A Non Update, Update

Oh gosh. :tap: :tap: Is this thing on?

Let's see, I last left off with my feelings. I'm happy to report that is over with. Nice/adorable boy quit and I got over it. I had orientation today for my second job. I don't know what my schedule is like next week, but job #1 is ending soon so hopefully it will all work out.

I'm tired.

I'd really like to go see a movie. I'm currently trying to go 30 days without eating out. I just baked cookies.

The garden has exploded. I've personally eaten 3 red tomatoes this week. Thank you, super hot weather. I had fried okra two days ago and haven't stopped thinking about it. The only thing that might make my life better in the sustainable living area would be a Saturday trip to the Farmer's Market.

Overall I'm happy, despite my exhaustion.

Whispery Woe is Me Post

I started the job.

I really like my boss.

Like, in that he'll never give me a second look but I secretly plot what our babies would look like sort of way. (only less stalkerish than that sounds, I SWEAR)

This is the first time, for the most part, since I moved back home that I've allowed myself to feel like this. I've shut myself off for a long time to most aspects of living. Fearful of being out there. Fearful of rejection.

I'm not pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, bubbly enough.

I hate feeling like that. I hate wondering these things. So normally I just don't do it. I don't meet people. Don't go out.

But that said, and most importantly, why in the world am I suddenly concerned about men and dating at the absolutely busiest part of my life (starting two jobs, full last semester load that's 3 days a week instead of 2 + a fall job and looking for full time employment after graduation)?

FEELINGS. I hate them.

A New Favorite

I made cupcakes for Father's Day. And I frosted them with THIS frosting. And if you have any faith in me at all, you'll ignore the call for flour and granulated sugar and make them anyway* despite the weirdness. And then you'll die happy.




*I only suggest that you cream the butter and sugar together super well. I think that's the secret.

Yes, I am still talking about vacation

I knew ahead of time that one of the meals I had to try in Fort Myers was Five Guys. I'd been meaning for months to try the one in Louisville since the Obamas had raved about the chain. But I'm never near The Summit. The Five Guys in Fort Myers was 3 miles from our hotel.

The menu at Five Guys is scant. You get burger options: one patty or two, cheese, bacon or both. They also have hot dogs, but I didn't concern myself with that option knowing that hotdogs were going to be one of my Sanibel meals.

I got the little cheeseburger (which was so not little at all) with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, and mayo. The four of us split a large fry (regular, but they also have cajun seasoned fries). It was so good, y'all. So good I forgot to take a picture of the food. So worth it that I'm plotting a trip to the Louisville location.







After Five Guys we stopped by Lovers Key State Park. Where we watched sting rays hang out underneath a bridge.







Jon is going to Newport Aquarium with friends on Thursday. I, of course, have to work. I'm so jealous that these sting rays and the few dolphins we saw will probably be my only brush with aquatic life this summer. Darn those teenagers and their lack of adult responsibilities.

The Poo

I call Jill a variety of nicknames. I also talk to her in the most disgusting baby voices EVER, but that's here nor there. One nickname in particular started something like this:

Jilly > Jilly-poo > Pooey-Wooey > Pooey > Poo

Before I went to work yesterday I had to take the chihuahua to the vet's office. She was on day 2 of diarrhea and vomiting. And while I'd thought she was getting better, a few scary poos later I decided she probably needed to be seen. My mother was convinced she was dying. I'm happy to report she was not.

The vet gave her a penicillin injection, shot her up with fluids because she was dehydrated, and sent me home with some meds for her. I'm so thankful to have such an awesome vet (who also moonlights as a country music singer... hilarious).

But the two days of dog poo? Definitely means Jill earned her nickname.

I dreamed a dream

Oh man, y'all, the things I'd do with this house.

It was built in 1922.

5 bedrooms, 2700 square feet, 7 acres.

$160,000

In my dreams I buy it.

Fix it up.

Make it a lovely shade of blue.

I'd buy a cow.

Two goats.

A chicken coop.

A bunch of rescued dogs and barn cats.

I'd grow an acre or two of vegetables.

And have fruit trees.

Except I worry.

I'll never have enough money.

Or, even worse, it'll be just me and an apartment full of cats until I die.

When I was 17 I'd worry about these same things.

I never thought then that I'd still be worrying about them at 24.

Boo.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day morning I took a mini road trip with my mama and Jonathan. We drove up to Fort Myers Beach, down to Bonita Beach and almost to Naples just checking out the sights and scoping out fishing spots.

Highlight: all ride down we'd been joking about a nudist colony that advertised in an area guidebook. I died when we found a mermaid statue out in front of a complex on the way to Bonita Beach that was topless and very anatomically correct. We laughed so hard over how we must have found the nudists that I had to pull the car over and catch my breath.

Later that afternoon we picked up 'The Bob' from the hotel and headed over to buy a fishing license and some bait. Then we hit up one of our favorite Fort Myers spots, Sun Harvest Citrus, for some yummy ice cream cones (my favorite is the Key Lime/Chocolate twist), juice, and citrus samples. After all that we headed over to Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel for fishing and a sunset.

This was the night I decided I probably wouldn't use the Canon much on this trip after a) the humidity gave me fits and b) I dropped the lens cap in sand. My mother wondered when I'd stop being paranoid over this camera, my answer: give me one year and a big girl job with real income and I'll stop freaking out.

Schnapper's Hots

On Wednesday we piled into the van for a morning of shelling at Turner Beach and Blind Pass in the Santiva area (the bridge area that connects Sanibel and Captiva). After looking around and a failed attempt to visit the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum the three of us who went were STARVING. A drive up Periwinkle (the main commercial area for shops and restaurants on Sanibel) landed us at Schnapper's Hots, a hotdog stand sort of place.

We bought plain hotdogs, chili dogs, and bratwurst.

And then took our order over to the Causeway Beaches (the bayside beaches on either side of the big bridge to the islands) to enjoy lunch and watch the passing boats. The food was good, but the view definitely made it the best lunch I've had in a while.

"Mom, she's like bigfoot--rarely seen on film."

I always come home from a trip and think, "dammit, I still forgot to be in any pictures."

Hate the way I look in this first one. I forgot to pack conditioner, not that it would have helped because the salty breeze at the beach everyday left my hair in a constant state of disarray. And I turned this black and white because this was pre-burn and therefore my little farmer's tan was a bit blinding.

That said, PROOF, I was there.

After the burn in my salmon colored shorts that I HAD to buy before I left town. I love them:

And I'm back...

I want to blog about vacation but I'm finding it difficult to actually write a big wrap up. So, instead I think I'll just post a few photos this week and a couple of vignettes so I have something to look back on later.

It was fun and relaxing most of all. That said, I was so thrilled to be back home even though I'm not looking forward to worrying about 'real life' stuff now that I've returned.

The good news: I had a phone call while I was gone about a cashiering job. I hate retail, but I'm calling about it tomorrow anyway. So maybe working two jobs this next month? Hmm. Orientation for the big girl job experience gig is Wednesday.

Sigh.

I ♥ Sanibel-Captiva

I don't want to seem braggy or anything about vacation. After all, I'm covered in bug bites to the point I'm almost concerned about toxicity. I'm sunburnt all over, even my knees. And I've had enough silly family squabbles to last a year. But man, the view? Worth it.

You take the good, you take the bad

The good:

The Bad:

I've got 20 no-see-um bites on my arms and god knows how many more on my legs, face, and feet. Despite coating myself in OFF. They were biting everyone else too but I seem to be the only one who looks stricken with Chicken Pox.