In the 8 years that I have been blogging here at My So-Called Chaos, I’ve almost never taken much of a “blogging break.” I mean, I’ve missed posts here and there, or skipped a few days while away on vacation, but I’ve never really stepped away from my blog on purpose for any amount of time. Honestly? I’m not about to do it now either… However, I do need to figure out a way to adjust and move my blog along with me and the world that has changed so drastically around me in the last few weeks. I hope to be back to regular posting soon… I’ll explain more here in a moment, as I think I’m due for some July updates… and an explanation of my absence as of late.
Currently in July
Reading: Right now I’m listening to The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth, and so far I’m really into it. I’m not getting as much time in the car these days so I think I’ll probably eventually start listening to it at work too. It’s so good so far!
Watching: Boyfriend and I started the show Shades of Blue on Hulu. It’s only one season in so far, but it’s pretty good, and I do like some J-Lo.
Listening to: I haven’t been listening to much music lately, but the latest song I loved enough to download was River by Bishop Briggs. I just love her voice.
Drinking: Baja Blast. Oh right, there’s now my Taco Bell thing got started… I need to quit the soda again ASAP. I’m also super into coffee (as usual) and since my new office has one of those single serve coffee makers in it, I’m all into drinking more of it throughout the day…
Obsessed with: Kimonos and long necklaces… Yes please.
Excited for: The Panic! at the Disco & Wheezer concert next week with my boo and my besties.
Planning: Our camping trip! Oops, it’s coming up fast… I’d better get on that.
Working on: Finding some balance in my now more hectic life…
July Updates
Man, if I said June was crazy, I had no idea what July would be like… I’ve been going non-stop, and I’ve hit a point where I definitely need a break from the never-ending merry-go-round that is two jobs and not a moment to myself. Seriously… I feel exhausted.
But damn, I’m rocking some fashion lately and it feels good! I’ve really been having fun trying new fashion and makeup lately, and getting bolder and brighter in my efforts. I’m obsessed with my eyebrows, Kimonos, and highlighting. I really do mean obsessed… I’ve purchased so many kimonos in the last couple of weeks that I realized I don’t even have shirts to wear with them! Guess I have to buy some more shirts… 😉 Oh oh oh, and I’m obsessed with this bra and the sexy straps it ads to my outfit… For that reason I’m starting to get into Bralettes more as well.
My Day Job
My main job moved locations this past weekend, and in typical “Angie style” I left everything to the very last minute-a.k.a Friday. I figured I’d get everything backed up Friday morning, then packed up Friday afternoon, but around 9AM on Friday they sent out an email saying that the internet would be shut off at noon so we needed to be packed up by then, and migrate towards home to finish out our work days. I mad rushed to pack, got it all done, and then enjoyed a few hours at home before having to go into my second job.
I was really worried about moving to this building because it means a HUGE adjustment for me. Sure, I was excited that it cuts my daily commute in half… I’ve been driving 45 minutes to work five days a week for the last 6-8 years… However, I was previously seated away from everyone else, and quite used to my solitude and quiet where I was, and one look at the new seating chart informed me that I was to be seated right next to my managers and several of the loudest people in my office. I was not thrilled.
However, I’m pleasantly surprised to find it hasn’t been so bad. The new office is super nice, as it’s brand new and all industrial style with some exposed duct work, concrete floors, and lots of crisp bright lines. The entire outer wall is mostly windows, so we get a lot of natural light and the view from the fourth floor is actually pretty stunning. From the windows on my side of the building, the view looks out over the railroad tracks to the mountains on the east side of the valley. There’s a nice green field, some homes, the highway, and IKEA over in that direction. From the other side of the building you get sweeping views of the entire valley all the way out to the wet side and the Copper mine. It’s quite pretty.
I was quite nervous about working in a new environment, but I managed to calm a lot of my nerves by talking to one of my friends. She’s recently moved abroad for work and they’ve got an amazing shared office space, very similar to mine (check it out here: 共享辦公室). Coworking spaces are great as you get to meet so many different people and can share your ideas with each other.
It’s still quite an adjustment, as it feels very corporate now and we’ve always been pretty laid back in the past… We have an actual security guard and we have to badge in the doors and also through a gate at security. On the other hand, we also have a cafe that’s fully catered and supposedly subsidized (though it doesn’t really feel less expensive than going out for lunch…), a gym, and eventually they’ll finish the first floor where we’ll have a whole game room full of stuff.
I’m also pleasantly surprised that I don’t hate sitting over here… I do often miss the freedom that came with having no one looking over your shoulder, but it’s been kind of nice to be social again and have a conversation with someone.
Coffee-Maker Crazy
Where I sit in the new building is also right by the little break area where we have this amazing new Tassimo professional coffee maker and I’m obsessed… I had no idea you could make actual latte-style drinks with these single serve coffee makers, and if I had I might have gotten one long ago… I’m loving the one we have, and now I can’t decide if I should get a Tassimo machine or just go the easier and less-expensive route with a Keurig.
The Tassimo one is SO nice, and I’m in love with it… But the Keurig seems to have a lot more options and be easier to find stuff for… My local grocer has nearly 60 different flavors/brands of K-Cups but not one single Tassimo pod for sale…
My Night & Weekend Job
Things have been kind of crazy at my second job lately… When I started it was just an easy part-time gig working 7-10 hours a week for the discount on the pretty clothes, but with being short handed and down two managers during the busiest time of the year for us, I worked a good 26 hours last week. Safe to say, that working nearly 80 hours between my two jobs took it’s toll on me and come this past Sunday I had a bit of a crash and needed a break… Luckily I have a fantastic coworker who covered my Tuesday shift so I could have a couple of days off in a row, and a very understanding manager.
I really do love working there. It’s so fun to talk to other fantastic curvy girls, and I work with some all-around fabulous people that I’m happy to have made friends with. Plus, the clothes are great-I was even featured as their outfit of the day last week.
If you’re curious about my outfit, I’m totally rocking a pair of skinny jeans, this Arrow Print Tulip-Back Tank Top (seriously loving all things tulip-back) with a turquoise Foxy Cami underneath the sheer chiffon, this black super-soft open-front cardigan, a long triangle chain necklace, and some yellow moccasins I got from Target a few years back.
Ortie & Justin’s Baby Shower
I helped throw my friend Ortie, and her beau Justin, a baby shower earlier this month. She’s such a beautiful momma-to-be and she was so happy to have her friends around her. Plus, her sister drove all the way up from Texas to surprise her for the shower and it was wonderful.
Above, she’s opening gifts from Chris and I. Chris gave them the little monkey, and I put together a bath-themed gift for her. The cute baby bather with frogs was on her wishlist, so I just kind of ran with the bathing theme since I knew one other thing I had to get her was the Sleepytime baby bath products… They weren’t on her registry, but having been a nanny and helped raise my godkids, I knew she HAD to have the lovely lavender scented bath wash and lotion. It’s a must for helping calm little babes before bed.
Of course I also went a little crazy and wanted to buy more baby things… They’re all just so dang cute! I added the most adorable little dragon bath robe with matching dragon hooded baby towels and dragon baby washcloths… So freaking cute. She loved them too, which I’m happy about. My ovaries man, my ovaries…
Couplehood
Kristina pointed out, after we’d all stood together to pose for a friends photo at the baby shower, that it’s now even pairings. I took another look at the photo and realized that she was right… I wasn’t the fifth wheel as I’d been so many times before, I had my loving and caring boyfriend standing next to me looking all handsome, and that made me very happy.
Boyfriend moved in at the beginning of the month. You’d think that would be scary, but since he’d basically just been living there without his stuff since we became a couple in March, it didn’t change much… Other than I need to now figure out where to fit a whole other person worth of stuff in my tiny and messy house.
Either way, both Bub and I are really enjoying having him around. Since I’m working two jobs, and doing it so much, it’s been such a relief to have someone home with the dog who I know loves him as much as I do. Even better that I don’t have to pay a sitter… (My puppy sitter Aspen is great, but funds have been kind of tight lately. I’ll work on getting her a job with me at my second job instead… haha!) Also, Bub is a traitor and has totally moved to sleeping on Chris’ side of the bed… lol
Plums? Cherries? Cherryplums?
It turns out the pretty red tree in front of my house grows fruit! When it was pointed out to me, I stopped and contemplated it… I’d never seen a fruit tree with such dark red leaves before, and hadn’t expected the tree to produce fruit. Especially when there are two fruit trees in the back that don’t produce anything yet…
These are small like cherries, but they taste more like plums… Yes, I tasted them, and I didn’t die. I’m guessing they’re something called Cherryplums, which is what my plant-identifying app and google seem to believe. Either way, there are a slew of them smushed on my sidewalk that need to be cleaned up… lol
What’s Up for the Rest of July?
Well, there’s actually quite a bit planned for the rest of the month. On Tuesday, Chris and I are going to the Panic! at the Disco & Wheezer concert with Ken and Kristina. Then the following weekend we’re going camping up at my family ranch. I haven’t been in forever and I can’t wait to take my friends up. There’s also a chance we’re going up to Crystal Hot Springs this weekend, and that will also be super fun.
What About Blogging?
I’m going to be back, I promise. There was a lot of stress as I was working too many hours to find time to do much blogging at home these past few weeks, but with all the work changes it was unclear whether I’d be able to do much blogging-wise at work, even on breaks or lunches… To be honest, that’s where I do 90% of my blogging and everything that goes along with it, so figuring out how to change that has proven difficult.
Luckily, there is enough access to still continue a good portion of my blogging at work-I just have to do less of it here. There are some sites I can’t access fully (Instagram and Pinterest-which is killing me. haha) but otherwise I’m getting by and hope to have more posts and content for you soon. 😀
Also, look for information on my new sponsorship program next month!
How are you?
I really want to know. Leave me a comment and let’s catch up!
