Thursday is here and there.

Wow… has it really been two weeks since my last update? Sorry, guys! Life has just taken over lately (okay, always), what with full-time work, out-of-town guests, and a dozen half-finished projects. Last weekend I went to four dinner parties in a row! It’s been fun, but exhausting.

This week is not slowing down at all… my college roommate is crashing for a few days, I have to nanny every day, my family has three weddings to photograph, and my sister and I are going to two concerts. Sometimes I think my whole family goes overboard when it comes to filling up our schedules, but on the plus side, there is never a dull moment!

Even though this is three weeks overdue, I thought I’d share a couple brief book recommendations. With the downtime my job sometimes provides, I’ve managed to get in quite a lot of reading this month.

Fiction - The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. If you’re in need of a light, fluffy read (or just really, really hungry), this novel is perfect for a long afternoon. Set in the fragrant kitchen of a quaint restaurant, eight students of all sizes and ages learn how to cook, to laugh, and to love. Each chapter highlights a different character, from Lillian, the child prodigy and instructor, to Chloe, a clumsy waitress, and Tom, a grieving, bittersweet widower. The stories are not particularly compelling, but the novel is beautifully written and worth the read.

Nonfiction - Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. If you’re in the mood for another feel-good book, this one’s for you. Shauna, a graduate from my very own Westmont College, compiles snippets of stories and lessons learned over the years. She delves into the heartbreak of young teenage girls and surfaces with reminders of God’s faithfulness in difficult situations. I appreciated how she doesn’t shy away from the pain life has to offer, but emphasizes the importance of redemption, perseverance, and joy through everything.

Hope you all are enjoying the last few weeks of summer!

DFTBA,
Ashley

Tuesday must make haste.

Hey girls, I’m writing this from the library because my computer has decided to die again. I need to call Dell Technical Support soon. =\

This is going to be short because I have to meet my mom at 7, but I wanted to make a post that now, not only do I have another job, but now I have three, and I might have to leave one of them. One I started at the end of July, which is JCPenney. So far it’s been okay, I just have to be up at the ungodly hour of 7 AM almost every day for it. I was really trying to avoid that when I left the last job because at the last job I had to be awake at 5 AM at least three days a week which I am just not good at.

Now yesterday I was just hired at a bookstore called Books A Million, and I’ve wanted to work in a bookstore for FOREVER so I’m really excited about that. But now I have an interview at JB Dawson’s (a restaurant.. that Sarah has been to!) and I’ve been applying there every few months since it opened a couple years ago. I would be a hostess. I definitely want to stay at the bookstore but I don’t know whether or not I should leave JCPenney for JB Dawson’s. My good friend who also left the evil last job has just been hired there and told me they make $2.83 an hour plus tips. I don’t know if this would screw me over or not when there are no customers. My friend said they add minimum wage to your paycheck if you don’t make at least that, but I hope this wouldn’t mean making only minimum wage on a lot of days. I was thinking about reworking my availability so that I could work all three places, but that might be hard. If JB’s is looking for only 1-4 shifts to be filled a week, then I might be able to do it.. but I don’t know. I’d feel like an ass working at JCPenney’s for less than a month and then quitting. I keep badgering my friend for information about what it’s like at JB’s before I go in for an interview.

So, yeah, really don’t know what to do. It just sucks JB Dawson’s didn’t call me before JCPenney did, I guess. JCPenney’s has nice people and the work is easy (almost boring, which is another reason why I don’t know if I want to stay there or not) but they’re giving me solid hours. If anyone has any advice, feel free to share it with me, ’cause I’m lost!

Anyway, I hope to get my computer fixed soon and hear from you guys next week!

-Brandi

Thursday is traveling.

It’s so nice to hear from you gals again! I’ve been holding off posting for a while, mostly because I’ve been traveling out of state for the past couple of weeks. In July, I flew to Sacramento to visit a few friends from college, and took my very first train ride three hours south to San Jose, then back up to San Francisco a few days later. Talk about hectic! I got to travel by myself, though, which was amazing. I’m definitely addicted to traveling, especially by myself. I love the independence and adventure it affords, and it’s fun having to figure out transportation and such on my own.

Last week, my mom and I decided to take an impromptu one-day road trip to Bend, Oregon, to see some distant relatives and attend a memorial service for my great-aunt, whom I only met once as a young girl. Although I love road trips, driving for 14 hours after getting up at 5am two days in a row wasn’t exactly my idea of fun! We stayed with my cousins, who had this gorgeous ranch-style house, with horse pastures and a wraparound porch–totally my dream house! Sadly, my mom and I were stuck overnight in their RV, as the guest rooms were filled, and my mom was very concerned that her closet was haunted because the RV wouldn’t stop rattling.

Now, I’m back home and nannying again, which is much more relaxing than having a lot of time off work, strangely enough. The girls have been keeping me entertained between chauffeuring them to tennis camp and soccer practice. One day, the younger girl and I were watching her sister play in a tennis tournament. She was busy on her DS, and looked up suddenly to announce: “I don’t think Obama is cheating on his wife.” Trying not to laugh, I responded, “Oh? Why not?” “Well, because he’s always hugging her and kissing her on TV. So he can’t be cheating.” She gave this further reflection, then added, “I’m not going to cheat on people when I’m older. It’s really bad when someone cheats. But you know, it’s not as bad if they’re both doing it.” I had no response for that… I have no idea where she gets these ideas!

And on that note… hope you’re all having a fantastic, fun-filled summer! :]

DFTBA,
Ashley

Holy crap Wednesday is ALIVE!

HELLO LADIES! I am alive!!!!!!!! I know it has been entirely too long since I have made a post and let me tell you that not all that much has gone on since my last post but at the same time, a lot went on and life was crazy and I just needed time away from the computer and whatnot and that’s what I did! First and foremost let me say that I cannot believe that it is August. I don’t even know where this summer went and now that it is August, all I can think about is school and holy crap, where did the time go?!

My internship finished up on 22 July and we had a big food fest and everyone told me that they will miss me and they wish they had a position for me there permanently because I did such good work. That made me feel great and happy and all sorts of crazy good feelings. The week after my internship ended (last week) my manager went on vacation so at work we all had crazy hours and did crazy things. I did inventory two days in a row (Saturday and Sunday), had a wedding reception on Saturday before inventory and it was NUTS. Too much going on at one time. It’s like the first of August brought a GIANT weight lifted off of my shoulders. No internship, no crazy hours at work, no crazy responsibility, etc. I have three weeks until I go back to school so three weeks to enjoy my self, or try to enjoy myself. I’m a little on edge because one of us part timers will be losing our job this week, and likely it will be me. My manager has to go by numbers, and last month mine were probably the worst, therefore I’ll get the ax. EVEN THOUGH I bust my ass to get shit done around that place, take the initiative to do things when I’m not supposed to, help out when I’m not needed, and volunteer to do FIVE inventories other than my own. None of that shit matters. Nope. It’s all a numbers game at that fucking place and my DM doesn’t like me. After three years, he is ready to get rid of me because I am JUST LIKE my manager, who he also dislikes but cannot find a reason to get rid of her either. So, after this week I may not have a job. Great. I won’t let it get me down though, it’s only retail, and after this year I will have a degree, I can get a REAL job. I HOPE. *crosses fingers*

Phew. And after all of that. Not much else has been going on. Between the internship and work I was putting in 50-55 hour weeks and had barely any time to breathe, so sorry I took some time off from posting, but it was much needed. I was barely on my computer and then my friend borrowed my computer for a few days and well I couldn’t post. But it’s back and I’m back and things are getting back to normal. I just need to remember to breathe. I missed you guys and hope you are all well and good!!

Always,
Serr

Tuesday is melancholy. =\

Hey girls, this post wont be long because I’m not in the brightest of spirits, I’m sorry. =\ I would like to say that I finally found a new job and it looks like it’ll be enjoyable. When I first got there for orientation, this lady I’ll be working with told me I’d  love it, so that’s definitely a good sign. Usually if a company sucks to work at, you can pick up on that right away. I’ll be paid a bit more than the job I’m leaving, which gave me hardly any raises despite being with them for almost 3.5 years and putting up with all their absurd bullshit. At my new job, it seems like they give raises frequently, which is obviously nice. My last day at the current hellhole job should be this Monday, provided they schedule me correctly. Which they probably wont because that’s how they are, but you know…

The La Roux concert I was supposed to go to on Thursday has been cancelled because Elly, the singing half of La Roux, has pharyngitis. It’s okay, though, because she’ll be rescheduling for November and I’d rather be surrounded by a bunch of people and their body heat in November rather than July. I just think November is a better time for a concert. I was supposed to go to Philadelphia to help one of my friends move into her apartment, but when she moved in she found that some work needs to be done to it so she isn’t fully moving into it until August. So no Philadelphia at all for me tomorrow or Thursday. =\ I was looking forward to it but seeing as how I’m dead broke, it’s probably better to wait a few weeks.

That’s really all that’s going on with me. Sorry so depressing! July is not my month, it seems.

Hope to hear from you guys soon!

Thursday is burnt out.

Hey girls!

Sorry this post is up today and not last week like it should have been. I tried writing something last Thursday and just couldn’t do it. This has been a week absolutely full of work. On Wednesday, I watched the kids for 13 hours and it completely wiped me out!

Because all I’ve done this week is read books and keep an eye on the kids, you get to hear all about my Fourth of July escapades. My family is big into relaxing on the Fourth. Even growing up, we never had traditions like setting off fireworks in the street or barbecuing with friends. Plans were made last minute and varied from year to year. This time, my sister and I joined about 40 of our closest church friends on a camping getaway in Hood River, Oregon. The campsite was tame enough, hardly “roughing it,” but I enjoyed it mostly because it was the first time I’d ever slept in a tent. Crazy, right? Because neither of my parents like camping, my sister and I never had any campground vacations as kids, and I usually declined to join my high school friends on their annual trips. Unfortunately for us, our tent blew over the next morning, so I only slept in it for one night. But it still counts!

Tomorrow I fly out to California for a few days to visit my best friend from college. I cannot wait to soak up the sun and explore Sacramento–this is definitely a much-needed vacation. When I return, I plan on continuing my job search for something more English-related. I’ve looked into a few places, but no luck so far.

At the moment, I have a lot of laundry waiting to be folded and a suitcase ready to be packed, so I apologize that this post is a little on the short side. Hope you’re all having a relaxing week!

DFTBA,
Ashley