August will hopefully be a little slower and more relaxing than July. July was great, tons of fun stuff, but my body needs me to slow down a bit.

August 7th 2024

Work:

As mentioned last month, I found out pretty last minute that I was going to be attending the StarRez Conference, and it was everything I wanted it to be. I loved every minute of it. I love connecting with the StarRez staff, hearing about advancements in technology, and learning from other users throughout the conference. It’s a great way to boost morale, keep team members motivated, and build a culture of lifelong learning.

I received some great news recently and will be transitioning from a 3-day work week in the office to a 2-day in-office schedule and I’m so excited for that extra day. I’ll start my new schedule Sept. 1st.

Personal:

The day before the StarRez conference, I had the opportunity to attend an LA Angels Baseball game and add another stadium to my list! The weather was fantastic, the random people I sat by were entertaining and I had a really great time.

Literally the very next morning after the StarRez conference ended, bright and early, I got up to take my final exam for the IIBA – ECBA exam and I PASSED! I’m so excited because this program was hard, I slacked because of the lack of accountability and guidance (not to mention their website and everything is super confusing), and I was cramming at the end to review as much material as I could.

After I passed my exam, I was able to relax and fully enjoy the next two days in Anaheim. I had decided for Wednesday, I’d take my exam, get checked out and moved into my not-as-nice hotel, and then just walk around downtown. I ended up getting back to the hotel earlier than I thought I would because I was just so tired. I’m glad I rested up though because Thursday – I WENT TO DISNEYLAND!

I’ll be writing a post about my visit to Disney very soon, but just know that it was everything I wanted it to be.

My flight back from California was brutal. On the first leg of the trip, I sat between (one in front, one behind) two SCREAMING babies. I don’t mean crying, I mean literal gut-wrenching screams and I thought I was going to join them. For three straight hours. It was absolutely exhausting and awful.

Then, I arrive in Dallas and my flight is delayed. and delayed. and delayed. I was supposed to get back to College Station around 10:15 pm and I finally landed around 3:30 am.

Then, I get my luggage, head to my car, and can’t get in. The car battery is dead. Thankfully I have a handy-dandy jump starter kit in my car (bless being prepared) and it took me about 15 minutes to get my car going. I finally made it home a little after 4:00 am. What a trip.

I’ve continued with my Spanish lessons through Preply and I’m really enjoying it. I’m hoping once I get my finances back in order (after the plumbing issues and remodel), I can start taking more than one class a week. Idk why but I still get nervous every lesson for no reason but I’m learning so it’s worth it.

The bathroom is on a brief hold in terms of progress. I found backsplash tiles I really liked but then realized I didn’t have a way to cut the backsplash because you need a wet saw to cut through the ones I picked (stone and glass). So I’m just kind of waiting on the motivation to continue. I’ve searched multiple stores and don’t really like any other ones.

My Relationship

Jay has been holding down the fort and taking care of the dogs lately while I’ve been doing Rover sits and traveling so I’ve been really thankful for that.

We decided to jump back into Suits and finally finish the last season. I’m glad we did. That show was fantastic and it’s nice to have finally wrapped it up. I’m terrible at finishing shows. I’ll get all the way to the last season and then just never finish it.

Now that we’ve finished Suits, we’re starting Prison Break, which came out a while ago. Jay has seen it but he promises I’ll like it so here we go.

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

The dogs are just living their lives. I finally took Boone to get his nails trimmed for the first time since we adopted him. He needed it so bad but I’ve been really scared to take him into the groomer because I don’t have control of him. I tried to do it myself but was too scared because his nails are all black. Thankfully it went well!

Bentley has his next groom appointment tomorrow and his birthday is tomorrow! My little baby will be 6 years old! It’s crazy to think that 1) I’ve been in Texas for 6 years 2) I still have him when I tried DESPERATELY to give him away when we got him and 3) that me and Jacarius are literally nothing now. It’s crazy how life changes.

I’ve spent this week housesitting and dog-sitting Pancho! He’s one of my Rover dogs that I’ve watched multiple times. I love staying at this family’s apartment because it’s comfortable, has a pool, a gym, and a great walking loop for me and the dog. Although I’ve enjoyed it, I’m eager to get home to hang out with Jay and our dogs. I’ve basically been gone two whole weeks.

The Rover bookings are not slowing down, but since I need to slow down my life, I’ve shut it off for two weeks so that I’m not tempted to say yes just because opportunity knocks.

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

I am literally so happy to no longer have to write “I should be studying” in my weekly updates. That was really tough and although my job wants me to move on to the project management course, I’m going to be taking a break from it all to de-stress. That was a weight I carried for almost an entire year.

As for personal books. I don’t have one right now that I’m reading. I think I’m on a break from reading to watch TV now. I go through cycles constantly where I read a lot and then I watch TV a lot.

✈️ Travel ✈️

As mentioned above, I just got back from a nice week in California. My next trip will be to Austin with Jay for his cousin’s birthday weekend. We got an Airbnb and a party boat for the day and I’m looking forward to that.

August 14th 2024

Work:

Work is busy, but not stressful. I’ve got my team testing the new apps I have going live in September and I’m on par with my other projects as well.

The students are moving back in this weekend so the campus is about to get busy and my commute to work is about to get longer, which is another reason I’m SUPER thankful I’ll be going to a 2-day-a-week in-office schedule starting September 1st!

Personal:

Life is happening! We’ve gotten big life updates from a couple of different friends lately that I’m so excited for. New job offers, pregnancies, new homes, and more!

I’ve been staying consistent in the gym and with my water intake/meal preps lately and I’m feeling really good about it.

I turned off my Rover requests on the weekends for the next couple of weeks so I can rest up and ensure I’m staying balanced and healthy. When I got back from my trip, I jumped right into a homestay for 5 days and I was TIRED!

COVID seems to be going around again so I want to ensure I’m getting enough sleep, not overstressing about anything, and maintaining a healthy diet so that I don’t come down with anything. I had a sore throat there for a few days and I was super nervous, but I stayed home, slept, stayed hydrated with my favorite hydration/immunity support drink, and recovered.

It’s so important to listen to your body and rest when you need rest. <- Life lesson.

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

The weather has cooled down a little bit lately (thankfully!) and I’ve been able to take Bentley on walks in the evening again and he is so excited about it. He’s gotten a little chubby so he really needs to get back into it.

I still haven’t been able to take Boone on any walks, but he’s been trying new foods lately that he’s excited about. He’s been eating chicken feet, chicken hearts, fruits and veggies, and coconut oil snacks.

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

I haven’t been doing any reading lately or listening to audiobooks. I’ve had so much going on lately that when I have a moment to spare, I’ve enjoyed silence.

However, I did get an offer today for a free book if I write a review of the book and I accepted so I’ll be starting a new book here soon.

TAMU’s book club just voted on which book they’d like to read for September and they chose “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder“. I’ve heard great things about the book, but the movie just came out on Netflix and I’ve been wanting to watch it so now I have to decide what to do. If I watch the movie, I will not go back and read the book.

✈️ Travel ✈️

This past weekend AND this coming weekend Jay has softball tournaments so I’ll be staying home to take care of the dogs while he’s out of town.

I don’t have any planned travel between now and my trip to Albuquerque at the end of September.

August 21st 2024

Work:

Personal:

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

✈️ Travel ✈️

Aug 28th 2024

Work:

I took on two more projects now that the 25/26 and Spring-only applications are about to go live. It feels good to close one project and get a new one. It’s a little bit of a new energy that I enjoy.

As for the 25/26 app and Spring Only app, they’re going. I’m having a little bit of trouble getting on the same page recently with the testing team, but thankfully I finished my portion of the work early so we’ve had some time to do a bunch of back and forth. I think it’s about done though! Go live is in 2 weeks.

Personal:

On a personal note, I got COVID last weekend somehow and Sunday night I started feeling really sick. It’s Wednesday, and I’m still pretty sick, so that blows.

We have plans this weekend and I’m hoping to still be able to go, but we’ll see what happens. I haven’t had a fever today and I’m on medication so I shouldn’t be contagious three days from now, but we’ll see how I feel.

Because of being sick, I’ve been watching a lot of TV this week. I finished Sex in the City, which I loved. I watched a few true crime documentaries. Now I’m watching a show called The Resident. I didn’t think I’d like it because I’ve forever compared every doctor/hospital drama to Grey’s Anatomy and none of them even come close. So far though, I’m loving it.

🐕🐕 The Dogs 🐕🐕

The pups have been a little bored lately since I’ve been sick and they’re just laying around the house with me, but they’re doing well.

📖 Book Club/Reading 📖

I’m reading Odyssey of High Hopes, which was a random selection book and I like it so far. I haven’t spent as much time reading this week as I had hoped due to consistent watery eyes.

✈️ Travel ✈️

I have so many upcoming plans! I will share them with you next week when I have a little more energy to do so (:

Fill you in more next week!