Hey, everyone! Yesterday was B's birthday!

I remember back when I started blogging Brandon said he had one request: He never wanted a blog post dedicated only to him. When he said this I asked, "So you never want a birthday post?" Nope. No birthday posts.

So, yesterday I thought I did a pretty good job of recognizing the day of the year, without specifically mentioning his birthday. I wanted him to know I was thinking of him, without completely embarrassing him. I chose tasteful photos, not that we ever take photos that aren't tasteful, but I chose photos in which we both looked our best. I wrote a sweet message, without being too mushy, and I just knew I had acknowledged his birthday in the perfect way.

Last night we both got home from work late {I'm talking midnight late}, and soon after he opened his gift we went to sleep. This morning Brandon looked at me and said, "What was up with that blog yesterday? How were people supposed to know it was my birthday??" I explained my reasoning behind yesterday's post, how I remembered him saying he never wanted a birthday post, and he said, "I don't remember saying that."

So...Let me try again...

~~~

Happy Birthday, B!!







Happy birthday to the person who's seen me at my best and my worst, and chooses to love me anyway.

Happy birthday to the person who can make me laugh when all I want to do is cry.

Happy birthday to the person who eats everything I cook, no matter how burnt it is.

Happy birthday to my best friend, my husband, my partner in life.

I love you so much, B!

I hope you enjoy eating your MCC!!

{Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip, his favorite}

Happy November 27th!

Here's to sharing many more years of laughter and memories!

Hi, I'm Emily...

Hi, Friends! I finally finished my About page! Here's a little preview...

Click on the 'About' tab at the top of the page to read more! I hope you're enjoying your Monday!

Birthday Weekend: Take 2

Since Michelle wasn't able to come down for my birthday last weekend she came and spent the day with me today. It meant so much, because I knew how tired she must have been after working the entire weekend at Camp Aranzazu.

We had lunch at Chili's and then spent the afternoon catching up on the latest happenings in each of our lives. It felt so good to just sit and talk, with no one calling and beeping in and neither of us having to rush off the phone to finish dinner or make it to class on time. We ended our day with sno cones, and then Michelle headed back to Austin.

lunch / birthday gift / sno cone

Thanks so much for coming, Shell!

I enjoyed our day more than you know.

Why aren't you texting me back??

I didn't realize how much my new job would affect everyone around me until I started last week. Since then Brandon has had to cook dinner and go to the grocery store. My mom had to pick out her new glasses all by herself. And Michelle continues to think I'm mad at her, because I don't text her back within five minutes of her texting me. {I promise I'm not mad... I'm just working!}

But I think the one whose life has changed the most is Princess. She no longer gets belly rubs on demand twenty-four hours a day. We still haven't figured out what to do with her when we're both working. I tried leaving her in our bathroom today with lots of fluffy blankets and her burnt orange bed, but she not so subtly let me know she did not enjoy it.

When I opened the door she ran out as fast as she possibly could and followed me around for the rest of the night to make sure I didn't leave her again. I'm still not sure what to do.

As for me, I think I've adjusted well so far. One of the things I struggled with at my old job was taking care of myself. Now that I've found so many things I enjoy outside of work, I have just been trying to find a healthy balance. Last week I easily fit in everything that I wanted to do, and I didn't feel overly tired until the weekend.

I'll start my new hours the last week of November, so that will require more adjusting. But I am aware of what I need to do to keep myself healthy. And now that I know that, I can make better choices from the beginning.

And to my faithful readers {all five of you, ha!}: I refuse to let work get in the way of my blog. That being said, I now have a lot less time to blog. Because I take pride in the quality of my writing, I am not going to start posting poorly written posts just to get in more posts. In other words, I'm going for quality not quantity. Kapeesh? I knew you'd understand!

I hope you all had a fantastic Monday! I'll keep you updated on our dilemma with P...

Birthday Recap

To say my 25th snuck up on me would be an understatement. I had been thinking about it for several months, and I even started a blog post back in July especially for my 25th birthday. I kept telling myself, Oh, you still have a few months to work on it.

Those months have now come and gone, and the blog post was never finished. I've decided to blame it on the fact that I'm still wearing my summer clothes. It still doesn't feel like fall down here, and as badly as I want to be wearing my favorite scarves and boots I'm forced to slip a pair of sandals on every time I leave the house; therefore, it hasn't felt like my birthday.

Anyway...

This weekend turned out even better than I had hoped! Brandon was supposed to be out of town for work, which I was really disappointed about, but his schedule ended up changing at the last minute. Yay for crazy/uncertain/very unpredictable oil field schedules! {Probably the only time I'll ever say that..Ha!} On Friday evening he gave me my birthday gifts and we went out for dinner and ice cream. It was a very relaxing evening!

On Saturday Mom, Dad, and PaPaw came down. PaPaw had never been to our house, and I'm so glad he was able to make the trip! After resting his back for just a few minutes {riding in the car is kind of hard on him} he was ready to go see my garden.

{Look at my hair. That's how windy it is here!}

Let me tell you... He got a kick out of it! He started laughing right away. He said, "I think you need to talk to your daddy! His are taller than you!" Then he asked, "Have you watered 'em often?" I told him that I had, and he just kept saying, "I don't know what to tell you, baby. I've never seen anything like it." He said it might be the soil that caused them not to grow, and he told me not to give up. I guess I'll be trying again in the spring!

After laughing about my miniature tomato plants we went inside, and mom and I cooked lunch. We had MaMaw's pork chops, and while we were eating Brandon said, "PaPaw, is Emily a good cook?" PaPaw answered, "Yeah, she's a real good cook. You better keep her around!" Then he said, "There's just one problem... She can't grow a tomato!" We all laughed! {My PaPaw still likes to joke with us, even at ninety years old!}

After lunch we listened to the second half of the Texas football game. At one point PaPaw said, "Texas didn't play Oklahoma this year." I said, "Yes they did, PaPaw. They just just lost really bad." He said, "Oh, Texas went to Dallas... But they didn't play!" I told you he likes to joke around!

That afternoon we continued to visit and watch football. I showed PaPaw around our house, and I took my parents to see the hospital where I work. I just loved having all of them here!

That evening we said our goodbyes, and Mom, Dad, and PaPaw headed back to Yoakum. Mom texted me as they were driving away and said that PaPaw was still talking about my tomato plants. He told them, "They've got a real nice place, just no tomatoes." {Lol} We've decided he'll be talking about them for the next year! I was so thankful that he was able to come down and visit us. It was definitely a day I'll never forget.

After my family left I told Brandon that I wished every day was my birthday. I got to see my parents and my PaPaw, Brandon didn't have to work, and I got to talk to all of my friends... Exactly what I needed!

{Yes, we all wear burnt orange every Saturday.}

I can't wait to see what year twenty-six brings!

**My sister would have been here if she didn't have so much homework. We missed you, Shell!!

Orientation: Complete!

I finally completed new employee orientation! Over the past few days I've taken in so much information. Benefit packages and retirement plans aside, I've really learned a lot about where I'll be working.



 
The hospital itself has a small town feel to it. Everybody knows everybody. I think I'm going to like it, since I usually do well in that sort of atmosphere. The staff members seem to be very close with one another, and everyone I've met has been so friendly! All of the employees are proud of where they work, and the overall attitude is very positive and upbeat. It seems to be an amazing work environment!

{Ocean view at the end of each unit. One of my favorite places in the hospital!}

This child life department is smaller than my last one, but it seems to be growing quickly. After visiting with all of the staff today, I feel like I joined the team at the perfect time!

{Welcome sign at my new desk}

I'm very excited! And I'm so thankful for this opportunity. I know that I'm going to learn so much from this experience, and I can't wait to get started!