Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Texas

Eleven months is far too long to go without sharing what's new with me...or shall I say US?!  Rich and I have a beautiful home here in Killeen, though we're still unpacking and settling in.  The boxes seem to multiply every time I turn my back on them!  I am working from home and LOVING it.  Rich says I'm cleanaholic...like that's a bad thing? :)

What a breath of fresh air to live with, laugh with, and BE with my best friend everyday.  I won't get all mushy here, but life is lovely!

We have big plans for our future, near and far.  We'll be traveling to Oklahoma City to visit with Rich's family this weekend.  Some other planned trips include South Texas (Galveston and Corpus Christi have been on my To-Do List for quite some time), Las Vegas (first time for me), and of course Georgia!  I'll post some about these trips as well as the great places we've been since Rich's return from Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day.

Looking forward to catching up!
~A New Kinda Girl

Life lessons learned in the kitchen

Another week has come and gone.  So many things can happen in only a few days, but I've learned to value each day for what it is:  another shot at life.  That's exactly what changes bring us.  And now I know.

I'm adjusting well to my new job!  I must admit that the first few days were rocky; I was beginning to think I'd made a huge mistake.  It's better now, though, even if it is a BANK (my boss at the credit union referred to this as a four-letter word).  I'll be in training for another week and a half, but I'm all for extensive learning if it means being better at what is expected of me. 

 

I was able to spend some much-needed and much-loved time with two of my nieces, Brittany and Baili.  They've become fast friends with Maggie and Ziggie.  I couldn't help but laugh when I drove them to their house to get their spend-the-night things.  I was driving along when they both got huffy with me.  They kept saying, "Stop doing that!  It's making our heads go forward!"  I had no idea what was going on.  Then it hit me...they had obviously never ridden in a car that wasn't an automatic.  On Saturday morning, they taught me a valuable lesson:  eggs taste just the same on the inside, even if the outside is a little bumpy. 

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, the big day of LOVE, I decided to get a little festive this evening and make some goodies to share with my new co-workers.  Chocolate-covered pretzels seemed to be the way to go!  Genius idea...  I tried to melt half a bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave--on high heat.  Yeah, they burned.  Then I tried another half a bag, and I burned those too.  Mom got out her double boiler and melted some milk chocolate chips for me to use.  Those turned out well!  I still couldn't get over the white chocolate ones though, since they're my favorite.  We went all the way back to the grocery store for one bag of white chocolate chips.  Mom went to work with the double boiler, and I decided that the beautiful pot full of perfectly melted white chocolate wasn't beautiful enough.  I wanted PINK chocolate!  It is Valentine's Day, after all.  I put in a few drops of red food coloring while Mom stirred.  One should never, ever put food coloring into melted white chocolate.  Lesson learned:  some things are perfect just the way they are--don't try to doctor beautiful.  We melted the rest of the chips, and I managed to get 17 white pretzels sprinkled with red sparkles out of the mess!  Mom and I are both impressed with the temperament of that dead blasted white chocolate!

Maggie, Ziggie, and I wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day!  Never let the idea of love blind you from seeing the real love right in front of you.  Never let go of an opportunity to tell someone how you feel.  And above all else, love yourself!

Like winged pink piggies...

Time really does fly!  I can't believe I've already been in Georgia for two weeks. 

The drive here took three days.  With two precious puppy girls, stops were frequent and required some sweet patience.  Maggie and Ziggie enjoyed their very first stay in a hotel.  While Ziggie Sue enjoyed the long road trip, Maggie Mae wasn't so appreciative of being in the car.  They were troopers though, and I was so thankful to have them by my side during the biggest change in my life thus far.


The older I get, the more I realize just how lucky I am to have the parents I do.  I thank God daily for them.  Not only did they make the long journey with a heavy trailer in tow, they packed me up without even fussing that I hadn't packed even the first box before that day.  They've been more than understanding about my unemployed state. 


Did I say unemployed?  What I meant to say was NEWLY EMPLOYED!  I had an interview two days ago, and today I was offered a position as a Customer Service Representative at United Community Bank.  My first day is tomorrow, so please cross your fingers with me that all goes well.  I won't say it's my dream job, but it is a JOB.  I'll make the very best of it.

Since becoming a Georgia resident again, I've visited a couple of the most beautiful places the state has to offer:  middle Georgia and the coastline.  The picture above was taken at Dowdell's Knob, in Pine Mountain.  This was FDR's favorite spot just meditate and just BE during his time in Georgia.


Time to start dinner with Mom.  Have I mentioned that I love being home? 

"With enough courage, you can do without a reputation."

Well I can't take credit for those words; Rhett Butler said them, but he was right.  In a couple of days, I'll be abandoning my sense of comfort and heading toward a brand new chapter in this girl's life!  The new setting:  Georgia, a little place down South I like to refer to as home.

I don't know what my future holds, but a very wise friend of mine says that something better always comes (thanks Stacey!).  Better is a relative term, but I can definitely say that I am expecting something NEW and exciting.  With a little faith, a lotta friends, and one crazy family, I predict that I will have some mighty nice adventures to report about soon!