Back to School

So today is our 2 year anniversary! He's at work until Wednesday, but he did send me a dozen roses. Very sweet.

We found out Friday that he got accepted to Nicholls for their Petroleum Services program! We hadn't even sent them his high school transcripts yet when we got the acceptance letter. They had received his college transcripts though, so I guess that was enough. So Neal is a "Colonel" now (I had to Google their mascot....I sincerely thought it was going to be a crawfish named Thibodaux or something) and starts in the fall. The program he is in is offered for guys who work 7 and 7 in the oil field, so hopefully work + school won't be toooooo strenuous. They are supposed to offer a good number of online classes too. I'm super excited and am so very proud of him for doing this. So...Geaux Colonels!

Two Weeks Worth

Hey Dudes.

Let's start with weekend before last....the A/C went out in the house. I woke up to 78 degrees inside Saturday morning. I called the landlord, but of course you cannot get anyone out to your house to fix the A/C during the weekend. I just turned all the fans on high and powered through it. I pretended like I was in a movie, b/c you know when a movie is supposed to take place in south Louisiana they always show houses with windows open and ceiling fans on and nooooo air conditioning. They came out Monday morning and fixed it, so crisis over.

Work was non-stop last week. The worst it's ever been. I enjoy being busy and all, but it was a little out of hand. I literally got fussed at for working too hard and was told that I need to chill before I burn out. That was a first. I was also told to delegate more than I have been...I totally knew that was going to be a problem.

I enjoyed a great week/weekend with Neal and family. 'Cause that's what it's all about people....spending time with those you love. We went with Maddie and Harmon to see Ryan Bingham play in Baton Rouge at Chelsea's Friday night. While RB put on a great show, I will never ever ever go back to Chelsea's for a concert. It was so small, so crowded, and so hot. And when you're only 5 feet tall, all you see is this.....



The stage was practically level with the floor. As the crowd thinned out a bit, people seemed to feel sorry for me and kept being like, "Oooh, here's a spot! Here's a spot! Move up so you can see!" So I did move up. I was almost to the stage so that I could finally get a glimpse of RB (who is also short), but the 3 assholes in that picture above were first row and would not move. They were all well over 6 feet tall. I did get a pic or two of Ryan Bingham though...




Honestly, if you don't listen to this boy's music, you should check it out. Go on iTunes and listen to "Southside of Heaven." It's good stuff.

We ate hungover lunch at Brewbacher's in BR Saturday and it was delish. Before last weekend, I swear it had been 7 years since I had been there. Chicken club still tastes the same.

We did Mother's Day/Mom's 50th celebration Saturday night at my Mom's. It's not often that the 4 of us kids are together, so it's always fun when we get to spend a little time together. TJ was so funny. He walked up to Neal with his arms raised (it's his cue to "pick me up"). It was pretty damn cute.



And about the kiddies and such...no, not preggo yet. It seems that my "lady schedule" completely conflicts with Neal's work schedule. Not quite sure what we're going to do about that, but I'm sure we'll figure something out. I see a drive to Shreveport for a Saturday night during his work week in my near future. Can I take off of work for an out-of-town booty call with my rig-workin' husband? I'm not sure, that may be frowned upon.

Speaking of rig-workin' men....if I see a picture of another oil-soaked bird on the news while I have yet to see a picture on the news of a single one of the 11 rig workers who freaking died in the explosion, I will scream. Hating the media right now.

I found out last week that my old boss died. Kirt Bennett, the guy who gave me my first job out of college on his campaign, had a stroke week before last and passed away about a week later. He was 42 years old, married, with 3 young children. As far as I knew, he was a healthy guy. He was one of those people who was just truly exceptional and made a difference in so many peoples lives. I went to the visitation Saturday morning, and got there just in time to see some women take his wife out of the church for a little while. You guys, it was not good. This woman was not okay. I know that she will be fine b/c she is so strong and smart and has great family and friends who will be there for her and her kids, but it was terrible. His death was so unexpected...a stroke at 42....it's just not fair. Kirt was involved in politics for a little while, but his biggest contribution to Baton Rouge was the Young Leaders Academy. It was a school that he founded for young African American men who did not have father figures in their lives. Apparently, some graduates of the YLA stopped by the hospital to say goodbye to Kirt when it was understood that he was not going to regain any brain function. One of his sons was asking who was going to correct him when he was wrong/did something wrong now that his dad was not going to be around, and one of the graduates of the academy said something along the lines of, "Your father was there for me when I didn't have one. Me and the 45 other YLA graduates who were taken care of by your father will be there to take care of you."

Sick, Sick, Sick

Neal got home last Wednesday and came down with a horrible cold Thursday. He was sick the whole week he was home. He finally went to the doctor a few days ago and was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, sinusitis and an eye infection. For reals. So then I started feeling bad Tuesday afternoon. I went to the doc yesterday and was told that, so far, it's just allergies. I got a steroid shot, Allegra, and antibiotics to take in case it didn't get any better. I still don't feel great, but it's not bad enough for me to miss work. Can we just be over this, please?! I hate not feeling well. It's messing with my work-outs.

Being the great and caring wife that I am, I left Neal home by himself Sunday and went to Jazz Fest with my mom. We had free tickets and VIP passes to the Acura Tent (compliments of one of her "friends"), so I got to watch the Allman Brothers from the stage. It was freakin' awesome. Did you know that JF tickets are $60 a pop now? Because I didn't! I thought they were still $32, and I thought THAT was high.







Besides my Jazz Fest trip Sunday, I really was a good wife and took care of Neal the rest of his week off. I made homemade chicken pot pie for him, went to Walgreens 40 different times to pick up every over-the-counter cold and sinus medicine in existence, kept the frig stocked with gatorade and frequently tried to de-germ the house. He's back at work now and is hopefully feeling much better.

FYI - I decided against the vegetable garden. The area where the box is located does not get enough sun during the day...and it's waaaay too much work. I'm going to stick with pre-potted plants that I can just transfer to another, larger pot with some soil. I'm not into doing things that I have to "till."

Wooooooooooooooooooork

I have gotten so busy at work that it is unbelievable. Still loving it, but WOW. I usually don't drink very much during the weekdays, but this week I've been craving a class of wine as soon as I get home. That's how I know it was a long day. I'm realizing that it is virtually impossible to do all the work that is on my plate, so I'm starting to delegate a little bit. I have one assistant now with another one starting later this month. It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

Jeanne's wedding was so much fun! I'm so happy for her and Patrick and it was so great to hang out with my favorite girls all weekend.

I have a little raised box in my back yard now that is full of dirt and weeds. I think I am going to attempt to start a vegetable garden. Granted, I have no idea how to do this, but that's what book stores, the internet, and libraries are for. It's time to get domestic, bitches.

Neal gets home Wednesday and his sister and her boyfriend are coming in town next weekend. As long as it's not raining, we plan on going to Jazz Fest Sunday. Neal has never been to JF before, so I'm going to break him in with the Allman Brothers.

I can't think of a single other thing to write about right now, so I'm going to get in bed and catch up on my shows.

No Work Today

I am soooo happy to have today off. I cleaned last night so I don't have to worry about it this weekend. I have a family crawfish boil at my grandmother's tonight in Mandeville that I am also excited about. And my brother and his family and Maddie will be staying with me tonight, so yay!

My inlaws went overboard and bought me a new backyard for my birthday. They gave me a porch swing, two swivel/rocking chairs with a table, a picnic table (which Neal and I stained last weekend), and Marilyn bought a bunch of potted hanging plants and planted some flowers around the house. The backyard looks a million times better than it did; I must take pics. The blue hydrangea bushes around the house are starting to recover from the cold weather, the azaleas are in full bloom, and there are some very pretty purple freesia-looking flowers that are blooming now too. Oh I so wish they would just sell us the damn house. I'm expecting to have some issues finding a place to buy that I like as much as this place.

Now can we talk about allergies? I could not sleep at all last night. The first half of the night I was congested and the second half of the night my nose was running. Ew, I know. My ears are even stopped up. I took a claritin this morning and am hoping my PJs iced coffee will do the rest.

So I'm getting an assistant at work. And my boss showed me the new organizational chart for our department, and it looks like I will be getting an additional second assistant at some point in the future. And the word "manager" will be in my job title. Hmmmm. I'm kinda' pumped.

So Jeanne's wedding next weekend?! I can't wait!! I may need to get some waterproof mascara.

Busy Bee

I've been non-stop today! I actually slept until 815 this morning (which is late for me) because I stayed up until after midnight last night watching the Real Housewives OC reunion shows. Quality television. Then today I picked up my bridesmaids dress for Jeanne's wedding, bought some gold strappy shoes to go with the dress and some silver gladiator sandals (by one get one half off), went to Target, Old Navy, LSU store, and then to Roly Poly for lunch. I came home, cleaned the whole house and finally showered. I'm wiped. Now it's rainy and I'm watching Everybody Loves Raymond. Not a super exciting day, but it was productive.

The inlaws are coming in Thursday for the night. They're buying me patio furniture for my birthday, which our house totally needs. Then mine and Cara's b-day crawfish boil is Sunday. Holla!

Work was insane this past week. I've been put in charge of all these Parish projects and it is terrifying. I've never been put in charge of this type of stuff before, so I'm learning as I go. I'm not used to having this much authority at work and it is really freaking me out. I do appreciate that my superiors seem to have confidence in me and my abilities...I just wish I had that much confidence in myself! Sometimes I miss the old days of micro-managing bosses. (Yeah, I said it.) It was annoying, but a lot less stressful. The grass is always greener....

Neal and I picked out some pearl earrings for my birthday. I love them. The ones I've been wearing the past few years were tiny and fake, so I love my new ones.

I guess the only sort-of big news that I have is that I've gotten off of birth control. We'll see what happens!

Our lease is up in May and our landlords want us to stay here as long as we want, so we are going month-to-month from now on with a 60-day move-out notice. I've started looking at houses online, but we haven't started seriously looking yet. I really like that we don't have to sign another year-long lease and that we can also take our time looking for a place to buy. I was worried that we would be rushed trying to buy a house; I didn't want to settle for a place just because we were time limited in our search. Hopefully we can find something in Covington or Abita Springs, within our price range, that we both like.

I think that's all I've got for now. 30 in T-3 days, ya'll.

Just a Few Things

1. Jeanne's bachelorette party was last weekend. Lots of fun and I love my friends. But I'm so very, very tired.

2. I'm old.

3. Going to be in Houston next week Wed - Fri. I'll be at the Doubletree in the Galleria area. Feel free to holla'.

4. If you like reading about celebrity gossip on the web, check out www.laineygossip.com. She has nicknames for some stars (for ex: Carrie Underwood = Country Bitch) and she's hilarious.

5. I DVR'd Oprah yesterday so that I could watch Jessica Simpson talk about the massive pile of douche that is John Mayer. And I must say, I think JS came off great. She finally seems comfortable in her own skin. She was funny, honest, and genuine. I like her again.

6. I have a wedding to go to tomorrow night and I have nothing to wear. I'm thinking about just wearing my highschool reunion outfit (black pants, shiny teal blouse, black strappy heels, big necklace). I really don't feel like having to hunt down a new dress tonight. Blah.

7. I can not even begin to tell you how sad I am that Neal can't come to Pruitt's wedding tomorrow night. Frowny faces all around. I know that Neal is going to be so bummed tomorrow night and it will be very weird to not have him there. I guess it's just part of working in the oil field - you get off every other week so there are no vacation days or random days off. Boooooo.

8. I took a temperament/personality quiz today at work. I took the same quiz 9 months ago when I started my job, and my scores/outcome have changed. I was an "idealist" last June and now I'm a "guardian." I think it's my close proximity to 30.