I'll try to do so soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment